What makes a good teacher?

By now you have certainly had many teachers in your life, in grade school, middle school, and in college. You might also have had some wonderful teachers outside of the classroom. For this assignment, I want you to think about what made them so outstanding.

Begin by listing some of the best teachers you have known, both in and out of school. Once you have done some prewriting, start listing the qualities that made these teachers so outstanding. In your essay, I want you to focus on explaining to your reading audience the characteristics that these people possessed that helped make them such great educators. (I do not want you to write an essay about your favorite teachers, but you can use them as specific examples as you develop your body paragraphs.) You can list these attributes in your thesis statement, and you can begin each body paragraph with one of these qualities. In other words, each body paragraph should develop a specific quality of a good teacher. Use specific teachers to “show” your readers specific examples of this characteristic. 

Develop your body paragraphs with specific examples from your own experiences. Remember to be as specific as possible. In other words, use “real” examples. 

Write a 4-7 page analysis of your care setting that supports development of a strategic plan and includes both the discovery and dream phases of an appreciative inquiry (AI) project and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of the care setting.
Introduction
Identifying analysis techniques for assessing competitive advantage is important for building health care strategy. Sustaining health care competitive advantage requires that leaders understand environmental demands to assist with minimizing weakness and threats from the external environment. This assessment provides you with an opportunity to examine your health care environment to determine whether what is being accomplished in your organization, department, team, community project, or other care setting is making a positive difference.
Note: You will use the results of this analysis to develop a strategic plan in Assessment 2.
Preparation
You have been asked to conduct an analysis of your care setting that will result in two potential pathways toward a strategic plan to improve health care quality and safety in your organization, department, team, community project, or other care setting. To accomplish this, you will take two approaches to the analysis:

1. Complete the discovery and dream phases of an appreciative inquiry (AI) project.
2. Conduct a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis.
3. To help ensure that your analysis is well-received, the requester has suggested that you:

• Present your analysis results in four parts: 
  • Part 1: Appreciative Inquiry Discovery and Dream.
  • Part 2: SWOT Analysis.
  • Part 3: Comparison of Approaches.
  • Part 4: Analysis of Relevant Leadership Characteristics and Skills.
• Your analysis should be 4–7 pages in length.
• Note: Remember, you can submit all, or a portion, of your draft plan to Smarthinking for feedback before you submit the final version for this assessment. However, be mindful of the turnaround time for receiving feedback, if you plan on using this free service.
  As you prepare to complete this assessment, you may want to think about other related issues to deepen your understanding or broaden your viewpoint. You are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of your professional community. Note that these questions are for your own development and exploration and do not need to be completed or submitted as part of your assessment.
  One key aspect to being an effective leader, manager, or administrator is an awareness of your leadership strengths, weaknesses, and style.
• How would you assess your general leadership, communication, and relationship-building skills?
• How would describe your leadership style?
• Imagine the future for a care setting that is your place of practice or one in which you would like to work.
• What aspirational goals can you envision that would lead to improvements in health care quality and safety?
• How well do these goals align with the mission, vision, and values of your care setting?
• Analysis Requirements
  Note: The requirements outlined below correspond to the grading criteria in the scoring guide, so at a minimum, be sure to address each point. In addition, you are encouraged to review the performance level descriptions for each criterion to see how your work will be assessed.
  Writing, Supporting Evidence, and APA Style
• Communicate professionally when conducting interviews and collecting data.
• Write clearly, with professionalism and respect for stakeholders and colleagues.
• Integrate relevant sources of evidence to support your assertions. 
  • Cite at least 3–5 sources of scholarly or professional evidence.
  • Include relevant interview information.
• Format your document using APA style. Use the APA Style Paper Tutorial [DOCX]. Be sure to include: 
  • A title page and reference page. An abstract is not required.
  • A running head on all pages.
  • Appropriate section headings.
  • Properly formatted citations and references.
• Proofread your writing to minimize errors that could distract readers and make it more difficult to focus on the substance of your analysis.
• Part 1: Appreciative Inquiry Discovery and Dream
• Synthesize stories and evidence about times when a care setting performed at its best with regard to quality and safety goals. 
  • Collect stories from your care setting. You may collect stories through interviews or conversations with colleagues or provide your own.
  • Explain how your stories are related to quality and safety goals.
  • Describe the evidence you have that substantiates your stories.
  • Identify the positive themes reflected in your stories.
  • Describe other evidence (for example: data, awards, accreditations) that validates your care setting’s positive core.
• Propose positive, yet attainable, quality and safety improvement goals for your care setting. 
  • Explain how accomplishing these goals will lead to ethical and culturally-sensitive improvements in quality and safety.
  • Explain how your proposed goals align with your care setting’s mission, vision, and values.
• Part 2: SWOT Analysis
• Conduct a SWOT analysis of your care setting, with respect to quality and safety goals. 
  • Provide a narrative description of your analysis.
  • Identify the assessment tool you used as the basis of your analysis.
  • Describe your key findings and their relationships to quality and safety goals.
• Describe one area of concern that you identified in your SWOT analysis—relevant to your care setting’s mission, vision, and values—for which you would propose pursuing improvements. 
  • Explain how this area of concern relates to your care setting’s mission, vision, and values.
  • Explain why you believe it will be necessary and valuable to pursue improvements related to this area of concern.
• Part 3: Comparison of Approaches
  Compare the AI and SWOT approaches to analysis and reflect on the results.
• Describe your mindset when examining your care setting from an AI perspective and from a SWOT perspective.
• Describe the types of data and evidence you searched for when taking an AI approach and a SWOT approach.
• Describe the similarities and differences between the two approaches when communicating and interacting with colleagues.
• Part 4: Analysis of Relevant Leadership Characteristics and Skills
  Analyze the leadership characteristics and skills most desired in the person leading potential performance improvement projects, taking both an AI and SWOT approach.
• Explain how these characteristics and skills would help a leader facilitate a successful AI-based project and a successful SWOT-based project.
• Comment on any shared characteristics or skills you identified as helpful for both AI and SWOT approaches.
• Competencies Measured
  By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the course competencies through the following assessment scoring guide criteria:
• Competency 1: Evaluate qualities and skills that promote effective leadership within health care organizations. 
  • Analyze the leadership characteristics and skills most desired in the person leading potential performance improvement projects, taking both an appreciative inquiry (AI) and a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) approach.
• Competency 2: Apply strategies to lead high-performing health care teams to meet organizational quality and safety goals. 
  • Synthesize stories and evidence about times when a care setting performed at its best with regard to quality and safety goals.
  • Conduct a SWOT analysis of a care setting, with respect to quality and safety goals.
  • Describe an area of concern identified in a SWOT analysis—relevant to a care setting’s mission, vision, and values—that should be improved.
  • Compare the AI and SWOT approaches to analysis with regard to data gathering and interactions with others.
• Competency 3: Apply cultural, ethical, and regulatory considerations to leadership decision making. 
  • Propose positive, attainable quality and safety improvement goals for a care setting.
• Competency 5: Communicate with stakeholders and constituencies to build collaborative partnerships and create inclusive work environments. 
  • Communicate analyses clearly and in a way that demonstrates professionalism and respect for stakeholders and colleagues.
  • Integrate relevant and credible sources of evidence to support assertions, correctly formatting citations and references using APA style.

There will be times when a social worker is presented with a case where they are not familiar with the surrounding psychosocial issues. Because social workers are on a continual journey in learning, it is important to read pertinent literature. This Discussion provides an opportunity to visit Walden Library and strengthen your skills in identifying and locating an empirical research article.

To prepare:

• Select one of these three groups: (1) an immigrant individual from a racial or ethnic minority group, (2) a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) individual, OR (3) an individual who is physically disabled.
• Review the Walden Library resources listed in the Learning Resources.
• Then conduct a library search for an empirical study focused on one of the groups above and the unique psychosocial factors or issues a social worker should be aware of when working with that group.

By Day 3

Post:

• Post the APA-style reference for the article you found in the library.
• Describe four specific psychosocial factors that should be taken into account in order to understand the psychosocial context when working with the group you selected. (Two of these factors should be psychologically related and two of these factors should be socially related).
• Identify and explain a psychosocial intervention that addresses one of the four specific psychosocial factors you described above.
• Identify 1 to 2 outcomes you might measure if you were to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention.
• Evaluate one advantage of using a psychosocial framework in social work practice with the group you chose

Project 2: Opportunity Evaluation

Worth 15 points, due in Week 4 

Project Purpose

In this project, you will evaluate the idea selected in project one for its viability as a commercial opportunity. The purpose of this assignment is to develop the critical thinking and entrepreneurial mindset necessary to translate the idea into a money-making business. Along with critical thinking skills, you will develop research, communication and data evaluation skills.

Outcomes You Will Meet by Completing This Project:

• apply the basic steps involved in developing a comprehensive business plan for both starting and operating a business by creating your own business plan
• describe and explain the environments that businesses operate in—social, economic, political, technological, environmental and legal
• develop your business vocabulary and knowledge of concepts, trends, and current issues by applying them in all course work
• demonstrate the use of software and Internet sources by researching and planning the start-up and operation of your business
• demonstrate the use of a marketing assessment process to develop a marketing plan and a marketing strategy
• analyze and explain projected financial performance, using selected financial ratios

Instructions:

Complete the Business Opportunity Assessment Form using your selected idea from project one.

Step 1: Review the business opportunity assessment form and rubric before completing the assignment.

Step 2: Download the form and answer the questions or submit the collected data under the question. Use the form as your heading guide.

Step 3: Answer in complete sentences and make sure you are defining your terms and giving the reasons behind the conclusions that are drawn. Be thorough and clear in your analysis.

Step 4: Research all areas that require research (customer demographics, market analysis and competitor review).  Summarize the data points collected from the research when answering the question.

Step 5: Review to make sure all elements have been answered, instructions followed, writing mechanics and APA are sound.

Step 6: Create a separate Title Page (Class Name, Instructors Name, Students name and Date) and Reference Page.

I have included project one paper to provide insight and information for project 2