...great deal about theories, history, change, and influential people. For my final reflection, I have chosen professional learning communities, conflict, and motivation as the three topics that I will address. I chose these topics for many reasons, but the main reason for choosing was simply that I wanted to follow my heart. It was important to me to choose topics that I could relate to or that I had a vested interest in. These topics are also very relevant in my current working situation. Through this reflection, I hope to gain further insight to these topics and to build my capacity as an instructional leader. Overview of Topics Professional Learning Communities A Professional Learning Community (PLC) is a group of educational professionals who come together to work collaboratively with the ultimate goal of improving student achievement. According to DuFour (2004), in a PLC, educators engage in on-going dialogue and questioning about teaching and learning. Engaging in meaningful collaborative conversations encourages deep professional learning, and this teacher learning may result in higher levels of student achievement (Dufour, 2004). The research conducted by Ferguson (2013) explored the struggles faced by a school administration in implementing a PLC. The study found that in spite of all of the frustrations associated with implementation, creating a professional learning communities created a more collaborative culture in which teachers worked together to benefit all...
Words: 1619 - Pages: 7
...October 8, 2012 My motivation for returning to school will help me be a valuable contribution to myself, family and career; it will assist me in my respective work projects, as well as increase business opportunities. My motivation is a goal that began and was increased through variable stages; but, did not happen over night. The first stages were dealing with a failed marriage, pregnant, and raising two children with no high school diploma. I was 21 years of age with no job, no education, on public assistance and struggle with emotional challenge. I was lost, facing challenges that I did not know how change. I never was taught about the possibilities of education and the key to success. I did not have a clue of how to gain self motivation to get higher education; overall, I did not want to be uneducated on welfare and fall into the poor and deprive category. I needed to create a plan and build a legacy for my children, furthermore; how could I encourage them to get their high school diploma and I did not have one of my very own. I started off by enrolling into the General Educational Diploma (GED) program. On my graduation day I made a promise to my mother that one day I’ll get my degree. Even thou I made this promise, I had three sons and my initial focus was to find a good paying job, learn the knowledge, skills and abilities in professional position. I wanted to succeed, and needed to support my family. To be honest...
Words: 905 - Pages: 4
...mindfulness. Competence is the ability to accomplish set goals. In order to feel as if one is competent, I believe motivation is a huge factor that can cause a decrease in competence. At this point in my life, I am definitely questioning my competence. I feel a complete lack of effectiveness and my motivation does tend to waiver according to my constantly changing moods (Bipolar Disorder). I know that I can accomplish the things that I put my mind to, however my contingency perspectives are lacking. Maintaining focus and motivation have become daily struggles for me. Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand my feelings, having empathy for others, and being able to regulate my emotions. I believe that I do maintain emotional intelligence, however my partner believes my emotions are based too much on how others are feeling in our home and many times I am wrong in interpreting others' feelings. For example, when my partner is quiet, many times I may think he is mad or that I have angered him and so therefore I become anxious. I find that I do at times lack self control when it comes to my moods, behavior, and reactions to others. I have implemented DBT (Dialectical Behavior Therapy) to help with this. I have to be much more cognizant of my emotions and how my behavior is affected. Ethics are standards or moral choices we make. I live my life by the principle of "harm none". I believe that this has guided and served me well when faced with any type of...
Words: 1109 - Pages: 5
...Group A5- Psycho Engineers a.)Topic of the project: Measuring whether perceived career stagnation in early career may have impact on factors such as employee motivation, job satisfaction and turnover intention. b.)Scope of the project: In this project we plan to analyse whether professionals in the early stages of the career (work-experience less than 5 years) feel early career stagnation and how it impacts factors like their job motivation, turnover intention, etc. The group also identified following parameters which were possibly affected due to career stagnation: a. Motivation b. Job satisfaction c. Turnover Intention Some mediator factors identified by us which can affect the relationship between career stagnation and identified parameters are: 1. Gender 2. Educational Background 3. Age In the common pyramid-shaped organisations majority of the individuals face a point where hierarchical advancements seem unlikely. In such a situation we say that the employee has hit a career plateau or that his career has stagnated. In some situations although the employee has hit a plateau he/she still continues to do his/her job efficiently with no decrease in output. However , for some employees the career plateau may adversely impact job satisfaction, motivation, willingness to stay in the organisation ,etc. It is the latter case also known as the “deadwoods” who need extra attention from the management and our study focuses on analysing the effects of career stagnation...
Words: 3085 - Pages: 13
...(Month/Year) (No. of Pages) Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition___ (Name of Style Manual Used in This Study) Adolescents have always been exposed to peer influence, but the kinds of peer influence that they encounter have changed tremendously in the past years. Peers can influence everything from what an adolescent chooses to wear to whether or not an adolescent engages in drug related or other delinquent behavior. This is an important topic because if society and education related professionals understand the issues surrounding negative peer influence, they are more likely to prevent it and be more adequately prepared to help a teenager facing negative aspects of peer pressure. This research is a review of the existing literature on the positive and negative aspects of peer influence among adolescents in relation to academic performance and socialization. Directions for future research and implications for professional practice are also included. iii TABLE...
Words: 6955 - Pages: 28
...from the dominant “disease model” of human functioning. In the disease model, clinical psychology had become almost exclusively a science about healing damage or controlling maladaptive impulses. In contrast, the primary purpose of positive psychology is to measure, understand, and then build human strengths and civic virtues, including hope, wisdom, creativity, courage, spirituality, responsibility, perseverance, and satisfaction. The special issue is divided into 4 sections: evolutionary perspectives, positive personal traits, implications for mental and physical health, and fostering excellence. As the editors and several authors point out, positive psychology has significant implications for improving the quality of personal and professional life through applications on both individual and societal levels. The first of the 4 sections includes 2 ambitious articles that examine positive psychology within an evolutionary framework. In “The Evolution of Happiness” David Buss offers 3 hypotheses to explain why positive states of mind are so often elusive: first, the discrepancies between modern and ancestral environments; second, mechanisms evolved that are “designed” to produce subjective distress (i.e., functional jealousy and worry); and third, competitive mechanisms evolved that function to benefit 1 person at the expense of others. In contrast to Buss' biologically based evolutionary arguments, Massimini and...
Words: 1407 - Pages: 6
...Motivation and Emotion Principles of Psychology Bryant & Stratton College By: Tara Hardaway Instructor: Pamela Parker Motivation and Emotion I choose to write this paper on motivation and emotion in order to identify how if the two are combined they create a sense of satisfaction in the workplace as well as daily life. I had to define the meanings of them and elaborate on the effect of them and identify how they have been used in my professional work life. "The term motivation refers to factors that activate, direct, and sustain goal-directed behavior... Motives are the "whys" of behavior - the needs or wants that drive behavior and explain what we do. We don't actually observe a motive; rather, we infer that one exists based on the behavior we observe." (Nevid, 2013) When it comes to work a person needs to be motivated to know what type of work environment they would choose to work in. Once you have the right environment the motivation comes naturally. You want to do your best and most you really do. Hauser, L. (2014) stated that in today's society and economy employees are well educated and relatively well off. This fact strongly influences the mechanisms of motivation. Therefore, today's managers have to use a large variety of motivational instruments. While under employment as an Adult Instructor with RCSD, I had the opportunity to work for the Family Learning Center in Rochester NY. In order to attend the Family Learning Center a students who had been out of school...
Words: 1705 - Pages: 7
...Scientific studies show that during 2005–06, 10.5 million Australians aged from 15 years and over (60%) took part in sports and physical recreational activities. These included 29% of the population (4.7 million people) who often participate in more than twice a week. For the remaining 40% (5.5 million people), it showed they weren’t doing much exercise to maintain their fitness levels within 12 months when being surveyed. This survey also revealed that more young people and youth participate in sport more often than adults -Elsevier Inc, Science and Medicine in sport, 2004 A young person’s upbringing and home life can influence their personality, genetics, values and attitude, and affect the participation of youth in badminton by having negative and positive outlooks on actions and decisions. Their personality affects their values, attitudes and social participation. Influential parents can also affect their social participation, as well as passing on another factor, the genetic...
Words: 1379 - Pages: 6
...illness are in the forefront of our healthcare systems, legal systems, social circles and yes, even in our churches. Though each of the aforementioned systems takes a different approach on how to tackle the problem of mental illness, one thing is for sure-the need for more qualified counselors is on the rise. Luckily, the counseling profession has grown and employs theories from the secular world as well as the religious world. Though the strategies and treatment goals may be different, both groups of counseling professionals work diligently to support those suffering from mental illness and bring them into a sense of well-being. To that end, the author of this paper will examine the theories and ideologies of both groups of counseling professionals, examine therapeutic remedies that are alike between the two and how they differ in the way they interact with clients and mental illness. The Goal of Christian Counseling The goal of any counseling professional is to assist the client with identifying skills and tools that will help them to achieve mental well-being. Each counselor no doubt uses a multifaceted approach with a wide menu of therapeutic options to achieve this goal. However, the Christian Counselor not only seeks to employ skills that will help the client reach mental well-being, he/she also seeks to utilize the spiritual tools afforded to all through the Justification process of Jesus Christ so that the client comes to a place of spiritual mature, devoted...
Words: 2449 - Pages: 10
...Supporting Good practice in performance and reward management. | | | Questions | | 1. Explain at least 2 purposes of performance management and its relationship to business objectives.Performance management is a process, established by organizations to help them in accomplishing their objectives by maximizing the performance of an individual, team or whole organization and ensure that the objectives are achieved.Performance management process is a key component of the organizations overall approach to the management of its employees. As part of the performance the performance management system, the performance management process aims to achieve the following:To enable an individual employee to know exactly what is expected both in terms of outputs and the relevant, appropriate behavioral style, which underpin the delivery of the agreed objectives.To enable individual to identify and meet personal development needs which will facilitate the delivery of agreed objectives.To enable individual employees to feel motivated and valued for their contribution to the on-going success of the organization.To enable individuals to identify and achieve realistic career goals over time.To enable the organization to reward individuals fairly based on an objective assessment of their contributions. To enable the organization to audit the capability of its staff.To enable the organization to plan for its own staff succession.An honest and constructive working relationship between a manager...
Words: 1976 - Pages: 8
...by the withdrawal of the model. At this stage, person feels apathetic or has considered himself retired at the job. They experience such situation because they are frustrated, not because they have no motivation. But they have been blocked by dead-end jobs, high degrees of job specialization, or supervisors who put up barriers. The fixation reaction of James may be used to explain irrational bureaucratic behavior. The rules become the ends in themselves, and the frustrated employee pathetically adapt to the barriers. Behavioral change of James would never let him achieve motivated goals on the job, hence he tries to seek fulfillment outside the job. These reactions of James may cost organization a great deal because of his frustrating and apathetic behavior. 2) Cite a specific example of role conflict in this case? People living in a society assume a succession of roles throughout their life. Typical sequences of roles in James case are a father, a husband and a regular clerk in a manufacturing company. According to the case, James found himself in a low-paying dead-end assembly line job with a large manufacturing company. He does not have any motivation or excitement to work for the company. In fact he find him unsuccessfully to accomplish any task in his life, this had made me helpless at work. On the payday, he goes to the Tavern where he spends ample amount of money on drinking. The following day he feels depressed and on the other hand, his wife is not able...
Words: 705 - Pages: 3
...Creating a Plan for Positive Influence By Roderick Wissar LDR 531 October 9, 2011 Dustin Phillips As a member of an organization that seeks continuous improvement and pursuit of excellence within and outside the organization, it is a privilege to present a plan that seeks to increase the three most important factors in any company: Motivation, satisfaction, and performance of each member. Discussed in previous opportunities, human capital in any organization is the most important asset in achieving company objectives. The role as managers and leaders is to understand that we are working with people who have their own way of thinking and behaving. For this reason this time we are given (one year) we must use our energy, creativity, knowledge, and experience to enhance the three factors mentioned above. Our plan must be clear to understand, transparent in their actions and to establish clearly the role of each team member. The way we approach each of the different attitudes, emotions, values and personalities allow us to improve and identify the mechanisms that we use to create a productive work environment. Team Performance and Effectiveness Teamwork is essential to the performance of a team and is necessary for most development programs as it needs multiple skills to manage any development project (Biswas, 2008). When a team is formed several factors must be considered in order to determine if a team is able to succeed. They are personality, values...
Words: 1741 - Pages: 7
...organization behaves. It involves the management directing employees into improving organizational and personal effectiveness. It plays an enormous role in determining the attitudes of employees and their job satisfaction. When an employee is happy, it is usually because they are satisfied with their work. This also improves the quality of their work. Attitude and job satisfaction may not fall completely on the management but also on the employees. If employees enjoy their work, they will not need external motivation from management, but instead the satisfaction they attain from completing their work will motivate them (Robbins, 2004). Job satisfaction is an individual’s contentment with their work. Its effect on productivity is either positive or negative. The relationship between job satisfaction and job productivity is however not consistent. An individual may still obtain high job productivity without having the satisfaction in the work. This happens mostly when money is their motivation. Another motivator is improving in his or her work in order to receive a promotion. Other employees may increase their productivity due to the satisfaction they get from their work. A reason for job satisfaction may also come from an employee getting a good salary. It improves job satisfaction as long...
Words: 2175 - Pages: 9
...Did you perceive most of the significant changes in your world as negative or positive initially? As a normal person its all depends than if the change is for good or if it is for bad. If it is for good of course anyone can take it as a positive initially who doesn’t like good things but in the other hand if it is something negative or bad than can affect me direct or indirect it could take some time until I star realizing that I need to do some changes so I can take it the best way possible. I don’t think it affect me at all because I am very positive person and I always say that everything happen in life for a reason and the only thing doesn’t have solution in life is death. Did some negatives event have positives outcomes? Well I personally think that yes, some of them or maybe all of them have positive outcomes the reason why it is because we are human an as human been we always are looking for solution to negatives stuff. Did some positives occurrences fail to result in a positive effect on your circumstances? Well if many things in one way or another that are good and can be created with an objective good sometimes do not meet expectations and do not end up being what we expected. So in a certain way if they fail but not to say that there were good or they were created for a good purpose. How do you think your worldview affects your choices going forward, especially your choice to further your education? Well my vision for the future is very clear and...
Words: 493 - Pages: 2
...Motivation and Organizational Culture Paper May 19, 2012 The role of management in the workplace is a significant part of ensuring the quality of service. The management team should try to help the employees to stay clear from negative issues within the workplace. When issues arise that involve negative issues they should be handled in a professional manner at once so that it does not turn in to something much bigger. The manager’s top responsibility is to ensure that the environment within the workplace is safe and neutral. Other responsibilities for the management team would be to resolve problems as they arise, he or she should not show favoritism, promote effective communication, and help to provide a workplace that is mentally safe for all employees. An effective leader will uphold authority and will have a great affect on others. An effective manager would encourage self-confidence within employees, the will to achieve in the task being done, honesty, and integrity. When the management teams focuses on promoting these positive ethics within the workplace the employees seem to come together as a team with the final result being an effective workplace. Ayame Nakamura, a Japanese immigrant works as a project manager for a pharmaceutical company in California. The management style for this pharmaceutical is confrontational, which interferes with Ayame’s cultural background. People from different cultures are subject to a variety of emotions and actions...
Words: 721 - Pages: 3
