Minimal resources: Students’ ideas

The student test

Most tests actually check what your students don’t know rather than what they do (unfortunately this is the very nature of most testing). However, it doesn’t need to be like this. Here is an idea to make the whole process far more useful.

1. Divide your students into small groups (between 3 and 5 students is best).
2. Ask the students to look back over what they have been learning (you might want to set a time limit).
3. Then, ask the groups to write a test for the other students. The tests can then be exchanged and each group try another test. Once the tests have been done the original group can mark it.
4. Finally, collect all the tests in and take a look at them – particularly at the questions, not just the answers.

Oops!

1. Make a note of 8 sentences that contain mistakes that your students make – these can be from written work or from when they speak. You will need two pieces of paper (for larger classes you may need more).
2. On one piece write down the eight sentences, but correct 4.
3. On the other piece of paper write down the same eight sentences, but correct the four sentences that on the first piece of paper were left incorrect.
4. Now divide your class into two groups and give each group one of the pieces of paper.
5. Ask the students to work in their groups and decide which sentences are right and which are wrong.
6. Tell the students to correct the sentences that are wrong. The students should make their own copies of the sentences.
7. Next, put the students into pairs – so they are working with someone from the other group – and compare their answers.
8. Finally, collate and discuss as a class.

A student dictogloss

1. Find a suitable piece of writing from one of your students (sometimes it is fine to work with a piece that contains mistakes as these can become part of the focus of the activity. However, it is worth thinking about how the individual student may react to their mistakes being discussed by all the other students).
2. Tell the students you are going to read out a short text.
3. Ask the students to put their pens down and just listen.
4. Read out the text once and then ask the students to note down all the words they can remember – this should be done focusing on key words and NOT trying to remember everything verbatim.
5. Read out the text again and then ask the students to work in pairs and reconstruct the entire text. Then ask the pairs to compare their texts.
6. Finally, compare their texts to the original and discuss.

An object feast

1. 1st lesson: bring in a small object, or a photo. (For example, I would bring in a photo taken from a visit to the rainforest in South America. Another friend would take in a Boomerang they bought while on holiday in Australia). Tell the story behind the photo/object and then put the students into groups. Ask the students to write questions to ask you. Conduct a Q&A session.
2. 2nd lesson: Ask the students to bring in an object or photo. If your class is large divide into small groups and get them to discuss their photos/objects. In small classes the whole activity can be done together.

Word limits

1. Ask your students to choose 3 words that they have recently learnt and to write these words in their notebooks.
2. Next, ask them to write 4 words that they associate with each of their ‘key’ words. Put students into pairs or groups and explain the task.
3. Students should take it in turns to explain each of their key words to the other students in their group. However, when explaining they must not use the other words that they wrote down (those that that they associated with each key word). They must not mime, draw or resort to L1 either.
4. Often students get better at explaining if they have to do it more than once. Therefore, after the first go put students into new groups and get them to repeat the activity.

The question box

1. 1st lesson. Ask students to write down three questions (you could limit the focus or allow the questions to be about anything) that they would like answered. If you want, this can be done for homework. Put all the questions in a box.
2. 2nd (and subsequent lessons). Put students in groups and ask each group to pick a question from the box. In their groups they should discuss the question (you might want to set a time limit. e.g. 10 minutes) before reporting back to the class. If there is one question of particular interest you might want the class to spend more time on it.

Our project

1. 1st lesson. Put students into groups and explain that over the next X weeks/lessons they are going to be involved in a project. Give the groups 6 minutes to brainstorm project ideas and then two minutes to vote/choose which project their group will do. (Alternatively, ask students to think of projects on their own and then form groups where all the students have similar ideas).
2. 2nd (and subsequent lessons). Devote a section of the lesson (from 10 minutes upwards) to the groups discussing their project. During this time they can set tasks for themselves, and each other, that can be done outside the class, discuss progress, exchange information etc.
3. Note: It is important to have an outcome and time limit for the project. i.e. In 10 lessons time you will ‘present’ your project to the rest of the class.
   This type of project work is extremely motivating for many learners, especially those studying at school where classes are levelled by age, not ability.

   Source : www.onestopenglish.com

Classroom management requires a positive relationship between the teacher and the student. A teacher, who has a good rapport with their students, will have a better outcome. Respect for each other, will prove positive in both the relationship and study.

Obstacles to this rapport may involve the classroom set up, which can create problems, such as with rows. The students, at the back, are disadvantaged.

1. An alternative, he suggests, is to arrange the chairs and tables into a three sided box shape. In this fashion, every student is in the first row and the teacher can freely move around the room while talking, and therefore giving personal contact.
   Training students to do what you want them to do, when you ask them to do it, is the side of discipline management called Responsibility Training. The goal is to make responsible behavior in the classroom a matter of routine.

2. Maintaining good order in classrooms is one of the most difficult tasks facing young inexperienced   The task has become more difficult  over the past few decades as young peoples respect for authority has changed dramatically.

• The primary cause of misbehavior, in the classroom, is attention, power, revenge, self confidence and problems at home. To look at one example of misbehavior is when the student, that is the loudest in class, is commonly known as The Loudmouth. To act on the students problems, this one included, we need to pinpoint the students needs.
  We can identify that the student is looking for attention and cries out for it with every action. The school or home environment may be very painful and the student may be using loud behavior to protect him/herself from others.
• The status of the student is that he/she needs to be noticed and recognized and is trying to be somebody through negative behavior.
• The consequent mistakes, which can be made by the teacher, can be to avoid the student, or not deal with the problem at all.
• Never yell at the student, is sound advice, instead take the student aside and communicate.
• Putting the student down and making them feel immature in the classroom is a recipe for disaster.
• This will not only anger the student, but cause more problems with the whole class.

3. The ways to get a routine of positive behaviour is to reward them with more than just a pat on the back. Activities to help you get to know and understand your students.

What to do if the whole class is good- or not? Encouraging new learning partnerships with creative learning relationships. Getting people involved!

4. Consistency is all or nothing. You are either consistent or inconsistent. Being consistent lays the foundations for meaning Business? Never make a rule that you are not willing to enforce. The line between acceptable behavior and unacceptable behavior must be crystal clear.
   When someone annoys us we get upset, and when you get upset in the classroom we can open our mouths and yell, without the students even listening to us.
5. Our first object, therefore, is to relax in response to seeing the disruption. Even though this is not a natural response, it takes training, but it is a skill that all natural teachers master. Relax, keep your mouth shut and give yourself a moment to think to signal to students that you mean business.

Stop what you are doing, take a deep breath, turn slowly towards the students and simply wait. The students can now see that in your classroom, discipline comes before instruction. Studying the students behavior is a common problem in the classroom.
How do you control a student that just sits there looking at you instead of getting back to work? The answer is to move closer, relax and wait. Human interaction is more intense the closer the people are to each other. With practice, patience and experience most behavior problems can be overcome.

Author: Warren Roga

When starting out in business, you may be able to fumble your way to short-term success if you have a good product and a measure of business savvy.

If you want to experience long-term success, however, there are some core disciplines you learn and execute.

At some point (sooner is better than later), you will need to become skilled in the following six areas:

1. Conducting market research

Doing market research will provide you with key information about the industry in which you operate. It will also help you develop your business plan and adapt it over time. Adequate market research includes, at a minimum, the following areas:

2. Testing your ideas

Starting a new business or launching a new product can be intimidating, but it’s also very exciting. Sometimes the excitement causes entrepreneurs to over-commit time and resources on untested or unproven ideas. This is a recipe for failure.

Find ways to test every idea before rolling it out. With the Internet, testing an idea does not have to be difficult or expensive. Search engines and social networks provide some incredible tools that can be used to effectively test and perfect business ideas.

3. Developing business plans

Another important discipline involves proper planning. Creating a business plan in the beginning will raise your likelihood of future success because it forces you to think about and plan for critical issues you will face down the road. Furthermore, by devoting time to planning each year, you will be better equipped to adapt to changing market conditions.

There are several mobile and desktop applications that make creating business plans much simpler than it used to be.

4. Saving vs. spending

It’s easy to spend money on a new venture, and many entrepreneurs overspend in the beginning. Because it can take awhile to get established and begin generating revenue on a consistent basis, it is wise to maintain a cushion at all times. A new business owner should have at least six months of operating costs socked away before going into business.

5. The art of negotiating

Knowing how to negotiate is one of the most powerful skills an entrepreneur can acquire. When opportunities arise, you must know how to negotiate for lower prices when buying and higher prices when selling. If negotiating is not one of your strengths, study the art of negotiating and practice doing it whenever you get the chance.

6. Mental toughness

If you’re not resilient, you won’t be able to bounce back from the setbacks that you will face. Every entrepreneur inevitably faces setbacks and failures. Some will be small, and some will be so big that they will seem overwhelming. You must cultivate mental toughness and the determination to press on despite obstacles if you’re going to survive in the business world.

You have the ability to build a successful business. Thousands of people have done it who have no more ability than you do. To succeed, they simply learned the necessary behaviors to make their dreams a reality, and consistently took action to reach their goals. You can do the same.

Read more at: http://startupcollective.com/6-business-skills-every-entrepreneur-should-have/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=6-business-skills-every-entrepreneur-should-have#ixzz30AKXV0yv