Problem Solving ; Critical Thinking - Hdlt Essay Example for Free

Problem Solving ; Critical Thinking Hdlt Essay This adaptation is tested through fresh, innovative learning environments and higher expectations. Let us first determine critical thinking and problem solving and see how are these phenomenon interrelated with each other and the role both these skills play in our lives. Critical thinking (CT) is defined as â€Å" intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing and /or evaluating information gathered from or generated by observations, experiences, reflections, reasoning or communication as a guide to belief and action. Scriven Paul, 2007, P 1). Thus simply put, CT is metacognition or thinking about thinking. Problem-solving (PS) is a mental process that involves ascertaining, investigating and solving problems. The eventual objective of problem-solving is to overcome hindrances and find a solution that best resolves the issue. These problems could range from simply crossing the road and reaching safely on the other side without getting hurt by the oncoming vehicles or solving a Sudoku puzzle or figure out a estimated expenses of a trip or in case of a child, solving a multiplication sum given in the class. The term problem solving ( P S) in educational settings would involve solving well-structured text book problems which are poles apart from ill structured problems which are encountered in everyday life. Thus we can see that in order to effectively solve a problem, one may require to engage with it and critically think about it to find the best solution. Let us now look at certain important broad themes and specific problem solving processes used by children Broad themes 1. Task analysis – details of steps taken to actually solve problems. For example a child adds 2 multi digit numbers, the actual process starting with adding the numbers in the right most column, writing ones digit as a part of the answer, carrying over the tens digit ( if it is so ) †¦ so on and so forth. Task analysis helps in identifying the exact places where child might be encountering difficulty in solving the problem, the nature of the difficulty. Thus it gives an insight into the manner in which the child solves problems; and thus provides scope for rectification. 2. Means – End analysis Using this methodology, one solves a problem by considering the obstacles that stand between the initial problem state and the goal state. The path to reaching the goal can be achieved by accomplishing smaller sub goals. When all of the sub goals have been achieved – when all of the obstacles are out of the way – then the main goal of interest has been achieved. Thus, means-ends analysis can be seen as a search strategy in which the long-range goal is always kept in mind to guide problem solving. 3. Encoding – this literally means identifying critical information in order to build internal representations. Thus it is very important to train the child to filter out the relevant data from the all the available information. Many children fail because they are not thought how to encode critical information and utilize it. Important processes of Problem Solving- 1. Planning this is future directed PS, most often used in difficult and new situations. But most often the novelty of the situation also ensures that children often forget to plan. 2. Route Planning this is done in order to select a most efficient route in order to reach a destination. Children as early as one year of age start showing the development of this ability. Example – an adult figuring out his way in order to reach a new destination; after looking at various maps. The route is figured out post route planning. 3. Causal Inference many a times problem solving is an attempt to understand the cause of a phenomenon. Humans are curious by nature. A two year old will constantly be in the endeavor to know â€Å"why things happen†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ why do birds fly, whereas animals don’t? so on and so forth. 4. Analogical Reasoning In problem solving this is predominantly concerned with systemic correspondences, where a solution to a known problem may be applied to solving a structurally similar problem. Analogical reasoning improves with maturation and increase in content knowledge. According to Piaget’s stages of development analogical reasoning only starts developing in the pre operational stage ( ages 2 -7) and gets occasional limited success in concrete operational stage(7-11) and becomes fully developed by formal operational stage (age 11 through adulthood) Stage I (Preoperational) egocentric responses using idiosyncratic relations. IA children were unable to form lower-order relations IB some children able to form lower-order relations, but unable to form analogies Stage II (concrete operational) occasional, limited success IIA trial-and-error success on analogies, inability to resist false counter-suggestions IIB consistent success on analogies, but inconsistent ability to resist false counter-suggestions Stage III (formal operational) Success on all aspects of the tasks. Criticism of Piaget – Goswami Brown reasoned that children might fail Piagets tasks because they lack knowledge of the relations entailed. On this view, children ought to be able to solve classical analogy problems provided the analogies are based on familiar relations. Practice in analogical reasoning improved young children’s spontaneous formation of analogies. 5. Scientific reasoning: Children question everything as a basic premise,they want to know the why , how of everything; but they are also hugely influenced by the beliefs that they see are carried around them. Whenever they actually do something on their own, they do develop an understanding and rationality regarding the same phenomenon. For example a child understands that sugar takes less time to dissolve in hot milk rather than cold milk. Thus, when they indulge in activities, experiment they develop scientific and logical reasoning. 6. Logical reasoning It is when a child can apply logical rules in order to solve problems. Logical reasoning requires the child to link each alternative to the main problem by strong reasoning. They may also require using logical structure If , Then . for example if a child has to climb up two floors, he could either use the lift or the stairs. If the escalator lift for some reason is not working, then either the child could wait till the lifet starts working or take the stairs. The choices have to be logically reasoned out. Both analogical and logical reasoning develop gradually over early and middle childhood whereas scientific reasoning does take more time to develop and take shape as it is much enhanced by experience. Along with certain important processes used in PS some of the others are – Symbolic representation as tools Rule based problem solving etc. Above we have also looked at Piagetian perspective on PS. Let us also look at the Vyogotsky’s perspective on the same. Lev Vygotsky gave some novel ideas regarding childrens learning and their problem solving abilities. 1. Zone of Proximal development (ZPD) This is the zone where learning takes place. This zone represents the difference the between what the child can achieve on its own and what it can achieve with the help of others. In order, for learning to occur, the elder or peer must provide a challenge that is beyond the child’s own capabilities and yet be assisted. Thus assisted learning or peer learning is an important aspect of children developing the PS abilities. If children have done a task with an adult or under the guidance of an adult (ZPD) they tend to show improvement whilst performing as opposed to those who were attempting it for the first time ( Piaget’s discovery learning ). Vyogotsky also pointed towards the importance of private speech in children, whenever confronted with a novel problem. This speech could be their method of engaging with the problem. As children grow up and get better at symbolic interpretation, this private speech diminishes. Now let us look at how a constructivist classroom helps children in enhancing their PS abilities. Constructivist approaches to learning attempt to generate environments where learners are actively engaged in their surroundings and environments that help them to construct and develop their own understanding, reasoning and knowledge, rather than the teacher interpreting their world for them. The learners interaction with the environment and with the subject matter at hand results them in having their own view about the subject. Thus we can see that collaborative learning is the hallmark of a constructivist classroom. For example – group of students in a chemistry class are learning about properties of organic salts. Instead of directly stating the properties, the teacher will devise questions which will engage the students in challenging their previous knowledge, link it to the other phenomenon that they have already been studying and generate a new level of understanding regarding the topic. During the discussions and promptings, when one student comes with the relevant concept, the teacher would cash on it and hint to the group to further explore this concept. Late, she would sum up ay concluding what the class has learnt, what helped and what did not help them in constructing new knowledge. Question – The biggest question for me is the teaching methodology. In most of the schools, that me and my colleagues have visited during our practicum, we inevitably noticed that instead of focusing on teaching the students how to think, rationalize, develop an understanding. The focus is on what they should think? Conclusion By providing them everything like â€Å"ready to eat meals†, we seal them from developing their own understanding. In a class room setting children, still encounter structured problems, in real life settings children will be coming across many ill structured problems. The aim of education must be to prepare them for encountering the challenges that they would face everyday. They have to be trained to adequately use their problem solving abilities within the classroom as well as outside it. References – Taylor, L, (2005). Introducing cognitive development. Taylor and Francis: Psychology Press. (Chapter: Thinking and reasoning). Siegler ; Alibali (2005). Chapter 10: Problem-Solving (pp 341-380). Synder L. ; Synder J. Teaching critical thinking and Problem solving skills, The Delta Pi Epsilon Journal, Volume L, No. 2, Spring/Summer, 2008

The Darkness Out There - The Signal Man - A comparetive study :: English Literature

The Darkness Out There - The Signal Man - A comparetive study The mood at the beginning of both stories could not contrast any more than it does. 'The Darkness Out There' has a beginning that is summery and fresh. Whereas 'The Signal Man' has a start that is very eerie and creates a sense of fear. A factor that runs all the way through the story. The effect that the beginning of 'The Darkness Out There' has is that Mrs Rutter's story hits the reader when they are not expecting it making it a lot more shocking. The mood change is massive. 'The Signalman' however, attempts to sustain the atmosphere from beginning to end. This makes the overall story more eerie by gripping the reader so that they want to read on to discover what happens later on. Historically the two texts are set in very different periods. With 'The Signalman' being set in the Victorian era and 'The Darkness Out There' being set around the 1970's. We can tell this because of many factors such as the types of jobs mentioned. Signalmen worked on early railways and were abandoned when electronic signalling was introduced into railways. Also the language used in The Signalman` seems to be from around that era. Whereas Mrs Rutter is an old woman involved in the second world war, but some of the things she mentions lead us to believe that the story is set around the 1970's. Physically both stories are set in a similar climate to each other. In cosy little rooms, with atmosphere, that are lonely and secluded with an open fire. Fire helps create a perception of evil as many people think of hell as fire and brimstone orientated. As I have already said, the beginnings of the two stories are contrasted. 'The Signalmans' beginning is eerie and weird and doesn't give out a lot of information to the reader. This means the reader is enticed to read on just to see how the story develops. 'The Darkness Out There', however, has a light and refreshing start. Leading us into a false sense of security. But there are also similarities between the two. Both stories include places that represent people's fears. Packers End and the Tunnel. The main theme of 'The Darkness Out There' is that people are not necessarily what they seem to be. Also in 'The Darkness Out There' is the theme of young people growing up and realizing whom they are. Whereas the main theme in 'The Signalman' is death and responsibility and how it affects's people. So really they are similar in a way.

Ece 6604 Final Exam

Georgia Institute of Technology School of Electrical and Computer Engineering ECE6604 Personal & Mobile Communications Final Exam Spring 2010 Tuesday May 6, 11:30am – 2:20pm †¢ Attempt all questions. †¢ All questions are of equal value. †¢ Open book, open notes, exam. 1a) 5 marks: The LCR at the normalized threshold ? for a 2-D isotropic scattering channel can be expressed as v 2 LR = 2? fm ? e , where ?= ? and Rrms = R ?p = R Rrms E[? 2 ] is the rms envelope level. i) Find the normalized threshold level ? o at which the LCR reaches its maximum value. i) Explain why the LCR at ? decreases as ? deviates from ? o . 1b) 5 marks: Consider a cellular system with a carrier frequency of 2 GHz. Suppose that the user is in a vehicle travelling at 60 km/h. Assuming that the channel is characterized by 2D isotropic scattering, ? nd i) the LCR at the normalized level ? = ? 3 dB. ii) the AFD at the normalized level ? = ? 3 dB. 2) The power delay pro? le for a WSSUS channel i s given by ? gg (? ) = 0. 5[1 + cos(2 /T )] , 0, 0 ? ? ? T /2 otherwise a) 3 marks: Find the channel frequency correlation function. ) 4 marks: Calculate the mean delay and rms delay spread. c) 3 marks: If T = 0. 1 ms, determine whether the channel exhibits frequencyselective fading to the GSM system. 3) Cellular CDMA systems use soft hando? , where the transmissions to/from multiple base stations are combined to give a macro-diversity. Here we consider the e? ects of path loss and shadowing and ignore multipathfading. Suppose that the received signal power corresponding to the link with the ith base-station, ? pi , has the probability density function p? pi (x) = v dBm) (x ? pi (dBm) ) 1 exp ? 2 2 2 2 . where pi (dBm) = E[? pi (dBm) ] The ? pi are assumed to be statistically independent. a) 5 marks: The reverse link uses selection combining such that the best basestation is always selected. In this case, ? s p (dBm) An outage occurs if ? s p = max ? p1 (dBm) ? ? th (dBm) , . . . , ? pL (dBm) (dBm) . What is the probability of outage? b) 5 marks: The forward link uses coherent combining such that ? mr(dBm) = ? p1 p (dBm) + . . . + ? pL (dBm) Again, an outage occurs if ? mr(dBm) ? ?th (dBm) .What is the probability of p outage if p1 (dBm) = p2 (dBm) =  ·  ·  · = pL (dBm) ? 4) Consider the reception of a signal in the presence of a single co-channel interferer and neglect the e? ect of AWGN. The received signal power, C , and interference power, I , due to Rayleigh fading have the exponential distributions 1 ? x/C ? ?e C 1 ? pI (y ) = ? e? x/I I pC (x) = ? ? where C and I are the average received signal power and interference power, respectively. a) 5 marks: Assuming that C and I are independent random variables, ? d the probability density function for the carrier-to-interference ratio ? = C . I Hint: If X and Y are independent random variables, then the probability density function of U = X/Y is pU (u) = pXY (v, v/u)|v/u2 |dv . b) 5 marks: Now suppo se that the system uses 2-branch selection diversity. The branches are independent and balanced (i. e. , the distribution pU (u) is the same for each branch. What is the probability density function of ? at the output of the selective combiner? 5) Suppose that a system uses selection diversity.The branches experience independent Rayleigh fading. However, the average received bit energy-to-noise ratio on each diversity branch is di? erent, such that ?i = 2? i ? o ? i = 1, . . . , L a) 5 marks: Find the probability density function of the bit energy-to-noise ratio at s the output of the selective combiner, denoted by ? b . b) 5 marks: If DPSK modulation is used, write down an expression for the probability of bit error. Obtain a closed-form expression if possible; otherwise leave your expression in integral form.

Essay War Ethics in Iraq - 821 Words

Lieutenant Colonel Allen B. West of the U.S. Army 4th Infantry Division is a leader doing what a leader is required to do; to lead and protect those in which he leads. LTC West was charged with communicating a threat and aggravated assault. These are serious war crimes charged to a leader who was undeserving of such implications. The villains here are the politicians who prevent soldiers like LTC West from efficiently fighting the war in Iraq. LTC West a battalion officer in Iraq during on or about January of 2003 to October of 2003; made a controversial decision. LTC West and his battalion of artillery and infantry was a fighting unit in Iraq. Fighting units are the units that are actually at the point of attack; on†¦show more content†¦After the second shot was fired the policeman disclosed all information having to do with a sniper ambush. LTC West pursued this invaluable information. The information the policeman gave up was accurate. LTC West and his soldiers wiped out the ambush before it could cause them harm. It is unfortunate that soldiers have to fight with their hands behind their back in Iraq. And there is no doubt about it; soldiers have to do just that. Soldiers in Iraq are fighting under a dangerous environment where the next step could be their last, as loyalists of Saddam Husseins regime attack them relentlessly. The enemy is wearing civilian clothes and hiding behind women and children. So when you ask battalion and company commanders to stop the violence against the Iraqi people and against soldiers, the pressure to use aggressive interrogation techniques seems to be reasonable. LTC West simply put his soldiers first and in doing so saved a countless number of lives. LTC West should not be pursued as a criminal but instead a hero. This act of political positioning has caused a huge wave of demoralization throughout the military; from Iraq to here at home. I can vouch for such feelings in Iraq. 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