Goals and objective provide a sense of meaning and purpose in whatever an individual aspire to achieve. Goals and objectives also give a sense of direction. When moving toward goals and objectives, both teacher and students can confidently and effectively complete lessons and assignments daily as well as throughout the school year. Instructional goals and objectives in education have similar intentions. However they are slightly different.

Instructional Goals

Instructional goals are long range goals designed to foster academic direction over the course of a semester or school year. Instructional goals should be broad and promote an intended outcome. For example, “First graders will learn how to effectively read on a 1st or 2nd grade level.”  In this sentence, the intended outcome for the student is clear. When teachers know what they want the student to be able to do, they can choose the appropriate materials and technique necessary to educate that student.

Objective

Objectives are similar to instructional goals in the sense that they provide direction as well as an outcome. However, objectives consist of short term academic targets designed to complete instructional goals. Objectives are also measurable and student centered. For example, “By the end of the first quarter, all students will be able to read the first grade word wall.” This sentence is measurable, tells what the student will do and states the intended outcome. The objective also supports the instructional goal mentioned earlier for first graders.

Resources

Classroom teachers who are having trouble writing their own instructional goals and objectives can obtain them form a variety of sources, included those mandated by state law. Each state has an outline of topics, goals and objectives designed to be taught in every grade level. Another source for instructional goals and objectives is the curriculum guides of the local school systems. Other sources include school wide improvement projects such as Alabama Reading Initiative and past test scores representing high student achievements.

Single Focus

Instructional goals or objectives should focus on a single outcome. Having several learning outcomes attached to an instructional goal or objective can confuse focus and direction. For example, “Students will be able to understand and use dissecting strategies effectively.’ The goal contains two possible outcomes. However, focusing on one outcome is better because, even though students may be able to understand the principles of dissecting strategies, the may not be able to perform it. Moreover, an instructional goal should cover a broad range of subject matter and content.  

Step 1

Have a clear idea regarding the course content and the duration in which it has to be completed. Carefully note the activities that are involved while teaching the various chapters. Plan lessons ahead so as to be able to customize a curriculum that would suit your students.

Step 2

Prepare for situations that might arise while teaching a particular topic or set of topics. There should be sufficient time allotted after the topics are completed for student interaction and clarification. Encourage participation from the students but in an orderly and courteous manner. It is always advisable to ask students for their opinion and encourage open forums.

Step 3

Inform the students at the start of a particular session regarding topics intended to be covered. The pupils would know what to expect in the ensuing duration of the session. One way of doing this would be to give a course outline at the beginning of the semester or school year.

Step 4

Keep in mind that aptitude and receptivity levels of the students vary and hence a topic might need to be explained and approached in different ways. You can group students into particular levels, such as advanced and moderate. Then give appropriate assignments and lectures for each group.

Step 5

Have a personalized approach in the classroom and address the students with their first names. In this way the students also feel important and satisfied inside the classroom. Try to be as approachable as possible. Maintain a cheerful environment inside the classroom by always remaining upbeat and proactive throughout the session. If criticism is necessary, be sure it is constructive and will aid in learning.

Skill

• Moderately Challenging

Tips

• Always be consistent and unbiased in your interaction with the students so that none of them suffer from complexes. Certain pupils might have personal psychological issues which need careful or sustained counseling.

Purpose of the Report

The purpose of this report is to investigate the best method to implement a scheduling system where Douglas College students will not find themselves on a waiting list for a long amount of time. We will investigate the issues with Douglas College’s current scheduling system and recommend improvements that could be made to the current scheduling system, so that more students can make the jump from the wait-list to enrolment.

Key Findings

Colleges with more classrooms for a specific course at the same time have on average had 20% less students on the wait lists during course selection periods than colleges that do not have as many. Another key finding, is that the average Douglas College student limit for a course,35, is too low and has caused many students to be put on the waiting-list.

Conclusions

There are too many students on Douglas College wait-lists, especially considering how slow the amount of students on the wait-lists decrease. As a result, students are not able to enrol in the classes that they require. If a solution to this problem were to come forth than the students’ stress levels would go down significantly.

Recommendations

1. Increase the size of the classrooms by finding either a new classroom or hiring construction to increase the current size of the classrooms, thus student limits within a class will also increase.

2. Suggest that students take a course that is offered online as opposed to enrolling in a classroom.

3. Encourage students to vacate wait list spots and instead enrol in a similar course but at a different time.

INTRODUCTION

Douglas College is a post secondary-institute that has two campuses: New Westminster and David Lam. Over the years, the Douglas College students have experienced many uncomfortable situations because they are not able to receive the courses they require. These situations have transferred stress to the students’ minds. Using research I will provide interesting information and logical solutions.

Purpose

The purpose of my formal report is to investigate the best method to implement a scheduling system where students will not find themselves on a waiting list for a long period of time. This report will investigate the strategy that students generally use to receive their preferred course times, and the factors that administration has control over.

Problem

Douglas College’s scheduling system’s “first come first served” rules have caused many students to be put on the waiting list for courses that they require. If the waiting list does not progress, the students are forced to enrol in a different and undesirable course. In fact, there are particular courses that have as little as one class and class time during a certain semester. This is a problem because a student may have to wait behind 20 other students on a wait-list because their assigned registration time was not early enough.

Background and Significance

Douglas College is a well-established college in British Columbia. As many new courses are becoming available to students, the Douglas administration must make sure that they have the facilities to accommodate these courses. Many student have experienced dissatisfaction because there are not enough spaces left in a class.

Scope and Limitations

This report will focus on the reasons that the wait list is slow. This report will target the topics of classrooms, online courses, costs, and new rules that will benefit students while selecting courses. However, this report will not consider the option of making a new campus.

Methods

Primary and secondary research has been conducted in order to establish the problem and a proper solution. Primary research includes interviews and polls, and secondary research has been done using website publications, company literature, and college documents.

Sequence

The research will be used through out the report. The report will discuss the topics of classroom problems, and options that students can make in order to benefit themselves and others.

CLASSROOM RELATED PROBLEMS

This section will focus on the problems that students face regarding classrooms. We will discuss these problems and than solutions will be offered.

Classroom Student Limits

Douglas College’s student limit for most classes are low. For example, there are 25 English subjected classes in the Winter 2011 semester, that have a student limit of 25 and there are 21 English subjected classes that have a student limit of 35. As you can conclude the average number of students on the wait-list decreases as the student limit increases. This information basically proves that the student limit is a vital factor in decreasing the number of students on the wait-list. This means that to decrease the number of students on the wait-lists, the administration needs to renovate classrooms so more students will fit comfortably inside a classroom, since the student limit is based upon how many students will inside a classroom. The estimated cost for the college to increase class sizes will be about 700 to 1500 dollars per classroom. Another alternative is to find a new classroom that has already been made, in which more students will fit. By increasing the student limit, students will be able to make the jump from the wait list to enrolling in the class.

Classroom Availability

In Douglas College there are certain courses that have a small amount of classrooms and time slots available for them, during certain semesters. For example, in the Winter 2011 semester there is only one class that is offering Intermediate Accounting(2) during Tuesdays and Thursdays at 4:30 to 6:20 pm. As a result there are 25 students on the wait list. The same problem is portrayed in Intermediate Managerial Accounting(1). There is only one class that offers it during Wednesday at 8 to 9:50 pm. As a result there are 26 students on the wait list. From this information the fact that the small amount of classes for specific courses, has increased the number of students on the wait list.

Conclusion

One part of the solution to help students make the jump from the wait-list to enrolling in a class is to fix the problems with the classrooms. Classrooms must be made bigger in order to increase the student limit and enrol students from the wait-list into the course. An alternative to the previous solution is to find a classroom that is already big enough to comfortably fit more students. Another solution that was suggested was that administration can hire more instructors or enlist ones that have already been hired to teach more classes. By doing this, a certain course will not be offered in only one or two classrooms with limited time slots during a semester.

STUDENT SCHEDULING OPTIONS

This section will focus on the options that students can take, while selecting their courses, that will not only help themselves, but will also help other students make the jump from the wait list to enrolling in their desired course.

Other Time Slots

Students can help other students in selecting courses. For example, if administrators started to encourage students to drop themselves from a wait-list and instead enrol in a similar course with a different time slot, than both the student that leave the wait-list and ones that stay on will benefit. Persuasion of dropping and enrolling in a different class can be achieved by telling the advantages. For example, by taking a night course, students can sleep in or work during the daytime. Students that leave will benefit because they got in to the course that they wanted, and students that stay will also benefit because the wait-list has decreased and it will be easier for a student to get in to the class.

Online Courses

Taking online courses is a great option for students. There is no wait-list so you do not have to wait for any registration confirmation. Another advantage is that less trips to campus will be made, if online courses are taken. As stated in the previous section, the same variable applies with enrolling in online courses. If administrators tell students the advantages of online learning, than more students will be persuaded and than there will be less students on the wait list. This means that more students will be able to make the jump from the wait list to the class.

Conclusion

If administrators are willing to encourage students to enrol in a similar course but at a different time or enrol in to an online course, by telling the advantages, than this will help both the student who is enrolling and the wait listing students he or she has left behind.

CONCLUSIONS

Based on the research that I have done I have come to the following conclusions:

1. The student limit within a class is too low.

2. The classroom availability for some courses during certain semester is low.

3. The current rate of the wait-list is too slow.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Supported by my findings in this report, the following recommendations are suggested in order to make the jump that students on the wait-list must make to enrol in classes, quicker:

1. Increase the size of the classrooms by finding either a new classroom or hiring construction to increase the current size of the classrooms, thus student limits within a class will also increase.

2. Suggest that students take a course that is offered online as opposed to enrolling in a classroom.

3. Encourage students to vacate wait list spots and instead enrol in a similar course but at a different time.

The blizzard’s arrival coincided with many children returning home from school in rural areas as well as many farm workers outside making good use of the warmer weather. Many of those outside when it struck had difficulty reaching the safety of shelter in the near whiteout conditions where it was impossible to see any distance.

Caution prevailed in some locations, as school teachers kept their students inside their classrooms and eventually they stayed in the school overnight. The next day parents were able to negotiate their way through the 5 feet high snowdrifts to rescue their children. Another school teacher tied a rope from the schoolhouse to a nearby shelter so children could be guided to safety.

Others were caught out in the storm. A teacher taking three children just 90 yards from the schoolhouse to her home became lost and the children all died from hypothermia, the teacher lost her feet due to suffering from the effects of frostbite to those limbs. It was estimated that 235 people all across the area died in the storm of January 12 1888, it is considered to be one of the worst storm ever to have taken place in the history of the Northwest Plains.

One such school is Alpine. Pioneer Regional Educational Service Agency, a government service operates Alpine for 14 northwest Georgia school districts. Unlike jails or psychiatric hospitals these Georgia alternative schools are not required to report disciplinary tactics. Jonathon Zimling, an Atlanta lawyer says, “They are just archaic and essentially lawless.”

Jonathan King’s parents found out that Alpine answered to no one. When Jonathan came home from school and his mom asked how his school day was, he always answered, “Its just school.” He didn’t complain of ill treatment. His parents later found that Jonathan was locked in a small room without a bathroom, water or food for hours at a time. Don King, the father said, “They didn’t tell us.”

Jonathan was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity in kindergarten and put on medication. He was disruptive at school and in the sixth grade was sent to Alpine where he attended for two years. His mother was told students were sent to a time out room when they misbehaved. She said she thought of his time outs at home when she made his sit still for ten minutes. “I had no idea” she said that it meant being up locked up in a room for hours on end where you can’t eat, drink, or go to the bathroom.

A log book at Alpine showed that Jonathan was locked up many days and hours. He was often sent to lock up for very minor incidents. Over a two day period he was locked up 15 hours. On the first day of this two day period he ripped up his shirt and tried to hang himself, as noted in the log. It also noted that he spent seven hours and ten minutes that day in lock up. Evidently the second day was uneventful. A few days later the log showed he was fighting and was taken to lockup. He hated to wear a belt and had a rope around his waist to hold his pants up. The log showed that Jonathan beat on the walls for fifteen minutes, curse and sang.

A teacher told him to calm down and be quiet. He did become quiet. In the lock up room Jonathan had made a noose, put it around his neck and hanged himself from a grill in the door. When the police report came in, Johnathan’s parents were unbelieving of what their child had experienced at Alpine. He had spent so many days locked up and had threatened to kill himself three weeks before he did actually do it. Jonathan was thirteen years old.

Alpine is still open in Gainesville, Ga. State school officials have put into place non-binding guidelines for disciplining students and may pose regulations later this year.

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But isn’t it that the main objective of every country is to provide good living to the people? Therefore, poverty should be wiped out, because from poverty come hunger, unprevented disease, and crimes done for survival. And the best cure for poverty is education. With education, the people will have better jobs. They may work for the country instead of gambling all day. With education, the country will have professionals and will no longer rely much on foreign nations in curing diseases. And with education, the people will understand the law. They will know the rights that some individuals keep from them, and the obligations that they must carry out.

The country should ensure that optimum education be provided, because with it, the people will taste true democracy. 

            Some clothing that students wear can definitely be a distraction in the classrooms. They wear shirts with obscene language or pictures, or clothes in general that are colored according to gang relation, bandanas, pants with writing on the back side, and even revealing clothing. There are some students that cannot afford to get real nice, name brand clothing, so they wear hand-me-down clothing or even clothes from thrift stores. Then there are the students that can afford the name brand clothing that go around bragging about how they have all the expensive brands of clothing and most of them are constantly ridiculing the less fortunate students. It looks like school uniforms are a good idea to have in schools; however, some experts do not agree.

            Charlonne of Lifescript.com says, “Students also like to express themselves as individuals and uniforms take away their right to do this.” If they cannot wear what they want to wear, how are they going to be able to express themselves individually? Self expression is mostly through what you wear. Wearing uniforms forces the students to look like everyone else that goes to the same school. Where is the individuality in wearing the same clothes as everyone else? This has its negative points while also having an evenhanded amount of positive points.

            One of the negative points about the school uniforms is that the less fortunate students would probably not be able to afford the new uniforms, so they would have to get the used uniforms, which are similar to the hand-me-down clothing. This would mean that they would still be singled out. The students would still have their cliques, picking and choosing with whom they want to socialize. Another negative point is that wearing uniforms just doesn’t let students express themselves. They cannot show others who they really are. One of the positive points of having school uniforms is that the students that cannot afford expensive clothing would not have to worry about getting ridiculed because they would be wearing the same thing as everyone else. They would also not have to worry about having to look for clothes every morning. This would give them more time to eat breakfast, study for a test, finish up some homework, or even rest a while longer before getting out of the bed. Another positive point is that just because they would have to wear the same clothes as everyone else does not mean that they cannot have different hairstyles and even jewelry as the other students. This means that they are still free to express themselves in certain ways. Sometimes it does not only matter what clothes someone is wearing, but the way that they are wearing their clothes matters as well.

            Darden has good points like: attendance rates and graduation rates went up and suspension rates went down. Also, in some schools even the test scores went up due to the school uniform policy. Wearing school uniforms means not having to worry about what other people are wearing. This forces students to focus their attention on their teachers and their schoolwork. That would more than likely make the test scores increase, which in turn would make the graduation rates increase. The suspension rates should decrease due to the fact that there wouldn’t be as much violence in the schools. Having school uniforms in public schools have made many students happier, because they don’t have to fight over which students have the most expensive clothing. Is violence in schools really going to be stopped or even minimized just because everyone is wearing the same clothing? However, it doesn’t make sense that students wearing school uniforms would make the attendance rates increase. Would wearing the uniforms really make the students want to come to school? Most students don’t seem like they even want to be at school, so why make them even more miserable than what they already are, and make them wear something that they may not want to wear?  Charlonne makes a good argument with her views on the matter, such as, the students not being comfortable in the school uniforms. Students should be comfortable while doing their schoolwork. A lot of students would be more comfortable wearing the uniforms that way they don’t have to worry about what they are wearing and how it will have an effect on what people think about them. Some people would think that school officials would want students in a comfortable environment to do their schoolwork. Some school officials may not agree that the uniforms are a good idea, while others may think that it would be a terrific idea; in the same case with the students, some may agree that the uniforms are a good idea while others will disagree. In the end, should it be that the school officials are the ones to say that the students are going to wear uniforms in schools? Or should it be up to the students? So do you think that making students wear uniforms in school would be a good idea? Or would you be against students wearing them?

The classes were intended to prepare boys and girls for their different roles later as they mature. In some classes such as Physical Education or Sex Education, girls and boys also attended different classes. It was believed then that it was the appropriate course of action, taking into consideration their different physical make-up and social orientation.

Single sex-classes however lost its appeal through the years as Laws on sex discrimination and the changing roles men and women play in society become prevalent. Access to the same education for both sexes becomes the norm. The basic argument against same sex-classes is that co educational classes provide similar educational experiences for both girls and boys.

Recently, however, interest on the same-sex classes for urban students has revived. The driving forces behind its call for revival are three-fold: improve academic accomplishment of girls in particular subjects, to encourage social organization within the classroom and to promote culture-centered educational context particularly African culture through formal and informal socialization.

Encourage Academic Accomplishment for Girls

Single-sex classes are aimed to help girls attain equal educational opportunity. Research conducted by Sadkers and the American Association of University Women (AAUW) Educational Foundation 1 showed that girls in mixed-sex classes sometimes receive lesser attention and opportunities than the boys. Girls sometimes feel self-conscious in mixed-sex classes. This, of course, would have unfavorable effect on their performance at school activities. These are particularly noticeable in math, science and subjects pertaining to computers.

Different studies on single-sex classes, however, produced mixed results. Some studies showed that single-sex classes produce little positive effect. Other studies showed some positive outcomes. A study by Durost showed that achievement in Math has significantly improved for girls in single-sex classes for over a period of seven years.

Another study conducted by Perry showed that averages in grades increased for both girls and boys in single-sex classes for math and science.

Social Organization in the Classroom

The aim for social organization is promote classroom conduct and involvement. Studies conducted on the girls and boys behavior inside single-sex classes showed positive outcomes on the way they behave inside the classroom. Enthusiasm in participating in class activities also increased. The reason cited for these positive results is the changes girls and boys go through during adolescents stage affect their capacity to cope in the classroom. Somehow, the single-sex classes made the transition easier for them.

Promoting Cultural Socialization

Single-sex classes formed a part of the plan to promote educational settings that center on culture. The special focus on this mission is the African culture. The aim of single-sex classes is to make the African girls and boys’ assimilation into the community where they live in as smooth as possible.

The African American children need to be taught to be responsible citizens later on. They should be oriented on the roles they will assume in the community when they grow up. To do this, the school is not restricted to focus on academics alone but also the promotion of the individual student’s social and personal growth. Education then becomes a tool not just for individual achievement of the students but also for the advancement of their respective communities.

African-centered education is not new in the United States. Although, it was widely practiced in private schools in the past, public schools are now showing active interest in it. African culture-based education has encouraged the need to explore single-sex class education.

The purposes in using single-sex classes for African-centered schools are diverse. First, it is intended to encourage academic accomplishments by giving due emphasis on the role the school play on the students’ future lives.

Another aim is to encourage personal and social development with particular focus on the African and African-American culture so they can adapt effectively to the diverse world outside school.

Lastly, urban teachers see single-sex classes as a way to address gender discrimination issues. Girls are often perceived as the discriminated gender. The single-sex classroom setting is believed to encourage girls to be more comfortable and open in discussing matters revolving this issue.

Criticisms

It is hard to determine the impact of single-sex classes to urban students. Problems in arriving at a clear conclusion on the effects of single-sex classes arise because research goals differ, implementation of single-sex classes in different ways such as single-sex classes after school or single-sex classes in a coeducational school or pure single-sex classes for girls or boys. Another impediment is the need to conduct more research studies over a long period of time.

Defenders of coeducation believed that single-sex classes promote inequality. Separating the learning facilities will lead to system bias. This will encourage stereotypes in gender and causes inequalities in opportunities for men and women. Single-sex schools indirectly promote gender discrimination instead of eliminate it. For instance, boys do not learn cheerleading or home economics just as girls do not study football or making woodworks.

Those who advocate for coeducation maintain that single-sex education does not prepare the student for a realistic community setting where both sexes intermingle with each other and work together. This in turn lead to poor interaction skills with colleagues of different genders and causes ignorance even discrimination to other gender.

Home schooling a child is just that-schooling at home. You assume responsibility for your child’s education. This gives you the freedom to introduce concepts at your child’s pace, control what is taught, and potentially provide experiences impossible in a traditional setting. If this is the path you choose for your child’s education, take it seriously and provide stimulating educational opportunities for your child. State standards, national standards, and many, many books provide all the curricular guidance you need. Supplying the books and materials to home school a child can get expensive, which is one reason why you may want to take a look at charter schools.

Charter Schools

Charter schools can provide the best of all educational worlds. By definition, charter schools are funded by the state but operate outside the constraints of traditional schools and classrooms. Some charter schools focus on supporting home schooled families, some focus on improving the traditional classroom setting, and some work with both. If you prefer your child receive instruction from a certificated teacher, check into charter schools that offer classes. If you would like to home school, but would like materials provided for free or would like a certificated teacher to help you, check into charter schools focusing on home schooled families. Many charter schools provide a hybrid of home and classroom instruction for students. Since operation of each school is defined by its charter, search on the Internet for charter schools in your state to examine local educational opportunities.

Traditional Classrooms

Some children thrive in traditional classroom settings. If your child is highly involved with neighborhood children or your personal schedule does not allow for daily school involvement, this may be your ideal setting. The advantage here is that the teachers involved have typically taught several years at the same grade level and are very familiar with the curriculum.

Matching Educational Needs With Personalities

Students come in all varieties, some of which don’t easily fit into the traditional educational mold. The days of having to choose public schools or pay for private schools are gone. Students whose needs are more successfully met with home schooling or small classes may find just what they need already at their doorstep.