Assignment #01

Subject : Critical Thinking and Reflective Practices

Course Code (8611)

Submitted by:

ID 0000244204

B.ED 1.5 YEAR

Semester: Autumn, 2023

A.I.O.U
Course: Critical Thinking and Reflective Practices” (8611)
Level: B.Ed (1.5 Years)ECE Semester: Autumn, 2022

ASSIGNMENT No. 1

Q.1 Read an article on current affairs and critically analyze that how social,
political and economical aspects of that topic been considered?

Recent political and economic developments and associated changes in the practice
and delivery of health and social care have led managers and professionals to
recognise the importance and links between problem solving and decision-making
skills. In particular, assessing the impact of political, economic, socio-cultural,
environmental and other external influences upon health care policy, proposals and
organisational programmes is becoming a recognisable stage of health service
strategic development and planning mechanisms. Undertaking this form of
strategic analysis therefore is to diagnose the key issues that the organisation needs
to address.

This form of analysis can be undertaken by reviewing the organisational (external)

environment using the PEST-analysis (sometimes known as STEP-analysis),
extended to the PESTELI checklist described below. PESTELI Analysis is a useful
tool for understanding the ―big picture‖ of the environment in which you are
operating, and the opportunities and threats that lie within it. By understanding
your environment, you can take advantage of the opportunities and minimise the
threats.

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PEST(ELI)

The term PEST has been used regularly in the last 20 years and its true history is
difficult to establish. The earliest known reference to tools and techniques for
‗scanning the business environment‘ is by Francis J. Aguilar who discusses
‗ETPS‘ - a mnemonic for the four sectors of his taxonomy of the
environment: Economic, Technical, Political, and Social. Over the years this has
become known as PEST with the additional letters are: Ecological
factors, Legislative requirements, and Industry analysis.

PESTELI is known as a ‗trends analysis‘. The external environment of an

organisation, partnership, community etc. can be assessed by breaking it down into
what is happening at Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental,
Legal and Industry levels. The same checklist can also be applied inside an
organisation.

Initially the acronym PEST was devised, which stands for:

Political factors - both big and small 'p' political forces and influences that may
affect the performance of, or the options open to the organisation

Economic influences - the nature of the competition faced by the organisation or

its services, and financial resources available within the economy

Sociological trends - demographic changes, trends in the way people live, work,
and think

Technological innovations - new approaches to doing new and old things, and
tackling new and old problems; these do not necessarily involve technical
equipment - they can be novel ways of thinking or of organising

The expanded PESTELI, also includes:

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Ecological factors - definition of the wider ecological system of which the
organisation is a part and consideration of how the organisation interacts with it

Legislative requirements - originally included under 'political', relevant

legislation now requires a heading of its own

Industry analysis - a review of the attractiveness of the industry of which the

organisation forms a part.

To be useful as an analysis tool, these environmental factors have to be linked to

the organisation's mission: which are helpful or which make it more difficult to
accomplish that mission.

Why undertake a PEST(ELI) Analysis

To be effective a PEST(ELI) needs to be undertaken on a regular basis.

Organisations that do analyses regularly and systematically often spot trends
before others thus providing competitive advantage.

Advantages and disadvantages of using a PEST(ELI) analysis

Advantages

 Simple framework
 Facilitates an understanding of the wider business environment
 Encourages the development of external and strategic thinking
 Can enable an organisation to anticipate future business threats and take
action to avoid or minimise their impact
 Can enable an organisation to spot business opportunities and exploit them
fully

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  By taking advantage of change, you are much more likely to be successful
than if your activities oppose it
 Avoids taking action that is doomed to failure from the outset, for reasons
beyond your control.

Disadvantages

 Some users over simplify the amount of data used for decisions – it is easy
to use scant data
 To be effective this process needs to be undertaken on a regular basis
 The best reviews require different people being involved each having a
different perspective
 Access to quality external data sources, this can be time consuming and
costly
 The pace of change makes it increasingly difficult to anticipate
developments that may affect an organisation in the future
 The risk of capturing too much data is that it may make it difficult to see the
wood for the trees and lead to ‗paralysis by analysis‘
 The data used in the analysis may be based on assumptions that
subsequently prove to be unfounded.

Who should undertake the analysis

Decision-making is more natural to certain personalities, so these people should

focus more on improving the quality of their decisions. People that are less natural
decision-makers are often able to make quality assessments, but then they need to
be more decisive in acting upon the assessments made. PESTELI is almost entirely
based on external factors, so ensure at least some members of each team have
knowledge of, or are able to consider, the PESTELI factors if you intend using this
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exercise. PESTELI is a good exercise for marketing people, and is good for
encouraging a business development, market orientated outlook among all staff. If
you want to use PESTELI with staff who are not naturally externally focused you
can have them do some research and preparation in advance of the exercise.

Completing a PESTELI analysis can be a simple or complex process. It all

depends how thorough you need to be. It is a good subject for workshop sessions,
as undertaking this activity with only one perspective can be time consuming and
miss critical factors.

What areas of PESTELI are best to use

For most situations the original PEST analysis model arguably covers all of the
'additional' factors within the original four main sections. For example, Ecological
or Environmental factors can be positioned under any or all of the four main PEST
headings, depending on their effect. Legislative factors would normally be covered
under the Political heading since they will generally be politically motivated.
Demographics usually are an aspect of the larger Social issue. Industry Analysis is
effectively covered under the Economic heading. Ethical considerations would
typically be included in the Social and/or Political areas, depending on the
perspective and the effect. Thus we can often see these 'additional' factors as 'sub-
items' or perspectives within the four main sections. Examples of these have been
added to Table 1.

Keeping to four fundamental perspectives also imposes a discipline of considering

strategic context and effect. Many of these potential 'additional' factors (ethical,
legislative, environmental for example) will commonly be contributory causes
which act on one or some of the main four headings, rather than be big strategic
factors in their own right.

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Q.2 In your point of view how does social exclusion/inclusion affect the
education of a child?

Social exclusion in the school environment is increasingly being recognised as a

form of relational aggression or bullying, in which a child is exposed to harm
through the manipulation of their social relationships and status.

Social exclusion can take many forms, with children reporting a range of
experiences from being deliberately excluded from a peer group to having rumours
spread about them, being called names and being purposefully embarrassed. In any
sense, social exclusion fundamentally entails a lack of connectedness and
participation from a peer group. Australian research suggests that approximately 1
in 6 children report experiences of social exclusion, however, this may under-
represent true prevalence rates given the difficulties in measuring social exclusion
which is often undertaken in covert and hidden ways.

Who does social exclustion affect?

While belonging and connectedness to peers is important at any age, it is
particularly relevant in adolescence. Research suggests that adolescents are
particularly sensitive to peer rejection and as a group, may experience the most
significant mental health effects such as depression and anxiety in response peer
rejection. Adolescence is typically a time of increased independence from parents
and family and increased dependence on their peer group. Identities are developed
in relation to peer groups and peer group differences can become highly salient.
The difficulty for adolescents is that ingroup and outgroup rules are fluid and as
such, maintaining peer relationships can be fraught with complication.
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Studies on the neurological profile of children suggest that their brain areas for
emotion become more activated in response to peer rejection with age, peaking in
adolescence. In contrast, adolescents show significantly less activation in the brain
regions which govern emotional regulation such as the Ventrolateral Prefrontal
Cortex in response to peer rejection in comparison with younger children. This
unique neurological profile for adolescents suggests that social exclusion at this
age may be particularly distressing and that they may have significant difficulty in
managing their distress.

Effects of social exclusion

Research suggests that the physical, emotional and mental health of children
exposed to social exclusion can be compromised. For example, lower immune
function, reduced sleep quality, reduced ability to calm oneself in times of distress,
reduced self esteem, feelings of anxiety, depression and aggression have all been
observed in children who have been excluded from a peer group.

So what can we do about social exclusion?

Children and adults all have a core need to be loved and valued within secure and
lasting positive relationships. Helping children develop and maintain these secure
relationships both with their family, peers and wider social group is an important
part of their development. Research is telling us that children become aware of
social rejection from a young age and can reason as to why it is wrong to exclude
others from preadolescence. Thus talking with your child from a young age about
the inclusion of others, feelings that occur when exclusion is encountered and
strategies to manage social exclusion is important. Some helpful tips are:

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For the excluded child:

Be open, available and calm when your child needs to talk with you. Children
often worry about upsetting or worrying their parents, so it is important to remain
calm and engaged with your child.

Be responsive to your child. Affirm to them that they have the right to be safe and
feel secure and that you will help them by talking with the school and providing a
safe haven at home. For older children, listen to the action that they would like you
to take and negotiate with them when it would be appropriate for you to talk with
the school, for example, if they are still being excluded at the end of the week or if
things escalate.

Be affirming. Tell and show your child that they are unconditionally loved and
valued as a person. Enlist the support of family friends to share positive messages
about your child and engage in their gifts, talents and interests. Build a circle of
security around your child.

Make your home a safe haven. Minimise the risk of online social exclusion and
bullying by monitoring technology use and using privacy settings and parental
controls. The change of email addresses and mobile numbers may be necessary.

Help your child manage emotional distress but talking about their feelings and
developing some self-copying statements such as ―relax, don‘t take it personally‖.
Help your child focus on their gifts, talents and interests.

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Build your child‘s friendships. Having one close friend has been shown to
strengthen a child‘s connectedness to school and self-esteem. Help your child
identify a friend or friends that share similar interests and foster friendship through
play dates and scheduled activities.

Use the high five principle. Help your child identify five people that they can seek
support from and /or things to do, one for each finger if they are being excluded.
For example, seek out a special teacher, find a friend in an older year, go to the
library or offer their help to the teacher on duty.

Develop ways your child can have some clear boundaries. Help your child
communicate their distress and name the inappropriate behaviour of others through
statements such as ―I don‘t like what you are doing and you need to stop‖ , ―That is
bullying and it is not right‖. Help your child know that they need to seek support if
the social exclusion continues.

Q.3 In your point of view what are purposes of cooperative learning? On

which basis you will recommend/not recommend this teaching strategy?

This type of learning strategy uses small group tasks and activities as a learning
experience. Each member is responsible for learning new information and skills,
and at the same time, assisting teammates in learning.

Types of Cooperative Learning

Cooperation among coworkers in an organization will rarely occur naturally. It is

up to employers to make an effort by taking steps that bring employees together.

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Cooperative learning is divided into three types, with a different implementation of
each.

1. Formal Cooperative Learning

It involves the assignment of tasks and projects to a team by an employer. The

team members have a clear structure of what is to be done and stay together until
the project is complete. It can range from a few hours to several weeks.

2. Informal Cooperative Learning

This type of learning involves quickly forming teams for short periods to complete
a small task at hand. They require no prior planning and have very little structure.
They can help bring closure to a day‘s work or a small project.

3. Group-Based Learning

It is the most common type of cooperative learning implemented in organizations.

It involves long-term groups that can last up to a year or more with members
giving each other support, encouragement, and assistance.

Some good examples are the different departments in an organization, each with a
group of people expected to make productive progress. It also works in long-term
organizational projects.

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Purpose of Cooperative Learning

The more employees continue to work cooperatively, the more their corporate
environment becomes productively beneficial. The following are some of the
primary purposes of implementing cooperative learning culture in an organization:

 Development and acquisition of necessary life skills

 Sharing of information

 Building a team that cooperates

 Increases tolerance and acceptance of diversity

 Improving output by employees

Benefits of Cooperative Learning

Cooperative learning has a massive positive impact on employees and their

working environment. It enhances productivity and improves employee
knowledge.

Below are the benefits of cooperative learning:

1. Gaining leadership and decision-making skills

For a team to succeed, the individuals in that group need to show some leadership
abilities.

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In every organization, several tasks need someone to be in charge to run smoothly.
Some of them are:

 Delegating and organizing work

 Ensuring the company‘s set targets are met

 Supporting team members

Some people may turn out to be natural leaders but are not inclined to lead. The
employer can assign leadership roles to different members of the group.

In a corporate setting, there are many decisions to be made among team members.
A decision-making process should involve every member airing out their opinion
on the matter, but the final say lies with the leader.

2. Acquiring conflict management skills

Conflict management focuses on positive results while minimizing negative ones.

This process, by which disputes are solved, can impact an organization positively
when done correctly.

There are five conflict management styles that can be applied in every specific
situation.

How members of a team handle conflicts remain embedded in their minds. They
can implement any of the above styles in another similar situation in the future.

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3. Increases employee work engagement

Employees become more satisfied as they continue to get the opportunity to learn
new skills. They will become eager to continue learning and growing.

A growth in productive engagement is evident in work hence an increase in

efficiency and output.

4. Enhancing communication skills

Members in a cooperative learning group need to learn how to speak productively

with one another. Ethical commitment and communication keep the members on
track and enhances efficient teamwork.

5. Personal responsibility

Cooperative learning increases individual responsibility in employees. They know

that they have a specific task they should perform for the entire team to succeed.

They also gain accountability as they are aware of a backlash from team members
if they fail to play their part.

6. Gaining confidence

Some employees find it more comfortable to speak up in small groups. They can
express their ideas and ask questions, which enables them to gain confidence. This
confidence improves from addressing a few people to a large crowd.

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7. Positive attitude towards colleagues

In every organization, there are those few employees that grow a dislike towards
each other with or without reason. Cooperative learning creates a more positive
attitude towards workmates as they continue working together within a group.

Q.4 Describe in detail types of in-classroom debating techniques. For each

type, develop a scenario.

While debate is an adversarial activity, it provides numerous positive benefits for

students. Debate increases opportunities for speaking and listening in the
classroom. During a debate, students take turns speaking in response to the
arguments made by their opponents. At the same time, other students participating
in the debate, or in the audience, must listen carefully for arguments made or
evidence used in supporting a position.

The cornerstone of classroom debate is the ability of students to present their

positions and to convince others of those positions. Particular forms of debate are
well-suited to first-time debaters as they focus less on the quality of speaking and
more on the evidence presented in arguments.

Debate topics of interest to high school students range from human cloning and
animal testing to changing the legal voting age. For middle school students, debate
topics may include the abolishment of statewide testing or whether school
uniforms should be required. To prep students for their first debate, review debate
formats, show students how debaters organize their arguments, watch videos of
actual debates, and go over the scoring rubrics for each form of debate.
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The debate formats presented can be adapted to the length of a class period.

The Lincoln-Douglas debate is dedicated to questions that are of a deep moral or

philosophical nature.

The debate format for a Lincoln-Douglas debate is one-on-one. While some

students may prefer one-to-one debate, others may not want the pressure or
spotlight. This debate format allows a student to win or lose based solely on
an individual argument rather than relying on a partner or group.

An abbreviated version of a Lincoln-Douglas debate runs about 15 minutes,

including time for transitions and claims to be made during each stage of the
process:

 First Affirmative Speaker: Two minutes to introduce the topic

 First Negative Speaker: Two minutes to restate the opponent's viewpoint
o Example: "It is often said" or "Many people assume that my esteemed
opponent believes that"
 Second Affirmative Speaker: Two minutes to disagree
o Example: "On the contrary" or "On the other hand"
 Second Negative Speaker: Two minutes to explain position (using evidence)
o Example: "For example" or "This is why"
 Break for Rebuttal Speech Preparation: Two minutes to transition
 Negative Summary/Rebuttal Speaker: Two minutes to conclude (including
thesis)
o Example: "Therefore" or "As a result" or "Thus it can be seen"
 Affirmative Summary/Rebuttal Speaker: Two minutes to conclude
(including thesis)

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 o Example: "Therefore" or "As a result" or "Thus it can be seen"

Role-Play Debate

In the role-play format of debate, students examine different points of view or

perspectives related to an issue by playing a role. A debate about the question
"Should English class be required for four years?" might yield a variety of
opinions.

The points of view expressed in a role-play debate might include opinions that
would be expressed by a student (or two students) representing one side of an
issue. This type of debate could feature other roles such as a parent, a school
principal, a college professor, a teacher, a textbook sales representative, or an
author.

To role-play, ask students to help identify all stakeholders in the debate. Create
three index cards for each role. Write the role of one stakeholder on each index
card.

Students choose an index card at random, and those holding matching stakeholder
cards gather together. Each group formulates the arguments for its assigned
stakeholder role.

During the debate, each stakeholder presents her point of view.

In the end, the students decide which stakeholder presented the strongest argument.

Tag-Team Debate

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In a tag-team debate, students work in small groups, and there are opportunities for
every student to participate. The teacher organizes two teams of no more than five
students to represent two sides of a debatable question. Each team has a set amount
of time (three to five minutes) to present its point of view.

The teacher reads aloud the issue to be debated and then gives each team the
opportunity to discuss its argument as a group. One speaker from each team takes
the floor and speaks for no more than one minute. That speaker must "tag" another
member of the team to pick up the argument at the end of his time or before his
minute is up. A team member who is eager to pick up a point or add to the team's
argument can raise his hand to be tagged.

No member of a team can be tagged twice until all members have had an
opportunity to speak. After all teams have presented, students vote on which team
made the best argument.

Inner Circle-Outer Circle Debate

In the inner circle-outer circle debate, the teacher arranges students into two groups
of equal size who take opposing sides in the debate. Each group has an opportunity
to listen to the other group discuss an issue and formulate conclusions, as well as
discuss and formulate its own conclusions.

The students in Group 1 sit in a circle of chairs facing out, away from the center,
while the students in Group 2 sit in a circle of chairs around Group 1, facing the
center of the circle as well as the students in Group 1. Once the students are seated,
the teacher reads aloud the issue to be discussed.

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The students in the inner circle have 10 to 15 minutes to discuss the topic. During
that time, all other students focus their attention on the students in the inner circle.
No one else is allowed to speak during the inner circle's discussion time.

As the outer circle group observes the inner circle group and listens to the
discussion, members of the outer circle group create a list of the arguments made
by each member of the inner circle group. The outer circle students also prepare
their own notes about these arguments.

After 10 to 15 minutes, the groups switch roles and the process is repeated. After
the second round, all students share their outer circle observations. The notes from
both rounds may be used in a follow-up classroom discussion and/or as an editorial
writing assignment for students to express their positions on the issue at hand.

Q.5 Describe in detail the salient features of Peter’s Four Step Model of
professional development.

The Peter Principle is an observation that the tendency in most

organizational hierarchies, such as that of a corporation, is for every employee to
rise in the hierarchy through promotion until they reach a level of respective
incompetence.

In other words, a front-office secretary who is quite good at their job may thus be
promoted to executive assistant to the CEO which they are not trained or prepared
for—meaning that the secretary would be more productive if they had not been
promoted.
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The Peter Principle is thus based on the paradoxical idea that
competent employees will continue to be promoted, but at some point will be
promoted into positions for which they are incompetent, and they will then remain
in those positions because of the fact that they do not demonstrate any further
competence that would get them recognized for additional promotion.

According to the Peter Principle, every position in a given hierarchy will

eventually be filled by employees who are incompetent to fulfill the job duties of
their respective positions.

 The Peter Principle observes that employees rise up through a firm's

hierarchy through promotion until they reach a level of respective
incompetence.
 As a result, according to the Peter Principle, every position in a given
hierarchy will eventually be filled by employees who are incompetent to
fulfill the job duties of their respective positions.
 A possible solution to the problem posed by the Peter Principle is for
companies to provide adequate skill training for employees receiving a
promotion, and to ensure the training is appropriate for the position to
which they have been promoted.

The Peter Principle was laid out by Canadian educational scholar and sociologist,
Dr. Laurence J. Peter, in his 1968 book titled The Peter Principle. Dr. Peter stated
in his book that an employee's inability to fulfill the requirements of a given
position that he is promoted to may not be the result of general incompetence on
the part of the employee as much as it is due to the fact that the position simply
requires different skills than those the employee actually possesses.

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For example, an employee who is very good at following rules or company
policies may be promoted into the position of creating rules or policies, despite the
fact that being a good rule follower does not mean that an individual is well-suited
to be a good rule creator.

Dr. Peter summed up the Peter Principle with a twist on the old adage that "the
cream rises to the top" by stating that "the cream rises until it sours." In other
words, excellent employee performance is inevitably promoted to the point where
the employee's performance is no longer excellent, or even satisfactory.

According to the Peter Principle, competence is rewarded with promotion because

competence, in the form of employee output, is noticeable, and thus usually
recognized. However, once an employee reaches a position in which they are
incompetent, they are no longer evaluated based on their output but instead are
evaluated on input factors, such as arriving at work on time and having a good
attitude.

Dr. Peter further argued that employees tend to remain in positions for which they
are incompetent because mere incompetence is rarely sufficient to cause the
employee to be fired from the position. Ordinarily, only extreme incompetence
causes dismissal.

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