Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.
1. Good Practice Encourages Student-Faculty Contact
Frequent student-faculty contact in and out of classes is the most important factor in student motivation and
involvement. Faculty concern helps students get through rough times and keep on working. Knowing a few
faculty members well enhances students' intellectual commitment and encourages them to think about their own values and future plans.
2. Good Practice Encourages Cooperation among Students
Learning is enhanced when it is more like a team effort than a solo race. Good learning, like good work, is
collaborative and social, not competitive and isolated. Working with others often increases involvement in
learning. Sharing one's own ideas and responding to others' reactions improves thinking and deepens understanding.
3. Good Practice Encourages Active Learning
Learning is not a spectator sport. Students do not learn much just sitting in classes listening to teachers,
memorizing pre-packaged assignments, and spitting out answers. They must talk about what they are
learning, write about it, relate it to past experiences, and apply it to their daily lives. They must make what
they learn part of themselves.
4. Good Practice Gives Prompt Feedback
Knowing what you know and don't know focuses learning. Students need appropriate feedback on
performance to benefit from courses. In getting started, students need help in assessing existing knowledge
and competence. In classes, students need frequent opportunities to perform and receive suggestions for improvement. At various points during college, and at the end, students need chances to reflect on what they have learned, what they still need to know, and how to assess themselves.
5. Good Practice Emphasizes Time on Task
Time plus energy equals learning. There is no substitute for time on task. Learning to use one's time well is
critical for students and professionals alike. Students need help in learning effective time management. Allocating realistic amounts of time means effective learning for students and effective teaching for faculty. How an institution defines time expectations for students, faculty, administrators, and other professional staff can establish the basis for high performance for all.
6. Good Practice Communicates High Expectations
Expect more and you will get it. High Expectations are important for everyone - for the poorly prepared, for
those unwilling to exert themselves, and for the bright and well motivated. Expecting students to perform well becomes a selffulfilling prophecy when teachers and institutions hold high expectations of themselves and make extra efforts.
7. Good Practice Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning
There are many roads to learning. People bring different talents and styles of learning to college. Brilliant
students in the seminar room may be all thumbs in the lab or art studio. Students rich in hands-on experience may not do so well with theory. Students need the opportunity to show their talents and learn in ways that work for them. Then they can be pushed to learning in new ways that do not come so easily.
Read more at http://www.uis.edu/liberalstudies/students/documents/sevenprinciples.pdf
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Showing posts with label Good. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Good. Show all posts
Monday, June 4, 2012
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Do Backpackers Do More Harm Than Good?
Do Backpackers Do More Harm Than Good?
I know that this is probably not the most popular question to have on this forums, but in my efforts to plan my own independent trip around the world (which will be in November) and learn more about backpacking, I've seen more and more articles that appear critical of backpacking and budget tourism and its effects on local communities.
One notable criticism is that backpackers spend so little and endeavour to bargain as much as possible that they starve desperate local artisans, hostel owners and traders of profit and force them to sell for unreasonable prices. Some tourist areas such as Goa and the Philippines have been known to discourage independent backpackers from coming as they are not deemed to provide enough money to make their presence justifiable. Paradoxically, I have heard of some taxi drivers in Bangkok and Phnom Penh (and this is hearsay so I apologise that I cannot quote an internet source for this) refusing to take locals and waiting for foreign backpackers that they can charge more from. Equally, there are the backpacker enclaves around the world (i.e. Earl's Court, Khao San Road etc) where backpackers have little interaction with locals.
Also, there are the stories of a section of backpackers who enrage local cultures by dressing and acting inappropriately and insensitively and commiting acts of drunken or drugged antisocial behaviour, although evidently this is not limited to backpackers but also package holiday tourists.
I personally regard backpacking as (from what I have seen) quite benign, at least somewhat more in touch with the local population than package holidays and no worse than any other form of tourism, however it seems that it could cause as much harm as good. As experienced travellers, I would like to know your opinions.
Read more at http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1954576
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
I know that this is probably not the most popular question to have on this forums, but in my efforts to plan my own independent trip around the world (which will be in November) and learn more about backpacking, I've seen more and more articles that appear critical of backpacking and budget tourism and its effects on local communities.
One notable criticism is that backpackers spend so little and endeavour to bargain as much as possible that they starve desperate local artisans, hostel owners and traders of profit and force them to sell for unreasonable prices. Some tourist areas such as Goa and the Philippines have been known to discourage independent backpackers from coming as they are not deemed to provide enough money to make their presence justifiable. Paradoxically, I have heard of some taxi drivers in Bangkok and Phnom Penh (and this is hearsay so I apologise that I cannot quote an internet source for this) refusing to take locals and waiting for foreign backpackers that they can charge more from. Equally, there are the backpacker enclaves around the world (i.e. Earl's Court, Khao San Road etc) where backpackers have little interaction with locals.
Also, there are the stories of a section of backpackers who enrage local cultures by dressing and acting inappropriately and insensitively and commiting acts of drunken or drugged antisocial behaviour, although evidently this is not limited to backpackers but also package holiday tourists.
I personally regard backpacking as (from what I have seen) quite benign, at least somewhat more in touch with the local population than package holidays and no worse than any other form of tourism, however it seems that it could cause as much harm as good. As experienced travellers, I would like to know your opinions.
Read more at http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1954576
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Sunday, March 25, 2012
What Makes a Good Science Fair Project?
What Makes a Good Science Fair Project?
A good Science Fair project involves the student in a journey of discovery, driven by curiosity. It typically starts with a student proposing a question or hypothesis, and doing some background research. The student then develops an experimental apparatus or procedure that will produce data, from which the student can draw conclusions to prove (or disprove) the hypothesis, or answer the question.
A good hypothesis typically takes the form of "If I do this, then that should happen." A question typically takes the form of "Can I improve results by doing this?", or "If I try different ways of accomplishing something, which produces the best results?" An example of a poor question is "If I do that, what happens?". A good Science Fair Project directs the student's efforts toward a particular result or expectation; undirected experimentation just to find out what happens is play, not science (although notable discoveries have been made in this manner, they are notable because they were "accidents").
After selection of a hypothesis, the most important parts of the scientific process are to:
* conduct background research
* develop an experimental apparatus or procedure to investigate the hypothesis or question
* operate the apparatus or conduct the procedure to collect experimental data
* perform iterations of data collection
* reduce or analyze the experimental data
* arrive at conclusions
The final step before coming to the Science Fair is to prepare a display and rehearse (but not memorize!) an explanation of how the display shows the means for conducting the experiment, developing the results, and arriving at the conclusions.
Students are advised that getting the right answer is NOT the purpose of a Science Fair project. It is the intent of a Science Fair project that you go through the process of asking questions and performing experiments in an attempt to find answers. Making the attempt without answering the question still satisfies the intent of your discovering knowledge on your own. At the Science Fair, the judges appreciate a display that clearly shows the intent and results of experimentation, and a presentation that concisely describes what was done and what was concluded. The judges want to feel that you are familiar enough with your project to discuss it comfortably and answer questions about it. Memorized speeches or rambling descriptions of minutiae (trivial details) are frustrating to judges, who need to be able to pose appropriate questions in order to thoroughly understand the project. If you work on a team project, the judges will expect more substantial science in your project, and every team member should be able to represent the project.
Teachers and Parents are advised to encourage students to develop a genuine interest in their projects. Judges will occasionally ask students why they chose to do a particular project, and it usually turns out that the best work is done by students who are motivated and inspired by their curiosity about what they are investigating. Students who developed a project simply because you expected them to do so will generally produce mediocre results.
Judges are advised that students are expected to have a thorough understanding of the work that they have done. The students must know why the experiments they have assembled and operated can provide the answers they seek. They must correctly interpret the data they have collected. As judges, you should expect a logical answer to any of your questions about the technical terms they use or the equipment they have employed. Some students will attempt to accomplish research that is beyond their understanding, skills, or the capability of their equipment; it is preferable that they complete projects they have the ability to thoroughly grasp.
County coordinators are advised that some types of poor attempts at Science Fair projects are relatively easy to identify. In order to maintain the integrity and excellence of projects entered in the State Science Fair, it is preferred that you NOT recognize the following types of projects with awards at the local level, and that you NOT invite them to submit an application to the State Science Fair:
* Artwork, photographs, or replicas (physical or computer-generated) that illustrate concepts but were not used or are not useful as experimental apparatus to collect comparative data; depictions of known scientific concepts are in this category
* Experiments that indicate the students have not done rudimentary background research (e.g., they could have seen the experiment described in a textbook)
* Displays of collections of things (unless the collections are used for comparative research that leads to scientific conclusions)
* Experiments that merely find out "What happens if I do this?", without having a scientific reason for performing the procedure
* Pontification of theories with no credible attempt at proof (e.g., using literature search of quotes to provide evidence for the theory)
* Experiments that present results without analyses that predict the results, quantify results, show why those results occurred, or explain how they occurred
* Experiments that do not check data points for repeatability or resolve widely divergent results
* Experiments using apparatus so crude that measurements could not be realistically acquired to show the intended results
Read more at http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_What_Makes_Science/
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
A good Science Fair project involves the student in a journey of discovery, driven by curiosity. It typically starts with a student proposing a question or hypothesis, and doing some background research. The student then develops an experimental apparatus or procedure that will produce data, from which the student can draw conclusions to prove (or disprove) the hypothesis, or answer the question.
A good hypothesis typically takes the form of "If I do this, then that should happen." A question typically takes the form of "Can I improve results by doing this?", or "If I try different ways of accomplishing something, which produces the best results?" An example of a poor question is "If I do that, what happens?". A good Science Fair Project directs the student's efforts toward a particular result or expectation; undirected experimentation just to find out what happens is play, not science (although notable discoveries have been made in this manner, they are notable because they were "accidents").
After selection of a hypothesis, the most important parts of the scientific process are to:
* conduct background research
* develop an experimental apparatus or procedure to investigate the hypothesis or question
* operate the apparatus or conduct the procedure to collect experimental data
* perform iterations of data collection
* reduce or analyze the experimental data
* arrive at conclusions
The final step before coming to the Science Fair is to prepare a display and rehearse (but not memorize!) an explanation of how the display shows the means for conducting the experiment, developing the results, and arriving at the conclusions.
Students are advised that getting the right answer is NOT the purpose of a Science Fair project. It is the intent of a Science Fair project that you go through the process of asking questions and performing experiments in an attempt to find answers. Making the attempt without answering the question still satisfies the intent of your discovering knowledge on your own. At the Science Fair, the judges appreciate a display that clearly shows the intent and results of experimentation, and a presentation that concisely describes what was done and what was concluded. The judges want to feel that you are familiar enough with your project to discuss it comfortably and answer questions about it. Memorized speeches or rambling descriptions of minutiae (trivial details) are frustrating to judges, who need to be able to pose appropriate questions in order to thoroughly understand the project. If you work on a team project, the judges will expect more substantial science in your project, and every team member should be able to represent the project.
Teachers and Parents are advised to encourage students to develop a genuine interest in their projects. Judges will occasionally ask students why they chose to do a particular project, and it usually turns out that the best work is done by students who are motivated and inspired by their curiosity about what they are investigating. Students who developed a project simply because you expected them to do so will generally produce mediocre results.
Judges are advised that students are expected to have a thorough understanding of the work that they have done. The students must know why the experiments they have assembled and operated can provide the answers they seek. They must correctly interpret the data they have collected. As judges, you should expect a logical answer to any of your questions about the technical terms they use or the equipment they have employed. Some students will attempt to accomplish research that is beyond their understanding, skills, or the capability of their equipment; it is preferable that they complete projects they have the ability to thoroughly grasp.
County coordinators are advised that some types of poor attempts at Science Fair projects are relatively easy to identify. In order to maintain the integrity and excellence of projects entered in the State Science Fair, it is preferred that you NOT recognize the following types of projects with awards at the local level, and that you NOT invite them to submit an application to the State Science Fair:
* Artwork, photographs, or replicas (physical or computer-generated) that illustrate concepts but were not used or are not useful as experimental apparatus to collect comparative data; depictions of known scientific concepts are in this category
* Experiments that indicate the students have not done rudimentary background research (e.g., they could have seen the experiment described in a textbook)
* Displays of collections of things (unless the collections are used for comparative research that leads to scientific conclusions)
* Experiments that merely find out "What happens if I do this?", without having a scientific reason for performing the procedure
* Pontification of theories with no credible attempt at proof (e.g., using literature search of quotes to provide evidence for the theory)
* Experiments that present results without analyses that predict the results, quantify results, show why those results occurred, or explain how they occurred
* Experiments that do not check data points for repeatability or resolve widely divergent results
* Experiments using apparatus so crude that measurements could not be realistically acquired to show the intended results
Read more at http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_What_Makes_Science/
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Me Miss! Why Blurting Out the Answers Can Be Good for Pupils
Me, Miss! Why blurting out the answers can be good for pupils.
Louder children can outperform quieter classmates and lift overall performance by encouraging others to become engaged.
While it may be frustrating for a teacher attempting to control a class, researchers say blurting out the answers can be good for pupils.
Children who shout out the answer can be nearly nine months ahead in reading and maths when compared with quieter classmates, according to a study by academics at Durham University.
Research which looked at more than 12,000 children aged between four and five finds that, on the whole, pupils who act impulsively in school do less well than those who can control their behaviour.
But when the academics compared children with similar levels of inattentiveness, they found the louder ones did better.
Boys are much more likely to blurt out the answers than girls. But the researchers find that speaking out of turn can be equally beneficial for both sexes.
Prof Peter Tymms, head of the School of Education at Durham University and lead author of the report, said: "It's quite useful for a classroom teacher to know that blurting out helps the individual.
"It might be a bit of a nuisance to the class, but what's a disadvantage to some might be an advantage to others.
"These are little children who haven't got the control others have, and can't help it sometimes. If they talk something through out loud, they can understand it better."
These children may also benefit from the extra attention and feedback they get from their teacher.
The study looked at children in more than 500 schools in England who were tested in English and maths at the end of their first year using a computer program.
Teachers were asked to rate pupils' behaviour and impulsiveness based on three different factors: blurting out the answer before hearing the end of a question; having difficulty waiting their turn; and actions which interrupted other children, such as pushing in on games.
The researchers found there was a nine-month advantage in reading and maths for those who continuously blurted out answers compared with those pupils who never did so but had similar levels of inattention.
The research paper suggests there might have been an "evolutionary advantage" to having a small proportion of individuals who blurted out answers.
"The excitement of one individual may encourage others to become engaged. Or perhaps the one who cannot help himself saying something can force the group to face a reality which none dared declare openly.
"In evolutionary terms it may have been advantageous to have a small proportion of individuals who blurted out."
The researchers suggest that harnessing the virtues of blurting could help teachers educate children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms.
Tymms said: "Managing and responding to pupils' different needs and abilities within a class is a challenge for teachers.
"We're not suggesting that classrooms become free-for-all shouting matches but if this can be harnessed, it could help teachers and learners."
The findings are published in the journal Learning and Individual Differences.
By Jeevan Vasagar
Read more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/feb/02/blurting-out-answers-good-for-pupils
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Louder children can outperform quieter classmates and lift overall performance by encouraging others to become engaged.
While it may be frustrating for a teacher attempting to control a class, researchers say blurting out the answers can be good for pupils.
Children who shout out the answer can be nearly nine months ahead in reading and maths when compared with quieter classmates, according to a study by academics at Durham University.
Research which looked at more than 12,000 children aged between four and five finds that, on the whole, pupils who act impulsively in school do less well than those who can control their behaviour.
But when the academics compared children with similar levels of inattentiveness, they found the louder ones did better.
Boys are much more likely to blurt out the answers than girls. But the researchers find that speaking out of turn can be equally beneficial for both sexes.
Prof Peter Tymms, head of the School of Education at Durham University and lead author of the report, said: "It's quite useful for a classroom teacher to know that blurting out helps the individual.
"It might be a bit of a nuisance to the class, but what's a disadvantage to some might be an advantage to others.
"These are little children who haven't got the control others have, and can't help it sometimes. If they talk something through out loud, they can understand it better."
These children may also benefit from the extra attention and feedback they get from their teacher.
The study looked at children in more than 500 schools in England who were tested in English and maths at the end of their first year using a computer program.
Teachers were asked to rate pupils' behaviour and impulsiveness based on three different factors: blurting out the answer before hearing the end of a question; having difficulty waiting their turn; and actions which interrupted other children, such as pushing in on games.
The researchers found there was a nine-month advantage in reading and maths for those who continuously blurted out answers compared with those pupils who never did so but had similar levels of inattention.
The research paper suggests there might have been an "evolutionary advantage" to having a small proportion of individuals who blurted out answers.
"The excitement of one individual may encourage others to become engaged. Or perhaps the one who cannot help himself saying something can force the group to face a reality which none dared declare openly.
"In evolutionary terms it may have been advantageous to have a small proportion of individuals who blurted out."
The researchers suggest that harnessing the virtues of blurting could help teachers educate children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) symptoms.
Tymms said: "Managing and responding to pupils' different needs and abilities within a class is a challenge for teachers.
"We're not suggesting that classrooms become free-for-all shouting matches but if this can be harnessed, it could help teachers and learners."
The findings are published in the journal Learning and Individual Differences.
By Jeevan Vasagar
Read more at http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2012/feb/02/blurting-out-answers-good-for-pupils
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
What Makes a Good EFL Teacher?
What Makes a Good EFL Teacher? By Chris Soames.
“How long is a piece of string?” springs to mind but the answer may be much simpler than you think, because you probably tick many of the boxes already. You’re probably asking this question because you are already or soon plan to be an EFL teacher. This means that you probably like working with people, that you prefer variety to routine, and that you are don’t mind taking calculated risks. As a rule, Teaching English as a Foreign Language is one of the most satisfying jobs you can do because the vast majority of learners are highly-motivated, so all you need to do is try to recognize which aspect of your teaching skills needs to be used at any given time. Below are some suggestions about the different roles you’ll find yourself playing – all of which combine to make a good teacher.
Read more at http://languagecorps.bizbuzzweekly.com/2010/12/27/what-makes-a-good-efl-teacher-by-chris-soames/
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
“How long is a piece of string?” springs to mind but the answer may be much simpler than you think, because you probably tick many of the boxes already. You’re probably asking this question because you are already or soon plan to be an EFL teacher. This means that you probably like working with people, that you prefer variety to routine, and that you are don’t mind taking calculated risks. As a rule, Teaching English as a Foreign Language is one of the most satisfying jobs you can do because the vast majority of learners are highly-motivated, so all you need to do is try to recognize which aspect of your teaching skills needs to be used at any given time. Below are some suggestions about the different roles you’ll find yourself playing – all of which combine to make a good teacher.
Read more at http://languagecorps.bizbuzzweekly.com/2010/12/27/what-makes-a-good-efl-teacher-by-chris-soames/
http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
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