Education tips and articles

I have recently written about the importance of designing more creative homework assignments as a way to increase the percentage of students who actually complete the homework.

For example, I often have students write journal entries or letters as if they were someone from the time period we are studying. Of course, I set guidelines for the assignment, but I allow them to be creative at the same time. I see many more students complete their homework when I offer these types of assignments.

Well, another great way teachers can improve their homework completion rate is by giving the students a choice of homework assignments.

Here’s how my own students taught me this lesson…

One day a few weeks ago my homework assignment was to create a journal entry when one of my students asked if she could write a letter instead. I told the student that it would be fine as long as she followed all the same guidelines as the journal entry assignment. A few other students then asked if they could do the same and of course I told them they could.

Then, just this past week, we watched excerpts from the movie Glory about the first African-American regiment in the Civil War (great movie by the way). After watching the movie I was going to have the students write a journal entry as if they were one of the soldiers in the Massachusetts 54th Regiment. However, at the last minute I decided to give them a choice of three different assignments. The students could either write a journal entry, a letter to or from one of the soldiers, or they could write a movie review. In all cases though, they had to include the date and certain key terms that I picked out. In fact, the objectives of each assignment were exactly the same.

The result was great! Not only did I have a high percentage of students completing the homework, but the quality of their homework was very impressive.

Granted, the fact that the students loved the movie certainly contributed, but I can’t help but think that the major factor was that they had a choice in the assignment.

How do I know for certain?

They told me! Several students actually thanked me for giving them a choice…now when’s the last time a teacher got thanked for a homework assignment?

By: Adam Waxler

Not all of us is aware of the process you have to follow in order to get a scholarship and in their confusion many parents or significant others simply fail to save on thousands of dollars spent on the education of their children. Financial aid like scholarships and grants are basically money gifted to students or pupils to help them get through college or university and can be in various forms. They are different from student loans in the sense that they don’t have to be paid back.

This kind of education financing can be paid either directly to the student or paid to the university or college to make up for the fees. Several agencies award scholarships including government, clubs, charities, businesses, schools and even cooperative organization. Parents and students should be aware it is not only the top performing students who are eligible for a scholarship. As a matter of fact, almost every student can get scholarships depending on his or her abilities.

Another misconception about this way to finance your education is it is available only to high school students who are seeking admission in college. Fact is such financial grants are available to all levels of college or university studies, right from freshman years to graduates and even PhD students.

Scholarships can be applied for on a variety of reasons right from your abilities to your following a certain religion. The range of this study financing option available include athletic scholarships, scholarships for students in a particular field of study or even scholarships for students living or studying in a particular city or state. The sources for scholarships are also literally unlimited – even a simple internet search would reveal numerous sources.

To get the scholarship you want you need to do some grunt work first. The first step is to take the initiative and apply for it. Look for scholarship grants where their criteria match your position and after you find them, contact the provider and ask for an application form. Many scholarship providers allow you to download their application forms from their website while others require you to send a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Be careful to follow all the deadlines set by the scholarship providers – for filling in and submitting the forms, providing all your necessary documentation and appearing for an interview if they call you for one. Be organized in your scholarship applications – keep all necessary documents including reference and recommendation letters as well as course transcripts ready at hand so that you don’t need to run around for them at the last minute.

Always make copies of all your completed applications before submitting them and file them properly with all necessary details for easy reference. If your mail copy is lost by accident, you can always send in a follow up copy from the one you made. Last but not least, stay positive about yourself and your chances of getting a scholarship. The hard work you put in and the time you spent towards searching for scholarships will definitely bring you decent results.

By: Nic Haffner

The Internet has become a huge source of information, and people are happily sharing their knowledge. Article bases like GoArticles, EzineArticles and Squidoo publish articles teaching every possible field, contributed by people from all over the world. Not to mention the fact that Wikipedia is always there with its huge base of academically reviewed essays. Do you wish to learn to play the drums? Have you always wished to know how to draw a car? The Net is there for you. For some, studying independently using the Internet is better than using traditional learning establishments.

If you are one of these independent students, you’ll need more than a computer to achieve your goal. The Internet is just a tool. The real work is to use it wisely. Having no teachers, tests or homework makes studying more pleasant, but not less demanding. These tips will help you focus on your studies:

1. Come determined. You want to learn? Excellent! No one will stand in your way. One problem though: there’s no one egging you on. So egg yourself on.

2. Define your goals. You must sit down and carefully draw up your studies’ goals. What would you like to study? What would you like to do with the knowledge you accumulate? In what ways would you like to implement this knowledge? Answer these questions so you can draw up an efficient study plan.

3. Create a study schedule. Since you’re working independently, you can study whenever you choose. But it’s still advisable to create regular study hours and make them into a weekly habit. In addition, check to see that the time you can spare fits the goals you have set for yourself. If you want to learn to speak Spanish fluently within a year, allocating 1 hour per week might not be enough.

4. Scour the Net. Let the cramming begin! Use the search engines and Internet knowledge bases.

5. Practice makes perfect. I know, no teacher will review your work, but you must still practice and implement the theoretical knowledge as best you can.

6. Enjoy yourself. This may not sound like a tip, but I insist upon reminding you to enjoy your studies. Working alone can be tiring and frustrating, but the satisfaction from acquiring knowledge is wonderful recompense.

Good luck!

By: Alison Peters