Essay --

Keywords—recommender system; fuzzy system; social matchmaking; crisp set; fuzzy set I. INTRODUCTION In the ‘information era’, one of the key problems is to deal with more information than to practice to make practical decisions. User is bombarded with information whether or not he positively looks for it. Recommender systems are designed to help individuals to deal with this information overload problem and enable them to make evaluative decisions [1]. Traditional RS provides items, information and services to the user. These items are like products, movies, CDs, music, news, books etc. Tapestry [17] is the first manual RS and Usenet newsgroup launched by GroupLens is the first automatic collaborative filtering RS [6]. The most popular existing recommender systems are Amazon.com for e-shopping [7], MovieLens recommending movies, news by Googlenews, music at Pandora, EntreeC giving restaurants [11], CDs at CDNow [18] etc. In many past years, for building recommender systems various approaches have been developed that utilize non-personalized, demographic, content based , collaborative filtering, knowledge based and hybrid [11]. Evolved research areas like social matchmaking RS enable people to people matchmaking [2] like matrimony system recommends bride to groom and vice-versa. Using such systems, users can meet the other individuals of complementary needs like getting jobs (employee-employer), college admissions, mentor-mentees, student helper, addressing community issues, solve technical problems and counseling [3]. In social matchmaking systems, successful reciprocal recommendation occurs where two users find each other based on their complementary needs. For example, a bride finds the ideal groom, and the same groom li... ...= â€Å"Very Low† (0.2) The sample of recommendations for the active lady is shown in TABLE IV. The snapshot of the result for same expectations is given in Fig. 2. The system is not providing the partners who having â€Å"Low† value for crisp sets (religion, caste, occupation, diet, smoke, and drink). The experiments are observed for ten users and precision, recall, F1-measure is calculated. For getting these values, recommended results are used. The average of precision, recall and F-score are 79.45%, 85.65%, 82.43% respectively. V. CONCLUSIONS This paper focuses on Partial Fuzzy Recommender System used for matrimony in the context of the Indian society. This system addresses the abundance of information and directs users to precise data requirements in terms of matches, eliminating irrelevant information. Recommendations can be further improved for reciprocity.

UPS Strike Essay -- essays research papers fc

UPS Strike   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In early August of 1997 the United Parcel Service (UPS) had a predicament on its hands, a teamsters strike. UPS, the world’s largest package distribution company was coming off a year [1996] in which they reported sales of $22.4 billion. UPS Employed 75,000 management and non-union employees compared with 185,000 teamsters who are part of the AFL-CIO that were going on strike. The teamsters rejected a contract extension offer from the company leaving the fate of millions of packages carrying everything from lobsters to laser printers up in the air (Johnson). Tensions between union supporters and management began mounting in the years preceding the strike. In April of 1994, the International Union led a three-week strike against major tracking companies in the freight hauling industry in attempts to stop management from creating $9 per hour part-time positions. This would only foreshadow battles to come between management and union. Later, in 1995, teamsters mounted an unprecedented national union campaign in attempts to defeat the labor-management â€Å"cooperation† scheme that UPS management tried to establish in order to weaken the union before contract talks (Witt, Wilson). This strike was distinguished from other strikes of recent years in that it was an offensive strike, not a defensive one. It was a struggle in which the union was prepared, fought over issues which it defined, and one which relied overwhelmingly on the efforts of the members themselves (http://www.igc.org/dbacon/Strikes/07ups.htm). The teamsters campaign at UPS was unique in that there were many special circumstances surrounding it. UPS controlled 80% of the ground package delivery business, which ensured them that a strike would have a significant impact on the economy and pressure the company to settle. The company was not a conglomerate that could withstand the walkout since it did not have other lines of business. Also, UPS delivers to every address in the U.S., adding a hometown story in most cities and towns. The last circumstance was the fight was taking place during August when Congress is out of session, making it easier to gain national attention (Witt, Wilson). This strike was a battle over several issues. One factor that escalated the strike intensity was the pensions battle. Billons of dollars in pensions were on the line. The Teamste... ...bsp;Full-time workers receive just 3 percent raises, one percentage point above the current low rate of inflation Bibliography Baird, Charles W. (1997). The future of the Union Movement: Clues From the UPS Strike. (2001, November, 1). [Online] Available http://libertyhaven.com Frank, Allan D. (1997) â€Å"After the UPS Settlement: Who gained, who lost, and what will the fallout be in the end?† CNNfn (August 19). Johnson (1997). â€Å"Bundles of Troubles: UPS workers decide to strike.† Intelligencer Journal (August 1). The UPS Strike. (2001, November, 1) [Online] Available http://www.igc.org/dbacon/Strikes/07ups.htm â€Å"The UPS strike puts a pinch on business.† (1997). Business News New Jersey (August 11). UPS Strike Affects the Movie Business. (2001, November, 1). [Online] Available http://www.channel2000.com/news/stories/news-970805-191537.html UPS vs Teamsters: A look at greed and discontentment in the workforce. (2001, November, 1). [Online] Available http://www.jeremiahproject.com/ups_strike.html Witt, Matt, and Rand Wilson (Spring 99). The Teamsters’ UPS Strike of 1997:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Building a New Labor Movement. Labor Studies Journal, Vo. 24 Issue 1. UPS Strike Essay -- essays research papers fc UPS Strike   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In early August of 1997 the United Parcel Service (UPS) had a predicament on its hands, a teamsters strike. UPS, the world’s largest package distribution company was coming off a year [1996] in which they reported sales of $22.4 billion. UPS Employed 75,000 management and non-union employees compared with 185,000 teamsters who are part of the AFL-CIO that were going on strike. The teamsters rejected a contract extension offer from the company leaving the fate of millions of packages carrying everything from lobsters to laser printers up in the air (Johnson). Tensions between union supporters and management began mounting in the years preceding the strike. In April of 1994, the International Union led a three-week strike against major tracking companies in the freight hauling industry in attempts to stop management from creating $9 per hour part-time positions. This would only foreshadow battles to come between management and union. Later, in 1995, teamsters mounted an unprecedented national union campaign in attempts to defeat the labor-management â€Å"cooperation† scheme that UPS management tried to establish in order to weaken the union before contract talks (Witt, Wilson). This strike was distinguished from other strikes of recent years in that it was an offensive strike, not a defensive one. It was a struggle in which the union was prepared, fought over issues which it defined, and one which relied overwhelmingly on the efforts of the members themselves (http://www.igc.org/dbacon/Strikes/07ups.htm). The teamsters campaign at UPS was unique in that there were many special circumstances surrounding it. UPS controlled 80% of the ground package delivery business, which ensured them that a strike would have a significant impact on the economy and pressure the company to settle. The company was not a conglomerate that could withstand the walkout since it did not have other lines of business. Also, UPS delivers to every address in the U.S., adding a hometown story in most cities and towns. The last circumstance was the fight was taking place during August when Congress is out of session, making it easier to gain national attention (Witt, Wilson). This strike was a battle over several issues. One factor that escalated the strike intensity was the pensions battle. Billons of dollars in pensions were on the line. The Teamste... ...bsp;Full-time workers receive just 3 percent raises, one percentage point above the current low rate of inflation Bibliography Baird, Charles W. (1997). The future of the Union Movement: Clues From the UPS Strike. (2001, November, 1). [Online] Available http://libertyhaven.com Frank, Allan D. (1997) â€Å"After the UPS Settlement: Who gained, who lost, and what will the fallout be in the end?† CNNfn (August 19). Johnson (1997). â€Å"Bundles of Troubles: UPS workers decide to strike.† Intelligencer Journal (August 1). The UPS Strike. (2001, November, 1) [Online] Available http://www.igc.org/dbacon/Strikes/07ups.htm â€Å"The UPS strike puts a pinch on business.† (1997). Business News New Jersey (August 11). UPS Strike Affects the Movie Business. (2001, November, 1). [Online] Available http://www.channel2000.com/news/stories/news-970805-191537.html UPS vs Teamsters: A look at greed and discontentment in the workforce. (2001, November, 1). [Online] Available http://www.jeremiahproject.com/ups_strike.html Witt, Matt, and Rand Wilson (Spring 99). The Teamsters’ UPS Strike of 1997:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Building a New Labor Movement. Labor Studies Journal, Vo. 24 Issue 1.

White Fang :: essays research papers

Jack London is an author known for his stories of the North. My author’s contribution to American literature is gargantuan. Jack London has produced many well-known American novels. He has had a difference on the approach writers take on crafting their literature. His most well known novel â€Å"To Build A Fire† is one of the greatest American short stories ever created. In a good number of his stories the central conflict is man vs. nature. His impact on American literature has altered the way people write stories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  My favorite character in the story would have to be White Fang. White Fang is the key character of the novel. His mother Kiche, (she-wolf) mated with a full wolf and had a litter of pups. White Fang was the only pup to survive a series of famines. White Fang starts his life out in the wild rather than being pampered. He progresses and becomes more of a dog rather than a wolf. This is all the added reasoning to why White Fang is my favorite character. He dodges adversity and becomes more like a man rather than a monster. Though, as the book progresses he becomes more fierce and untamed. This undoubtedly leads to his demise, but White Fang pulls through. Scott eventually saves White Fang, and is the first human to show him kindness. Scott changes White Fang’s comprehension of human’s and becomes an affectionate loving dog.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The character I detest the most would have to be Gray Beaver, White Fang’s first master. A harsh and unkind man like Gray Beaver showed no care for White Fang. Nevertheless for some odd reason White Fang bonds to him out of certain mutual admiration. White Fang becomes extremely vicious because of Gray Beaver’s care for him. When Gray Beaver becomes addicted to alcohol he heads to Fort Yukon to buy and sell goods. He eventually sells White Fang to monster of man named Beauty Smith. This is why Gray Beaver is the antagonist in the novel White Fang and why I dislike him the most.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Judge Scott, Weedon Scott’s father reminds me of my dad. Judge Scott throughout the novel doesn’t believe in White Fang until White Fang saves his life. Judge Scott ultimately refers to White Fang as the â€Å"Blessed Wolf.† This event connects to my life a lot, when I was out driving with my father he wanted to teach me to parallel park.

Rebecca Notes Essay

– Gothic: terror, mystery, supernatural, ghosts, haunted houses and Gothic architecture, castles, darkness, death, decay, doubles, madness, secrets and hereditary curses. – Physiological thriller: characters are reliant on their mental resources, whether it is by battling wits with a formidable opponent or by battling of equilibrium in the character’s own mind. – Subversion of romance: sets up the conventions of a romantic genre then slowly subvert or undercut/demolishes our expectations. – Crime: crimes, their detection, criminals, and their motives. The novel is written first person by the narrator, who is never named within the book, and can be considered an ‘unreliable narrator,’ because everything is shown through her ‘unreliable narrative’ ? ‘she’ is persecuted, ‘she’ is inadequate, ‘she’ has an inferiority complex and ‘she’ is haunted by Rebecca. The narrator dreams twice, once in the beginning and once in the end, which conveys the truth that her conscious mind cannot. In the beginning of the novel the most evident genres are Gothic and anti-romance, but as the novel progresses the genres crime and physiological thriller appear more often. There is the continuity of reference back to gothic, but in the last 7 chapters, it is it dominated by more of the crime genre. Rebecca is dominated by the Gothic genre throughout the whole novel because of the continuous presence of Rebecca and the overshadowing Manderley. Even in the end, seems to have risen from the dead to have her final revenge ? through Mrs Danvers and the burning of Manderley. †¢In the very beginning of the book, the narrator introduces us to Manderley as an empty â€Å"inviolate, untouched†, cold â€Å"no smoke came from the chimney†, mysterious place â€Å"desolate shell, soulless at last, unhaunted† †¢Whenever Rebecca’s name is mentioned Maxim de Winter seems to become excessively emotional †¢The rhododendrons, â€Å"blood-red and luscious† – symbolic of Rebecca †¢Mrs. Danvers seems very mysterious, â€Å"deathly cold,† â€Å"skeleton† and â€Å"lifeless† †¢The constant references back to Rebecca â€Å"I was sitting in Rebecca’s chair, I was leaning against Rebecca’s cushion. Even though the Gothic genre is the most dominant genre there are also the secondary genres: Physiological thriller – mystery and ‘crime of the death of Rebecca, the continuous haunting of Rebecca on the narrators mind, also the continuous irony of how right after the Manderley dress ball Rebecca’s body is found Crime – the formal inquest is held and Maxim’s committed murder and his motives are shown †¢The past in opening chapters is itself a mystery – why is Manderley a ruin? †¢Unclear as yet but Rebecca’s death a mystery, which seems to affect everyone at Manderley†¦ who was she? †¢Narrator feels like she doesn’t belong â€Å"This was their routine†¦long custom† ? caught in an alien world of tradition. †¢Rebecca’s presence in the household still evident ? makes the narrator feel like an intruder †¢Keeping alive the spirit of Rebecca â€Å"the room was filled with them† ? people keep putting more flowers into the room like Rebecca used to †¢The irony of how Rebecca who had died a year ago is discovered again right after the Manderley ball â€Å"Rebecca, whom they describes as beautiful, talented†¦ having drowned a year ago, and then Maxim marrying again the following spring, bringing is bride straight to Manderley and giving a big fancy dress ball in her honour.. the following morning the body of his first wife being found trapped in the cabin of her sailing boat, at the bottom of the bay. † â€Å"Both papers used the same word, ‘ironic’ . Yes, I suppose it was ironic. It made a good story. † Subversion of romance – the narrator expects to be whisked away to a grand big house ‘Manderley’ and be loved and grow old with Maxim for the rest of her life, but everything doesn’t go as she expected or what we expected. †¢She expects to grow old and live happily with Maxim for the rest of her life and she will always be loved by Maxim â€Å"We should grow old here together, we should sit like this to our tea as old people, Maxim and I, with other dogs† †¢She thinks Maxim asked her to marry her because he loved her, but in fact he just need a ‘companion’ and Mrs Van Hopper seems to know exactly what would happen â€Å"you know why he is marrying you, don’t you? You haven’t flattered yourself he’s in love with you? † Themes: The themes are ambiguous but some can be identified Marriage – the 1st marriage was fake ? controlled ? ‘arragont’ – the 2nd marriage was submissive ? better then the 1st Obssesion of Rebecca †¢Narrator †¢Maxim †¢Mrs Danvers †¢Favell Control/insecurity Death – the effect on the living and the consequences of causing death.

How Can Global Thinking Support You?

How can Global Thinking support you? Inform The Global Thinking team offers fresh perspectives on learning from our long experience in diverse local and global contexts. Inspire We provide advice and training, resources and research to bring insight, challenge perceptions and enable creative thinking for 21st Century learning. Innovate We work in partnership with clients and education specialists on practical and innovative approaches for differing teaching and learning needs. Global Thinking provides inspiration and innovation in global learning.Our specialist team provides training and consultancy to educators who enable young people to shape their futures in a fair and sustainable world. Education The term was increasingly applied to initiatives in international education and was advanced by  Stuart Grauer  in his 1989 University of San Diego publication, Think Globally, Act Locally: A Delphi Study of Educational Leadership Through the Development of International Resources in the Local Community. In this publication it was attribed to  Harlan Cleveland. 15]  It is said that this term was used by German-American  sociologist  Eugen Rosenstock-Huessy[citation needed]  in the 1950s or earlier, prior to the formation of the  United Nations Organization. It is not only corporations that are acknowledging the importance of environmental issues, but also the education system. Government officials and school boards across the world are beginning to develop a new way of teaching. Globalization is now thought of as an important concept to understanding the world.Certain schools believe it is important to discuss global issues as young as 5 years old. It is students who are our future, therefore understanding the concept of â€Å"think globally, act locally† is fundamental to our future. [16] Definition â€Å"Think globally, act locally†Ã‚  urges people to consider the health of the entire planet and to take action in their own communitie s and cities. Long before governments began enforcing environmental laws, individuals were coming together to protect habitats and the organisms that live within them.These efforts are referred to as grassroots efforts. They occur on a local level and are primarily run by volunteers and helpers. â€Å"Think Globally, Act Locally† originally began at the grassroots level, however, it is now a global concept with high importance. It is not just volunteers who take the environment into consideration. It is corporations, government officials, education system, and local communities. It is now extremely important to consider global markets and communities when doing business.Global markets and large corporations have one of the largest impacts on the environment, it is their influence and actions that are vital to the survival of our planet. Large corporations have the most impact on the environment, therefore â€Å"thinking globally and acting locally† can make a major dif ference in the survival of our planet. Warren Heaps states â€Å"it's really important to recognize that markets are different around the world, and company compensation programs should reflect a balance between global corporate philosophy and local practice and culture†. 1] About the Department The Faculty of Arts and Letters is an institution of learning geared towards the development and fulfillment of the total person, the Universal Man, focusing on the Arts and the Humanities, mainly, and spreading out to include the sciences, social and natural, guided by Christian faith and avowed Thomasian ideals and the highest social, national, international and even global standards and objectives.The envisioned goal is the Colege's turning out not only of learned but wisened individuals who, motivated by the highest standards of excellence, excel in their chosen fields, eventually becoming role models in society, potential leaders and achievers of the country, all in the spirit no t only of personal but also social and more importantly, spiritual commitment. The Faculty's goals and objectives are: An ideal confluence of mind, heart and spirit, in the service of the total rounded man.Expertise in one's own chosen field and an adequate spreading out of interests, skils, concerns, in other, fields, allied of otherwise. An enhanced and enriched cultural background including a sense of history and tradition while being abreast with the modern technology of a network world. Ample exposure to and immersion in research as well as creative and critical endeavors. Sympathy and concern for the socially needy and handicapped through consistent efforts and interst in community service.Constant cultivation and preservation of Philippine values at the same time cognizant of what are timeless and universal. History The liberal arts and philosophy had been taught in the University of Santo Tomas since its foundation in 1611. The Faculty of Philosophy and Letters was establish ed in 1896 and the College of Liberal Arts in 1926. In 1964, however these two colleges were merged and given the general name of Faculty of Arts and Letters. Courses offered then were Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Literature, and Bachelor of Philosophy.In the course of time, new majors were offered. In the academic year 1971 to 1972, the Faculty started to offer the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Asian Studies, Behavioral Science (which evolved form the originally offered LiA-Com), Communication Arts, Economics, Journalism, Literature, Philosophy,Political Science, Sociology, and Translation(which was eventually phased out). In 1994, another major, Legal Management, was created to serve the relevant needs of students who intend to go to law after graduation.And so, presently, ten majors are offered in the Faculty of Arts and Letters to wit; Asian Studies, Behavioral Science, Communication Arts, Economics, Jouranlism, Literature, Legal Management, Political Science, Philosophy, and S ociology. Common courses offered in the Faculty of Arts and Letters are designed to develop the minds and sensibilities of the students and to inculcate in them human values and the appreciation of the country's cultural heritage in the light of Christian faith and tradition.Furthermore, they intend to provide the students with the necessary background for them to develop into informed, responsible, and concerned rounded citizens of this country, guided by the mission-vision not only of the College but more importantly, of the University of Santo Tomas. â€Å"Mga Uri Ng Pagsulat†Ã‚  StudyMode. com. 01 2011. 01 2011 .

Assignment Transport

Homework 1. The graph below shows the changes in blood pressure and velocity of blood flow as the blood travels from the heart to the leg and returns to the heart: [pic] (i) Compare the blood pressure in the artery with that in the vein. Suggest two reasons for the difference. (3 marks) (ii) Explain the importance of the low velocity of blood flow in the capillary. (2 marks) (iii) In the vein of the leg, the blood pressure is very low while the velocity of blood flow is quite high. Describe how such a high velocity of blood flow in the vein is maintained. 2 marks) (iv) Using the same x-axis given above, sketch a graph to show the change in the oxygen content of the blood as it passes through the blood vessels. (3 marks) 2. The photograph below shows the transverse section of a pig’s heart, which has a structure similar to that of the human heart. [pic] i) Which chamber of the heart, A or B, is responsible for sending out blood to all parts of the body except the lungs? Explain your choice. (3 marks) (ii) (1) Name valve X. (1 mark) (2) In a type of heart disorder, valve X cannot close properly.A man suffering from this disorder may faint easily when he performs vigorous exercise. How would you explain this? (4 marks) (iii) Vessel Y is an artery found in the heart wall. Explain why the risk of heart attack would be higher if fatty substances are deposited on the inner wall of vessel Y. (2 marks) 3. The diagram below shows part of the human circulatory system: [pic] (i) Explain why the lymph in vessel X of a person turns from clear to milky after he has eaten some barbecued pork. 3 marks) (ii) Describe how a continuous flow of lymph in vessel Y of the leg is maintained. (2 marks) (iii) For a patient suffering from a disease called elephantiasis, the lymph vessels in his leg are blocked by a kind of parasitic worm. The leg becomes greatly swollen due to the accumulation of tissue fluid. Explain why the tissue fluid accumulates. (2 marks) (iv) Structure Z may become enlarged when a person has a sore throat. Explain why structure Z is enlarged. (2 marks)

Assessment and Students Essay

Journal assessment Conclusion Reccomendation III. INTRODUCTION: Why do Assessment? Are you asking too little of your class? Are your students approaching your course as hurdlers, barely clearing required levels of performance? Or are they approaching your course like high jumpers, pushing themselves under your guidance to increasingly more challenging heights? If your students aren’t high jumpers, maybe it’s because you aren’t asking them to high jump. By using appropriate assessment techniques, you can encourage your students to raise the height of the bar. There is considerable evidence showing that assessment drives student learning. More than anything else, our assessment tools tell students what we consider to be important. They will learn what we guide them to learn through our assessments. Traditional testing methods have been limited measures of student learning, and equally importantly, of limited value for guiding student learning. These methods are often inconsistent with the increasing emphasis being placed on the ability of students to think analytically, to understand and communicate at both detailed and â€Å"big picture† levels, and to acquire lifelong skills that permit continuous adaptation to workplaces that are in constant flux. Moreover, because assessment is in many respects the glue that links the components of a course – its content, instructional methods, and skills development – changes in the structure of a course require coordinated changes in assessment. IV. RESEARCH (CONTENT) What is Assessment? Assessment is a systematic process of gathering, interpreting, and acting upon data related to student learning and experience for the purpose of developing a deep understanding of what students know, understand, and can do with their knowledge as a result of their educational experience; the process culminates when assessment results are used to improve subsequent learning. Huba and Freed, 2000 Key Points Assessment is an ongoing process aimed at understanding and improving student learning Multiple methods Criteria and standards Evidence Students know, can do and understand It’s more than just collecting data Sequence in Preparing Instructionally Relevant Assessment INSTRUCTION Indicates the learning outcomes to be attained by students LEARNING TASK Specifies the particular set of learning task(s) to be assessed. ASSESSMENT Provides a procedure designed to measure a representative sample of the instructionally relevant learning tasks. Is there close agreement? What is the Assessment Process? AIMS ASSESSMENT ACTION ADJUSTMENT Importance of Assessment To find out what the students know (knowledge) To find out what the students can do, and how well they can do it (skill; performance) To find out how students go about the task of doing their work (process) To find out how students feel about their work (motivation, effort) What is Student Assessment for? *To help us design and modify programs to better promote learning and student success. To provide common definitions and benchmarks for student abilities that will enable us to act more coherently and effectively to promote student learning. *To provide feedback, guidance, and mentoring to students so as to help them better plan and execute their educational programs. *To provide improved feedback about student learning to support faculty in their work. Functions of Assessment Diagnostic: tell us what the student needs to learn Formative: tell us how well the student is doing as work progresses Summative: tell us how well the student did at the end of a unit/task What can be assessed? Student learning characteristics -Ability differences -Learning styles Student motivational characteristics -Interest -Self-efficacy -goal orientation Learning Content knowledge Ability to apply content knowledge Skills Dispositions and attitudes Performances Direct and Indirect Assessment Measures Direct methods ask students to demonstrate their learning while indirect methods ask them to reflect on their learning. Direct methods include objective tests, essays, case studies, problem solving exercises, presentations and classroom assignments. Indirect methods include surveys, interviews and student reflection and/or self-assessment essays. It is useful to include both direct and indirect assessment measures in your assessments. How should we assess? True –False Item Multiple Choice Completion Short Answer Essay Practical Exam Papers/Reports Projects Questionnaires Inventories Checklist Peer Rating Self Rating Journal Portfolio Observations Discussions Interviews Criteria In Choosing an Assessment Method It should be reliable. It should be valid. It should be simple to operate, and should not be too costly. It should be seen by students and society in general. It should benefit all students. Who should be involved in assessment? The teacher The student The student’s peer Administrator Parents What should we do with the information from our assessment? Use it to improve the focus of our teaching (diagnosis) Use it to focus student attention of strengths and weaknesses (motivation) Use it to improve program planning (program assessment) Use it for reporting to parents Classroom Assessment Paper and pencil assessments: Ask students to respond in writing to questions or problem -Item level: Assessing lower vs. higher skills -Knowledge vs. application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation -Authentic tasks e. . multiple choice, T/F, matching (recognition), short answer, essay (recall) Paper and Pencil Assessment Strengths -Can cover a lot of material reasonably well -Fair -Effective in assessing declarative knowledge of content – Easier to construct and administer than performance assessments Weaknesses -Require forethought and skill -Less effective in assessing procedural knowledge and creative think ing -Construction of good higher level recognition items is difficult -Recall items that do a good job of assessing higher level thinking (essay questions) are difficult to score. Performance Assessments – assessment that elicits and evaluates actual student performances Types of Performances: Products: drawings, science experiments, term papers, poems, solution to authentic problems Behavior: time trial for running a mile, reciting a poem, acting tryouts, dancing Performance assessments Strengths – Effective for assessing higher level thinking and authentic learning -Effective for assessing skill and procedural learning -Interesting and motivating for students Weaknesses -Emphasize depth at the expense of breadth Difficult to construct -Time consuming to administer -Hard to score fairly How can we assess student learning? Traditional assessment: assess student knowledge and skills in relative isolation from real world context. Traditional assessment practices reflect what students are able to recall from memory through various means, such as, multiple choice, true/false, fill in the blank, and matching questions. Authentic assessment: assess stu dents’ ability to use what they’ve learning in tasks similar to those in the outside world. Occurs when the authenticity of student learning has been observed. It requires information from a variety of source such as content work samples, observation during class activities, and conferences with students. Classroom Assessment Informal Assessment: teachers’ spontaneous, day to day observations of student performances. Examples Verbal -Asking questions -Listening to student discussions -Conducting student conferences Nonverbal -Observing -Task performances -On-and off-task behavior -student choices -student body language Informal Assessment Strengths -Facilitates responsive teaching -Can be done during teaching -Easy to individualize Weaknesses -Requires high level of teacher skill -Is vulnerable to -Bias -Inequities –Mistakes Classroom Assessment Formal assessment : assessment that is planned in advance and used to assess a predetermined content and/or skill domain. Strengths -allows the teacher to evaluate all students systematically on the important skills and concepts -helps teachers determine how well students are progressing over the entire year -provides useful information to parents and administrators. Portfolios A collection of student samples representing or demonstrating student academic growth. It can include formative and summative assessment. It may contain written work, journals, maps, charts, survey, group reports, peer reviews and other such items. Portfolios are systematic, purposeful, and meaningful collections of students’ work in one or more subject areas. Importance of Portfolios For Students Shows growth over time Displays student’s accomplishment Helps students make choices Encourages them to take responsibility for their work Demonstrates how students think Importance of Portfolios For Teachers Highlights performance-based activities over year Provides a framework for organizing student’s work Encourages collaboration with students, parents, and teachers Showcases an ongoing curriculum Facilitates student information for decision making Importance of Portfolios For Parents Offer insight into what their children do in school Facilitates communication between home and school Gives the parents an opportunity to react to what their child is doing in school and to their development Shows parents how to make a portfolio so they may do one at home at the same time Importance of Portfolios For Administrators Provides evidence that teacher/school goals are being met Shows growth of students and teachers Provides data from various sources What do portfolios contain? Three basic models: Showcase model, consisting of work samples chosen by the student. Descriptive model, consisting of representative work of the student, with no attempt at evaluation. Evaluative model, consisting of representative products that have been evaluated by criteria. Disadvantages of Portfolio Require more time for faculty to evaluate than test or simple-sample assessment. Require students to compile their own work, usually outside of class. Do not easily demonstrate lower-level thinking, such as recall of knowledge. May threaten students who limit their learning to cramming for doing it at the last minute. Rubric It is a scoring guide that seeks to evaluate a student’s performance based on the sum of a full range of criteria rather than a single numerical score. It is a working guide for students and teachers, usually handed out before the assignment begins in order to get students to think about the criteria on which their work will be judged. Rubrics are scoring criteria for Free-response Questions Scientific reports Oral or Power point presentations Reflections/Journals Essay Laboratory-based performance tests Article review or reactions Portfolios Many others Open-ended Question Concept Mapping It requires students to explore links between two or more related concepts. When making concept maps, they clarify in their minds the links they have made of the concepts and having visual representation of these links, they are better able to rearrange of form new links when new concepts are introduced. Laboratory Performance In this format students and teachers know the requirements in advance and prepare them. The teacher judges the student performance within a specific time frame and setting. Students are rated on appropriate and effective use of laboratory equipment, measuring tools, and safety laboratory procedures as well as a hands-on designing of an investigation. Inventories Diagnostic Inventories: Student responses to a series of questions or statements in any field, either verbally or in writing. These responses may indicate an ability or interest in a particular field. Interest Inventories: student responses to questions designed to find out past experience and or current interest in a topic, subject or activity. Classroom Assessment Presentation : a presentation by one student or by a group of students to demonstrate the skills used in the completion of an activity or the acquisition of curricular outcomes/expectations. The presentation can take the form of a skit, lecture, lab presentation, debate etc. Computers can also be used for presentation when using such software as Hyperstudio, Powerpoint or Corel presentations. Peer Evaluation : judgments by students about one another’s performance relative to stated criteria and program outcomes Journal Assessment This refer to student’s ongoing record of expressions experiences and reflections on a given topic. There are two types: one in which students write with minimal direction what he/she is thinking and or feeling and the other requires students to compete a specific written assignment and establishes restrictions and guidelines necessary to accurately accomplish the assignment. Journals can evolve different types of reflecting writing, drawing, painting, and role playing. REFLECTIVE JOURNAL What did I learn? How do I feel about it? What happened? SYNTHESIS JOURNAL How I can Use It? What I learned? What I Did? SPECULATION ABOUT EFFECTS JOURNAL What could happen because of this? What happened? V. CONCLUSION A fair assessment is one in which students are given equitable opportunities to demonstrate what they know and can do. Classroom assessment is not only for grading or ranking purposes. Its goal is to inform instruction by providing teachers with information to help them make good educational decisions. Assessment is integrated with student’s day-to-day learning experiences rather than a series of an end-of-course tests. Why link assessment with instruction? Better assessment means better teaching. Better teaching means better learning . Better learning means better students. Better students mean better opportunities for a better life. VI. RECCOMENDATION Specific assessment tools, listed below, are strongly recommended to faculty and department heads for their ability to provide useful information for accountability and, more importantly, to foster dialogue to improve student learning within courses. These three assessment tools are strongly recommended because they are concise and effective direct evaluations as opposed to indirect evaluations. Direct evaluations can be both formative (the gathering of information about student learning during the progression of a course or program, usually repeatedly, to improve the learning of those students) and summative (the gathering of information at the conclusion of the course, program or undergraduate career to improve learning or to meet accountability demands. ) 1. Rubrics:  These are the most flexible types of direct assessments and can be used to score any product or performance such as essays, portfolios, skill performances, oral exams, debates, project/product creation, oral presentations or a student’s body of work over the course of a semester. Since we are talking about assessing â€Å"official† course learning outcomes that are stated in course documents, all faculty teaching that course must agree on a detailed scoring system that delineates criteria used to discriminate among levels and is used for scoring a common assignment, product or performance or set of assignments, products or performances. Information can be obtained from the course document’s assignment and evaluation pages to help guide the creation of the rubric. Pros: †¢ Defines clear expectations. †¢ Can be used to score many kinds of assignments or exams †¢ Faculty define standards and criteria and how they will be applied Cons: †¢ Faculty must agree on how to define standards and criteria and how they will be applied 2. Common Final Exam or Common Capstone Project:  These direct assessment methods integrate knowledge, concepts and skills associated with an entire sequence of study in a course. Either use the same final exam for all sections offered in a course (commercially produced/standardized test or locally developed final exam) or require a culminating final project that is similar (using the same grading rubric to evaluate). Pros: †¢ Good method to measure growth over time with regard to a course †¢ Cumulative †¢ The data is more robust if all students complete the same assessment †¢ Provides an additional buffer between student learning performance and an individual instructor’s teaching performance Cons: Focus and breadth of assessment are important †¢ Understanding all of the variables to produce assessment results is also important †¢ May result in additional course requirements †¢ Requires coordination and agreement on standards 3. Embedded Test Questions:  Embed the same agreed upon questions that relate to the course’s student learning outcomes into the final exam for all sections of the course and analyze tho se results and/or embed the same agreed-upon requirements into the final project/assignment for all sections of the course and analyze those results. Pros: †¢ Good method to measure growth over time with regards to a course †¢ Cumulative †¢ The data is more robust if all students complete the same assessment †¢ Provides an additional buffer between student learning performance and an individual instructor’s teaching performance †¢ Embedded questions can be reported as an aggregate Cons: †¢ May result in additional course requirements †¢ Requires coordination and agreement on standards If some instructors embed and others do not, the data will be difficult to compare and analyze †¢ Separate analysis of embedded set of questions is required VII. REFERENCES https://www. google. com. ph/search? q=ASSESSMENT+TOOLS+PPT;rlz=2C1GTPM_enPH0537PH0537;aq=f;oq=assessment+tools+;aqs=chrome. 0. 59j57j61j60l2j0. 3437j0;sourceid=chrome;ie=UTF-8 http://www. slideshare. net/armovil/assessment-of-student-learning? from_search=2 Fulks, Janet, â€Å"Assessing Student Learning in Community Colleges†, Bakersfield College, 2004