World Religions

If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on World Religions. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality World Religions paper right on time.

Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in World Religions, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your World Religions paper at affordable prices!

World Religions

Eliade

1. What is religion?

a. Belief system that gives value or meaning to peoples existenceOrder College Papers on World Religions

b. Personal religion versus institutional religion

. Myth/Mythic

a. Truth in an explanatory way

b. Attempts to explain religion

c. Presence of the sacred and profane

. Sacred and Profane

a. Modes of being in the world

b. Existing in relation to other things

c. Things and space are sacred because of a persons relationship with it

4. Sacred

a. Opposite of the profane

b. Cosmos

c. Order

d. Heterogeneous

i. Mixed kind

e. Must be assigned qualitative value

5. Profane

a. Chaos

b. Disorder

c. Homogenous

i. Same kind

6. Religious man

a. One who lives or tries to live in a sacred world

b. No religious man

i. Each person gravitates toward something

ii. Sacred has become lost

7. Cosmogony

a. The creation of the cosmos

b. Serial cosmogony

i. Cosmos is born of an existing cosmos

1. from a substantial change

c. before new cosmos

i. old must die

d. before cosmogony

i. must be a sign

1. hierophany

. manifestation

. theophany

a. contact with a divine power

4. hierophany

a. contact between levels

e. Contact between levels

i. Point

ii. From the fixed point the world spreads out

iii. A circle

iv. All points equidistant from the center

f. Threshold

i. Circumference of circle

ii. No value

iii. Must be acknowledged

g. Axis Mundi

i. Line through the center

ii. Pole, ladder, mountain, tree

iii. Center is most sacred

h. End of the world

i. Loss of center

ii. Loss of circumference

iii. Encroachment of the profane upon the sacred

i. Sign

i. Something that happens which no one has no control over

8. Sanctification of Life

a. Sanctify to make something sacred

b. Life is profane normally

i. Horizonatal line

c. Does this by Rites

d. Sacred time

i. Most sacred

1. cosmogony

. other moments also become sacred

ii. cyclical

iii. eternal

e. Profane time

i. Linear

ii. Durations

. What is time

a. Time is the measurement of change

b. Eternal exists outside of time

c. Does not change

10. Two types of Rites

a. Ritual

i. Reenactment of the original comosgonic event

ii. Makes people feel as if the moment exists

b. Rite of Passage

i. Celebrates the movement from one stage of life to another

11. Ontological status

a. To become anything else around the circle

b. Established

1. How are the rite of passage connected

a. Acknowledgement

b. Instigation

c. Initiation

d. Importance of death and rebirth imagery

1. Imprinting

a. At a point of high hormonal influx

b. People are prone to take on certain imprints

14. Rites of Passage in Life

a. Birth and naming

b. Baptism

c. Circumcision

d. Bar or bat mitzvah

e. Marriage

f. Childbirth

g. Last rites

15. Secular Rituals

a. Star spangled banner

b. Thanksgiving

c. Birthday party

d. Fourth of July

Black Elk

e. Rituals

i. Pipe smoking

ii. Dancing

iii. All part of great spirit

16. Vocab

a. Monotheism

i. Belief in on god

b. Polytheism

i. Belief in many gods

c. Pejorative

i. Derogatory

d. Polemical

i. Over dramatize difference

17. Black Elk

a. Native Americans

b. Came over in land bridge

c. Two cultures emerged

i. Farmers

1. mother earth

. priorities fertility

ii. Hunters

1. father sky

. priorities strength and masculinity

d. native American world view

i. where one fits in the world

ii. attitude towards nature

iii. plants animals men share an equilibrium

e. Ecological Aspect

i. Balance

1. natural world

. animals

ii. Normative

1. sets a value

. conservation

a. using resources efficiently

. minimum impact on the balance

4. replenish

5. efficient use

f. Spiritual Aspect

i. Spirit world

ii. Location

1. center of the world

iii. ontological value

1. more real than their world

iv. to enter the spirit world

1. vision dream through shaman

v. divination

1. advice from gods

. healing

a. medicine

b. power

c. charisma

vi. all must have vision before adulthood

1. so discover destiny

. not fate but direction of life

vii. In vision one sees totem

1. totem

a. manifestation of ones spirit as an animal in the spirit world

i. determines

1. characteristics

. new name

. compatibility

g. Shamanic Visions

i. Large scope

ii. Able to heal

h. Animism

i. Belief in life force or spirits dwelling in inanimate objects

i. Pantheon

i. Lexicon of gods

j. Great Spirit

i. Removed all power spirit

k. Elemental

i. Rain, lightening

ii. Don't pray to god for rain, pray to rain

l. Object

i. Inanimate objects that appear to have spirits occupying them

m. Ghosts

i. People who died were unable to make transition

1. not rited properly

Hinduism

1. Not a religion

. a cultural distinction

. materials written in San Skrit

a. language of sacred prayers

b. losing much of the poetry

c. very complex

d. neologize makes up new words

4. When culture becomes extinct it becomes fragmented, increasingly incoherent

a. Hindu

i. Superimposition of Aryan culture onto the harapan culture

b. Persians reject Aryan influence

i. Zoroastrianism

1. negative reaction

. good and will gods and switched

5. Vedas

a. Sacred texts

b. Collection of texts

c. Authorless

d. Incoherent and doesn't fit together

e. Does not mean a single veda makes no sense

i. Collection as a whole is inconsistent

ii. Unsystematic

f. Overtime people evolved

i. So did text

6. Canan

a. Authoritive core text

b. Vedas are canonized

c. Explanations

i. Long evolved

ii. Liturgical to be chanted or sung

iii. Believed that everything is made up of vibration

iv. Notions and thought are seen as substances

v. Move faster than light

d. Universe is a far reaching as the vibration will reach

7. Aum

a. The perfect sound of creation

b. Meant to reproduce every sound in the universe

c. Keep universe in balance

d. Sympathetic vibration if one thing vibrates

i. Other things will vibrate at the same frequency

8. 4 collections of Vedas

a. samhias

i. hymns

b. Brahmanas

i. Priestly liturgies

c. Aranyakas

i. Forest books

d. Upanishads

i. The end of the Vedas

ii. Vedanta

1. concrete

. Metaphysics

a. Tries to explain what I is in the outside world that cause the physical world to operate

10. Concrete

a. Specific and well defined

11. Abstract

a. Does not give specific examples

i. Takes an array of things abstract a common element

ii. No two instances of the element are identical

b. As Vedas become more abstract

i. they become more coherent

c. fundamental reality

i. center where everything stands

1. Dharma

a. Duty

1. RTA

a. The goddess of order

b. Symphony analogy

i. Dharma

1. sheet music

14. Determinants of Duty

a. Caste

b. Family

c. Age

d. Previous life

e. Gender

15. Brahman

a. Utterly abstract

b. Not this not that

c. Cannot be pointed to

16. Self

a. It must remain itself

i. As time passes the self does not change

b. Physical appearance

c. Personality

d. Memories

e. All theses things are constantly changing so it cannot be true self

f. Embodiment

i. Born

ii. Lives

iii. Dies

g. True self cannot be reincarnated because reincarnation is change

17. Jiva

a. Illusory self that goes through reincarnation

b. Changes slower than embodiment

c. Made up of the latent consequences of karma

d. Karma

i. Action

ii. Selfish action

iii. Requires more action

e. Jiva is the overflow of karmic consequences

18. Samsara

a. Cycle of death and rebirth

b. In an attempt to satisfy karmic consequences

c. Motivated by karma

d. Samsra sucks life sucks then you die

e. Every opportunity to be born you die

1. GOAL IS NO MORE SAMASARA

a. Nirvana

i. The end without a following beginning

ii. End of samara

iii. End of illusory self

iv. End of jiva

v. End of karma

b. Brahman

i. Truly abstract

c. Atman

i. True self

d. Fundamental realities

i. Most real

e. Eternal

i. Outside of time

f. Incomposite

i. Pure

ii. No parts

iii. Simplest

0. Ontological nondualism

a. There is only one fundamental reality

b. Neither nothing nor something

1. Nondualism versus monism

a. Everyminism is an implied dualism

i. To say something exists it has to be distinguished from nonexisistent

. People appear to be different because we bear the marks of kharma

a. But underneath were all the same

. Brahman

a. All that was

b. Somehow

i. Beginning Is not understood

c. I

i. Belief in the individuality

d. Lack

i. Once you think yourself separate from the whole you feel an emptiness for the whole desire to

e. Desire

i. Fill the lack

f. Action

i. Action to satisfy the desire

g. Kharama is action taken in vain

4. Yoga

a. Putting the reias on self-gratification

i. Helps to harness urges

ii. Also lives together the parts of the self

iii. Mind body spirit

iv. Whole is more than sum of the parts

b. Can be see as an action that integrates mind body and soul

i. For the moment a person escapes their own ego

ii. A yogi is someone who can sustain the moment

c. Yoga in the gita

i. Bhaktiyoga

1. devotion

. completely giving to someone else

. to think entirely of the object of ones desire and not of ones self

ii. Karmayoga

1. Action

. action acting on behalf of dharma

. just do it because its your duty

iii. Jnanayoga

1. wisdom

. acquiring understanding of the true self

. how to acquire such wisdom

a. meditation

iv. Most powerful yoga in Gita

1. bhaktiyoga

. devote to Krishna

. anyone can do it

5. Extrinsic Steps

a. Yama

i. Morality

b. Hiyama

i. Physical purifying

ii. Hygiene

iii. Diet

c. Asana

i. Physical postures

d. Pranayama

i. Breathing exercises

ii. Comes from food we eat

iii. Eating the sun

iv. Eating something that ate the sun

e. Pratyahara

i. Shutting out all the sensory

ii. Willful withdrawal of the senses

6. Intrinsic Steps

a. Dharana

i. Concentration

b. Dhyana

i. Meditation

ii. Realize that you are not your body

c. Samadhi

i. Perfect sameness

ii. bliss

Buddhism

1. Based on Hindu tradition

a. emerged as a rejection of some Hindu aspects

b. Orthodox

i. In line with standard doctrine

ii. Absolute authority of the Vedas

c. Heterodoxy

i. Follows more than one doctrine

ii. Does not believe in the supreme authority of the Vedas

d. Carvaka

e. Jains

f. Buddhism

g. Vedas

h. Priests

i. Caste system

i. Pramara

1. Valid means of knowing

j. Direct experience

k. logical

l. Samba

i. Someone told you

. No pragmatic

a. Dogmatic

i. Insist only certain doctrines are true

b. Pragmatic

i. Practical

. Rahula

a. Absolute truth

b. Nirvana

c. Unhelpful

d. Incoherent

e. no absolute truth in the world

f. truth is not an issue

4. Buddhism uses parables to teach

a. Parable of the raft

i. Buddha's teachings

1. Buddhism offers suggestions of how to live

a. not truths

b. means to an end

i. not an addiction or an attachment

5. Critique of Hindu metaphysics

a. Parable of the poison arrow

b. Buddhists reject the ideas of Brahman, atman, fundamental realities

c. All questions metaphysics are based on assumptions

i. Cannot be or have not been proven

6. four noble truths

a. Fourfold implies four aspects of one concept

b. Axiom

i. Basis of system of proof

ii. Starting point starting assumption

c. Buddhism is neither to be taken on full faith

i. nor no faith

d. Only thing that matters is overcoming of Dukha

i. Suffering

7. Fourfold Axiom

a. Aspects

i. Dukha

1. suffering

. pain

. sorrow

4. All symptoms

5. Loss of who you are

a. What you lost was fundamental

6. more of an emotional anguish

a. response to loss

7. all like if Dukha

a. Dukha is inevitable

ii. Samudaya

1. Cause of Dukha

a. Diagnosis

. Tanha

a. Thirst

b. Cause of Dukha

. Dukha has many causes

a. But tanha is the closest

4. Thirst

a. The thirst that every time you try to satisfy it

b. It only gets worse

c. Continues across lifetime

iii. Nirvana

1. Prognosis

. cessation of Dukha

. nirvana is the end of tanha

a. end of Dukha

4. knowing what to do is different than doing it

iv. Marga

1. the path

. not steps

. 8 fold path

4. three categories

a. Sila

i. Ethical conduct

b. Samadhi

i. Discipline

c. Prajna

i. Wisdom

v. Self awareness is not self consciousness

1. self consciousness includes judgments

. self awareness lacks the judgment aspect

vi. Meditation

1. centered around visualations

a. visualize self as rotting corpse

b. deromanticising the embodiment

c. accepting the pain helps one to move past it

d. realizing the embodiment is not the self helps the realization that death is not all that important

8. Real

a. Causes and effects

b. Everything that can be said to be real is the cause and effect of everything else that can be said to be real

c. Conditioned genesis

i. Things are created conditionally

ii. Rules out the first cause

1. 1 link cycle

iii. posting first causes is as worthless as posting no cause

d. pratityasamutpada

i. attempts to explain the world and reality

. Proper understanding

a. Understanding the world in a way to overcome suffering Dukha

b. Pratityasamutpada

c. Experience of selfhood

i. Buddha does not deny the experience of self

ii. Experience has causes and effects

1. 5 aggregates

10. Anatman

a. No self

b. No unchanging thing

c. Cannot claim that there is not atman

i. Unsaying implies there once was

d. Pratityamaipada

i. Middle way

ii. Does not say things exist or not exist

11. Argument of Atman

a. Epistemologically incoherent cannot be proven to exist or not exist

i. Hindus

1. atman is utterly abstract

. no instance exists

. cannot be seen

b. Harmful

i. Causes Dukha

1. if you belief something for no reason and it causes you harm

. believe in something else

c. Alternatives

i. We can look for alternatives to the idea of atman

1. explain the experience of selfhood and draw different conclusions from it

a. without rooting it in a true self

1. Analytic Device

a. When the self is broken a part

i. We find the five skandas

1. Five Skandas

a. Aggregates

i. Whenever the aggregates are arranged in a certain way,

ii. The experience of a self takes place

1. if one of the five is missing the experience of selfhood cannot take place

b. Rupa

i. Form

1. anything capable of being served

c. Vedena

i. Feeling

ii. Sensation

iii. Anything you want to go towards away from

d. Samuna

i. Perception

1. webs of perception

. how things relate to everything else

e. Samskara

i. Karmic conditioning

ii. Knowing something because it was experience before predisposed in feelings actions based on past experience

f. Vijnana

i. Bifurcate consciousness

1. consciousness is split into two

ii. the goal is not to eliminate one of the standards

1. to eliminate the experience of self

. find the explanation for the experience

14. Buddhist meditation

a. An attempt to break a bad habit

i. Thinking of oneself as the self

b. Steps to breaking habits

i. Realizing that you have a habit

ii. Deciding to break the habit

iii. Get down to the root of the first thought of the habit

iv. By the time we realize a though

1. its too late

. stop the thought of self before it becomes entirely conscious

Daoism

1. Daoism

a. Daodejing

i. Untranslatable

1. Classical Chinese

. Language changes

. Social/cultural translation

ii. Context is lost

iii. Words taken at face value

iv. No one has a perfect understanding of this text

v. No grammar

vi. No masculine/feminine

vii. No tense

viii. No capital letters

ix. No articles

b. Origin of the text

i. 600 BCE 50 BCE

ii. Dao De Jing

1. Tao Tech Ching

iii. Written by Laozi

iv. Zhou dynasty 100 BCE 5 BCE

1. Warring states period

v. Daoism is a response to the breakdown of the Zhou dynasty

c. Confucianism

i. Thought that life was great in the early Zhou

ii. Suggests to do everything as they were done

iii. Conformity to ancient culture

d. Proto-Daoist

i. Non nostalgic feelings

ii. Left the cities

1. head for the hills

. Abandoned Zhou, start a new

e. Laozi

i. Wisest man in all of china

ii. Wants to leave the city

iii. Is told he can not leave until he wrote down everything he knew

iv. Brevity

v. Ambivalent

vi. Open to interpretation

f. Scholars say not a single author

g. Dao De Jing

i. Dao = under goes virtue

ii. De = virtue

iii. Jing = discernable threads

1. refers to any text with a discernable history

. made of transmission

iv. Dao has normative implication

1. the way of leaders is the way to live

v. Chinese

1. things don't exist

a. they process

b. they do

. Everything is what it is

vi. Process of what they do is Dao

h. Ideal versus Actual Dao

i. In order for a Dao to be ideal

1. it needs to exist without interference

ii. Lots of processes

1. all occur at the same time

. all interacting

iii. Ideal Dao does not exist

i. Destiny

i. Ideal process of being a person

j. Dao used to describe how things would be if experienced no interference

k. Dao De Jing

i. Refers to all Daos

ii. Not The Dao

l. Heart is organ of thought

i. Emotion is feeling

m. De = not thinking before acting

i. Just take what comes naturally

n. Dao De

i. Easiest possible way of processes occurring

ii. Ideally processing in a natural way

iii. Least amount of effort

o. De = the quality of that which is most ideally Daoing

p. TaiJi (Tai Chi)

i. Not the martial arts

ii. The principle by which all things Dao

iii. Tai and Ji mean

1. extreme

q. Principles of Extremes

i. Ta Ji Tu

1. diagram of Tai Ji

ii. YinYang

1. opposites

. complimentary

. Yin

a. Traditionally taken to mean feminine qualities

i. Submissive/passive

ii. Creative

4. Yang

a. Masculine qualities

i. Active

ii. Dominant

iii. Strong or large

5. Newtonian conservation of Yin and Yang

a. Get more yin but be less yang

b. Eliade = Sacrifice

iii. Principles of TaiJi

1. whenever any process reaches its extreme in one direction

a. it becomes its opposite process.

. All Daos are oscillating

a. Balancing

iv. Paradox

1. seeming or apparent contradiction

. Lying Paradox

a. Everything I say is a lie

b. Real actual paradox

. Rhetorical

a. Paradox sounds like a paradox but all based on words

b. Looking for new ways of saying

v. Wei Wu Wei

1. Act without Acting

. Not complete passivity

a. Practical principle of Daoism

. getting out of the way of the pendulum

4. dealing with TaiJi

5. Acting without interface/effort (Dao)

vi. Preferences are

1. what causes acting with interference

. the more intent we are on our preferences

a. the more limited are options

. Less specific you are about views

a. The more you see

4. Wei Wu Wei

a. Unlimited possibilities

vii. Miaw

1. wonder

. childlike state

. Box = it can be anything

4. to become mature is to become more like a child

a. regain wonder

viii. Dao

1. process

ix. De

1. ideally

x. Jing

1. without interference

Judaism

1. Biblical

a. Bible

b. People of the book

c. Um Al Kitab

i. The mother of the book

d. God wrote this book in Gods language

e. Translated into human language times

i. Hebrew

1. Moses read and translated wrong

ii. Jesus

1. Christians focused on messenger

. not message

. lost scriptures

4. rewrote them

iii. Mohammed

1. will be lost prophet

. Arabic scripture correct

. Prophetic texts/traditions

a. Prophet

i. Messenger of god

ii. All people of the book received the same book

b. Judaism, Christianity, Islam are all Semitic Traditions

c. Semites

i. Jews and Arabs

. Judaism

a. Tend to read the bible as history

i. History of the human world

ii. History of gods intervention in such

b. Hebrew Scripture

i. Tanakg

ii. Torah

1. first 5 books of the scriptures

iii. Nevim

1. prophetic writings

. apocalyptic tone

iv. Kethbim

1. book of Job, etc, miscellaneous

v. Apocrypha

1. controversial materials

. questionable curiosity

4. Theological Conclusions

a. Creatio Ex Nihlo

i. Creation from nothing

b. Omnipotent

i. No limitations on power

c. Omniscient

i. No limitations on knowing

d. Above suggests he doesn't make mistakes

i. Text suggests he does

5. Creation

a. 6 day model

b. Rvach

i. Gods life force (spirit of god)

c. Nefesh

i. Gods breath in Adam and soul

d. First distinction

i. Light and dark

ii. Produced heterogeneity into homogeneity

6. Introduction to distinction

a. Day and Night

b. Light and Dark

c. Bad versus Evil

i. Bad = pragmatic

ii. Evil = moral category

d. Every phase in process of creation

i. God sees that it is good

ii. Earth Good

iii. Hinduism/Buddhism

1. earth is a bad place and must escape

iv. Christianity/Judaism

1. earth is good place to be enjoyed

e. Second Day

i. Heaven and Earth

f. Third Day

i. Land and Sea

ii. Doesn't create

iii. Reveals

g. Fourth Day

i. Sun Moon Stars

1. introduce time

. all calendars are based on movement of heavenly bodies

h. Fifth Day

i. Birds and Fish

i. Sixth

i. Land Creatures

1. Created in gods image

. God becomes increasingly more cosmic as book proceeds

. Humanoic

4. Maybe we don't resemble god at all

5. We think whatever god things

7. Second Story

a. Not told in terms of days

b. Tells why

c. Conditions

i. Desert

1. no water

. no man till the land

ii. Water

1. before land came from water

. now water comes up from ground

iii. Adam of the earth

1. created to care for the land

iv. Plants Garden of Eden

1. First story

a. all food

b. no distinction

. Now

a. Tree of life

b. Tree of knowledge

c. Center of Eden

. Eliade

a. Cosmic tree

b. Bears fruit

c. Properties of gods

d. If god can threaten death

i. Adam was never immortal

ii. created moral

e. Tree of knowledge of Good and Evil

i. Moral Knowledge

ii. If eat then die on the spot

f. Animals

i. Meant to be companion to Adam

1. no mate

g. Woman

i. Her existence is dependent on Adams

ii. Adam has power over eve

8. Apparent inconsistencies

a. Order of creation

b. Woman and man created together

c. Emphasis

. Perspective Theory

a. stories are the same but from different perspectives

i. gods and humans

10. Lilith

a. Adams first wife

b. God creates Adam and Lilith

c. Lilith refuses to be subservient

i. Lilith kicked out of the garden

ii. God creates eve

1. eve is subservient

d. Written out of the bible by the male priests

11. Kabbalah

a. Mysticism

i. Becoming one with the divine

b. Trying to get to heaven requires climbing on the backs of demons

i. Gain power of them learn their name

ii. Only crated man

1. hermaphroditic

1. JEPD

a. Literary critical scholar

b. Multiple authorship theory

i. At least four authorial strands

ii. Almost every story in the bible is repeated twice

c. Several names of the lord

i. Jehovah

ii. Elohim

d. Priesthood

i. How priests should act

ii. How to treat priests

e. Deuteronomy

i. Seems to be completely separate

1. Fall from paradise

a. Common theory

i. God was testing Adam and eve

ii. Theologic problem

1. what does such a test suggest about gods omnipotence and omniscience

iii. Do Adam and eve deserve to be punished

1. much like children

. don't understand disobedience

. do not know right from wrong

4. threatened with death

a. don't know what death is

5. Cannot understand terms of the deal

a. Let alone consequences

iv. Why doesn't god know what was going to happen

1. why is the tree in the garden to begin with

v. The serpent

1. god himself or the craftiest creatures

. Sent told by god to trick Adam and eve

. not Satan

4. may have been telling the truth

5. no clean instance of deception

vi. Issue

1. what was meant by the word die

vii. Outcomes of the serpent

1. have to slither on their stomachs

. people and snakes not compatible

viii. Adam Outcome

1. work for food

a. till the soil

. Condemns him to death

ix. Eve Outcome

1. painful childbirth

. under the rule of her husband

x. Outcomes not punishment

1. appears this way

xi. Fruit was a lesson

1. allowing to learn through choices

14. Fall from Paradise

a. God seems confused that humans will become as the god

i. Wanted to prevent this

1. knowledge of good and evil

. immortal life

. life in heaven

4. unlimited power

b. Why does god not want people to be like god?

i. Selfish reasons

1. competition

. war

. lack of leadership

ii. Unselfish reasons

1. cannot handle power

. all the power comes with great responsibility

iii. Eliade

1. one center (god)

. obscuring the distinction creates chaos

. the world relics on the distinction

c. Why does god destroy the world by flood

i. Wants to rid the world of evil

ii. Beneloheim Angels

1. sons of god are mating with human woman making mixed race

. intermixing god and man

. line has been blurred

4. order threatened World Ends

15. The Story of Job

a. Among the earliest materials in the text

i. Job

1. most faithful

. most righteous

ii. Righteousness

1. god-fearing

. sacrifice

iii. Job is very wealthy man

b. God is meeting with angels

i. Angels have no free will

1. the thought of Satan being angel does not fit

c. Irony

i. Accused of being spiritually polluted (leprosy)

1. when he was better than god

ii. was the only one righteous

1. wealthy wicked

iii. Unsettling unbalance

d. Happy Ending

i. His kids are still dead

1. even though he has new kids theyr not his

e. Jobs rewards

i. Occurs right after he intercedes on behalf of his friends

1. willing to forgive

ii. Not clear he is being rewarded for keeping faith

iii. Not offered

1. immortality

. life in heaven

iv. Given kids stuff

1. god always gives kids and stuff

16. Covenant promise

a. Seem to be undonctional

i. Requires nothing in return

b. What makes a covenant?

i. Cosmogonic

1. what come before no longer is

a. new center (notion of self)

17. Five Covenants (or 4)

a. Adam

i. No specific promise

ii. No use of the word covenant or bris

iii. Implicit promise

1. if they don't eat the fruit of the tree, the could live in Eden

b. Noah

i. Uses the word covenant

ii. Seal

1. rainbow

a. used to remind that not to destroy the world by flood

b. smells sacrifice appears to be unconditional

iii. Bestowal

1. tells noah the can eat animals

. however no animals with blood (soul)

. Animals with blood are still alive

4. Dietary code (preliminary)

iv. Expectations

1. Prohibits killing

a. Moral code (preliminary again)

b. Obligation to procreate

c. Abram

i. Changed to Abraham

1. rite of passage

. change in social and ontological status

ii. Patriarchal Primogeniture

1. eldest son gets everything

iii. Abrahams vision

1. shamanic vision

a. shows destiny of a whole people

iv. The Promise

1. lots of descendents

. Lands (promised land)

. his people will be oppressed for 500 years before can have the land

4. Wealth

a. Lost the Egyptians

5. God

a. I will be your god and you my people

b. Chosen people

d. Moses

i. Agent of fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant

1. Moses is not circumcised

a. Jewish?

. Moses is given the torah

. 61 commandments

4. lord gives Moses his name

a. lord

5. leaves influence

a. people can get gods attention as never before

6. Establishes priesthood

a. Priest

i. Intermediary

ii. Aaron

1. first priest

iii. Perform sacrifices

b. Temple

i. When temple destroyed

ii. Axis Mundi destroyed

e. David

i. King of Israel

ii. God speaks to prophet Samuel

1. tells Samuel who he wants as king

. says to Saul to be first king

a. anointed

b. coroneted

. battle of attrition

a. champion

4. Champion of the Philistines

a. Goliath

b. Destroys all Jewish champions

c. David defeats Goliath

d. Philistines retreat

5. God says David is to be king

iii. God promises David a dynasty

1. every king of Israel will be from the house of David

18. Intertestamental

a. Covenant with David

b. If Jews do what is wrong in the eyes of the lord

i. he will destroy the kingdom

c. David's son Solomon

i. Had a lot of wife's

ii. Political Alliances

iii. Not one of his wives is Jewish

d. Israel splits into Israel and Juda

i. Syria destroys Israel

ii. Babylon's conquer Juda

1. destroy temple

. center destroyed world in chaos

. ruling class captured by Babylonians

4. 80 years pass

a. those who left are dead

b. those who stayed are Babylonian

c. write down traditions

i. Talmud

iii. Line of David is Lost

1. records burned

e. Messianic Expectation "Anointed One"

i. Reestablishment of the line of David

ii. Reestablishment of a kingdom

iii. Rebuilding the temple

iv. All must take place in same spot

1. Biblical Judaism

a. No devil

b. No heaven or hell

c. Not the son of god or savior is the messiah

0. Sheol

a. Existence of the life after death by being remembered

1. Persians

a. Persians conquer Babylonians

b. Liberate Jews

c. Persians Zoroastrianism

d. God and Devil

e. Heaven and Hell

f. Days of Judgment

g. Jesus is Jewish

i. Talks about Jewish Law

h. Emphasis in the gospels

i. Mark

1. humanity of Jesus

ii. John

1. divinity

iii. Matthew

1. Jewishness

Christianity

1. Early Christians were Jews

. Gospel

a. The good news

b. A few dozen gospels

i. Only 4 included in text

c. Gospels

i. Mark 60

ii. Matthew 70-75

iii. Luke 85

iv. John 100-10

d. Disciples

i. Students of Jesus

e. Apostle

i. Messenger of the Gospel

f. Not necessarily written by persons who name they bare

g. First three gospels are synoptic (parallel Explanations)

i. Matthew and Luke may have been drawn from Mark

ii. All three based on one missing document on the life of Jesus

h. John has Completely Different structure

. Acts of the Apostles

a. Seem to have been written by the writers of Luke

b. Ecclesia

i. Community

ii. Founded by the apostles

4. Epistles

a. Letters of the apostles (Paul)

b. Written by Paul 45-50

5. Revelation (60-66)

a. Under the rule of Nero

b. First connection made between serpent in Eden and Satan

c. Year begins at the cosmogony

6. Roman Empire

a. Successes

b. Did not force assimilation

i. Allowed indigenous culture

c. Technology

d. Roads

i. Transport of army culture trade

e. Metal

f. Aqueducts and plumbing

g. Broken into districts with separate governors

h. Ruler of Rome

i. Augustus Caesar

7. Kingdom of the Jews

a. Judea

b. Ruled by Herod

c. Herods rule under roman authority

i. parasitic

ii. Governor (Roman) of district that includes Judea

iii. Painted as sympathetic

iv. Scholars believe is Blood thirsty

8. Essenes

a. Zealots over lapped

. Messiah is

a. Descendant of David

b. King of Israel

10. Herodians

a. Wanted a messiah who would institute the kingdom of Israel without interrupting the way things are

11. Zealots

a. Wanted overthrow of Romans

1. Essenes

a. Hoped for a celestial body to take them to heaven

1. Most turned back on Jesus

a. While talking to one group

b. He antagonized the other group

14. Crucifixion

a. Suffocation

b. Exposed to the elements

c. Social humiliation

d. Eliadically

i. Lowers social and ontological status

e. Made fun of

i. Crown of thorns

ii. Naked

iii. Here lies Jesus, king of Jews

iv. Disappointing to zealots

15. Intention

a. To prove that Jesus fulfills the prophecy of the messiah

16. Accusations against Jesus

a. Blasphemy

i. Heals

ii. Forgives Sins

b. Treason

i. Claims to be king of the Jews

17. Convicted by Romans for Treason

a. Crucifixion is a roman punishment

b. Mocked for his pretension as the king of Jews

18. Blamed on the Jews

a. Jewish people had the ability to save two criminals

i. Jews chose other man

1. Jesus Barabus

a. Son of the father

b. Was the wrong Jesus killed/

c. Ability to save Jesus was added later for the purpose of placing blame on the jews

1. Jesus and Jewish Law

a. Abolishes

i. Swearing in gods name

ii. Divorce

iii. Eye for an eye

iv. Dietary and hygiene codes

0. The law

a. Torah

b. The law

c. Scriptures

d. Commandments

1. Fulfill

a. Fulfills the predictions

. Complete

a. Implies law is missing something

i. not that the laws are incomplete

ii. need to be different

b. love thy neighbor

c. simplifies

d. complicates

e. eliminates priesthood

f. speaks common language

g. Not clear Jesus wanted to start new religion

i. Reform Judaism

. How did Christianity become something other than Judaism

a. Early forms of Christianity

4. Jerusalem Jewish Church

a. Led by James, Brother of Jesus

b. His death in 66 AD that sparked Jewish Revolution

c. Very pure form of Judaism

d. Good at speaking to Jews, not gentiles

e. Says Christians must be Jewish

i. must convert

ii. circumcision

5. Saul

a. Hater of Christians

b. Vision of risen Jesus

c. Pauline gentile

i. Not Jewish to covert

ii. Successful among gentiles

iii. Rivals Jewish church

iv. Thrives

1. survives

. Jewish suppression

v. Undermined by Jamesian Christians

vi. Gospel accounts are the stories of Pauline Christians

vii. Prove pauls church is better

d. Depiction of Jewish people

i. Stupid

1. Can not understand parables

ii. Peter

1. Unloyal

. Denies Jesus times

. Cannot walk on water

4. little faith

6. Coptic

a. Egyptian Christians

b. Already had a dead and risen god

7. Sabeans

a. Mentioned in quaran

b. Authority revised

c. John the Baptist as the Christ

d. Jesus sent to introduce john

8. Eastern Orthodox

a. does not except pope

b. comes from Pauline church

. Gnostic

a. Knowledge

b. Predicts Christianity

c. Argues god of Jewish Scriptures

i. Not real god

ii. Transcendent god

iii. Close to Hinduism

iv. Overrides god such as atman

v. God explodes into 100 rays of light energy

vi. Energy causes sparks that create waves of reality

vii. Our level is very dense and secondary

d. Demiurge

i. God of the level of reality

ii. Actions are the ones in scriptures

iii. Creates world out of self

1. organizing them

. makes 1 archons (builders)

a. create world landscapes

b. makes little bodies and minds

. has sense of what humans should be

a. has to animate them

i. gets sparks from transcendent god

ii. your awareness is god operating through you

iii. sparks are drawn back to god

iv. keeping us ignorant by lying to us so we stay here

v. demiurge isn't destroyed (reincarnation)

1. recycles sparks

iv. Transcendent god sends sparks through other levels to earth to tell us what we know

1. messengers of life

a. know their party of god

i. example Jesus

b. persecuted because against demiurge

c. First is serpent

v. In order for sparks to return to transcendent god must pass through challenges

1. each level

Islam

1. Muslims

a. All people of the book till a point

i. At what point is Muslim different

b. Ishmael

i. Child of Abraham with a slave woman

ii. Sarah gets pregnant

iii. Kicks Ishmael and his mother to desert

1. Ishmael gets mighty nation of his own

. Arab

a. Sons of Abraham from Israel

. Hebrew

a. Sons of Abe from Isaac

iv. Sibling Rivalry

. Mecca

a. Arab religion was animistic

i. Mecca culture was high society

b. Mecca was very cosmopolitan at the time of Mohammed

i. Important end cosmopolitan because

1. important economic site

a. camel caravans

. political site

a. tribal area

b. Camel Caravans

i. No social and ontological status so don't matter

c. Manages treaties for the region

. religious site

a. pilgrimage site

b. pilgrimage

i. sacred journey

c. well becomes the basis for city of Mecca

d. Becomes sacred to Arabic culture

i. Marks Mecca as beginning of Arabic Culture

. Qiba

a. Big black rock (meteorite)

b. Sign from heaven

c. Site where sacrifice of Ishmael was to take place

d. Building surrounding site

i. Supposively made by Abraham and Ishmael

4. Mohammed

a. 570 CE

b. poor, orphaned, illiterate

c. gets job on camel caravan and promoted through ranks

d. Kdijah

i. Owner and widow of camel caravan

ii. Gets married and Mohammed takes over

e. Becomes dissatisfied with meccan culture and religion

f. In mountains

i. Hears voice of Gabriel (angel)

ii. First word is recite

g. Kdijah tells Mohammed to go back to the mountain because it might be god

h. Bits and pieces of revelation from god over next 0 years

5. Five Pillars of Islam

a. Center of life (axis mundi)

b. Creed/Motto/profession of faith

i. No god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet

c. Charity

i. The giving of ones time effort etc

ii. Life is a test

1. test through adversity

. test by prosperity

. charity to pasts test

d. Prayer

i. 5 times a day

ii. you don't need a mediator

iii. you must face Mecca while praying

iv. you have to do it prostrate or lying down

v. specific times

vi. demonstrates submission to god

e. The Pilgrimage

i. You got to go to Mecca

ii. Only once in your life

iii. Supposed to make your best effort

iv. You can change your name afterward

1. significant change in social or ontological status

. rebirth

f. Fasting during Ramadan

i. Consecrates the first revelation of the Koran

ii. Like a yoga

1. spiritual discipline

6. Jihad

a. Holy war or struggle

b. It has to be defensive

i. Not defensive of property

ii. Of Islam

c. Defense of the pillars

d. Shouldn't fight during Ramadan or in holy place

e. Heaven and hell are present

f. Heaven

i. Image for men who live in the desert

g. Hell

i. Burning hotness

h. Greater Jihad

i. Test in yourself of temptation

ii. Internal

i. Lesser Jihad

i. External

ii. Declared by garden of the community

iii. Deliberated

7. Continuities between Jewish and Muslim

a. God is same god

b. Abraham's life story

c. Prophets

8. Discontinuities between Jewish and Muslim

a. Jews don't except Mohammed and Jesus

b. Isaac and Ishmael

c. Role of prosperity

d. Eschatology

i. Theories of the end

ii. Heaven and hell and devil

e. Benaielohem

i. Jews don't believe

. Continuities between Christians and Muslims

a. Same god

b. Prophetic lineage

c. Have similar eschatology

d. Both universal

10. Discontinuities between Christians and Muslims

a. Up to Mohammed

b. Prosperity

c. Jihad

11. Muslims

a. Jesus

i. Was a prophet

1. one of the most important

ii. not divine

iii. product of virgin birth

1. just doing that Jesus is divine

iv. he did not die on the cross

1. Jesus barabus story

. could have been drugged to seem dead

. death on the cross

a. vicarious redemption and sin

i. Islam rejects vicarious sin and redemption and original sin

Please note that this sample paper on World Religions is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on World Religions, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on World Religions will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!

Websites in Mathematics

If you order your research paper from our custom writing service you will receive a perfectly written assignment on Websites in Mathematics. What we need from you is to provide us with your detailed paper instructions for our experienced writers to follow all of your specific writing requirements. Specify your order details, state the exact number of pages required and our custom writing professionals will deliver the best quality Websites in Mathematics paper right on time.

Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Websites in Mathematics, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Websites in Mathematics paper at affordable prices!

TEAM LEADERSHIP COURSE

001

Custom Essays on Websites in Mathematics

NEIL PLUMRIDGE

Action Research Project

Numeracy Implications and Planning for the Future

Team Leadership Course

001

N F Plumridge

Coomealla High School

Table of Contents Page

Introduction 4

What is Numeracy and how are States catering for numeracy 5-7

Numeracy for Indigenous people 7-

Numeracy for people with special needs

Planning for Numeracy across the School -10

The role of Parents and the Community 10-11

SNAP Analysis 000 001 11-15

Coomealla High School Numeracy Plan 00-00 16-18

Elementary Numeracy Lesson Plan 1-0

Appendices 1-4

Bibliography 5

Introduction

The purpose of this research paper is to outline where Coomealla High School has come from in the area of numeracy provision to all students, what is currently occurring and a proposed course of action to be undertaken.

Later in this paper both Australian and world trends are examined to show the progress made as a nation but the first part of the paper presents Coomealla High between 15 and 1 and the thinking and practices that were evident in these years.

Mathematics was seen to be the sole domain of the Mathematics KLA and because of this they had the responsibility of numeracy development with the school. Little attention was placed on individual students as class were streamed according to ability and lessons planned and delivered based around the premise that all students within a class were of similar ability in the area of Mathematics.

Class placement for students coming into year 7 (whilst stages of learning eg stage and 4 were talked about in articles, students were placed according to year level and chronological age) was done largely by forming or 4 group of equals numbers of students, teaching topics decided by the classroom teaches and having all students doing a 'common test' which were graded and students ranked on performance. This practice went on until the end of term 1, or some years term , when students were placed in streamed classes. The practice of 'common testing' prevailed until the end of year 8 ( stage 4 ) and students subsequently placed in the appropriate course in years and 10 ( stage 5 learning ). All assessment was content performance. No consideration was given to outcomes or methods of learning.

Students found it very difficult to move between classes (except in a downward direction) as performance had to be outstanding to warrant a move).

The emergence of Course Performance Descriptors in Mathematics (and other KLAs) set some staff to thinking that 'common testing' was not an appropriate method of assessment for judging standards students had achieved.

Mathematics teachers, traditionally, have been reticent to change their teaching and assessment culture. This new pedagogy was seen as a direct affront to the adage of " I was taught this way, I have always taught this way and I will always teach this way".

It was also at this time that some teachers also started to see the difference between Mathematics and Numeracy. The responsibility for these areas still rested with the Maths KLA however some teachers started to lead by example and assess their students numeracy ability by exploring what they could do and developing them from there.

While this was occurring, forums of discussion were emerging on a district and state level regarding the use of standards and applying them to Mathematics.

The advent of the new HSC saw performance standards introduced for the first time, while the rigor of syllabus content was maintained, if not increased. There is still debate as to whether the best starting point may have been in at the start of stage 4 and allowed time for the K 10 review to be implemented.

The question of numeracy and the standards students get to while at school has been around for many years and has been hotly debated throughout the past 5 years and now perhaps more so than ever before. We are witnessing both State and Federal Governments acknowledging the need for not only a literate society but also a numerate one.

We are seeing the emergence of many schemes and programs designed to not only increase the numeracy level of students but to also change the culture of the classroom teacher to ensure this increased level comes about.

It is essential that if any program is to produce results, all participants have to be committed to the plan. For this reason planning and implementing numeracy strategy across a school is a difficult, time consuming and protracted task.

In the case of Coomealla High we have entered the second of a five-year plan to see numeracy incorporated across the curriculum offered in the school.

Planning began before this period and during the planning and implementation within the Maths KLA, the introduction of schemes such as Count Me in Too and Counting On has emerged. For any plan to be successful staff have to be aware of current trends and be trained in new programs as they arise. A great deal of cooperation has to exist between the major stake holders primary schools, secondary schools and district consultants in conjunction with parents and the students themselves as it is critical for success that students feel they have ownership of their learning.

A key consideration being

Everyone is capable of learning but

Not everybody learns on the same day, in the same way

needs to be adopted and acted upon by these stakeholders.

In deciding the best delivery method or methods of numeracy across the curriculum throughout all stages of education in NSW (K 1 in this case) it is important to establish a working definition of numeracy not only in NSW schools but across Australia as this issue is larger than one school, district or state, in fact more and more research is emerging on a global perspective.

What is Numeracy ?

The term numeracy first came to light in 15 when the writers of the Crowther Report stated that numeracy dealt with a mirror image of literacy (and for me these two words or concepts have always been intrinsically linked ). On one hand it is observation, hypothesis, experimentation and verification and on the other hand it is quantitative.

So the Crowther Report regarded numeracy as encompassing met cognitive frameworks in the same way as literacy does.

Since then there has been, and still are, many differences in the way people perceive and define numeracy. Some notions that have been put forward are Mathematical Literacy ( by the National Research Council18 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development 18) ,Quantitative Literacy ( Dossey 17 and Forman 17 ), Mathematical Skills ( Marks & Ainley 17 ), Critical Numeracy ( Yasukawa, Johnston & Yates ), Statistical Literacy ( Watson 15 ), and critical mathematics ( Frankenstein 187 )

Each of these aspects has had ramifications in the ways policy makers and educators have made decisions for the development of numeracy in students.

Willis ( in 18 ) found these concepts to be incomplete as they emphasise either mathematical concepts, procedures and skills or practical tasks / social goals students should be able to meet or generic and strategic processes students need to know.

At the very least, Willis says, being numerate is about having the competence and disposition to use mathematics to meet the general demands of life at home, in paid work, and for participation in community and civic life.

There are differing concepts between the states as to the meaning of numeracy.

In Tasmania

Numeracy is focussed on the intelligent use of mathematical knowledge (knowledge of number, space and shape, measurement calculation and chance and data ) to other school studies and practical contexts in everyday life.

In Queensland

Queensland ran a Supporting Literacy and Numeracy in Queensland Schools from 18 to 1 as a joint Commonwealth, State and Catholic Education initiative. Materials based around Number, Space, Measurement and Data and common learning strategies in each.

In Victoria

Victoria has seen the development of the early Years Numeracy Program, centred around teacher professional development with the principal components being a structures classroom program, provision of additional assistance, parent participation and staff development.

In Western Australia

The First Steps Program aims to improve mathematics learning in lower and upper primary school years particularly those at risk.

In the Northern Territory

There is a strong focus on numeracy in the early years of schooling through school entry assessment, teacher professional development and programs for parents and the community. From 000 a system wide strategy for early intervention has been operating.

In South Australia

The major initiative is an Early years of Schooling project in support of the National Literacy and Numeracy Professional Development Program

In NSW

The Count Me in Too program began operating in 00 schools in 18. The aim of this program is to improve the outcomes of instruction in the early years of school ( K ) by providing teachers with support in using 'learning frameworks' to assess students' strategies in counting and number. This project has been supported by the introduction of the Counting On program in to upper primary and early secondary in what could be described as the middle school years.

It is evident that since 18, numeracy programs are being linked to systemic assessment of student achievement and linked to nationally agreed to strategies ( the Adelaide agreement ) and the state programs that have been implemented have a common thread in that they clearly focus on early number and counting strategies.

Numeracy for Indigenous People

The introduction of new syllabuses in K 10 in Mathematics by 00 and the emphasis being placed on outcomes based assessment with the introduction of standards references provides a unique opportunity for Mathematics KLA's to revisit their philosophies and pedagogy.

Catering for indigenous students has been an area that has been lacking over the years. This is based on my personal experiences and the realisation that in my own teaching this is an area that has been sadly lacking. This can be attributed to a number of factors including

q Not wanting to go outside my comfort zone

q A lack of knowledge in catering for these students

q Little available research into indigenous education except for the past five years

Poorer outcomes, both educationally and socially can be attributed to inappropriate curricula, pedagogical practices, lower attendance rates, socio-economic factors and past experiences by parents / caregivers.

An understanding of the basis of indigenous culture is vital as an underlying lynchpin in the provision of literacy and numeracy experiences to these students. Indeed low attainment in foundational skills such as these significantly contributes to lower overall achievement, non engagement, poorer attendance and lower retention levels. Numeracy skills allow students to participate successfully in school and beyond training opportunities and by the provision of skills for them to become role models in their communities.

The provision of culturally inclusive teaching programs and pedagogy and delivered in a manner that accounts for the diversity of student backgrounds and starting points, combines with the use of alternative assessment tools ( eg formative assessment ), will see the achievement of Aboriginal students improve significantly.

The challenge is to bring this new pedagogy into being as the are limitations to ways in which a syllabus will challenge the long established pedagogical practices of many teachers particularly mathematics which has been seen to be largely culture and value free.

The Adelaide declaration of 1 states that all students should have

… attained the skills of numeracy and English literacy; such that, every student should be numerate, able to read, write, spell and communicate at an appropriate level.

DEETYA goes on to formulate a definition of numeracy that incorporate the disposition to use a combination of underpinning mathematical concepts and skills from the across the mathematics discipline (numerical, spatial, graphical, statistical and algebraic ).

The National Indigenous English Literacy and Numeracy Strategy 00 004 identifies six key elements, based on programs that were found to improve educational outcomes for aboriginal students. These areas have been targeted through extra funding and relate to

q Increasing attendance rates to the national level

q Addressing effectively health needs

q Providing pre school options

q Training teachers in the skills and cultural awareness necessary for them to be effective in indigenous communities

q Ensuring an effective pedagogy is implemented

q Have transparent, achievable measures of success for schools and teachers as a basis of accountability

Research indicates, and these areas will be adopted as a new starting point at Coomealla High, that the key issues critical to numeracy skill development in Aboriginal students include

q Supporting a learner centred curriculum

q Scope and sequence of learning outcomes

q Equity issues

q Teaching strategies

q Assessment

q Implementation and evaluation

Actions that will be taken to implement these recommendations include

q Teachers becoming more aware of the cultural and social contexts in which aboriginal students learn mathematics

q Exploration and use of particular contexts, especially numeracy ones, for aboriginal students in classes

q Identifying particular needs and learning styles of aboriginal students

q Reflect and build on what works

q Maintain high expectations, a positive classroom climate and recognise student achievement

q An understanding of the Count Me In Too program and the Counting On program

q An understanding of the SNAP results for year 7 and 8 students and the adoption of strategies to improve performance across the cohort

q Classroom activities incorporate relevance to Indigenous students

q Provision of a gradual path of learning, with a lot of practice, ensuring that students have developed the confidence as well as the ability to perform at one level before progressing to the next (the meeting of outcomes) combined with this is the realisation that students will meet these outcomes at different times and this needs to be catered for.

q Exposure to a range of tasks

q Group work of various kinds

q Explicit teaching, with the use of modelling with clearly defined tasks and expectations

q Assessment carried out in a supportive environment in which Indigenous students feel confident

q Assessment strategies developed in consultation with Indigenous education workers

q Results reported in a way that encourages parent / caregiver participation in student's learning

The success of these strategies will ultimately be shown in the assessment of Indigenous students numeracy levels. State assessment takes place in year 7 and 8 ( stage 4) through SNAP testing , while in years ( and 10, the external school certificate exam can be used as a benchmark. At this stage though very few Indigenous student s get through to this level for a host of reasons, one being the lack of educational success in stage 4 and pressures from their peers and the wider community.

The use of explicit teaching, which refers to both the pedagogy and the establishment of mathematical connections, is the key to addressing a number of issues faced by Indigenous, and in fact all students.

Students who are ' naturally mathematically able' make these connections for themselves and therefore view maths as making sense. ' Less mathematically able ' students do not see the interrelationships and view Maths as a plethora of isolated facts. The latter group can be led to see these relationships through explicit teaching. (McRae et al, 000)

Numeracy for students with Special Needs

Students with special needs both physical and mental have the right to learn perhaps by different means to those used in a traditional classroom. The point that every student will learn just not on the same day in the same way is more pertinent here than in other areas.

The use of concrete materials and the understanding of teachers are paramount to the development and increase in the self-esteem of these children. Providing positive experiences develops the will to succeed and the preparedness for risk taking.

Planning for Numeracy across the school

To adequately plan for numeracy across the curriculum three areas needs to be addressed. What makes an effective teacher of numeracy, assessing the progress of students and proving adequate feedback in terms of reporting to the students and their parents / caregivers.

Research has shown that effective teachers of numeracy had a particular set of beliefs and understanding which underpinned their teaching practice.

Their beliefs related to

Ø What it meant to be numerate.

Ø The relationship between teaching and pupils' learning of numeracy.

Ø Presentation and intervention strategies.

Effective teachers believed that being numerate requires ;

Ø Having a rich network of connections between different mathematical ideas.

Ø Being able to select and use strategies that are both effective and efficient.

Highly effective teachers believed that, in relation to pupils' learning that

Ø Almost all students are able to become numerate ( I would argue that it is possible to have degrees of numerate behaviour and so all students are capable of reaching some level of numeracy. )

Ø Pupils develop required strategies and networks of ideas by being challenged to think through explaining, listening and problem solving.

In relation to teaching, effective teachers believed that

Ø Discussion of concepts and images is important in exemplifying the teacher's network of knowledge and skills, and in revealing pupils' thinking.

Ø It is their responsibility to proactively intervene to assist students to become more efficient in the use of calculating strategies.

It would be ideal if all teachers were to work collaboratively at numeracy across the curriculum. For some this will come easily (see appendix 1) and for other the concept will require a lot of time, effort and training.

As a starting point teachers could consider activities they are currently or about to use and analyse them for potential numeracy demands (see appendix )

This will provide a quick analysis of whether what they have planned provides sufficient opportunities for students to improve their fluency in familiar situations, to use their numeracy skills to adapt to new situations and to develop critical thinking skills.

The Mathematics teacher has a vital role to play in this planning. An essential part of their role is to develop their understanding of the nature of numeracy and use this understanding in dealing with student numeracy issues within the mathematics classroom ie they recognise when a numeracy issue arises, are able to diagnose the issue, and develop and implement strategies for improving each student's response.

In the middle school setting, teachers have opportunities to use other areas to develop student outcomes in mathematics. The outcomes of the lesson/s or activities need to be considered very carefully as it is easy for the numeracy aspects to override the purpose in mind.

The Mathematics teacher can also act as a resource person for other staff members. For this to be effective, they need to familiarise themselves with the ways in which mathematics can be used to improve learning across the curriculum.

The role of parents and the community.

People in the community and hence parents still tend to view numeracy as a set of computational skills. Increasing community awareness of numeracy is important to the development of any school plan and seeing the improvement in individual students.

Parents play a major role in developing their children's self esteem by providing positive reinforcement for tasks completed each day.

There are many parental based programs with interesting and stimulating activities that reinforce basic numeracy concepts as well as challenge children and parents to move to higher order thinking.

One of the best I have encountered is a Victorian Based Program called FAMPA (Family Maths Project Australia). Schools are able to subscribe to it and use the resource for parents wishing to help at home.

SNAP analysis

Year 7 001

Based on the results obtained for Coomealla High School, it becomes apparent that there is a weakness in some of the strands tested then combined to form an overall numeracy picture of a student.

It can be argued about the validity of such a test and the intention of individual schools to prepare students to undertake the assessment, combined with issues such as ethnic background and the allocation of special provisions but it still remains that as a standardising assessment tool, it is used by all students in year 7 and hence the educational analyses can be thought of as valid in terms of planning for the future.

Measurement can be seen to be the weakest of the strands and the implication here is for stage and 4 teachers to re-examine what outcomes they are trying to achieve and the means of achieving them.

The following table highlights school results compared to state results for each of the four bands, High, Proficient, Elementary and Low.

As can be seen from the examples of questions from each of the strands taken from the 001 SNAP paper, it is evident that this school and schools in general need to address the issues of numeracy and numerate students in the immediate future. (See appendix )

It is interesting to note that measurement seemed to be a weakness showing up in the Basic Skills Test done in 001.

Numeracy Percent Number Percent Measurement Percent Space Percent Data Percent Numeracy Problem Solving Percent

High Year 7 16 1785 5 14878 1666 17457 4 167

School 14 16 18 0 7 8 1 1 16 18 14 16

Proficient Year 7 057 40 15667 1 18 4 1617 4 1805 5 16 4

School 8 4 46 51 40 44 1 4 40 44

Elementary Year 7 165 5 1551 0 117 1045 0 160 5 1140

School 0 7 41 8 1 1 1 1 4 6

Low Year 7 01 4 446 5 84 6 486 5 081 6 007 4

School 8 6 7 10 1 1 1 1 10 11

The next tables show the analysis of the year 7 cohort 000 to the year 8 cohort 001. It is very difficult to place a lot of validity on the comparison as the year 7 results were from a pilot scheme introduced and factors such as question validity, marking consistency and implementation of all test provisions need to be considered in the overall result validity.

Year 7 000

Numeracy Percent Number Percent Measurement Percent Space Percent Data Percent Numeracy Problem Solving Percent

High Year 7 465 554 1 4770 1 57 4 40 4406

School 1 1 1 8 1 8 6 1 1 4

Proficient Year 7 6 41 507 645 41 56 4 565 6464 4

School 48 1 46 48 4 4 48

Elementary Year 7 506 80 5 48 1 484 8 6 4 475

School 1 18 15 11 16 18 7 1 7 10

Low Year 7 584 4 64 6 115 7 56 4 887 6 104 7

School 5 7 0 0 4 6 5 7

Year 8 001

Numeracy Percent Number Percent Measurement Percent Space Percent Data Percent Numeracy Problem Solving Percent

High Year 8 418 44 46 44 468 4 4506 40 551 47 4841 4

School 5 40 7 44 5 40 0 0 48 6 4

Proficient Year 8 4016 6 4 1 456 450 40 614 41 8

School 47 5 7 44 5 5 47

Elementary Year 8 04 18 57 1780 16 1876 17 164 17 1805 16

School 7 11 1 1 8 1 15 4 6

Low Year 8 5 4 404 4 45 400 4 70

School 1 1 0 0 1 5

It can be noted that there was significant improvement between year 7 and 8, except in the area of Space. While state percentages have increased in all strands, the results from Coomealla High School indicate that programs already in place are starting to work as the resultant increase in the High band has come from students in the Proficient band in year 7 improving to the next band in year 8. It is also pleasing to note the decline in percentages in the Elementary and Low bands.

A detailed graphical analysis of the year 7 001 results can be found in appendix . This analysis has been taken from the perspective of comparing boys to girls and indigenous to non-indigenous.

The general trend shows girls attaining a higher level than boys and although a very small representation of indigenous students was used, the trend is for non-indigenous students to perform better then the indigenous students.

The challenge for Coomealla High School is to use these results, look at what is currently done, refine and come up with a proposal that address these issues while increasing the number of students who could be classified as numerate.

Proposed Plan for Coomealla High School

Ensuring the physical and mental needs of students are catered for forms the basis of learning. For this reason it is proposed that initially all students in the maths KLA classes will be actively encouraged to sip water during lessons and have access to "brain food" nuts and dried food to nibble on during their lessons.

It is then proposed to lobby for the extension of this across the school.

The proposed plan is designed to cater for individual needs and fulfil system requirements with the content continuum ensuring students are provided with ongoing success up to stage 6 learning and post secondary studies.

Action By Whom When Anticipated Outcome Measures of Success

All Maths KLA staff trained in Counting On Head Teacher / G Stratford / LD Teacher / District Maths Consultant Term 1 Weeks - 4 All year 7 students using a common approachIdentification of Students with special needs Individual student progressSNAP Results

Seek funding for the continuation of the tutor program in year 7 Principal / Head Teacher Maths / CAP consultant Term 4 000 Increase in numeracy for students with an identified need Progressive assessment of students / SNAP 0 results

Training of tutors including AEAs in the Counting On program Head Teacher / G Stratford / LD Teacher / District Maths Consultant Term 1 Weeks - 4 Increase in numeracy for students with an identified need Individual student progressSNAP Results

Joint meetings with HSIE / Maths KLAs Head Teachers Maths / HSIE Term 1 Weeks 4 Common understanding of approach and terminology Interaction in planning activitiesIncreased emphasis on numeracy as a base in activities

Using Technology in Activities Individual StaffComputer Coordinator / Librarian Terms 1 & Staff & Students using technology as a learning tool Increased use of the school's intranet

Seek Aboriginal mentors to attend classes Aboriginal Education Unit Term 1 00 Increased acceptance of people in classrooms.Deeper understanding of cultural issues relating to indigenous people Increased attendance rates.

Combined meetings with Stage teachers Linkages Consultant Terms 1 & Understanding of Student Development in the Stage / 4 continuumHeightened awareness of benchmarking and the attainment of standards of achievement Feedback from meetings

Numeracy lesson incorporated into week teaching cycle Year 7 Maths teachers Awareness of numeracy based activitiesIdentification of students with individual needs both remedial and extension Common approach to identification of students in need Introduction of an extension program for applicable students

Aligned with this course of action it is proposed in the latter part of 00 to

q Continue to evolve the Maths KLA numeracy plan to ensure the needs of individual students are met.

q Continue to encourage tutors to expand their training by attending specialist session organised by the district Maths consultant.

q Implement an Extension program for students to be run in conjunction with the year 7 numeracy lesson.

q Continue to develop and expand the Training and Development program with the HSIE staff ( including History teachers )

q Development of a support program with the LD teacher to support students with special needs.

q Maintain and increase the link established with stage teachers to ensure a common understanding of the K 10 continuums are reached.

In 00 and beyond

q All staff trained in Counting On strategies.

q Expansion of KLA training to embrace TAS, Science, and English.

q Support for the expansion of the middle school to see less teachers with classes in stage 4 education.

q Support for students to become involved in a program of interaction with Coomealla High to see stage and 4 students sharing common activities and teachers to achieve preset outcomes and standards.

q Increased Training and Development supplied by District Office personnel and utilisation of expertise with the staffs of primary and secondary schools.

Conclusion

The proposed course of action is one that cannot be separated from existing KLA practices and plans. To effectively cater for individual differences, teachers need to continually examine, assess, reassess and modify classroom practices as a normal part of their teaching.

What has been proposed is the modifications to what is happening at Coomealla High and the direction the school is taking based on research at a system, district and school level combined with anecdotal evidence and many many hours of discussion and conferencing.

For any plan to be implemented successfully, staff must take ownership of it and continually look for ways of improvement.

Everyone is capable of learning, just not on the same day, in the same way

Example of a numeracy activity

Topic Basic Addition

Rationale To identify students with addition concepts pre stage and post stage 4

Aim To ensure an understanding of the process of addition is reached by all students.

Concepts Introduced

· Place value to Hundreds.

· The use of a blank number line used for other concepts in stage 4.

· Subtraction as an inverse operation of addition.

Terminology

· Addition, Total, Sum, All together, Add up

· Place value

· Number line as a counting technique

· Blank number line, Small jump, Middle jump, Large jump

Resources required

· Centicubes

· Multi based block

Outline of Lesson structure

Start with a simple example using explicit teaching techniques

4 +

Instruction - Locate 4 on the number line provided and place a small x then move small jumps to the right it may be necessary for some to receive instruction in left from right, small from big

0 1 4 5 6 7 8

So the conclusion to be drawn is that 4 + = 7

Teachers can use this to start the process of backtracking

If I start at 7 and go back , where am I ?

So 7 = 4.

Moving through different examples such as

7 + 5 using the same technique can lead a teacher to the point where a blank number line can be introduced and by initially Counting On by ones can lead to a successful outcome but also opens the door to teachers looking at more efficient ways with students. An appropriate support program put into place can assist students who require individual or small group help.

This approach lends itself to the introduction of meaningful terminology for students such as

Small jumps - one place

Medium jumps- 10 places

Large jumps - 100 places

Teachers have the opportunity to use aids such as multi based blocks although in general research has shown that teachers relying on concrete aids solely as a teaching method tend to produce lesser numeracy results than those who continually challenge students regardless of ability level shown and disabilities that may be evident.

A follow on for this activity is to ensure all students get to a comfortable level working with and digit numbers such as

1 + 10

1 + 4

67 + 8

568 + 17

Whilst these examples will seem trivial to many teachers, particularly those teaching more able students, it is essential that students demonstrate a clear understanding of the process they are using as this lays the foundation for future content areas and the degree of understanding required in order to shown numerate behaviours. Anecdotal evidence suggests that whilst a student may have a good grasp of the skill of addition, there are those who total lack understanding of the process because of methodologies used in prior learning both at school and at home.

Addition is the linchpin for many numeracy strands as it forms the basis of multiplication ( repeated addition ), subtraction ( addition in reverse ) and division ( repeated subtraction ). The process of addition also allows the area of place value to be explored in depth and this then leads to other number concepts such as decimals, fraction, percentages and ratio.

Appendix 1

Appendix

Examples from across the curriculum that may make numeracy demands on a student

While these are not taken from NSW curricula, they can be adapted to fit.

Early Years of Schooling Middle Years of Schooling Later Years of Schooling

The Arts Students drew a 'bird's eye' view of a familiar setting Students designed and illustrated a page for a children's picture book Students designed the sets and the lighting for a school drama production

English Students heard a story, which included the line ' they went about sinking twice as many ships'. They discussed with the teacher what this might mean and if it made sense. Students read a magazine article and had to summarise the main points. The article was about Australian eating habits and some of the information was presented in statistical form. Students examined media coverage of a minority group over a period of time, commenting on the patterns of representation, and the ways in which the group was represented

Health and Physical Education Students kept score in a game of basketball by counting the number of points scored rather than the number of baskets thrown Students studied the relationship between pulse rates and exercise. They designed an experiment that required them to measure and record results during and after vigorous exercise and while cooling down. They then summarised and presented the data Students chose a health issue and had to gather and analyse information about it. They then designed and promoted a health project based on their findings

LOTE Students tasted a variety of food from a culture being studied then talked about what they liked and why. Opinion were collected and students found ways to show this information Students collected information on travel within their state for students overseas and published the information in English and another language Students researched a social issue, presented a written report in the language studied.

Science Students grew some seedling making decisions about the size of containers, amount of soil and the type of fertiliser to be used. They measure and recorded growth at intervals in the growing process Students needed to make sense of the solar system and the universe. They were presented with a range of statistics such as light years, gravity, mass etc Students compared relative efficiencies in appliances in heating 500ml of water. They used a wattage / cost table to calculate the cost of each appliance

Society and Environment Students drew maps showing the routes they followed to come to school Students investigated the impact of white settlement on Aboriginal Australians. They designed their own plans of research, collected data and drew conclusions Students prepared a folio on different economic systems, including media coverage of them, developed criteria for selecting six of them and reported briefly on each

Technology and Enterprise Students designed and made a library bag A class designed and made a land yacht model with a sail area of 000 sq mm Students designed and made a piece of furniture

Bibliography

NSW Department of Education and Training

SA Department of Education

Tasmanian Department of Education

WA Department of Education

Queensland Department of Education

NT Department of Education

DEETYA

Planning for an Emphasis on Numeracy in the Curriculum, Ms Marian Kemp & Mr J Hogan, Murdock University 18/

Numeracy Assessment and Associated Issues, Dr Jan Lokan ACER, Mr Brian Doig ACER, MS Catherine Underwood ACER, 18/

Envisaging the Future Our changing technological society demands and links between numeracy performance and life outcomes for employment, education and training, Assoc Prof Joy Cumming, Griffith University, 18/

Early Childhood Numeracy, Assoc Prof Bob Perry, University of Western Sydney, 18/

Numeracy Education What do we know and what can we learn from the literacy experience, Prof Peter Hill, University of Melbourne 18/

Supporting teachers to implement a numeracy agenda, Dr Janette Bobis, University of Sydney, 18/

Identification and evaluation of teaching and learning practices that enhance numeracy achievement, Dr max Stephens,, Education Consultant, 18/

Appendix 1

Please note that this sample paper on Websites in Mathematics is for your review only. In order to eliminate any of the plagiarism issues, it is highly recommended that you do not use it for you own writing purposes. In case you experience difficulties with writing a well structured and accurately composed paper on Websites in Mathematics, we are here to assist you. Your persuasive essay on Websites in Mathematics will be written from scratch, so you do not have to worry about its originality.

Order your authentic assignment and you will be amazed at how easy it is to complete a quality custom paper within the shortest time possible!