Toy's role in a child's life Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Toy's role in a child's life - Essay Example For instance, Barthes points out that toys are usually perceived basically a â€Å"microcosm of the adult world† (Callus & Herbrechter 150). Therefore, toys can be seen as reduced replicas of the humanly objects, an aspect that is used by the elders to belittle the children. Toys are therefore usually used to create a relatively small world that matches the sizes of the children thus enabling the children to be prepared for adulthood. However, in doing so, adults underestimate the power of creativity and imaginative capabilities possessed by children. Barthes has used the French toys to accurately epitomize the expected functions of the adult individuals in the world. By doing so, children are obviously prepared to accept the expected functions without any insightful thought thus enabling the â€Å"adult world† to be thrust upon the children as they grow up. The children are therefore hallowed to accept the societal acts in the environment without any curiosity. For instance, Barthes argues that the alibi of a nature is frequently used to create â€Å"soldiers, postman and Vespa’s† (Berger 33). This clearly shows that toys have been used to reveal the various things that are existent in the adult world. The toys therefore enables and conditions the children to grow into a world of adulthood through the assimilation of different duties in the world. For instance, toys such as soldiers and combative gadgets that are mostly used by boys help them to assume a more protective role in future whereas replicas of dol ls and kitchen gadgets which are mostly used by girls expresses their future roles as house wives. Equally important, Barthes labels the contemporary toys as faithful, truthful and complicated items. This is due to the fact that the present day children only use the toys as an owner and not as a creator. This implies that currently, children only purchase and own toys without really taking part in the toy’s creation process. Their interest is always

Plan Evaluation for Design Program Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Plan Evaluation for Design Program - Assignment Example The data collected will both be qualitative and quantitative in nature. Also in order to assess whether the teachers have understood the 5E’s mode of learning the teachers will be examined both as the workshops continue, and at the end of the series of workshops. The 5E’s mode of learning allows for better learning and understanding of scientific concepts in science subjects by students (Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000). Background of the Project The program is a new mode of teaching that is more effective when compared to the traditional mode of learning. The traditional mode of learning science subjects has been the use of textbooks by teachers to deliver scientific concepts to students and then later testing to assess whether the concepts have been captured by the students (Irvin, Buehl, & Radcliffe, 2006). This mode of learning encourages memorizing of facts rather than understanding them. It is for this reason that the new 5E’s mode of learning has been in troduced. This mode of learning involves a five step series of learning where students are Engaged in the first stage of learning, the next stage is Exploration followed by Explanation, Elaboration and Evaluation. At the engagement stage, an event, question or object is used to engage the students as a connection is created between what they know and what they can do. At the exploration stage, phenomena and objects are explored and hands on activities are carried out with guidance. At the explanation stage students are allowed to explain their understanding of processes and concepts as new skills and concepts are introduced to fro better understanding. At the elaboration stage students then engage in activities that enable them to apply concepts and build on their skill and understanding. In the last stage of evaluation students engage in activities that allow them to assess their skills and knowledge and teachers assess the lesson effectiveness and student development. The goals of this project are to enable teachers of science courses in middle school, give students a learning experience that is superior to the traditional approach of teaching (Lambros, 2004). The other goal is to develop the competencies and skills of the students and teachers by addressing any learning shortcomings of the textbooks. The teachers will also be developed professionally through research-based best practice. The objectives of this project on the other hand include: To equip the teachers with peer-recognized expertise in the teaching profession. Secondly, to equip the teachers with skills and knowledge that will enable them participate actively in sustained learning through their active participation in the workshops (5E’s learning model). Thirdly, to help the students be able to analyze the scientific knowledge presented in the textbooks. Fourthly, to enable students participate actively in learning by collecting, organizing, analyzing, interpreting and presenting qualit ative and quantitative data and incorporating this information into the broader context of the scientific knowledge (Copeland, 2005). The project will involve two professors that will be in-charge of the workshops which will be teaching the middle school teachers everything there is to know about the 5E’s model of teaching. The program will also involve twenty five teachers from middle