Stories about Great Thinkers and Inventors

Stories about Great Thinkers and Inventors The following stories about great thinkers and inventors will help to motivate your students and enhance their appreciation of the contributions of inventors. As students read these stories, they will also realize the inventors are male, female, old, young, minority, and majority. They are ordinary people who follow through with their creative ideas to make their dreams a reality. FRISBEE  ® The term FRISBEE did not always refer to the familiar plastic disks we visualize flying through the air. Over 100 years ago, in Bridgeport, Connecticut, William Russell Frisbie owned the Frisbie Pie Company and delivered his pies locally. All of his pies were baked in the same type of 10 round tin with a raised edge, wide brim, six small holes in the bottom, and Frisbie Pies on the bottom. Playing catch with the  tins  soon became a popular local sport. However, the tins were slightly dangerous when a  toss  was missed. It became the Yale custom to yell Frisbie when throwing a pie tin. In the 40s when plastic emerged, the pie-tin game was recognized as a manufacturable and marketable product. Note:  FRISBEE  Ã‚ ® is a registered trademark of Wham-O Mfg. Co. Earmuffs Baby, Its Cold Outside Baby, Its Cold Outside may have been the song running through 13-year-old Chester Greenwoods head one cold December day in 1873. To protect his ears while ice skating, he found a piece of wire, and with his grandmothers help, padded the ends. In the beginning, his friends laughed at him. However, when they realized that he was able to stay outside skating long after they had gone inside freezing, they stopped laughing. Instead, they began to ask Chester to make ear covers for them, too. At age 17 Chester applied for a patent. For the next 60 years, Chesters factory made earmuffs, and earmuffs made Chester rich. BAND-AID  ® At the turn of the century, Mrs. Earl Dickson, an inexperienced cook, often burned and cut herself. Mr. Dickson, a Johnson and Johnson employee, got plenty of practice in hand bandaging. Out of concern for his wifes safety, he began to prepare bandages ahead of time so that his wife could apply them by herself. By combining a piece of surgical tape and a piece of gauze, he fashioned the first crude adhesive strip bandage. LIFE-SAVERS  ® Candy During the hot summer of 1913, Clarence Crane, a chocolate candy manufacturer, found himself facing a dilemma. When he tried to ship his chocolates to candy shops in other cities they melted into gooey blobs. To avoid dealing with the mess, his customers were deferring their orders until cool weather. In order to retain his customers, Mr. Crane needed to find a substitute for the melted chocolates. He experimented with hard candy which wouldnt melt during shipment. Using a machine designed for making medicine pills, Crane produced small, circular candies with a hole in the middle. The birth of LIFE SAVERS! Note on Trademarks  ® is the symbol for a registered trademark. The trademarks on this page are words used to name the inventions. Thomas Alva Edison If I were to tell you that  Thomas Alva Edison  had shown signs of inventive genius at an early age, you probably would not be surprised. Mr. Edison achieved enormous fame with his lifelong contributions of volumes of inventive technology. He received the first of his 1,093 U.S. patents by age 22. In the book, Fire of Genius, Ernest Heyn reported on a remarkable resourceful young Edison, though some of his earliest  tinkering  clearly lacked merit. Age 6 By the age of six, Thomas Edisons experiments with fire were said to have cost his father a barn. Soon after that, it is reported that young Edison tried to launch the first human balloon by persuading another youth to swallow large quantities of effervescing powders to inflate himself with gas. Of course, the experiments brought quite unexpected results! Chemistry and electricity held great fascination for this child,  Thomas Edison. By his early teens, he had designed and perfected his first real invention, an electrical cockroach control system. He glued parallel strips of tinfoil to a wall and wired the strips to the poles of a powerful battery, a deadly shock for the unsuspecting insect. As a dynamo of  creativity, Mr. Edison stood as decidedly unique; but as a child with a curious, problem-solving nature, he was not alone. Here are some more inventive children to know and appreciate. Age 14 At age 14, one schoolboy invented a rotary brush device to remove husks from wheat in the flour mill run by his friends father. The young inventors name?  Alexander Graham Bell. Age 16 At 16, another of our junior achievers saved pennies to buy materials for his chemistry experiments. While still a teenager, he set his mind on developing a commercially viable aluminum refining process. By age 25,  Charles Hall  received a patent on his revolutionary electrolytic process. Age 19 While only 19 years old, another imaginative young person designed and built his first  helicopter. In the summer of 1909, it very nearly flew. Years later,  Igor Sikorsky  perfected his design and saw his early dreams change aviation history.  Silorsky  was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1987. The are more childhood problem-solvers that we can mention. Perhaps youve heard about: Samuel Colts  childhood experience with underwater explosives;Fourteen-year-old Robert Fultons manually operated paddlewheel; andGuglielmo Marconis early mechanical/electrical tinkering.Even television tinker,  Philo T. Farnsworth, conceived his optical scanning idea at the tender age of 14. Inventions Inventions tell something about the inventors place in the society in which they live, a closeness to certain kinds of problems, and possession of certain skills. It is not surprising that up until the mid 20th Century, womens inventions were often related to childcare, housework, and healthcare, all traditional female occupations. In recent years, with access to specialized training and broader job opportunities, women are applying their creativity to many new kinds of problems, including those requiring high technology. While women have frequently come up with new ways to make their work easier, they have not always received credit for their ideas. Some stories about early women inventors show that women often recognized that they were entering a mans world, and shielded their work from the public eye by allowing men to patent their inventions. Catherine Greene Although  Eli Whitney  received a  patent for a cotton gin, Catherine Greene is said to have posed both the problem and the basic idea to Whitney. Furthermore, according to Matilda Gage, (, 1883), his first model, fitted with wooden teeth, did not do the work well, and Whitney was about to throw the work aside when Mrs. Greene proposed the substitution of wire to catch the cotton seeds. Margaret Knight Margaret Knight, remembered as the female Edison, received some 26 patents for such diverse items as a window frame and sash, machinery for cutting shoe soles, and improvements to internal combustion engines. Her most significant patent was for machinery that would automatically fold and glue paper bags to create square bottoms, an invention which dramatically changed shopping habits. Workmen reportedly refused her advice when first installing the equipment because, after all, what does a woman know about machines? More about  Margaret Knight Sarah Breedlove Walker Sarah Breedlove Walker, the daughter of former slaves, was orphaned at seven and widowed by 20.  Madame Walker  is credited with inventing hair lotions, creams, and an improved hair styling hot comb. But her greatest achievement may be the development of the Walker System, which included a broad offering of cosmetics, licensed Walker Agents, and Walker Schools, which offered meaningful employment and personal growth to thousands of Walker Agents, mostly Black women. Sarah Walker was the first American woman  self-made millionaire. More about  Sarah Breedlove Walker Bette Graham Bette Graham hoped to be an artist, but circumstances led her into secretarial work. Bette, however, was not an accurate typist. Fortunately, she recalled that artists could correct their mistakes by painting over them with gesso, so she invented a quick drying paint to cover her typing mistakes. Bette first prepared the secret formula in her kitchen using a hand mixer, and her young son helped to pour the mixture into little bottles. In 1980, the Liquid Paper Corporation, which Bette Graham built, was sold for over $47 million. More about   Bette  GRaham Ann Moore Ann Moore, a Peace Corps volunteer, saw how African women carried babies on their backs by tying cloth around their bodies, leaving both hands free for other work. When she returned to the United States, she designed a carrier which became the popular SNUGLI. Recently Ms. Moore received another patent for a carrier to conveniently transport oxygen cylinders. People needing oxygen for breathing assistance, who were previously confined to stationary oxygen tanks, can now move about more freely. Her company now sells several versions including lightweight backpacks, handbags, shoulder bags, and wheelchair/walker carriers for portable cylinders. Stephanie Kwolek Stephanie Kwolek, one of Duponts leading chemists, discovered the miracle fiber, Kevlar, which has five times the strength of steel by weight. Uses for Kevlar are seemingly endless, including ropes and cables for oil drilling rigs, canoe hulls, boat sails, automobile bodies and tires, and military and motorcycle helmets. Many Viet Nam veterans and police officers are alive today because of protection provided by bullet-proof vests made from Kevlar. Because of its strength and lightness, Kevlar was chosen as the material for the Gossamer Albatross, a pedal airplane flown across the English Channel. Kwolek was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1995. More on  Stephanie Kwolek Gertrude B. Elion Gertrude B. Elion, 1988 Nobel laureate in Medicine, and Scientist Emeritus with Burroughs Wellcome Company, is credited with the synthesis of two of the first successful drugs for Leukemia, as well as Imuron, an agent to prevent the rejection of kidney transplants, and Zovirax, the first selective antiviral agent against herpes virus infections. Researchers who discovered AZT, a breakthrough treatment for AIDS, used Elions protocols. Elion was inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 1991, the first woman inductee. More on Gertrude B. Elion Did you Know That.. windshield wipers were patented by  Mary Anderson  in 1903?dandruff shampoo was patented by Josie Stuart in 1903?a dishwasher was patented by  Josephine Cochrane  in 1914?the first disposable diaper was patented by Marion Donovan in 1951?a compact portable hair dryer was patented by Harriet J. Stern in 1962?a dough product for frozen pizza was patented by Rose Totino in 1979?the Melitta Automatic Drip Coffee Maker was patented by Melitta Benz in Germany in 1908? Between 1863 and 1913, approximately 1,200 inventions were patented by minority  inventors.  Many  more were unidentified because they hid their race to avoid discrimination or sold their inventions to others. The following stories are about a few of the  great minority  inventors. Elijah McCoy Elijah McCoy  earned  about 50 patents, however, his most  famous one  was for a metal or glass cup that fed oil to bearings through a small-bore tube. Elijah McCoy was born in Ontario, Canada, in 1843, the son of slaves who had fled Kentucky. He died in Michigan in 1929. More about  Elijah McCoy Benjamin Banneker Benjamin Banneker created the first striking clock made of wood in America. He became known as the Afro-American Astronomer. He published an almanac and with his knowledge of mathematics and astronomy, he assisted in the surveying and planning of the new city of Washington, D.C. More about  Benjamin Banneker Granville Woods Granville Woods  had more than 60  patents. Known as the Black Edison, he improved Bells telegraph and created an electrical motor that made the underground subway possible. He also improved the airbrake. More about  Granville Woods Garrett Morgan Garrett Morgan  invented an improved  traffic signal. He also invented a safety hood for firefighters. More about  Garrett Morgan George Washington Carver George Washington Carver aided the Southern states with his  many inventions. He discovered over 300 different products made from the peanut which, until Carver, was considered a lowly food fit for hogs. He dedicated himself to teaching others, learning and working with nature. He created over 125 new products with the sweet potato and taught poor farmers how to rotate crops to  improve  their soil and their cotton.  George Washington Carver  was a great scientist and inventor who learned to be a careful observer and who was honored throughout the world for his creation of new things. More about  George Washington Carver

Free Essays on Teenage Sex

Teenage Sex Teenagers in the United States are experimenting with sexual activities more and more today than ever before. According to Charles Krauthammer, "Sex oozes from every pore of the culture and there's not a kid in the world who can avoid it." (Meier, 1994, p. 7). Teenagers are surrounded by some sort of sexual connotations all the time. Whether it is television, radio, school, or even the Internet, teenagers are hearing the affects of sex on our society. The price that teenagers pay for being sexually active greatly outweighs any advantages. The period of puberty occurs somewhere between the ages of 10 and 14 for most but can vary for different people. Heredity, health problems, and emotional and physical stress can cause these variations. Teens begin to experiment with the opposite sex by hugging, kissing and other forms of sexual _expression. People are capable of creating babies as soon as puberty begins. Teens also watch more television and listen to more music developing their own unique personalities. According to one study, about 65,000 sexual acts or comments on prime-time television occur every year (Meier, 1994, p. 9). In the movies or on television, the actors and actresses make sex look easy, fun and glamorous. It appears to be something everyone is doing. On television shows like "Dawson's Creek", sex is usually the major topic of the entire show. Whether it is guys and girls, guys and guys, girls and girls, or multiple persons of each sex, the sex act itself is a major conflict. Movies, such as "Cruel Intentions", portray sex as a game. The main characters are placing bets on each other that one of them will have sex with some girl who is against the idea of premarital sex. That movie is rated R, but little kids were in there with their parents. Those types of movies are not meant for a young audience. Now those kids might end up having sex when they become teenagers. Those same teenagers might often be the one... Free Essays on Teenage Sex Free Essays on Teenage Sex Teenage Sex Teenagers in the United States are experimenting with sexual activities more and more today than ever before. According to Charles Krauthammer, "Sex oozes from every pore of the culture and there's not a kid in the world who can avoid it." (Meier, 1994, p. 7). Teenagers are surrounded by some sort of sexual connotations all the time. Whether it is television, radio, school, or even the Internet, teenagers are hearing the affects of sex on our society. The price that teenagers pay for being sexually active greatly outweighs any advantages. The period of puberty occurs somewhere between the ages of 10 and 14 for most but can vary for different people. Heredity, health problems, and emotional and physical stress can cause these variations. Teens begin to experiment with the opposite sex by hugging, kissing and other forms of sexual _expression. People are capable of creating babies as soon as puberty begins. Teens also watch more television and listen to more music developing their own unique personalities. According to one study, about 65,000 sexual acts or comments on prime-time television occur every year (Meier, 1994, p. 9). In the movies or on television, the actors and actresses make sex look easy, fun and glamorous. It appears to be something everyone is doing. On television shows like "Dawson's Creek", sex is usually the major topic of the entire show. Whether it is guys and girls, guys and guys, girls and girls, or multiple persons of each sex, the sex act itself is a major conflict. Movies, such as "Cruel Intentions", portray sex as a game. The main characters are placing bets on each other that one of them will have sex with some girl who is against the idea of premarital sex. That movie is rated R, but little kids were in there with their parents. Those types of movies are not meant for a young audience. Now those kids might end up having sex when they become teenagers. Those same teenagers might often be the one...

How to Make Bubbles That Dont Pop

How to Make Bubbles That Don't Pop If youre tired of bubbles that pop as soon as you blow them, try this recipe for unbreakable bubbles! Now, its still possible to break these bubbles, but they are much stronger than regular soap bubbles. Examples of bubbles that truly wont pop include plastic bubbles, which are essentially small balloons. This recipe makes bubbles using a sugar polymer to accomplish much the same result. Unbreakable Bubble Recipe 3 cups of water1 cup liquid dishwashing detergent (Joy is a good choice)1/2 cup white corn syrup Simply stir the ingredients together to make the bubble solution. You can use dark corn syrup just as easily as white corn syrup, but the solution will be colored. Also, you can add food coloring or glow paint to color the bubbles. You can substitute another type of sticky syrup. Expect changes in color and odor. Heres another easy bubble recipe: 3 cups water1 cup dishwashing liquid1/2 cup glycerin Getting the Biggest, Strongest Bubbles If you blow bubbles and they dont seem strong enough, you can add more glycerin and/or corn syrup. The best amount of glycerin or corn syrup depends on the dish soap you use, so the recipe is a starting point. Feel free to adjust the ingredient measurements. If you use ultra dishwashing liquid, youll probably need to add more syrup or glycerin. If you are having trouble getting big bubbles, you might want to use distilled water rather than tap water. Also, bubble recipes benefit from sitting for several hours or overnight before use. Glowing Bubbles If you break open a yellow highlighter and allow the ink to soak into the water, the resulting bubble solution and bubbles will glow under a black light. Another option is to use tonic water in place of regular water. The tonic water bubbles will glow pale blue under a black light. For brighter glowing bubbles, you can add glow pigment to the bubble mixture. However, the pigment becomes suspended in the solution rather dissolves, so the bubbles wont last as long or get as large. Coloring Bubbles Bubbles consist of a thin liquid film over a gas (air). Because the liquid layer is so thin, its hard to color bubbles. You can add food coloring or dye, but dont expect the color to be really noticeable. Also, the pigment molecules are large and will weaken the bubbles so they wont be as big or last as long. Its possible to color bubbles, but you may not like the results. Your best bet is to substitute a water-based dye in place of water in the bubble recipe. Blow colored bubbles outdoors because they will stain surfaces and clothing. Bubble Clean Up As you might guess, bubbles made using corn syrup  are sticky. They will clean up with warm water, but its best to blow bubbles outdoors or in a bathroom or kitchen so you wont have to un-stick your carpet or upholstery. The bubbles wash out of clothing.

What is the Meaning of `Sure Thing` Essay Example

What is the Meaning of `Sure Thing` Essay Example What is the Meaning of `Sure Thing` Essay What is the Meaning of `Sure Thing` Essay Essay Topic: Sure Thing One of the key thematic aspects of David Ives short play Sure Thing (1988) is the question of whether the plays two characters, Bill and Betty, genuinely achieve communication adn connection by the close of the play or whether the perceived true communication and relationship between the characters is actually a result of superficiality and repetition. In order to fully understand the plays device of restarting the same scene again and again, it is necessary to regard both possible outcomes or thematic interpretations as equally viable and simultaneous. In other words both aspects of the them are intended by Ives: that people do and do not achieve true communication and build genuine connections and relationships during the course of repeated, almost absurdly repeated events.In fact the device of the bell can be interpreted as showing both the universality of the repeated encounter between Bill and Betty but also of the universal nature of seclusion and isolation: the inability for p eople to reach one another despite repeated attempts to find the right mode and the right words. An example of how the repetition of scenes works to indicate the failed or broken aspects of interpersonal communication is when the first exchange of dialogue takes place:BILL-TABLE #1: Excuse me. Is this chair taken?BETTY-TABLE #1: Excuse me?BILL-TABLE #1: Is this taken?BETTY-TABLE #1: Yes it is.BILL-TABLE #1: Oh. Sorry.BETTY-TABLE #1: Sure thing(Ives)The initial status between two strangers is a closed, almost impenetrable solitude with little room for affection or emotional response.   The exchange of dialogue is meant to indicate the walls that exist between people in modern society, the way that politeness and   decorum serve a function   of facilitating isolation and precluding human interaction The next exchange of dialogue (after the scene is reset by the bell) show a slight softening of the decorum and the socially facilitated barriers of formal discourse:BILL-TABLE #3: E xcuse me. Is this chair taken?BETTY-TABLE #3: Excuse me?BILL-TABLE #3: Is this taken?BETTY-TABLE #3: No, but I’m expecting somebody in a minute.BILL-TABLE #3: Oh. Thanks anyway.BETTY-TABLE #3: Sure thing.(Ives)It is important to note that Bettys line that she is expecting somebody reveal the first overt emotional reference of the play but that the emotion is still a function of personal defensiveness and serves to inhibit rather than encourage further interaction. The dual progression demonstrated by these two opening scenes: one a movement toward emotion and toward interpersonal communication, the other a simultaneous movement toward defensiveness and isolation exemplify the progression of dual themes that persist right through to the end of the play.By the time Bill and Betty have made a demonstrable connection one that the audience can at least belive may be genuine, there is still no change in the outer formality of the dialogue and its simultaneously evasive and self-pr otective function. More than learning to truly reach one another or truly communicate, the characters can be understood to have reached a mutual understand of permissable superficiality. A sample of the closing dialogue shows that Ives intends the ambiguity of the perception of the charatcers true connection and emotional response to function, in fact, as a way of expressing two themes simultaneously which contradict one another but are nevertheless apparent throughout actual human society:BILL-TABLE #3: Y’know I was headed to the-BETTY-TABLE #3: (simultaneously) I was thinking about-BILL-TABLE #3: I’m sorry.BETTY-TABLE #3: No, go ahead.BILL-TABLE #3: I was going to say that I was headed to the movies in a little while,   Ã‚  Ã‚   and†¦BETTY-TABLE #3: So was I.(Ives)In conclusion, Ives intended Sure Thing to express a dual theme: that human both incapable of reaching a state of true connection and communication but they are equally incapable of escaping the cons tant drive to seek just such a connection and relationship. In this way, the device of scene-repetition in the play is able to express to seemingly contradictory themes simultaneously in order to more fully represent the actual state of human relationships in the modern world.

Signing up Essays

Signing up Essays Signing up Essay Signing up Essay Exposition supported with Process, Definition, Narrative, or Comparison/Contrast. Each paragraph must be supported with at least one brief narrative, but the essay as a whole may not be one long narrative. If you find your topic sentences beginning with terms that suggest time or chronological order (Then, Next, Afterwards, Finally) then you need to restructure your essay to arrange your material logically, not chronologically. Topic Description: In this essay, I want you to think through and write about what you believe Is a value/an activity/ a life/ a Life-blew/a principle by which life may be directed (choose Just one) that you hope to pass down to your posterity, to future generations. Arrange material logically, not chronologically. In each body paragraph, you must use at least one narrative to support the topic sentence, but you may not turn your essay into one long narrative. The thesis must be clearly stated, and then each topic sentence should make a point supporting the thesis. You may choose a process to write about, but the actual process should only be described In one paragraph and only If necessary. In other words, a process is form of narrative writing, so the whole essay cant be focused on how to do the process, but the essay CAN focus on the importance of that process to you and to your family. Write in First or Third Person only (no Second Person). Write 650 to 850 words. Audience and Purpose: The audience for this essay Is someone who Is Interested In finding out more about you: your teacher, your classmates, your own family, or even your current or future children. Your purpose is to explain something you already know and understand to someone who doesnt. Assume anything you write this master?whether in an essay or in a Journal entry?may be read to anyone or by anyone at any time during class or outside of class throughout the semester. If you do not want your mother, sister, preacher, priest, or chatty next-door-neighbor to know something, do not write It down! Follow the class schedule for due dates. How to be successful with this essay assignment. Meeting deadlines is key so that the instructor may help you and so that you have time to use the computer programs available to revise accordingly. Being specific in the details you write is important. Suppose for example, you were to write a paper for a government class arguing whether or not the city manager of a town should be fired or should have his or her contract renewed. Avoid a general statement such as The city manager should be let go because he has made a bunch of people mad. Instead come up with specific details such as The city manger is corrupt and as a result should not have his contract renewed. Your main points could explain his corruption: because he has fired two city employees who refused to contribute to his brother-in-laws campaign for sheriff, because he has put family and friends on the itty payroll who are Incompetent and without having gone through normal hiring home. Those three ideas become the topic sentences for the supporting body paragraphs. Make sur e you know what your Main Point or thesis is as you develop your Main Ideas and as you develop your supporting ideas. Consider your audience. What if your audience does not have the same belief? How can you explain your belief if the audience has never considered it? When arranging material logically, move from weakest or most obvious main idea to the strongest main idea. Remember, the lasting impression lasts and the last idea presented may often influence the grade assigned by a teacher. If you ever begin a paragraph with another example is .. , then you know you need to revamp that paragraph. It needs a new topic and a new topic sentence! Take advantage of every editing opportunity. Fill in the form so that you will be ready to write Essay #1 . Come up with ideas for at least 4 body paragraphs, but you may end up using only three by the time you write your essay. Having only two ideas suggests to the teacher not having put in enough thought about the topic. This form is for your use only, but if I suggest a conference with you, I will want you to et it to me?copy paste it and send it in Blackboard Mail. You can propose a conference if you want me to check to see how you are doing. You dont have to wait for me to propose it. Working thesis: (Write the life value down in a succinct statement along with a comment on why that life value is important to you or to your family. ) Main Idea #1: Ideas to support Main idea : (Include one narrative idea) 2. 3. Main Idea #2: Ideas to support Main idea #2: Ideas to support Main idea #3: Main Idea #4: Ideas to support Main idea #4: How I will draw my essay to a conclusion or end it:

Advancing Cultural Mindset and Integration Assignment

Advancing Cultural Mindset and Integration - Assignment Example To have a global mindset helps individuals to think widely and to work with people from different cultures. For example, global managers are different from the local managers due to their state of mind and the ability to work across boundaries and appreciating cross culture. Therefore, to have a difference in mindset and approach to problem-solving makes one has the ability to work internationally. In addition, individuals should not assume that their way of doing things is right. It is important to understand how people operate in this complex world. Moreover, having a global mindset entails the willingness of an individual to adjust their behavior and way of thinking. If an individual keeps on doing what they are used to, they miss opportunities to become successful. There are various ways used to integrate varied perspectives to be successful in a culturally diverse society. Firstly, one needs to understand and appreciate the acquired culture. This entails learning how people communicate, how they make decisions, and generally how they do things. This will help solve the cultural differences among the different employees and the executive team. Secondly, organizations need to put in place a cultural integration plan. This will help identify the strengths of the different employees as well as identify where the big risks are and to have plans for mitigating them For instance, it will help identify managers who are struggling with their new teams and which teams have a difficulty in working within their limits. Thirdly, it is important for organizations to evolve culture. This entails educating people to overcome the justifiable ‘us’ and ‘them’ culture and instead embrace the ‘we’ culture.

Collaborative learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Collaborative learning - Essay Example In case the learners are able to effectively demonstrate that they have been able to sufficiently understand and implement this concept, these learners are then found to inadvertently tend to respect and greatly value each other’s language input (Macaro, 1997, p. 134). This attribute of collaborative learning is most commonly seen to be a result of the principle of positive interdependence that is prominent in collaborative learning. Positive interdependence is basically the degree to which various groups of participants are seen to perceive that they are essentially interdependent in the sense that they happen to share an innately mutual fate, and that their general overall success happens to be mutually caused (Davies, 2009, p. 565; Alexandrov et al., 2012, p. 18). It, therefore, falls on the teachers to essentially serve the role of aiding with the facilitation of these given roles. The different groups of students are positively engaged in working together with the aim of attempting to search for possible solutions, meaning, and understanding in the creation of a product(Alexandrov et al., 2012, p. 18). ... In case that any particular question happens to be raised in a collaborative learning environment, different students in a group will often tend to offer varied responses as answers (McAuliffe, 2010, p. 65). It becomes possible for each of these responses to be effectively used by the group in the creation of an end product that serves to reflect the collective input of a wide range of perspectives and as such, the final answer or end product is seen to be of a more complete and comprehensive nature. the active involvement of students in the learning process. The subdivision of students into a number of various small groups is seen to help with availing easier opportunities for each of the different students to be able to make an individual contribution into the group. It, therefore, follows that students will generally be seen to take relatively more ownership of the end material generated by the group in addition to their being encouraged to critically think and identify possible r elated issues (Adams & Hamm, 2011, p. 113). increased opportunities for the students to receive personal feedback. As a result of an increased level of exchanges between the different students in small groups, students engaged in a collaborative learning process are seen to generally receive more personal feedback pertaining to their responses and ideas as made within the individual groups. It is often quite difficult for these students to be able to receive this personalized feedback in a large-group instruction setting as it is often quite common for one or even two students to be actively engaged in exchanging their ideas when the rest of the entire classroom listens to them and, hence, are inhibited from receiving personal feedback (Cuneo, 2008, p. 4). Factors that Can Serve to