Guiding Principals of Professional Learning Communities free essay sample

Normally, in a professional learning community also known as a PLC, the educators work together brainstorming ideas, lessons, and activities that will support a plan to be implemented all in hopes of the student’s achievement. A professional learning community can benefit a school’s environment by reinforcing teacher morale and leadership skills. As the school moves forward, every professional in the building must engage with colleagues in the ongoing exploration of three crucial questions that drive the work of those within a professional learning community: †¢ What do we want each student to learn? How will we know when each student has learned it? †¢ How will we respond when a student experiences difficulty in learning? The answer to the third question separates learning communities from traditional schools. A PLC can serve as a support system that motivates teachers to follow a guided plan. Educators who are building a professional learning community recog nize that they must work together to achieve their collective purpose of learning for all. We will write a custom essay sample on Guiding Principals of Professional Learning Communities or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Therefore, they create structures to promote a collaborative culture. This plan can include classroom assistants, parent volunteers, and other school personnel like librarians. The PLC culture can influence teachers through numbers. When teachers come together and have strength in numbers they can support each other, collaborate, and brainstorm the most effective methods and techniques to instruct the students. Even the grandest design eventually translates into hard work. The professional learning community model is a grand design, a powerful new way of working ogether that profoundly affects the practices of schooling. But initiating and sustaining the concept requires hard work. This is where the challenges may arise. It requires the school staff to focus on learning rather than teaching, work collaboratively on matters related to learning, and hold itself accountable for the kind of results that fuel continual improvement. A PLC will construct a solid foundation of committed teachers who are passionate about their career and working with families a nd fellow colleagues. The benefit(s) of a PLC is that everyone has the opportunity to be involved and share goals and positive learning experiences of the schools learning environment. When educators do the hard work necessary to implement these principles, their collective ability to help all students learn will rise. If they fail to demonstrate the discipline to initiate and sustain this work, then their school is unlikely to become more effective, even if those within it claim to be a professional learning community. The rise or fall of the professional learning community concept depends not on the merits of the concept itself, but on the most important element in the improvement of any school; the commitment and persistence of the educators within it. In conclusion, educators who work together form structured atmospheres that promote learning. References Barth, R. (1991). Restructuring schools: Some questions for teachers and principals. Phi Delta Kappan, 73(2), 123-129. Marzano, R. (2003). What works in Schools: Translating research into action, Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Make Non-Toxic Glue From Milk

Make Non-Toxic Glue From Milk Use common kitchen materials to make your own glue. Add vinegar to milk, separate the curds, and add baking soda and water. Voila, youve got glue! Difficulty: AverageTime required: 15 minutes Materials 1/4 cup hot water1 tbsp vinegar2 tbsp powdered dry milk1/2 tsp baking sodaWater How to Make It Mix 1/4 cup hot tap water with 2 tbsp powdered milk. Stir until dissolved.Stir 1 tbsp of vinegar into the mixture. The milk will begin to separate into solid curds and watery whey. Continue stirring until the milk is well-separated.Pour the curds and whey into a coffee filter positioned over a cup. Slowly lift the filter, draining the whey. Keep the curd, which is in the filter.Squeeze the filter to remove as much liquid as possible from the curd. Discard the whey (i.e., pour it down a drain) and return the curd to a cup.Use a spoon to break the curd into small pieces.Add 1 tsp hot water and 1/8 to 1/4 tsp baking soda to the chopped curd. Some foaming may occur (carbon dioxide gas from the reaction of baking soda with vinegar).Mix thoroughly until the glue becomes smooth and more liquid. If the mixture is too thick, add a bit more water. If the glue is too lumpy, add more baking soda.The finished glue can vary in consistency from a thick liquid to a thick paste, depending on how much water has been added, how much curd was present, and how much baking soda was added. Use your glue as you would any school paste. Have fun!When not in use, cover your cup of glue with plastic wrap. Over time, its consistency will become smoother and more clear.Unrefrigerated glue will spoil after 24 to 48 hours. Discard the glue when it develops a spoiled milk smell. Tips for Success The separation of curds and whey works best when the milk is warm or hot. This  is why powdered milk is recommended for this project.If the separation doesnt work well, heat the milk or add a bit more vinegar. If it still doesnt work, start again with warmer water.Clean dried glue by loosening/dissolving it in warm water and wiping it away. Glue will wash out of clothes and off surfaces. Reaction Between Milk and Vinegar Mixing milk and vinegar (weak acetic acid) produces a chemical reaction that forms a polymer called casein. Casein is essentially a natural plastic. The casein molecule is long and pliable, which makes it perfect for forming a flexible bond between two surfaces. The casein curds may be molded and dried to form hard objects that are sometimes called milk pearls. When a small amount of baking soda is added to chopped curd, the baking soda (base) and residual vinegar (acid) participate in an acid-base chemical reaction to produce carbon dioxide, water, and sodium acetate. The carbon dioxide bubbles escape, while the sodium acetate solution combines with the casein curds to form a sticky glue. The thickness of the glue depends on the amount of water present, so it can be either a sticky paste (minimal water) or a thin glue (more water).

Slavery in Colonial America Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Slavery in Colonial America - Essay Example Once a person bought a slave, he/she was that person’s property and he could do anything with him that he wished. The slaved would be whipped and treated even badly if he made any mistake. If a slave cracked a disease, that was very common in those times, he was not treated with medicines, etc. (Schneider, 2007). Most slaves used to die due to these terrible living conditions and nobody was accounted for the slaves’ death. (Buell, 2004). In short, once a person became a slave, he was treated worse than animals and there was no value for his existence or his life and if anything bad happened to him, nobody would be accounted for it since he was a slave who was worthy of nothing. (Horton, 2006). The process through which people were made slaves and were sold out was very cruel. First, the slaves, usually Africans were captured. These people included both men and women of all ages. If these people had children, they were captured along with their parents only to grow up and become slaves automatically. These captured people were tied together to prevent them from running away, which was the case many a times whenever the slaves got the opportunity. (Buell, 2004). Then these slaves were taken to special places called Slave Factories where they were tested for their health, strength and wellbeing. The stronger and healthier the slave would be, the higher he would be priced for. The slaves were also tested for their appearance and beauty. For male slaves, the more handsome and good-looking they were, the more expensive they got and for female slaves, the more beautiful they were, the higher they were priced at. (Buell, 2004). After the tests were carried out, the weak and malnourished slaves were set free as they were not of much use while the others were then branded with blazing iron brands in order to create a Slave Identity. (Buell, 2004). Once these people were made slaves, they were the property of the capturer and were then

The Roles of 3 Key Participants in the Property Development Process In Research Paper

The Roles of 3 Key Participants in the Property Development Process In Australia - Research Paper Example Architects, property developers, and town planners here in Australia see the true picture of international partnership developed between these three key players in property development abroad and are now trying to implement them here. Despite differences, these players are working in unison to create world-class infrastructures. "The economic and demographic opportunities arising from demand for better and competitive infrastructures have driven developers and architects to forge an alliance that has shown tremendous success in places like Amsterdam, Hong Kong, London, Melbourne, Montreal, New York, and Tokyo. As architects and property developers break boundaries together, they are also beginning to transcend an established pattern of notorious and longstanding ill will. Property development has to be market driven and certainly not product driven. The architect can creatively add great value to the developers' commercial objectives by design. By working in tandem, an architect can achieve his architectural agenda at the same time." (Property Development and Progressive Architecture - The New Alliance, www.elx.com.au, referred on 4.27.2006)1 3.0 Property Developer This paper sets out to differentiate and highlight the similarities of the role, objective, priorities, and attitude held by Developers, Architects, and Statutory Environmental/Town Planners with respect to Property Development Process. "Developers convert undeveloped, under-developed land, or existing buildings to satisfy market demands, using their entrepreneurial skills. Like all other entrepreneurs, developers expect, rightfully, to receive an appropriate rate of remuneration for their skill and risk involved in the particular development work. Sadly, a majority of property developers, who possess the genuine skill, expertise, a sound sense of social responsibility, and most of all, pride in their work, do not receive the publicity which they deserve. Peoples' real estate needs are met through the operation of various kinds of differing property markets in Australian society. These different types of markets can be categorized principally by way of location, size and usage criteria.

TESCO's Business Plan Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

TESCO's Business Plan - Case Study Example According to Kanter (1995) such an action will not constitute an adequate response. This is so because success is based on an organisation's ability to create, rather than predict the future by developing those products that will literally transform the way the world thinks and view it self and the needs (Kanter 1995:71). The study first of all scans the market environment using the PESTLE framework; thereafter the study looks at TESCO corporate mission and vision statement in the phase of its new business plan. Finally the study looks into how ecological factors and other environmental factors have been used by TESCO to benefit its business plan. The last section of the paper provides the conclusion and recommendation for the study. Founded by Jack Cohen in 1919, Tesco Plc today, has established itself as the largest super store in Europe. According to the company 2007 corporate report and the website, Tesco PLC is an international retailer. Tesco principal activities include food retailing having over 2,000 stores in the United Kingdom. The company also has stores and retail outlet in other countries like the Republic of Ireland, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Turkey, Thailand, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan and China (Tesco 2006 Review). Tesco operates 165 International Express stores. In addition it operates 39 stores in China, 111 in Japan, 13 in Malaysia, 62 in South Korea, 6 in Taiwan, 219 in Thailand, 35 in Czech Republic, 87 in Hungary, 105 in Poland, 91 in Republic of Ireland, 37 in Slovakia and 8 in Turkey. (Tesco Annual Review, 2006). It therefore operates round the clock which demonstrates its commitment to create customer value which in turn generates superior value for its shareholders. Tesco denotes its success to an aggressive global strategy of geographical diversification, product differentiation, cost focus and it use of umbrella branding. In its attempt to renew the brand and keep it in sync with changing customer tastes, Tesco follows various strategies including international diversification, providing value to customers, product diversification, innovation, acquisition and umbrella branding. Its recent strategy is the creation and opening of environmental friendly and energy efficient stores. 1.1.1 Political Factors The PESTLE framework outline in appendix one stipulates that a company is

Food and beverage sector in the consumption service

Food and beverage sector in the consumption service The service consists of four categories which are people processing (direct at a customer), possession processing (direct at customers physical possessions), mental stimulus processing (direct at peoples mind), and information processing (use technology direct at a customers assets). The people and possession processing are based on tangible service while the mental stimulus and information processing are based on intangible service. In this assignment we choose the food and beverage sector in the service consumption which is based on people processing service. This is a common sector on worldwide. It is the daily routine and needs for everyone. In this sector, different people have different tastes of food, so it will split into different food and beverage sector such as Western, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, and other foods form different countries. As a customer, we have three-stage model of service consumption in buying and using a service of our choice, which are pre-purchase stage, service encounter, and post-purchase stage. The Secret Sanctuary is the restaurant that we are chosen. It not just provided the food and beverage service, it also provide the accommodation service. Actually, it is called Secret Sanctuary Boutique Cottage Kuching and created by Cyril Lim. The Secret Sanctuary is a unique boutique cottage located inside Taman Stutong Indah at Jalan Setia Raja (JG blogs 2009). It is like Minangkabau or Padang style house and exotic garden. The Secret Sanctuary is a peaceful garden because it provides a great place for a quiet retreat to get away from the hectic busy city life (JG blogs 2009). This place is for customers to find inner peace, creativity, beauty, love and truth (Travel Borneo Blog 2010). The Secret Sanctuary classifies as a three star hotel, that provides room service, restaurant service, and facilities available service which is waterfall pool, Jacuzzi, stream room, fish spa, open air hot tub, garden shower, gym, Wi-Fi access, and BBQ. For the facilities available service, they jus t provide to those customer who wish to pay RM30 per person (RM15 per children) for the charged of use the facilities available (Cyril 2010). The Secret Sanctuary provides the restaurant service to the guests and also the outsider customers. The foods of its restaurant are based on western foods. THE THREE-STAGE MODEL OF SERVICE CONSUMPTION Pre-purchase stage The pre-purchase is first stage model of service consumption. Pre-purchase is defined as a series of information acquires according to consumer-specific decision making evaluation, which recognize salient information from different resources depending on situation (Hoffman, 1998). Pre-purchase can also being defined as customer decision on their initial decision making pertaining to their purchase of a product or service that being reflected by their underlying needs (Lovelock Wirtz 2004). At pre-purchase stage, we start to be aware of our needs and wants. Such awareness of our needs and wants enable further consideration into the decision making process in later stage, service encounter. It also enables a further implementation of information search and alternative evaluation in pre purchase stage. We awareness needs a restaurant for our friendship reunion and we wants provide the western food and beverage services. This tangible service is based on people processing that provide service directed at the customer. Under information search stage, it plays a relative important role in defining our needs and wants as discussed earlier. When we decide what to the service needed, we will seek for information prior our consumption. Such information search can either be active or passive, depending on the level of involvement and perceived risk associated to the search of information. Active and passive information search normally provided by family, friends, colleagues, advertisement, mass media or organization. For our information search, that is provided by our friends. In addition, information search can also come from both internal and external sources. For example of internal information search are personal preferences and self involvement. Oppositely, external information search such as internet, catalog, and advertisement. Such purchase of service is considered limited decision making mainly because consumers unlikely will purchase such service on the daily basis. This also define the level o f low involvement consumer have on purchasing such service. We information search also come from internet search and Privilege Book which can provide our restaurants information and the environment. Apart from information search and awareness of our needs in consumption service, at pre-purchase stage, we also do alternatives search. Such alternative search enables us to have more choices on our consumption. When we from information search, we have three alternative choices which are Tray Cafe, Secret Sanctuary, and Friends n Family. At this stage, we are concern on our choices between different service provided by both Secret Sanctuary and its competitors which are Tray Cafe and Friends n Family. We not only evaluate the service provided by Secret Sanctuary, but also similar service provided by other competing service providers. Tray Cafe is a memories restaurant that they provide a wall to let customers write down their comments and inside the restaurants memories. But the Tray Cafe does not have a seat to provide a group customers seat on together. However, the Friends n Family is an ordinary western food restaurant and they provide less choice of the food and beverage. As for Secret Sanctuary, it not just a restaurant, it also is a unique Boutique Cottage. The Secret Sanctuary has a graceful environment provide to customers. It can provide a seat like a peaceful garden for our friendship reunion. For our decision making, we are discussing on Facebook and compare the entire three restaurants. After discussion, we are decide to choose the Secret Sanctuary because its service and environment provide be close to our needs Service encounter After making a pre-purchase decision, we will consume a service encounter of the Secret Sanctuary. A service encounter is a period of time during the customer interacts directly with a service provider. Secret Sanctuary is providing us the tangible service (Lovelock Wirtz 2004). The service encounters as moment of truth which is metaphor by Richard Normann. The point of Normann is a service organizations life of the relationship that is at stake on building long-term relationships with their customers (Lovelock Wirtz 2004). The Secret Sanctuary is our decision for friendship reunion place. The Secret Sanctuary is our decision for friendship reunion place. We requests from them to provide the food and beverage service and the happy environment possess a peaceful sanctuary for away from the hectic busy city life and also providing a memorable reunion for us. Throughout service delivery between customers and organization that consists of different level of services which is high-contact services and low-contact services. Most of the restaurants are focuses on customers service rather than inanimate objects (Lovelock Wirtz 2004). But, Secret Sanctuary is focuses on customers service and also the exterior and interior of its building, equipment, physical facilities and furnishing. Secret Sanctuary not only a restaurant, it also is a boutique cottage. It provide a garden style home-stay, is a great place for us because we does not feel the hectic busy city life but a peaceful garden. It is providing high-contact service on their environment and the facilities to their customers. For their low-contact service as customers undertake the self-service on beverage and take order. To conceptualize the service factory as a system that integrated marketing, operations, and customers themselves. It is known as the servuction system which is combining the terms service and production. This conceptual framework to embrace three overlapping elements, there are service operations, service delivery and service marketing system (Lovelock Wirtz 2004). The service operations can be divided into those relating to the service provider and those relating to the tangible services such as equipment and physical facilities (Lovelock Wirtz 2004). The Secret Sanctuary is satisfied our requirement because it provides us a graceful and freedom environment (high-contact service). In Secret Sanctuary, we needs to go their bar counter and take an order by self (low-contact service). Service delivery is concerned with the process of delivery between the product service and customer (Lovelock Wirtz 2004). During the service delivery, the customer will start evaluating the quality of service they are receiving and deciding whether its services meet their expectation. The Secret Sanctuary is a restaurant to provide the western foods. For their restaurant services, they does no provide the service delivery on beverage which is undertake our self-service from their bar counter. But, they were providing the food delivery service on customer seat. In addition, they have prepare a book in the bar counter which is for customer to write down their feeling of the Secret Sanctuary and leave down the contact number, so they can inform them to come their event together. The service marketing system of Secret Sanctuary is a full-service of accommodation and restaurant. The Secret Sanctuary is providing the best facilities to attract customer such as waterfall pool, fish spa, BBQ, and Wi-Fi access. Additional service encounter, they are through their sites to introduce their services and also provide the map of their place. Post-purchase stage After service encounter, we then enter the post-purchase phase. During the post purchase stage, we will evaluate the service performance that we have received and compare it with our prior expectations (Lovelock Wirtz 2004). Post purchase produce satisfaction and loyalty, which are aim of most marketing strategies. The product is evaluated to dissatisfaction or satisfaction. If it is dissatisfaction, customer may produce complaints. The complaints must be handling properly to reserve dissatisfaction. If it is satisfaction, loyalty may perform and the customer is committed to the service. Comparison of the Secret Sanctuarys service performance with our received and prior expectations, it satisfied our prior expectations. Whatever it is expensive than Tray Cafe and Friends n Family, but it provide us the foods service with the best behavior of their employees, comfortable and graceful environment. Therefore, we are satisfaction its employees service behavior and the environment provided. Post purchase dissonance is a doubt or anxiety about the correctness of ones decision after a purchase has been made (Lovelock Wirtz 2004). Customers satisfaction is a purpose of the proximity between the customers expectations and the services perceived performance. If the performance is below the customers expectations, then the customer will be dissatisfied and will suffer the consequences resulting from the mismatch. Dissatisfied customers will reduce the cognitive dissonance and customer will exhibits risk-reducing behavior. Although the Secret Sanctuary satisfied our expectations, but if we were go frequently that prices provide is expensive for us. So, we will loyal in occasionally. Customers may attempt to modify the facts of the purchase scenario, mostly by reducing the proposed price paid for the goods when it meets dissatisfaction. Dissatisfaction is the feeling experienced by a customer whose expectations have not been met by a service. However, the purchase has resulted in complete dissatisfaction and goods returning are not probable, this strategy is to hide the good away in an attempt to forget about the purchase. On the other hand, word-of-mouth (WOM) plays an important role in the advertising. Word-of-mouth is used to reduce the cognitive dissonance following a major purchase decision. Nevertheless, word-of-mouth serves functions of ego defense otherwise as a means of enhancing the status of the information giver, as well as dissonance reduction. Purchase satisfaction is the ultimate goal of marketing. It results when perceptions of product performance match expectations that are at, or above, the minimum desired performance level (Lovelock Wirtz 2004). It happens when the purchase expectations are fulfilled; there is a tendency for customers to repurchase and loyalty to the services. Repeat purchase is a pattern of customer behavior that involves the purchase of the same product or services over time (Lovelock Wirtz 2004). However, consumers develop certain expectations about the ability of a product to fulfill instrumental and symbolic needs. If the services meet the needs, satisfaction is likely to result. In the other round, if the expectations are not meet, dissatisfaction is being experiences. In this case, we are satisfied about the services provided by Secret Sanctuary. Secret Sanctuary provided us the delicious food and a garden style home-stay for our reunion. In addition, it is a great place for a quiet retreat to get away from our hectic busy city life, so, it let us enjoyed and relax for our reunion on this place (Travel Borneo Blog 2010). The owner of Secret Sanctuary (Cyril Lim) ever said that, this little cottage is also for those who want to enjoy the sights and sounds of this hidden island paradise. This place will give an ambience of local culture as well as Zen living all under one roof (Travel Borneo Blog 2010). While in our future intention, we cannot go there frequently. Our reason is although the Secret Sanctuary provides us the satisfaction services but their price of food and beverage are expensive, so, we do not have ability to go there frequently. However, we will go there occasionally. CONCLUSION As a result of overall performance, we should through the three-stage model of service consumption before buying or using the service of our choice. When we decide our event, we start to be aware of our needs and wants. For we awareness our needs and wants, we enable a further implementation of information search and alternative evaluation in pre-purchase stage. After that, we enable consideration into decision making process in later stage, service encounter. During the service encounter, we will request service from our chosen supplier and service delivery. After service encounter, the customers then enter the post-purchase phase. At post-purchase stage, customers evaluate the service performance they have received and compare it with their prior expectations. Finally, the customers will make a future intentions whether they loyalty or disloyalty on their chosen supplier. As a conclusion of Secret Sanctuary, it is a unique boutique cottage for accommodation and restaurant business. It provides the service of our needs and wants. Secret Sanctuary let us to enjoy the sights and sounds of this hidden island paradise for our reunion (Travel Borneo Blog 2010). We are satisfaction about their delicious food (western food) and its building style. In future intention, we were going there occasionally because the price of food is expensive and we do not have ability to go frequently.

Marine Corps

I want to be a Marine Corps Officer to serve my country. It is in my blood That is my first priority and will always be my first priority. Yes, it is great that an NROTC scholarship would pay for my tuition and fees and so on. However, one cannot put a price on the pride and dignity of being an officer in the Marine Corps. No one in the world has greater talent, leadership, and determination to take the initiative, than a Marine Officer. Through Varsity sports, DECA, and over sixty community service hours, I’ve learned how to lead a team, work with others to accomplish a mission, and that being a leader is hard work. However, there is no doubt that I am ready and willing to take on the challenge of being a leader. A leader of men who are the proudest and most feared warriors in this world, a leader of Marines. I live for challenges like these and I am mentally, physically, and morally capable of achieving this dream of mine. This career I strive for is something I’ve wanted to do since the first day I spoke with a Marine Corps recruiter. Marines have something about them that seperate themselves from the other military branches. That â€Å"something† is what I am looking for and is what I need. I believe the Marine Corps can make me into something greater than myself, something that demands greatness. The only thing I am missing is the oppurtunity. Give me the oppurtunity to prove to you and our country that I am a leader and that I have what it takes to become one of the few who can lead Marines.