5 Ways To Make New Students Comfortable In The Classroom

The first day of school for any child can be a moment of anxiety and confusion. The transition from home to the outside world is filled with new experiences, some rewarding and others frightful. Educational professionals, whether in kindergarten, preschool, first grade or other child care environments can find it especially challenging to put children at ease in a classroom environment. It is not difficult to make children safe, secure and attentive in their first school setting. Teachers only have to keep some helpful tips in mind in easing the transition and making the learning experience a thrilling adventure for children.

Program Activities

Teachers should have an outlined program of activities developmentally structured and age appropriate for the children in their class. Classroom activities should be easy enough to grasp so children understand the concepts and instructions. Simple group activities work well in this vein, such as coloring and painting, story reading, toy identification and other simple activities. Decorating activities such as applying colorful window clings allows children to personalize their environment, letting them think the classroom is part of their property. Any task provoking interest will comfort children and let them have some control in the creative process.

Individualized Attention

Every child is different in needs and expectations. Teachers should spend time with each individual child in an effort to learn about their personal views and needs. This is the time to learn about certain phobias and things that make a child uncomfortable. Fears and apprehension are especially magnified when children are away from their home setting for the first time and such fears should be addressed in a soothing but reassuring manner. Children who are quiet or unusually non-social should be gently encouraged to join activities and make friends with other students. Teachers should spend added instructional time with students who might be slow or hesitant in accomplishing tasks. Positive reinforcement will go a long way in helping a child to adjust and gain confidence.

Familiarization with the Environment

Children are naturally curious when it comes to a new environment. The classroom can be a strange and mysterious place, but outside, the hallways, other rooms, additional children and strange adults can leave children wondering what else is happening around them. This is when an orientation can be the perfect icebreaker. When parents and children attend an orientation, there is a certain camaraderie between all the children and their parents. A teacher can explain the curriculum and meet the parents, providing an opportunity for parents to discuss their children’s habits and special needs. A simple guided tour around the school helps to demystify the environment. Children in the company of their parents, will feel comfortable and protected as well as receptive to any positive signs shown by the parents. A parent’s seal of approval of an establishment often gets the same reaction from the child.

Safety

An emphasis on safety cannot be stressed enough. Heavy objects should be removed from high shelving to avoid spills and injury. Pathways in the classroom should be routinely cleared for easy walking, while toys that may prove injurious or harmful should be removed. Teachers need to be mindful of keeping sharp or pointed objects away from children and discouraging any type of aggressive behavior that involves objects that might cause injury. Fights and disagreements between children should be quelled immediately, giving timeout or verbal discipline for aggressive acts against others. Teachers should stress safety during any and all activities, especially in outside exercise and game times.

That Home Feeling

Teachers who allow and encourage home photos of family and parents into their classrooms encourage sharing and open discussion. Photos of loved ones, and even pets, can be pinned to a large cork board for all the children to see and visit each day. As a permanent fixture, this sharing activity imparts that “home” feeling where a parent, family member or pet is now part of the classroom. Children should be encouraged to bring and share items of cultural significance, such as crafted Native American items or possessions that have ethnic importance. Such displays help children to understand and respect others who are new or different.

9 Wrong And 8 Right Ways Students Should Use Technology

Technology is a tool. It’s not a learning outcome. Too often do we get distracted by all the activities and action we can perform with an iPad or some other device. We can post to Edmodo! Make a Prezi! Post to Facebook! All exciting things, to be sure. But these are not actually learning outcomes. You could have a 1:1 iPad classroom where your students create a bazillion (it’s a word, I swear) presentations all about how much they’re learning.

But they’re not really learning. They’re using a device.

That’s the idea behind the fabulous visual I saw on George Couros’ blog (great read!) who found it from Bill Ferriter on Twitter all about ways students should use technology. It asks a simple question: what do you want kids to do with technology? The answer(s) are divided into two columns and it’s pretty obvious what the goal of the visual is: to show you that technology is a tool in the classroom and not meant to be the focus of attention. It’s meant to enable, not overwhelm. It’s meant to enhance learning, not box it in.

Don’t get me wrong, you can do a lot of good with technology in the classroom. That’s the whole reason Edudemic and the other edtech sites exist. But technology is a tool that’s meant to be added to your toolbox just like anything else. It may be a powerful tool, but it’s a tool nonetheless. Are you sick of me saying the word ‘tool’ yet?

4 Important Tips For Any College Student

We’re told that our college years will be the best of our lives, for many of us they’re over before they’ve begun. America has the highest college drop-out rate in the world, with 54 percent of scholars leaving before they receive their degree. No one’s pretending that completing college is easy, but employing these handy tips can make it simpler to earn your degree.

Get Credit For What You Already Know

You can often earn instant credits and skip the classes if you prove your knowledge in key subject areas. Ask your academic adviser if your university offers College Level Examination Program tests or similar programs. Taking these exams might seem expensive at first, but they’re usually much cheaper than the fees for the corresponding courses. If you’re confident with the material, they’re a great way to save money in the long run and lighten your workload.

Sign Up For Online Learning

With many contemporary universities and other accredited schools offering online classes, virtual learning is a legitimate way to get a degree. This flexible option is ideal for anyone feeling stressed by the demands of the traditional classroom. Online schools don’t have structured class times, so students can juggle their lessons with professional and personal obligations. This allows students to hold down the jobs they need to chip away at their student loans and achieve a greater work-life balance.

On average, online courses also tend to be shorter and more affordable than their traditional equivalents. No wonder 38 percent of adult learners say they prefer online study! Critics argue that online degrees don’t support students as traditional universities do, but virtual educators like Bryant & Stratton College challenge this assumption. Its online degree tour helps prospective students learn what they can expect when they enroll.

Don’t Push Yourself Too Hard

No one’s suggesting you should be complacent about your studies, but it is important to be realistic. If you’re working full-time or taking care of a family, studying full-time might be too much. There’s no shame in that. Part-time study might take longer, but it’ll ease your finances and stress levels.

Just make sure that in cutting your hours, you keep your eye on the prize. The statistics are against part-time students, with only 25.6 percent getting their bachelor’s degree within eight years compared to 60.6 percent of full-timers. Of course with the right motivation, you can reach your goal on time!

Look for Extra Credit Opportunities

Seeking out additional activities might seem like it’d make your life more difficult, but it’s actually a great way to help you get your degree faster and improve your employment prospects. Some colleges will reward their students’ life experiences with extra credits. Put together a portfolio documenting your employment history, including volunteer positions, and community involvement to plead your case.

You could also score extra credit for internship roles, work experience positions, or even relevant paid employment. If you already hold a position in your desired field, and considering the importance of industry connections you probably should, the credits will come just from doing what you’ve already been doing!

So don’t let college stress get on top of you. With these simple tips, you can easily earn the degree that you deserve.

This Is What 5 Motivated Students Can Accomplish

The majority of people try to become perfect in their professional fields and careers. We all want to be successful, and we all do what we can. Some of us succeed during our adulthood, but others are so unusual and talented, that they become famous during childhood. These 5 motivated students  know what education means, and how important it is for the future, but they should not worry about getting a diploma, because they’ve already succeeded in different professional fields.

Please, meet top 5 wunderkinds that can easily impress all professors and gurus of their fields.

Taylor Wilson

Taylor has become the youngest man in the world who built a fuzor. You may not know what a fuzor is. We didn’t know as well, but it appeared to be a special device that created a nuclear fusion. When he was 10, Taylor constructed a bomb! His radiation detector has brought him the 1st prize of the Intel International Science Fair. Mr. Wilson is not going to stop here. In February 2013 he took part in the TED conference, where he spoke about his ideas concerning underground fission reactors. His nuclear reactor is able to generate 50 megawatts of power, though it is needed to be refueled once 30 years only.

Tanishq Mathew Abraham

This genius is the youngest member of MENSA, as he joined it when he was just 4 years old. His result was 99,9% on the Mensa standard IQ test.
When Tahishq was 5, he finished 5 math courses of Stanford University in just 6 months! He entered a high school when he was 6, and his average grade point has never been below 4.0. This cute boy also publishes his essays on NASA’s website. What will you say to that, huh? Maybe it’s time to try paper writing as well?

Priyanshi Somani

This Indian girl is a real mental calculator! When she was 11, Priyanshi took part in Mental Calculation World Cup and… (You will not believe it!) She won. 36 competitors from 16 different countries had nothing to do but just give up, when Priyanshi solved the square root of ten 6-digit numbers in just 6,51 minutes. Moreover, this girl has become the only participant in the history of this competition, who didn’t make any mistakes during her calculation. In January 2012, Priyanshi needed only 2,43 minutes to solve a square root of ten 6-digit numbers. This is the world’s new record, by the way.

Jacob Barnett

This young man is a mathematician from America. When he was 3, he had answered the question of the presenter in a planetarium as for why the moons of Mars had such a strange shape. He entered the University of Indiana when she was 10. Working on his dissertation, Jacob promised to disprove Einstein’s Theory of Relativity one day. Now he is working on PhD in Physics.

Cameron Thompson

Cameron is a math genius as well, though he lives in North Wales, not America. When he was 4, he corrected his teacher who claimed a zero being the lowest number. Cameron said that she had forgotten about negative numbers. In the age of 11 he got a math degree in the British Open University, and BBC had featured his as one of the most genius teenagers. Unfortunately, it’s not easy for Cameron to study now because of his Asperger’s Syndrome, but he is still one of the best math geniuses in the world.