Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Students Gain Important Life Skills From Resource Classes

Most people have wonderful memories of sports activities and art projects while in school, but just how important are these activities? One of the main reasons for education is to prepare the students for jobs in the future, their social life and their family, but those familiar classrooms come from a different world. They were designed to prepare a student to be a worker on an assembly line, where they had to know how to function as the member of a team that rarely deviated. The ability of a student to stand in line at school is an important skill to learn because it teaches them to wait on the other team members, however today's work environment requires skills that are different.

In today's working world, it is very likely that a worker may change careers many times and may require many different skills and know the best way to apply them. By giving a student a variety of options, they can determine where their interests lay and the learn that change is sometimes fun. This also enables them to cope with changes that are inevitable. The act of switching from an activity involving paper and pencil, where the focus is mental concentration, to activities such as stomp or yoga, which require an awareness of balance and a focus on the different muscle groups is useful in that it helps the student learn the way to change strategy so they can be successful.

These extra activities can give the student an outlet in which their imagination can grow. A lot of teachers agree that these activities will give the student a chance to stop and reflect on what they just learned. For example, students who just learned about the solar system might incorporate what they learned into an art project. Another example is for students who learned about treaty negotiation might be able to apply that to resolving a dispute in sports. It is proven that students will retain what they learn better if they can process it in multiple ways. In addition, when students are involved in an activity they enjoy, the likelihood of them forming a better relationship with their teacher is greater and they will receive effective guidance.

The concept of developing multiple intelligence with different learning skills, is supported by the incorporation of enhanced activities. A good example is when one student has no problem learning by hearing, but another student learns better by touching things and manipulating with their hands. One student might find joy in art, while the other student may enjoy sports. A student who has the freedom to explore and choose will find success by enhancing their confidence to try something new. When students are allowed to try new things, it increases the chance of them finding something that will bring them success and happiness.

Education of the character can be part of activities that are enriched so that when success is experienced, the person can identify that "my success is directly linked to my choices and not exclusively to an environment that I cannot control." The more a person knows that they can control the events that affect them, the less depression they will suffer and the more success they will have. When students learn to balance different activities, they learn that success is a step by step process and they also develop patience. Even though resources classes do help with the emotional and relational thinking, there is still a need for cognitive and verbal thought and this is emphasized within the core curriculum.

What is the purpose of learning? It makes sense to develop multiple skills in different areas because there is no way of knowing what the future holds and students need to learn how to adapt in order to be successful. Resources classes provide a guided freedom of self discovery that will give the student the experience they need to build confidence. If a student has confidence, they have a solid foundation and can receive a mentor so they can learn the important relational skills. Schools that give a variety of choices in different areas to students who will then find different ways to be happy and successful, provide a foundation for a successful and happy life. These choices can mainly be found in private schools, which are a great option.

The Benefits Of Hosting Foreign Students

Hosting a foreign student is becoming an ever more popular trend in this country, and there are now thousands of families who kindly offer their property as accommodation for students from around the world.

Obviously to do this, you have to think a few aspects through, not least whether you have the space available in your home. If you do, and you feel you are at the right place in your life to accept a foreign student, then it could be a great experience for both parties.

Foreign students offer so much more than just a little extra financial gain. By having them stay with you, it can lead to a long-lasting friendship and teach you many things about different cultures. Hosting usually brings a new and positive dynamic into your home.

You can enjoy lots of interesting discussions and broaden your sense of the world. In return, you can enlighten and share with them your experiences of living in the UK. Furthermore, you can help them learn English as a language, as many foreign students have come to this country as a means of doing this. You never know, you may pick up on some foreign language skills too, during their stay.

By committing yourself to some valuable research, you can soon discover all you need to know about how to host a foreign student. If you can, try and get recommendations from people you trust and who have done this before, so you know they are trustworthy. Selecting the right company can be daunting, so don't rush into any quick decisions. However it is a good marker to check that they are British Council accredited first.

Once you have made your choice, you can be reassured that the providing company has made very carefully thought out decisions about which students to select. They have certain expectations and for the students to adhere to these. The last thing you want is a student who pays you or your home no respect. The vast majority of hosting experiences are rewarding and memorable for both the student and hosting family.

As a host family, you will receive a weekly payment without worry.

The peak times for foreign student visits are in the summer, but this isn't exclusive. This means that you could make an income from hosting throughout the year. Having students short or long-term is an added benefit and offers you both assurance and flexibility.

Critical Thinking Skills for College Students

The critical thinking process is one of the most important components that you can have when you begin the journey into college as well as during your college tenure. Yet, I have found that most of my students lack these simple skills and the ability to research correctly eludes them. The caveat with critical thinking is creative thinking. The main reason for this partnership is that in order to think critically, one needs to be able to think creatively. For the purpose of this article, we are going to talk about the areas of critical thinking; gathering information, analyze and clarify information, and evaluate information.

Gather Information

First we are going to talk about gathering information and how we can use this tactic within a college setting. Information comes at us in a raw form and we are bombarded every day with tons and tons of information. How do we decide what is legit information and what is secondary information? Especially in college when you will be learning about models and theories as well as concepts and processes. Here are three tips to help you analysis effectively to gather information for a paper or assignment.

· Make sure that you are reviewing the assignment and understand what the logistics are and he objectives. If the paper is to be 10 pages long and the topic is best careers out of college, then it better be on that topic and at the 10 page mark, not less or more. There is a reason why there are parameters on papers.

· When you use the library or online databases, you will find a lot of relevant information, be sure that you have a focus on what you want to accomplish.

· Recommendations would be to make sure that you select 5 to 6 different careers and evaluate them all so that you have a deep understanding of each and based on that information we can begin to analyze and clarify the information.

Analyze and Clarify

Second, we are going to analyze and clarify the information that you have found during the first step of the critical thinking stages. Within this stage we are going to:

· Break Information into parts

· Examine Whether Examples Support Ideas

· Distinguish Fact from Opinion

This is where a lot of students get into trouble with their papers. Students tend to look at the assignment as a big picture assignment and this can overwhelm anyone. The goal here is to break your paper into parts. In the example presented, we will have at least 5 to 6 careers that you are going to discuss. Be sure to separate out those ideas, compare and contrast, examine cause and effect and look for patterns and themes. By really digging deep into your research, you will gain a deeper understanding and see how the topics relate. Do all the careers require a bachelor's degree or do they just need an associate degree? A great way to go about comparing and contrasting information is to develop a chart so that you will have reference to this information when you write your paper.

Next we are going to look at whether or not the examples support your ideas. Do the careers you have selected meet the requirements of the assignment? These must have empirical evidence that supports your topics sentences and thesis? If they do not support your ideas, then it is time to hit the drawing board and return to the gathering information stage. Please note, do not cut and crop your research to support your ideas, there is plenty of information out there for you to find that will support your ideas fully, just do the research.

What is fact and what is opinion? This is a major area of debate in the academic world. My personal recommendation to avoid most opinion is to use resources that are scholarly in nature and peer reviewed. This will keep you away from wiki sites or anything that is just someone's outlook and has not been empirically proven.

Evaluate

The last step is to evaluate the information. You have gathered and analyzed the material and you have examined it examples and validity. Now it is time to evaluate whether an idea or a piece of this information is important to your paper or assignment. If you decide that it is not a valid representation of your assignment, place it to the side and continue working on your assignment. It is like working on a resume, you have all your experiences and jobs listed but you only want to include the data that is relevant to the particular job want to apply for.

If you follow these simple easy steps in critical thinking, you will have the upper hand when it comes to college research. Just keep in mind, research at any level is not easy but it can be fun if you do it correctly and follow a systemic approach.