Tips For How to Motivate Students

Rod Ellis defines motivation as referring to “the efforts which learners put into learning an L2 as a result of their need or desire to learn” (1995). The two main types of motivation, intrinsic and extrinsic, can affect the learning process. Intrinsic motivation is task motivation that derives from an inherent interest in the learning tasks while extrinsic motivation refers to the external influences that affect the strength of learner’s motivation such as that which comes from teachers and parents. While some students have their own intrinsic motivation or external motivation , other students need to be motivated to learn. There are many things that you can do as a teacher in order to motivate students to learn. These strategies are based on various articles I have read below. Students are more likely to want to learn when they appreciate the value of the classroom activities, and when they believe that they will succeed if they apply reasonable effort. Hence, "student motivation to learn is an acquired competence developed through general experiences but stimulated most directly through modeling, communication of expectations, and direct instruction or socialization by significant others – especially teachers and parents” (Brophy, p.40) When it comes to weak learners, teachers realize that such learners are accustomed to experiencing failure, hence, the teacher’s task is to help them experience success. Here are some strategies and tactics that may motivate students and stimulate them to learn. • Provide a supportive environment and establish a trusting bond."Motivation is the feeling nurtured primarily by the teacher in the learning situation” (Ellis, 1994). Greet your students, interact with them, indicate a personal concern about them as individuals. • Cater levels of activity to students’ level – try and make sure that the learning tasks pose a reasonable challenge to the students – neither too difficult nor too easy. • Help students recognize links between effort outcome – learning is a long term plan of effort and investment. • Break down learning steps into digestable pieces. • Minimize student’s performance anxiety during learning activities. Over to You – Reflect on Your Attitude as a Teacher Attitude is a key word when it comes to dealing with your students. It refers to everything you do or say in class. It can also have some influence over motivating your students. It refers to your approach, your feelings, your sensibility, your awareness, your alertness, and your understanding. What is your teacher attitude? Have an action plan in terms of how you relate to your students. While it would be helpful to write it down, it is important to at least know it for yourself. And follow through with it: reflecting, thinking it through all along the way.

5 Characteristics of a Professional people

1. Take advantage of every opportunity. I started my career as a hairstylist. At conferences I am often asked how I become aprofessional keynote speaker, author, and executive speech coach? By noticing and using every chance that turned up. Opportunity doesn't knock just once. It knocks all the time, though you may not recognize the sound. One technique is to learn from successful people by finding out how they achieved their success. 2. Start by asking questions. Successful people will share their knowledge and experiences with you if you ask good questions that stimulate their thinking and responses. The quality of the information you receive depends on the quality of your questions. The key to connecting with others is conversation, and the secret of conversation is to ask the right questions. A conversation can lead to a relationship, and a nurtured relationship can produce amazing results. 3. Dedicate yourself. Two questions you should ask yourself on a fairly regular basis are, "What can I do to contribute to my profession--to my employer and my professional association?" and "How can I be professionally accountable?" When you can do this, you'll get so much more than you give. 4. Use stories. Be inventive in selling yourself and your profession. Learn to network, one on one, by using memorable stories. Sometimes, it's appropriate to fade into the background. Most of us are shy in some situations. But, to be professionally accountable, you must be able to stand out and speak up. When you are in any situation where you're meeting the public, how do you introduce yourself? When people ask what you do, can you tell them in a way that will stick in their minds? I challenge you to come up with a one-sentence way of presenting yourself and your profession so that people will never forget. Create a vivid,visual picture of your job, its challenges and triumphs. People will remember the picture you create in their minds, rather than your words. 5. Develop your persuasive powers. Being professionally accountable means knowing how to influence people. President Dwight Eisenhower, said, "Leadership is the ability to decide what has to be done and then getting people to want to do it." How do you influence people? One of my clients is Horst Schulze, president of the Ritz Carlton hotels. He advises prospective employees,"We are all ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. Our guests pay our prices to have an experience, and it is your job to be part of that experience. You will never say, 'That is not in my job description,' and you will never bring your own problems to work." Obviously, this works at the Ritz Carlton. Do you have a similar motivator for yourself, your colleagues,and your fellow professionals? Are you persuasive in representing my company, department or association in public?

varieties of Summer Camp

The kids find this as one of the best options of being outdoors away from home with some of their best friends and a great opportunity to mingle, have fun with the kids of their age and make new friends. But as far as the kids are considered the ultimate right of selecting the best of the summer camps rests with the parents. The parents have to keep in mind the dual goal of making their kids have a jovial time as well as provide an opportunity to the kids to learn some new and innovative things. However this is not a stone crackling decision to be made, there are vast numbers of options available in the market. Some of them are as follows: Day camps or day and night camps First it is essential for the parents to understand whether they are intending to move on to a day or an overnight caps. Day camps offer the activities to the kids which are spread throughout the day and in the night the children can get back home. Such camps are referred to as day camps. On the other hand the overnight camps are camps wherein the kids would stay at the camps throughout the day as well as in the night. Such camps are also termed as extended camps which exist for few weeks or a month. It would be preferable to send the kids for the first time on the day camps so that they could be aware of the camp environment and then the second or the third time when the kids go for visiting the summer camps they can go in for overnight summer camps. Hence it is essential that the kids are sent to the overnight camps only once they are aware about the basics of the camp life. Academic or the scholarly camps These camps are conducted with the educational focus in mind, they are conducted to teach the children based on different and interesting strategies, it teaches the kids from a different perspective than the usual medium of class room teaching. These camps have proven to be really beneficial to the kids from the curriculum point of view and kids enjoy these camps though they have an educational motive hidden in them. Adventurous Camps You would have seen many of the summer camps have adventure camps as their tag line in their advertisements. The adventurous camps offer the kids with an opportunity of mountain trekking, rock climbing but in addition to this they offer the kids to learn certain specific things. These adventure camps are expensive than the other options of summer camps. Art Camps These camps are one of the best options to steer the creativity within your children. However they not only offer creative programs but they do have other enjoyment programs for the kids.

How Do Something Different

Give your creative family lifestyle dreams a try out. If you followed the advice in the past, you have been doing a lot of thinking lately about what sort of creative family lifestyle you could be following. Now it’s time to get your feet wet. Up to this point, everything that you have done has been in your head. You have imagined your creative family lifestyle involving your family in all sorts of adventures together. You have visualized a more proud; more alive you living a new life of real meaning. When you imagined your new creative family lifestyle, what exactly did you imagine that you were doing? Were you traveling, like us? Were you working with others; doing charity work; taking a familycourse in martial arts; living on a farm in the mountains? Whatever you imagined, now it’s time for a little taste of your new life. Look around for opportunities to test out your fantasies. Maybe it is a trip with your familyor a family Saturday at a soup kitchen or renting some rooms at a working guest farm somewhere? Whatever it is, you need to test your expectations against reality. Just because you imagine these activities to be exciting or fulfilling doesn’t mean they actually will be. I will tell you from personal experience that your imagination is probably right on but you have to prove this to your reasoning side. This is also a chance to introduce the rest of your family to your dream. Whatever you do don’t just announce, “Hey guys, I hope you like this because it’s what you are going to be doing full time from now on.” You will need to be much more subtle in how you introduce a new direction for your family and that introduction happens much later. For now, just tell them that this is really important to you and it will be really cool to do together as a family. You will now discover where the major resistance in your family will come from. If you have one or more teens, they may see this as mandatory family time and resent the time away from their burgeoning social life. Unfortunately, there is no certain way to handle teens. They are on the brink of forming their own dreams and lifestyle so they naturally resist be imposed upon by yours. You might just tell them that you’d like to live a dream, if just for a few days or weeks, and, if nothing else, it just might inspire them to discover their own dreams or learn something about themselves that they never realized. If you can afford it, you might let them bring along a pal. In this experience you will also discover just how far apart your family has drifted and what the current level of comfort is for spending time together. Some people are going to be afraid to discover this fact. It is easier to pretend that all is well and everyone is close and loving than to possibly discover that your family members really don’t care for each other’s company much right now. Well, this is reality. If you want your dreams to stay in the realm of your fantasies; you are already done. If you want to make them real, then finding out where your family stands together (and apart) must be experienced. Understand also that your first journey together may be a bit awkward, and even stressful. I promise you that it get’s better. You are all figuring out your comfort zones. You are getting used to being close again. So don’t give up on this process too soon. Anyway, if any of you are or were at this stage in your creative family lifestyle journey, I’d love to hear from you – good and bad. Please post a reply to this post about your experiences. Hang in there. Turning your life around is like turning a big ship. It is slow. It takes time. But it will turn.

How to improve your concentration

1. To enhance your concentration and powers of focus, count your steps when you walk. This is a particularly strong technique. Take six steps while taking a long inhale, hold your breath for another six steps, and then exhale for six steps. If six steps is too long for the breaths, do whatever you feel comfortable with. You will feel very alert, refreshed, internally quiet and centered after this exercise. So many people allow their minds to be filled with mental chatter. All peak performers appreciate the power of a quiet, clear mind which will concentrate steadily on all important tasks. 2. Enhance your will-power; it is likely one of the best training programs you can invest in. Here are some ideas to strengthen your will and become a stronger person: a) Do not let your mind float like a piece of paper in the wind. Work hard to keep it focused at all times. When doing a task, think of nothing else. When walking to work, count the steps that it takes to get all the way to the office. This is not easy but your mind will soon understand that you hold its reins and not vice versa. Your mind must eventually become as still as a candle flame in a corner where there is no draft. b) Your will is like a muscle. You must first exercise it and then push before it gets stronger. This necessarily involves short term pain but be assured that the improvements will come and will touch your character in a most positive way. When you are hungry, wait another hour before your meal. When you are laboring over a difficult task and your mind is prompting you to pick up the latest magazine for a break or to get up and go talk to a friend, curb the impulse. Soon you will be able to sit for hours in a precisely concentrated state. Sir Issac Newton, one of the greatest classical physicists the world has produced, once said: "if I have done the public any service, it is due to patient thought." Newton had a remarkable ability to sit quietly and think without interruption for very long periods of time. If he can develop this so can you. c) You can also build your will-power by restraint in your conduct with others. Speak less (use the 60/40 Rule = listen 60% of the time and speak a mere 40%, if that). This will not only make you more popular but you will learn much wisdom as everyone we meet, every day has something to teach us. Also restrain the urge to gossip or to condemn someone who you feel has made a mistake. Stop complaining and develop a cheerful, vital and strong personality. You will greatly influence others. 3. Become a highly disciplined time manager. There are roughly 168 hours in a week. This surely allows plenty of time for achievement of the many goals we desire to accomplish. Be ruthless with your time. Set aside a few minutes each morning to plan your day. Plan around your priorities and focus on not only those tasks which are immediate but not important (i.e., many telephone calls) but especially on those which are important but not urgent, for these allow for the greatest personal and professional development. Important but not immediate activities are those which produce long-term, sustainable benefits and include exercise, strategic planning, the development of relationships and professional education. Never let the things which matter most be placed in the backseat as compared to those that matter least. 4.The Two Minute Mind is an excellent exercise for developing concentration. Simply stare at the second hand on your wristwatch for two minutes and think about nothing else for that time. At first your mind will wander but after 21 days of practice, your attention will not waver during the routine. One of the greatest qualities a person can develop to ensure his success is the ability to focus for extended periods of time. Learn to build up your concentration muscles and no task will be too difficult for you. 5. To enhance your concentration, read a passage in a book you have never explored. Then try to recite it verbatim. Practice this for only 5 minutes a day and enjoy the results which follow after a few months of effort. 6. 83% of our sensory input comes from our eyes. To truly concentrate on something, shut your eyes and you will remove much distraction.

What is Management Skills Pyramid?

To be successful, there are many skills a manager needs to master. I adapted Kammy Hatnes' pyramid structure to show the increasingly difficult management skills you must master at each level and to also display how these management skills build on each other to help you achieve success in your management career. The result is the Management Skills Pyramid shown here. Each level of the Management Skills Pyramid is listed below and is discussed in more detail on the linked pages. The Management Skills Pyramid, Level 1 Level 1 of the Management Skills Pyramid shows the basic skills a manager must master just to get the job done. These are the fundamentals of the management job: • Plan • Organize • Direct • Control The Management Skills Pyramid, Level 2 After you have mastered the basic skills in level 1, you need to move on and develop your skills onLevel 2 of the Management Skills Pyramid. These are the management skills that you use to develop your staff. There are many specific skills required, and these are discussed in Level 2 of the Management Skills Pyramid, but they are grouped into these categories: • Motivation • Training and Coaching • Employee Involvement The Management Skills Pyramid, Level 3 When you have become skilled in developing your staff, it's time to focus on Level 3 of the Management Skills Pyramid, improving your own development. These management skills are grouped as: • Self Management and • Time Management Time management gets its own category because it is so important to your success in all the other skills. The Management Skills Pyramid, Top Level The peak of the Management Skills Pyramid, the single skill that will help you the most in developing success in your management career, is leadership. As you develop your skill as a leader, as you make the transition from manager to leader, you will achieve the success you truly want in your management career.

expression and perception of Indian cricket

Victory is always sweet. It has an encouraging and electrifying effect on the winning team. It may seem ridiculous to imagine that victory may not have positive consequences. The first major casualty of success is reflection and retrospection, a very vital ingredient. One does not find many a thoughtful faces on a victory lap or deep furrows on the forehead while lifting a trophy. India has had the fortune (or misfortune) of being a victorious side many a times. It has recorded spectacular results in both the versions of the game, albeit inconsistently so. It was natural that nobody ever sat down to analyze these victories and take steps to make them a permanent feature. It was only after a thrashing that the post mortem was conducted and only after a serious malady was diagnosed that a remedy was suggested. We have won yet another series and added yet another feather to our cap if not another jewel in the crown. This victory is bound to give us a feeling that everything is fine and we can jolly well continue the way we are. All the past and recent defeats and humiliations will be forgiven and forgotten. A victory at home. It does have a special meaning for every country. But not when it is India. The way India has defeated, destroyed and demolished every single side at home with a monotonous regularity that the entire exercise appears mundane if not a farce. We could not have avoided winning even after fixing a couple of them. A decade of unbeaten record at home. But abroad? Till date India has won only 14 Test matches abroad and three in the past fifteen years. We needed a debutant like Bangladesh to record our first 'overseas' victory in seven years. There were a couple of very near misses but like all would-have-beens, they should be allowed to rest. The stunning regularity and predictability with which India has catapulted overseas is shameful. But we made up for that by breaking all records at home with series after series of brown wash. I would not be solving a mystery, if I say that the ineptness of our batsmen against fast bowling is the root cause. Every frontline Indian batsman has performed brilliantly, even abroad, but that was never enough to provide us with more than 3 victories in the past 15 years. The spineless displays of these very batsmen comprehensively outnumber the occasions when they had stood their ground to ensure a draw let alone a victory. Not knowing the cause is one thing and not taking any steps to rectify the disorder is another. Our cricket system falls in the second category. For an entire decade it ordered doctored pitches as a tonic for a defeated team. And the team never disappointed. A tacit quid pro quo. You give me a doctored pitch and I will give you a victory, to distort one of our famous national slogans. All kinds of suggestions and theories have been floated in order to get rid of this chronic problem. Ideas ranging from harshly realistic to absurdly idealistic have been provided but little has been done apart from setting up of a couple of academies and pace foundations. A common suggestion is to prepare sporting pitches for a domestic series. That will rob us off an opportunity of making up for abroad losses through home victory and disappoint the fans. We know what has happened to us at Mohali. The Kiwis scuttled us for less than hundred and earlier we squandered the golden opportunity to end the unbeaten record of West Indies. Even the morning dew is enough to account for our collapses as Donald and Kasprovicz have proved on two occasions. The second idea is to prepare sporting tracks for our domestic cricket. Nothing could be more welcome than that except for the risk of running out of batsmen who can play spin and bowlers who can tweak the ball. Nonetheless one finds that something quick and far reaching must be done. The least we can do is to give our batsmen more exposure to fast tracks and hostile bowling with regularity. A test in Mohali once in three years will not do. I understand the need to prepare a turner, when the Kangaroos and the Proteas visit us. But when less lethal sides like Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and New Zealand come calling, then we must have green tops, at least in some matches of the series. A victory at any such venue would do our batsmen a world of good. Similarly we can have a quota of fast track matches for every Ranji side. Say one of the four Round Robin ones. Or the Knock out round to be placed on fast pitches and so on. Unless we give our batsmen a feel of genuine fast bowling, nothing is going to help. What about having Dravid or Ganguly play for Tasmania or Transval for some of their matches? Which side would not want to have crowd pullers like them? Conversely we can have a Donald or Lee bowling in our domestic championship. I am sure that the state associations are rich enough to afford that. To say in short, why do not we have a foreign player quota like the English have? Apart from breathing in a new freshness to our boring championships, it would give our youngsters a nice idea of the world outside. I seriously place this propositions before the board for consideration. Six months of Ranji Trophy may be too much. But we can certainly have the services of foreign players in the knock out stages or at least in the Duleep Trophy. The step would help our players in their transition phase. We will not end up with a long list of players like Raman, Rathor, Martin, Kanitkar etc, who could not convert their triple centuries into 50's at the Test level. And of course avoiding the home series from becoming a fixed affair.