Teaching | For Educators

Moral and Social Development is Addressed through Art Education

Harry Broudy believes that moral and social development of a student depends upon development of imagination. If a student is in a position to experience life through the eyes of an artist, he would know how exactly life can be experienced as an actor.
According to Broudy, artistic investigation and personal injury plays a vital role in exploring one’s personal experience. The art movement opens a new door where students can perceive reality in a way which they have never experienced before during their lifetime.
Broudy stated that Arts should be capable of teaching good values that are required on one’s life. It should have the essence to enhance beauty. Last but not the least; arts should be capable of reducing hatred and ugliness that is prevalent in the world.
The ideas put forward by Broudy are as follows
- Artistic appreciation can be better addressed through the usage of models that provide more clarity.
- The problems represented in art can get students to start thinking about real life challenges and problems involved
- Development of ethnic sensibility is of utmost importance
Broudy believed that through art, students could develop or enhance good values. He also claimed that it’s possible to refine the artistic experience. Through aesthetic experience, every form of experience in the educational process could be enhanced.
Education does not deal only with recollection of facts. This would definitely not be sufficient for effective education. A better solution to a problem in education can be arrived at with the help of aesthetic education.
Harry Broudy’s main interest was in writing on topics such as Visual Arts and Music Education. His aim was to improve arts education to be included as a core subject in the curriculum at schools. He wanted arts to be considered as an essential rather than just a good subject.

Filed Under: Education, Teaching Tagged With: Art, Education, Harry Broudy, Visual Arts

Invaluable Educational Websites

: Image via CrunchBase

Few decades back, students and teachers has limited access to educational resources but now the world of internet has opened doors for various learning opportunities. While browsing the internet, one can access information within seconds with just a click of the mouse. Apart from traditional as well as online books offering abundance information, videos related to education is also considered as a useful tool for learning. For learners to grasp information quickly and easily, videos prove to be effective. Students and educators can make the best use of the online educational videos free of cost.
Invaluable Educational Websites
Printed materials for different grades and free educational videos can be accessed by teachers and librarians on the website called – Video Placement Worldwide (VPW). Only educators with a genuine school address in the U.S can get access to the videos.
For obtaining useful classroom resources, teachers can check out the website called TeachersTV. Apart from offering a wide range of videos, the website has even an online community.
Both teachers and students can upload educational videos on a website called TeacherTube, an online community similar to YouTube.
Compatible, high quality and full length videos can be accessed on the website known as – Discovery Education. Both teachers as well as parents can be benefited by using this website. The home work section is a useful resource to parents. Lesson plans and other resources are valuable for teachers.
Other Useful Video Websites
The National Geographic website allows users to couple education with adventure. Videos can be quickly found by narrowing down the search based on different categories such as travel, science, music, kids, culture and many more.
Teachers, students and parents can make the best use of the website known as Video PBS. There’s a separate section called PBSKids, meant exclusively for children.
Thus the list of all the above mentioned websites makes learning fun and interesting.

Filed Under: Education, Teaching Tagged With: TeacherTube, Website, YouTube

How to Fund Special Classroom Projects

Schools and individual teachers need to apply for education grants when they do not have enough resources to provide the most favorable environment to their students. It’s possible for the applicants to obtain the required funds if they present an effective proposal.
Request for Proposals
Most of the times, a grant proposal by an educator is written, in reply to an RFP. The Request for Proposals, otherwise known as RFP delineates the kind of details that need to be included in the grant proposal, emphasizing on the variation in details such as requirements, aim, objective, end results, action steps, evaluation techniques and budget.
Requirements
In order to develop the education programs which prove to be beneficial for students, most of the educators, applying for a grant conduct a needs assessment. This helps the educators to recognize what exactly the needs are. For the funders to have a better understanding on how exactly the projected program can meet the requirements, appropriate information such as student demographics and the kind of result that can be achieved should be provided.
Aim, Objectives and End Results
The kind of program that is started with a goal or aim will have a positive impact on the students. Specific objectives are set to assist the educators in achieving the goal. The ends results display the level of achievement.
Action steps
In order to achieve a particular objective that has been set, teachers take necessary action steps.
Evaluation Techniques
Sufficient data as en evident to the final outcome needs to be provided. The data collected throws light on how far the end results have been achieved with the help of the evaluation techniques used.
Budget
The amount of funds that are required needs to be delineated. All the costs related to the action steps taken need to be mentioned.

Filed Under: Education, Teaching Tagged With: Grants, Request for proposal, Student, Teacher

Education Grants Teachers Can Apply to Receive

Educators who wish to teach their students effectively can make use of the grants that are available to them. A part of the government grants is set aside for offering grants to teachers who aim at improving the kind of education that is provided to students.
Obtaining Education Grants
Teachers from the education field who wish to obtain grants can approach grant coordinators. Those individuals who plan to apply for education grants can consult their supervisors, in order to know if the grant coordinator can be useful in completing the process faster. Based on the level of experience, possession of resources and knowledge, the process of obtaining grants can be done more quickly.
A gamut of foundations such as MBNA offer grants to educators, thus enabling them to apply for the ones that best suit their needs.
Online Resources
A number of online websites are available to those educators who are looking for the best place to obtain grants. Grant.gov displays an updated list of the type of grants offered by the government of U.S. The website can be used as a tool to find the application which you need, by narrowing down the search based on a keyword. SchoolGrants is another useful website, where educators can find information pertaining to the different grants that can be applied for.
Drafting a Grant Proposal
Writing a grant proposal is a crucial thing to do and educators seeking grants should have a fair idea on how to draft a proposal. A grant proposal should be given lot of importance, as there are numerous educators out there, waiting to obtain education grants. I’s imperative to get someone proofread the proposal once it’s completed so that any grammatical or typo errors can be corrected. The applicant can also choose to hire a professional writer who can draft a winning grant proposal. Following the above guidelines can help educators apply for grants who wish to improve their education programs.

Filed Under: Education, Teaching Tagged With: Education, grant, MBNA, Teacher

Modifying Learning Structures to Make Class Interactive

At a time when education is all about interactive methods of teaching, two-way communication and the use of engaging tools in the learning process, lectures seem to be instruments of a bygone era. Though imperative in certain cases, it is best to keep the length of lectures minimal to ensure active participation of students in classrooms.
Modifying Learning Structures
Effective methods of enabling learning while ensuring student participation can include learning through discovery when embarking on some new piece of information. Under the teacher’s guidance, students should be encouraged to explore, share ideas and investigate information. Moreover, classrooms can be split into smaller group to structure the learning better. Students should also be persuaded to work individually, giving rise to the development of independent thought processes.
Promoting Learning through Activities
There are a large number of activities that the students can be made to be engaged in so as to reduce the need for lectures and inculcate skills where students have to apply themselves through all their senses.
Asking students to answer puzzling questions, solve unique problems, set up debates, make demonstrations, do research and investigation, put up challenges that entail competition, engage in competitive games, enact scenes that can reinforce previously communicated information and sending them on field trips rather than reading about a particular place or thing are all means of facilitating learning without lecturing.
When Lectures are Unavoidable
There may be several occasions when lectures may be the only means of imparting instruction. It is important, then for teachers to understand that they can either make the lecture a completely one-way communication or make possible the delivery of a lecture that the students find interesting and enriching. Using available resources, online tools and enabling hand-on learning can make teaching structures so much more advanced and at the same time, maintain a recall value.

Filed Under: Education, Teaching, Teaching Methods Tagged With: Classroom, Education, Learning, Student

Adopting Multiple Techniques of Teaching

Often, teachers are challenged by students causing trouble and therefore it is an obstacle to teaching. Teachers need to analyze their teaching method and probably bring about necessary changes in their style to adapt to the student requirements.
Adopting Multiple Techniques of Teaching
Teachers may find it both time-consuming as well as tiresome to make changes to their existing method of teaching. However, a positive change in student response can well be the measure of success for this change.
998 types of strategies and styles of instruction are available on the Plasma Link Web Services, which teachers can explore and adapt.
Changing Lecture Patterns
If a teacher realizes that lengthy lectures are dissuading students from performing well, the method of presentation can be changed. The time limit of lectures can be reduced, and learning enriched with the use of interactive activities, audio-visual aids, or discussions and debates.
Breaking the entire strength of the classroom into smaller groups can enable individual attention by the teacher and more team spirit and cooperation by the students.
Changing Learning Styles
There are times when a particular method of teaching may not be interesting to students or may be leading some students to get bored and start thinking of or doing something else. The style of instruction can be changed so that the lesson becomes more appealing and engaging. Integrating tools that apply audio, video or hand-on training methods can bring about changes in interest levels of students.
Conclusion
Teachers usually and conveniently blame students for the distractions and interferences in classrooms. However, often it is the teachers themselves or the teaching methods that tend to be the cause of the problem. It is important for teachers to introspect and open up their minds to accommodate the evolving trends and techniques in strategies concerned with the learning process.

Filed Under: Teaching, Teaching Methods Tagged With: Education, Learning styles, Student, Teacher

Avoid Technophobia in the Classroom

: Image by History at the Higher Education Academy via Flickr

Technophobia is not as uncommon as one would imagine in today’s world. Many people, including teachers fear to use computers, mainly out of lack of understanding of technology. Though every teachers wants to employ the best possible methods of education in the classroom, using technology may prove challenging. This requires devotion of time to become familiar with the various methods by integrating technology into traditional curricula.
Some simple suggestions can help teachers overcome this obstacle.
Seeking Help
Almost every school has few teachers who are comfortable with using technology. A technophobic teacher must not hesitate asking for help from such people and to increase his or her own knowledge.
Learning from Students
It is often encouraging for students who are avid learners to help out their teacher with technology. This is contrary to the belief that the control shifts from the teacher to the student.
Applying Web 2.0 Tools
A host of web 2.0 tools enable easy understanding of technology. Twitter, Google Docs, Wikis, Blogs and other tools ease communications and aid self-learning.
Specific Curricula Information
Correct communication of project information and expectation is essential to be imparted. Very often it is misinformation that leads to erroneous output. The use of rubrics here can ensure the project required is clearly defined.
Supervised Freedom
Teachers often need to keep a strict vigil on their students, to ensure they do not stray from the disciplined path. Technology, however allows students to explore, understand and discover new vistas, leaving little room for a strict watch.
Connecting Learning with Technology
Problem Based Learning allows teachers to integrate technology while dealing with challenging problems. While students are permitted to be as creative as they like, teachers grasp the situation slowly and by means of common available resources.
Technophobia can be overcome by teachers if they have an open mind, as support can be received in a number of ways.

Filed Under: Education, Teaching, Teaching Methods Tagged With: Student, Teacher, Technology, Technophobia

Finding a New Profession in Online Education

There was a time when online education was frowned upon. Distance learning was looked upon as a sort of joke. In fact most correspondence courses were not accredited by any organization and could be found at the back of almost any periodical – even comic books. This is no longer the case. With the advances in technology and the wide-spread use of the internet, people are using online education to get advanced degrees like MBAs and even Doctorates. Plus, many of the most well know and well respected universities are offering degrees and courses online. So if you are a professor or teacher who wants to have a more flexible schedule and teach online courses and classes, do you you think there are positions open for you? Of course there are. In fact, with a little research, you should have no problem finding somewhere that would love to have your expertise for their online programs.

So how do you transition from a professor who teaches physical classes to an online instructor? Start where you teach now. Many universities offer classes that are also broadcast online. This will give you the opportunity to interact with students differently than the ones that come to a classroom. It will give you an idea how to help them prepare for tests and how to help them pass your class. From that beginning, you can go online and research various institutions that offer online classes and degrees. Tell them about your experience, how you learned from it and how you succeeded. You might even want to take a class or two yourself. Then you can see how a online education provider uses technology to teach classes and how the professor interacts with students. The virtual world is waiting for you. If you want to get out into it an teach, there really is nothing holding you back.

Filed Under: General, Teaching Tagged With: Distance education, Distance Learning, Doctorate, Education, Educational accreditation, eLearning, Master of Business Administration, Teacher

Web 2.0 Tools for the Classroom

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The wide range of web 2.0 tools so easily accessible to teachers can provide opportune tools for enhancing the teaching process. However, teachers are often faced with constraints such as those of time, to completely grasp certain technologies that would be helpful to them. Educators must ensure that they devote a certain amount of time in the course of the academic year to learning such new tool and technologies.
Integrating Web 2.0 with Information
Enrollment in a course, preferable distance learning, enables acquiring the knowledge of techniques related to a particular online tool. The best way to put your capability to test is by applying the technologies learned in another tutorial, checking how the strategy works. This will also help you identify the bugs and resolve them before finally using it in the classroom.
Techniques of Integration
Google Docs, Wikis and Twitter are three of the several web 2.0 tools that can be integrated by teachers.
Google Docs is a free tool by Google for online word, documents, presentations, spreadsheets and forms. It is apt for completing assigned projects, supporting writing and building communication skills. Documents can be accessed online simultaneously by teacher and students thus enabling communication online.
Wikis provide an online mode for creating curriculum and enriching it with podcasts, pictures, links and much more. They can also offer students an interactive and professional webpage.
Twitter is a personal networking tool enabling teachers to engage with other educators online and receive support. Moreover, it helps them keep their students up to the required speed with the latest technological news, current trends and a lot of other information.
Conclusion
Integrating web 2.0 with information is no easy task. A lot of planning and practice requires to be put into the process. The results that this process can achieve, however, can help grow students potential to endless heights.

Filed Under: Teaching, Teaching Methods Tagged With: Education, Technology, Twitter, Web 2.0, Wiki

Classroom Management Strategies for Students with ADHD

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Conventional classroom curricula can be difficult for autistic students, with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyspraxia, or other developmental disorders. A number of related strategies are available for students, such as those related to classroom management that can help make students with special needs to progress academically along with their contemporaries.
Classroom Management Strategies
Inclusive strategies to help students with ADHD and autistic students can be one method of reducing their anxiety. This can be done by detailed communications, represented by drawings on the board and written plans. An idea that seems to have engrossed a student’s mind can be made the object of a reward, at the end of, or as the last part of a lesson plan. Giving control over their choices to students can be very helpful. An instance of this is asking them to either write an essay or make a drawing.
For most autistic students, focusing on more than one voice at a time is very difficult. It is helpful if the teacher encourages raising hands rather than calling out.
Identifying and Removing Barriers to Learning
An assessment of students with special needs can help teachers identify, for each child, what the barriers to learning are. Part of the teaching curriculum can then be adapted to address this barrier. Incorporation of methods and adoption of programs developed to deal with children with special needs can be brought in, enabling the learning process to continue for the students.
Benefits that Extend Beyond the Limit
The integration of inclusive strategies to address the needs of special students do not benefit only students with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia or other developmental disorders that are pervasive in nature but every other student in the education field. They improve and enrich the learning environment and manifest a healthy educational structure.

Filed Under: Education, Teaching, Teaching Methods Tagged With: Classroom management, Learning, Special needs, Student