Same-Sex School Update: How Are Same-Gender Schools Doing?

Alive And Well

Same-sex schools were far and few between just a few years ago. A few generations ago, academies for boys or girls were popular. They were boarding schools where the wealthy sent their children for a good education. The families could travel around the world knowing their child was safe and sound. While the academic results were good, many girls and boys colleges are closing their doors. Boarding schools are shrinking, as well.

However, the number of same-sex schools is growing tremendously with No Child Left Behind permission. Some say that these schools are educational explosions. The formats vary. Some variations are

●      Only boys in the building

●      Only girls in the building

●      Boys and girls in the same building but in separate classrooms

●      Boys and girls in the same building and together for some classes but divided for others

Growing Pains

Just like any new idea that goes against the grain of the status quo, same-sex schools are having some adjustment problems. Cincinnati schools are adjusting well.

Cincinnati Schools

Cincinnati is one school district that has made the change to same-gender education. One school, Withrow High, was divided into two smaller schools. Making schools smaller has experienced great success in New York City. Withrow had a graduation rate of 60 percent in 2002. Withrow split students into genders and has become one of Cincinnati’s highest achieving high schools with a graduation rate of 90.2 percent in 20014-2015. While it is unknown how much of an effect can be credited for dividing the larger school into two smaller schools, the success is evident. Something is working that was not working before.

ACLU and AAUW

The American Association of University Women and the American Civil Liberties Union have voiced protests stating these formats are violations of civil rights. The Cincinnati teachers would strongly disagree. Students have the right to succeed in school. "It’s amazing, the amount of productivity I’m seeing in classes. Discipline referrals are almost obsolete at this point," says director Deland McCollough from Cincinnati.

Business instructor at Withrow, Don Lakes, says, "I get a lot more interaction in my classes than I ever got at my previous schools."

Some Abandon Format

Some smaller schools are being forced to abandon the same-sex format in spite of it working. Due to teacher cutbacks, the staff is no longer large enough to divide boys and girls into single-gender classes. Some have modified the school format to continue single-gender format in grades nine and ten, and then go co-ed in eleven and twelve.

South Carolina

This state is so convinced that single-gender classrooms work that it set a lofty goal. In five years, the state wants to offer every middle school child the opportunity to attend school in a same-gender environment. South Carolina goes state-wide.

The Future

If same-gender schools are a fad or the wave of the future is unknown. But, if you ask the teachers that teach in this format, they strongly support it. Tim Kraus, president of the Cincinnati Federation of Teachers says, "Regardless of possible political or ideological opposition, single-gender classes have the strong support of teachers who have tried it. They are continuing to do it because they think it works."

How to Increase Student Engagement in Five Times?

Student engagement is to what degree the students are involved in the learning process. For example, if a student is actively listening to some kind of discussion and simultaneously writing down some key points, then we can say that the student is engaged. There are five levels of student engagement identified by researchers:

●     Authentic engagement: In this, the student is immersed in the work having a clear meaning and has an immediate value such as reading book based on the topic which is of personal interest to the student.

●     Ritual compliance: In ritual compliance, the work involved has very little or no direct significance to students, but still there is some kind of extrinsic outcomes that keep the student engaged, for example earning credits or grades which are necessary for getting accepted to the college.

●     Passive compliance: Some of the task that the students are not directly associated or related to but they give their full attention and effort to complete the task in order to avoid negative penalties and consequences such as they does not want to stay back in recess time to complete the task.

●     Retreatism: In retreatism, the students are not attached from the assigned work and they somehow are not making any attempt to accomplish the task but they are not even disrupting others to learn in the process.

●     Rebellion: In this, as the name suggests, students are not willing and they refuse to perform the assigned task, they act disruptive and they also make an attempt to substitute any alternate activities.

There are seven ways by which one can increase the student engagement. This is required because students who are involved in the task learn things more efficiently and they grasp the things they are learning in a better way. Also, students who are engaged in learning task tend to be more passionate. Some of the suggestions by which students engagement can increase are:

●     Use 10:2 method: In this, after every 10 minutes of instruction the teacher should let students process, grasp and respond to the instruction for 2 minutes. This can be done by letting them write about what they understood and what they learned, any query and question they have or they can also discuss the content they learned with their fellow classmate.

●     The teacher can include movement in the lessons: In this, the students are required to answer the question asked but by moving from his place to some spot in the classroom such as writing on the whiteboard or standing or even sitting in some other place, etc.

●     The teacher should pick up the pace of teaching: There is a misconception that teacher should go slow and let student really understand and get engaged in a lesson learned. But there are studies reporting that when the teacher is at a brisk pace of instruction, students get more opportunities to get engaged, respond and also move to next concept.

●     The teacher should provide frequent feedback and it should be effective so that the student can have a clear understanding of the lesson.

●     When the teacher asks any question she should give at least 5 to 7 seconds of thinking time to the students to answer the question.

How to establish friendly relationships with peers?

Peers are what defines a class and sets them apart from the rest. With the help of a peer group, a person can either grow and explore new options or fall behind and be miserable. Thus, it is essential to maintain a cordial relationship with your peers, in order to ensure that you never fall behind. However, it is easier said than done.

Many people fail to develop such an effective relationship with their peers and are often bullied. However, with some effective methods you can change the situation and ensure that your peer group actually become your friends!

What are the ways to be friendly to your peers?

●     Communicate

It is essential that you communicate your thoughts and ideas freely with your peers to facilitate an exchange of ideas. If someone is not comfortable with verbal communications, try texting or emailing them, using various platforms to reach out to them. Also, keep your body language in mind when talking to them, in person.

●     Try to know your peers

In order to establish a bond of friendship, you need to first establish a bond of trust. This can only be done when you get to know your peers. Ask a bit about their personal life. How are they doing? Any persisting problems? Try and discuss them and try to provide solutions if you can.

●     Tune in your attitude

Your attitude is well read by your peers, so always remember to tone it down when talking to them. Keep a friendly attitude. However, it is alright if you are not friends with everyone in your group. There will be some personas you might not get along with but find a way to maintain a subdued, working relationship with them.

●     Help each other out

One way to ensure and establish friendship with your peers is to help them out. A peer student might not have their work done or are failing to understand certain aspects of a topic. Try and explain it to them. If someone from your peer group faces some problem in work, try to help them out. You can even solve their personal dilemmas if you want to. Also, provide them with opportunities to return the favour as well.

●     Try and be positive

Keep up a positive attitude and think positive always. Your positivity is what affects your surroundings and will certainly affect your peer group. If you ever have a bad day, then keep it low and try not to be too emotional. Don’t vent out your frustrations and anger on your peers. Instead, take a break when you think you can’t contain your emotions.

Key points to maintain a friendly working relationship with your peers

Thus, applying these methods will certainly help you to establish trustable relationships with your peers. To sum it up,

1.      Support your peer group in their hour of need.

2.      Communicate freely to facilitate the exchange of thoughts and ideas.

3.      Never bully your peers.

4.      Encourage and cooperate freely with your peers.

5.      Try to reach a middle ground during arguments and compromise a bit. 

Top 10 Best European Universities

The Best Places to Study In: Top 10 Best Universities in Europe

If you are thinking about going somewhere for studying abroad, you may be interested in visiting Europe (of course, if you already aren’t there). European Universities took 40% in the list of the best 1 000 Universities in the world. Germany is the most represented country (41 Universities) but there is only one institution in the top 10.  UK represented six.

 Top 10 Best European Universities

Europe is a home for the oldest Universities in the World with their own traditions. Studying in such institutions is not only useful for the future career but also very prestigious. So, what are those 10 best Universities in Europe?

1. University of Oxford (United Kingdom) is also the World’s best University. Located in Oxford. This University is well known around the World due to its long history (first mentioned in 12th century) and high quality of education.
2. University of Cambridge (United Kingdom) is 4th University in the World’s ranking. Cambridge is like Oxford, a university city located in England. The University of Cambridge was founded in 1209, a little later than the University of Oxford.
3. Imperial College London (United Kingdom). This is 8th best institution in the World. The College was formed in 1907 by Royal Charter.
4. ETH Zürich – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (Switzerland) (World’s 9th). By the way, 21 Nobel Prizes went to students or professors of this institute in the previous years.
5. University College London (United Kingdom) is the World’s 15th institution. It was founded in 1826.
6. London School of Economics and Political Science (United Kingdom). One more British University in this ranking established in 1895 and then joined the University of London in 1900. The school is ranked 25 in the World’s ranking.
7. University of Edinburgh        (Scotland, United Kingdom). This Scottish University is 27th in the World’s ranking. This is the sixth oldest University in English-speaking countries (was founded in 1582).
8. Karolinska Institute (Sweden). Sweden is known for it’s high level of education. Karolinska Institute (Kongl. Carolinska Medico Chirurgiska Institutet) is the World’s 28th institution and it was established by king Karl XIII in 1810. It is well known for medical research (40% among other institutions).
9. LMU Munich Germany (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich) is 30th in the World’s ranking.  The University was founded by Duke Ludwig IX of Bavaria-Landshut in 1472.

École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland). This is the 30th best institution in the World the same as LMU Munich. The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology was founded as École spéciale de Lausanne in 1853.  

Top 5 Educational Youtube Channels You Need to Check Right Away

Learning with Youtube is a new widespread trend. There many channels with lectures and presentations on different topics and subjects for children and adults. These channels are created by institutions, scientists, organizations or volunteers.

This way of learning is actually effective, and probably even more effective than traditional learning, because traditional lectures can go in tandem with presentations and documentary facts to build more better comprehension of a topic and make learning interactive. The only drawback of this method of learning is that learners can’t ask their teachers to clarify something along the way. That’s why, learning with Google can’t be the only source of knowledge.

 The Best 5 Educational Youtube Channels

1. Fora.tv. This is a channel about everything. There are many questions that are often discussed in the American society, such as gay marriages or tax cuts. All the problems are discussed from the American point of view. Usually, videos on Fora.tv last up to 5 minutes which is a very convenient format for watching the entire video during a short break at job or before going to bed.
2. MIT. This is an amazing engineering channel. Videos are posted by professors. Generally, there are a number of videos from each course. Thanks to such method of teaching, videos work as real lectures and you can start from any lecture you want depending on what level of knowledge you already have in this field.
3. Bad Astronomy. This is a channel about the secrets of the universe for people who are new to this field. Bad Astronomy is a suitable channel for adults and children. The channel explains different ideas or stereotypes about the universe.
4. UCtelevision. This channel was created by the University of California, but it doesn’t focus on traditional lectures being common for in classroom settings. The channel is focus on presentations which are given by professors of the university or guest specialists. The competence of speakers may be different but they usually give interesting and thought-provoking information.
5. Research Channel. This is a channel all about science: hard science, medical science and social science. The channel contain videos of presentations led by researchers in such subjects as Math, Psychology and Medicine. Videos are about different topics in these subjects mixed with interviews of famous figures.  

Watching different educational channels helps not only to know more but to make you more open minded and educated even without attending college or taking a course in certain subject. There much more educational channels which will help you know more about different field in science and about the universe.

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Getting an Online College Degree

The inquiry that is regularly asked is whether a degree earned through an online organization is worth as much as a degree got from a conventional college. Late studies, including one completed by the University of Phoenix, have shown that there is no noteworthy contrast between separation learning and classroom learning with good check for plagiarism.

Be that as it may, an online degree has its offer of advantages and disadvantages. The conspicuous preferred standpoint of an online degree system is that the understudy can be found anyplace on the planet, but then enlist and seek after a degree course at a main instructive foundation, for example, the University of Phoenix Online. There are no altered classroom timings, and it is up to the understudy to choose and pace his or her degree program. The understudy gets to all study material on the web, and collaborates with the personnel through basic email messages.

It is now and then contended that in an online degree program, the classroom environment is missing, and the understudy either relies on upon material that is supplied by the University, or requirements to contact the online assets, for example, online libraries.

The achievement or disappointment of an online degree program additionally relies on upon the understudy's self-control. While a customary classroom circumstance guarantees that the understudy holds fast to the timetable, an online program regularly abandons it to the understudy to characterize the timetable—if the understudy can't strive discipline, there is a probability that the course may invade the worthy timetable.

There are likewise a few questions communicated about the estimation of an online degree when contrasted with a customary degree. In any case, if the foundation granting online courses is confided in the scholastic world and authorize, an online degree is held in high regard. The University of Phoenix is both trusted and certify, and has an accomplished personnel that can discuss adequately with understudies on the web.

The study led by the University of Phoenix contrasted its own grounds based understudies with separation learners and arrived at the conclusion that the current online arrangement is the best vehicle for separation training. Be that as it may, while this study uncovered that on grounds learning at the University of Phoenix gives no noteworthy favorable position over separation learning with that same University, it is pretentious to accept that the similarity likewise stretches out to other online colleges.

WebQuests Let Students Explore Independent Partner in Indianapolis Schools

The Indianapolis Public Schools Click Program 

The Indianapolis Schools Click Program, an expert advancement program for instructors, helped educators planned electronic learning exercises for understudies, called WebQuests. The Indianapolis Public School site offers a scope of WebQuests, organized by evaluation level (K – 2, 3 – 5, 6 – 8, 9 – 12) and branch of knowledge. A number of the WebQuests interface various branches of knowledge. All the WebQuests are offered allowed to the Indianapolis Public School people group keeping in mind the end goal to upgrade understudy learning on an assortment of subjects. They are effortlessly gotten to by tapping on the important evaluation level and branch of knowledge on the site. 

What is a WebQuest? 

A WebQuest is characterized as a "request based action in which most or the greater part of the data utilized by learners is drawn from the Web." WebQuests are intended to center learners on utilizing data and bolster thinking on all levels of examination, amalgamation, and assessment. Understudies are given the definite area of the data that they require in the request that they require it with a specific end goal to utilize the learner's opportunity successfully. The model took after by the Indianapolis Public Schools was produced by San Diego State University in 1995. The WebQuests on the Indianapolis Public School site are best seen with the most recent adaptation of Internet Explorer. 

A Sample WebQuest About Dinosaurs 

Keeping in mind the end goal to see the inventive and intriguing uses for WebQuests, how about we take a gander at one specific case. This WebQuest was created by an Indianapolis Public School basic science educator to help understudies find out about dinosaurs. 

Toward the start of the WebQuest, there is a reasonable task: a couple of understudies is going to outline a notice around one of the dinosaurs they find out about in the Dinosaurland WebQuest. Keeping in mind the end goal to do this, they are told to print out pictures and sort out essential data. The Indianapolis Public School understudies will be judged on their right utilization of spelling, capitalization, and accentuation, acquiring a composition component to this science lesson. 

The WebQuest furnishes understudies with data about Meat Eating Dinosaurs, Plant Eating Dinosaurs, and Fossils. In every area, the understudies are coordinated to take a gander at data gave by different galleries, including the Cyber Space Museum of Natural History and Exploration Technology, the Exhibit Museum of Natural History, the Dallas Museum of Natural History, The Children's Museum of Indianapolis, and the Royal Ontario Museum. Notwithstanding these expert destinations, Indianapolis Public School understudies are likewise coordinated to educator – delivered sites that give insights about particular dinosaurs notwithstanding design pages like the 3D Dinosaurs Pictures Web Page. 

Toward the end of the WebQuest, understudies are given with an itemized rubric to finishing their blurb. This rubric incorporates what number of focuses the understudies will pick up or lose for every part of the notice, including Spelling, Capitalization, Punctuation, Pictures, and Presentation. Toward the end of this rubric is a page for the Indianapolis Public School educator to print out and finish with insights about the understudy's work and achievements. Along these lines, the Indianapolis Public School understudy works completely freely from the educator to make and present a one of a kind knowledge into the subject.