WK4_Training Need Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

WK4_Training Need Paper - Essay Example In order to attain increased competitiveness and larger customer base many organization has formulated and implemented various strategies and policies. In this course, many organizations are involved in enhancing the skills and capabilities of employees as a tool for enhancing the performance of the organization. Such initiatives of the organizations have facilitated a need for effective training and development activities. Accordingly, training and development is the process of making the employees familiar with the various changes in the work procedure for ensuring increased competency towards performing the organizational tasks efficiently and effectively. The concept of training plays a vital role in an organization life cycle as it not only helps them to maintain lead but also helps them in innovating new products that may contribute to the organization goal (Armstrong, 2012). The primary purpose of this paper is to identify training need within the selected organization i.e. Ap ple Incorporation and explore the role of Human Resource (HR) in analysis, design, development implementation and evaluation of a training program to meet the identified training need. Training Need Assessment Apple Inc. is considered to be one of the leading innovative companies across the world. The company is widely known for its distinctive and unique products and services offered to its customers spread worldwide. The rapid development in science and technology has facilitated the company as one of the most advanced and most admired companies across the globe. Nonetheless, the company has been encountered with lots of challenges due to the emergence of new and upcoming competitors in the market. It has been often argued that employees are the most important assets of any organization. Furthermore, employees who are not provided with efficient training and development programs often finds difficulties in performing their tasks efficiently and competently. Additionally, the conti nuous advancement in technology and increasing competition has widely generated the need for skilled employees to respond the market demands effectively. In this context, Apple Inc. to sustain its business profitably in current and future business environment, it is essential for the corporation to design and implement effective training and development programs. At the same time, effective training and development activities is necessary for attracting new talents and retaining employees within the organization. Moreover, training and development activities are crucially important for the organization to seek constant innovation and transformation of the business according to the changing requirement of the market. Nonetheless, it can be argued that training and development is essential for the organization at all the levels of the management. The effective training and development programs facilitate in the creation of effective leaders who will be responsible for framing strategi es that would facilitate the organization with increased benefit in the form of increased profitability and market share. Therefore, it can be stated proper training needs are required in the organization to enhance the capability of its employees as well as the organizational performance (Apple Inc., 2013). Role of HR in the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation of a Training Program to Meet the Requirement in the Production Process of the Company HR managers are considered as a vital part of any organization as they are the only bridge that helps in maintaining a proper relation between the employees and the top level management. Correspondingly, HR managers are also widely responsible for

Emotional Abuse in Children Annotated Bibliography

Emotional Abuse in Children - Annotated Bibliography Example He looks at the various psychological impacts the abuse can lead to in children and also some of the measures that can be put up to minimize the damage that is inflicted on children who have been victims. In addition, he states some of the ways that can be used to detect the abuse early enough so that intervention can be made to limit the permanent damage that the abuse may inflict in the children and caregivers. He states that before any action is taken, there needs to be effective confirmation of emotional abuse of the child. This will be done by a close observation of the interaction between the child and the abuser. This will be done on repeated occasions, and if abuse is suspected, action will have to be taken regardless of whether the action is committed at home, school or community setting. The caregiver will have to investigate any reports that arise of any sort of abuse as these will easily contribute to child abuse. After investigation has been conducted by Children Protection Agency, the team will provide professional opinion from say a doctor, physician or psychologist. Furthermore, other stakeholders in the legal aspect will have to be involved to ensure that all the proper actions are taken including rehabilitating the child to ensure they recover from the negative actions that they may have suffered (O’Hagan, 1993). Tomison is a renown Author and Human Rights Activist who has specialized in areas such as Child abuse and Violence prevention, relationships between different forms of violence, Indigenous child protection and child welfare as well as Child protection policy and systems development. He has worked for the Australian Centre for Criminology at different capacities over the years. Dr Joe Tucci on the other hand is a trained Sociologist and Psychologist who possesses significant experience in dealing with issues to do with children. He is also a renowned author and currently the C.E.O of the Australian

Assessment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 8

Assessment - Essay Example guidance and management of the school principal whose participation influences the level of school efficiency through aligning individual teacher instructions with student achievement. My participation in instructional collaboration would be to intensify my relationship with colleagues, offer my opinion towards a student-centered school, gain proficiency in curriculum goals, raise my expectations and that of other teachers, become part of an aggressive and engaged community of teacher-learners, and reinforces the entire school program. I would hesitate to collaborate to avoid over-dependence on my colleagues, and to gain more confidence my decisions. I would also not collaborate to pursue issues geared towards personal goals that conflict with student-centered learning. In my opinion, successful collaboration must improve my reflective abilities and promote individual professional growth. Additionally, partners have to demonstrate strong self-esteem and motivation, sense of security hence a common goal, shared studying and peer observation, open and rich professional dialogues, instructional variety in teaching, elevated risk taking, planning and preparation, and improved of levels self-confidence. Through increased participation in of teachers curriculum delivery, collaboration makes it possible to evaluate the outcomes of both the teachers and the students. Yes, I have previously participated in instructional collaboration. I engaged in consultation collaboration for a topic I did not know how to deliver effectively. The experience made me to realize that not all teachers feel secure when engaging in collaboration and they would turn you away claiming they are busy. However, most teachers are willing to assist newly employed colleagues in effort to promote consistent student learning. I felt incompetent and did not want to jeopardize the learning of my students. I would look for a partner who is trustworthy and who seeks equitable distribution of

Challenges facing ESL - High School students in acquisition of writing Essay

Challenges facing ESL - High School students in acquisition of writing and communication skills - Essay Example Challenges facing ESL- High School students in acquisition of writing and communication skills Challenges faced by ESL students differ depending on the above listed classification. The immigrants are considered to be likely to experience least amount of challenges because they have already received formal education in their native countries that included learning English as a foreign language. They usually visit English speaking countries out of their own personal choices hence more prepared for the challenges ahead. In most cases, they have decent family background marked by intact family units and financial stability. Despite these factors, such students still face challenges such as difficulties in adapting to the new culture, conflict of cultures in terms of what is learnt at home and what is learnt at the new school, varying abilities in the understanding of the English language and conflict in terms of what s learnt and practiced at home and the nee foreign schools. International students are characterized by the fact that they are in foreign schools for purpose of pursuing their studies on a temporary basis. They are driven by the passion to learn English and get integrated into the new culture. In most cases, they have already studied English as foreign language at their lower levels of study in their countries of origin and are usually well educated in other spheres of life.

Globalization as a Catalyst for Inaquality, Volatility and Division Essay

Globalization as a Catalyst for Inaquality, Volatility and Division - Essay Example Globalization is on the other hand blamed for the increase in the rich poor gap, environmental pollution and the threat to respect for human rights. The interconnectedness of the many countries of the world is multifaceted and multifarious. Some of the problems of globalization derive from economics while others do not. It is important to note though that whatever the cause of globalization, it has an impact on the reality of human life across the globe. Culture Clash Increasing globalization has led to the clash of many cultures across the globe which has proved to be detrimental in some instances. Trade agreements and international corporations are known to lead to a degradation of the environment, and diminish state sovereignty. The more developed countries have a culture of continuing growth which they wrongly assume the other countries have whereas they do not (Buckman, 2004:32). Many of the developing countries of the world contain an abundance of labor whereas the countries of the West have technological knowhow. An increase in globalization leads to multinationals spreading to developing countries. Since there is a large population in developing countries, demand for work is high which lead to increasing low wages and worker welfare. Globalization has led to the invention of technological inventions such as the internet and TV. These technological inventions are capable of eroding or destroying the culture of people. Since most of these technological inventions such as TV and radio are more oriented to Western lifestyles and culture, they would increase the instance of Western values and culture being adopted by other people around the globe at the expense of the erosion of their own local cultures. While popular opinion may not rate culture and identity very highly in terms of influencing economic conditions, a deeper study of culture shows the reverse is actually true. Globalization has led to the spread of Western economic systems wherein paid employ ment is becoming the norm all over the world. Some cultures especially in the developing world depended upon subsistence farming for their economic sustenance (Velmeyer, 2004: 76-87). Globalization has made many able bodied people to leave the farms and go to town to look for paid employment which has resulted to increasing cases of food shortages as a result of lack of Agricultural labor. Trade Liberalization Globalization has led to increase trade linearization and the removing of trade barriers. While trade linearization has been hailed as a good thing by economic experts, it presents some challenges which have resulted to feuds in the international community. Trade liberalization has been seen by many in the developing world as increasing poverty and inequality in these countries rather than helping them attain economic independence and wealth. This has been compounded by the International bodies such as IMF and Worlds Bank. Most of the international bodies such as World Bank an d the WTO have been accused of only making rules that favor the most developed countries. A good example is the refusal by the developed rich countries of Europe and the USA to offer incentives to developing countries through preferential trade agreements preferring to give aid instead. International bodies have also been accused of interfering in the internal affairs of countries in which they offer financial aid. For instance the World Bank in 1990 froze aid to Kenya until the Kenya

PESTLE Analysis Template Essay Example for Free

PESTLE Analysis Template Essay Your notes Potential Impact: Implication and importance The list below is just to get you started. Remember to put these, and others that you add in the context of your organization or business. For example if you are a small private company the behaviours of a Wall Mart / Tesco or other large international player may well impact on you.If you are a local authority, government changes will change your priorities. In the NHS changes to treatments and public attitudes will also impact etc. About your organization.How might the factors listed on the left impact your business or part of the organization? H – HighM – MediumL – Low U – Undetermined Time Frame:0 – 6 months6 – 12 months 12 – 24 months 24 + months Type:Positive +Negative Unknown Impact:Increasing Unchanged = Decreasing Unknown Relative Importance:Critical Important Un-important Unknown Political – SWOT Trading policies Funding, grants and initiatives Home market lobbying/pressure groups International pressure groups Wars and conflict Government policies Government term and change Elections Inter-country relationships/attitudes Terrorism Political trends Governmental leadership Government structures Internal political issues Shareholder/ stakeholder needs/ demands ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Economic – SWOT Home economy situation Home economy trends Overseas economies and trends General taxation issues Taxation changes specific to product/services Seasonality/weather issues Market and trade cycles Specific industry factors Market routes and distribution trends Customer/end-user drivers International trade/monetary issues Disposable income Job growth/unemployment Exchange rates Tariffs Inflation Interest and exchange rates Consumer confidence index Import/export ratios Production level Internal finance Internal cash flow ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Social – SWOT Consumer attitudes and opinions Media views Law changes affecting social factors Brand, company, technology image Consumer buying patterns Major events and influences Buying access and trends Ethnic/religious factors Advertising and publicity Ethical issues Demographics (age, gender, race, family size,) Lifestyle changes Population shifts Education Trends Fads Diversity Immigration/emigration Health Living standards Housing trends Fashion role models Attitudes to work Attitudes to people doing certain types of work Leisure activities Occupations Earning capacity Staff attitudes Management style organizational culture Changes to education system ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Technological – SWOT Competing technology development Research funding Associated/dependent technologies Replacement technology/solutions Maturity of technology Manufacturing maturity and capacity Information and communications Consumer buying mechanisms/technology Technology legislation Innovation potential Technology access, licensing, patents Intellectual property issues Global communications Inventions Innovations New discoveries Research Energy uses/sources/fuels Communications Rate of obsolescence Health (pharmaceutical, equipment, etc.) Manufacturing advances Information technology Internet Transportation Bio-tech Genetics Waste removal/recycling Email M-learning E-learning Collaboration tools Software changes RSI ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Additional split of information if doing a PESTLE analysis rather than a PEST analysis: Legal – SWOT Current legislation home market Future legislation European/international legislation Regulatory bodies and processes Environmental regulations Employment law Consumer protection Industry-specific regulations competitive regulations ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ Environmental – SWOT Ecological Environmental issues International National Local Environmental regulations Customer values Market values Stakeholder/ investor values Staff attitudes Management style organizational culture Staff morale Staff engagement Global factors EU based factors ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ ___________________ top Remember this is only a tool. Call it what you like – use whatever factors you feel are appropriate. Other variations include: PEST analysis (STEP analysis) Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological PESTLE/ PESTEL analysis- Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal, Environmental; PESTEL analysis PESTEL analysis- Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Environmental, Labour (Labor) related; PESTEL analysis (rare no references available) PESTLIED analysis- Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, International, Environmental, Demographic STEEPLE analysis – Social/Demographic, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal, Ethical SLEPT analysis – Social, Legal, Economic, Political, Technological STEPE analysis – Social, Technical, Economic, Political, and Ecological ETPS analysis – Economic, Technical, Political and Social – Scanning the business environment PESTLE Analysis on an HR department or other internal function While the PEST or PESTLE analysis is primarily aimed at looking at the external environment of an organization, many HR courses ask students to use the PEST or PESTLE analysis model to look at their own function. In this context we need to imagine that the department (HR) is an organization in its own right and look outside. Factors to include in your analysis may include the following: Political What is the culture of the organization, How is the HR function viewed by other functions? Who are the political champions of HR (or its adversaries)? Shareholder views Economic What is the budgetary position of the department, Is more money available? Are our customers likely to spend more or less money on the services we offer? What is happening to the financial status of the organization Interest rates Inflation Salary trends in the sector Sociological Other departmental attitudes to HR Population shifts (age profile) Education Fads Diversity Immigration/emigration Health Living standards Housing trends Fashion role models Age profile Attitudes to career Technological What changes may be coming our way? What new technology/ systems, How do we record attendance, performance? how might this change? Use of and encourage home working? Communications technologies changes of technology that will increase/ reduce the need for recruitment changes to HR software Legal What is happening in our sector that will impact what we do? Minimum wage, Working time, Food stuffs, Under 18 working, Occupational/ industrial Training etc. What changes will impact the services of the organization Environmental Staff morale Staff engagement Need to reduce storage needs Management attitudes (inside dept/ function) Organizational culture PESTLE Analysis for Schools or Education By rapidbi Last updated: Sunday, April 19, 2009 Save Share 2 Comments A PESTLE analysis is a tool that can provide prompts to the governors, management and staff involved in the analysis of the changes in the school’s environment that could impact future finance, planning and management decisions. It can enable them carry out a more comprehensive analysis. A PESTLE is usually used in commercial organisations as a part of the strategic development of a business and marketing plan, however a PESTLE analysis can be used as part of identifying the opportunities and threats (swOT) for operational planning within educational and school environments. The PESTLE provides a simple framework within which to consider external factors. PESTLE is used as part of a SWOT for identifying the external factors (OT) Political Schools being privatised (like the NHS) A government initiative creates the risk that the school may fail to deliver the policy or be diverted away from local priorities etc. Changes to the skills required to be a teacher/ tutor Changes to curriculum with short lead times Requirement to be self managing Requirement to be self financing Economic Central or local government funding decisions may affect school/ establishment finances Closure of a local industry may affect fund raising plans etc. Ability of parents to raise funds for optional activities The need to run breakfast/ after schools clubs Ability to invest ‘savings/ surpluses’ Cost of providing resources: Staff – teaching support Basics – books/ paper Technology solutions laptops etc Interest rates Shortages of materials on national/ international markets Over provision of school places in the area resulting in competition from neighbouring schools The risk of highly valued, key staff moving on to more ‘up and coming’ schools/ academies Social Decline in birth rate, reflecting national trends Local population changes (increasing/ decreasing numbers) Demographic changes may affect likely pupil rolls or the nature of pupils needs e.g. pupils with English as a second language etc. Closure of local firms providing employment Inability to attract staff Social networking – blogs, facebook, twitter Changes to qualifications expected Integration with local community Integration of students with special needs parental preference – an increase in ‘parent power’ has allowed parents more freedom of choice over their child’s school the risk of highly valued, key staff moving on to more up-and-coming establishments Information is accessible to staff anywhere in the world via the Internet Staff were not given enough training or access to effectively change their habits and how they expected information to be made available Technological Changes to standards/ equipment required Risk of selecting the wrong technology at times of change (i.e. windows -v- open source) New computer viruses may affect school/ college operations, Disturbing/ illegal images on the internet may affect ICT security measures etc. Move from paper based books to e-book readers Computer hardware being out of date Computer software being out of date Time to manage IT systems Legislative new legislation may create risks of non-compliance with the law, create new administrative burdens etc Changes to child protection legislation Raise the age of school leaving age Raise/ lower the age of starting school. Nursery/ kindergarten Change to school opening hours Changes to funding of charity based organisations Health safety legislation Environmental A new highway layout near the school may create new dangers for pupils etc Waste disposal Reduction of green space available for activities Changes to local bus routes Using a significant amounts of paper and photocopier toner to produce printed information. For a more comprehensive PESTLE article see our pain page. A PESTLE Template: Area being reviewed Factor: Is factor positive or negative? Political P – N P – N P – N P – N Economic P – N P – N P – N P – N Social P – N P – N P – N P – N Technological P – N P – N P – N P – N Legislative P – N P – N P – N P – N Environmental P – N P – N P – N P – N Remember this is only a tool. Call it what you like – use whatever factors you feel are appropriate. Other variations include: PEST analysis (STEP analysis) Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological PESTLE/ PESTEL analysis- Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Legal, Environmental PESTEL analysis- Political, Economic, Sociological, Technological, Environmental, Labour (Labor) related PESTLIED analysis- Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, International, Environmental, Demographic STEEPLE analysis – Social/Demographic, Technological, Economic, Environmental, Political, Legal, Ethical SLEPT analysis – Social, Legal, Economic, Political, Technological STEPE analysis – Social, Technical, Economic, Political, and Ecological ETPS analysis – Economic, Technical, Political and Social – Scanning the organizational environment Choose the acronym that most suits you or your organization. http://www.familybunker.com/forums/students-workshop/11967-swot-pest-analysis-part-ii.html Examples of SWOTs Strengths and weaknesses à ¨ Resources: financial, intellectual, location à ¨ Cost advantages from proprietary know-how and/or location à ¨ Creativity (ability to develop new products) à ¨ Valuable intangible assets: intellectual capital à ¨ Competitive capabilities à ¨ Effective recruitment of talented individuals à ¨ Competitive Advantage à ¨ Brand reputation à ¨ New product Opportunities and threats à ¨ Expansion or down-sizing of competitors à ¨ Market trends à ¨ Economic conditions à ¨ Expectations of stakeholders à ¨ Technology à ¨ Public expectations à ¨ All other activities or inactivities by competitors à ¨ Criticisms by outsiders à ¨ Changes in markets à ¨ All other environmental condition à ¨ Global Influences à ¨ Nothing PESTEL Analysis for Macro-Environment http://accalecturenotes.blogspot.com/2011/01/pestel-analysis-for-macro-environment.html PESTEL Analysis is used for the assessment of macro-environment (environment which indirectly affects business decisions) in which the business operates. Managers have to identify changes in macro-environment that influence their business decisions. These can be identified using PESTEL analysis. In exams, using this framework ensures that we have gathered sufficient information necessary to analyze the scenario. Other frameworks used are equally acceptable. Below discussed factors are interrelated, points discuss in one factor can be included in other. 1. POLITICAL. The following points to be considered when evaluating the political environment of the industry or business. 1. Availability of government grants or assistance in the form of cash or other asset perhaps upon fulfillment of some conditions. 2. Award schemes to enforce quality standards. 3. Stable or dynamic political environment i.e. is the government changes frequently resulting in changing policies being implemented by every new government or the country are under martial law or war? 4. Rules and regulations are polite or stringent. This indicates the venerability of the business to legal risk i.e. fines (can be discussed under legal also). 5. Barriers to entry and exit. Example by imposing licensing requirements. 6. Provision of training to workers. 7. Provision of infra-structure, includes sewerage, transportation and energy. 2. ECONOMICAL 1. Business cycle, identify the stage from which the business is suffering. The stages are depression, recession, recovery and boom. 2. Industrial cycle, identify the stage from which the industry is suffering. The stages are introduction, growth, maturity and decline. 3. Access to resources, finance at reasonable cost, workers at reasonable rates, material economically and easily and equipment with maintenance and spare parts. 4. Customers suppliers, their availability and bargain power should be assessed. 5. Taxation policies i.e. direct or indirect taxation and rates 6. Inflation, interest and exchange rates. 7. National income can also influence demand for the firms product. 8. Level of unemployment in the country, high unemployment may suggest that employer has dominant position and can negotiate low wage rate with workers 9. Stock market condition rising stock market index means rising demand of shares in the stock market may suggest easily availability of finance at cheaper cost. 3. SOCIAL 1. Stakeholders demand, taste and behavior. Example customer, financers and supplier who may not support if your business conflicts their principles. 2. Increasing or decrease population. Increasing population may suggest that higher demand for younger people products e.g. toys while decreasing population suggests opposite. 3. Attitude to work. Are people committed to their work or they just comply with standards. Healthy workers are more productive than overstressed workers. 4. Income distribution, how wealth for the country is scattered among individuals, even distribution may suggest that majority of the people can buy our product while uneven distribution may suggest that majority is poor and minority is rich which create demand for high volume and low priced and low volume high priced products respectively. 5. Social footprint. Impact that business leaves on the society 6. cultural change should be identified e.g. identifying societies leisure activities, changes in customs. 4. TECHNOLOGICAL 1. Stable or robust. Stable environment may suggest longer product life cycle and low level of obsolesces while robust environment suggests otherwise. 2. New product developments may permit doing business more efficiently, cost-effectively and effectively. Employer may move towards automation, this is turn may affect other factors of the framework 3. Innovation leads to break-through in economy and it may affect society as well. Example facebook, youtube are the products which affecting youths behavior. 5. ENVIRONMENTAL 1. Green house effect has affected the way business trades. There are increasing demands of environment friendly products. Example using hybrid cars and paper bags instead of plastic bags. 2. There are increase emphasis on environmental footprints and sustainability. 3. There are legislations being enacted related to environment. This forces the business to change its policies (the way they do business) and disposal costs to business like restoration of site. 6. LEGAL 1. Competition law imposes restriction of mergers and acquisitions to promote efficiency gained through competition. 2. Employment legislation protects rights of workers by setting minimum wage requirements, anti-discrimination and anti-harassment legislation. 3. Health and safety legislation to protect workers. 4. Imposition of high import duties to protect home industries. 5. Licensing requirement as discussed above Students are advised to think as many points as possible so they can quickly identify if they come in the exam scenario. Having thought its impact on business activities can save you lot of time. PESTEL ANALSIS is frequently used framework in exams and in practice. It is worth spent some time on it.

Using teaching styles to make positive contributions in physical education

Using teaching styles to make positive contributions in physical education The use of appropriate teaching styles makes an important contribution to childrens learning in physical education. Different teaching styles affect many aspects of teaching and learning, including the learning environment and the teachers ability to meet individual needs. As physical education has a wide spectrum of objectives according to Macfayden Bailey (2002) teachers should use a wide variety of teaching styles to ensure that pupils achieve the wide variety of techniques and skills that physical education has to offer. This study will consider the various definitions associated with the topic and pay specific attention to the spectrum of teaching styles proposed by Mosston Ashworth (1986). The study will then specifically focus on use of the productive and reproductive styles by analysing my own experience against findings from literature. The framework for teaching styles and behaviours came from work by Mosston (1966). The ideas that Mosston proposed have changed and adapted since the first publication of the framework. The interaction between teacher and student has been developed since his initial publication (Mosston Ashworth, 1986) and have provided a framework where the decisions are the main element and the relationship between the teacher and the learner has in making those decisions. So influential was it that the work by Nixon Locke (1973) described it as the most significant advance in the theory of physical education pedagogy in recent history. A teaching style is concerned with how an activity is delivered, rather than what is delivered, (Macfadyen Bailey, 2002). Research conducted by Siendentop (1991) has also suggested that a teaching style is typified by the instructional and managerial climate that exists during the lesson which can be observed in the main that the teacher interacts with the pupils and in some cases if there is an interaction at all. The Spectrum incorporates ten landmark styles based on the degree to which the teacher or the student assumes responsibility for what happens in a lesson. This describes a continuum, where at one extreme is the direct, teacher-led approach and at the other lies a much more open-ended and student-centred style where the teacher acts only in a facilitator role. Reproductive Teaching Styles: The reproductive or direct cluster includes the command, practice, reciprocal, self check and inclusion teaching styles (Mosston Ashworth, 2002). Direct styles of teaching require the learner to reproduce known material or knowledge by replicating a specific model. This often involves subject matter relating to concrete facts, rules or specific skills/movements (Rink, 2002). In order for pupils to recreate specific skills Derri Pachta (2007) identified that learners must first be provided with a correct technical model to emulate, sufficient time to practice the model and effective feedback related to the original model, with the correct technical model often being shown by the teacher. Research conducted by Pieron (1998) supports the use of the command teaching style as the author argues that copying the most efficient style (that of the teachers demonstration) is highly profitable. It is seen as more profitable because it saves time as the teacher has the overall responsibility f or correcting faults and it ensures that pupils receive accurate feedback. The research conducted by Salvara et al (2006) highlighted that the direct teaching styles specifically the command style has been shown to have a positive impact on class control and motor performance. Within my teaching I have found that using this style of teaching to be the most effective for class control especially when the class has a large number of pupils and when the class requires a lot of behaviour management strategies used to control to the class. However Pellett Blakemore (1997) conducted a study of task presentation and content performance of four teachers who all had difference levels of experience and found that students taught by an experienced teacher were more effective at performing the skills when compared to being taught by a teacher of little experience. My experience whilst on teacher training has also supported these findings as I was able to present the tasks more clearly to pupils when I had more experience in that particular activity. I was also able to differentiate the task to a higher level with activities that I was familiar with as I had more ideas and experience to draw upon, whereas with activities I had little experience of I found it more challenging to be creative and progress the pupils. This has resulted in me taking actions towards trying to improve subject knowledge in areas of the curriculum where my experience is lacking or insufficient. Research conducted by Griffey (1983) has found that when practicing skills students of lower ability benefited more from the command style of teaching as they had little previous experience to draw from. This is something that I have also noticed, when teaching lower ability groups it is more beneficial to give the instruction or demonstration of task to save time and when working with higher ability pupils allowing the more able pupils to demonstrate the skill to increase pupil motivation. These findings have not been supported by Goldberger Gerney (1990) who found that under circuit training conditions the lower ability pupils seemed to benefit more from the opportunity to make decisions about time spent practicing at each station. However within this study the practice style of teaching has also been examined. According to Byra (2000) in the practice style of teaching the learners work at their own pace and complete teacher designed tasks in the order they choose, the class is organised around stations and the teacher provides individual feedback to the learners. The most effective type of practice style of teaching I have used whilst on teaching experience was the use of circuit training as I chose the activities/skills/tasks to be practiced at each station and the pupils chose the intensity to which they performed as each station. In a study by Beckett (1991) on college age students the practice style has proved to be very effective in promoting motor skill changes. From my experience of using this style I discovered that it was not particularly useful at promoting learning when there was limited time or large groups as different ability pupils will progress at different times and take longer with certain skills. However the ages of pupils should be taken into consideration as my experie nce is from working with pupils aged 11-16 who because they are more susceptible to development in motor skills than college aged students. This may explain why Beckett did not notice any changes in motor skills as the subject in his study may have already fully developed. My experience has also been identified and supported by Goldberger Gerney (1986) Goldberger et al (1982). However I did find this style of teaching useful during a health and fitness unit of work where the amount of skill learning was minimal and the main focus on the lesson was for pupils to be active using circuit training and the learning was aimed at pupils being introduced to new knowledge or gaining a further understanding of current knowledge on different types of exercises rather than developing skills. The reciprocal style has also been examined by Goldberger Gerney (1986) Goldberger et al (1982). These researchers identified that in this style the learners work in pairs to achieve the outcomes. The teachers ability to give effective instruction/information is important when using this style as when one learner performs the other observes and gives feedback to the performer specific to the instruction that the teacher gives at the start of the task and when the performer completes the task the learners switch roles. From my experience the most effective ways of giving instruction are in the form of a demonstration or a criteria sheet, I also found that demonstrations are very effective when demonstrating skills that I can show high levels of competence. In addition to improved skill performance Goldberger (1992) also found that learners in the reciprocal style provided more feedback, expressed more empathy, offered more praise and encouragement and requested more feedback from ea ch other when compared to a control group. However from my experience of this style the pairing of pupils is important as if you pair pupils of different levels the feedback would either be to complex or too simple thus affecting the amount of learning and skill performance. Also when working with pupils/groups where behaviour management is an issue it is more beneficial for the teacher to pair the pupils according to ability rather than letting pupils pick their partner as this tends to lead to the pupils picking friends and being distracted and going off task. I have also found that the way in which you give the instruction also can have an effect on the lesson as task sheets often dont work with groups where behaviour management is an issue as they do not respond well to the resource and see it as something to mess about with rather than an educational tool. Byra Marks (1993) conducted a study which focuses on the reciprocal style and the effects that different pairings had on pupils engagement. This study highlighted pupils who were identified as friends gave more effective and specific feedback due to their comfort levels being higher as they were working with a friend. The authors also found that grouping by ability had no effect on the amount of feedback given or the comfort level which is in agreement with my own personal experiences. This studies findings suggests that pupil working with friends is beneficial however this study does not take into account the behaviour of the group which I have experienced can be a major contributing fact when pairing pupils. I have experienced when allowing pupils to work in friendship pairs can sometimes be detrimental when they feel the task is not rewarding or beneficial as they distract each other and sometimes dont complete the task. I have found that to pair pupils with friends is beneficial only when you have built a rapport with the pupils and are aware of how they react working with friends. My experience of this style is that it is also beneficial to use when assessing pupils providing they are aware of the grading criteria they can receive more feedback thus improving performance when compared to othe r direct teaching styles. In support of this Cox (1986) found that when comparing the reciprocal style against the command and practice styles that the amount of skill movements was very similar which was surprising as the reciprocal style involves a lot more feedback. It was also found that three times the number of feedback statements were offered to performers using the reciprocal style resulting in higher skills and knowledge gains along with the development of social relationship skills. According to Byra Jenkins (1998) within the inclusion style of teaching learners choose the level of difficulty within a task and assess their own skill performance. With this in mind the benefits of the inclusion style are that it provides pupils with the opportunity to engage in activity that is to their appropriate skill/knowledge level potentially increasing inclusion and engagement. My experience of using this style of teaching is that I have attempted to include it in all of my lessons as ensuring all pupils are included is essential to any lesson. However when allowing pupils to decided which skill level they work at often resulted in pupils choosing a level that is not appropriate whether that be to simple or too complex. This goes against the spectrum theory which suggests that the condition provided by the inclusion style should promote success for all learners (Mosston Ashworth, 1994). The findings of Goldberger Gerney (1986) Goldberger et al (1982) has supported my experience and observed that the majority of learners made inappropriate and ineffective decisions for their skill level by choosing levels that were too complex for them to reach success or the objectives even when encouraged or prompted by the teacher. From this I have learned to set boundaries for those pupils that make the task to difficult so for example when throwing and catching setting a maximum or minimum distance they can throw the ball. My experience has also taught me that this style is most effective when used with older pupils as they have a better self concept of their own ability and are less susceptible to peer pressure this was also observed by Beckett (1991). In study of college aged students Beckett (1991) found that the inclusion style to be as effective as the practice style for learner skill performance when learning motor skills. These finding do not support the conclusions of Goldberger Gerney (1986) Goldberger et al (1982) and it was suggested that the difference in students ages as a contributing factor which supports my experience. My experience of the Inclusion style has also highlighted the importance of planning and assessment for the lesson as I have already identified that pupils sometimes dont make the correct decisions. Therefore as a result of this I found it beneficial to assess the pupils who set boundaries and goals that may be above or below their level and pupils who do not work well together and then plan a strategy into the next lesson to ensure that those pupils remain focused and on task. Productive Teaching Styles: When compared to the reproductive teaching style the productive cluster of Mosston Ashworth (1994) spectrum of teaching styles has little background research. The productive cluster requires the learner to produce new knowledge, from my experience the teacher needs a high level of understanding and creativity to create or design scenarios. According to Byra (2000) within the productive styles of teaching pupils should engage in cognitive operations like problem solving, creative thinking, inventing and critical thinking to discover new movements. It is the responsibility of the teacher to provide time for cognitive processing therefore there needs to be a class climate focused on searching and examining and feedback for producing different solutions rather than the same generic response (Mosston Ashworth, 2002). According to Mosston Ashworth (1986) six teaching styles have been identified in the productive cluster they are guided discovery and convergent discovery which both require convergent thinking from the learners and divergent production, individual program learner design, learner initiated and self teaching which require divergent thinking from learners. The majority of the research in this area has studied the effects of the divergent discovery, convergent discovery and guided discovery. In a study by Cleland Gallahue (1993) divergent movement patterns were observed to establish baseline information and to examine the different factors that contribute to a childs production of divergent movement. The findings highlighted that learners could modify, adopt and combine fundamental movement patterns to produce divergent movement. In a further study Cleland (1994) compared the divergent discovery style against the command style and a no instruction control group to examine the learners ability to produce divergent movement. The findings of this study were that students generated a greater number of divergent movements under the divergent discovery condition. The researcher concluded that employing critical thinking in the form of the divergent discovery style positively effects learners ability to generate a higher quantity of divergent movement patterns. My experience of using this teaching style is that the pupils age/maturity and experience levels are major contributing factors as learners with low levels of experience have limited subject knowledge to draw from thus affecting their ability to modify current skills/movement my experience has also been supported by the findings of Cleland Gallahue (1993). As the previous research suggests a pupils ability to think critically is important within the productive cluster of teaching styles, wish this in mind Cleland Pearse (1995) conducted a study which examined the methods that physical education teachers use to ensure that pupils use critical thinking. Critical thinking has been defined by McBride (1992) as reflective thinking is used to make reasonable decisions about movement tasks or challenges (page 115). This studies conclusion match with my experience which was that this style was most effective when employing the practice style of teaching to give instruction/deliver the subject knowledge then adopting guided discovery and convergent discovery to allow the pupils to think critically. The study also highlighted that the more experienced teachers were able to create a more effective environment for the pupils to use creative thinking skills McBride (1992). From my experience I have also been able to agree with these findings as I felt more comfortable creating an environment that was conducive to creative thinking when teaching a subject I had more experience in as I was able to give more effective feedback. The research presented to this point has seemed to favour the use of the productive teaching styles especially when creating cognitive learning however there is conflicting research presented by Salter Graham (1985). Salter Graham (1985) examined the effects of the command style, guided discovery style and no instruction on learners skill learning, cognitive learning and skill attempts. The results showed that although their was evidence that learning occurred using all three styles the pupils in the guided discovery and command style recorded significantly better cognitive learning compared to no instruction. For skill attempts however learners in the no instruction style made significantly more attempts at the task than learners in the other styles. The researchers went onto recommend that a longer practice time than 20 minutes may have resulted in the guided discovery having more skill learning, cognitive learning and skill attempts as this style requires longer practice time fo r the full benefits to be witnessed. From my own experience this is something which I have also observed as pupils respond better when they have longer periods of time to experiment different skill movements. My experience has also taught me that to increase the practice time requires effective instruction delivery which has also been identified by Cleland Pearse (1995). Conclusion: In conclusion several research questions have been answered about the reproductive styles of teaching; what the effects of the reproductive styles have on learning, how learners of different ability level are influenced by different styles, what effect pairings have on pupils ability to give effective feedback, what factors influence learners decision making and what effect the different styles have on learners ability to learn new knowledge. The findings from the productive style are; can learners employ critical thinking, what is the effect of productive styles on learners ability to produce divergent movement and how can teachers promote critical thinking. The amount of research that is available for the productive styles of teaching in limited when compared to the breadth of research studies on the reproductive teaching styles. However, a study by Cothran et al. (2000) has identify that teachers reported using a variety of style in their lessons yet only one productive style was in the top five styles used. Although it is encouraging that teachers report using a variety these results must be interpreted as it suggests that teachers over estimate the variety of teaching styles used thus affecting the amount of research there is available in relation to the productive styles of teaching. Research conducted by Goldberger (1992) has identified that the reason that may remain unconvinced or unsure of the styles use is because of the lack of confirmatory research on those styles. Therefore further research is needed into the productive styles of teaching to provide teachers with a knowledge base on how these styles can be effective at promoting learning. Recommendations: These findings have provided an initial insight into the use of teaching styles across a theoretically linked spectrum. One noticeable exception was that there is conflict within the research findings and not all researchers reported the same findings which identifies that there are a significant amount of variables related to spectrum research and that the variable that is being focused on should be properly investigated by using the correct research method. Spectrum research needs to continue as not all findings regarding assumptions associated to the spectrum have not been supported. However, some assumptions have been confirmed within this study for example the reciprocal style does in fact facilitate the provision of feedback, more so than any another style and having learners chose their partners based on friendships helps improve social skills (Byra Marks, 1993). Other assumptions like, the self check and inclusion styles are the most effective at promoting cognitive developm ent and the inclusion style is most effective at improving participation of low, medium and high ability learners still needs to be examined. Replication studies also need to be conducted in different environments as the research findings and my experience would suggest that the reciprocal style is an effective style at promoting feedback. However, would it be as effective at facilitating learning with different aged pupils in different schools where behaviour management has a far greater emphasis in lessons. After reviewing the appropriate relevant literature and reflecting on my own personal experiences I feel that the use of appropriate teaching styles makes an important contribution to pupils learning in Physical Education and should not be left to chance. Physical Education can provide pupils with the opportunity to think critically, problem solve and to improve own learning. Pupils will be able to think about what they are doing and make decisions independently and know when to use principles such as choreography, games strategies and problem solving. If pupils are to access the full National Curriculum for Physical Education (NCPE) (DfEE/QCA, 1999) and to achieve the outcomes of high quality Physical Education (QCA/DfES, 2005), teachers must employ a variety of appropriate teaching styles to facilitate the opportunities that Physical Education offers. It is because of this that both reproductive and productive teaching styles should be used to enhance learning and motivation.