Learning Strategies

It goes without saying that effective training strategies motivate learners and ensure better results and outcomes from the studying process. It is possible to use instructional strategies to build confidence, to make success easier, to demonstrate relevance of the process as well as to engage learners to solve real problems. Actually, instructional strategies allow students to discover, to share and to explore the matters of particular interest for them. Classroom should be treated as gym. It doesn’t mean that desks should be replaced by balance beam. It means that significant shifts are required in instructional approaches. The first effective instructional strategy is to integrate training with what students know. This strategy assists in building skills and knowledge of learners. Furthermore, it complements trainings they’ve already and prepares them for developing additional skills. This strategy suggests integrating new information with what students already known. It is necessary to set a comfortable tone in order to encourage sharing and participation and to motivate challenge of ideas and debates regarding the subject. The strategy emphasizes using if familiar metaphors and schemes. The objective of the strategy it to make learners share their personal experience, obtained knowledge of the related topic. Online discussions, groups meetings and e-mails are appreciated as well. The second strategy is to connect training to relevant purposes and goals. This strategy helps to grab learners’ attention to the goals and objectives of the studying process. Instructor should be clear about the goals of the training, because it helps learners to move in directions which correspond to program’s goals and purposes. Learning goals should be related to personal goals of the learners. Actually, instructor has to encourage participatory goals setting, because students would work together in order to pick core performance goals. Also creating of action plan is appreciated as it would assist in customizing new and already existing knowledge. References Pardes, Juan Rudel. (1994, July-August). Motivate Every Learner: How to Replace Motivation Myths with Strategies that Work. Retrieved March 6, 2007, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0STR/is_n1_v104/ai_15669489/pg_2 Creating Training that Motivates. (2001). Retrieved March 6, 2007, from http://seniortechcenter.org/archive/learning_paths/training/start_lesson/creating_training_motivate.php#strategies                Learning Strategies INTRODUCTIONEducators of young children have a propensity to share the goal of fostering children’s successful learning and achievement. As the pressure to give emphasis to academic standards enhances, it is all the more vital to reflect on the most effective practices for make certain that children are in fact learning what is being taught. Several factors related to children’s achievement are not in teachers’ control, but creating a climate of engagement in the classroom is (Finn, J.D., & D.A. Rock. 1997). The use of strategies is a powerful teaching tool vital in promoting children’s achievement for the reason that it focuses children on learning; supports learning specific skills and concepts; and provides children positive associations with learning.GENERAL DISCUSSIONMaintenance rehearsal refers to the simple repetition of items to hold them in working memory, where we are conscious of them. Thus, when we want to remember a phone number for long enoug h to ring it, or write it down, we repeat it to ourselves until we have completed our action. Rehearsal is an effective strategy for short-term recall, and young children can be taught to use the strategy (Graham, S., & B. Weiner. 1996). However, continued use of the strategy is more unlikely than not. It may be however, that training was insufficient to impress upon the children the usefulness of the strategy, and with better feedback they might be encouraged to use the strategy spontaneously. Maintenance rehearsal no doubt seems a self-evident strategy to any adult, simple as it is and long accustomed as we are to using it. However, it is, like any strategy, something we have to learn to do. It is rare in five year olds, common in ten year olds.Categorizing is another very basic strategy that many of us use to help us remember items (Baine, 1986) Thus, if you are given a list: APPLE  Ã‚   JEEPNEY  Ã‚   PANSY  Ã‚   TRUCK  Ã‚   SAMPAGUITA  Ã‚   PLUM  Ã‚   PEACH  Ã‚   M OTORCYCLE  Ã‚   ROSE  Ã‚   MARIGOLD  Ã‚   MANGO  Ã‚   CAR the items will be much easier to remember if you note that the items belong to only three categories fruit, vehicles, flowers. Noting that there are four examples of each will also help. The category labels help considerably when it comes to retrieving the information. Most educated adults do this sort of thing automatically.But, again, like any strategy no matter how simple, it is not something we are born knowing. Very young children are not likely to group items at all, but if they do, it will be most likely according to some sort of association (cornflakes —  milk, baby — bottle, paper — pencil). If young children are taught to group items into taxonomic categories, they will still not use category labels effectively when retrieving the information, without explicit instruction. From around 6 or 7, children seem to benefit more from instruction in categorization strategies. If the children a re very young, such instruction may only confuse them. Using category labels as retrieval cues appears to be a more complex strategy than the first step of learning to group according to category, and doesn’t appear until later.Even children as old as 11 may benefit from explicit reminders to use category labels as retrieval cues and search the categories exhaustively before moving on. At around 7, about 50% of children appreciate the value of categorization as a memory strategy. This doesn’t increase all that much over the next few years (about 60% of ten year olds), although nearly all 17 year olds understand the strategy.The value of category labels in helping young children learn is another strategy. Category labels don’t appear to particularly help recall in children before the age of ten. Picture recognition is assisted by labeling in children as young as four. Researchers have had mixed results in labeling pictures as an aid to learning paired association s in young children. Labeling pictures does not appear to help very young children remember the order of items, but can be helpful to children from six years old until they are of an age to spontaneously label, when such explicit labeling may interfere with their own learning strategy. Labeling however often part of a wider strategy and may is well be helpful to young children for other reasons than improving recall. For example, it may be useful in helping children acquire language.Mnemonics is another strategy used by teachers for the children. Research into whether young children can improve recall by using visual imagery has produced mixed results (Yair, G. 2000). It would seem that, in general, the instruction to generate mental images does not improve recall in children 5 yrs and younger, but does improve recall in children 8 years and above. Children of six and seven appear to be at a transitional stage whereby some children can use the strategy effectively in some situations . The story, or sentence, mnemonic is a verbal mnemonic in which words to be remembered are linked together in a sentence or sentences (Brewster, C., & J. Fager. 2000). It is an effective strategy for learning a list of words.The research confirms that memory even in very young children can be helped by teaching them to use this verbal mnemonic strategy. It is more effective if the words are linked by verbs rather than prepositions simply stringing together words like this: The cat and the banana and the boat were in the sky† is much less memorable than composing: â€Å"The cat ate the banana and tossed the boat into the sky.† Sentence mnemonics have been effectively used by 6th graders to remember the correct spelling of words. The keyword method is one of the most successful mnemonic strategies to be used in education.It is of proven effectiveness as a method of learning new words, foreign language words, and social studies facts. As a technique for learning new words , it has been compared with the following common strategies: learning words in context; finding root words; learning synonyms and antonyms; presenting words in meaningful sentences; having students discriminate correct from incorrect use of words in sentences; and having students generate their own meaningful sentences and is apparently more effective than any of these methods. The keyword mnemonic has been used effectively by 4th graders. When pictures have been provided, it has been used effectively by 2nd graders. It is suggested that, for children 10 years and younger, instructions to visualize are supplemented by illustrating pictures.CONCLUSIONIdeally, teachers should use a wide range of strategies and then masterfully facilitate their implementation. Not only do strategies enable teachers to capture the interest of children as they learn the skills and concepts necessary for success in school, but children also experience what it feels like to be engaged in learning – a lifelong gift.   The strategies chosen depend on the purpose, teaching style, and the children in the classroom. Regardless of the strategies selected, effective facilitation is a key to making them work. By facilitation it means that the techniques used to execute a strategy.REFERENCE:Baine, David 1986. Memory and instruction. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.Brewster, C., & J. Fager. 2000. Increasing student engagement and motivation: From time on task to homework. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.Finn, J.D., & D.A. Rock. 1997. Academic success among students at risk for school failure. Journal of Applied Psychology 82 (2): 221–34.Graham, S., & B. Weiner. 1996. Theories and principles of motivation. In Handbook of educational psychology, eds. D. Berliner & R.C. Calfee, 62–84. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.Yair, G. 2000. Reforming motivation: How the structure of instruction affects students’ learning experiences. Briti sh Educational Journal 26 (2): 191–210. Learning Strategies 1. Learning Strategies for SSC100 SSC100 is not only a common course, but also sets the tone for the whole four-semester study life in Seneca. Therefore, we should pay more attention to this course. My GPA to date is 3. 0 and my target GPA is 3. 5. In order to acheive the target, there are several strategies I should follow . First, take the classes regularly. Some other students may think that it’s not necessary to attend the classes , without which they can still pass this course.However, the powerpoints and the videos the instructors display in the classes are not only interesting but also helpful. Second, read through the textbook: Success Strategies for College. This book introduces diffrernt kinds of learning strategies in details, which are very useful in SSC100 itself, especially in the reflective test, and other courses throughout Seneca. Third, invovle in the group work. To tell the truth, I am not a good team worker, which is neither good for the current college stu dy nor good for the future work.Therefore, I should attach more importance to this part. Communication is a key factor in the group work. I will try my best to listen to others and give my own opinion as much as possible. Last, practice presentation. As for the group work, presentation is one of the most important parts. Practices can sooth the nerves and make the process more smooth in the real presentation. There are two ways to practice the presentation: first, gather the group mates to simulate; second, take part in the presentation workshops in the learning center.

Water pollution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Water pollution - Essay Example Water pollution The thesis will contend that water pollution comprises thermal pollution, industrial effluent and flooding (Agarwal,115). Though, there is solution for the prevention of problems such as making law for the control of water pollution or creating dams to control flooding among others. Industrial influent is the main cause of water pollution, since many factories releases the polluted water into the water bodies like rivers or lakes and pollutes the water in those sources. The water which are discharged from the industries to the water sources contains numerous chemicals such as acids, hydroxides and heavy metals like mercury which are detrimental to the aquatic life and water (Agarwal, 115). If polluted water is taken by human beings it can cause diseases like cancer, disrupt hormone typhoid fever, stomach ache suppression of the hormone system in swimming pool it causes skin rushes Also illegal discharge of the wastes from industries to which contains chemicals kill the nature lives i n lakes and rivers like crab, fish among others. Wastes from industries discharge into the water bodies contaminates water with chemicals and heavy metals like asbestos, petrochemicals and mercury which are very harmful when consumed with human beings or have the negative effects on the aquatic. When oil spills in water, from tankers or from the ships in seas or lakes also causes pollution in lakes and ocean. Since oil does not dissolve in water it forms a thick sludge on the water surface that prevents air circulation thereby causing the death of aquatic.

Business Strategy for H&M in Brazil Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Business Strategy for H&M in Brazil - Essay Example Hennes & Mauritz, hereafter H&M, is a well-known Swedish firm specializing in retailing and designing fashion apparels and accessories. The firm offers a variety of cosmetics, apparel, footwear, and accessories for children, teenagers, women, and men. The firm operates in Asia, Europe, and North America, having numerous outlets over 38 countries. The company employs over 87,000 people, with headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. This paper presents a business strategy for H&M for the introduction of the clothing brand in Brazil, one of the rapidly emerging economies in the world (Doyle, Moore, and Morgan, 2006:275). The paper analyzes the company and clothing industry, market analysis, target group analysis, and entry strategy for the company into the Brazil, including the PEST and SWOT analysis. The paper concludes with a recommendation part for the company. Erling Persson established H&M in 1947 in Vasteras, Sweden. Over the years, the company has significantly growth in the clothing i ndustry, and currently operates in over 38 countries and an employee base of over 87,000 spread all over Europe, North America, and Asia. The central idea of H&M is to offer its clients a variety of fashionable products of good quality at an affordable price. One of the strategies of H&M is the continuous development of its collection such that each customer finds a new product o the next visit to the stores. In essence, the company uses over 100 buyer and pattern makers, and designers (Capell and Khermouch, 2002:107). Apart from the permanent designers, the company connects with other top-class designers in creating fashion campaigns, including reputable designers such as Madonna, Stella McCartney, and Karl Lagerfeld. Their collection includes children’s, teenagers’, women’s, and men’s apparel, cosmetic, footwear, and accessories. Moreover, the company has in recently developed a full interior design collection. Due to the nature of their products, the c ompany targets people at all ages and tastes, which has both its challenges and benefits (Chetty and Campbell-Hunt, 2004:62). Apart from the over 2200 stores spread across the world, the company also offers catalogue sales and internet shopping in Germany, Austria, Sweden, Finland, and Norway. One of the interesting aspects of H&M is that it outsources all its production (Larenaudie, 2004). The company boosts of over 700 independent suppliers, primarily situated in Europe and Asia with 16 production offices. However, their suppliers have their own subcontractors, thus the overall figure of manufacturer units sums up to 2700. In 2010, the company’s turnover was about 12 billion Euros. The company targets a 10-15 percent growth per year for all new stores. In this regard therefore, H&M plans to employ an additional 6000 or 7000 people (Capell and Khermouch, 2002:107). The head office in Stockholm houses the entire corporate management, as well as other departments including fin ance, expansion, advertising, communication, logistics, security, information technology, designing and buying, expansion, corporate social responsibility, and international relations. Nonetheless, the company’s corporate culture adapts to the conventional global corporation culture, treating the entire world as a single market. The company operates in different countries, but the operations and plans are essentially similar in all the stores. The company does not prefer any country from its market areas, but rather implements its business strategy similarly in all. The central idea here is to offer products to various segments, rather than marketing for one only (Dimitratos and Plakoyinnaki, 2003:191). This is common for companies like H&M that have resources to cover a broad market. Industry Analysis Analyzing the strong clothing imports and high expenditure on apparel items by Brazil, as well as the consumer preference for the latest fashion, it is evident that the country is a very attractive emerging

NGOs and Corporations Literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

NGOs and Corporations - Literature review Example He negotiated a partnership between the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) – one of the world’s largest and most influential NGOs, and the IMD, but he is also heavily involved in the corporation side of his research interests. He acts as a consultant for several Fortune 100 companies, including Microsoft and Shell, and has spoken at various think-tanks. Yaziji and Doh adopt a sensible division of their work into four clear sections: understanding NGOs, NGO advocacy campaigns, corporate-NGO engagements, and the future of the latter. This division offers a logical structure for the book’s chapters, and a straightforward framework for analysis. The authors begin by asserting the importance of NGOs in the contemporary world, and on this issue, their arguments can scarcely be contested. By naming just a few of the more prominent organisations, including Amnesty International and Greenpeace – the nature of NGOs as major actors in politics, economics and society is clear. Yaziji and Doh (2009, p.xiii) also provide some staggering statistics for the growth of NGOs in recent years, suggesting a 400% increase in the number of international NGOs. No reader can seriously doubt whether a comprehensive work on this subject was necessary. I would credit the authors’ statement that ‘A fuller understanding of the role of business in society requires a comprehensive understanding of these engagements’ (2009, p.xv). oweHowe And Doh and Yaziji certainly provide a comprehensive account. They apply a logical division of material, and create a work which is easy for any reader to negotiate. However, having set themselves the important task of filling the current gap in the literature, something more than a survey of the field would have been appropriate. In theoretical terms, they have moved on the debate, but to a great extent the book feels like a synthesis rather than a useful new analytical framework. The introductory chapter provides a valu able overview of the current status of NGOs and their influence in society, and sets out a valid framework for the analysis that will be pursued throughout the text. However, beyond the introductory chapter and the logical headings used to divide the work into four main areas, there are some crucial structural weaknesses. In the introductory chapter, the authors describe the ‘hazard-strewn’ nature of relationships between NGOs and corporations, nicely summarise some of the key factors that make them so (2009, p.xxiv). For example, NGOs might recoil from the data discovered on being given access to a corporation’s internal audit, while the media coverage generated by such a collaboration has the potential to harm the legitimacy and reputation of an NGO, sometimes damaging it irreparably. Perhaps most fundamentally, there is a basic value difference between most corporations, and most NGOs. The former are working with markets and their values; the latter with socia l and ethical values. There can be some overlap in their operations, but this fundamental conflict compromises all collaborations. Perhaps this theme could have been developed further, given that it crops up throughout

Project Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Project Management - Essay Example 8.8 2)Although senior management does not want a business case for proceeding with this project, they would like to know what some of the potential financial benefits could be from this project. Write a one- to two-page paper describing several potential financial benefits that could result from providing this system. Any technology based resource management system comes with several degrees of financial benefits that are essential to the success of any organization or company involved. Most managers have however not readily identified these benefits, which are financial because they are often embedded in other benefits that are non-fiscal. This means that the financial benefits of technology based management systems are not extrinsic but highly intrinsic (WWF, 2000). The financial benefits are always the result of the key characteristics of the systems. Three of these characteristics are known to be multi-functional, effectiveness and efficiency. The technology based resource manage ment system is said to be multi-functional because it can play several roles at a time. Unlike the orthodox system of creating different portfolios for different employees, a single system could be used to play about three to five at a time (World Conservation Union M&E Initiative, 2009). There could for instance be one system that combines the roles of recruitment, placement, orientation, salary grading and pension scheming, all at a time. In such a situation, the company benefits extensively because the amount of money that would have been spent on each of the portfolios is spared and saved in the coffers of the company. Subsequently, these monies serve as capital for starting other money making activities so as to raise and generate incomes for the company. In the case of the present system, it is even possible to advance the functions of the system so that in the nearest future, there could be several roles integrated into its work. As far as effectiveness is concerned, referenc e is being made to the fact that the technology based resource management systems are useful in generating financial returns and financial benefits by ensuring very high levels of perfection in service delivery. There is no denying the fact that no machine is 100% effective. However, studies show that most contemporary systems that have been introduced in the project management system to take care of resource management actually outweigh human perfection for close to 30% (World Conservation Union M&E Initiative, 2009 ). This means that there is a wider range of quality and perfection guarantee on the use of the technology based system as compared to using human effort. Invariably, the amount of money that would have been spent on legal litigations and other forms of inaccuracy corrections and remediation would be channeled into other profit making ventures within the organization. The effectiveness of the system is therefore another guarantee that the system is highly beneficial in terms of finances. Finally, the efficiency of the system cannot be underestimated in any way, and as

Nonverbal Feedback Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Nonverbal Feedback - Essay Example hich individuals end up in a conflict or businesses and their representatives leave a negative image of themselves in the eyes of the customers is back of their failure to skillfully use nonverbal communication (Troester, 2007). It has become very essential for businesses and their representatives to use nonverbal communication in an effective and efficient manner while dealing with customers. It is essential for organization’s representatives to appropriately use the components of physical cues as well as physical appearance to deal with the customers otherwise they may end up losing their customer (Baack, 2012). For example, I witnessed a lady going up to a customer representative asking for a bank account opening form. The representative did not seem quite interested in opening the account of the customer because he believed that it was not a major account and quite casually directed her towards the counter where the bank account opening forms were kept. The lady sat down t rying to fill the form but could not understand the details of the form. Due to this she went to the representative and asked him to her help her. The representative responded in quite an unconcerned manner and told her to wait. The lady immediately understood that the representative was not interested and she left the bank in an angered manner. I followed her and asked her what the problem was. The lady told me that she wanted to open a new bank account and wanted to deposit a handsome amount of money but she felt that the bank was not interested. Due to this the bank lost a very major

The purpose of Johns Gospel Essay Example for Free

The purpose of Johns Gospel Essay To tell the truths about Jesus rather than recount the facts of his life. Critically examine and evaluate this claim concerning the purpose of the author of the Fourth Gospel. There are several alternative views about the purpose of Johns Gospel. I plan to examine the view that it was written to tell truths about Jesus, and discuss its likelihood within the context of some of the other theories. In order to assess this view of the gospels purpose, it is necessary to discuss for whom John was writing, as his purpose will hinge upon his audience. If he was writing so his audience could see and have faith in Jesus then he may well have been writing for unbelievers. Karl Bornhauer has proposed that the gospel was written as a straightforward missionary tract for unbelieving Jews. Only Jews, he claims, would have understood the document, because it is preoccupied with Jewish matters and omits any reference to the institution of the Christian rites of Baptism and the Lords Supper. In its final edition, the gospel was written in Greek, possibly because this is what Hellenistic Jews spoke. On these grounds, the gospel was written to convince Jews of the Christian claim that Jesus is the Messiah. Robinson agrees with this view but Smalley thinks that by the time this gospel was written, the Christian mission to Israel was largely over. The Jews featured in the gospel are Jesus enemies, not potential Christians while some believe in him (12:11) the majority are responsible for his death. Johns attitude to them would therefore have been polemical not missionary. This seems like a relevant view, also, because it is doubtful that John would have succeeding in converting these Jews by casting them into the role of Jesus enemies; he would merely have alienated them. Therefore I do not believe Johns Gospel was written to convert unbelieving Jews. Another theory, from Raymond Brown, is that John was addressing Diaspora Jewish-Christians; Greek speaking Jews already converted to Christianity, or those torn between their faith in Jesus and their loyalty to Judaism. They were mistrusted and seen as subversive to the law, and attempts were made to exclude them from the synagogue. The polemic against Jews would not apply to them, and the authors emphasis on Jesus as the Messiah and as the fulfilment of all the Jewish feasts and institutions would be a strength to their faith if they were allowed to remain in the synagogue, and an encouragement to them if they were forced to withdraw. There are three references to being put out of the synagogue in Johns Gospel, and two instances of those who overcame their fear of the Jews, and even at risk of expulsion from the synagogue, publicly acknowledged Jesus (the blind man, and Joseph of Arimathea). Jesus is also portrayed positively, attending festivals. Brown concludes that John is inviting Jewish-Christians in the synagogues of the Diaspora to follow the example of such people. However, despite the fact there is internal evidence to support this, it is unlikely these were the sole intended recipients. Smalley suggests that the gospel could also have been written for Christians, to challenge their faith, to encourage their belief and to help them grow into the Christian way of life. There is nothing exclusive about the gospel; its perspective is infinitely wide, and it may well have been intended for all Christians everywhere. It is, however, also possible that John was writing for a particular group around him, because his gospel was originally anchored in a real life situation which helped to shape its tradition, and caused its publication. Smalley thinks the Johannine church was made up of many disparate groups of people suffering under the Romans persecution. These groups included Judaisers, ex-heretics, ex Gnostics, those from Gentile and Jewish backgrounds and ex-pagans, but all were followers of the beloved disciple, and the purpose of writing a gospel for all of these people would be to reconcile them, and thus show the universality of Christianity. C H Dodd and C K Barrett are the two scholars most associated with the belief that John is a work of evangelism. The gospel itself states that it contains an evangelical purpose: so that you may believe Jesus is the Christ (20:31). Thus its main purpose would be to persuade people to grow in faith, (which is a different thing from belief). A discussion between Jesus and Thomas (20:26-28) seems to emphasise this Thomas sees because he believes. Jesus is saying that without actually seeing him on earth, faith is a spiritual perception. Thomas needs to see reality. This theme is running through the gospel, the light and dark imagery symbolising seeing faith, and demonstrating that Jesus is the light of the world and the source of eternal life. So, Smalley concludes that the gospel was written so that its readers could find out truths about Jesus and believe he is the life-giving Messiah (v 31). Dodd thinks the gospel is written in two parts, chapters 2 11 being the signs, and 12 20 b eing the passion. Thus Jesus is shown being glorified. It has been suggested that the gospel is a polemic or an apology, and according to Bultmann, one against the Baptist sect. Its main purpose would be to demonstrate the inferiority of John the Baptist to Jesus. John the Baptist is described only as a man sent from God (1:6) and his role is heavily played down in comparison with the synoptics Jesus, not John, is the light (1:8), the Baptist is neither the Christ nor the Elijah, but merely a crying voice (1:19-23), Jesus existed before John, and is greater (1:30), Jesus performed many signs, but John never worked a miracle (10:41). Only in this gospel does Jesus not get baptised. Therefore, the suggestion has been raised that Johns gospel was written to refute the claim of a Baptist group. Bultmann argues that the author of the gospel was a former Gnostic who had been part of a Baptist sect before becoming a Christian Gnosticism flourished in the 2nd Century and his disciples were given to Jesus. Smalley is very critical of this view, saying the only other evidence we have of a Baptist sect is in Acts 19, and this is debatable. Although it is possible there was a Baptist sect in the 3rd Century, this wasnt unusual judging by the other sects in existence e.g. Manichaeism and there is little evidence to suggest such a group created any real problem for the early Christian church. Furthermore, I do not think the author could have been meaning to downgrade John the Baptist, because he isnt mentioned very much the gospel is about Jesus. Another possibility is that the gospel is a polemic against heresy, in particular, against Gnosticism. Gnostic influences, or pre-Gnostic ideas, were brought to bear on the Christian gospel once it was carried from a Palestinian to a Graeco-Roman environment. We also know from Gnostic redeemer myths, in which deliverance from the lower world of matter is effected by a non-earthly, ideal, saviour figure and appropriated by knowledge, that such ideas when taken over by Christians involve a denial of the physical reality of Jesus in his life and death. Edwin Hoskyns argued the gospel was anti-Gnostic, as did E Scott, who thought John was basically a reinstatement of the Christian good news in Hellenistic terms. But he also found evidence that the author of John wrote to counteract heretical, Gnostic teachings he insists on the reality of Christs life, denies the Gnostic hierarchy of intermediate spiritual agencies, opposes the Gnostic idea that divine sonship is possible apart from t he Christ, avoids Gnostic watchwords, and so on. Barrett thinks John was writing whilst Gnosticism was developing; and essentially was trying to nip it in the bud before it really became successful (although Bultmann disagrees and thinks it was already established by c.100 AD). Gnostics, in general, think Jesus message is for an elite, and only some will get to Heaven. The author of John was clearly conscious of Gnosticism, and apparently not completely or directly critical of it he uses Gnostic imagery such as light and dark, heaven and earth, is sensitive to the importance of knowledge, and accepts a dualist framework for his theology of salvation. Bultmann believes that the author of John is actually a former Gnostic who is editing the sign source (which is the heart of the ministry), and that John uses a separate source from the synoptics, in which the signs do not feature. Bultmann thinks Gnosticism used the sign source too, but attached the redeemer myth to it. John is therefore editing out Gnostic influences, reclaiming the text this means that Gnosticism and John are similar, but the conclusion is different. So through using Gnostic ideas, John is actually showing that Christianity is universal. However, this to me does not hold much weight as an argument because the author has been so ambiguous he swings between supporting the Gnostic way of thought and opposing it. Had the author been writing a polemic, he would surely have left no doubt about his point. It has also been questioned whether John might have been trying to interpret or complement the synoptics, or perhaps going beyond them completely to write an ultimate gospel. Evidence for this is that it was part of Jewish tradition to write a commentary on something previous: Windisch and Lightfoot think it is an assumption to say that the author of Johns gospel used the synoptics as a source, (although John was written late, C 100 AD) and he might have used a non-synoptic sign source. Windisch thinks John was written, to supersede the synoptics, by a single author who must have known the gospel of Mark and other synoptic material. Windisch claimed John was autonomous and sufficient so might have been replacing them completely. Lightfoot developed this idea, but said that the synoptic gospels would have had too strong a position in church for Johns gospel to achieve this, and was only interpreting them, to draw out the significance of the original events. This was suggested long before by Clement of Alexandria, when he wrote of a spiritual gospel. I think the idea of interpretation is probably more likely than that of replacement, as John does not seem to be meant to be independent, but probably complements the synoptics. The title asks whether the purpose of Johns gospel was historicity or not. For a large part of history, it was not thought to be accurate in the modern historians sense, especially as St Clement of Alexandria referred to it as a spiritual gospel. Some events in John appear to occur in a different order to the synoptics, e.g. the last supper, which occurs at Passover in the synoptics but is first thing in John. But according to Lightfoot, the author was well aware of the historical truth lying at the heart of the Christian tradition, and even if he can sit lightly to subordinate aspects of his main historical subject, he may give us better guidance than the synoptics. Smalley has tried to answer the question by examining Acts: Martin Dibelius believes Acts is not historical at all, F F Bruce says it is a summary of history but a sanitised version. But why would an author write one factual gospel and one inaccurate gospel? Paul is the main character in Acts, and Pauls inaccurate writings seem to contradict. Galatians also mentions a missing journey to Arabia which Acts leaves out though according to Catchpole, this could have been because it wasnt successful. But Smalley points out that in Acts, the council of Jerusalem is mentioned, which isnt in Paul. This means Acts and Luke are probably not historical, so John could still be. Despite this, Schmeitzer has said that the only thing the gospel shows is that Jesus existed, not anything about him. I do not think this can be true judging by the apparent structure of the gospel. Smalley divided it up into four parts (the prologue, the ministry, the passion, and the epilogue). Guilding identified a two-year cycle within the narrative, although he thought it was a liturgy. However this does suggest history was important, or why would the author put the gospel into a historical context? The gospel has a clear time period, and mentions historical figures. Smalley identified that the author must have thought about structure as well, and said that the main purpose was to show who Jesus is (thus agreeing with the titles claim). Jesus performed miracles which C H Dodd called sign sources, and Smalley thinks that these, along with the discourses and the I am sayings, are meant to show the reader who Jesus actually is, and what his purpose is. None of these three things have a historical purpose, although John might be historically accurate, containing historical and geographical tracts. I could accept this view, as it allows for the miracles to be only literary devices, designed to show the role of Jesus. The gospel is certainly centred about Jesus, who seems to be acting as a pastor he cares about his people (as in Pauls letters). Smalley questions whether or not Johns Gospel contains the same kind of Kerygma as the rest of the New Testament writings. C H Dodd identified the Kerygma in early speeches of Peter in six different parts throughout Acts: 2:16-21, in which the Old Testament prophecy is fulfilled, 2:22-32 and 3:15, where it is stated that Jesus is from the Davidic line, 2:33-36 and 4:11, stating that Jesus is the lord, 2:33 and 2:38, in which the Holy Spirit is given, 3:20 and 10:42, where it proclaims that Jesus will return, and 2:38-40 and 3:19 which says man should repent their sins. In John, the Old Testament prophecy is fulfilled in John 1:1 and 1:14. 1:14 and 7:14 state that Jesus is from the Davidic line, 17:20-22 and 15:1-6 that Jesus is the lord, 20:21 that the Holy Spirit has been given, 6:39, 6:44, 14:3 that Jesus will return, and 20:31 that man should repent. C H Dodd thinks this Kerygma is in John, Peter and Paul. Smalley accepts it is there in John and Paul but thinks it is less developed. He also believes there is a significant difference between its presence in John and in Paul, because Jesus is supposed to be the second Adam in Paul, but John has a greater emphasis on surpassing Moses. He argues that the fourth gospel is much closer to the synoptics than to Paul, that Paul never saw the historical Jesus, only the risen Jesus, and is therefore incomplete. I would agree with Smalleys reasoning because in the Kerygma and in Paul there is little reference to Jesus historical life, so the purpose of the gospels might have been to put teachings of Jesus into a historical setting. In conclusion, it is impossible to be sure of the purpose of Johns Gospel, but it seems likely that the author wanted to communicate truths about Jesus, his role on earth, his divinity, etc. Smalleys views seem well supported by evidence, and I would agree that the gospel couldnt have been a purely historical account although it may well have a true frame of events. Surely spreading the good news about Jesus would be more important than relating everything he said and exactly as it happened. Robinson, who thought the gospel was written before the synoptics, said that historicity might have been a purpose, but not the main one. Most of those who think the synoptics came first will disagree and think Johns history is inaccurate, but as Brown as said, the accuracy is irrelevant, as the narrative frame is probably only there to strengthen teachings about Jesus.