teaching

 teaching infomation
English teaching can be infinitely rewarding. And challenging too.

Have you ever found yourself  in front of your ESL classroom, looking at your eager students and think...

"I gotta do something to spice things up, my students are staring at me with blank faces, I feel a yawn coming on and I really don't know what the heck to do next?"...

Yes, teaching English is, often time, a daunting task even if you are experienced.

Maybe you're not an English teacher yet but you've thinking about teaching English as a second language but don't know where to begin...

Or maybe you're feeling kind of like Indiana Jones with a thirst for adventure and you've heard teaching English is a great way to see the world without having to join the Navy.

If any of the above sounds like you then... greetings! This website is for you.

For current and prospective English teachers...

... this site will provide you with:

• English teaching lesson plans,
• ideas to liven up your ESL classroom,
• recommended ESL books and other ESL resources,
• ideas for teaching English abroad,
• how to be a better English teacher and ideas for self-improvement,
• how to get started English teaching if you're a newbie,
• how to find a good English teaching job,
• where to get ESL certification,
• other useful information for the English teacher professional,  

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 Whole Brain Teaching : 1st Grade Classroom Management

Whole Brain Teaching: Advanced Techniques

Curriculum

 Curriculum infomation

Curriculum as a syllabus to be transmitted  

Many people still equate a curriculum with a syllabus. Syllabus, naturally, originates from the Greek (although there was some confusion in its usage due to early misprints). Basically it means a concise statement or table of the heads of a discourse, the contents of a treatise, the subjects of a series of lectures. In the form that many of us will have been familiar with it is connected with courses leading to examinations - teachers talk of the syllabus associated with, say, the Cambridge Board  French GSCE exam. What we can see in such documents is a series of headings with some additional notes which set out the areas that may be examined. 

A syllabus will not generally indicate the relative importance of its topics or the order in which they are to be studied. In some cases as Curzon (1985) points out, those who compile a syllabus tend to follow the traditional textbook approach of an 'order of contents', or a pattern prescribed by a 'logical' approach to the subject, or  - consciously or unconsciously - a the shape of a university course in which they may have participated. Thus, an approach to curriculum theory and practice which focuses on syllabus is only really concerned with content. Curriculum is a body of knowledge-content and/or subjects. Education in this sense, is the process by which these are transmitted or 'delivered' to students by the most effective methods that can be devised (Blenkin et al 1992: 23).

Where people still equate curriculum with a syllabus they are likely to limit their planning to a consideration of the content or the body of knowledge that they wish to transmit. 'It is also because this view of curriculum has been adopted that many teachers in primary schools', Kelly (1985: 7) claims, 'have regarded issues of curriculum as of no concern to them, since they have not regarded their task as being to transmit bodies of knowledge in this manner'.

Curriculum as product

The dominant modes of describing and managing education are today couched in the productive form.  Education is most often seen as a technical exercise.  Objectives are set, a plan drawn up, then applied, and the outcomes (products) measured.  It is a way of thinking about education that has grown in influence in the United Kingdom since the late 1970s with the rise of vocationalism and the concern with competencies.  Thus, in the late 1980s and the 1990s many of the debates about the National Curriculum for schools did not so much concern how the curriculum was thought about as to what its objectives and content might be. 
It is the work of two American writers Franklin Bobbitt (1918; 1928) and Ralph W. Tyler (1949) that dominate theory and practice within this tradition.  In The Curriculum  Bobbitt writes as follows:

The central theory [of curriculum] is simple.  Human life, however varied, consists in the performance of specific activities.  Education that prepares for life is one that prepares definitely and adequately for these specific activities.  However numerous and diverse they may be for any social class they can be discovered.  This requires only that one go out into the world of affairs and discover the particulars of which their affairs consist.  These will show the abilities, attitudes, habits, appreciations and forms of knowledge that men need.  These will be the objectives of the curriculum.  They will be numerous, definite and particularized.  The curriculum will then be that series of experiences which children and youth must have by way of obtaining those objectives.  (1918: 42)

This way of thinking about curriculum theory and practice was heavily influenced by the development of management thinking and practice.  The rise of 'scientific management' is often associated with the name of its main advocate F. W. Taylor.  Basically what he proposed was greater division of labour with jobs being simplified; an extension of managerial control over all elements of the workplace; and cost accounting based on systematic time-and-motion study.  All three elements were involved in this conception of curriculum theory and practice.  For example, one of the attractions of this approach to curriculum theory was that it involved detailed attention to what people needed to know in order to work, live their lives and so on.  A familiar, and more restricted, example of this approach can be found in many training programmes, where particular tasks or jobs have been analyzed - broken down into their component elements - and lists of competencies drawn up.  In other words, the curriculum was not to be the result of 'armchair speculation' but the product of systematic study.  Bobbitt's work and theory met with mixed responses.  One telling criticism that was made, and can continue to be made, of such approaches is that there is no social vision or programme to guide the process of curriculum construction.  As it stands it is a technical exercise.  However, it wasn't criticisms such as this which initially limited the impact of such curriculum theory in the late 1920s and 1930s.  Rather, the growing influence of 'progressive', child-centred approaches shifted the ground to more romantic notions of education.  Bobbitt's long lists of objectives and his emphasis on order and structure hardly sat comfortably with such forms.
The Progressive movement lost much of its momentum in the late 1940s in the United States and from that period the work of Ralph W. Tyler, in particular, has made a lasting impression on curriculum theory and practice.  He shared Bobbitt's emphasis on rationality and relative simplicity.  His theory was based on four fundamental questions:
1. What educational purposes should the school seek to attain?
2. What educational experiences can be provided that are likely to attain these purposes?
3. How can these educational experiences be effectively organized?
4. How can we determine whether these purposes are being attained?  (Tyler 1949: 1)
Like Bobbitt he also placed an emphasis on the formulation of behavioural objectives. 

Since the real purpose of education is not to have the instructor perform certain activities but to bring about significant changes in the students' pattern of behaviour, it becomes important to recognize that any statements of objectives of the school should be a statement of changes to take place in the students.  (Tyler 1949: 44)

We can see how these concerns translate into a nicely-ordered procedure:  one that is very similar to the technical or productive thinking set out below.

Step 1: Diagnosis of need
Step 2: Formulation of objectives
Step 3: Selection of content
Step 4: Organization of content
Step 5: Selection of learning experiences
Step 6: Organization of learning experiences
Step 7: Determination of what to evaluate and of the ways and means of doing it. (Taba 1962)

The attraction of this way of approaching curriculum theory and practice is that it is systematic and has considerable organizing power.  Central to the approach is the formulation of behavioural objectives - providing a clear notion of outcome so that content and method may be organized and the results evaluated.
There are a number of issues with this approach to curriculum theory and practice. The first is that the plan or programme assumes great importance.  For example, we might look at a more recent definition of curriculum as: ‘A programme of activities (by teachers and pupils) designed so that pupils will attain so far as possible certain educational and other schooling ends or objectives (Grundy 1987: 11). The problem here is that such programmes inevitably exist prior to and outside the learning experiences.  This takes much away from learners.  They can end up with little or no voice.  They are told what they must learn and how they will do it.  The success or failure of both the programme and the individual learners is judged on the basis of whether pre-specified changes occur in the behaviour and person of the learner (the meeting of behavioural objectives).  If the plan is tightly adhered to, there can only be limited opportunity for educators to make use of the interactions that occur. It also can deskill educators in another way.  For example, a number of curriculum programmes, particularly in the USA, have attempted to make the student experience 'teacher proof'.  The logic of this approach is for the curriculum to be designed outside of the classroom or school, as is the case with the National Curriculum in the UK.  Educators then apply programmes and are judged by the products of their actions.  It turns educators into technicians. 
Second, there are questions around the nature of objectives.  This model is hot on measurability.  It implies that behaviour can be objectively, mechanistically measured.  There are obvious dangers here - there always has to be some uncertainty about what is being measured.  We only have to reflect on questions of success in our work.  It is often very difficult to judge what the impact of particular experiences has been.  Sometimes it is years after the event that we come to appreciate something of what has happened.  For example, most informal educators who have been around a few years will have had the experience of an ex-participant telling them in great detail about how some forgotten event (forgotten to the worker that is) brought about some fundamental change.  Yet there is something more. 
In order to measure, things have to be broken down into smaller and smaller units.  The result, as many of you will have experienced, can be long lists of often trivial skills or competencies.  This can lead to a focus in this approach to curriculum theory and practice on the parts rather than the whole; on the trivial, rather than the significant.  It can lead to an approach to education and assessment which resembles a shopping list.  When all the items are ticked, the person has passed the course or has learnt something.  The role of overall judgment is somehow sidelined.
Third, there is a real problem when we come to examine what educators actually do in the classroom, for example.  Much of the research concerning teacher thinking and classroom interaction, and curriculum innovation has pointed to the lack of impact on actual pedagogic practice of objectives (see Stenhouse 1974; and Cornbleth 1990, for example).   One way of viewing this is that teachers simply get it wrong - they ought to work with objectives.  I think we need to take this problem very seriously and not dismiss it in this way.  The difficulties that educators experience with objectives in the classroom may point to something inherently wrong with the approach - that it is not grounded in the study of educational exchanges.  It is a model of curriculum theory and practice largely imported from technological and industrial settings.  

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Google Earth - Curriculum Development Workshop

Home School Curriculum: Geography : Teaching Method for Home Schooling

Aitricles

 Aitricles infomation

There is a difference between a rescue organization and a sanctuary organization. Rescue organizations accept relinquished or rescued birds with the intention of finding them a suitable home. Often there is a rehabilitation period for sick or injured bird or birds with unfavorable behaviors.

A sanctuary organization accepts birds relinquished to the sanctuary and the birds become permanent residents rather than being placed in new homes. Some organizations may be a combination of both rescue and santuary.


Parrot adoption organizations may have a facility or they may utilize a foster home placement model. Both systems have benefits. A facility offers a central place to house the birds, more standardized quarantine procedures, and more accessibility by the public. The foster home models offers one on one care for the birds as they are in a private home and interacting with a family. The foster home model has the ability to expand the number of homes as the need increases.


Not every bird does well in a sanctuary situation and not every bird is best served in an adoption situation. You need to know your bird and ask yourself questions about what situation would be best for your bird. Sanctuaries often have flights full of birds that co-mingle and would be a recommended solution if your bird is happy interacting with other birds and is not a "people" bird. If daily interaction with a family Is what your bird is currently use to, then your bird would be best served in a foster home environment. Weigh the pros and cons of each type of organization so you can choose where your bird will be best served.


Sanctuaries openings are limited because they do not re-home birds and have a capacity limit. A benefit to a sanctuary is the knowledge that your birds will never go anywhere else.


Parrot rescue organizations are more plentiful than sanctuaries. They often do rehabilitation work with the birds and have training programs for foster homes and adopters alike.


Parrot rescue organization and sanctuaries do not purchase birds. Purchasing quite often leads to selling and if you are purchasing or selling birds you are neither a parrot rescue organization nor a sanctuary but instead you have become a bird broker or retail establishment.


No reputable parrot rescue organization or sanctuary should every permit birds in their care to be used for any breeding purposes that would add to the growing overpopulation of parrots.


Thoroughly question any organizations that is eager to to take your bird off your hands without questions. Most reputable organizations do not want your bird to lose its current home. They should ask the reason for relinquishment and try to help you resolve any issues that are barriers to you keeping your bird.


Parrot Rescue Organizations

How do you choose a parrot adoption organization? You should consider statistics, as many parrot rescue organizations fail within the first few years. Choosing an organization that has been around for a while will offer the best outcome for your bird. Make sure the organization is a public non-profit 501(c)3 organization. Non-profit status is designated by the IRS and all non-profit organization are prohibited to conduct business as a for-profit organization and are required to submit annual financial statements to the IRS. Non-profits provide a service to the public and donations to them are tax deductible for the donor. Keep in mind also that having non-profit status only determines they don't make a profit, it says nothing about what the organization stands for and how it operates. The IRS does not do facility inspections or monitor policies and you should not assume the 501(c) 3 status has any bearing on the quality of the organization.


Often the best and longest lasting organizations are those that are run by a multiple-member Board of Directors and not owned or operated by one person or family. A stable non-profit will be governed by a Board of Directors, who may or may not be actively involved in daily operations or with the birds under the care of the organization. Well documentated Articles, Bylaws, and policies will serve as guidelines for governing and will help ensure the longevity of the rescue to continue for many years. You also want to look at the organization's mission statement as well as its policies and procedures and standards of care. Everything the organization stands for and believes in should be clearly outlined for the public to see.


Knowing how the organization is currently funded and how it plans to continue to accrue funding is important. Money is a common reason many fail so make sure the organization you choose is stable.


Parrot rescue organizations should have some focus or awareness of conservation issues. They should be at least aware of and supportive of these issues if not actively working with conservation programs.


Look at other programs and services the organization offers. This gives you an idea of what other goals and projects the organization is working to accomplish.


An organization should be easily accessible by phone, mail, e-mail and through the web and sometimes through a central office or facility. Correspondence should be returned promptly within reason, giving consideration that most rescues are ran by volunteers who are donating their time, energy, and efforts. Information should be readily volunteered and questions answered completely with no hint of anything hidden or unsaid.


Don't hesitate to check out the organization you are considering. Ask for references. Listen to word of mouth from people you trust. See what other organizations they may be affiliated with or a member of.  If you hear negative statements regarding the organizaztion, ask questions, do research, and come to your own conclusions.

Look at the experience and training of the persons involved. How much support do they have? An organization run by just a few people is likely going to suffer burn out. Do they have a good supply of foster homes and volunteers? Is there plans for turnover in staff and volunteers?


Know exactly how the organization operates and what will be the steps taken to care for and place your bird. If you do not have a recent vet visit with a clearn bill of health for your bird, it should receive an avian exam and fecal gram stain. There should be an evaluation of your bird for any behavior or medical issues and work to correct any issues before placement in a new home. A quarantine period of one month is recommended and that period should be in a qualified foster home or with qualified staff in a facility. They should impose strict adoption requirements to ensure a permanent home with someone who is aware of the commitment and has the ability to adequately care for your bird. You should expect a 4-8 week adoption process and often a probation period before final approval as well as follow-ups after the adoption.

Public education of parrot wellfare and care should play a role in any legitimate parrot rescue organization. Reasonable adoption fee should be charged along with education for potential adopters and  foster home participants, as to what constitutes appropriate care for your avian companion and how to deal with behavior problems. Offering educational opportunities to the general public throughout the year is also desirable.


How difficult is it to adopt from the organization you are considering relinquishing your bird to? Do they adopt to pretty much anyone that shows up and wants a bird and can pay the adoption fee or do  they screen the adopters, requiring education, counseling, home inspections, and visits to the bird they wish to adopt? Do they require potential adopters to submit applications? Do they educate that not everyone should be a parrot owner, that the difficulties and joys of parrot ownership should be entered into for the life of the bird and that not all prospective adopters are able to fulfil that role? Home inspections should be conducted and visits with the bird should be expected. Contracts should always be required and read by both parties.

What level of commitment does the organization have towards your bird and it's future? Do they require the bird to be returned to the organization if at any time the adopter no longer wishes to keep or can keep the bird? Or can adopters sell or give the adopted bird away at a later date?


They should not be taking your bird to fairs to sell to the first person that comes with the cash. They should not be giving your bird to someone who drops by on the weekend while they are in town looking for a bird. All applicants should be adequately screened.


Keep in mind that reputable organizations work with each other toward a common goal. Be wary of organizations that seem to be in competition with other parrot adoption organizations but don't expect every parrot adoption organization to endorse every other parrot adoption organization. Not all organizations are reputable. There are a lot of well-intentioned people out there who say they rescue birds but lack the education, resources and often lack the desire or don't see the necessity in screening applicants accurately.


It is our hope that this information can be of use to you in selecting an organization to work with. We provide a link to other parrot adoption organizations and sanctuaries in the menu on the left. However, we do not give a recommendation to any of these but instead encourage you to check them out for yourself.

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English Grammar - Article

Articles (Generic Nouns) - Lesson 23 - English Grammar

technology

 technology infomation
Paula Don, M. Ed., (International Society for Technology in Education -ISTE consultant) is the Director in Educational Technology, in the School District of Philadelphia. In this capacity Paula manages educational technology programs for the District. She serves as the liaison to the State Educational Technology Department. Paula received her BA and MS Ed from the University of Southern California. Paula has been working in education for over 30 years.  She began her career with the Los Angeles Unified School District, moving to Philadelphia in 1982. Prior to joining the Educational Technology Group in 1999, Paula was a classroom and computer lab teacher in multiple grade settings. Paula also worked in the corporate sector providing training in data systems and database information access. Paula has worked with ISTE since 2005 serving on a number of committees and consulting on NETS related projects.
Kate Kemker, Ph.D, (Florida Department of Education) is the Director of Technology and Learning Innovation for the Florida Department of Education Kate is a life-long educator who works to ensure the utilization of technology as a tool that can level the learning field and enrich all students’ lives. Kate completed her doctorate at the University of South Florida in the area of Curriculum and Instruction, in which she examined Florida's elementary students’ access to technology in high and low socioeconomic schools. She also received her Masters in Education Degree for Instructional Technology and Bachelor’s Degree for Music Education from the University of South Florida. She has presented and conducted workshops at various state and national conferences, such as the Florida Educational Technology Conference, the Annual Conference of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, and the National Educational Computing Conference. In addition, she is a member of the ISTE board of educators.

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HE FUTURE TECHNOLOGY!

New Sony Technology

training

 training infomation
The Ministry of Water has commenced using a web-based water sector management information system.

Speaking at a training session in Morogoro on the application of the system, ICT head in the Ministry of Water Joash Nyitambe said the system was a key step in resolving existing water sector data management challenges, as it was difficult to collect from all sources information on different projects being implemented under the water sector countrywide.

“In a nutshell, we are not replacing the existing reporting mechanisms but using this web-based MIS to supplement the existing systems with the purpose of enhancing efficiency, effectiveness and accountability,’’ Nyitambe emphasized.

Effective implementation of the water sector MIS would facilitate information processing and dissemination to the general public in order to avoid bureaucracy in information exchange.

He said the ministry was determined to show in a practical manner the effective role of ICT in the government by enabling stakeholders and the public to access information on water sector development projects in order to provide more opportunities for public and stakeholders' participation in water governance.

“Our strategy in the next three years will be to strengthen total use of ICT in service delivery and enhance good governance as far as water development services are concerned,” he said.

The system is been implemented by the ministry, local government authorities, water basin offices, national water projects, regional centres, urban water supply authorities and other implementing agencies.

The ongoing training involved district water engineers and regional water advisors from Morogoro, Lindi, Mtwara, Dodoma, Coast, Dar es Salaam and Morogoro, Iringa, Rukwa, Ruvuma and Mbeya regions.

Other stations are Arusha involving LGAs from Tanga, Manyara, Kilimanjaro and Arusha Regions, and Mwanza Station involving the LGAs from Shinyanga, Tabora, Kagera, Singida, Mara, Kigoma and Mwanza regions.

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Training Montage - Rocky IV

Rocky 2 - Training

college

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Though you’d never know it by watching Jersey Shore, higher educational institutions originated in Italy. I know, right? It’s true, though. The Salerno School of Medicine was established in the 8^th Century and the University of Bologna followed at the end of the 11^th Century. Fast forward approximately 600 years, and Harvard University was founded as the first college in America. And now, here we are in the 21^st Century with … well, a LOT more.  And with the continued additions of colleges and universities and institutions of higher education comes the evolution of their focus, student populations, and more.

For instance, in the 13^th Century, students could study pretty much one of three areas: Rhetoric, Logitech and Latin. Now, the options are pretty much limitless. From puppetry to enigmatology (Yep, Indiana University offers a degree in the creation and solution of puzzles), if you want a degree in something, you can probably find it. There are, of course, the popular choices, too. Top 10 degrees include biology, business, communications, computer science, criminal justice, education, marketing, nursing, psychology and political science. To this day, no one’s sure what political scientists actually do. There’s a major dedicated to the study of it. Just kidding on that last part.

Another thing that’s changed drastically is the gender breakdown of each year’s crop of college enrollments. As you might imagine, for a long time women weren’t encouraged to get education. Since the fall of 1970, though, that trend has fallen by the wayside. From just over 3,500 enrollees then to a fall 2007 total of almost 10,500, female enrollment has increased at a much higher rate than male (5,044 to 7,816 in the same date range). Girl power! And 10,000 more people enrolled in college in 2007 than in 1970.

But what about degree types? In the 13^th Century, to go along with their Rhetoric, Logitech and Latin coursework, students were awarded one of three “grades” upon completion – Scholar, Bachelor or Master. A hundred years later, “Doctor” replaced “Master” even though those silly  French were still using it in the 16^th Century. In the 1600s, the Bachelor of Science was just an introductory public test and the Mastership of Arts was a 2-year program. Then, in the late 19^th Century, Germany got all revolutionary and scrapped the Bachelor of Arts, instead using Mastership of Arts but calling it “Doctor of Philosophy.” Along that same time, America was devising their own system of degree levels, ending up with the still-intact Bachelor, Master, Doctorate hierarchy. Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Long story short, education has changed a LOT over the past 1,300 years, but has remained something we all need to have fulfilling careers we can succeed in. And with so many options, why not check something out? Maybe you already have a bunch of degrees. What’s one more? As my friend’s grandma used to say, “Once you learn something new today, you can go back to sleep.” So, I’d say it’s naptime.  

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Michael Jackson Medley

CollegeHumor Originals: Honest College Ad