NEW WAY TO SUPPORT & REWARD TEACHING

Technology use to improve education is in an infancy stage, compared to the business community. Here are some concrete ways to better utilize technology to improve student learning and teaching efficiency.

MERIT PAY FOR IMPROVED ACADEMICS?

One enduring argument against rewarding teachers with merit pay is that it will encourage these professionals to "teach to the test". The "test" that is the object of this constraint is the "standardized achievement test," and it has been evolving from research results for nearly 65 years. These student-test outcomes constitute the basis for judging school performance, and even comparing public school students with their International counterparts. America is a competitive society and, no matter how much money we provide education, the competition seems to always be winning.

DO MERIT REWARDS WORK IN BUSINESS?

What about the private, entrepreneurial segments of America? Do they use rewards to recognize exemplary performance, as well as to motivate quality? One prominent performance measure in manufacturing is worker productivity. The more output a worker produces over a given time period, the higher the productivity quotient, with opportunity to increase earnings. In retail trade, customer satisfaction is a crucial measure of management focus. The healthcare sector uses trial studies to achieve success through improving patients' quality of life and lengthening life span. As diverse as these three enterprises are, they each remain worldly competitive by reducing errors. Through research and measurement, they isolate those areas of operation where most errors occur, and initiate practices to reduce those errors, with merit rewards as the prime incentive.

Although somewhat simplistic, it might be useful to identify the proven techniques that aid these employment segments with error reduction.

Goal Setting: With a continuing process in place for isolating error prone activities, goals that are observable and specific are stated in written form and communicated to all those involved in error reduction. Vague goals are easy to reach, but useless.

Computer-aided Technology Use: Creating software and/or hardware designed for alleviating tasks of a repetitive nature usually helps in reducing errors. Precision results are more likely to occur with technology use, than when humans perform the same tasks.

Decision Making: The responsibility for problem solving is usually best vested in persons closest to the problem. If you see it, fix it. Don't just call a specialist.

Merit Rewards: For that person who causes success above the level of expectation, their repeated performance at that level will more likely occur with merit recognition.

Entrepreneurial Competitive Support: American ingenuity remains the reason for surges in the unprecedented growth in start-up small business employment. This American service sector continues to grow, and create solutions wherever challenges exist.

************ COULD MERIT REWARDS WORK IN EDUCATION?

Now, let's examine how well these techniques are, or could, benefit public education. If the private sector finds competitive success by implementing proven approaches for error reduction, could the public sector do the same? Perhaps attention to the elements that have made our American private sector the envy of the world would do the same for education.

Let's examine them one-by-one:

Goal Setting: This is one of the important sections of the Federal Policy "No Child Left Behind" law. Each State is empowered with the task of writing, communicating and implementing specific, measurable student learning outcomes. This state-by-state process is moving slowly and many of the already published learning goals are not measurable, therefore no one can precisely agree if these stated student-goals have even been reached.

A practical solution to this dilemma would be an insistence that all goal statements contain action verbs that define observable human behaviors. One simple, but useful list of these verbs, arranged from simplest to most complex would be to: identify; distinguish; name; place in order; describe; contrast; state a rule; apply a rule; demonstrate; and interpret. Not only would statements containing these verbs be observable, but they would also lead to measurability, a necessity for tracking learning progress with standardized testing.

Entrepreneurial Competitive Support: With the availability of goals containing observable academic behaviors, the task of preparing test questions focused on these outcomes becomes a precision task. Research by qualified test making companies can match questions to goals very precisely. At the present time these companies provide standardized achievement tests and scored test results.

But these results are of little use to teachers who need immediate feedback to diagnose areas for remediation. The thing that would be most useful to educators would be an Internet system that could electronically supply teachers with short classroom quizzes and instant scoring.

Unique tests of any length could be downloaded, based on the teacher's subject choice of item characteristics, available from the test company's large test-item database.

Other support organizations might offer a way to provide the quiz according to teacher-chosen curriculum characteristics, but with each student in the class receiving only a few questions. And each student's questions would differ from questions of all the others in class.

When electronically graded and returned, the scoring would then cover all the questions, and a wider range of ideas, thus providing the teacher immediate feedback on reaching specific academic objectives for the whole classroom. This process has been well researched and documented for about 35 years by the independent, National Assessment Of Educational Progress.

Should the teacher find these diagnostic quiz results unsatisfactory and desire a fresh approach to teaching the concept, a database of research-proven approaches, in lesson plan format should be available by electronic means. Over the years, educational research into successful teaching approaches has been supported by government grants and contracts, but remains hidden in some government file or on some professors' bio sheet. An entrepreneurial opportunity exists to validate and communicate these ideas; greatly assisting teachers through Internet downloads.

These are just a few ideas that should be available to help teachers reduce the errors in instructing America's uneducated youth. The service sector is always willing, capable and ready to fill this void, and to accomplish it competitively.

Computer-Aided Technology Use: With the familiarity of Internet use by today's educators, transition to this classroom measurement processes could occur with little training. In fact, the proliferation of software and hardware service could even assure test-item security for test manufacturers.

The service sector has a proven ability to meet this need quickly. Teachers would need log-in codes for program entry, classroom printers to download and print unique quizzes for students to answer, built in machine scoring capability to produce a classroom score and then destroy the paper tests, and database development to capture quiz and longer test results over a semester or year for teacher look-back and self-analysis.

This is just a sample of the aids a creative society could provide as assistance for our Nation's teachers, and result in improved student academic performance.

Decision Making: It goes without saying that individual leaders manage teachers' classrooms. Their success in fostering student academic achievements rests on their ability, training and support. Having immediate, professional feedback is much better than waiting a long time for "standardized test" results that come too late to practice remediation.

Merit Rewards: The basis for granting merit pay for exceptional performance is imbedded in the record electronically produced with each use of technology outlined in this article. It can be done. The private sector has shown the way!

Term Paper - Improve Your Grades

As a student, you need to face the task of writing a good term paper and surrender to the fact that this is an inevitable feat. This is important for the sake of getting a good grade as well as learning new things. This is also beneficial if you develop a good writing style as it will gain you benefits throughout your life experience. So, it is essential to put in good efforts in bringing out an excellent term paper to get better grades as well as help you in the long run.

The first and foremost thing in trying to improve your grades is to start off writing your paper very early rather than postponing the project work. This gives you more time for adequate planning and research. Extensive research will give a better understanding about the subject matter at hand and thereby get you to write a better term paper.

When writing the paper it is essential to follow a few important steps, which if neglected can result in you writing a bad paper. To improve your grades, you can ask for help at the college writing lab on the best way to write your paper. You can use those tips to adequately construct your paper. The writing lab is equipped with reputable scholars who are good at turning out good term papers.

When writing your term paper, it is important to concentrate on how the writing will appeal to the readers who are going through your work. Try to keep the writing such that it will sound interesting and improve the knowledge of the reader. The points should be clear and easily understood by the target audience. You don't want to confuse your audience.

Always start out from a broader perspective and then narrow down to the subject point in mind. The reader should be able to feel the topic moving in a proper direction from start to end. This can be achieved by first forming a rough draft by putting in all the thoughts and then analyzing how they should be arranged in the write-up.

You need to concentrate mainly on developing a constant flow of thought from paragraph to paragraph. There should not be any drifting away from the subject. Keep the points clear, crisp and strong. There should be no jumping of ideas between paragraph i.e. you should not make a point in one paragraph and try to explain it somewhere else.

It is also important to conclude on the topic well. There should not be an abrupt ending to the topic. This can be avoided by writing careful and strong sentences to end the topic. The ending also needs a brief summary of all that you have covered in the preceding paragraphs such that it stays fresh in the reader's mind.

By following the simple and often neglected steps that are highlighted above, I am sure it will definitely help you in getting those grades, which you would have only dreamt about, and never thought was achievable.

Bachelor Degree Education Equals Educational Excellence

Bachelor Degree Education is a particular program, which serves to fulfill the basic requirements of inadequately educated adults and those looking for a more holistic academic background. The program is split up into various sub sections and broad classes. These are specific programs looking into practical teaching, learning various other kinds of related services. The program splits itself into some broad categories such as:

- Adult and Continuing Education Administration - Adult and Continuing Education and Teaching - Agricultural Teacher Education - Art Teacher Education

There are many universities, which are now offering online accredited degree programs. They are not time consuming, they also save money and most importantly labour and energy. Many students are now signing on for online accredited degree programs and online bachelors degrees.

There are many types of streams like family development studies and survey engagement, both of which are very popular and are in demand from students all over the world. The online degree programs are being recognized as some of the best online bachelor degree facilities offered to students. Students at various places have now started applying for online degree programs, instead of regular universities courses.

Other programs are degree completion programs, which obviously take care of the education until the degree is completed. The online programs are amazing ways to reach out to all of them who are keen on getting a degree but do not have enough time to attend the regular classes. The distance education programs and online distant education enable all long distance students to benefit directly from these programs.

Universities all over the world have opened up online schools for the benefit of all those who want to derive the best in education. There is provision for regionally accredited college and other types of colleges. These places are good options for students. It has been surveyed that online education programs are growing rapidly in terms of popularity.

The courses available are as follows:

- Online bachelors degree in psychology - Engineering bachelors degree online - Online bachelors psychology - Accredited bachelors degrees online - Distance learning bachelors degrees - Bachelors education online - Doctors degrees online - Online criminal justice bachelors degree - Earn bachelors degree online

There is wide range of choice for students queuing up to benefit from these online courses. These courses are good enough to be ranked among the best courses available online. Students who have signed up for the course have been particularly satisfied with the experience. The online courses for criminal psychology, doctor's degrees and the criminal justice courses are especially very popular for young hopefuls, who line up to be a part of this education system.

The best part of these courses is that there is no time limit or any other obvious restrictions. People living anywhere in any part of the world can sign up for these courses. The students, who are keen on getting an engineering degree, can also make the most of these courses, while being gainfully employed. Go and enroll in Bachelor Degree Education as it offers this whole gamut of options open for you.

Mike O'Brien offers advice and information about an online bachelor degree . This quality web site is easily navigated with it's simple uncluttered layout design and it has an ever growing selection of online degree and college course information at your fingertips!

Online Tutoring in the Twenty First Century Why is it needed more then ever

In this hurried and fast paced life we live and with the electornic age now in full force these two things has brewed a perfect storm for online tutoring. Our population is growing faster then our education system can handle. Graduation levels are at a all time low. This underscores the major importance of how important online tutoring is becoming in our society today. As the world is getting more and more advanced, there is an increasing pressure on the education sector. The US is considered as a place where the most modern and appropriate education is available quite easily. However, the pressures of rapid-paced developments have certainly made teachers, parents and students sit-up and take notice of the need to inculcate online teaching methods to supplement and complement classroom teaching. The growth of online tutoring websites catering to the American student community has definitely played its part in making people aware about the need to adapt and innovate.

There are numerous factors at play that make it imperative for American society to assimilate and embrace online tutoring for a better future of both the citizens and the country. Firstly, education has acquired a new meaning in a rapidly transforming world, but sometimes, our teachers and educators are not able to remain updated on all the latest trends and techniques available for imparting effective education. However, online tutoring addresses this concern by adopting all the relevant means and technologies, along with latest developments in the subjects, in order to make education really relevant in the modern times.

Secondly, students may feel at a loss in the wake of dearth of offline resources. Libraries and teacher notes might not address the problem of remaining current in your chosen area of interest. The online tutoring ensures that you have access to these resources at the click of the mouse, along with requisite instructions needed by the students.

Thirdly, and most importantly, the population of America in general, and of students in schools in particular is increasing by the minute. It is estimated that the population of students in grades K-12 is over 50 million and this number is rising by 1 million students per year. Moreover, schools spend an estimated $260 billion per year for grades K-12. This tremendous pressure on school infrastructure needs to be supplemented by online tutoring that’ll ensure quality education without compromising on any of the vital components required in any education structure.

Working students compound the problem of traditional schools in attaining the objective of imparting quality education to all students. Online tutoring also comes to the rescue of these students in helping them in their research through online resources at any time of the day without worrying about visiting the local library at fixed hours.

Another important reason for the need to popularize and benefit from online tutoring system is the valuable role it plays in imparting education to children with special needs. The disabled children might not feel comfortable to attend traditional school due to a number of reasons. But online tutoring fills the vacuum and helps in imparting education through virtual classrooms and online teaching mechanisms.

Online tutoring is here to stay and will contribute a great deal towards achieving the dream of a well-educated society irrespective of the school the students attend.

Homeschool Curriculum - What Do I Need?

Most people who begin homeschooling think they need a huge amount of curriculum, books and resources. Having too many resources to choose from can be overwhelming. It's best to keep things simple. Here's how:

1. A Plan - Before you start buying anything, decide what you want your children to study and learn this year. Do you want them to enjoy learning? Do you want them to complete a certain workbook? Do you want them to know all the Presidents names by heart?

What has worked best for me is to list all the subjects across the top of a sheet of paper. Then list your student(s) names down the left side. Under each column for each student write some ideas of what you want them to study or accomplish for that year. This can be done by you or with your child. Once you have filled all this in, then circle one or two item(s) for each subject and focus on getting resources to support. The other items not circled can be used for another year or if you run out of material for this year.

2. The Basics - Homeschoolers need some basic reading, writing and math materials. No matter what your finances, the internet and libraries provide some incredible resources. Don't disregard them just because they are free. Your children should spend time doing math and language each day. They should either read on their own or listen to you or some combination of that each day. For writing they can draw if they are younger. If they are over 8 years old they can write a page for you each day. Once children know how to read they should be able to teach themselves with a little guidance.

3. The Supplements - Once you have the basics covered you can add other subjects from your original plan such as Science, Bible, Foreign Language, Art, Music, etc.

Books can be purchased new or used. Since so many people are homeschooling there are plenty of places you can get what you need from someone who either used the item gently or decided it wasn't for them and didn't use it at all.

If you plan what you want to do, cover the basics and supplement subjects that fit in with your plan, you should be able to have a great home school year.

How to Expertly Home-School Your Children

If you have decided that homeschooling is the way to educate your child, you will need to prepare yourself for the ecstasy and the anxiety for the amazing journey ahead -- sure, as all new adventures are, some may be a little bit bumpy, but the rewards will more than make up for it. Producing a well-adjusted and well-rounded personality in today's complex society(ies), requires special handling of their educational environment.

it is important to learn more about your state laws on home schooling. Some states need an affidavit filed with the State's education department. There are 3 categories for homeschooling laws in most states. These are: private school laws, home education laws and equivalency laws. There is no way around it - you will need to first, find your state laws. You may also need to maintain a portfolio that records the childs educational progress but that is so with any educational process. It is smart to look into the legal requirements before you start homeschooling your child. Some States also stipulate a minimum educational qualification for the parent or teacher - wouldn't you want that to be the case? Imagine someone educating their children who are not really capable of doing so? That would be taking a step backwards and defeat the purpose.

Next, I would suggest that you look for support groups. Online there are many, and offline too. If you live in a friendly neighborhood, well-meaning friends may try to dissuade you but that stands to reason - anytime you try to do something even slightly out of the Status Quo, people want you to fit right back into it again - but that really is the core of Home Schooling - isn't it. If they do not try to dissuade you, they may put a lot of uneasy questions in your mind which may be their concerns more than yours. A support group that consists of like-minded people will insulate you from the criticism, and keep your eye on the ball - this can help relieve the peer-pressures and questions of regular school-goers. Many groups organize fun events like visits to the zoo, theatres, camping trips, museum tours even a friendly romp to the ice cream shops etc. And if your children hit it off with other homeschoolers, they will be able to build lasting relationships that do not fade when their friends change schools because there is something very special about this kind of learning. Support is important in any new endeavor - so groups of people helping each other develop a new way to do things really can be a key source of inspiration and provide an important avenue for socialization.

Next, another important thing to do is to select a curriculum - I suggest taking time with this - it's the foundation that you will build your educational empire state building on :).

Depending upon the method of homeschooling, you may choose various tools that aid you in this discovery and creative process. The internet is also a rich resource for homeschooling. Do some research and look into the material that is available.

Some Important Things to Remember:

Set certain ground rules. Homeschooling requires a lot of self-discipline and hard work. Here is a comprehensive list of the things you will need:

A) Discipline

B) Hard work and effort

C) Eagerness to learn

D) Time and patience

E) Enthusiasm

F) Flexibility

It would be a good idea to consider why you want to opt for homeschooling to begin with. Your motives and your reasons are important pillars on which the whole edifice of your child's lessons depends. Also, consult with your children and ask them how they feel about homeschooling. Let them answer honestly - don't sway them in either direction - it's important to know - because if they have any apprehensions about it, you may be able to legitimately alleviate them before and during the homeschooling process.

Select a curriculum or create an individual curriculum that best suits your child's needs and style of learning. Record keeping is an important part of homeschooling.

Look into the various methods of record keeping that exist - like computer programs, and other sources you may know about. Set up a schedule so that your child does not have to learn 6-7 hours a day. Allow your child to dictate the time since homeschooling is not set in stone like Public Schools are forced to be. Flexibility and having fun are the cornerstones and great benefits of homeschooling. Do not pressure them, or put too many skills into a single term or year. Remember one major purpose for homeschooling is to help a child work at their pace, find their needs and meet them, and allow real growth to occur - which cannot be forced or rushed. Prepare a skill list or any other kind of list that you feel will help you focus on what needs to be introduced and developed and be ready to modify it as your child shows growth in any direction - another great benefit of homeschooling. Make the child learn the skills that he is ready for, not what you want them to be ready for; if you are going to take that later approach, you might as well keep them in public school they are great at dismissing a childs real needs, because they have to focus on the lowest-common denominator, and, they have to meet quotas set by their administrations and so forth - all counter productive to learning.

Gentle parenting and great listening is the secret to successful homeschooling. Children make great advances in learning and show more enthusiasm.

They also turn out to be surprisingly well balanced and well informed when they are taught at home.

Homeschooling has many elements you really need to know before you get involved with it. It's important to read and learn as much as you can before and during this process - really it's your job.

But where do you look, and searching online or even in a library for information can be confusing.

We have prepared a high-quality e-book and also an MP3 audio of the e-book so you can sit with your children and listen to it together. It is titled "Parents Guide to Homeschooling" that covers many important topics, as well as offers a solid resource guide so you have a strong foundation to research from.

You can read about it here, and also peruse the first two chapters as well as the Table of Contents. We hope this helps you whether you are considering homeschooling or are already involved in it, to make it the best learning experience for your children.

The world changes when better choices are made. Better choices are the direct result of personal awareness, and that can only come from quality education.

Scholarships For Aviation Enthusiasts

You love airplanes, you grew up wanting to be a pilot or maybe you just want to work around them. If so, there are a handful of scholarships available specifically for those students who are seeking aviation careers. Each scholarship has its own requirements and criteria - most are offered by organizations that support the love of aviation.

1. AERO Club of New England - The Aero Club of New England scholarships are awarded annually and recipients are selected on the basis of merit and need. ACONE's growing scholarship program provides a wonderful way for the Club and donors to assist deserving young people and to forge lasting relationships that can provide inspiration and support. Thanks to all that have worked to make this important part of ACONE a continued success.

2. AOPA (Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association) - AOPA offers two scholarships, the McAllister Memorial Scholarship and the Donald Burnside Memorial Scholarship. The AOPA Air Safety Foundation/McAllister Memorial Scholarship is awarded annually and administered jointly by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation and the University Aviation Association. One award in the amount of $1,000 will be made to a promising young man or woman who, without assistance, would find it difficult to obtain a college education. Award will be made to U.S. citizens without regard to sex, race, religion or national origin.

The recipient must be enrolled in and plan to continue a college curriculum leading to a degree in the field of aviation. Previous recipients are not eligible.

Announcement of scholarship awards will be made annually on or about July 1 by the AOPA Air Safety Foundation after consideration of applications received by the deadline submission date. Recipients will be notified by letter. Applicants must meet the following criteria:

a. Be a college junior or senior at the time the application is submitted with at l east one semester/quarter to be completed after September 1, 2008. b. Have achieved academic proficiency (grade point average) at time of application of 3.25 or better (on a 4.0 system). c. Be enrolled in a baccalaureate level, non-engineering aviation degree program at a four-year institution and plan to continue the following year (community college students are eligible when they have transferred to a four-year institution). The applicant's college must be listed as an organization described in section 170( c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954. d. Submit a 250-word maximum typed, double-spaced essay on: "Assuming that pilots who voluntarily engage in safety education are safer pilots, how can ASF reach the other group of pilots who don't think they need safety education?" e. Application must be accompanied by an official transcript from applicant's college or university. The Registrar's Office can mail your official transcript to the below address or place in a sealed envelope so you can mail with your application form.

3. Astronaut Scholarship - This scholarship is supported by more than 70 astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Shuttle programs. In efforts to help retain leadership in science and technology, this organization provides scholarships for college students who exhibit motivation, imagination, and exceptional performance in the science or engineering field of their major. To date, the foundation has awarded nearly $2.5 million in scholarships to 226 deserving students interested in aviation maintenance, being pilots or aerospace engineers.

4. Boeing National Merit Scholarship - Every year Boeing provides scholarships to children of Boeing employees who are selected as National Merit Scholarship winners. Students enter this academic competition their junior year of high school by taking the Preliminary Scholastic Aptitude Test/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT) in the fall.

5. ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) and Naval ROTC Programs offered by the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, and the Air Force, train qualified young men and women to become officers in those services upon graduation from college. ROTC is available in more than 1,000 colleges and universities throughout the U.S., both those that host ROTC units or detachments and those with cross-enrollment agreements with them. Requirements include taking a full course load, wearing uniforms once a week during military labs, drills, military science presentations, and other practical training activities.

Scholarships are competitively awarded on merit with main considerations are being High school academic record, SAT or ACT scores, extracurricular activities, and personal interview.

The length, value, and terms of ROTC scholarships vary by service. All services offer four-year scholarships that include full tuition, books, fees, and a monthly tax-free stipend.