Saturday, March 28, 2020

What Can You Do With Pitt Tutoring?

What Can You Do With Pitt Tutoring?Pitt tutoring is a great way to make extra money by getting into the tutoring business. There are many different schools out there that offer tutoring as part of their offering. This can be a great way to make money and develop your craft at the same time.There are also many different programs available that will help you learn how to be a tutor. These programs can be easily found through the internet and can provide you with all the information that you need to know to become a tutor. Many tutoring schools offer tutoring classes which are open to anyone and they have the resources to help with teaching the students to become more comfortable in front of a student. This could be the best opportunity to try to be a better tutor.Students who are interested in learning about tutoring at Pitt should search the internet for information on this and for any programs that may be offered at Pitt. The teachers at Pitt are very supportive and interested in tea ching and tutoring students. The programs offered are simple and will give anyone the skills they need to become a successful tutor.If you have a passion for tutoring you can apply to Pitt by visiting their website and applying online. The application process can take a few days to receive a response so don't wait too long.If you think that tutoring at Pitt is something that you may be interested in doing, you will need to get a portfolio together. This portfolio will show everyone that you have what it takes to become a successful tutor and that you can be trusted.It is important to show that you can be trusted by showing that you have completed training at Pitt. Be sure to bring a portfolio to Pitt so that you can get a feel for the program.If you are interested in tutoring at Pitt, you can do so by contacting the office at Pitt. Don't be afraid to approach them if you feel like you can do the job.

Friday, March 6, 2020

Guest Post Top ACT Reading Strategies - TutorNerds

Guest Post Top ACT Reading Strategies - TutorNerds Guest Post: Improve Your Score With These Top ACT Reading Strategies There are a lot of reading strategies out there for the ACT.   The problem is, many of them are not necessarily actionable.   A tip to “read more” or “be confident” is not exactly the most efficient studying strategy for the ACT Reading section when you have 2 months or less for preparation. Why not? The ACT reading questions are not like what you’ve seen in a classroom. Often, these questions have been specifically designed to confuse you.   The good news is, the ACT writes questions so that there is one undeniably correct answer.   All you need to learn is how to find it! Here are 5 proven strategies to help improve your ACT reading score: 1. Read the easiest passages first The ACT reading topics are divided into 4 types: Prose Fiction, Social Science, Humanities, and Natural Science.   For those who do not consider themselves the next “renaissance man,” it’s perfectly fine to be better at one type of passage compared to another.   If Natural Science is your bread and butter, tackle this one first.   You’ll be more likely to ride through the rest of the passages with confidence rather than reading and answering the hardest passage first. This is a great strategy to utilize on test day to start off the Reading section on a good foot. 2. Eliminate the wrong answer The ACT answers are black and white when it comes to what’s correct and what’s incorrect.   Understanding the lack of a gray area on this test is vital when going through the answer choices for each question because this strategy focuses on eliminating the wrong answers first. Meaning you’re left with an answer that’s 100% correct. Each incorrect ACT question has a detail that makes it clearly wrong. If an answer introduces a new or unrelated concept, it’s wrong.   If the answer is too specific or, reversely too broad, it’s wrong.   Two other words to look out for are extremes like “always” or “never.”   The more you practice finding these incorrect answers, the easier it gets to spot them quickly and easily. 3. Diagnose your main weakness with a practice test This strategy is all about finding out what your weakness is during real testing conditions and then what your score could be if you had more time to finish.   To find where you struggle, you’ll first need to obtain an official ACT practice test.   You will set the timer for 35 minutes and take the test as if it were test day.   If time is up and you aren’t finished, do not stop working.   Reset your stopwatch and record the time it takes to finish the rest of the questions to the best of your ability.   For these questions answered with additional time, simply add a little tick beside each question that required the additional time.   Now grade your test using the answer key and create two scores: 1.       Timed Score: The score you earned within the 35 minutes 2.       Unlimited Time Score: The score you earned if time were unlimited How can you use these scores to determine your weaknesses?   Here are a few scenarios to look out for and what they can mean: •       The two scores are more than 2 points different: This is a sign that you are struggling with managing your time and need to practice reading more passages to finish faster. •       Your unlimited time score is lower than you’d like: This is also a sign that you need to put more time into reading passages across all the ACT reading subjects.   This is a good moment to identify which types of passages you are struggling with and prioritize practicing on those passages until you feel comfortable. 4. Underline Summarize While you are reading the passage, underline any important nouns or sentences you come across. For every paragraph, write a brief summary to help you remember what you read.   This can be as little as 3-4 words, so long as it helps you manage the information once you refer back later. Underlining and summarizing this text helps you to digest the main points and be more prepared to answer the questions that follow.   If you prefer a systematic approach to underlining for comprehension, you can utilize the following system: •       Main ideas: double underlined •       Supporting details: single underline •       Key words: Circle 5. Try to answer the questions before looking at the answers Like I mentioned earlier, the ACT writes answers to your questions to confuse you or make you second-guess your answer purposely. After reading a question and before looking at the answers, try to figure out what the answer is. This will help you to steer clear from the tempting incorrect answers the ACT will throw at you. These strategies can all be utilized congruently with one another to help develop a smarter approach to improving your ACT reading score. The most important thing to remember is to do what works for you. Good luck! Kristine Thorndyke works at Quesbook, a company dedicated to providing free ACT practice tools and resources to students around the world. Our private Orange County ACT tutoring will help you improve your score without the stress. Call us today for more information. All blog entries, with the exception of guest bloggers, are written by Tutor Nerds. Are you an education professional? If so, email us at pr@tutornerds.com for guest blogging and collaborations. We want to make this the best free education resource in SoCal, so feel free to suggest what you would like to see us write.

10 tips for teaching in ESL classrooms

10 tips for teaching in ESL classrooms Are you gearing up for a new adventure as an ESL teacher abroad? An experienced educator heading overseas to teach looking to learn some teaching strategies for the ESL classroom? If you fall into either of these categories, this blog post is for you! I’ve been in your shoes before - I lived in the UAE for six years, teaching English language learners (ELLs). While teaching students who have a limited understanding of the English language can feel like a daunting task, at its core, teaching ELLs isn’t really all that fundamentally different from teaching native speakers. The same basic principles should apply as in all good classrooms - a lesson should be organized, engaging and cater to students’ different learning needs. However, there are certain unique challenges - teaching students from an array of cultures, learning styles, education backgrounds, along with a language barrier - that come with teaching in a foreign language classroom. So, before you walk into that classroom on the first day of school, here are 10 top tips every new ESL/ELL teacher needs to know. 1. Bond with your students Picture yourself as a student, sitting in a classroom, with a person at the front of the classroom that comes from a completely different place, has a different culture and speaks a completely different language. That’s intimidating! Simply addressing students by name, greeting each student, physically getting down to their level and making a genuine effort to getting to know them will go a long way in building strong relationships. It’s important to remember, kids don’t learn from people that they don’t like and respect. 2. Create a safe learning environment Students need to feel safe and secure in order to fully express themselves. By creating a positive learning environment, not just physically but emotionally as well, students will be more willing to try new things and, more importantly, practice their English language skills. Correct errors with compassion. ELL students are bound to make mistakes - that’s how they learn! Positive reinforcement strategies, such as rewarding good work and effort, is a great way to not only make students feel safe but also build a rapport with their teacher. It’s also very important to give students time to finish their work and answer questions 0 be patient! ELL students will most likely need to translate a question you’ve asked in their head to their native language, formulate an answer and then translate it back to English. That whole process can take a bit of time, so it’s important when asking questions to give students a chance to think it through rather than demanding a quick immediate answer. Using teaching strategies like Think-Pair-Share will give students the time they require to process information and answer confidently effectively increasing student participation. If you’re considering getting TEFL certified as part of your application for teaching jobs abroad, then check out TEFL certifications that offer additional specializations in teaching English to young learners. 3. Establish routines Children thrive in an environment with routines. Writing a daily agenda, having circle time or a sit-down activity for students when they enter the classroom will help students to find meaning in your lesson plans. Make sure as well to post clear objectives, using “kid-friendly” language. ELL students need to understand the purpose or end goal of the activity or lesson to help them comprehend the content of the lesson. Using exemplars is a great way to bridge the gap between communicating objectives and student comprehension. 4. Make things visual It’s really important to enforce curriculum content with visuals in an ELL classroom. Providing students with easy access to the English language is essential to increasing vocabulary awareness and building confidence. Using bilingual labels to label everyday classroom resources (like chairs, doors, desks, computers, pencils, etc.) will help students absorb new English vocabulary and make it easier for them to communicate with you. Also, word walls are a great way to create print-rich environments. I highly recommend building a visual wall where words are accompanied by a picture to help students match meanings with words. 5. Be adaptable Teaching in an ELL classroom can be unpredictable. I remember working so hard on preparing a lesson plan only to arrive into my classroom, explain the activity and...cue a series of blank faces. OK, I thought, maybe the point of the activity wasn’t clear, so I adjusted my explanation and still...blank faces. It’s important to bear in mind that lesson activities can (and will) fall flat on a number of occasions. As a result, I had to become flexible within my lessons and prepare multiple ways to teach a certain concept in advance. Preparation is key! Quick aside: The phrase, “do you understand?” should never, in my opinion, be uttered in an ESL/ELL classroom. Students are frequently eager to please their teacher and will almost always answer this question in the affirmative. 6. Teach by doing Small practices that we, as native English speakers, can take for granted, can make learning English a whole lot easier. Do everything out loud (think think alouds!) and make sure to demonstrate concepts multiple ways to increase student understanding and reach multiple learning styles. Using visuals, close activities and graphic organizers can all aid ELL students in their learning. I would often teach the same concept multiple times using different strategies such as singing, videos, actions, stories, etc. By the time I had returned home from teaching abroad, I was no longer just a teacher - I was an actress, singer and author, too! 7. Introduce new vocabulary before use in lesson plans As part of my regular classroom routine, I created a list of words that were related to the weekly themes. At the beginning of each week, we’d go through each word, discussing the meaning and practicing its use in sentences. Each word was posted for the week at the front of the classroom, along with a visual conveying its meaning. I found that allowing students to understand the meaning behind key vocabulary prior to reading a story or starting a science lesson helped students focus less on understanding the meaning of the words, freeing them up to focus on the overall learning objectives of the lesson. After the week was up, I’d post each new word on the word wall that built up throughout the entire school year. 8. Practice differentiated teaching strategies Teaching abroad taught me the importance of differentiation - not just for students that have special needs or individualized educational plans but also for mainstream students that find themselves below, at and above grade level. Differentiation goes so much further than having high, medium and low leveled worksheets and activities. I was able to successfully differentiate by product (allowing students to choose how to display their own learning), process (creating activities that appealed to multiple learning styles) and content (leveling outcomes and activities based on ability). Providing students with choice in learning increased student engagement in my classroom. I used a lot of center-based, hands-on learning activities. I also found grouping students in mixed ability and ability groupings helped them work more independently. For more ideas, check out websites that provide lesson plans and resources for teachers, including Education.com, Scholastic, Share My Lesson and Learning Games For Kids, all designed to help enhance student learning experience in your classroom. 9. Learn about your students’ cultural background ELL students need to retain recently acquired English vocabulary by relating it to their own real-life experiences in order to store it in their long-term memory. Make sure to do some research before going to your international teaching destination and familiarize yourself with the culture, customs and everyday life of your students. Use that knowledge in your classroom to help students retain vocabulary and abstract concepts. If you’re looking for practical ways to help create a more culturally responsive classroom, check out Teach Away’s professional development course for teachers, Culturally Responsive Teaching: Connecting with students and parents of different cultures. 10. Incorporate technology Welcome to the 21st century! We live in a digital world - kids nowadays are growing up in a world dominated by technology tools and apps. Incorporating digital tools and technologies into your curriculum and lesson plans is a great way to reach and engage digitally-savvy students in more creative ways. So, how can you grow your own digital skills as well as those of your students? Get started by trying out some free classroom apps like ClassDojo and Quizlet. Teach Away also recently launched an online course for teachers to help bring digital literacy and learning into the classroom, Digital Learning for the K-8 Classroom, in partnership with Teachers College, Columbia University. So there you have it - our top 10 essential tips for navigating the foreign language classroom. Now that you’re an ESL classroom pro, head on over to the Teach Away job board to apply for the latest teaching job abroad!

Thursday, March 5, 2020

5 Steps to Choose Best ACT vs SAT

5 Steps to Choose Best ACT vs SAT Every student who is applying for college must take placement tests. The two most common of these tests are the ACT and SAT. Both of these tests are nationally administered standardized tests that help colleges assess students. As you start to think about the college and creating the best application portfolio possible, an important question to answer is: Which test should I take? These steps guide you to make the right choice. #1 Does Your College Prefer SAT or ACT? The first step to conduct research on is which test is right for you. Should your college of choice prefer one test over the other, then it is vital to focus your efforts on this very exam. If youre set on a certain college, make sure to find out which test would help you more. Taking both exams is rarely the best option. SAT and ACT differ enough that your time spent studying for one of them will not likely improve your results on the other. #2 Test Duration The ACT has 215 questions and an optional essay. On the other hand, the SAT has 170 questions plus a required essay. The testing time for the ACT with writing the essay is 3 hours and 25 minutes while the SAT takes 3 hours and 20 minutes. This is because the total time of the SAT is longer for both parts due to breaks. Thus, the ACT gives you more time per question that can help you to produce better results. #3 Assessment of Your Critical Thinking Skills and Overall Knowledge Another difference between the two exams is that the SAT principally estimates reasoning ability, while the ACT concentrates more on strict knowledge. Both tests, for example, have a math section and both require a sound foundation in geometry and algebra. The SAT includes verbal problems and creative application of the basic rules of geometry. By contrast, the ACT, tends to be more straightforward. Also, the ACT includes basic trigonometry tasks among other math questions. The main difference becomes one of problem-solving versus a wider range of tested concepts. In the English section, the SAT focuses on the reading comprehension and vocabulary. The ACT includes a reading comprehension part as well, but it concentrates more on grammar and syntax. As in the math sections, the ACT is more a test of knowledge than of reasoning and problem-solving. #4 Essay Differences The ACTs essay part is optional while for the new SAT test the essay is required. Moreover, many colleges require the ACTs essay. You have 25 minutes to write the SAT essay whereas the ACT allows for 30 minutes. The ACT, more than the SAT, asks to share your own opinion on potentially disputable issues and use the best counter-argument to defend your point of view. The SAT essay asks students to use examples from literature, history or the testers personal experiences. #5 Structural Differences Students who have taken the SAT found that the questions become more difficult as they progress whereas the ACT exhibits a more even level of difficulty. Furthermore, the ACT math section includes only multiple choice tasks whereas the SAT math section has some questions that need written answers. All in all, the essay for the SAT comes first; the ACT optional essay is last. If you need professional help with preparing to ACT or SAT, here are 4,000+ ACT and SAT tutors nationwide who might be of real help to you. In conclusion, no matter what test you will choose, good preparation is a key to success with either the ACT or SAT.

2 recruitment metrics every international school should monitor

2 recruitment metrics every international school should monitor “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” We’ve all heard this quote by Peter Drucker, management consultant and educator. What he means by this is that making an informed decision to improve a process requires accurate data collected from precise measurement. So, what does this mean for schools looking to bring in the right talent in today’s international education landscape? What are the two key recruitment metrics a school should be tracking in order to improve their hiring? Before we get to these, let’s take a look at the international school space. The demand for English medium K-12 education continues to skyrocket; since 2013, global fee income has risen by a whopping 40%. It’s forecasted that we’ll be faced with a shortage of 150,000 international educators by 2021 (ISC). As Teach Away covered in our International Recruitment Report back in November, this looming shortage has resulted in a shift of power from the school to the job-seeking educator. This gap is further widened by fundamental changes in job search techniques; online recruitment makes it is easier than ever for job-seeking educators to discover new positions globally without ever having to step foot in a job fair. Scarce expertise and online job searching means the teacher has more leverage in the recruitment process than ever before. With the right recruitment solutions in place, and by knowing the right metrics - or key performance indicators (KPIs) - to track in order to optimize the success of your school’s recruitment, organizations like yours have the opportunity to earn a major leg up on your competitors. I’ve covered the two most important KPIs you need to measure in order to help make talent acquisition a competitive advantage for your school: 1) Cost Per Hire (CPH) Why? Maximize your recruitment budget. In order to calculate your school’s cost per hire, you must consider both the internal and external costs associated with your recruitment. Internal recruitment costs are organizational costs and internal expenses associated with your recruitment efforts (eg. salaries of recruitment personnel, employee time dedicated to recruitment, travel expenses to attend recruitment fairs, etc.). External recruitment costs are external expenses associated with your recruitment efforts (eg. job board fees to advertise your vacancies, fees paid to recruitment agencies, registration fees to attend recruitment fairs, etc.). Here’s how to calculate your CPH: 2) Time to Fill (TTF): Why? Improve efficiency. While examining data for our International Education Recruitment Report, we found that candidates who were contacted by a hiring school within three days of submitting an application were 27% more likely to accept a job offer and 22% less likely to drop out of the hiring process. TTF is a massively impactful metric to keep track of: it can inform vital decisions to do with the sourcing of committed candidates. Find your TTF like this: Keep in mind that with candidates having more options than ever before you should strive to be as efficient as possible in your recruitment, but never at the expense of a positive candidate experience.. How to optimize your strategy based on these metrics Before jumping head first into tweaking your strategy, make sure you’ve not only calculated your CPH and TTF, but tracked them for long enough to be confident in the data. Next, ask the tough questions: What recruitment techniques are providing your lowest CPH? What methods could be employed to reduce your TTF? In what ways could your school benefit by strategically reinvesting the money and time saved by reducing your CPH and TTF? The demand for international educators is only going up. To ensure your school has the advantage it needs to secure top teaching talent in an increasingly competitive market, you must remain hyper-focused on measuring the results of your recruitment efforts, optimize based on what works best, rinse and repeat. And remember: if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. The world’s most innovative international schools are leveraging Teach Away's annual subscription to dramatically reduce their CPH and TTF. Contact us to learn how partnering with Teach Away can help you streamline your hiring process and maximize your recruitment budget.

About IMFS Chemistry

About IMFS ChemistryIMFS Chemistry is a subject that many are reluctant to take up. For one, it is very difficult and frustrating. However, if you are one of those who have always wanted to take up such a course, or just want to learn more about the subject, then this guide is for you. It will tell you all you need to know about IMFS Chemistry, and I will cover the most important points in this article.Many people try and avoid taking up an extremely difficult subject. They do this because they feel that it is something they will not be able to complete on their own. Some even feel that it is too difficult for them. To some people, this is perfectly true, but there are still plenty of others who, like myself, really enjoy the challenge of IMFS Chemistry.Physics and Chemistry are closely related. If you ever feel like you need to brush up on what your Chemistry teacher says about Physics, then you will find that Physics is a very difficult subject to grasp. This is especially true if you have no real grounding in the subject.Even though I had passed high school chemistry classes, I was told by my Chemistry teacher that I needed to learn more about Chemistry to be able to do my homework properly and not be so ignorant. But if you have any interest at all in learning more about Chemistry, then I encourage you to read this article and to get my insights into the subject, which will set you on the right path towards success.IMFS Chemistry is more than just making things out of chemicals. You will find that as you learn more about the subject, you will find that you will have much more control over the reaction that you make. There are also some interesting uses of what you learn about this subject. When you go back to school for Chem, you will be able to apply your new skills to other subjects, likeBiochemistry, or even Biology.What makes it so hard for many people to get into IMFS Chemistry? For one, they have spent years studying Chemistry, so that they can make t he same chemical reactions that they see in movies. If you have not done this before or have done it on your own, then you may struggle with the subject.With just a little effort, you can turn this off your mind and start taking up IMFS Chemistry. I highly recommend that you take a look at my article, where I will reveal the secrets of getting good grades in Chemistry, without sacrificing too much of the joy of taking chemistry!

Chemicals and Cosmetics in Your Childs Chemistry Classroom

Chemicals and Cosmetics in Your Child's Chemistry ClassroomIt is an unfortunate fact that some people in our society are not as educated as others, but this does not mean that we have to leave chemistry out of our classrooms. There are a variety of books that are available to students who would like to learn about the basics of chemistry. We want our children to learn chemistry at a young age so that they can understand the importance of the subject matter when they get older. In this article, I will talk about a few different books that you can choose from to teach your child about the subject.One book that is geared toward chemistry is a chemistry textbook. These are a lot like the textbook that is used in high school. They go over the various subjects that are covered in the course and explain each subject in detail. They do a great job at covering the essentials of chemistry in a comprehensive fashion. This is a good book to use if you already have a child in the process of learn ing the fundamentals of chemistry.A book that covers chemistry for girls, is a great choice for your child's chemistry education. In this book, the different chemical reactions and their effects on the skin are discussed. There are different colors of coloring agents that are used in cosmetics, and the effects of their use on our skin are discussed. The book also goes into detail about many other products that you would want to think about using on your own skin when you are shopping around for the best products.Another textbook for cosmetics is called The Chemistry of Things. The book is geared toward those who are learning chemistry but are not interested in taking a full course. It is great for those who just want to get their homework done while they go about their everyday life.As an alternative to these two books, there are many other books that can be used to teach chemistry to your child. Books such as the 'Chemistry for Kids' series, give a thorough discussion of the basics of chemistry. Many of these books include easy to follow materials so that even those who are new to the subject can read and understand the material.With these books, it is important to understand that it is going to take some time to become fluent in the topic of chemistry. As with any other new subject, a little patience is needed. Keep in mind that as long as you are giving your child the best information, your child should learn chemistry in no time.Most common cosmetics types and their ingredients are explained in detail. The knowledge that they will gain from these books will be useful to them for years to come. Since so many women spend time in the beauty aisle of department stores every day, knowing the chemistry of cosmetics is very important.