Assessment and Learners

4 Understand how to involve learners and others in assessment 4. 1 Explain the importance of involving the learner and others in the assessment process Assessment is all about making judgements. A major argument for involving students in self and peer-assessment is that it helps them to develop the ability to make judgements, in particular about themselves and their work. This is an important life skill as well as an academic one.If an assessor wants to observe a specific piece of evidence but is unable to because maybe it hasn’t occurred in any methods of assessment; this is where it’s important for others to get involved for example the managers or the colleagues. The workers can motivate the learner when the assessor is not around. The workers can act as an expert witness, so when the assessor goes to visit the candidate he/she could provide the assessor with a witness testimony, and this will be put as evidence in the portfolio 4. Summarise types of information that should be made available to learners and others involved in the assessment process Students should be made aware of the criteria in which they will be assessed from the start of the course as well as the forms of assessments that will be used during the process and the length of time it will take. The learners should be given information on what the outcome will be for the different assessments undertaken as well as what qualification is expected on completion of the course. 4. Explain how peer and self-assessment can be used effectively to promote involvement and personal responsibility in the assessment of learning There are many benefits of peer assessment. Students assessing each other’s learning can help the learners to feel supported by their peers. There is also the benefit that the learners may be able to relate more easily with their peers than with a tutor. Peer assessment assists the learners gain confidence and social skills and shares the roles of assessing and being assessed equally between the learners.One suggested peer assessment activity is to have students work in groups, discussing each other’s' in-class assignments and ways to improve, develop and adapt for improvements providing their peers with peer led feedback and assessment. Self-assessment is a natural progression and grows out of peer assessment. It allows the students to examine their own work and discover strengths and weaknesses for themselves. This can be carried out through reflective practice through a diary of learning or learning log that allows the student to see progression and reflect upon the journey.It's important to incorporate some aspect of self-assessment every day, if possible, in order for students to take responsibility and interest in their abilities. Another way of using self-assessment is by asking the students to give themselves a grade on the work that they have completed before handing in the work to the marking criteria set, or for student l ooks at their assignment and marks green for questions that they feels confident about, yellow for questions that they are unsure of and red for questions that will require help. 4. Explain how assessment arrangements can be adapted to meet the needs of individual learners Assessment arrangements can be adapted by allowing the learners to have an element of choice on how the criterion is assessed. This will allow the learners to feel included and means that the tutor is not offering an alternative or necessarily forcing the learner to disclose their lack of understanding or forcing adjustment. An example would be giving all learners the choice of having a Unit assessed either by portfolio or by written examination or by observation.In short, as long as the assessment criteria are being assessed to the same standard, the assessment method can be flexible and should meet the needs of the learners 5 Understand how to make assessment decisions 5. 1 Explain how to judge whether evidence is: sufficient, authentic and current All assessments must be valid, reliable, practicable, and equitable and assessors must apply the standards of assessment uniformly and consistently. . Ensuring assessments are capable of generating sufficient evidence for learners’ to demonstrate that they have met the assessment criteria.Having this process gives the learners clear instructions to the assessments that will be used during the course as well as clear and precise guidelines for completion. It gives both the tutors and the learners the recommended guidelines on how work for the course should be presented and what evidence is required for verification, this in turn allows the tutor and the organisation to map the developments of the learner through the assessment criteria being met.This ensures that all courses awarded are valid and that the course has worked to the set Quality Assurance of the awarding body and organisation; thus being assessed accurately, consistently and f airly to set standards. Sufficient evidence must cover all aspects of the assessment criteria for each unit the learner is seeking to achieve and collect enough evidence to demonstrate knowledge and competence. The learner must be able to show that the work produced is authentic and able to explain and substantiate the evidence the learner has put forward.It is important, therefore, to ensure that any work that the learner submits is only evidence relating to your own performance. Current’ means evidence relating to skills, attitudes and knowledge you can currently demonstrate in relation to the criterion and unit being taught. 5. 2 Explain how to ensure that assessment decisions are: made against specified criteria, valid, reliable and fair The assessor should follow as far as possible the criteria set down in the relevant unit and qualification.All qualifications go through a standardisation process that enables each assessor to consistently make valid decisions; that all a ssessors make the same decision on the same evidence base and all candidates are assessed fairly. All corresponding evidence from the learner should be reliable in that they have concrete knowledge and skill to back up their evidence. The evidence should be fair in that any leaner will have the same opportunity to complete the assignment.

Pestal Analysis for Samsung Electronics Essay

Over the past several years, there has seen a plethora of patent lawsuits within the smartphone industry. In the highly competitive environment, manufacturers of handsets have been aggressive in protecting their intellectual properties by suing competitors by claiming infringements on patents. For example, in March 2010, Apple sued HTC for allegedly infringing on 20 Apple patents (Weil, 2010). Apple also sued Nokia in 2010 for similar patent infringements(â€Å"Patent wars†, 2011). However, in April 2011 the International Trade Commission recommended that neither HTC or Nokia should be found liable for any infringements. Further Microsoft reached a licensing agreement in April 2010 with HTC to pay royalties on Android based handsets (â€Å"Patent wars†, 2011). More recently, Apple launched a lawsuit against Samsung in April 2011 claiming Samsung copied design features of the iPhone in its Galaxy line of Android phones (Quigley, 2011). These are just a few examples of legal challenges faced by smartphone manufacturers. Mentioning all lawsuits in the past several years is beyond the scope of this analysis, but it is important to recognize that manufacturers are using their patent portfolio’s to make it more difficult for their competitors to gain larger market shares. Even if the majority of cases are found to be ‘dubious’, the costs associated with legal battles can hamper or slow down the release of new handsets and hence making it more difficult for the manufacturer to stay competitive. Economic Environment The North American economy is still recovering from the financial crisis of 2008. Major factors to consider are the unemployment rates, consumer spending. In September 2011 the unemployment rate in the US was 9.1% which is well above the national average of 5.7% between 1948 and 2010 (â€Å"United States Unemployment†). The current high unemployment rate in the US is likely having an impact on reducing smartphone sales. A 9.1% unemployment rate represents approximately 28 million Americans out of work. In Canada,  the unemployment rate in September 2011 was 7.1% which represents its lowest point since December 2008 (â€Å"Canada Unemployment†). Since January 2010, Canada has been experiencing a downward trend in unemployment (â€Å"Canada Unemployment†). The high unemployment rate in the US has been negatively impacting consumer confidence and has resulted in a decrease in consumer spending. Bloomberg reports consumer spending dropped 0.2% in June 2011 which provides evidence the decrease in hiring and wage increases below the inflation rate are affecting consumer spending (Chandra, 2011). Consumer spending accounts for 70% of the US economy (Chandra, 2011); any fluctuation in this area will have a significant impact on the overall economy. In Canada, the opposite is true. Consumer spending increased by 3.8% from 1st quarter 2010 to the end of 1st quarter 2011 (â€Å"Canadian Consumer Spending†). Consumer confidence is Canada seems to be higher than the US likely resulting from lower unemployment rates and Canada’s faster paced recovery from the global financial crisis. Ref 1: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-states/unemployment-rate Ref 2: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/canada/unemployment-rate Ref 3: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-02/consumer-spending-in-u-s-unexpectedly-falls-for-first-time-in-two-years.html Ref 4: http://www.moneris.com/AboutUs/MediaCentre/NewsAndEvents/2011/Month/Jul%2014.aspx Social-cultural Environment The rise of the information age has made telecommunication more important for both business and pleasure. It is important to determine how receptive a society is to new advancements in technology, particularly smartphone adoption in this case. By measuring smartphone adoption by age demographics, a better understanding of who the primary target groups can be gained. Insights into how different groups of smartphone users use their devices can provide insights into new features or improvements in established features. At the end of 2010, there were 63.2 million smartphone subscribers in the US (comScore Inc, 2011). The adoption rate has been increasing annually; in December 2009, 16.8% of Americans owned a smartphone, while in December 2010 the adoption rate increased to 27% (comScore Inc, 2011). By March 2011, 32.2% of Americans adopted a smartphone (ref 2). The increase of just over 10% over a one year period along with over a 5% increase from Dec. 2010 and March 2011 shows that the US population is very receptive to new smartphone technologies resulting in rapid market expansion. Breaking adoption down into demographic groups, 12.6% over the age of 55, 16.7% aged 18 to 24, and 27.2% aged 25-34 owned a smartphone in December 2010 (comScore Inc, 2011). According to comScore, the fastest growing age segments in smartphone adoption are 13 to 17 year old and those aged 55 and up (comScore Inc, 2011). ref1: The comScore 2010 Mobile Year in Review -http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Presentations_Whitepapers/2011/2010_Mobile_Year_in_Review ref2:http://www.comscore.com/Press_Events/Press_Releases/2011/6/comScore_Launches_Mobile_Measurement_in_Canada Technological Environment The most important aspect of the technological environment in this case is the cellular network infrastructure. Both the US and Canada have infrastructure in place which supports both voice and data transfers. However, rural regions may have poorer quality of service, and do not always support data transfer. However, most of the population is concentrated in urban and sub-urban regions of both countries; these regions have the wireless infrastructure in place to support all uses of smartphones. The infrastructure in both Canada and the US is privatized, which means the network carriers maintain and upgrade it since it is in their best interest to retain and keep cellular subscribers happy. Natural Environment Since Samsung does not manufacture its handsets in North America, the natural environment is insignificant in terms of strategy formulation. Typically, a manufacturer needs to be aware of extreme weather patterns and availability  of local natural resources within the region they have manufacturing facilities. However certain regions, particularly along the Gulf Coast are prone to hurricanes. These massive storms can damage the cellular network infrastructure which would render smartphones into paper weights. Political/Legal Environment †¢ Just random ideas right now for this section o wireless communication regulations o electronic device safety regulations? o deregulation of the telephone industry †¢ Trademark and Patent Laws o Currently there is a large number of patent and intellectual property litigations/lawsuits in the US, particularly in the smartphone industry, including a dispute between Apple and Samsung. Apple claims Samsung copied iPhones design features, packaging, and user interface components. o Patent ‘trolling’ has become a big issue in the US. †¢ FCC Regulations o Part B of the FCC rules sets rules for radio frequency strengths for 850,900, 1800, and 1900mhz bands in order to prevent interference with other communication devices and infrastructure Economic Environment †¢ US Census Bureau – 2010 Census – http://www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs/p60-239.pdf o Median household income $49,445 in 2010 o Median for family household $61,544 o Median for single female householder $25,456 o Median for single male householder $35,627 †¢ US International Trade Commission – Harmonized Tariff Schedule – http://hts.usitc.gov/ o There is no import duty or tariffs for telephones, including telephones for cellular or wireless networks

Pros and cons of working at home Essay

Many people work at home using modern technology today. Some people think only the worker benefit from this, not the employers. To what extent do you agree or disagree? Essay: Technology is rapidly changing everything in the world, including the way people work. Working at home, as a new mode of work enabled by internet and multimedia technologies, is getting increasingly popular in some industries, especially the burgeoning IT sector. However, people have differing views on this new work mode. For example, it is believed that it only benefits employees, rather than the employers. I tend to agree with this view to large degree.Among all the differing views people have on this new work mode, I’m very inclined to the view that it only benefits employees, rather than employers. Apparently, by no means can the benefits of working at home for employees cannot be denied. To start with, nothing can be more comfortable and relaxing than working in their one’s own homes which are the most familiar environment to them. They He even can even settle back in their his soft sofa in his living halls, and drink have their his favouritefavorite drinks, or even enjoy an exciting action movie while working on their laptops. In addition, they an employee also havecould have much time to spend with their his family if theyhe could do his work at home. This new mode of work might be the most effective remedy for many family problems that are caused by the lack of time to be with family.They even can have meals with spouse and kids or see them anytime they like. Furthermore, an employ working at home could be saved working at home can save employees much expense and time that would spent on their way to and from work every day. However, what is unfair to employers is that they can hardly benefit from this new work mode, except that some overhead, like office rent and water/electricity bills, can be saved. The most unfavourable worrying problem of this new mode has to do with team building. A lack of face-to-face communication between team members employees that work at their own homesdue to their different locations, can could essentially undermine the team spirit and also is also likely to cause problemscreate barriers for in collaboration and cooperation between them team members. Similarly, it also could set intangible obstacle hurdles to team managers in their day-to-day team management, for it. It will bewould be rather difficult for mangers to supervise employees and monitor their performance. In  conclusion, although technology makes working at home mode possible, the only one beneficiary of this advancement is the employees. What employers and manager can get from it is will be nothing but troubles in the end.

Encountering conflict essay ‘A Separation’ Essay

Conflict is an integral part of human nature, in which we all experience in our daily lives. The responses to conflict determine whether a resolution takes place, or whether the conflict at hand is perpetuated and escalated, to the point where a resolution is impossible. Persistence of conflict can occur due to religion and moral values. Intrapersonal conflict may arise, as one may seek to defend their religious values and morality, which can perpetuate a situation and cause the onset of other forms of conflict to result. The influence of gender roles in society can also cause a persistence in conflict to occur. Due to these factors, conflict generally persists and escalates, as opposed to being resolved. However, in some cases, individuals can prevent the persistence of conflict by employing rational and peacemaking strategies when encountering issues. Those who hold strong religious and moral values, react in stern and desperate ways, causing an exacerbation and escalation of conflict. The religious conflict between Palestinian’s and Israelites is very much affected by the religious beliefs of the various sides. Such tension has caused territorial disputes and physical conflict to occur in the middle-east. Moreover, disputes between Jews and Palestinians has escalated and translated to other parts of the world, France in particular. Acts of conflict between Jews and Arab’s has resulted reported issues of acts of violence against Jews in France to increase from one in 1998 to nine in 1999 to 116 in 2000. This escalation of physical conflict on a broader global scale has ultimately been caused by the religious conflict initially present in the Middle-East. Similarly, Razieh’s religion causes the onset of other forms of conflict to occur and escalation to result. The internal conflict experienced by Razieh involving her religious values enforced a maintenance of her moral high ground as a religious woman. Nader’s accusation upon Razieh of theft, caused the onset of physical conflict to occur, whereby Razieh’s persistence to reason with Nader that she didn’t steal the money in order maintain her morality made him furious, as she pushes her out of his apartment. This resulted in Razieh accusing Nader of murdering her baby, which escalated their interpersonal conflict manifest into a complicating and damaging legal matter. In the midst of conflict, religion can play a vital role in the exacerbation and persistence of dispute. The characteristics of gender roles in society can result in a persistence of conflict to occur.

Data Collection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Data Collection - Essay Example Data Collection using the phenomenological approach can take many forms. The most commonly used is dialogue with open interviews. Methods of data collection could be written notes, video and audio recordings. Non verbal communication is body language which can be taken into account. These techniques are somewhat subjective; this is because the principal aim here is to explore the problem and get a deeper understanding so that some hypothesis can be formulated. In an RCT, the interview has to be highly structured, because quantitative data has to be generated. In a structured interview, the questions have set answers, such as in multiple-choice questions, so that a limited choice is provided to the responder, and one question leads to another; for example, if the answer to above question was 'Yes' then please answer the next 3 questions. Unstructured questions are more open-ended, allowing the responder a lot more leeway in terms of answers that he can provide in his/her own language. Further, as RCTs usually entail some form of intervention/procedure/treatment, there are many more potent means of data collection. In the example cited above, there can be two phases of data collection; in the first phase, qualitative data can be obtained through unstructured interview of endoscopists to find out details about the two procedures (colonoscopy and double contrast barium enema) which can establish the controversy that exists. However, the essential question as to which of the two modalities is most sensitive and specific, and therefore more reliable, requires quantitative data of the type obtained through RCTs. This depends on blinded observations by the endoscopists who initially perform colonscopy without knowing the results of the Barium studies; if no polyp was found during colonoscopy, then the barium enema result was revealed to them, and if a polyp had been found in the latter, they re-examined the segment. Data collection here depends on highly structured and rigid enquiry of the endoscopists, and numerical data is generated. Compared to this the phenomenological approach to the interview is unstructured, flexible and open-ended, using audio tapes and verbatim reports so that more detailed and in-depth, though descriptive information can be obtained. DATA ANALYSIS Data analysis is different in both methods. Among the many different means of analysing data available in phenomenological research, the method propounded by Glaser and Strauss (1967) is the one most utilised, namely the Grounded theory approach. Data from RCT is analysed statistically, whereas data from phenomenology is analysed for codes, themes and patterns; for example in the study on double contrast enema, the initial phenomenological research data will be analysed to establish whether there is any pattern, or if a theory can be generated which can then be studied in the RCT phase. In RCT, data is analysed using tables and graphs, whereas in Phenomenology, data is analysed more subjectively. The theory generated in phenomenological research depends on, emerges from and is grounded in data, which is why it tends to be a cyclical process, as collection and analysis can go hand-in-hand, unlike in RCTs where data collection is based on decisions taken during the design stage, and an alysis

A REFLECTIVE ACCOUNT RELATING TO A 15 YEAR OLD FEMALE PATIENT Essay

A REFLECTIVE ACCOUNT RELATING TO A 15 YEAR OLD FEMALE PATIENT PRESENTATION FOCUSSING ON PHYSICAL EXAMINATION AND MANAGEMENT OF A SELF-LIMITING CONDITION - Essay Example Accurate and thorough assessment, from health history to performing a physical exam, can help uncover facts that help clinicians develop the right care plan (Rushforth, 2009). The patient’s appearance was examined. There were some signs of worry on her face but she did not seem to be in immediate pain. The nurse asked general questions about urination such as ‘how often do you go?’ or ‘do you wet yourself involuntarily?’ (Bickley & Szilagyi, 2012, p. 445). When the author questioned her about the details she replied that it only hurt while urinating. Pain while urinating can be from the kidney (loin pain), ureteric colic or coming from the bladder (Douglas et al. 2009). In children over 2 years of age dysuria and suprapubic, and abdominal pain are the most common presentation of a UTI (patient.co.uk). Questioning her revealed that it was abdominal pain. A urinary complaint of this sort in children indicates dysuria, dysfunctional voiding, foul smelling urine, cloudy urine, enuresis or haematuria (Chiocca, 2010). Children with signs of and symptoms suggestive of UTI should have their urine tested (NICE, 2007). Initial management must include an accurate diagnosis of UTI from an appropriately obtained urine sample (Potts, 2012). The nurse explained to the patient that he will have to conduct an inspection and physical examination to diagnose the cause of urinary pain. Preparing for a physical examination includes a cosy and comfortable environment (Chiocca, 2010). Inspection consists of visual examination of the abdomen (Walker et al., 1990). The nurse explained that it is performed to look for skin abnormalities, abdominal masses and abdominal wall movement due to respiration (Walker et al., 1990). The child is undressed to examine the complete abdomen (Chiocca, 2010). Auscultatio n, percussion and palpation are the regular tests for abdominal assessment (Chiocca, 2010). The nurse explained to the patient that auscultation of abdomen is

What is Community-based Corrections and is it Effective Essay

What is Community-based Corrections and is it Effective - Essay Example The earliest American prisons were patterned after the English gaols which served as temporary places of confinement. The English gaols began to mushroom in England as places of confinement where prostitutes and beggars were beaten as punishment. The conditions in these gaols called bridewells were such that more prisoners died of sickness than execution. In 1779, the concept of penitentiary, a place where prisoners were given the opportunity to repent, was introduced by the prison reformist John Howard (Carlson & Garrett 2007 pp 7-8). Colonist America, together with Australia, later on became a place where the English threw their convicts. After the American Revolution however, new penal systems, not patterned after the English, were introduced. In the 1600s, William Penn, for whom Pennsylvania was named after, introduced the Great Law, a penal code which abolished all forms of capital punishment except for murder and advocated incarceration, fines and hard labor instead of violent punishments. After his death however, the previous Anglican Code of violent penalties reemerged until another prison reformer in the person of Benjamin Rush surfaced in the late 1700s and advocated the reformist point of view. The first prison group, the Philadelphia Society for Alleviating the Miseries of Public Prisons, was created (Carlson & Garrett 2007 p 8). The first prison in the US was located in Simsbury, Connecticut and was called Newgate which emphasized punishment and labor but numerous riots and other disturbances forced it to shut down. With the advent of the prison reform movement advocated by the Quakers, the Walnut Street Jail was established. The new penal system, called the Pennsylvania system, took a humanitarian approach to punishment where reforming the convict became the purpose of incarceration. Solitary confinement to induce prisoners to contemplate and