Education Information
Archive for March, 2010
Aspirations – India Set to Become a Hub of Academic Activities
0India set to become a hub for academic activities : A conscious effort is in place to provide a necessary boost to the knowledge economy of India. The 11th five year plan targets to increase the GDP allocation to education from its present level of 3.5% to 5% by the end of the 11th plan. In a pursuit to achieve the targeted resultant, the Planning Commission intends to set aside 19.7% of the total plan resources for education.
The plan outlay for the education sector will thus cross Rs. 2,20,000 crores, a five fold increase from Rs. 43,825 crores in the 10th five year plan.
The Prime Minister in one of his speaches had announced setting up of eight new Indian Institutes of Technology(IITs), seven new Indian Institutes of Managements(IIMs) and 30 new Central Universities. The Government is working on which states will house these institutes of excellence.
The initial announcements are already featuring Gujarat to emerge central to the scheme of things. The Central Government has not only given nod to the proposal of the Gujarat Government to set up an Indian Institute of Technology(IIT) but also for a full-scale Central University to be run on the lines of Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU).
Tests? Bring 'em On! Academic Summer Camp Makes Test-taking Easy
0What comes up for you when you hear the word “test”? I’ll never make it. I’m going to fail. I need to go to the nurse. These are typical responses we hear from students.
Over the years, young people develop certain attitudes about school. Their attitudes are made up not just of the actual experiences but also of everything they’ve thought about these experiences. Events they might have perceived as being unpleasant, like tests, get reinforced as negatives because they fall into the habit of thinking of them in negative terms.
The human brain listens to what it’s being told and forms itself accordingly. Every time we relive an unpleasant experience or think a negative thought, we’re strengthening the neural connections that lead to the “tests¨Care¨Cawful” conclusion. But what if a teen decides to replace that connection with a different one? One that says, “Tests are cool. I’m totally into them. I love the challenge.”
When teens are exploring their attitudes about school, we tell them whenever somebody says the word “test” they can yell, “C’mon! Gimme that test!” It’s fun – and it also changes the way they think about tests. By transforming their attitudes from “oh no, not a test” to “bring it on!” they’re rewiring their brains to welcome academic challenges instead of fearing them. Instead of being the passive victims of tests, they own the whole testing experience!
High Expectations and Differentiation Equal Academic Success
0High Expectations and Differentiation Equal Academic Success.
by Oran Tkatchov, M.Ed. and Shelly Pollnow, M.Ed.
Henry Ford, the Founder of the Ford Motor Company, once said, “Whether you think you can or think you can’t- you are right.” This also applies to teacher expectations toward student success. Teacher beliefs tend to create a self-fulfilling prophecy: teachers will get the outcomes that they expect from their students.
Consciously or unconsciously, teachers often act differently toward students based on the assumptions they have about the individual learner’s capabilities. Jerry Bamburg, professor and director of the Center of Effective Schools at the University of Washington, notes that teachers tend to use more verifying non-verbal mannerisms like smiling, creating eye contact, and positive body language toward students who they believe are high-level achievers, and less verifying mannerisms toward students who they believe are low-level learners (Bamburg, 1994).
Studies show that the lack of high expectations tends to go hand-in-hand with low achieving classrooms (Cotton, 2001). In these classrooms, teachers generally view their students as limited in their ability to learn, and this view tends to create an atmosphere of failure. Adversely, research also shows that when teachers increase their expectations of student success, academic gains are made. (Good, 1987).
Understanding the Link between Distance Learning and Academic Libraries
0Distance learning and academic libraries have a symbiotic relationship, and the steady support of library resources is vital in making any off-campus courses a success. Academic libraries have continuously supported various forms of teaching on campus, such as regular courses and distance learning in its traditional form as well as its new online avatar. Libraries need to aid the educational process in any higher education institution, and cater to a variety of publics, including students, administration staff, and faculty, regardless of the location. In this day and age, it is important that library personnel are up to date with the mediums of technology being employed for delivering online courses, so that they can provide undeterred assistance to their patrons.
How do Virtual Academic Libraries Work?
Most of the virtual libraries linked to universities offering distance learning programs work in a fashion similar to a physical library. Every student enrolled in any course with any particular college is given a Personal Identification Number, which the student needs to provide to the library manager along with the course details he/she is enrolled in for accessing library resources through email. Most of the colleges give students a unique username and password thereafter, which can be used to browse library catalogs and locate specific articles.
The Easiest Academic Paper
0Book report writing is the easiest type of assignment among all academic papers. Basically, you are expected to explain the topic of the book, give information, and a short summary, when you are asked to write a book report.
You should know that book report and a book review are not the same thing, so don’t mess up with these two different types of academic papers. Book review contains a deep analysis of the theme and the ideas covered in the story including criticism and the significance of the work.
Speaking about writing, in order to write a good book report, you need to read the book attentively and completely understand its plot. The problem of book report writing is that in a small space, you need to summarize a lot of information. I will give you a writing tip; it would be easier for you to take notes while reading, because then you can review the most important information of the book. You can mark pages that contain important extracts, quotes or passages by using post-it flags. By doing so you won’t need to search a whole book, you will quickly find what you need.
Help Your Child Excel in Academics
0American education system is one that focuses on activity based learning for school children. Although the nation boasts of 98% literacy rate over age 15, research studies in 2008 indicate that the graduation rate from high school stands at a mere 77%, quite dismal for a nation with overall better infrastructure facilities than most developed/developing nations. This statistical figure gives a strong indication that academic excellence in the country is being compromised with.
“We can’t afford our kids to be mediocre at a time when they’re competing against kids in China and India who are actually in school about a month longer than our kids…” said President Barack Obama in a recent town hall meeting in California.
He also said -”You can’t put the entire burden on a teacher. If you’re not making sure your child does their homework, if you’re not reading to them, instilling a sense of excellence and a thirst for knowledge in them, then they’re not going to do very well, no matter how good your teacher is”
President Obama’s concerns echo the need for educationists and parents, to team together and drive the American kids towards academic excellence in order to collectively raise the education standards of the nation.
