Non Verbal Communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Non Verbal Communication - Essay Example Examples of non-verbal communication are with the inclusion of eye contact, vocal nuance, gestures, intonation, facial expressions, proximity, glance, smell, posture, and sounds among others. From a broader perspective non-verbal language is divided into two kinds. These are; those non-verbal messages that are generated from the body and the non-verbal messages that emanate from the broad setting like space, time and silence. This communication form is a major factor of the vital factors of communication and it is highly essential in high-context cultures. (andrews.edu, 2011) Merits of Non-verbal Communication Applications of this communication kind are numerous and several are mentioned in this aforementioned website. These include the use of non-verbal communication to accent verbal messages, repeat verbal messages, regulate interactions, substitute verbal messages, and complement verbal messages. Accenting may refer to the utilisation of non-verbal communication like verbal tones. One can repeat verbal messages in a non-verbal way like frowning to show disgust. Regulation of interactions may refer to the scenario where non-verbal cues may be used to indicate to a person when they should speak or stop speaking. Substituting of verbal communication may applicable in situations like a noisy environment that blocks verbal communication resulting to usage of gestures to pass on messages. Lastly, complementing may be a situation like the usage of hand gestures to stress points that have been communicated verbally. (andrews.edu, 2011) Non-verbal communication is very vital. In actual sense it came into use before verbal communication. It is actually referred to as silent type of language which is normally not formally taught and which came into existence way before the invention of language. It is a universal kind of communication, though it may differ with certain cultures, apart from the persons that are autistic. According to Calero, in his book, non-verbal comm unication was in use way before the invention of formal spoken languages. In fact he puts it as thousands of years. Despite the fact that this form of communication has not had a lot of researchers interest, it has been in use by many populations across the globe as way of communicating attitudes, thoughts, notions and emotions. Despite its having been a major form of communication in the world for a long time, people have not taken time to research on the meanings portrayed by this form of communication as Calero puts it in his book. (Calero, 2005 pp1, 2) Non-verbal communication is very important in every day’s communication. Most people consider it as a form of distinct speech and that it is basically applied in the passing of the message of interpersonal relationships and emotion. Thus, it can be said to speak louder than words. However, it is very essential to note the fact that non-verbal communication has to go in tandem with speech or verbal forms of communication. Th ey cannot generally be separated, but artificially it is a possibility. By artificially, it means that use of non-verbal communication like gestures (such as hand gestures) may also be viewed as the usage of words as audible ways of sending messages. Non-verbal communication is, therefore, seen as a very integral part of the normal natural language that humans use. (nortonmedia.com, 2011) Negativities of Using Non-verbal Communication Various forms of non-verbal com

Illegal Immigration - For illegal immigration for America Research Paper

Illegal Immigration - For illegal immigration for America - Research Paper Example It also includes the existing laws being implemented to combat this long-term issue that has conquered America by storm. It will also document the reasons as to why the US immigration policies failed as evidenced by the increasing number of illegal immigrants from all over the world. The role of government is given an emphasis to come- up with domestic policies to ensure that security and anti-terrorism concerns of the country are dealt with by law. Lastly, it will also provide the worldwide effect of immigration in the US and the participation of the other nations on how to prevent their citizens from entering the US without legal documentation. Keywords: illegal immigration, immigration laws, amnesty, legalization, illegal immigrants. ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IN AMERICA Since time immemorial America has been considered the land of â€Å"milk and honey† for millions of people from all across the world. Most of the citizens from poor countries aim to reach America as their end dest ination thinking that this is the place where there is more than enough for everything. It has been perceived as the land of abundance, wealth and endless opportunities. The ultimate goal of the illegal immigrants is to enter US and land a job which will earn them a substantial income to support their families in their country of origin. However, at present time, we all know that America has been experiencing economic recession and even its countrymen were not spared of this crisis, as many became unemployed, homeless and suffered financial distress. Dubbed as the â€Å"nation of nations†, Lemay (2009, p. xv) has reported that the United States has absorbed immigrants from 170 countries across the globe. It has been the home of almost 70 million legal immigrants and experienced the influx of an estimated 11 million of illegal immigrants. The unauthorized flow of illegal immigrants entering the America is caused by inefficiencies of the immigration system of the US government to enact stricter laws and policies to address the current problems. History Ngai (2007, p.2) has reported that as early as 1920’s, the unauthorized entry has become the most common form of illegal immigration which has been condemned by both the state and the society. These unauthorized immigrants may either be welcome or unwelcomed by the US. They became in demand by the economic sector as their labor is cheap and replaceable. In the middle decades of the 20th century, they were only billeted in the western and southwestern agriculture. But at present, illegal immigrants have evolved and can be found in almost every region in the United States. Based on the records, the United States documented the number of immigrants who earned the status of authorized immigrants. â€Å"An approximate of 70 million of them forms part of the legal immigrants, but as history would tell us, the flow of unauthorized entrants likewise increased. According to LeMay (2007 p.1), the heavy traffi c of these illegal immigrants commenced after 1970, and the massive volume was recorded at present time. Today, there is an estimate of 10.5 to 11 million illegal immigrants living in the US. The Evolution of US Immigration Laws In the study made by Kenney (2009, pp. 21-23), she highlighted the significant immigration laws: The Immigration and International Act of 1965 was the law which set the limit on the immigrants coming from the Western Hemisphere, including Mexico. It set a limit of 20,000

The Case Against Evolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Case Against Evolution - Essay Example In order to understand the dangers of teaching evolution, it is first necessary to define the term. Evolution refers to the attempt to establish the origins of life on Earth. This approach is based upon the scientific and naturalistic theories of narrow-minded scientists. The approach is most often espoused by astrophysicists, geologists and biologists (Creation-Evolution Controversy). The scientific method is the sole method of analysis. Morals and the supernatural are irrelevant. Evolutionists argue that the universe was created instantaneously from nothing, that life forms developed slowly, and that life as we know it today is the result of mutations and adaptation to our environment. It is an extraordinarily insular analysis that excludes many other possibilities. It is an exclusionary philosophy. That is dangerous. As an initial matter, it is well-established that evolution is an imperfect science. Although it can be established, through fossils, that mutations have occurred, it cannot be established with any certainty that we originated from a Big Bang. Nor can it be established with any certainty that the Big Bang actually occurred or that there was nothing of substantial existence prior to the Big Bang. These theories are, at best, speculative.

First amendment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

First amendment - Essay Example There have been a number of issues posing questions as to the effectiveness and extent of the provisions in the First Amendment. One of such is the Citizens United case popularly referred to as the ‘Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission’, in which the US Supreme Court, following a 5-4 decision, ruled that corporations and unions have similar political speech rights as individuals under the First Amendment. Being a conservative non-profit organization, Citizens United claims its commitment to restoring the control of the United States government to the citizens, as well as to emphasize American principles of limited government, autonomy of enterprise, strong families, and state sovereignty and security. Citizens United produced a documentary named Hillary-with respect to the then Senator Hillary Clinton, which was the main issue of the court case. The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which controls the financing of political campaigns, was amended by the Bi partisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA). Following the amendment, this federal law prevents corporations and unions from spending their general treasury funds towards independent expenditures for a speech referred to as an ‘electioneering communication’, in other words a speech that concerns elections or one that portrays endorsement or disapproval of a candidate in the elections. As defined in the constitution, an electioneering communication ideally refers to any broadcast, cable, or satellite communication that refers to an openly identified candidate for Federal office and is created in 30 days of a major election or 60 days of a common election, (2 U.S.C.  § 441b), and that is publicly distributed (11 CFR  § 100.29(a)(2)). The documentary-Hillary was released at a time when Hillary Clinton was running for the Democratic presidential nomination, and as such, it conveyed opinions on Hillary’s suitability for the presidency. Not only did Citizens United avail the documentary in theatres and on DVDs, but also planned to make it accessible through video-on-demand. Further, Citizens United went ahead to produce television advertisements to endorse the movie and planned to run them on broadcast and cable television. However, the advertisements and the video-on-demand distribution had to be paid for, and as such, Citizens United opted to spend its general treasury funds. Consequently, Citizens United’s production and initiative was reflective of a violation of  § 441b of the constitution. Realizing the looming threat of facing possible civil and criminal charges, Citizens United rushed in to seek an injunction in federal district court, against the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), posing various arguments. First, Citizens United presented an argument claiming that  § 441b is unconstitutional with regard to the movie Hillary; a motion that the District Court denied and instead granted summary judgment to the FEC. In additi on, it argued that, as applied to the movie Hillary and the ads endorsing it, BCRA's disclaimer and disclosure requirements (BCRA  §Ã‚ §201 and 311) are also unconstitutional. According to BCRA

Microsofts Products, Domination, Development, Innovations Research Paper

Microsofts Products, Domination, Development, Innovations - Research Paper Example There has been a rapid growth in the number of products Microsoft manufacture. Microsoft released its first operating system. (Cusumano, Selby 1995). It became a massive success, after which the company started to develop. Since then Microsoft continued to hold the best position in the industry. After its invention of the operating system, there was a huge expectation form the other companies. Microsoft developed many new software components other than operating systems. The company started to expand its operations and widened its manufacturing area. It introduced software, without which most of the computers will not work today. The essential software was developed by Microsoft. It had developed a website, MSN which is widely being used. (Stross 1996).According to a survey, this website is the second in the list of sites that have been used frequently. Due to its innovative approach, it out beats the other The products of Microsoft are popular because of its simplicity in terms of usage. People find it easier to use and hence it is user-friendly. Microsoft's search engine, MSN is one among the websites that are being used by most of the people. Though there was a tough competition, Microsoft strived hard to become the best software developers. Microsoft is maintaining a dominant position in the software market as their products continue to rule the market in spite of tough competition. Other companies in the software market consider Microsoft as their major competitor. Microsoft started acquiring other firms and developed their operations. As the company's products are famous, the turnover of the company started to increase. One of the major inventions of Microsoft is the Microsoft Office suite. This turned out to be a huge success. (White, Bruton 2007).

Understanding the Patient Intake Process Essay Example for Free

Understanding the Patient Intake Process Essay Medical Insurance describes the intake process using a decision tree model (pg. 79, Figure 3.1, Valerius, Bayes, Newby, Blochowiak, 2014). The tree leads administration personnel through a list of questions to determine if the patient is a new patient or an established patient. The first problem with this process is that some of the new patients are patients that have been seen at the practice. If an established patient has an appointment with a new specialist or sub-specialist that patient is registered as a new patient. The problem with this is describing these patients as new patients can lead to multiple patient records and lost data between physicians. If a patient for example, was seen in a large medical office that had several types of specialists and subspecialists creating a new patient chart for each visit to a new doctor or specialist would make it difficult to ensure that all files were updated. This would be particular important for a patient that was under more than one doctors care for more than one problem at a time. In cases where a patient had more than one problem, treatment for problem A could affect the treatment for problem B. It is important for doctors to know a patient’s complete history as well as current care when attempting to treat them. Using a master patient index is the first step to removing the need for duplicate records. In a master patient index a patient is registered the first time they are seen at a practice and given a constant and unique patient identification number. â€Å"Master Patient Index’s ensure that every patient is represented only once, and with constant demographic identification, within all systems of hospital data† (Master Patient Index, 2011). The master patient index as well as the medical records also needs a system to control the circulation of paper files or electronic database. A centralized medical records office would be the best way to control records (Green Bowie, 2011). The medical records office would control  the master patient index, which is never changed, so if a patient is absent from the practice for a number of years and returns their number could be found in the index. The centralized medical records office would also control the circulation of paper records. To release a record, the office would require a requisition for the record. Then records management would remove the record and replace it with an outcard and log the file back in when it was returned (Green Bowie, 2011). In an electronic database system, records management would control entering the demographic data and the administration data as well as scanning any paper records into the electronic records (Green Bowie, 2011). In a practice where patients might see different specialists or subspecialists there are two options for organizing the patient record. The POR system where each new problem would be entered using the SOAP method: subject (problem), objective (observations of condition and test results), assessment (providers evaluation), and plan (the treatment plan) (Green Bowie). The second option would be the SOR system where each source (provider, nurse, x-ray technician, lab technician, etc.), would group their entries together (Green Bowie). Considering Table 3.1in Medical Insurance the SOR system would probably be the best system for this organization. As this practice is used to organizing files specific to providers this system would be the most similar and thus the least confusing to change to. The SOR system would allow each specialist or subspecialist to easily identify ‘their’ section of the patient record as well as easily reference pertinent information. For instance, a new specialist needs to get lab work done to verify a chemical level before prescribing a particular medication. The specialist can easily access the lab technician’s results and see if the right test has been run recently. In a system where each new visit to a different specialist results in a new patient file, this information would be hard to cross reference. Maintaining patient records in a centralized location also allows for better control of medical files. When multiple copies of a patient file are in circulation it becomes increasingly difficult to control the circulation and  creates unnecessary possibilities for HIPPA violations. A Master Patient Index will also increase efficiency and patient care. According to Building a successful enterprise master patient index: a case study: â€Å"there are more overlap patient files than an organization usually perceives; an imprecise and incomplete base of demographic data will multiply the error rate for the enterprise† (Lenson, 1998). The master patient index ensures that patients are given a unique identification number only once, meaning there will never be multiple patient files for one patient. A centralized records management center ensures that there are not duplicate files due to decentralization. References Green, M. A. Bowie, M. J. (2011). Essentials of health information management: Principles and practices (2nd ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar, Cengage Language Lenson, C. M. (1998, August). Building a successful enterprise master patient index: a case study. Topics in health information management, 19(I), 66-71. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10181913 Master Patient Index. (2012). In Search Health IT. Retrieved from http://searchhealthit.techtarget.com/definition/master-patient-index-MPI Valerius, J., Bayes, N., Newby, C., Blochowiak, A. (2014). Medical insurance: An integrated claims process approach (6th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Green, M. A. Bowie, M. J. (2011). Essentials of health information management: Principles and practices (2nd ed.). Clifton Park, NY: Delmar, Cengage Language

Using Drama to Teach Literacy

Using Drama to Teach Literacy Abstract: The term ‘oracy’ meaning: ‘the ability to speak fluently and articulately and to understand and respond to what other people say’. was first used by Wilkinson in 1965 (Definition, Microsoft Encarta World English Dictionary). Since that time the fact that it is central to all aspects of the learning process and activities in which children engage in school has been increasingly recognised. The development of talking and listening skills is central to the reading process and to participation in all curricular areas. This term my focus was teaching oracy and literacy to year 4 children in an interactive and communicative environment created through the use of drama. By the end of the series of lessons I wanted children in year 4 to be able to identify social, moral and cultural issues in stories. Drama was employed as a tool to create roles showing how behaviour could be interpreted from different points of view. I shall present a discussion of the rationale behind the activities I have chosen, the ways in which the children engaged with them and the success of this approach to the teaching of oracy. I shall support my work with research evidence in the areas of talking and listening, the wider area of literacy, and research pertaining to effective teaching and learning generally. I will discuss what I found when I assessed the progress made by the children and the implication this has for my future role as a teacher by linking my work with the Professional Standards for Qualified Teacher Status and Requirements for Initial Teacher Training. Introduction: The acquisition of language, a complex process, is essential for effective communication throughout life. Creating opportunities for the development of oracy in the classroom is essential if children are to develop the ability to communicate. With research showing that children are increasingly spending time in solitary activities related to computers (MacGilchrist et al., 2006, p.12), thereby reducing opportunities for talking in the home, it is essential for schools to act as facilitators in the development of talking and listening. The National Literacy Strategy defines literacy thus: ‘Literacy unites the important skills of reading and writing. It also involves speaking and listening which, although they are not separately identified in the framework, are an essential part of it. Good oral work enhances pupils’ understanding of language in both oral and written forms and of the way language can be used to communicate. It is also an important part of the process through which pupils read and compose texts.’ (National Literacy Strategy: Framework for Teaching, p.3). The lack of reference to talking and listening as a separate area has been addressed in later recommendations with an acknowledgement that ‘language is an integral part of most learning and oral language in particular has a key role in classroom teaching and learning’ (DfES, 2003, p.3). The document is highly prescriptive in the means through which contexts for talk should be established. This paper will present work carried out with a year 4 class in respect of oracy taught through drama. I will evaluate the opportunities given to children for developing oracy and the ways in which children responded to the tasks. The role of talking and listening: For the past fifty years researchers have been making a clear case for the importance of talk in the learning process. The psychologists Vygotsky and Bruner have demonstrated the fundamental importance to cognitive processes and learning of speaking and listening (Lambirth, 2006, p.59). Talk is both a medium for teaching and learning and one of the materials from which a child constructs meaning (Edwards Mercer, 1987, p.20). I wanted the talking and listening activities to act as a medium for teaching and learning through the children’s interaction. My aim was that they would be teaching and learning from each other through their discussion group work. Their construction of meaning would come about as a result of their understanding of the text and the dilemmas faced by David (see appendix 2). Opportunities for developing talking and listening: Developing talking and listening skills is a complex process which must be carefully managed in the classroom. In all curricular areas oral skills should be constantly being developed through a range of activities and, like other areas of the curriculum, should be differentiated to allow for a range of abilities within the class (see appendix 2). Different subjects offer opportunities for different kinds of talk (DfES, 2003, p.4). It is therefore a very important feature of effective teaching to give children as many opportunities as possible to engage in a variety of types of talk. Children make sense of the world as they learn the communication skills to interact with others in their culture (Lambirth, 2006, p.62). Light and Glachan have shown that children working together and sharing their ideas orally can develop solutions to problems that they could not manage to solve independently (Light Glachan, 1985). Carnell and Lodge suggest that more school learning should be based on talk and dialogue between pupils as ‘it has the power to engage learners in learning conversations, keeps them open to new ideas and requires both honesty and trust (Carnell Lodge, 2002, p.15). Planning the activities: When planning the activities I sought to involve the following aspects: Modelling appropriate speaking and listening; Encouraging sensitive interaction; Ensuring goals are set with clear criteria for success; Planning opportunities for children to investigate, apply and reflect on language in use. (DfES, 2003, p.19) (see planning appendices 1 2). I chose to provide opportunities for talk in the context of drama, giving the children opportunities to engage with one another. Research has shown that children learn more effectively when given opportunities to share ideas. Grugeon points out that this is a skill, like others, and must be taught. ‘Children who are expected to work together in groups need to be taught how to talk to one another. They need talk skills which enable them to get the best out of their own thinking and that of all other members of the group (Grugeon et al., 2001, p.95). For this reason I modelled the activities for the children so that they would have a clear understanding of what they were required to do and how best to go about the tasks in hand (see appendix 2). Some of the children were tentative in respect of their engagement at the beginning of the exercise but the group work gave them opportunities to develop their confidence and self esteem. Developing appropriate talking and listening: It is important to be aware of the difference between incidental talk, in which children engage in the course of an activity, but is not directly related to the learning intentions, and talk which is a main focus of the activity. In my drama activities, I wanted children to be focused on their talk through appropriate activities which would engage them and hold their interest. When planning the activities I was aware of the need to engage pupils on the basis of their prior knowledge ‘To prompt learning , you’ve got to begin with the process of going from inside to outside. The first influence on new learning is not what teachers do pedagogically but the learning that is already inside their heads (Gagnon, 2001, p.51). It was with this in mind that I decided on David’s dilemma. I felt that the children would have sufficient previous knowledge of the ideas presented to be able to identify with the characters and the dilemmas faced by them (see appendix 2). Establishing Rules: In all conversations there are rules, for example, only one person talking at a time. Cordon suggests that ‘ children receive little help in understanding and appreciating the ground rules for group discussion’ (Cordon, 2000, p.86) an issue that I felt it was important to address through the establishment of guidance for the children. This is vital to the process so that all children have equal opportunities to participate in the talking and listening activities. Aims: My aims in the drama activities were: To encourage purposeful talk, the skills associated with which the children could later transfer to other areas of their learning. To develop children’s ability to work in a group. To enable children to develop the confidence and competence to present their work to a group of their peers. To develop children’s skills in forming opinions, responding to other children’s opinions and oral presentation skills. Drama as a tool for developing talking and listening: I chose to approach the teaching of speaking and listening through drama as it affords many opportunities for children to develop their speaking and listening skills. Drama helps children to understand their world more deeply and allows them an opportunity to find ways to explore and share that understanding (Wyse, 2001, p.213). Research about learning has shown that children learn most effectively when learning is meaningful to them. Learning happens in the process of coming to new understandings in relation to existing knowledge (MacGilchrist et al., 2006, p.52). For this reason I gave children the opportunity to create their own scenarios in acting out David’s dilemma. In the group activities I wanted the talk to be open-ended so that the children could question, disagree with, extend and qualify each other’s utterances (DfES, 2003, p.7). After their group activities children had the opportunity to share their ideas with the class, giving them important experiences in presenting their opinions and listening to the views of others. Children were actively engaged in tasks which gave validity to all of their ideas and opinions. When given opportunities, children are keen to engage with issues on text and challenge the conventions of the story (Baumfield Mroz, 2004, p.55). I wanted children to have experience of challenging the ideas they were faced with by developing their own responses to scenarios and the behaviour of characters. Links with reading: The development of effective talking and listening skills is vital to the reading process. Before their oral work, children were finding main ideas in the text to support their viewpoints (see appendix 1). Only after the children had established the supporting information they wished to use, were they in a position to verbalise their ideas. Reading and talking were also linked through the requirement that the children orally summarise the salient points in a written argument. Through a discussion of the ways in which authors are able to develop their ideas children can develop ways in which to present their own ideas to an audience. Effective questioning was essential to this part of the process to provide a framework for the development of the children’s ideas in the correct context. As children have more experience and gain more confidence in this type of activity they are able to act as effective peer questioners, a very useful aspect of pupil self-assessment. Through this process children can measure the success of their own learning. Baumfield and Mroz advocate the development of a community of inquiry to develop pupils’ critical analysis of text (Baumfield Mroz, 2004, p.58). Developing opportunities for talk: In the classroom a variety of types of talk occur throughout the day. The ways in which children interact with each other is very different to the way in which they interact with the teacher who does 70% of the talking in the course of a day (Baumfield Mroz, 2004, p.49). This clearly means that children are not being given sufficient opportunities to develop talking and listening skills critical to success in all other areas. To enhance the role of talk in shaping and developing learning requires a reduction in the teachers role as classroom controller and a shift towards an enabler of talk for thinking (Myhill, 2006, p.19). After the initial modelling and discussion, it was important for me to let the groups work, as far as possible, along the problem path independently. It was my intention to give children a variety of opportunities to engage in different types of talk. They had opportunities to talk in small groups when working on their scenarios and afterwards had opportunities to present their work to the whole class. Talking in groups: Working in groups has been shown to develop a sense of belonging in children, something which I regard as very important in the classroom. Osterman has pointed out that, ‘There is substantial evidence showing or suggesting that the sense of belonging influences achievement through its effects on engagement (Osterman, 2000, p.341). She goes on to say that children with a well developed sense of belonging in school tend to have more positive attitudes to school and each other. As shown in appendix 3 some of the children were lacking in confidence in the initial stages of the activities, something which I would seek to develop in children through more exposure to this type of activity. Resnick has pointed out that while the majority of learning in schools is individualistic in its nature, this is contrary to other aspects of life such as work and leisure activities which are much more social in the nature (Resnick, 1987). It is essential, therefore, that children develop the skills needed for group work so that they have ability to engage in participatory aspects of education. When planning the group activities for the children I was conscious of making sure that each child had a part to play in the development and presentation of each activity. Francis has pointed out that the majority of talking and listening activities involve the teacher doing most of that talking with the children interjecting at suitable gaps in the teacher discourse (Francis, 2002, p.29), something which I wanted to avoid by giving the children ownership of the activities. This would ensure that all children were engaged in the process and less likely to be passive. At the same time children had to be able to quietly listen to the views of others, thereby developing strategies for turn-taking. All the children engaged in the process very well. Assessment: Assessment for learning is a very important aspect of the teaching and learning process and from the point of view of my own professional development the ability to effectively assess pupil learning is a very important competence to have. As Dann has pointed out, ‘if assessment genuinely seeks to give some indication of pupils’ level of learning, pupils will need to understand and contribute to the process’ (Dann, 2002, p.2). In assessing the effectiveness of the activities it is important to assess the appropriateness of the children’s talk for the task. The children participated in the assessment process through their involvement in the plenary sessions. This was coupled with my observations of children’s success on the task (see appendix 3). All of the children achieved the objectives and reported that they enjoyed the activities. Children’s talk is a very good indicator of their understanding of a task. The fact that all the children exper ienced success with the tasks and were able to carry them out using appropriate language was demonstrative of their understanding of the characters and dilemmas with which they were faced. Talking and listening is very valuable to assess understanding particularly with children who have special educational needs and may have difficulty with written tasks. Myers has presented research carried out in primary schools which suggests that children who participate in group work enjoy the experience of working with others and find it very helpful in the learning process (Myers, 2001, cited in MacGilchrist et al., 2006, p.159). My evaluation of the drama activities leads me to agree with this, particularly in light of the comment made by one of the children ‘I wish we could always do drama with English’(see appendix 3). Children’s language, like most of their learning, responds to encouragement (Fontana, 1994, p.78). This is an important idea to bear in mind when giving the children feedback and it is important to praise their efforts at contributing. I would hope that this would encourage the children who were initially reluctant participants in their efforts in the future. What I have Learnt: I have developed a greater degree of understanding of the role of talking and listening in the curriculum as well as an understanding of how children progress in this area and what they should be expected to achieve. I hope to build on this in my future development and feel that I have made progress in terms of the standards laid out by the Training and Development Agency. Appendix 1: Literacy planning: Appendix 2: Lesson Observation Sheets: Appendix 3: Evaluation: Evaluation: Week 2 All groups were very engaged and enjoyed the task. They said that they wished they could always do drama with English. Possible action to be taken: More use of drama when teaching English. Assessments Child’s Name Objective achieved? Comments: Action: Andrei More able √ Very animated – leader of group Speaking ad listening skills Leo Middle Group √ Co-operative Robert Middle Group √ Tentative at first – more engaged with script Confidence building Oona Middle group √ Good directional skills Use of props (desk) Good team player Danielle More able √ Works well in her team. Alexandra SEN √ Tentative – very aware of being stared at. Confidence building References: Baumfield, V. Mroz, M. (2004) Investigating Pupils’ questions in the primary classroom in E.C. Wragg (Ed.)(2004) The RoutledgeFalmer Reader in Teaching and Learning. London:RoutledgeFalmer. Burns, C. Myhill, D. (2004) Interactive or inactive? A consideration of the nature of interaction in whole class teaching. Cambridge Journal of Education, 34, 1, 35-49. Carnell, E. Lodge, C. (2002) Supporting Effective Learning. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. Cooper, P. McIntyre, D. (1996) Effective Teaching and Learning. Buckingham:Open University Press. Cordon, R. (2000) Literacy and Learning Through Talk: Strategies for the Primary Classroom. Buckingham: Open University Press. Dann, R. (2002) Promoting Assessment as Learning. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Department for Education and Employment (1998) The National Literacy Strategy: Framework for Teaching. London: DfEE. Department for Education and Employment (2003) Speaking, Listening and Learning Handbook. London: DfEE. Department for Education and Skills (2003) Speaking, Listening, Learning: Working with children in key stages 1 and 2. London: DfES. Edwards,D. Mercer, N. (1987) Common Knowledge. London: Metheun. Francis, P. (2002) Get on with your talk. Secondary English Magazine, 5, 4, 28-30. Gagnon, G.W. (2001) Designing for Learning. London: Paul Chapman Publishing. Grugeon, E., Hubbard, L., Smith, C. Dawes, L. (2001)(2nd edition) Teaching Speaking and Listening in the Primary School. London: David Fulton. Lambirth, A. (2006) Challenging the laws of talk: ground rules, social reproduction and the curriculum. The Curriculum Journal, 17, 1, 59-71. Light, P. Glachan, M. (1985) Facilitation of individual problem-solving through peer group interaction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 5, 3-4. MacGilchrist, B., Myers, K. Reed, J. (2006) The Intelligent School. London: Sage Publications. Myhill, D. (2006) Talk, talk, talk: teaching and learning in whole class discourse. Research Papers in Education, 21, 1, 19-41. Osterman, K. (2000) Students’ need for belonging in the school community. Review of Educational Research, 70, 3, 323-367. Resnick, L.B. (1987) Learning in school and out. Educational Researcher, 16, 9, 13-40. Training and Development Agency (2002) Qualifying to Teach: Professional Standards for Qualified Teacher Status and Requirements for Initial Teacher Training. London: Training and Development Agency for Schools. Thompson, P. (2006) Towards a sociocognitive model of progression in spoken English, Cambridge Journal of Education, 36, 2, 207-220. Vygotsky, L. (1972) Thought and Language. Cambridge, MA: MIT. Wyse, D. Jones, R. (2001) Teaching English Language and Literacy. London: RoutledgeFalmer.