August 15, 2012
February 29, 2012
Effective Teaching Methods
Teaching is that profession where the success of
the teachers of the teacher depends on the ability of the students but
there have been such teachers who have made even the worst of students
the best of learners. So it is evident the understanding of a subject
taught by a teacher depends on the methods of teaching adopted by that
teacher. Methods make the material easier to comprehend and assimilate. A
teacher would only pay attention towards his methods only when he is
completely dedicated towards his profession and if his profession is his
passion. There are some effective teaching methods that a teacher if
and when follows would get better results from his students in terms of
comprehension and reproduction of that topic on pen and paper which we
will discuss in this article.
Some Effective Teaching Methods
The effective methods of teaching that do yield results are as follows:
Some Effective Teaching Methods
The effective methods of teaching that do yield results are as follows:
- It is important that the teacher sets goals for himself or herself and also for his or her students so that they aim and work towards that goal and when they fail to achieve to that goal the target they realize it before it is too late and work upon it.
- It is important that the teacher underlines the key concepts of a lesson or chapter so that the students learn to identify the main ideas that they need to understand and sieve the study material.
- It is important that the teacher establishes an interactive environment in the classroom so that the students can speak out and the teacher can also understand which concepts have been studied and understood well and which have not been.
- It is always better to give the students a little of the background of the topic that you are teaching so that they have better understanding.
- It is also advisable to revise the topic that you did in the previous class since revision makes things easier to remember and recollect.
- To make things easier and less time taking you can adopt the method the Questioning to revise the previously done things so that you can also assess their understanding.
- When teaching small kids it is better to take help of visual aids since pictures and images register in the kind better than words and lessons. So if you are trying to put in facts about a tiger it is better to teach the picture of a tiger and then tell the kids about it. For subjects like geography, physics and chemistry, show the kids things that you are teaching as far as possible. Take help of maps and pictures so that the knowledge that you are imparting does not seem vague for the students.
- After you are done with a certain topic divide the class into several groups where in each group there should be a mix of good and average students and grade them on team performance so that the average students copes up with the difficulties with the help of the better student.
- Besides all the classroom studies it is imperative to concentrate on the talent that the student has beyond classroom studies. There are some students who cannot assimilate the routine and inhibited classroom academics but on the other hand they respond well to experiments and demonstration.
February 28, 2012
4 Easy Ways to Improve Your Brain Health
SharpBrains.com published an article on maintaining a healthy brain
that will function better. Here are the four keys to improving your
brain health:
Physical Exercise
Physical Exercise
- Do something you enjoy for even just 15 minutes a day. You can always add more time and activities later.
- Schedule exercise into your daily routine. It will be become a habit faster if you do.
- Do something cardiovascular to get your heart beating faster
- Be curious! Get to know your local library and community college, look for local organizations or churches that offer classes or workshops
- Work puzzles like crosswords and sudoku or play games like chess and bridge
- Try computerized brain fitness programs
- Learn something new every day
- Plan your meals around your vegetables (especially leafy greens), and then add fruit, protein, dairy, and/or grains
- Add some cold-water fish to your diet (tuna, salmon, mackerel, halibut, sardines, and herring)
- Try to eat more foods low on the Glycemic Index
- Get enough sleep each night
- Practice meditation, yoga, or a calming activity to help you relax
- Set aside 5 to 10 minutes to just breathe deeply
Boost Your Brain Power with These Super Foods
Now that school is starting back up, it’s time to give your brain everything it needs to stay sharp and attentive in class.
So here are 5 foods to help you improve your memory and supercharge your brain:
Fish
Fish is not only high in good protein, but also filled with essential vitamins and minerals for your brain; including: phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, and vitamins A and D. And fish oil is a great source of Omega-3 fat, which can improve your brain’s chemistry and development. We recommend: tuna, sardine, anchovy, salmon and bluefish.
Blueberries
The Journal of Neuroscience published some research from Tufts University that suggested that blueberries can improve memory loss. Blueberries are also filled with antioxidants and have been reported to inhibit colon cancer and Ovarian cancer.
Wholegrain Foods
Wholegrain foods are a great way to get folic acid and B vitamins into your body. You see, B vitamins like Thiamine, Pantothenic Acid, and Pridoxine have been shown to reduce memory loss. If you’re not eating enough wholegrain foods, we recommend taking a good B vitamin that has B1, B5, B6, and B12.
Pumpkin Seeds
Buy a bag of roasted pumpkin seeds and chew on them throughout the day. Pumpkin seeds are filled with zinc, which has been known to help improve thinking skills.
Broccoli
Broccoli is filled with vitamin K, and can help improve your brain chemistry and overall brainpower.
Eating all the right foods won’t guarantee that you’re brain is at its best performance. You need to balance healthy eating along with good sleep, cardiovascular activity, and plenty of water.
So here are 5 foods to help you improve your memory and supercharge your brain:
Fish
Fish is not only high in good protein, but also filled with essential vitamins and minerals for your brain; including: phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, and vitamins A and D. And fish oil is a great source of Omega-3 fat, which can improve your brain’s chemistry and development. We recommend: tuna, sardine, anchovy, salmon and bluefish.
Blueberries
The Journal of Neuroscience published some research from Tufts University that suggested that blueberries can improve memory loss. Blueberries are also filled with antioxidants and have been reported to inhibit colon cancer and Ovarian cancer.
Wholegrain Foods
Wholegrain foods are a great way to get folic acid and B vitamins into your body. You see, B vitamins like Thiamine, Pantothenic Acid, and Pridoxine have been shown to reduce memory loss. If you’re not eating enough wholegrain foods, we recommend taking a good B vitamin that has B1, B5, B6, and B12.
Pumpkin Seeds
Buy a bag of roasted pumpkin seeds and chew on them throughout the day. Pumpkin seeds are filled with zinc, which has been known to help improve thinking skills.
Broccoli
Broccoli is filled with vitamin K, and can help improve your brain chemistry and overall brainpower.
Eating all the right foods won’t guarantee that you’re brain is at its best performance. You need to balance healthy eating along with good sleep, cardiovascular activity, and plenty of water.
How to Improve Your Memory Power – 7 Effective Techniques
When I was an undergraduate student, I had to take 5 classes in a foreign language to complete my degree.
I took classes in Spanish, classical Latin, and ancient Greek to fulfill my requirement – and needless to say – I’m glad that’s over with.
I’ve literally spent hundreds of hours memorizing verb conjugations. And I’ve probably killed many trees with all the note cards I’ve used up.
The more I memorized, the easier it became – not because I was getting smarter – but simply because my brain was used to memorizing a lot of information every single day.
Pretty soon I was able to memorize stacks of vocabulary cards very quickly. It just took practice, and anyone can do it.
Here are some of the strategies I used to help me memorize my vocabulary terms and conjugation rules quickly:
Make Creative Associations
When I was memorizing a new word or grammar rule, I tried to develop a fun way to make it stick. The more outlandish the association, the better it would stick. For example, let’s say that I had to remember that word “domus” is Latin for home. I would simply imagine a huge dome hanging over moose. (The classical Latin pronunciation sounds like “Dome-oose.”) That association would help me remember the word easily. I know this sound simplistic, but it really works. I would sometimes draw out fun associations on the back of my vocabulary note cards to really make these bizarre associations remembered.
Break-up Your Study Time
Our brains tend to remember less the longer we study. That’s why it’s often easier for us to remember the beginning and end of a lecture than all the details in between. So I found that by studying in short one hour stints helped me remember more. Everyone is different, so find out what amount of study time is perfect for you. You might find that you can memorize more in three one-hour sessions than one four-hour session.
Use Your Mind and Body
Sitting at a desk staring at some grammar rules might work for some people, but I always learned quicker by actively doing something with the information. I would draw association pictures or read my book aloud to help make things more permanent in my mind. I also found that studying note cards while walking around campus was a way to keep myself energized and focused.
Repeat What You Need to Know
One way to help something stick in your mind is to recite it to yourself. Read it aloud to yourself – and then read it again. The key here is to saturate your mind with the content in every way possible. One fun way to do this is to imagine your vocabulary cards or textbook being read by someone you think is funny. Imagine your textbook being read by Jon Stewart. It will at least keep things a bit more interesting.
Reduce the Noise
Some people study well listening to music. It really depends on the subject matter. However, if you find yourself drifting off, or focusing on the words of the song, it’s probably best to dismiss the music for a while. If you enjoy music, listen to some classical music or some other music that helps you focus. You basically want to situate yourself in a place with the least amount of noise interference.
Stay Positive (if possible)
You’ll remember far more information about a subject if you try to find it interesting. If you think the topic is boring and useless, than you’re going to make memorization that much harder. Look for some sort of connection on how the subject you need to learn about fits in with your life.
Study When You’re Most Productive
Everyone has their best study time, and often it’s during the daytime. There’s just something about memorizing and studying when it’s daytime that can keep you more motivated and more focused. I find that I’m most productive during the early morning. I often go to a coffee shop around 6:30 a.m. and just drink coffee while I write and study. Find your best time to study and keep on that schedule. It will do wonders for your memory power.
I took classes in Spanish, classical Latin, and ancient Greek to fulfill my requirement – and needless to say – I’m glad that’s over with.
I’ve literally spent hundreds of hours memorizing verb conjugations. And I’ve probably killed many trees with all the note cards I’ve used up.
The more I memorized, the easier it became – not because I was getting smarter – but simply because my brain was used to memorizing a lot of information every single day.
Pretty soon I was able to memorize stacks of vocabulary cards very quickly. It just took practice, and anyone can do it.
Here are some of the strategies I used to help me memorize my vocabulary terms and conjugation rules quickly:
Make Creative Associations
When I was memorizing a new word or grammar rule, I tried to develop a fun way to make it stick. The more outlandish the association, the better it would stick. For example, let’s say that I had to remember that word “domus” is Latin for home. I would simply imagine a huge dome hanging over moose. (The classical Latin pronunciation sounds like “Dome-oose.”) That association would help me remember the word easily. I know this sound simplistic, but it really works. I would sometimes draw out fun associations on the back of my vocabulary note cards to really make these bizarre associations remembered.
Break-up Your Study Time
Our brains tend to remember less the longer we study. That’s why it’s often easier for us to remember the beginning and end of a lecture than all the details in between. So I found that by studying in short one hour stints helped me remember more. Everyone is different, so find out what amount of study time is perfect for you. You might find that you can memorize more in three one-hour sessions than one four-hour session.
Use Your Mind and Body
Sitting at a desk staring at some grammar rules might work for some people, but I always learned quicker by actively doing something with the information. I would draw association pictures or read my book aloud to help make things more permanent in my mind. I also found that studying note cards while walking around campus was a way to keep myself energized and focused.
Repeat What You Need to Know
One way to help something stick in your mind is to recite it to yourself. Read it aloud to yourself – and then read it again. The key here is to saturate your mind with the content in every way possible. One fun way to do this is to imagine your vocabulary cards or textbook being read by someone you think is funny. Imagine your textbook being read by Jon Stewart. It will at least keep things a bit more interesting.
Reduce the Noise
Some people study well listening to music. It really depends on the subject matter. However, if you find yourself drifting off, or focusing on the words of the song, it’s probably best to dismiss the music for a while. If you enjoy music, listen to some classical music or some other music that helps you focus. You basically want to situate yourself in a place with the least amount of noise interference.
Stay Positive (if possible)
You’ll remember far more information about a subject if you try to find it interesting. If you think the topic is boring and useless, than you’re going to make memorization that much harder. Look for some sort of connection on how the subject you need to learn about fits in with your life.
Study When You’re Most Productive
Everyone has their best study time, and often it’s during the daytime. There’s just something about memorizing and studying when it’s daytime that can keep you more motivated and more focused. I find that I’m most productive during the early morning. I often go to a coffee shop around 6:30 a.m. and just drink coffee while I write and study. Find your best time to study and keep on that schedule. It will do wonders for your memory power.
Hack Your Mind with These Memorization Techniques
California Polytechnic State University provides 10 tips to help students memorize information better.
Here are some of my favorite tips:
Use all your senses. When we are learning, we should try not only to get a strong impression but to obtain as many different kinds of impressions as possible. Some people can remember colors distinctly, but have a poor memory for shapes. But anyone, by putting together and using all of the impressions our sense organs bring us about a thing, can remember it much more clearly than if we rely on sight or sound alone. For example, try reading your lesson aloud. In doing this, your eye takes in the appearance of the printed word, your ear passes the sound of the words to your brain, and even the tension of the muscle of your throat add their bit to the total impression which your mind is expected to store away.
Intend to remember. The mere intention to remember puts the mind in a condition to remember, and if you will make use of this fact in studying you will be able to recall between 20 and 60 percent more of what you read and hear than you would if you were not actively trying to remember.
Logical memory. One of the most important of all aids to the remembering process is the habit of associating a new idea immediately with facts or ideas that are already firmly lodged in the mind. This association revives and strengthens the old memories and prevents the new one form slipping away by anchoring it to the well-established framework of your mental world.
How much study? You should study more than enough to learn your assignment. Experiments have proven that 50% more resulted in 50% better retention. After a week had passed, it was found that extra work had salvaged six times as much of the material as in the case when it was barely learned
Here are some of my favorite tips:
Use all your senses. When we are learning, we should try not only to get a strong impression but to obtain as many different kinds of impressions as possible. Some people can remember colors distinctly, but have a poor memory for shapes. But anyone, by putting together and using all of the impressions our sense organs bring us about a thing, can remember it much more clearly than if we rely on sight or sound alone. For example, try reading your lesson aloud. In doing this, your eye takes in the appearance of the printed word, your ear passes the sound of the words to your brain, and even the tension of the muscle of your throat add their bit to the total impression which your mind is expected to store away.
Intend to remember. The mere intention to remember puts the mind in a condition to remember, and if you will make use of this fact in studying you will be able to recall between 20 and 60 percent more of what you read and hear than you would if you were not actively trying to remember.
Logical memory. One of the most important of all aids to the remembering process is the habit of associating a new idea immediately with facts or ideas that are already firmly lodged in the mind. This association revives and strengthens the old memories and prevents the new one form slipping away by anchoring it to the well-established framework of your mental world.
How much study? You should study more than enough to learn your assignment. Experiments have proven that 50% more resulted in 50% better retention. After a week had passed, it was found that extra work had salvaged six times as much of the material as in the case when it was barely learned
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