Meaning of supervision and my professional life Essay Example for Free

Meaning of supervision and my professional life Essay Instructional Supervision Instructional supervision is a very important concept which must be understood by all educators for the sake of achieving their teaching objectives. For this case, the process of instructional supervision must be applied for the sake of delivering effective instructions to the students. Supervision of instruction for example in England began as an external inspection where some people were appointed to go around the school to observe what the students were learning and what the teachers were teaching the students. The main aim of these supervisors was to ensure that the set curriculum was being followed and the students were actually being taught. On the other hand, in United States, supervision began in 1830’s after the formation of common schools. Initially, supervision in schools was undertaken by superintendents after the formation of city school system due to increased population in major cities. Later on, the role of supervision by superintendents became impossible as the number of schools increased. The role of supervision had to be delegated to the principal to oversee that the teachers we following the curriculum in their teaching. In order to promote growth of teachers and recognizing practice of supervisors time restrain, Sergiovanni and Starratt (1998), suggested that a supervisory system be created that would contain a number of processes of supervision even summative evaluation. The system was not to involve direct formal supervision every year for every teacher. This system was to evaluate the teachers within a period of three to five years. In this kind of evaluation, the teachers were to receive a variety of evaluation during the three or five years and finally be evaluated formally only once. Professional growth evidence is required during once-a-cycle formal evaluation. The work of supervision was also attempted to be opened at international involvement by Sergiovanni and Starratt. In a school setting, the principal has the overall responsibility of supervision of the whole school. For this case, he supervises, teachers, students and all the other staff working in the school that include: librarian, gardeners, drivers, cleaners etc. The supervision role is not an easy task especially of teachers and for this case, the principal has to carry out the exercise with intelligent and diplomacy. The teachers of course knows their role and they would feel not motivate if they see they are being supervised like factory workers. This would in turn kill their morale at work and finally they would not deliver the required knowledge to the students and the end result would mean that the teaching objectives will not be achieved. The principal on the other hand has a responsibility of supervising the work of the students and together with their behaviors. Students tend to acquire deviant behaviors from other students like smoking and unless this behavior is corrected at an early stage, the student will not concentrate in his learning. In some situation, the supervision of students gets out of hand as they tend to have acquired more serious behaviors such as carrying of weapons and may be killing of their fellow students. For this case, this becomes criminal offence and is not likely to be handled the principal. Principal should be very strict when it comes to discipline for the sake of ensuring that education objectives are achieved. Since the students are in a crucial stage of adolescent stage where influence of behavior is at high level hence their behaviors should supervised keenly. According to Glickman (1990), there are a number of supervisory approaches within clinical supervision structure. He developed a supervision model that provides theoretical framework that with four supervision approaches that would be found in supervision concept. These approaches are similar in the intended end goal but they differ differs slightly in the power and control that is accorded to the teacher. The four approaches are a follow: The first supervision approach is the nondirective supervision whereby the teacher has the freedom of formulating his own plan on the future development. In such a situation, the supervisor is there to give advice to the teacher when he comes up with his own ideas on the way forward. This kind of approach indeed motivates the teaching staff members as they feel they are in control with their undertakings. For this case it should be encourage at situations where the teachers are experienced in their work and they can work with little or no supervision. (Glickman, 1990) The other supervision approach is collaborative supervision. In this approach, the teacher and the supervisor do share idea before the supervisor makes decision on whatever decision he wants to make. This approach too is a good one also as the teachers feels motivated as they are consulted before any decision can be arrived at. For this case, the teachers contribute their ideas and the supervisor weighs various options before settling on the best idea that has been contributed by the teachers. By merely brainstorming of ideas, the approach is of much help for the sake of choosing the best approach to be used. For this case, this kind of approach should be encouraged at situation where teachers involved are experienced in their work. The third supervision approach is the directive informational approach. In this situation, the supervisor formulates the supervisor plan and it is the responsibility of the teacher to decide if he is going to follow the plan. In this kind of an approach, the teachers are not motivated with it as they feel they are not consulted before a decision is being made in their work. Although some of the approach since it consumes less time before it is formulated, majority of them especially the experienced ones feels that some ideas which are better are overlooked. In this kind of approach, the teachers are given an opportunity to follow or not to follow the approach directives. However, the approach is appropriate mostly to teacher who are not experienced or the novice teachers. Lastly is the directive control approach in which the teacher formulates the supervisory plan and expects are the teacher to follow it. For this case, the teachers have no alternative on whether to have another idea. They have to follow the supervisory plan that has been formulated by their supervisor. This approach however does not motivate the teachers as they are not given an opportunity to contribute their ideas toward formulation of a supervisory plan. For this case, they have to follow the directives as formulated by their supervisor. This approach is popular where the teachers being supervised are less experiences of novice. It is also very appropriate in situations whereby there is not time to gather in a meeting and brainstorm on the way forward as far as supervisory plan is concerned. Before the supervisor can know on which approach he should use, he should consider knowledge and experience of the teachers concerned before settling on the supervisory approach plan to use. The issue of responsibility and accountability should also be looked into in order to decide on the approach to use for the sake of at least motivate the teacher in their work. Motivation is the inner drive to do something, and unless the teachers have that inner drive to deliver knowledge to their students, teaching objectives might never be achieved Glickman (1990) asserts that collaborative approach is very popular among the teachers and they really enjoy their work if used. For this case, school principal should at least ensure they use this kind of an approach when they are formulating their supervisory plan to be applied in their school. There are three supervisor responsibilities that should be considered in the supervision process. They include: ? The Supervisor to carry our observations to both the teachers and students. ? The supervisor to give guidance and support to teachers and students. ? Lastly is for the supervisor to give feedback to the teachers. According to Knoll (1987), the information that a supervisor gather after carrying out a classroom observation is very important. He is able to have an access to a wide range of skills necessary for teaching which he can in turn share it with other teachers. The main aim of carrying out a classroom observation is to collect data that is necessary for carrying out an evaluative rating which is accurate. As far as supervision is concerned, guidance and support should be the main idea of supervision in the first place. Supervision is not done just to see whether teachers are following the curriculum or not and then note that one down, no. One should continuously offer guidance and support as he supervises. For this case, the supervisors are urged to make correction on the spot while carrying out their supervision roles in order for them to achieve their objectives. In order for teachers to improve on their areas of teaching, the supervisor must ensure that he gives feedback to them on the areas he has observed that would like to be improved. There would be no need of supervision if the teachers are not given the feedback as it is this feedback that they will know what areas they need to improve in while carrying out their duties. There is very big difference between evaluation and supervision though the two terms interrelates. Evaluation is the art of making judgment about the performance of a teacher. On the other hand, supervision is mere the art of ensuring that the teachers are following the laid down rules and regulation in their work. Evaluation comes after one has carried out an observation on the teachers. Appendix Literature Review Instructional supervision improves teaching performance if it is carried out in the manner that is desired by teacher. If the collaborative supervision approach is used according to Knoll (1987) is used, the teachers will be motivated in their work and the overall performance of the school will be felt. In his book Supervision for better instruction: Practical techniques for improving staff performance, Knoll (1987) asserts that teachers are motivated in their work of teaching when collaborative supervisory plan approach is applied in their supervision. Pfeiffer and Dunlap (1982) in their book Supervision of teachers: A guide to improving instruction asserts that teachers need to be motivated in their work for the sake of achieving their teaching objectives. Motivation can only be achieved if the supervisors uses collaborative supervisory plan in their work. On the other hand, Rettig (2000) in his journal Leslie’s lament: How can I make teachers’ supervision meaningful? asserts that unless guidance and support is given to teacher, there is no need of supervision in the first place. He further states that teachers should be given a feedback after they have been successfully evaluated by their supervisor in order for them to improve in their teaching. He concludes that teachers’ supervision will be meaningful after the guidance, support and feedback is given to teachers by their supervisors. References Bourisaw, D. M. (1988): Anticipatory set bias: Effects on teacher observation in Evaluation: Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Iowa State University, Ames Glickman, C. D. (1990): Supervision of instruction: A developmental approach, 2nd Edn: Boston, MA: Allyn Bacon. Knoll, M. K. (1987): Supervision for better instruction: Practical techniques for Improving staff performance: Englewood Clif, NJ: Prentice Hall. Odell, S. J. (1986): Induction support of new teachers: A functional approach. Journal of Teacher Education, 37(1), 26-29 Pfeiffer, I. L. , Dunlap, J. B. (1982): Supervision of teachers: A guide to improving instruction: Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press. Rettig, P. R. (2000): Leslie’s lament: How can I make teachers’ supervision meaningful? Educational Horizons, 79(1), 33-37. Sergiovanni, T. J. (1982): Toward a Theory of Supervisory Practice: Integrating the Scientific, Clinical, and Artistic Views. In Supervision of Teaching, ed. Thomas J. Sergiovanni. Alexandria, VA: Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development Sergiovanni, T. J. and Starratt, R. J. (1998): Supervision: A Redefinition, 6th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Shantz, D. , Ward, T. (2000): Feedback, conservation and power in the field experience of preservice teachers. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 27 (4), 288-294.

Windows 95 Beats Mac :: essays research papers

Windows 95 Beats Mac Over the years, there has been much argument over which computer platform to buy. The two contenders in theis competions have been the PC , with its Windows environment and the Macintosh. Now, with the successful release of Windows 95 for the PC, this has been the mjor argument for each side : hardware configuration, networking capabilities, and operating system. The first arguments to look at between the Pc and Mac platform has to do with hardware configuration. Before Windows 95, installing and configuring hardware was like pulling teeth. The instructions given to help install hardware were too complicated for the average user. There was also the issuer of compatibility between the large number of different hardware setups available in the PC world. Is a particular board going to work with my PC? With Windows 95, these problems were alleviated with plug and play technology. With plug and play compatible boards, the computer detects and configures the new board automatically. The operating system may recognize some hardware components on older PCs. Mac userw will claim that they always had the convenicnce of a plug and play system, ubt the difference shows in teh flexibility of the two systems. Another set of arguments Mac users use in favor of their sysstems over PCs is in multimedia and networking capabilities. Mac users gloat that the Mac has networking technology built in the system. Even if a user did not use it, the network is included with the system. They cited that for the PC users and Pc users hate the fact that they need to stick a card in their computers to communicate with any other computer. With Windows 95, the Mac network gloaters are silenced. Windows 95 included built-in network support. Any network will work properly. The Mac users also claim their systems have speech, telephony, and voice recognition, whereas the Pc user does not have. In truth, the promised building blocks for telephony control do not yet exist. I think the speech is not good point in the Mac.

Balanced Scorecard Essay

Introduction Performance management systems are often designed to enable organizations to plan, measure and control their performance, so that decisions, resources and activities can be better aligned with business strategies to achieve desired results and create shareholder value. The Balanced Scorecard is a performance tool using financial and nonfinancial measures. It provides an organization with ways to develop and evaluate strategic objectives and goals. For the past two decades, the Balanced Scorecard (BSC) has been proposed as an integrated framework for the implementation of financial and nonfinancial performance measures that helps organizations align their initiatives with the organization’s strategy (Kaplan ; Norton, 1992). The United States Postal Service delivers more mail to more addresses in a larger geographical area than any other post in the world. The Postal Service delivers to more than152 million homes, businesses and Post Office boxes in every state, city, town and borough in this country. Everyone living in the United States and its territories has access to postal products and services and pays the same postage regardless of their location (USPS, 2014). This paper will examine the effectiveness of the implementation of the balanced score card approach. Key Issues for Discussion Explain how the Voice of the Employee supports improved internal processes (Voice of the Business), and how the Voice of the Business supports customer satisfaction (Voice of the Customer). Employees have a huge impact on their organization’s financial results. When employees are empowered to make decisions they share information relating to the strategic processes and direction of that organization. When it comes to carrying out the message and mission of the organization the voice of the employee is very crucial. Through empowerment, the employees are able to create an opportunity to show management how they will apply the company vision to their daily task. The voice of the business relates to information derived from financial data. This data can be used to indentify weakness in certain market areas and the status of the research and development process. In order to move the organization forward or closer to its overall objectives, analyst must understand the relevance of the balanced scorecard process. The voice of the customer indentifies the needs of the customer which are keys to the strategy to defining which processes can be viewed as value added products or services. The customers are a continuous source of feedback both good and bad. Customer feedback can also provide new opportunities to identify and develop new products. Kaplan and Norton advocated a well-connected map ping that leads from an organization’s main strategy to the four perspectives of the balanced scorecard: Financial, Customer Satisfaction, Internal Process, and Learning and Growth. Each element works to support the strategic objectives in a linked process. Customer satisfaction leads to the desired financial outcome, which in the case of the Postal Service is sufficient revenue to support the universal delivery service mission (Evans, Lindsay, 2011). While Figure 8. 14 shows only representative measures associated with the balanced scorecard, suggest some other measures that might be included using your knowledge of postal operations. Based on my personal experience and knowledge of the United States Postal Service, I would suggest that the organization add some additional measures to it balanced scorecard. The organization should measure customer complaints relating to package handling and damaged goods. Damaged packages generally lead to claims brought forward by customers which is certainly a value associated with it that should be tracked and measured. The organization should also measure and analyze the effects of the employee turnover rate. Employee replacement cost can have a huge affect on the financial element. Cost associated with the orientation and training of a new employee as well as the cost associated with employee separation can have an effect on the bottom-line. Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a Balanced Scorecard Some organizations have a difficult time establishing a process that can translate its strategic vision into concrete goals and actions. There are clearly some beneficial advantages to applying the balanced scorecard approach. Some of these benefits include gaining a cross organizational team that will open channels of communications. The company will have enthusiastic people who are focused on carrying out the organization’s mission and commitment to quality. Also, the company will gain a unique competitive advantage relating to reduce time frames, improved decisions and better solutions. Most importantly, initiatives are continually measured and evaluated against industry standards. There can be some disadvantages as well. The balanced scorecard takes a lot of planning and forethought. Defining clearly stated objectives and setting goals are crucial to the process. There can be resistance from employees or even management. Some individuals may see the implementation as a threat or indication of a lack of performance on their part. While the balanced scorecard gives an extensive overview of the organization’s performance, it does not give recommendations regarding how to resolve discovered problem performance areas. Conclusion The case study involving the United States Postal Service presents evidence that the balanced scorecard approach can have a positive effect on an organizations overall performance. If integrated successfully, the balance scorecard will be a tool that ensures clarity and consistency across all departments or individuals involved. Solving quality management issues rely on the right approach and planning. Understanding the importance of the linkage among all four of the balanced scorecard is crucial to its success. Special attention should be given to the proper implementation and cultivation of intangible assets relating to learning and growth. The USPS has improved its service and has increased customer satisfaction. First-class mail performance has improved to over 95 percent of overnight mail being delivered on time, with improvements in other categories of first-class mail (Evans, Lindsay, 2011).

Sex Trafficking An Important Social Issue That Affects...

LastName 1 Firstname Lastname Professor Maritato Introduction to Speech - Comm V01 Sex Trafficking General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: By the end of my speech, the audience should be able to explain what sex trafficking is and how it takes place domestically and abroad. Central Idea: Sex trafficking is an important social issue that affects vulnerable people. Introduction: When K. was 14 years old, she fell in love with her horseback riding instructor. She dreamed that they would be in love for the rest of their lives. She dreamed that her childhood dream of owning a horse ranch would come true, and her one true love told her he would provide it for her. He convinced her to run away from her parents and flee her middle class German upbringing for her dream home with her dream man. He told her to achieve their future together, they would need money†¦and the quickest way to get this money was for K. to work as a prostitute. When she was 16, K. packed her bags and left with her boyfriend – a 35 year old man who had managed to completely isolate her from her friends and family, and began taking K. on â€Å"training trips† to brothels. Soon, the â€Å"loving† and â€Å"fatherly† riding teacher that K. had fallen in love with revealed himself to be a â€Å"Loverboy,† or a pimp who pretends to be a girlâ⠂¬â„¢s boyfriend in order to lure her into prostitution. K. found herself trapped in a world of rapes, abuse, and humiliation with no one to turn to, and no way to go home. The story you’ve justShow MoreRelatedUnderstandings and Approaches to Human Trafficking in the Middle East 1496 Words   |  6 Pagesbe the primary destination for trafficking victims, as they calculated that there are around 600,000 forced labour victims within the region to date (13). This seemingly widespread issue of human trafficking within the Middle East has been subject to significant media coverage and global debate. 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