Why Should I Consider Title 1 Tutors?

Why Should I Consider Title 1 Tutors?Title 1 tutors offer effective assessment of students' learning strengths and weaknesses to help them achieve a high-level of educational achievement. But what are the advantages of taking a Title 1 tutor qualifications? It all boils down to the fact that taking such courses will help your child to learn at a faster pace as you will be able to assess the actual learning capabilities of your child in real time.The main advantage of Title 1 tutors is that they are very effective in assessing the learning needs of children. They give an insight into what is most important for the child's development, thereby helping you to identify strengths and weaknesses in your child's academic performance. It will also allow you to judge your child's progress in class, which will aid you in knowing what you need to change and what you can do to further improve your child's ability. It will enable you to monitor your child's progress so that you can make the neces sary changes and teach them according to the progress you see.Another advantage of taking tutor qualifications is that they will allow you to follow a specific path in tutoring and this will help you identify what skills your child lacks. They will also help you in identifying the reasons behind the lack of certain skills, which in turn will enable you to equip your child with the knowledge and skills necessary to help them reach their full potential in life. The main focus of these courses is to help your child acquire skills in problem solving, motivation, and communication. With this, you can determine if your child is likely to develop or retain a particular talent and have more confidence in himself.These tutors also know how to teach various types of useful jobs that enable them to continue learning after they have graduated from school. You will find that they can also become proficient in business management, English, math, science, geography, Spanish, technology, and comput er science among others. This will enable them to show interest in other fields of study and thereby help them to pursue higher education. one One of the major attractions about these courses is that they are generally quite inexpensive. With these courses, you will not only be able to achieve your desired learning results, but you will also be able to save a lot of money that you would otherwise have spent on tutoring alone. This will help you save on your overall costs and bring up your total income to an adequate level to meet your financial needs.Another great ways of boosting your child's income is to use the knowledge gained through these courses to launch his own business. The courses help you to design various marketing strategies that will lead to the creation of a good business. The strategies you will learn include: how to effectively market yourself, how to convince customers, how to sell products, how to present your services, how to properly market your products, and m any others. These courses will help you in establishing your own consultancy business which will help you to supplement your income as well as help you to establish your business at a fast pace.A large number of parents prefer to take an online course as this will allow them to avoid the fear of meeting the teachers face to face. It will also keep them away from the usual commute and also let them take a break from their routine, which will allow them to remain focused and motivated.

What is it Like to Attend Middle Tennessee State University

What is it Like to Attend Middle Tennessee State University Kenis a current senior at Middle Tennessee State University. He is majoring in general science, and specializes in elementary math tutoring and life sciences tutoring. Below, he shares his experience at Middle Tennessee State University: Describe the campus setting and transportation options. Ken: Middle Tennessee State Universitys campus is set in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. The campus has plenty of places for commuter students to park, but you have to get there early to get a spot since close lots tend to fill up fast. The campus is more rural than urban. Even though the town is growing, MTSU is still a bit of a drive away from the malls and shops that Murfreesboro has to offer. MTSU offers a campus chauffeuring service, where two or more students walk a student who called the service safely to their destination. Overall, MTSU is pretty safe. How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Ken:Most professors and TAs are easy to get ahold of, but every now and then you will get a commuter teacher who only stays on campus for as long as he or she teaches. The advisors are always available, until the last month of the semester when scheduling becomes a hassle because they are very busy. How would you describe the dorm liferooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Ken:There is always something going on at MTSU. The rooms on campus range from home away from home to this is where I sleep and thats about it. The food on campus is mostly fast food restaurants, like Subway or Panda Express, but MTSU also offers two dining halls that have their own home-cooked menus and daily specials. Which majors/programs are best represented and supported? Ken:MTSU is known in the aerospace and recording industry, but also has an up-and-coming chemistry and biology department. I am a general sciences major, and the newly built science building was a huge improvement to my studies. How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Ken:If you join a club, it is incredibly easy to make friends. Personally, I joined MTSUs Band of Blue and made some friends for life. I was also a part of the fraternity Alpha Tau Omega for a few years and met my roommates and best friends there. If you are looking to meet new friends, its easy at MTSU. How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services? Ken:Although they offer career days at MTSU, I have never had the opportunity to attend. However, student services is very good on campus and helps students with many things. How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Ken:There are a million different places on campus to studyfrom the library, to outside on the patio of the student union, to the open spaces of the science building. Describe the surrounding town. Ken:There are a lot of different and interesting things to do in Murfreesborofrom the parks, to the mall, to the golf courses. Murfreesboro is an alright little place to be. What makes Murfreesboro even better is that its only 45minutes away from Nashville, which has everything. How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Ken:MTSUs student body is huge. Surprisingly, the class sizes were never too crowded. Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Ken:The most recent memory that I had was in my Biochemistry class with my professor Dr. Burden. As we all were beginning the experiment, he stopped us and asked, Does anybody actually know what we are doing? Our class fell silent and looked at him a little confused everyone except me. I continued to measure out the amount of distilled water I needed, and without missing a beat, I said, Science. Dr. Burden and everybody in the lab turned and looked at me. The only thing that broke the silence was our teacher bellowing out a laugh that shook the beakers and he said, Keep this up and youll be my favorite class. Check out Ken'stutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

Incorporating Feedback

Incorporating Feedback What is feedback?Feedback is information and advice provided either to help inform current work or to help you reflect on work you have already done. Feedback is an essential element of the learning process. It allows students to reflect on their learning, clarify areas where they can improve, and gain the opportunity to self-assess their skills and capabilities. In education, two types of feedback are recognized: formative and summative. Formative feedback is to help you improve or develop your work while there is still time to make improvements or changes. Summative feedback is information that usually comes at the end of a module or assignment that tells you how you have performed. This could be a grade or could include written feedback, either personal or generic.Read on for some more information about feedback and how it can help students of all ages!What are the benefits of feedback?Feedback is crucial in aiding us to improve the standard of our current work and can help us inf orm our future work. Great feedback can:1. Inform the development of current work: highlight areas to develop or change, provide new ideas, introduce different perspectives 2. Help you improve work for future assessments3. Provide new ideas, create inspiration, inspire a different approach3. Encourage you and help you see unrecognized merit or potential in your own work4. Stimulate independence 5. Develop versatility by informing how you workHow does feedback work?Feedback is part of a process, not an object or commodity. Engaging with feedback is an integral part of your learning, development, and understanding. Feedback comes from a variety of sources both formal and informal. Different sources might be more informed in aspects of technology, theory, and process, but all can expose you to different agendas.How should I incorporate feedback?You will usually need to actively reflect upon and interpret your feedback for it to be effective. You may get conflicting feedback or opinions that leads in different directions. It is your responsibility to decide what to do with feedback: this process should deepen your understanding.First and foremost we need to listen and read through the feedback obtained. Reflect and decide what to do: what changes should be made, what has worked in the past? Follow up with a specific plan! How can we make the most of feedback?1. Prepare 2. Check for clarity: make sure work is clear and clearly presented3. Question yourself: what questions might you be asked? What would you like advice on?4. Check past feedback: don’t repeat the same mistakes5. Listen and applyHow can we prepare for feedback?1. Expectations: what type of feedback are you likely to receive? How much feedback can you expect? 2. Be open to feedback by listening: constructive criticism is helpful3. Give and take feedback: share your ideas/ skills with othersOur tutors excel at helping students develop study habits and test-taking confidence. In a 1-on-1 setting, stude nts can ask questions and receive coaching and explanations in a way that makes sense to them. Please reach out to us if you’d like to learn more about how we can help your student!

How I Gained 260 Points on the GMAT

How I Gained 260 Points on the GMAT GMAT MBA Admissions Blog Five times.....yes.....five times......I took the GMAT five times for admission to business school. Was there something wrong with me? For a while, I thought there was but now that I look back....Absolutely not.Standardized exams are just one of those things that I've always had to work hard at to score decently. I should have taken a hint when I scored about average on the SATs in high school.My mind just works in mysterious ways and I'm sure that if the GMAT tested for emotionally charged responses, I'd score very well.Regardless, scoring high on the GMAT is definitely possible when you put in the effort to think like a standardized test taker. This involves various pieces of knowledge, logic, systematic thinking, and a lot of practice.So...how does one get there?For me, it was a long road. 2 years to be exact. But it was worth it.For starters, according to the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), better known as the guys who make the GMAT exam, about 10% of GMAT retakers obtain a significant gain of 100 points or more.That 10% takes a lot of hard work but with the right attitude, you can accomplish anything! What exactly was the end result for me?A 260 point gain! So yes, it's doable!When you think about it, you have a ton of options to increase your score: self-study, study groups, tutoring, prep courses, and online forums. Which one is thee right one for you is something only you can answer. It will definitely rely on how committed you are, too!I'll share my experience with you after taking the GMAT each time. 1st Attempt When I took the GMAT the first time around, I took it cold. No study guides, no prepping, and some knowledge on what the exam was about. If you had asked me what a data sufficiency question was, I might have given you a deer-in-headlights look! But I bit the bullet and took it. $250 later and a score of a 420, I was a bit short of breath. The feeling of disappointment lasted for a few days and it gave me the motivation I needed to sign up for a Kaplan prep course. I had to start somewhere. I didn't dwell on the score so much. I just got back up and knew what I had to do. Lesson learned? Take a free practice exam on mba.com. Some prep courses such as Manhattan GMAT give a free diagnostic exam. Go to the library, lock yourself up, and take the whole thing. Yes, that includes the writing section. From there, conduct an informal self-assessment and see what your weaknesses are just by looking at the answers you got wrong. Ask yourself whether it was time management, a lack of knowledge or approach that contributed to the questions you answered incorrectly. Although there are a variety of factors involved in answering questions incorrectly, this is a start. Make a plan, and follow it. Whatever you do, don't take the GMAT cold, go for lukewarm. 2nd Attempt Two months later........a 460. A 460?! Blargh! A 40 point increase even after taking a prep course?! Two weeks prior, I had a completed a 6-week Kaplan course at $1,500! I had taken a few of their practice exams and scored okay on some of the exams, definitely nowhere near a 460 though. I was confused. I was also spending over 30 hours working on practice problems. I really wasn't sure what I was doing wrong. But alas, I moved forward. At this point, I knew I was in for a challenge and I was determined to do well on the GMAT. Lesson learned? Now that I look back, the Kaplan prep course was definitely not for me. If you're going to take a live class, make sure it goes at a pace that's suitable for you. Also, try and take a glance at some of the resource materials and get a sense of what you're looking at. I know there are a ton of prep courses out there, but if you've made your mind up, ask around and do some research before you spend that type of money. In my case, I really put in the time and energy but I was missing something and I wasn't sure what that was quite yet. 3rd Attempt Bam! A 530. Okay, I broke the 500 mark but seriously, I was aiming for a top business school and I had my eyes set on MIT Sloan whose average GMAT score was well over 700. At some points, I think I wanted to break down but I kept strong. I spent almost five months studying by myself and using my old Kaplan materials to practice, practice, practice. I was spending 3-4 hours a day during the week and 6-8 hours during the weekends studying. It was pretty intense. I also became aware of other resources such as Beat the GMAT, GMAT Club, and some other websites to read success stories and see where I could improve. Lesson learned? Email other GMAT takers and see what's working for them. Don't spend TOO much time reading and writing on the forums as this can become a full-time job in itself. Reach out to a few folks who are studying and have done well on the GMAT and see what are some of their methods. I definitely learned a few tips that worked for me. At this point, I started to see what I needed to improve my score and I figured I needed another prep course. A good one that would work for me. And that's exactly what I did. 4th Attempt A 580! Woohoo! Okay. I was getting closer. Although it was only a 50 point increase from my previous score, it was a 160 point increase from my 420. I didn't want to spend time really thinking about getting a higher score. I knew I needed one but I just went back to the drawing board and picked up where I left off. Before my fourth attempt, I took an 8-week Manhattan GMAT self-study prep course. I spent less time studying but followed their regimented syllabus which is awesome. Aside using their materials, I was also participating in the forums a little more but I was only interacting with students who were solving questions. I also created my own support group on the Manhattan GMAT website and even set up a study group in my hometown. Here is where I started to really learn a lot. While studying with my study group, I began to realize that I learned best when someone taught me the right way to answer a question. A lot times, things had to be explained to me in various ways before I could understand some of those moderately difficult math and verbal questions. I also became aware that the students in my group were using tutors. Neither of the tutors were affiliated with any major test prep companies, they were general tutors who understood standardized exams. I was a bit hesitant to hire a tutor since I had spent quite a bit of money already. At this point, I was running on fumes since I really had devoted a lot of time and energy to the GMAT. But after seeing positive results come out of other students, I decided to invest one more time. Lesson learned? As you move forward, understand your strengths and weaknesses. How do you learn best? It's more than just going over answers over, and over, and over again. I can't tell you how often I went over incorrect answers over and over again only to get them wrong again later. I wasn't truly understanding how to solve the questions. It's all about your gaining various approaches to answering questions that are commonly asked on the GMAT. Once you know this, you'll start to see a difference. 5th Attempt And the fat lady sang! A 680!By this point, I had decreased the number of study hours studying to 15 a week and had hired a tutor with whom I was meeting once a week. It definitely paid off as I started to see a huge difference in my study habits and diagnostic scores on certain online exams. All along, what I really needed was someone to guide me through various questions in a way that was easy for me to understand. Right from the get go, the tutor understood where I faltered and made sure that I COMPLETELY understood WHY I was getting certain answers wrong. We focused on questions that I guessed on and answers that I answered incorrectly. I was able to see, for instance, that I was spending way too much time trying to answer difficult questions, when in reality, I should have been trying to answer the question and then making an educated guess if I could not answer it in time. I also learned various patterns in questions that were frequently asked - both the verbal and quant sections. My tutor also showed me various techniques and strategies for answering questions quickly when I was on a time crunch. I learned new concepts that I had not picked up in prior prep courses. There are so many ways to solve those math questions, and they're endless ways to interpret a passage; my tutor made sure I understood what the question was really asking. I was also staying away from those emotionally charged answers that got me every time. Lesson learned? The details go beyond this. What I learned most about my tutoring experience was that she understood my way of thinking. We went over my exam history and how my weaknesses lied in the verbal section. Although we spent time on the quant section, we spent more time looking at critical reasoning and reading comprehension. Together, we built strategies and tactics for dealing with the harder questions. I could not have done any of this without a tutor. And had I known this would have been the result when I first started studying for the GMAT, I would have gladly reallocated my funds to hiring a tutor. So before you invest, think about your study habits and learning style. This will help you out tremendously as you venture on a quest to get a high GMAT score. Believe me, a higher GMAT score is definitely possible. A 260 point gain doesn't come out of thin air. It happens when you put in the hard work. It will also depend on how much time you spend doing high-quality studying. There's definitely a psychology to this whole process but if you have dreams, don't let the GMAT get in the way. Knock it down. What about you? Do you have any successes? Have you used a tutor? Your comments are welcome! Please visit our GMAT tutoring page to learn more about how MyGuru and our highly qualified tutors can help you get your best possible score in the most efficient way possible! This was a Guest Post byOscar Pedroso, Founder of MBA Writers Block Here's a bit about Oscar and MBA Writers Block: In October 2011, MBAwritersblock.com was born as a way for me to share my experience of applying to business school. I spentthree yearsand almost$11,000applying to seven top MBA programs. I believe no one should ever have to spend that much money to pursue an education in business. So my first goal is to show you, that with hard work and perseverance, you can tackle the business school writing process by learning how to write powerful essays. My second goal is to turn MBAwritersblock.com into a powerful resource for young professionals applying to business school, online and off, so they can apply intelligently and inexpensively.

Irvine Physics Tutor Tip What is a Newton Weight vs Mass

Irvine Physics Tutor Tip What is a Newton Weight vs Mass Irvine Physics Tutor Tip: What is a Newton? Weight vs. Mass Irvine Physics Tutor Tip: What is a Newton? Weight vs. Mass A common problem for physics students is conceptualizing new types of measures and what they represent.   It’s easy enough to understand meters an,d seconds; we’re used to these concepts of distance (even if it isn’t usually in meters) and time.   Other units, however, aren’t as commonplace in our everyday lives and are harder to understand.   As a tutor and physics teacher, I’ve found that students having a strong understanding of units and being able to trace and connect different units helps them dramatically in both their physics understanding and their physics grades (book your private Irvine physics tutor today). Here, we will be discussing one of the main culprits in physics confusion that is introduced very early in an introductory physics class: the Newton. You are likely familiar with the concept of weight in everyday life. Things have different weights, and we measure them in pounds, ounces, and sometimes tons.   You’ve likely also heard metric system units of weight: notably grams, milligrams, and kilograms. But in physics, this gets more confusing.   Pounds are rarely or never used. Kilograms are still used, but they are a unit for “mass” rather than weight.   Instead, the “newton” is introduced as the new unit of weight.   So, in real life, we use kilograms to describe weight, but really, they’re for mass?   What is a newton and how is it different? Our answer is in a fundamental physics equation that you will need to quickly commit to memory to succeed in physics: F=ma. This is called Newton’s second law. Knowing the equations is the key to understanding new units and what they measure.   This equation is defining “force.”   Force is the measure that is describing what we call weight in physics.   Mass is an intrinsic quality of matter.   If we multiply that mass by an acceleration, we get the force. The reason we often equate these two in everyday life is that the acceleration of gravity is always the same for us on Earth.   Specifically, the acceleration is around 9.8 meters per seconds, squared (m/s2).   So, if we know the mass of an object, we can always multiply by 9.8 to get force it exerts downward or its “weight.”   Because of this, mass and weight have become synonymous when talking about the force that objects exert downward since we are almost always talking about objects on Earth and at a typical altitude. A way to understand this new unit of force is to break it up into its fundamental components.   We can do this by replacing our equation for force above with the units for each variable: force is measured with Newtons, mass with kilograms, and acceleration in meters per second2. Using this unit definition can help you check answers during a test.   If your final answer is a force, then the units you end with should be: Similarly, if you get an answer with those units but didn’t know what is, now you know that it is representing force. Knowing your units is an important tool in physics to check answers and aid in understanding new concepts and new measures.   Every time you learn a new unit, you should be asking yourself what it is measuring and how it is defined with the more fundamental units. Our experienced Irvine physics tutors are here to help you succeed in your physics class. Call us today to book your tutor! Michael C. is currently a private math, science, and standardized test tutor with TutorNerds in Irvine and Anaheim. All blog entries, except for guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.

Adam Jackson, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, joins italki as Advisor

Adam Jackson, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, joins italki as Advisor Were excited to announce that italki has a new advisor serial entrepreneur Adam Jackson (blog, twitter:@adamjacksonsf).   Jackson is the founder of venture-backed DriverSide.com, as well as MarketSquare, which was eventually acquired by Intuit. Adam also invests in and advises other Silicon Valley startups.   Helping us will be his first overseas advisory role. About Adam Jackson: Adam specializes in consumer internet companies, and has founded three companies. Founder of venture-backed DriverSide.com. Driverside helps people make better decisions about owning and maintaining their car. Founder of MarketSquare, a company to help consumers find locally produced products. Acquired by StepUp Commerce, which in turn was acquired by Intuit (INTU) in 2006. Advises Incentalign, Inc., a company which supports sales team optimization. Adam graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Computer Science and Economics. Were excited to have Adam on our board of advisors, along with Porter Erisman and Tom Soohoo. We are a young company, and we really value the advice and help we get from these experienced entrepreneurs. The italki Team Adam Jackson, Silicon Valley entrepreneur, joins italki as Advisor Were excited to announce that italki has a new advisor serial entrepreneur Adam Jackson (blog, twitter:@adamjacksonsf).   Jackson is the founder of venture-backed DriverSide.com, as well as MarketSquare, which was eventually acquired by Intuit. Adam also invests in and advises other Silicon Valley startups.   Helping us will be his first overseas advisory role. About Adam Jackson: Adam specializes in consumer internet companies, and has founded three companies. Founder of venture-backed DriverSide.com. Driverside helps people make better decisions about owning and maintaining their car. Founder of MarketSquare, a company to help consumers find locally produced products. Acquired by StepUp Commerce, which in turn was acquired by Intuit (INTU) in 2006. Advises Incentalign, Inc., a company which supports sales team optimization. Adam graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in Computer Science and Economics. Were excited to have Adam on our board of advisors, along with Porter Erisman and Tom Soohoo. We are a young company, and we really value the advice and help we get from these experienced entrepreneurs. The italki Team

4 Simple Tips for Setting Goals with Your Child in the New Year

4 Simple Tips for Setting Goals with Your Child in the New Year 4 Simple Tips for Setting Goals with Your Child in the New Year New Year’s resolutions aren’t just for adults! Help your child kick off the New Year right with these easy tips. January is the perfect time for a fresh start. Have you discussed with your child what his goals are for the New Year? Allow him to set his own goals, so he can truly experience the satisfaction of seeing them through to the end. If your child is self-motivated, he is likely to have a vested interest in achieving his personal goals. Having individual goals to work towards brings purpose to the actions in our daily lives. Having a conversation with your child about what he would like to improve and accomplish can open doors to expand his horizons. Here are some tips on discussing goal setting with your child and keeping up with goals all year long. Keep the goals realistic, specific and measurable. It’s important to not overwhelm your child with too many goals. Help narrow them down to a couple and make sure they are realistic and measurable. We want our kids to learn the importance of following through on every goal. Create a plan of action. After deciding on the goal, plan the necessary steps needed to achieve success. There is a big difference between wanting to achieve something and actually doing it. Parents play an important part in helping children get there. Help your child stick with it. Have your child commit his goal to a family member, teacher or friend in order to develop accountability and stay on track. Check in periodically to see how he’s doing and if the plan to achieve the goal(s)needs to be adjusted. Keep the goal in mind. Displaying a goal in a visible place like the wall in the kitchen can serve as a good reminder. Reflecting on how far your child has come and where he wants to go next is an invaluable activity. Consistent encouragement will also go a long way. Setting goals with your child can be fun and exciting, a time for growth, and an opportunity for family bonding. You might also be interested in: Achieving Goals: What It Means as a Kumon Parent and Student Ring in the New Year with Kumon’s Goal Setting Tips Roundup How Setting Long-Term Goals Led One Kumon Student to Big Achievements Guest Tips: How to Make Your Sleep Routine Smarter for Your Child 4 Simple Tips for Setting Goals with Your Child in the New Year 4 Simple Tips for Setting Goals with Your Child in the New Year New Year’s resolutions aren’t just for adults! Help your child kick off the New Year right with these easy tips. January is the perfect time for a fresh start. Have you discussed with your child what his goals are for the New Year? Allow him to set his own goals, so he can truly experience the satisfaction of seeing them through to the end. If your child is self-motivated, he is likely to have a vested interest in achieving his personal goals. Having individual goals to work towards brings purpose to the actions in our daily lives. Having a conversation with your child about what he would like to improve and accomplish can open doors to expand his horizons. Here are some tips on discussing goal setting with your child and keeping up with goals all year long. Keep the goals realistic, specific and measurable. It’s important to not overwhelm your child with too many goals. Help narrow them down to a couple and make sure they are realistic and measurable. We want our kids to learn the importance of following through on every goal. Create a plan of action. After deciding on the goal, plan the necessary steps needed to achieve success. There is a big difference between wanting to achieve something and actually doing it. Parents play an important part in helping children get there. Help your child stick with it. Have your child commit his goal to a family member, teacher or friend in order to develop accountability and stay on track. Check in periodically to see how he’s doing and if the plan to achieve the goal(s)needs to be adjusted. Keep the goal in mind. Displaying a goal in a visible place like the wall in the kitchen can serve as a good reminder. Reflecting on how far your child has come and where he wants to go next is an invaluable activity. Consistent encouragement will also go a long way. Setting goals with your child can be fun and exciting, a time for growth, and an opportunity for family bonding. You might also be interested in: Achieving Goals: What It Means as a Kumon Parent and Student Ring in the New Year with Kumon’s Goal Setting Tips Roundup How Setting Long-Term Goals Led One Kumon Student to Big Achievements Guest Tips: How to Make Your Sleep Routine Smarter for Your Child

Teacher Experience How teaching abroad is helping Angela succeed in the American classroom

Teacher Experience How teaching abroad is helping Angela succeed in the American classroom We first met Angela Roberts during her Teach Away application in 2014. She kept us in the loop with her Kazakhstan placement via her own blog and we touched base with her for an insightful interview about her experience last fall. Through my conversation with Angela in the fall, I learned that she had some health concerns and would be kept out of the classroom for an unknown period of time. Last week, I called Angela to catch up and check in on her health - and I received some fantastic news. Angela is currently back in the classroom and has been for the past month or so. She’s picked up a temporary full-time position without commitment beyond the end of the school year, which is perfect for her because she can assess her options this summer (she’s toying with the idea of teaching abroad again!). Angela is teaching sixth grade English and social studies and after only a few weeks back at the helm, she’s already noticed several occasions where her Kazakh teaching experience was paying off in her lessons. There was one prominent skill Angela developed abroad that is really having a positive influence on her teaching experience at home: differentiated instruction. Angela explained that her time with NIS in Pavlodar helped her significantly in learning how to create unique learning experiences for different groups of students in her class. Her ability to provide a very high quality learning environment for students at every level was vital to her success abroad - and now it’s helping her build differentiated lessons for her students at home. Angela helped me understand exactly how differentiated instruction was working into her classroom by providing an example of how she applied different specs to different groups of students all working on the same task. The students were writing thesis statements. Naturally, the class was composed of strong writers, average writers, and struggling writers. In order to ensure each student would take value away from Angela’s thesis statement lesson, she divided the class into three groups: one wrote thesis statements with simple vocabulary and sentence structure, one wrote with advanced vocabulary and simple sentence structure, and the last group wrote thesis statements with advanced vocabulary and advanced sentence structure. The lesson went off without a hitch and students took away more than they would have from a standardized thesis statement writing lesson. Angela’s Kazakh experience is shining through in other instances as well. The kids in her class love hearing about daily life in Kazakhstan, including every detail from the food to the culture. They’re very interested in the Russian cartoon Masha and the Bear (and get to watch it in class if they’re lucky) and have had the chance to learn the Kazakh national dance. Angela’s students are learning basic Russian vocabulary and have gained an appreciation for the longer school days and weeks of students in Kazakhstan. I was blown away by just how much and how frequently Angela’s time teaching abroad has impacted her new position in the United States. She accredits it to the amount of time she had off between being in Kazakhstan and returning to work in the US to plan how she would implement what she learned abroad, but she also admits she might have had a fresher perspective if she’d returned to work sooner after returning from overseas. The knowledge and experience that comes with teaching abroad is incomparable and when applied in the classroom at home, can make significant differences in student learning and teacher career trajectory. Angela can certainly vouch for that.

Should I Get a Tutor For Computer Science? Is Breaking the Honor Code Possible?

Should I Get a Tutor For Computer Science? Is Breaking the Honor Code Possible?If I get a tutor for computer science is that breaking the honor code? In my state I can tutor students in most subjects, but my biology class is being taught by a single female teacher. She has no interest in helping me out and it frustrates me.The only interaction I have with her is when she is teaching my other classes. They give her a cookie for every subject she teaches and she is not doing very well. So, I decided to help her out and she graciously agreed.Now, it is true that in my state the state law prohibits discrimination and a teacher who discriminate in a student's social relationship can be found guilty of breaking the law. But, I think I would be equally guilty if I made an instructor have a tutor for computer science.Are you thinking that if I got a tutor for computer science I would have to get a woman in the same grade as me or even worse a man? Don't be so narrow minded! Women are now tak ing on a majority of all college degrees and so much more. In the next 10 years women will make up about 50% of all graduates.If we get a tutor for computer science, we can help many more women get their bachelor's degrees in computer science. Also, many more men will be looking for a job in this area and will want to attend a computer science degree course. So, if we do our part and keep the economy going strong then we will continue to get a lot of people into computer science.Yes, I realize that in some instances a teacher breaking the honor code is against the law, but as you said, getting a tutor for computer science is breaking the honor code. Don't you think it would be nice to teach a class and be able to work with someone who actually is interested in helping you, who is not a stereotype? Why don't we try to find one more successful female teacher and let her teach a computer science class? We all know there aren't that many around right now.Please consider all this and thi nk on it. Thanks for reading.