Tag: <span>education</span>

Co Education System in India

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on August 29, 2022 @ 1:11 am

Co – education is the recent system of education where girls sit and study along with boys in same classes and in a common college. This system was not popular in ancient schools and colleges. At that time, it was not considered appropriate to allow boys and girls study together in same institutions. Rather, boys and girls were sent to separate schools and colleges. Social mixing of boys and girls was not allowed. This was considered essential to maintain the purity of character in them.

Actually the elders of each family consider many disadvantages in co – education and that’s why they are against sending their children or grand – children to such schools and colleges. They think that co – education makes their children absent – minded. The children become indisciplined and the whole atmosphere of the schools and colleges gets polluted.

The boys try all sorts of motions, gestures and songs to attract the attention of the girls. Even the girls tempt the boys for all sorts of indiscipline. Boys do not come for the teachers in the class. They keep combing their hair off and on and waster their time. The boys and girls all try to show themselves as heroes and heroines respectively and are mostly running to cinemas to see latest movies. The educational institutions start presenting a look of fashion parades. All sorts of unsocial and undesirable habits are developed and students forget to listen to their elders or teachers. In such an atmosphere, one cannot expect a good quality character.

Co – education is considered better from social point of view in spite of its various defects as explained above. Such a system of education gives an opportunity to understand each other’s problems and, therefore, can co-operate better in achievement of respective goals. A healthy spirit of working and competing is created by co – education. The boys try to keep a polite and gentle character so as to give a good impression to their girls class – fellows. During their long period of education, they can better understand each other’s psychology and even can choose their life partners from among their class – fellows. In this way, problem of parents to select a suitable match for their children is also solved. The boy and girl educated together make the best match due to their broad attitude towards life and closer understanding of each other’s habits and manners of living, likes and dislikes.

Co – education provides economical and advanced education to girl students. This is because same amount of money is invested to upgrade or provide better equipments and infrastructure in schools and colleges. Otherwise, funds would get diverted for constructing separate schools and colleges for girls. Further, in a free democratic country like India, we cannot deny education to girls along with boys, the girls must also be equally educated. However, where girls students take interest in greater numbers towards studies, there, special separate institutions can be established to impart education of each level and in various professions.

Co – education seems to be good at primary level and higher level in colleges. But due care must be taken at high school and inter-classes where lot of physical and mental changes take place naturally in children. Students must be guided properly to avoid their going astray. Separation between girls and boys can be made taking them into confidence and making them understand any implications. As such, at high school level, co – education can be imparted with able guidance and care. At university level, boys and girls get matured to understand good or bad of each other. So co – education can be very useful from social and economic point of view if given under proper care and guidance.

Source by Rajesh Mohan

23 Aug

Equal Education For All American Students

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on August 23, 2022 @ 1:08 am

This paper argues that for most of the 20th century, schools have constructed multiple categories of “unlikeness” or unlike ability, and that these categories were created or soon appropriated to mean “children who cannot learn together.” Important evidence collected throughout the century, but most especially in the past twenty years, reveals that school categories favoring children’s likeness, rather than their “unlikeness” promise to improve educational fairness and the country’s educational quality. Ability grouping has been bolstered by the argument that equal opportunity in a democracy requires schools to provide each student access to the kind of knowledge and skills that best suit his or her abilities and likely adult lives. To make the argument more palatable in a culture that, rhetorically at least, values classless and colorblind policies, educators and policymakers have reified categorical differences among people. So, in contemporary schools, there are “gifted” students, “average” students, “Title I” students, “learning disabled” students, and so on, in order to justify the different access and opportunities students receive. Assessment and evaluation technology permits schools to categorize, compare, rank, and assign value to students’ abilities and achievements in relationship to one another (as well as to students in other schools, states, and countries-past and present). Homogeneous grouping began in earnest early in the 20th century. It matched the prevailing IQ conception of intelligence, behavioral theories of learning, a transmission and training model of teaching, and the factory model of school organization. It fit with schools’ role in maintaining a social and economic order in which those with power and privilege routinely pass on their advantages to their children. Homogeneous grouping embodied a belief that permeated schooling during the 20th century-that we understand most about students when we look at their differences, and the more differences that can be identified, the better our understanding and teaching. Homogeneous grouping provided policymakers and educators a way to “solve” an array of problems attributed to the growing diversity of students. New immigrants needed to learn English and American ways. Factories needed trained workers. Urban youth needed supervision. And schools needed to continue their traditional role of providing high-status knowledge to prepare some students for the professions. Policymakers defined equal educational opportunity as giving all students the chance to prepare for largely predetermined and certainly different adult lives. Concurrently, two phenomena shaped a uniquely American definition of democratic schooling: (1) universal schooling would give all students some access to knowledge; (2) IQ could justify differentiated access to knowledge as a hallmark of democratic fairness. While most current grouping practices don’t rely on IQ-at least exclusively-the early dependence upon it set a pattern that continues today. Standardized achievement tests, strikingly similar to IQ tests, play an important role in dividing students into ability groups and qualifying students for compensatory education programs; standardized language proficiency tests determine which class “level” is appropriate for limited English students. In conjunction with other measures, IQ remains central in the identification of gifted and cognitively disabled students.

Over the course of the 20th century, compulsory education laws and the necessity of a highschool diploma drew more and more students to school-even those previously considered uneducable. States and local school systems developed an array of special programs for students who, in earlier times, simply would not have been in school. By the 1960s, the federal government had turned to special categorical programs as its principal way to guarantee education for all American students. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provided categorical funding for “educationally deprived” students. Lau et. al. v. Nichols et. al. was brought on behalf of Chinese students in San Francisco and led to legislation requiring that all schools provide special assistance to their students whose native language is not English. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) provided funds to classify students with physical and neurological problems and provide these students with special education programs when it was believed that they could not be accommodated in regular programs. Advocates for “gifted” students increasingly used the “bell curve” logic to argue that the gifted and the cognitively disabled are like a pair of bookends, and that those at the high end of the curve also required special support because they are as different from “normal” students as the disabled. Educators responded in culturally predictable ways. They identified students who were “different,” diagnosed their differences as scientifically as possible, and assigned them to a category. They then grouped students for instruction with others in the same category and tailored curriculum and teaching to what each group “needs” and what the culture expects. So, today, educators routinely assign “normal” students to “regular” classes at different levels (e.g., high, average, slow). They place the others in “special” programs for learning disabled, behavioral problems, gifted, limited English, poverty-related academic deficiencies, and more. Within homogenous groups, teachers assume students can move lock step through lessons and that all class members will profit from the same instruction on the same content at the same pace. Lurking just beneath the surface of these highly rationalized practices, however, are the illusion of homogeneity, the social construction of classifications, the prevailing biases of race and social class, and self-fulfilling prophesies of opportunities and outcomes.

The considerable student differences within supposedly homogenous classes are obvious and well documented. And yet, for most people, the characteristics and categories by which students are sorted remain more salient than the “exceptions” that impugn those categories. Many educational constructs, including those used to classify students, began as narrowly defined, highly specialized, technical terms or measures. However, as they make their way from research to professional journals and teacher preparation programs to popular media to the everyday talk of policymakers and the public, they loose their narrow definitions and specialized uses. What may have begun as specific technical concepts or as informal notions such as “at risk,” “gifted,” “high ability,” “college prep,” “attention deficit,” “hyperactive,” “handicapped,” etc. are quickly reified and become a deeply embedded feature of students’ identities in their own and others’ minds. African American, Latino, and low-income students are consistently overrepresented in low-ability, remedial, and special education classes and programs. This is not surprising, given that grouping practices grew from the once accepted practice of preparing students of different racial, ethnic and social-class backgrounds for their separate (and unequal) places in society. In part, placement patterns reflect differences in minority and white students’ learning opportunities that affect their preparation and achievements. But they also reflect the fact that US schools use white, largely middle-class standards of culture and language styles to screen for academic ability and talent. Teachers and school psychologists sometimes mistake the language and dialect differences of Hispanic and Black students for poor language skills, conceptual misunderstandings, or even poor attitudes. An additional hazard for students of color is that schools often confuse cultural differences with cognitive disabilities, particularly retardation. Researchers have noted for the past 25 years that students with identical IQs but different race and social class have been classified and treated very differently in special education placements. The misidentification problem triggered both federal and state court decisions requiring that potentially disabled students receive due process. In a far reaching decision, the California courts ruled in Larry P. v. Wilson Riles (1979) that schools could no longer use intelligence tests to identify minority students as mentally retarded. However, substantial problems remain and new ones emerge, including recent evidence that African American boys are disproportionately identified as having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Placement in a low class becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy of low expectations, fewer opportunities, and poor academic performance. Poor performance begins the cycle anew, giving additional justification to schools to reduce expectations and opportunities. Extensive research makes clear that, in every aspect of what makes for a quality education, kids in lower tracks typically get less than those in higher tracks and gifted programs. Finally, grouping practices help shape students’ identities, status, and expectations for themselves. Both students and adults mistake labels such as “gifted,” “honor student,” “average,” “remedial,” “learning disabled,” and “mild mental retardation” for certification of overall ability or worth. Everyone without the “gifted” label has the de facto label of “not gifted.” The resource classroom is a low-status place and students who go there are low status students. The result of all this is that most students have needlessly low self-concepts and schools have low expectations. These recommendations reflect growing support for heterogeneous grouping as necessary to ensure that all students have access to high-quality curriculum, teachers, and learning experiences. For example, early analyses of the disappointing performance of U.S. students on the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) support mounting concerns that the low scores stem, in part, from the tracking of most American students in less academically demanding math and science classes. Increasingly, educators and policymakers are developing an awareness that schools cannot teach or achieve social justice unless they eliminate grouping practices. A number of school desegregation cases have cited the practice as a source of continuing racial discrimination. However, this goal will not be accomplished quickly, and policy reports will simply gather dust unless enlightened educators understand and act to change the norms and political relations these grouping practices embody. There is a long, hard road ahead.

Source by Megan Wilson

02 Aug

MEDICAL Education in India

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on August 2, 2022 @ 12:51 am

Becoming a doctor is a dream of millions of students in India. There isn’t any profession as respectful as a Doctor. However, many students aren’t aware of the complete process of becoming a doctor or a specialist. For same, the student needs hard work and dedication. It requires an undertaking to serve all forms of life with application of one’s knowledge, compassion and kindness. No other career is as satisfying as medical where you cure people suffering from illness, trauma, accidents, and disease. However, merely acquiring a degree isn’t enough as it is required to pick a branch in medicine and surgery to become a specialist. Several of the fields are – Pediatrics, Gynecology, Ophthalmology, Surgery, Neurosurgery and Cardiology. We have compiled this article for students interested in becoming a doctor or a specialist in India. This article is an overview of the complete process of the same.

Specializations in Different Streams of Medical Courses

Various courses are offered for specialization in life-sciences. A few of them are given here for you to have an idea:

Cardiology – deals with disorders of the heart. He performs specialized work like angioplasty, angiography, and by-pass surgery
Neurosurgery – a surgical discipline which deals with treating central and peripheral nervous system and spine disorders. It focuses on primarily brain, spinal cord and nerves. Medical specialists are called neurosurgeons
Orthopedics – these surgeons deal with disorders in skeletal structure. Further, fractures and disorders of the skeletal frame are undertaken. He performs therapies and suggests exercise for patients which are conducted by Physiotherapists
Ophthalmologists – they deal with human eye and its disorders. They are trained with surgeries of eyes, operation of cataract, glaucoma and other ailments
Psychiatry – he deals with psychiatry and other issues related to mind such as mental, emotional or behavioral disorders
Medicine – MBBS doctor who gains specializes in medicine and acquires an M.D. (Doctor of Medicine) degree is called a physician. His job is to comprehend patient’s problems, clinical test results, diagnosing the illness and then prescribing the treatment
Pediatrics – pediatrician deals with the children’s health from stages of newborn to adolescents. He diagnoses and performs treatment of the diseases of children
Obstetrics and Gynecology – Obstetricians and Gynecologists diagnose and treat the female reproductive disorders. They also perform operations like caesarian, laparoscopies and hysteroscopy. Further they deal with ovarian cancer and other illnesses related to reproductive systems

Stages of Medical Courses

There are basically three courses available for the interested candidates. It is not necessary to follow the hierarchy to become a specialist as one can pursue specialization course directly after pursuing the entrance examination.

Undergraduate Courses
Postgraduate Courses
Super Specialty Courses

Medical Governing Bodies

In India, we have four medical apex bodies which govern the medical professional and allied services. They function under the Government of India and comprises of separately affiliated medical associations.

Dental Council of India (DCI)
Pharmacy Council of India (PCI)
Medical Council of India (MCI)
National Board of Examination (NAT Board)

OVERVIEW OF COURSES

Undergraduate

B. D. S. (Bachelor of Dental Sciences)

Duration of this program is 4 years. 1 year is meant for compulsory rotating internship. Courses taught are -biochemistry, physiology, pharmacology, basic anatomy and microbiology. Candidates are exposed to dentistry and hands-on-practice in the final two semesters.

M. B. B. S. (Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery)

This programs spans over duration of 5 ½ years and divided into three professional of three semesters. Each semester lasts 18 months or 1 ½ year. Last year is dedicated to compulsory rotating internship. Subjects like anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, forensic medicine, microbiology, pathology, pharmacology, general medicine, surgery, ophthalmology, ENT (ear, nose, and throat), gynecology, orthopedics and preventive & social medicine are taught.

B. A. M. S. (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery)

Duration of this course is 5 ½ years. Ayurvedic Education in India is under monitoring by the Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), which again, is a statutory central government body.

B. U. M. S. (Bachelor of Unani Medicine & Surgery)

This course deals with undergraduate degree in Unani Medicine & Surgery. Central Council of Indian Medicine (CCIM), a statutory government body manages the Unani education in India.

B. H. M. S. (Bachelor of Homoeopathic Medicine & Surgery)

This program is of 5 ½ years duration. It includes one year compulsory internship. National Institute of Homeopathy, a statutory central government body governs the Homoeopathic education in India.

B. V. Sc. & A. H. (Bachelor of Veterinary Sciences & Animal Husbandry)

Duration of this program is 5 ½ years. Undergraduate course is offered in Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry. Veterinary Council of India manages the Veterinary education in India.

B. Sc. – Nursing (Bachelor of Science in Nursing)

Duration of this undergraduate course is 3 to 4 years. Specialization is done in operation theatre, cardiac care and surgery. Nursing Council of India governs the education in nursing in India.

B. Pharm. (Bachelor of Pharmacy)

This is a 4 year degree program in pharmacy. Professionals are prepared for pharmaceutical industry, which is a multimillion dollar industry. Monitoring work of pharmaceutical education is done by the Pharmacy Council of India.

B. P. T. (Bachelor of Physiotherapy)

Different medical colleges of the country offer undergraduate course in physiotherapy. Course offers learning of scientific procedures and bio-mechanics used to treat a patient with disability or disease or injury. It is to acquire and maintain motor functional rehabilitation. Program also deals with prevention of malfunction or deformity.

B. O. T. (Bachelor of Occupational Therapy)

This is a graduate degree course in occupational therapy which is offered by various medical institutes. Through this program, professional therapists are prepared whose area of operation is to deal with people suffering from physical or mental disabilities. They are helped to achieve maximum functioning and independence related to daily activities of the body.

B. M. L. T. (Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Technology)

Various medical institutes in the country offer B.Sc. programme in medical laboratory technology. Successful candidates are conferred with B.Sc.-M.L.T. degree. They are the professionals who deal with practical and technical work to aid correct diagnosis and in the functioning of Biochemical labs.

Postgraduate Courses

M.D. (Doctor of Medicine)

This is a three year course which offers postgraduate degree in medicine. Those doctors who possess M.B.B.S. degree are eligible for this course. It is a specialized program in general medicine. Candidates who complete the degree successfully are eligible to choose physician as career.

M.S. (Master of Surgery)

It is a 3 years course which offers postgraduate degree in surgery. Those doctors who are M.B.B.S. are eligible to for this course. Successful doctors can work as surgeon, either independently or under an institute.

Postgraduate Diploma

Various medical colleges or institutes offer postgraduate diploma program in medicine. MBBS degree holders are eligible for the program. Duration of the course is 2 to 3 years.

Super Specialty Courses

DM / MCh

It is a super specialty course with duration of 2 to 3 years. Candidate need to be an MD (Doctor of Medicine). While M.Ch is a 2 years super specialty program in surgery which requires candidate to be having MS (Master of Surgery).

General Procedure for Admissions to Undergraduate Courses

Various medical institutes in the country, both government and private follow norms of eligibility criteria as suggested by the respective university. General terms of eligibility are that a candidate wanting to take admission in a medical college must have passed Senior Secondary Examination of CBSE (Central Board of Secondary Education) or its equivalent with physics, chemistry, and biology as subjects. Almost all of the government medical colleges offer admissions to Indian candidates on the basis of their performance in the entrance examination. A very few medical colleges, run by government, admit candidates from NRI/Foreign quota.

Such candidates need to contact the respective institute/university directly for admission. Appropriate documents and certificates must be submitted at the time of counselling. Various state boards conduct entrance examinations for admission in medical colleges and hospitals on behalf of the state government. Some private colleges either consider national level examination scores or conduct their own examination for admission.

Stages of Admission

Education Qualification – Candidate must be passed in class XII or equivalent with physics, chemistry and biology from any recognized Indian board (CBSE, ICSE etc.).

Entrance Exam – Candidate has to appear in a written exam for admission in medical colleges and hospitals. A candidate may be asked to undergo an interview or personality test as well. Congregate score of the exam and interview will be implemented for final decision.

Exam Pattern – Candidates can check the exam pattern, syllabus and interview/personality test (if any) in the official information brochure. Candidates can either download it from the official website or buy it from sale centers.

Result – Merit list of successful candidates who are declared eligible for admission will be issued by the examination board.

Final Selection – Candidates will be called for counselling and option filling by the concerned authority. After being selected, candidate has to go to submit certificates, course fee, and physical tests.

Entry Requirements for Courses

Candidates who have passed class XII exam with physics, chemistry and biology (zoology & botany) will be eligible for admission in MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery). Selection is done on the basis of all India competitive entrance examination or state level competitive entrance examination. All India Pre-Medical Test is conducted by Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi. State level examination is conducted by state entrance exam board.

Medical Entrance Examination

Admissions in medical colleges of the country (government and private) are made through entrance examination
Conducting body or organizations at national and state level will hold the examination
Purpose of examination is to select the most deserving candidates for admission
Courses are offered in diploma, degree, post-diploma, postgraduate degree and research level
On being chosen in the merit list, candidate can choose from a array of choices of colleges and courses
He will be allotted admission on the basis of merit list ranking, available seats, and choices filled

List of Important Medical Entrance Examinations

Annamalai University (AU) – Medical Entrance Exam
All India Pre-Veterinary Test (AIPVT)
Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences (AIMS) MBBS & BDS Entrance Test
Association of Management of Unaided Private Medical and Dental Colleges-(Asso-CET)
Banaras Hindu University-Pre Medical Test (BHU-PMT)
All India Pre Medical Test (AIPMT)
All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS)
Armed Forces Medical Core Entrance (AFMC)
Aligarh Muslim University (AMU)
Common Entrance Test (CET)-Jammu & Kashmir
Common Entrance Test (CET)-Karnataka
Common Entrance Test (CET), Punjab University
Delhi University Medical-Dental Entrance Test (DUMET)
Directorate of Medical Education and Research (DMER), Maharashtra
Bharati Vidyapeeth University (BVU-CET)
Combined Entrance Examination (CEE), Kerala
Consortium of Medical, Engineering and
Dental Colleges of Karnataka-(COMEDK)
CHRISTIAN MEDICAL COLLEGE(CMC), VELLORE
Engg., Agriculture & Medical Common Entrance Test (EAMCET)
medical education and research, Pondicherry (JIPMER)
Mahatma Gandhi Dental College and Hospital – BDS – Joint Entrance Test (JET)
Maharashtra Health Science & Technical Common Entrance Test (MHT-CET)
Maharashtra Super Speciality Entrance Test (MH-SSET)
Meenakshi Academy Of Higher Education And Research (MAHER)
PGMAT- Bihar Combined Entrance Competitive Examination Board
Pre Medical Test (PMT)-Haryana
Pre Medical Test media=””(PMT), Madhaya Pradesh
Pravara Institute of Medical Sciences -All India Common Entrance Test
Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research, Chandigarh
Pre Medical Test (PMT), Rajasthan
PG Medical Entrance Test, Jammu& Kashmir
Punjab Medical Entrance Test (PMET) – Punjab
Uttaranchal Pre-Medical Test (UPMT)
Uttar Pradesh Combined Pre Medical Test (UPCPMT)
Uttar Pradesh Common Admission Test – Dental (UPCAT – Dental)
Undergraduate Admission Written Test (UG AWT)
UP Post Graduate Medical Entrance Examination (UPPGMEE)
Veterinary Council of India (VCI)
Gujarat Common Entrance Test (GUJCET)
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University MBBS Entrance Test (GGSIPU-CET)
H.P. Combined Pre-Medical Entrance Test
Jawaharlal Institute of post-graduate
Masters in Medical Sciences Technology (MMST)
Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences Competitive Entrance Examination (MGIMS-CEE)
SRM Institute of Science and Technology

Source by Sunil Kuuon

27 Jul

Influencing The Quality Of Education

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on July 27, 2022 @ 12:49 am

Do we really believe that every child can succeed? How does the view that a child’s potential is limited affect our ability to reach that child and inhibit his growth and academic success? The largely unexplored, and in some cases erroneous, beliefs held by many mainstream educators have resulted in ineffective and even damaging educational practice. The way we view students and learning affects what we teach, how we teach, and ultimately, student learning. Some teachers design curricula as if diversity didn’t exist; they ignore or are unaware of how their students’ backgrounds or contexts shape their learning styles and affect their achievement.

We prefers observation over research’s traditional pre- and post-testing and surveys as the best means of gathering information about people. Observation allows one to discern the number and types of variables that impact learning in a particular context. For example, observation of infants and small children has shown they are capable of processing information at a much more complex and abstract level than other forms of research previously had shown them to be.

A second erroneous belief held by many educators is that intelligence is a definable, measurable, static entity. First, not even psychometric experts themselves can agree on a common definition or theory of intelligence. Neither the instruments nor quantification procedures used by IQ psychometrists could produce accurate, scientific results.

Moreover, the mental measurement of intelligence is in no way a prerequisite for present success in school. No body of data shows that any use of traditional IQ or mental measurement is tied to valid teaching and learning. Therefore, IQ measurement is a professionally meaningless ritual, a ritual with unnecessarily harmful consequences, that saps professional thought and action in a negative way, causing professionals to overlook successful strategies and approaches in education. It is a ritual that shapes student self-image in a negative way.

Some educators make the mistake of thinking intelligence is a fixed, unchangeable entity. This viewpoint is based on the belief that one’s IQ is some fixed quantity that cannot grow. Those who hold this erroneous belief take no time to nurture the learner because they do not believe that such nurturing can have any effect on learning. Consequently, teachers spend more time focusing on measuring capacity and on standardized test scores than on developing curricula that help students grow. This practice can lead to an overreliance on test scores as indicators of future success. While some educators use results from such tests as the SAT and ACT to predict student success, these tests only show the degree to which students have been exposed to material on the exams.

A third misconception is the doubt society has about the ability of all children to succeed. This misconception about student capacity has led many to question whether schools can improve learning. And yet, there are many schools that do succeed regardless of what IQ tests and popular opinion might predict. Some schools have developed a curriculum that is rigorous and demanding. The school day is longer than in other schools, and students are expected to work hard to succeed. Since their inauguration, these schools have posted gains in student achievement of over 48 percent on standardized tests. Teachers at these schools did not focus on what IQ tests or context indicated about student success. We must stop examining why students and schools fail and study instead how to work within each context to maximize success.

We are especially concerned with how education researchers confuse political issues with professional ones. Educators waste time developing standards against which to measure students, when they should be working on nurturing students’ growth. Confusing politics with professionalism can also mislead education researchers into assigning professional motives to people who actually have a political agenda.

Does instruction really make a difference in student learning? The cognitive system represents the lowest level of learning. This is the level at which most classroom instruction occurs in the form of declarative or procedural knowledge. Declarative knowledge is information that is absorbed and understood – for instance, memorizing historical dates. On the other hand, procedural knowledge can be described as skills or processes students master – for instance, using the process of scientific inquiry.

In most classrooms today instruction in science, geography and history is heavily weighted with declarative knowledge. Math instruction is about half declarative and half procedural. Language arts instruction includes three-quarters procedural and one-quarter declarative knowledge.

The next level in the hierarchy of human learning is metacognitive. At the metacognitive level, students think about their learning. They set goals for their learning, assess the resources they need, determine their own learning strategies and monitor their own progress. Another broad area of the metacognitive system is the learner’s disposition toward learning. Does the learner persevere, seek clarity and push his or her own limits?

Topping off the hierarchy is the self system where learners think about how their beliefs impact their learning. Belief systems have a powerful impact on what students learn. It is the level of emotional involvement students have with their learning that determines its impact. The learners’ beliefs about themselves, others and the world, as well as their own personal efficacy, all interact as they generate goals for their own learning.

If educators know how to increase learning dramatically, why then are students in many of the nation’s classrooms demonstrating such poor performance? There are many reasons, including a lack of solid philosophical foundation for incorporating innovations. Another, is a lack of public support for change.

Teachers must make conscious choices about learning goals and then design lessons to elicit that learning. In many classrooms teachers themselves are not clear about the student learning they are seeking, so they may not be using the most effective instructional strategies. Indeed, it is often difficult to identify the type of knowledge that is desired. Research shows that teaching vocabulary through imagery and fuzzy definitions has the biggest impact on learning. Yet how do most teachers approach vocabulary instruction? By having students memorize definitions and use words in sentences. Similarly, use of stories is the best strategy for teaching information that is factual or involves time or cause-and-effect sequences. Yet most teachers instead ask students to memorize dates.

Meta-analysis reveals that in terms of the hierarchy of learning, if students do not believe they can learn or that learning is important to them, no instructional strategies will produce effective, long-range learning. Teachers must be aware not only of the goals of the learning and the best corresponding instructional strategies, but also how to impact student beliefs about their learning. Only then will effective instructional strategies result in significantly greater learning.

Source by Megan Wilson

30 Jun

The 3 Idiots of the Education System

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on June 30, 2022 @ 12:30 am

“I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built up on the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must be taught to think”. ~ Anne Sullivan.

I was conducting a Discover Your True Calling workshop at IIM, Indore last week. I had the afternoon free and decided to see the much acclaimed, high-grossing Bollywood movie – “3 Idiots”. I thoroughly enjoyed the movie, largely because it is a complete indictment of our education system. The message was strikingly similar to the theme of my workshop.

The film is about three students who do not really fit into the prestigious engineering college and are considered idiots by their professor. However, the movie clearly shows who the three real idiots are – the educational system, the teachers and the parents. Reflecting on the movie on the flight back to Mumbai, I realized that any real change in education is possible only by transforming these three constituencies.

Idiot #1 – The Education System:

Our current system is performance-oriented rather than mastery-oriented. The emphasis on examinations forces students to learn by rote. They focus on scoring high marks rather than investing the time and energy to understand the subject in depth. A system where true geniuses like Einstein and Ramanujan are considered poor students really needs its head examined. In the movie, this is brilliantly brought out by Aamir Khan playing Rancho – the truly outstanding engineer who goes beyond the book to gain mastery.

Idiot #2 – The Teachers:

Our current system of pedagogy is faculty-led and follows a fixed curriculum. The average teacher assumes that there is one right answer and that (s)he knows the answer. It is the rare teacher who has the ability to facilitate rather than teach, to nurture rather than preach and to support students who stray from the well-trodden path in search of creative ways to learn. Boman Irani as Viru Sahastrabuddhe does a superb job of bringing to life a dogmatic, highly competitive, over-confident college professor – the antithesis of an ideal teacher in every way.

Idiot #3 – The Parents:

When India’s HRD Minister Kapil Sibal suggested scrapping of the 10th grade exams, parents were the first to stand up against the proposal. Parents want their children to be at the top of their classes, get admitted to the best colleges and follow traditional career options – engineering, medicine, management and the like.

Parents rarely encourage their children to discover their true passions and pursue mastery rather than mediocrity. The movie’s middle class Quereshis, who want their son to be an engineer, and the poorer Rastogis, who see education as a way out of poverty, are typical of today’s Indian parents. They would probably be the toughest nut to crack.

The 21st century calls for talented people who are masters in their chosen fields of work. It calls for collaboration among passionate individuals, from different disciplines, to address the truly challenging issues and opportunities that the world presents. The current assembly-line approach to education falls severely short. We are not equipping our children to succeed in their world. The appeal of the movie is universal and obvious.

But what will it take for all three of the constituencies above, as well as the student community to rally around to a new educational order? Please share your perspectives. We need to work together to bring about transformation in this vital area of our society.

Source by Sudhakar Ram

27 Jun

Why Early Childhood Education?

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on June 27, 2022 @ 12:29 am

Although this article is about early childhood education in Kansas, many other states are adding early education to their curriculum. Different states and individual school districts may vary greatly in the nature of programs, but they each have some common goals and features.

Many of the school districts in Kansas are adding prekindergarden programs for children that begin at the age of three. Though the age of three may seem too early to begin a child’s education, there is a growing interest in early childhood education. A child’s brain grows to about 90% of its capacity by the age of five. They are likened to a sponge, soaking up everything they see, hear, and experience. Children are adept at learning language then, and many skills they need later in life build on those early experiences.

The first formal research in the US on early childhood education was in Minnesota in the 1960’s. Two groups of children were randomly divided into an Experimental group, who received two years of early childhood education, and a Control group, who did not. The Experimental group was provided experiences that help children grow and thrive, such as stable and nurturing relationships with other children and adults, a language rich environment, experience with routines, and encouragement to explore through movement and their senses. They also learned to take turns, to lead and follow in play, to seek help when needed, to recognize emotions, and to control their impulses. In addition, they become familiar with numbers, the alphabet, and problem-solving skills.

Upon entering traditional school, the Experimental group members were more successful in the early grades, but it was found that by age 10 they performed about the same as their peers. The researchers were disappointed at first, but when they followed the Experimental group through school and into adulthood, they found many improvements. The experimental group were less likely to repeat grades or need remedial classes, and they were more likely to graduate from high school and attend college. They were also more successful in their careers and less likely to experienced health problem or be involved with the criminal justice system.

It was found that the children in early childhood education do better if the parents and caregivers are involved in the process. Many schools involve the parents through home visits and also encourage daycare centers to have children practice skills learned in early childhood education.

Surprisingly, the Federal Reserve is interested in research in early childhood education as a way to improve the workforce and improve economic development. The economic value of early childhood education programs has been found to greatly outweigh the cost. Economists who have analyzed the costs and benefits find that there is a rate of return of $5 to $15 for every dollar invested, with disadvantaged children seeing the greatest benefit. While children and their families benefit from investments in early education, the majority of benefits accrue to communities and society as a whole. It is also likely that the children become better parents and better citizens, extending the benefits forward.

Kansas legislators and educators are becoming more interested in early childhood education as they try to spend education dollars more efficiently. The 2019 Kansas Legislature increased K-12 school funding to allow for inflation, and the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the increase was adequate. However, Kansas should not be satisfied with just adequate.

Kansas has always been known for its excellent schools, and we should keep it that way. One way to do that would be to increase early education programs. There are both Federal and private grants available to develop early childhood learning programs. The Kansas Legislature should also consider providing additional funding to start and maintain those programs. It would be an efficient way to improve educational outcomes at a minimal cost, and it would be a wise investment in our future.

Source by Jesse C Moore

03 Jun

How to Increase Education Percentage in India

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on June 3, 2022 @ 12:08 am

India is a country which has though adopted the Right to Education Act and has made a mention of this right in Article 21A of the Indian Constitution; even then India has strived to achieve a literacy rate of only 74-75 percent. This figure may seem huge, but the simple criteria to certify a person as literate along with the advancing world is referred; the figure seems to be a small one only.

To determine the literacy rate along with the percent of educated people we need to discuss upon various heads of education in India. Here we will discuss some topics to increase Education Percentage in India.

Primary Education

The opening up of the Anganwadi centers and the Indian government schools at each and every city and village has brought most of the children to school. Moreover, the appropriate governments also provide the students with various perks like free education, meals, books and uniform. This is the level of education where most of the students are enrolled and it is going up.

Secondary Education

This is the level where the drop out from school begins. The reason being, the poor conditions of the family. Not in all States, the education till the secondary level is free. The poor send their sons to work and get their daughters married after they complete their primary education. Scholarship schemes can help benefit this level of education.

Higher Education

This is the level of education where most of the students tend not to opt for. The reason being the high fees. It is very much evident that top class government colleges like IIT, NLU, AIIMS, IIM, NIFT are all high prices and private institutions charge double and more. Due to this reason, most the population which is either poor, or constitutes of the lower middle class doesn’t send their children for higher education. They prefer sending their children for jobs. The Central and the State universities charge less but still the poor household cannot afford the same. In this regard, the various scholarship schemes have played a very important role and so has reservation.

Adult Education

This is one of the trends mostly observed in the rural areas. The reason being, the population is unaware of the perks of being literate. In rural areas, night schools are operated by NGOs where the farmers who are not literate and also, the population who is senior is change are taught free of cost. This type of schooling is becoming popular and is bearing fruitful results.

Gender Literacy

The gender literacy is a big issue for the country to tackle. If we rely on the stats, then we can see that 82 percent of the males are literate as compared to 65 percent of females. A huge gap of 17 percent still lies. Though the 2011 census figures are better than the previous ones. It is only due to the different schemes introduced by the various State Governments with the support of the Central government. Schemes like Cycle Yojana, Uniform, Free meals and most importantly, free education have attracted most of the female students in the nation to schools. The poor parents are now sending their daughters to school.

Education is very much important to survive in the globalized world of today. It is most of the times seen that the poor people are the ones who remain literate and so do their children. This is one of the reasons due to which they are victimized. But, the efforts of the governments at the different levels have helped increase the literacy rate in the recent years and are continuing to do the same.

Source by Ankur Rautela

31 May

Education in Third World

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on May 31, 2022 @ 12:07 am

With the daily challenges posed by economic difficulty and other threats, governments in developing countries are working very hard to ensure that their educational institutions continue to provide a standard of education that can make its citizens at part with the educated people in more economically sound countries. To a certain extent, these Third World countries have succeeded in their crusade for quality education. The problem is that a good education comes with a price and it is often a price that many people in Third World countries are not able to pay. So, although quality education is available, it is still unreachable for a large segment of a developing country’s population.

Certainly, it is impressive to see that developing countries have educational institutions that are world-class and which offer education that can rival that provided by wealthier nations around the world. There is a clear recognition of the role that education plays in overcoming hardship and poverty. However elusive it may be, a good education is still viewed as the best way to a better life.

Among the developing countries that have superb educational systems are such “emerging markets” as Mexico, India, Brazil, Turkey, the Philippines, Egypt, South Africa, Malaysia, Thailand, much of South America and several of the Persian Gulf Arab States.

Obviously, the poorest of the poor in these countries will have a hard time getting into the best schools in their vicinity. Of course, there are always scholarship programs available but these are few. Besides, people at the lowest spectrum of the economic scale are more concerned with more pressing issues related to their mere survival such as where to find food and money for clothing and shelter. After these basic needs are met, that is the only time that parents can really focus on their children’s schooling. In fact, studies indicate that once their basic economic needs are met, the first priority of most poor families is how to send their children to a good school.

India recently launched EDUSAT, an educational program aimed at giving quality education to even its poorest citizens. Among the group’s first initiatives is the development of a $100 laptop which the government hopes to distribute by 2007 to public schools all over the country.

Source by Jonathon Hardcastle

28 May

Special Education Inclusion

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on May 28, 2022 @ 12:01 am

Special education inclusion signifies the participation of special education students in regular education classrooms and provision of support services to these students. The main objective of inclusion education is that all students in a school, regardless of their strengths and their weaknesses in any area, become part of the school community. Every student develops a feeling of belonging with other students, teachers, and support staff. In segregated special education, children will not learn how to function in a non-disabled world. For instance, children who are disabled in terms of communication and are emotionally distressed would not communicate and might remain in a more emotionally disturbed state in segregated settings. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) holds it mandatory for schools to educate children with disabilities in general education classrooms.

The prime advantage of special education inclusion is that both disabled and non-disabled students are brought together in an environment of togetherness. Children learn to accept individual differences in inclusion education and this would lead to the development of new friendly relationships. Inclusion education also enables active participation of parents in their child’s education. The law also states that students with disabilities have a legal right to attend regular classes and receive an appropriate education in the least restrictive environment. Although the advantages are many, inclusion education creates an uncertainty regarding the roles and responsibilities of regular classroom teachers and special education teachers. However, researches show that inclusion education can be made effective by a healthy collaboration of special education teachers and regular teachers. With the assistance of services that would be available from the health department, physical education department, occupational therapists, speech therapists, etc., the school administration can aid the teachers to develop active lesson plans for inclusion education. Thus schools can create a cooperative learning environment and promote socialization.

Source by Ken Marlborough

03 May

Overseas Education

Posted in Education by anshbookstore on May 3, 2022 @ 10:47 pm

Matters of education are one of the most important decisions of life as it holds the power to frame the personality, characteristics, and individuality of a person. In the new era of education today there are lot many changes in the global education system. Owing to a bundle of changes, the new age education system embraces ample of opportunities to explore and discover. Amongst the wide choices available, overseas education is one of the most lucrative and beneficial choice.

The trend of overseas education in India is increasing tremendously with leaps and bounds. Indian students are now progressively approaching to venture into the world of opportunities. There are many growth factors that are constantly pushing the growth of overseas education in the Indian scene and globalization is one of the key factors.

With advancements and globalization, Indian students feel the need to match to global expectations. Apart from this, students get an opportunity to immerse themselves into the multicultural world that opens a huge gateway to success. This gives them opportunity to interact, learn, and communicate with people from different religions, cultures, and family backgrounds. This kind of learning makes them outspoken, flexible, and confident, thus forming an extrovert personality. This also helps to stimulate academic learning and discipline along with polishing their skills and talents.

Apart from this overseas education has opened a gateway to immigration. Immigration through education has become the latest trend in global scenario. Many countries provide easy work permit as well as citizenship when applied through means of education. Today many countries like Canada, New Zealand, United States, and United Kingdom are embracing this latest trend and the applicants or immigrants are mostly to be from countries like India and China.

New Zealand is known to be a leader in terms of immigration through education. The country has friendly and supportive government policies along with advanced system of education. It is believed that education in the country facilitates entry of spouse and children along with the student. Over that it also provides work permit to spouse in order to make financial contributions to the family. This is certainly an inviting feature that all Indians look for.

Canada happens to be a hot destination because of its multicultural environment and United Kingdom is known for its high level of education along with its tremendous business prospects. Students are also immigrating to United States but this is one place where uncertainty is the rule of life. Everything changes from time to time but the education system is undoubtedly the most advanced. Another good aspect of the U.S is that it offers sponsorships to family members and close relatives. Even Australia cannot be left behind when it comes to immigration through education.

Owing to these numerous advantages, benefits and potentials offered through overseas education, the trend is constantly increasing and is sure to take over the education system in the years to go.

Source by Jennie Kakkad