10 Ways to Keep Your Class Interesting

10 Ways to Keep Your Class Interesting Have you ever been in the middle of teaching a class, glanced at your students, and caught them staring into space? Just when you think youve created the perfect lesson plan or engaging activity, you may find that your students are unfocused and out to lunch. Yet its essential that you find ways to keep your classes interesting so your students can absorb and retain the information that you present. For decades, educators have been trying new teaching strategies to keep their students on their toes and get them excited about learning. Although some strategies have failed, others have been found to be quite effective. Explore 10 teacher-tested ways to keep your class interesting so your students will stay engaged all the time. 1. Incorporate Mystery Into Your Lessons Learning may be the most fun for your students when they dont know what to expect. Try to incorporate a sense of surprise and mystery into your lessons. When youre about to unveil a new lesson, give students a new clue each day up until the last day before the start of the lesson. This is a fun way to make your lesson mysterious, and you may find that your students are actually looking forward to finding out what theyll be learning about next. 2. Dont Repeat Classroom Material Its appropriate and essential to review classroom material, but try not to repeat it verbatim because this can make it less interesting for students. The next time you need to review material, try playing a review game during which you present the information in a way thats different from the first time you taught the students. The 3-2-1 strategy is a fun way to review and not repeat material. For this activity, students draw a pyramid in their notebooks and write down three things they learned, two things they thought were interesting, and one question they still have. 3. Create Classroom Games Whether youre 5 or 25, playing a game can be fun. Games are also a great way to keep lessons interesting. If your students need to remember their spelling words, conduct a spelling bee- a contest in which participants are eliminated when they misspell a word. Or if the students need to practice math, have a math bee, which is similar to a spelling bee, but with math problems or facts instead of spelling words. Games make learning fun, and games in class are a prescription for happy kids. 4. Give Your Students Choices One strategy that teachers have found to be effective is offering their students the ability to make their own choices when it comes to learning. Choice can be a powerful motivator because it helps to foster student interest and independence. The next time youre planning an activity, try making a choice board. Print out a tic-tac-toe board and write down nine different tasks for students to complete. The goal is for each student to choose three tasks in a row. 5. Use Technology Technology is a great way to keep your lessons interesting. Children love electronics, so try incorporating it into your overall teaching strategy. Instead of standing in front of the room and lecturing, try using a Smartboard interactive display. Expand your cooperative learning activity lessons by connecting to a classroom in another city or country via videoconferencing. Use technology in a variety of ways, and youll see the interest level in your classroom increase by leaps and bounds. 6. Dont Take Teaching so Seriously Being an effective teacher is an important job, but that doesnt mean that you have to remain serious in class at all times. Try to loosen up a bit and acknowledge that your students may have different interests and learning styles than your own. Its OK to laugh at yourself at times and to have some fun. You may find that your students are more interested when youre a little more relaxed. 7. Make Your Lessons Interactive In a traditional classroom, the teacher stands in front of the room and lectures to the students as the students listen and take notes. Unfortunately, this is not the most effective way to hold students interest. Make learning interactive by creating hands-on lessons that involve students every step of the way. Try using the Jigsaw cooperative learning activity in which each student is responsible for his or her own part of a group activity. Or try a hands-on science experiment. When you involve students and make your lessons interactive, your class becomes more interesting. 8. Relate Material to Your Students Lives Try to create a real-world connection to what your students are learning. This will give them a better understanding of why they need to learn what youre teaching. If theyre constantly asking you why they need to learn something and youre always answering with â€Å"because,† you will soon lose credibility. Instead, try giving them a real answer such as, Youre learning about money because in the real world, youll need to know how to buy food and pay your bills. By giving a straightforward answer, youre helping them make a connection between what theyre learning in class and how theyll use this information in the future. 9. Flip Your Lessons The flipped classroom has been gaining in popularity since the term flipped entered the broader education world in 2012. When it was first presented, the idea that students could learn new information at home and then come to school and use class time for critical thinking activities and reinforcement of concepts was unique. However, many teachers are using this strategy and achieving positive results. Students in a flipped classroom are able to work at their own pace (which is great for differentiated learning) and engage with their peers in a more interactive, meaningful way when theyre in the classroom. Try using the flipped teaching strategy for your next lesson and observe the depth of your students engagement. 10. Think Outside the Box Lesson plans dont have to include worksheets or lectures during which students sit and take notes time and again. Try thinking outside the box and plan a lesson thats completely out of the ordinary. Invite a guest speaker, go on a field trip, or take learning outdoors. When you try something new and different, theres a good chance that your students will respond positively. When planning a lesson, try collaborating with another teacher or taking your students on a virtual field trip. Learning that engages students is the most effective. Your students will find it more interesting to learn when you present the material to them in a variety of creative ways.

Drug testing in the public sector Research Paper

Drug testing in the public sector - Research Paper Example In this context we can refer to the research by the Ulster protestant, Brian Mawhinney, who was extremely against the application of mind altering drugs and considered it as highly immoral to provide syringes and needles for the purpose of treating the drug users. Mr. Mawhinney therefore conducted a survey for gathering data about the positive sides of those services and their role in preventing the infections from spreading. The research delivered results proving that genuine health related advantages can be gained through such services and consequently he started supporting the program. iFor further discussions on this issue it is necessary to go through the various thoughts and perceptions of the various researchers and their researches regarding drug testing particularly in the public sector. ... iolence, accidents and often lead to suicidal attempts that might give rise to long term absence from job, dropped level of performance, accidents and subsequently unemployment. Further the usage of illicit drugs causes psychiatric impairment and the injections used during drug intake can eventually spread communicable sickness like HIV and Hepatitis B and C.iii Illicit drug abuse proves to be a serious spoil for the health and safety of the drug addicts as well as the non addicts along with the society at large. For instance, the one who is driving a car and is under some drug influence, tends to cause accident to the passengers, pedestrians and the drivers of the other cars, and for this reason Drug Testing at the office especially in the public sectors must aim at trimming down the costs with respect to absenteeism, employee’s work life and productivity. According to the Quest Diagnostics director Barry Sample, â€Å"We all know how devastating a single accident can be whe n an impaired driver gets behind the wheel,†iv not only this, the work place should also try to eradicate drug abuse for the safety and security of the community.v The practice of drug testing is most widespread among the employees in responsive designations within the public sector, private transportation organizations and those dealing with the federal government.vi Role of Government CICAD plays a major role in the drug abuse eradication program specifically in the regions of Latin American and the United States. viiGovernment plays a crucial role in this regard since it is their duty to maintain and protect the society from any kind of abuse. In the year 1988, the Drug-Free Workplace Act had been passed by the congress government that ultimately gave rise to the Federal Workplace Drug Testing

Analyze Uzbekistans economy Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analyze Uzbekistans economy - Term Paper Example Uzbekistan’s economy has been through its share of the initial down when it was formed. It relieved its independence in 1991, and since that time, Uzbekistan has undergone economic transformations to strive to become factor in the global economy. The collapse of the Soviet Union and the birth of Uzbekistan had left the country exposed because of the immeasurable downfall of the network of trade and suppliers. The country only had raw materials and semi processed goods available for exports, making them highly vulnerable to the world economy and thus creating a dependency on the world’s commodity prices. Uzbekistan at that time had to take drastic steps to induce polices and reforms that would influx market based aspects. However, the governance of Uzbekistan under Karimov had different set of economic ideas. He introduced policies that had the sole intention of creating control over the economy and these policies played no heed towards producing and implementing structu ral reforms. The economic liberation of the country in the beginning was very much controlled and the government was very cautious in its moves. The economic policies have somehow ensured a slow regression of privatization keeping more of government control in the state. The ineffectiveness of the economic forums brought the Uzbekistan’s economy as rendering and deterring factors for the foreign investments. The country then was too reluctant to listen to the economic advice on reforms by the World Bank, the IMF and various economic institutions. This led to abrupt increase in high levels of corruption and showcased the world about the extreme bureaucratic inefficiency to develop business initiatives. The core issue post independence was the soaring state control and authoritarian style of economic power. The following will shed more light on Uzbekistan’s post independence economic woes: ‘Privatization has been very slow and

A Free Body Diagram Mechanics Essay

A Free Body Diagram Mechanics Essay A free body diagram consists primarily of a sketch of the body in question and arrows representing the forces applied to it. The selection of the body to sketch may be the first important decision in the problem solving process. For example, to find the forces on the pivot joint of a simple pair of pliers, it is helpful to draw a free body diagram of just one of the two pieces, not the entire system, replacing the second half with the forces it would apply to the first half. What is included The sketch of the free body need include only as much detail as necessary. Often a simple outline is sufficient. Depending on the analysis to be performed and the model being employed, just a single point may be the most appropriate. All external contacts, constraints, and body forces are indicated by vector arrows labeled with appropriate descriptions. The arrows show the direction and magnitude of the various forces. To the extent possible or practical, the arrows should indicate the point of application of the force they represent. Only the forces acting on the object are included. These may include forces such as friction, gravity, normal force, drag, or simply contact force due to pushing. When in a non-inertial reference frame, fictitious forces, such as centrifugal force may be appropriate. A coordinate system is usually included, according to convenience. This may make defining the vectors simpler when writing the equations of motion. The x direction might be chosen to point down the ramp in an inclined plane problem, for example. In that case the friction force only has an x component, and the normal force only has a y component. The force of gravity will still have components in both the x and y direction: mgsin(ÃŽÂ ¸) in the x and mgcos(ÃŽÂ ¸) in the y, where ÃŽÂ ¸ is the angle between the ramp and the horizontal. What is excluded All external contacts and constraints are left out and replaced with force arrows as described above. Forces which the free body applies to other objects are not included. For example, if a ball rests on a table, the ball applies a force to the table, and the table applies an equal and opposite force to the ball. The FBD of the ball only includes the force that the table causes on the ball. Internal forces, forces between various parts that make up the system that is being treated as a single body, are omitted. For example, if an entire truss is being analyzed to find the reaction forces at the supports, the forces between the individual truss members are not included. Any velocity or acceleration is left out. These may be indicated instead on a companion diagram, called Kinetic diagrams, Inertial response diagrams, or the equivalent, depending on the author. Assumptions The free body diagram reflects the assumption and simplifications made in order to analyze the system. If the body in question is a satellite in orbit for example, and all that is required is to find its velocity, then a single point may be the best representation. On the other hand, the brake dive of a motorcycle cannot be found from a single point, and a sketch with finite dimensions is required. Force vectors must be carefully located and labeled to avoid assumptions that presuppose a result. For example, in the accompanying diagram of a block on a ramp, the exact location of the resulting normal force of the ramp on the block can only be found after analyzing the motion or by assuming equilibrium. Other simplifying assumptions that may be considered include two-force members and three-force members. Drawing Free-Body Diagrams Free-body diagrams are diagrams used to show the relative magnitude and direction of all forces acting upon an object in a given situation. A free-body diagram is a special example of the vector diagrams which were discussed in an earlier unit. These diagrams will be used throughout our study of physics. The size of the arrow in a free-body diagram is reflects the magnitude of the force. The direction of the arrow shows the direction which the force is acting. Each force arrow in the diagram is labeled to indicate the exact type of force. It is generally customary in a free-body diagram to represent the object by a box and to draw the force arrow from the center of the box outward in the direction which the force is acting. An example of a free-body diagram is shown at the right. The free-body diagram above depicts four forces acting upon the object. Objects do not necessarily always have four forces acting upon them. There will be cases in which the number of forces depicted by a free-body diagram will be one, two, or three. There is no hard and fast rule about the number of forces which must be drawn in a free-body diagram. The only rule for drawing free-body diagrams is to depict all the forces which exist for that object in the given situation. Thus, to construct free-body diagrams, it is extremely important to know the various types of forces. If given a description of a physical situation, begin by using your understanding of the force types to identify which forces are present. Then determine the direction in which each force is acting. Finally, draw a box and add arrows for each existing force in the appropriate direction; label each force arrow according to its type. If necessary, refer to the list of forces and their description in order to understa nd the various force types and their appropriate symbols. EXAMPLES No doubt you are aware of free body diagrams (otherwise known as FBDs). These are simplified representations of an object (thebody) in a problem, and includes force vectors acting on the object. This body isfreebecause the diagram will show it without its surroundings Lets take Figure 1 to be a pictoral representation of our problem: a boat on the floor, with a rope pulling it. First we will represent the boat the body in our problem as a (really) simplified figure, a square Gravity The first force we will investigate is that due to gravity, and well call it thegravitational force. We know that the acceleration due to gravity (if on Earth) is approximatelyg= 9.8 m/s . The force, by Newtons Second Law is F= mg wheregis the acceleration due to gravity. Lets add this to our diagram . Note that the force vector, labelledFmg, points downward, as this is the direction in which the gravitation force acts. Note that this force is commonly calledweight. This weight (mg) is different from our everyday use of the word weight (which is known in physics as mass). Normal Thenormal forceone which prevents objects from falling into whatever it is they are sitting upon. It is alwaysperpendicularto the surface with which an object is in contact. For example, if there is a crate on the floor, then we say that the crate experiences a normal forcebythe floor; and because of this force, the crate does not fall into the floor. The normal force on the crate points upward, perpendicular to the floor. It is called the normal force becausenormalandperpendicularmean the same thing. The normal force is always perpendicular to the surface with which a body is in constact. For a body on a sloped surface (say a ramp), the normal force acting on that body is still perpendicular to the slope. In the case of our problem, the ship, we will pretend the ship is being pulled on a floor. (This is because on water there is the complication with another force, buoyancy. For simplicitys sake, we will ignore buoancy by putting the ship on the floor.) Lets add the normal force to our FBD (Figure ), and represent the normal force with the script N, . Friction Related to the normal force is thefrictional force. The two are related because they are both due to the surface in contact with the body. Whereas the normal force was perpendicular to the surface, the frictional force is parallel. Furthermore, friction opposes motion, and so its vector always points away from the direction of movement. Friction is divided into two categories, static and kinetic. These are represented by the script F, with a subscript s for static friction:, and a subscript k for kinetic friction,. As its name suggests,static frictionoccurs when the body is not moving (i.e. static). It is the force which makes it difficult to start something moving. On the other hand,kinetic frictionoccurs when the body is in motion. This is the force which causes objects to slow down and eventually stop. Friction is usually approximated as being proportional to the normal force. The proportionality constant is called the coefficient of (static or kinetic) friction. The constant is represented asfor static friction, andfor kinetic friction; it depends on the actual surface with which the body is in contact. To summarize, Weve added (kinetic) friction to our free body diagram, Figure . Push and Pull Another force which may act on an object could be any physical push or pull. This could be caused by a person pushing a crate on the floor, a child pulling on a wagon, or in the case of our example, the wind pushing on the ship. We will label the push force caused by the wind withFpush Tension Tension in an object results if pulling force act on its ends, such as in a rope used to pull a boulder. If no forces are acting on the rope, say, except at its ends, and the rope itself is in equilibrium, then the tension is the same throughout the rope. We will use the letterTto represent tension in a free body diagram. If we say that our ship is being pulled by a rope at its front end, then we can add this force to our FBD (Figure ). And there we have it: all the forces acting on our ship has been labelled in Figure . This is the complete FBD for our problem of a ship being pulled along a floor by a rope Steering Wheel and Pedals of a Bicycle Two examples of the turning effect of two equal and opposite forces not acting in the same straight line are the steering wheel and the pedals of a bicycle. In the figure (a) below, the left hand is pulling with force F on the steering wheel while the right hand is pushing with the same force F. The two forces make the wheel turn in an anticlockwise direction. In figure (b) shown above, one pedal is being pushed forward while the other is being pushed back. This rotates the sprocket wheel and the attached chain anticlockwise. Can you think of other everyday examples in which a turning effect or rotation takes place? Examples of Couple In our day-to-day life, we come across many objects which work on the principle of couple. Winding up the spring of a toy car, opening and closing the cap of a bottle, turning of a water tap, cork screws, door key etc. are some of the common examples of couples. A beam balance The physical balance used in the school laboratory is pivoted in the middle with equal arms. The two scale pans of equal weights are hung from the upper edge of wedge shaped supports at either end of the beam. When the beam is raised for weighing, it swings freely about the lower edge of a wedge shaped support in the center. In this position the balance is in equilibrium. Beam balance Because l1= l2and m1= m2, according to the principle of moments, m1x l1= m2x l2 Now if you place a mass of 1 kg in one pan and an unknown mass x on the other pan so that the balance is in equilibrium. then, (m1+ x) l1= (m2+ 1) l2 As m1= m2and l1= l2 x = 1 kg Let us calculate what part of the load each boy carries. To find the upward force exerted by the boy at A, we shall consider the hand of the boy at B as the pivot. Now, the clockwise moment = F1x 5 m and the anticlockwise moment due to the load 900 N = 900 x 3. If the bar is in equilibrium, then F1x 5 = 900 x 3 F1= 900 x= 540 N Hence, the force exerted by the boy = 540 N. But F1+ F2= 900 N (sum of the downward forces equal to the sum of upward forces). Therefore, F2= 900 F1 = 900 540 = 360 N The force exerted by the boy at B can also be calculated by using A as a pivot. Therefore, F2x 5 = 900 x 2 or, F1= 900 x = 360 N REFERENCE WWW.ELIS.COM WWW.ENCYCLOPEDIA.COM WWW.ANSWER.COM DIFFERENT BOOKS R.S. KHURMI G.K. LAL

The Effectiveness of Medical Marijuana Essay -- Drugs

Marijuana, also commonly referred to as pot, weed, cannabis, or a variety of other names, has been cultivated as early as 4000B.C. in China, from the hemp plant cannabis sativa (Miller, 2012). There have been reports of it being used for medicinal purposes dating as far back as 1500B.C. (ProCon.org, 2012a). Although cannabis contains a variety of different chemicals, the main, and most understood, ingredient is THC, delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol. The amount of THC in marijuana determines the drug’s strength and can be affected by the growing conditions. Marijuana is usually smoked by being rolled into â€Å"blunts† or â€Å"joints† or by being smoked through a pipe or bong. The difference between blunts and joints is that joints are rolled in cigarette paper, while blunts are wrapped in a cigar shell. Smoking is not the only route of administration. Often times marijuana is baked into brownies or other baked goods. Marijuana, in the form of baked goods, has become very widely used, so much in fact, that some high schools banned students from bringing baked goods from home (Villarosa, 2012). The legality of use of marijuana for recreational as well as medicinal purposes has been a controversial issue for a long time, dating as far back as 1913, and still remains a controversial issue today (Gieringer, 1999). So far, 16 states and Washington DC legalized the use of marijuana for medical purposes, and 18 states are still pending legalization (ProCon.org, 2012b). Some major reasons why legalization of marijuana remains such a controversial issue is because of its previous advertisement as a drug that will cause you to be committed to a mental asylum and also the potential harmful side effects. A review of the FDA Adverse Events from 1... ...rce.php?resourceID=000145 ProCon.org. (2012a, March 8). Historical Timeline. MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org. Retrieved from http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=000143 ProCon.org. (2012b, March 9). 18 States with Pending Legislation to Legalize Medical Marijuana. MedicalMarijuana.ProCon.org. Retrieved from http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/view.resource.php?resourceID=002481 Solowij, N., Stephens, R., Roffman, R., Babor, T., Kadden, R., Miller, M., & ... Vendetti, J. (2002). Cognitive functioning of long-term heavy cannabis users seeking treatment. JAMA: The Journal Of The American Medical Association, 287(9), 1123- 1131. Villarosa, L. (2012). Brooklyn Tech Students Broiling Mad over Baked Goods Ban. The Local. Retrieved from http://fort-greene.thelocal.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/brooklyn-tech- students-boiling-mad-over-baked-good-ban/

Contingent Workers Overused & Underpaid

Contingent Workers Being Overworked and Underpaid â€Å"Inside Amazon’s Warehouse†Ã¢â‚¬â€Morning Call 09/17/11 I found this article particularly interesting because it is local and it shows the abundance of temporary workers in this job market and how they are willing to be treated to keep a job and have income even if it is only $11-$12 an hour. Integrity Staffing Solutions is the company that hires temporary workers for the Amazon warehouse in Breinigsville, PA. These temporary employees are told by ISS that if they work hard while in this position they may be hired into permanent positions but this rarely happened.The temporary positions would end after a number of hours and then they can re-apply for these same positions within a few months. The reality was that many of these temporary workers never got offered or â€Å"promoted† to a permanent position though. This is said to be the future for many companies in that they hire more temporary staff than perma nent because they do not expect benefits and will work for lower pay. Warehouse positions such as this are very high demand both physically and mentally. Related article: Advantages and Disadvantages of Foreign Workers in MalaysiaMany of these workers were pushed harder and harder until they got injured or physically could not complete the responsibilities of the job anymore. With them being temporary workers they would just be let go and then another temporary worker would be assigned to this same position. It is an ideal world for Amazon because they always have fresh blood in the warehouse. This was taken from the article and highlights many of the key points I had just mentioned, â€Å"The situation highlights how companies like Amazon can wield their significant leverage over workers in the bleak job market, labor experts say.Large companies such as Amazon can minimize costs for benefits and raises by relying on temporary workers rather than having a larger permanent workforce, those experts say. † The treatment of all workers was highlighted in the article with interviews of over 20 current or previous employees of Amazon . These positions were physically demanding and people could not keep up with the increasing demands that were handed down by the company.They talk of the heat index in the summer in the warehouse would reach over 100 degrees and they would have ambulances waiting outside the building to assist people. If a temporary worker became ill or couldn’t physically do the job anymore their assignment would be terminated and they would no longer have a job. This created fear amongst the temporary staff and most of them pushed through the pain and continued working so that they could keep the job because it was income even if it was only $11-$12 an hour. http://www. mcall. com/news/local/mc-allentown-amazon-complaints-20110917,0,1246510. story

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