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Best ways to teach children

July 9, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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The times have changed. Now innovation is the core of any activity. As the world progresses to greater heights of existence, and awareness, there has to be a paradigm shift in various areas that support this transition. One area that supports transition of the world to a much more efficient global society is education.

The rendering of education has always been on the same lines around the world. Somehow schools and colleges seem less inclined to innovate. Firstly, educational institutions lack the funds, and secondly they lack the leadership. Educational institutions are exactly profit-making companies.

Yet, there are some smart ways to teach children in classrooms. Here are those.

Teachers must understand that different kids have different ways of learning. Specialized schools do such customized-learning activities to students. But most schools are not specialized.

Teaching with analogies

This is the best way a student can remember information. Anything has to make sense. When teaching technical topics, explaining things with analogies is an excellent way to understand a concept. When the student wants to recall the concept back, the student can do it by recalling the analogy.

Practical work

Only theory won’t help. It has to be put into practice. Teachers can start off with practical-education first, and follow it with theory. This way the students can correlate what was put into practice to what is being taught. Practical-first, theory-later is an excellent way of drilling complex information to students.

Writing

Writing is another way of putting to paper thoughts. Students should be encouraged to write.

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State Testing and No Child Left Behind

June 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment
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Educating students to be successful in college or in the workplace continues to be a source of concern for parents and educators at the state level. In spite of the testing requirements laid out in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002 (NCLB), test scores still vary significantly from state to state and fail to provide a consistently accurate national picture of academic achievement and students ability to compete.

A 2006 hearing conducted by the Commission on No Child Left Behind at Cambridge, Massachussetts listed concerns that are still timely. A major concern expressed during the hearing was the inconsistency of quality and rigor found in different state testing programs. There is also a widely held belief that in some cases these varying standards are an attempt to avoid NCLB sanctions.  Tied into the variance in state tests was the concern that it would be extremely difficult to accurately measure and compare the progress made between states.  Other participants stated that learning expectations set by some states do not match college and workplace realities. The hearing’s major conclusion was that schools need to encourage students to develop tests that encourage higher expectations and more consistent testing standards among the states. One of the suggestions offered was that national standards should be developed to place all states on a level playing field for scoring and analysis.

America is percieved by many eduators as falling behind in mathematics and the sciences – the fundamental skills needed for this country’s continuing leadership in the development of scientists and engineers in the 21st century. This is the challenge educators face and it begins in grammar and high school.

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What are Standardized Tests?

May 19, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A standardized test is a test that contains many questions with multiple answers and this can be filled by many test takers all at once. These tests are graded quickly using scanning devices. This type of test is normally conducted to compare different test takers against each other. These tests are conducted to analyze progress in the schools and also to grade students according to their abilities.

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Standardized tests can be taken on computer or on paper. The test taker is normally provided with problems, questions, or statement and they are given with multiple choice answers below to choose. Most of the times, the answers are not straight-forward and the test takers are expected to use some methods or read paragraphs to solve the problem. The students are required to select the best answer and after the allocated test time period, all the answer sheets are collected for scoring.

Some of the great benefits of this testing method are quick grading, very cheap, and analysts can look at different samples of answers at one time. This way, analysts measure the progress of one school by comparing the result with another similar school. This testing procedure is followed to monitor the students’ learning curve, review or modify the existing curriculum in the school, identify different areas of need, and also provide some vital data for the educational research.

Often, teacher promotion and school accreditation rely on the result of this test. Standardized tests are very helpful for the admissions in higher education and the test takers are assessed under the same conditions.

 

Filed Under: Education, Graduate School Tagged With: , ,

What Makes a Great Teacher

March 30, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Most adults can remember at least one teacher that made a real impression on them, whether by encouraging future study and personal growth or inspiring them toward a particular goal. Unfortunately, many adults can also remember at least one teacher who had a more negative effect on their development, attitude and self-esteem. Being a good teacher means being able to successfully communicate concepts, help students understand and incorporate them in practical applications, and motivate students to finish their assigned tasks and study for tests. A great teacher, however, is a much more rare and difficult-to-define individual.

What makes a teacher great can vary wildly, however, there are certain characteristics and habits that all great teachers exhibit. For instance, a great teacher can not only motivate students to learn a concept; they will instead instill a desire in their students to explore on their own. While good teachers can get their students to read and discuss Shakespeare, great teachers can get their students to look for deeper meanings, or autonomously investigate similar authors. Good teachers can make students care about what they are learning, while a truly great teacher makes students wonder what else they could learn about.

Great teachers are interested in more than just a child’s test scores and attendance; they are focused on each student’s self-esteem and personal growth. They have a passion for their particular subjects and they are able to impart that passion to those they teach. They understand that they are not simply providing information; they are the doors to a wider perspective and comprehension, without which the concept of learning becomes simple memorization.

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Preparing Kids for Standardized Tests

March 27, 2011 by Leave a Comment

With the addition of the ”No Child Left Behind Act,” schools are focused more than ever on the results of state standardized tests. Because school funding is based upon the results, many teachers are encouraged to focus more on teaching toward the test, rather than concentrating on the concepts and theories behind the practical applications. Parents can help fill in the gaps by preparing their children for standardized tests, but only if they are prepared and willing to ask questions. Because public schools are forced to take these tests so seriously, they should be able to answer any questions that parents might have concerning the nature, subject material and testing procedures. Armed with this information, parents can work with their kids to help achieve a much better outcome.

Make sure your child understands the subjects and concepts that will be covered on the test, as well as the procedures for the test. For instance, you should encourage your child to take all of the time provided for each test section. Finishing early only means that he or she will have an opportunity to review the answers and check for errors and mistakes. Your child should also have an opportunity to practice taking similar tests prior to the big day. Reassure children that they are capable, remind them of previous successes and of their strengths, and encourage them to practice good study skills that will also help them prepare. Finally, sending your child off to school with a nutritious breakfast helps to calm the nerves and provide ample fuel for the rigorous mental challenges.

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How to Homeschool Your Kids

March 17, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Many parents have become disheartened by the violence and bullying in American public schools. Private school can be incredibly expensive, and there is no guarantee that especially sensitive children won’t experience the same problems there. Homeschooling is quickly becoming a popular alternative in many U.S. households for the education of our children. If you have one parent or guardian who stays at or works from home, holds at least a high school diploma or GED, and has the temperament and desire to homeschool, this may be the best option available.

Most states have a simple procedure for exempting your children from the state-run public school in lieu of a homeschool program. Your state’s Department of Education should have the specifics for you. First, however, you should have a plan of action in place for educating your children. There are a number of pre-determined programs that you can follow such as the Montessori-at-Home, the Charlotte Mason Method, or the Moore Formula. Additionally, many states also sponsor programs that allow homeschooling parents access to curriculum, textbooks, and standardized tests. There are also several web-based programs that include visual aids, presentations and podcasts as educational tools.

You will probably be required to keep extensive and accurate records on your child’s attendance, hours completed on each subject, the topics covered and a portfolio of each child’s work and test results. Parents may also choose to incorporate religious studies into their homeschooling program, either for one particular faith that the family follows, or a more comparative program of study for exploring the various religions of the world.


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Teach for America Program

March 7, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The Teach for America program is one of the most controversial additions to the field of elementary and secondary education in the country. The program was part of a college senior’s undergraduate thesis; following her graduation, Wendy Kopp raised the necessary capital and initiated the program to recruit and quickly train a number of qualified candidates to teach in the lowest income areas of the United States. The core values of the Teach for America program include the relentless pursuit of results, sense of possibility, disciplined thought, respect and humility, and integrity. While these are all worthy goals for the educators of our children, the effectiveness of the program has been called into question by a number of more traditionally trained teachers.

Some of the more vocal opponents to this program insist that it is not as great as its press might indicate. There are a number of claims that the program only provides a resume booster to graduates from the more prestigious colleges, or that its short-term ”boot camp” training program is a slap in the face to teachers who have spent four or five years in college focusing on a career in education. Regardless of the effectiveness of individual Teach for America participants, some critics claim that the short term assignments don’t provide enough real impact on the low income communities in which they function. While the detractors probably do have some valid concerns, at its very least the Teach for America program is helping to make a difference for low-opportunity schools and their students. Because participating teachers are only sent to these poor communities, it is unlikely that they are really competing with the top quality educators produced by most colleges’ education programs.

Filed Under: Education, Standards Tagged With: , ,

No Child Left Behind Program

March 3, 2011 by Leave a Comment

The ”No Child Left Behind Act” of 2001 was signed into law by former U.S. President George W. Bush, and remains one of his most important accomplishments while in office. The act is designed to encourage standards-based evaluation of students and schools alike, and to force public schools to comply with and meet certain federal standards in order to receive funding. While many legislators claim that the act is necessary to ensure fair and equitable standards in education, teachers and parents complain that it encourages a number of less-than-desirable outcomes such as increased segregation in public schools, lack of attention for high-performing and gifted students, and an over-reliance on standardized testing to evaluate the progress of students.

One of the biggest concerns about the act is that it encourages teachers to focus only on the material that will be covered on the standardized tests. Spending additional time drilling certain applications means that there is little or no time to be spent on practical and theoretical implications. For instance, teachers may encourage memorization of addition and multiplication tables while completely neglecting any explanation on how those figures are arrived at. This can contribute to students who are able to add, but unable to apply mathematical concepts to word problems.

There is little doubt that the ”No Child Left Behind Act” is not completely successful in its aims, however, legislators have yet to define a better solution. While President Obama’s State of the Union address in early 2011 mentioned a renewed focus on the program and promised that attention would be given to fixing it, teachers and administrators continue to labor under a system that devalues exceptional performance in both students and educators.

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How Teachers Help Their Students Receive Good Grades

February 23, 2011 by Leave a Comment

A good teacher can change a student’s life by encouraging them in their interests or by showing them how math, literature, and learning in general can be interesting and rewarding. Here are some of the ways that a teacher influences their students.

They are available to talk. A good teacher is not too busy to talk with a student about their project, to explain to them why they received their grade, or to answer questions about an assignment or a lesson. Of course, teachers will always be busy and generally get overloaded with work at some point during the year, but the best teachers will try to find the time and energy to help seeking students understand and succeed.

They change their lesson plans if they need to. If a teacher sees that the class needs another week to grasp a concept, a teacher will try her best to make sure the class comes to understand it before moving on. A teacher’s goal is always to put his or her students first, above a schedule or a deadline, even though trying to let students understand all the material for the year can seem daunting. This means constantly checking to see that all the students are understandig what is being taught.

They find a way to reach each child’s learning needs. If a teacher finds that one of his students is struggling in a subject, he may suggest to the student’s parents that they find a tutor, or may recommend after school tutoring. In the end, it means a teacher does not give up on a student, but keeps trying to encourage or help them.

They create a solid plan for the class. While teachers should be flexible with their class schedules, as listed above, they also need to be very prepared for every class. This means creating an outline for the whole semester, complete with reading materials and lesson plans. This allows teachers to spend most of their time during the school year focusing on their students, not their lesson plans. A good teacher can make all the difference.

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Outside Learning Opportunities Enhance Education

February 16, 2011 by Leave a Comment

When students have the opportunity to use the knowledge from their classroom in real life, or have the opportunity to reap extra learning in extra-curricular activities, they have a higher chance of success in school. The ability to make connection across subject lines (such as using literature references in a history paper) demonstrate true student understanding and interaction. Here are some ways that you can encourage learning and interaction in your students through field trips:

Forest preserves. Teaching a biology class? State parks and forest preserves are an excellent place for students to take what they have learned and apply in regular life. Examining plants, insects, and animals can be a great way to show students the practicality of their studies. Many forest preserves would be happy to work with you to set up field trips to local eco-systems, such as a prairie, forest, or wetland, and may even be able to give your students a, interesting demonstration or another perspective on what they are learning.

Historical sites. Visiting period farms or other living history museums can be a great way to bring history to life for your students. Most of these places will allow students to not only observe but experience life in another era through helping costumed historical interpreters with the daily chores, joining in the harvest, or observing other aspects of life before electricity and cars. What is even better is that many of these places do not offer just one program but have programs throughout the year for every season and even have new programs recently created. While some of these places are owned by the state and are always free of charge, others will make an exception for a school group.

Visiting these places can give students perspective, showing them how plant classification is not just in a textbook, but can be applied to their very own back yard. It can also show them how the specific family or person living in the prairie during the 1860’s may have viewed the civil war, or later, the introduction of electricity, making the connection even more relational.

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