Category Archives: teaching

Why The Standard Of Teacher In Schools Are So Important

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Are you are you about to decide on which school you are going to send your child to in September? Are you unhappy with the standard of education and teaching your child is currently receiving? Do you feel that one or two of the teachers at your child’s current school are not up to the job? In this article, I write about a teacher who taught me when I was at senior school, a teacher who cost me a couple of grades in maths in my opinion.

The senior school I went to was an all boys school. A number of the boys in my year were out of control, quite wayward and disruptive. What they required was a strong and firm teacher who was not afraid to kick them into line.

In a class of thirty boys it only needs a couple of bad apples to turn the teachers life into a bit of a nightmare. I have to say that at times I felt sorry for a number of these teachers who it has to be said looked like they were struggling to cope. In these classes where the teacher struggles to keep control, the whole class are affected and the standard of education for the people who are their to learn will drop. The teacher is having to spend so much time in trying to calm down and control the disruptive pupils that they have little other time to spend on teaching the other children.

I saw this happen time and time again to such a point it became very boring. What these annoying and disruptive kids needed in my opinion was one hard slap and another one if the first did not work.

In the first three years of senior school in Maths, we had a teacher who was so good it was untrue. She was called Mrs Washbourne and was as hard as nails. Not one boy dared to mess about in her class and they all had respect for her as a teacher. I really enjoyed going to her lessons and at the end of the third year I managed to finish second out of one hundred and eight boys in the final exam. I was very proud of this performance and Mrs Washbourne stated that I was heading for an A grade at GCSE level.

The problem was that Mrs Washbourne was only qualified to teach up to the end of this third year. I now had a maths teacher who even though on paper was more qualified than Mrs Washbourne was in truth so far off her standard it was unbelievable. He had no control over his class at all and was not even able to look at your eyes when he was speaking to you. The naughty boys of the class were in heaven once more and yet again I was unable to concentrate and receive the standard of teaching I desired.

In the final examination I only managed to obtain a grade C, no doubt this was partly my fault, however I also blame a poor teacher and the overall standard of education at my school.

Calculus Help

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The very definition of the word calculus is derived from a mineral build-up and means “hard”. The Mathematical term of calculus describes a field that is a theoretical offshoot of algebra that attempts to define the way in which events will change over time. Calculus is used to determine the slope of a variable, or chosen identity, and how its rate of change may change over time. The calculations usually produce a curve or graphical presentation rather than a discreet sum and the information is read from points in the curve, which reflect the rates of change. There are relatively simply calculus theorems that will allow the calculation of how often the phone will ring over the next month, or a how a population of deer will grow in the upcoming years.

However, calculus is meant to be a theoretical tool that describes hypothetical situations thereby imparting clarity upon the unknown. Many would be happy to let the unknown remain that way, but if calculus is on your agenda, you may need calculus help in the near future, and you can figure on this without a formula.

The field of modern calculus was largely worked out by Leibnitz, a German Mathematician who lived in the 1600′s. He was a genius who conquered Latin and began study of the Greek language and many other fields of learning by the time he was twelve. Shortly thereafter, he began the study of Law, but more relevant was his travel to Paris later in his life. It is here that he met the famous mathematician Huygens who routed the genius of Leibnitz toward the study of mathematics in general and to geometry in particular. It was he that developed the theories of Integrated and Differential Calculus, which remained largely unused until the complexity of the twentieth century brought these disciplines to the forefront. Differential calculus was then used in determining the rates of velocity, mass and was useful in the trajectory of rockets. Fourier calculations are based upon integral calculus. Integral calculus was used to determine the rate at which the door on the space shuttle can close.

Although calculus was developed by Leibnitz and furthered by other great mathematicians who followed him, it is thought that some elements of the science existed as early as the time of the ancient Greeks. It is thought that at this time, Exodius developed the Method of Exhaustion that contains rudiments of modern calculus. When you find that the Methods of Exhaustion are directly applying to yourself, it is time to seek help with Calculus.

The Mathematics study lab at your school, if there is one, will be happy to set you up with a tutor. If this is not possible, ask your teacher if he or she can recommend a tutor or approach someone who seems to get “A’s” on their work and ask for help. Remember that calculus is a discipline that builds upon itself. Therefore, each stage must be clear in your mind or the subsequent steps will be out of reach. Try to get calculus help early in the game and stay with each topic as it is introduced.

3 Tips For Being A Successful Distance Learning Instructor

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Are you looking to teach an online course for the first time? Or have you already taught online but are looking for some tips to help you become more effective?

The world of online learning is expanding at a rapid pace.

More courses are being offered and more students are enrolling every semester. And while teaching an online course can be done while sitting at your computer in your pajamas, being an effective online instructor requires a good deal of practice and preparation.

Of course, teaching online does take away the face to face involvement with students. Nothing can take the place of seeing a student smile after finally understanding a difficult concept.

But online teaching can be even more rewarding than on-campus teaching, when done well.

What makes an effective online instructor?

While good teaching involves a large number of qualities and techniques, effective online teaching centers on three main points:

1) You must be clear about your expectations!

Since students are not sitting right in front of you, it is extremely important to be very clear. Since you cannot see the students, you cannot see them sitting with a puzzled look while nodding their head in agreement.

How do you know if you are clear enough?

• Ask the students.
• Carefully evaluate the quality of the work, and how close the finished product matches the instructions.
• Have a colleague read your material before the course begins.

If student evaluations are distributed at the end of the semester, you can use the feedback to help you improve your course and teaching techniques – but keep in mind that by then you can no longer help the students learn what you want them to learn!

2) You must communicate frequently…and effectively!

Most students will expect you to be sitting at your computer whenever they send you a question by email. Of course, that is not practical, nor is it reasonable. So it is a good idea to give students a time frame in which you will respond, with 24-48 hours being typical.

And it’s not enough to just communicate frequently. You must also communicate effectively. While some students (especially new online students) will want you to “take them by the hand” through each step, if you already have clearly written instructions, you can direct them to the instructions.

Keep in mind that most students are not asking you questions to bother you – usually, they just want to make sure they are doing what you want them to do. So be understanding, even when you get questions that make you shake your head.

If you get the same questions frequently, it is a good idea to save the questions – and your responses – to create a “frequently asked questions” section.

3) You must let your personality shine through!

If students just wanted to read a book, they wouldn’t need you to read it for them. So, when teaching online, avoid taking the “easy way out” by simply posting a few readings and having students answer the questions:

• Add a little of your personality to your assignments and communications (but be careful when using humor, as it is difficult to convey online).
• Give real life examples that you have learned from being the subject matter “expert”.
• Create interesting and interactive assignments to help students really learn the material.

Good teaching, like being good at anything, takes practice.

If you are clear…if you stay in close contact with your students…and if you create an interesting learning experience, you will be the online instructor that students want to learn from!

Public Speaking Tips For Kids

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Public speaking is one skill that kids should enhance. Aside from practice, public speaking for kids requires personal coaching. Personal coaching includes the development of self-confidence and the effort on helping kids to improve their public speaking skills. For beginners it is important that they undergo this kind of learning to have a better public speaking approach.

Kids have their own skills and abilities on how to deliver a presentation. It is up to the coach to bring out that natural skill in them. The kid only needs to listen and internalize all the things that the coach will teach.

If you are the kid being trained, you will be introduced to an approach in public speaking that can be convenient to you. The coach will not attempt to change your style and be different to other speakers; although speakers seem to be more effective if the audience finds him unique in his public speaking.

The coach will try to enhance your own skills and talents that are already present in you. You can expect comments and feedback from your coach during the training process. He will provide you the much needed guidance and specific knowledge for the coach is obliged to produce a better result in your training. Here are some reasons why you will need a personal coach:

- You may ask for a coach if you need help on a specific presentation that is very important to you.

-If you want to concentrate on specific communication and speaking issues that are covered in general workshops and seminars.

-If you have encountered sessions and workshops that progress slowly and are too standard or maybe do not get your interest.

-When you are too busy to attend trainings because you cannot choose just one that can answer your needs.

-If you are not comfortable in the team setting or you may feel that your speaking skills are on a much higher level.

-If you have undergone public communication and speaking lessons before and you may need additional knowledge and enhancement.

-If you have found you work much better and develop faster with a personal approach.

Getting a personal coach does not mean you are a slow learner or have poor communication skills. There are many reasons why will you need to have a personal coach, as mentioned in the above list.

Coaching can be just like that, like any sport where a team needs a coach to perform well and be guided on the executions. For a child that wants to be trained in public speaking as early as in his early childhood, it could be better if the child is already trained on how to address and interact to other people by means of public speaking.

United Nations Day Teaching Tips

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The United Nations, an international organization dedicated to keeping peace among the world’s nations, was created on October 24, 1945. This month, then, would be an excellent time to focus on how to settle disagreements and learn something about the U.N. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Read this excerpt of the U.N. Charter and discuss what it means:

We the peoples of the United Nations determine…to live together in peace with one another as good neighbors, to work for the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and to promote better standards of life.

2. Try making your own criss-cross puzzle from the underlined words in the excerpt above.

3. Relate the word ‘equal’ to the definition learned in math.

4. Research to find the member nations of the United Nations and write them down. Once they are written, put them in alphabetical order; count the syllables in the names; find them in an atlas and make note of their geographic location (which continent has the most members? the least members?); make tally marks representing each country and practice counting by 5′s and 10′s. Which nations were charter members? Which countries were added later? Find out more about each country by breaking your class into groups.

5. Unscramble the names of these member countries:

DESWEN, LAPNOD, GARTENANI, SUITARALA, DIANI, GEPTY, TRAGE TRABINI, NADACA, HACNI, TENUDI TASSET

Now put these letters, from the countries above, in sequential order to form two words telling what the United Nations is working toward:

CROWLEAPED

6. Here are two realistic situations. Ask your children how they would solve these predicaments in order to make peace. Is there another way to achieve a win-win outcome?

A. Barbara, Cindy, and Judy have always been best friends. Lately, though, Cindy and Judy have been excluding Barbara from their playtime fun. Consequently, Barbara has decided to turn the rest of the class against them. Which way would achieve peace? Brainstorm other ideas!

a. Talk to the three girls privately to determine why Barbara is being ignored.

b. Punish all three girls by not allowing them to play.

c. Start a class discussion about what it means to be a friend.

B. William and Jose were close pals because they liked doing the same things, going to the same places, and going out with the same friends. When it was time for their first school dance, however, they both wanted to ask the same girl. Having found out that Jose had asked Maria first, William wouldn’t talk to Jose at all. Which way would achieve peace? Brainstorm other ideas!

a. Suggest that neither boy take Maria to the dance.

b. Suggest that William, Jose, and Maria all go together as friends.

c. Suggest that William tell Jose how he feels and see what Jose says.

I hope these ideas are useful and inspire your own creativity.

And remember…Reading is FUNdamental!

Why Online High School?

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The number of online high schools is increasing at a steady rate as more and more schools offer quality, accredited programs online. With the presence of public, private and online high schools, individuals are faced with a greater choice when it comes to their education.

You know about regular private and public schools. They’re located in your neighborhood and city. You know what they’re all about and the types of programs and services they offer. What about online high school? It’s a relatively new concept.

Online high school enables students to get an accredited high school education from their homes. It is just like its classroom counterpart – there are assignments, quizzes and final exams. You simply access the class material through the use of your computer 24/7, 365 days a year. It provides you with an easy way to take summer school classes online, make up credits or get a jumpstart on the upcoming school year.

Benefits of Online High School

Choose where to learn – You can take high school classes from your home or office.
Set your own pace – You can work as fast or slow as you need. You are in the driver’s seat.
Study when you want – You can choose when you want to study and arrange your classes around work, sports and other responsibilities.
Avoid social pressure – You can work in an environment without the social issues that are present in a regular school.
Access class materials anytime – You can learn any time during the day or night.

There is typically an education support department to guide you with any questions or concerns you have along the way. They can be reached via e-mail, phone or fax.

Most importantly, it’s easy to get started. You don’t have to wait until September to begin. Simply log onto the website of an online high school and follow the steps to start. You will soon be on your way.