Intelligent Tutoring Systems Will Improve Classroom Learning

Intelligent Tutoring Systems Will Improve Classroom LearningIntelligent tutoring systems can help teachers implement proven learning strategies that are proven to be effective. The first thing that a teacher must do is to develop an action plan that has a clearly defined purpose.Each time a student takes an action, such as clicking on a mouse or clicking on the mouse, the learner must be given the right lessons to do this. It should start with the learner's commitment to taking the action, and then follow it up with the skills or tools that will support that action. The system that is being used must be designed to improve learning for the entire class as well as for each individual learner.A comprehensive and superior educational program has to include all the students in the class, for no one can learn at the same pace as another. Every learner must be involved in the learning process, and the teacher must design learning programs that will keep every learner involved.If each of th e students is not engaged in the lessons, a misdirection will occur. The teacher will take the students out of the learning environment, and they will not focus on the actions that will provide the most benefit. This will result in each learner not learning what they need to know, and the entire program will suffer.Human nature changes over time. When the adults become adults, the behaviors that are natural will no longer be acceptable. When one of the adults is not attending a class on the basis of attendance, their behavior will change, and they will not be worth the paper they are printed on. Thus, the intelligent tutor system must be designed with adult learners in mind.In public school systems, there are so many distractions that cause students to drop out of school. When the children are not engaged in the learning environment, the kids will not learn how to be successful adults.Smart tutoring systems have been introduced into many classrooms. These systems encourage teachers to create an educational environment that is a real learning environment, not a work place where the worker is distracted from the job at hand. The systems have been highly successful because they have been adapted to suit each teacher's specific needs.

9 Piano Sight Reading Exercises for Beginners

9 Piano Sight Reading Exercises for Beginners Brooke Neuman The  ability to sight read well is  a skill  that every pianist should have. Below, piano teacher Ryan C. shares 9 piano sight reading exercises to help you master this important skill It’s the first day of rehearsals at your school’s choir. Everyone has been assigned new music that they haven’t seen or sung before. You can sing, but you definitely consider yourself more of a pianist. Your teacher walks in and solemnly says: “Hi everyone, our pianist is sick today, so were going to have to work on voice parts one part at a time, because my sight-reading skills aren’t that great. Unless, of course, someone here can sight read all the parts?” You waste no time in raising your hand and declaring “I can do it!” What is Piano Sight Reading? Sight reading is essentially what its’ name implies: the ability to look at a piece of music and play it with very little to no  prior rehearsal time. Sight reading is a skill in which  every pianist needs to become familiar, even if it means that he or she is  only able to sight read pieces that are at or below his or her  level of repertoire-performance. Sight reading not only involves reading notes, but also encompasses implied musicality. For instance, a pianist should be able to take musical queues and respond appropriately  when paired with other instrumentalists or singers. Overall phrase shape, texture, and mood should all be considered when sight reading a new piece. These concepts are often reinforced by the other people you’re playing with, who can help you interpret the way to play a new piece. Why Piano Sight Reading is Important As displayed in the introduction scenario, it’s easy to see why sight reading would be useful in a plethora of situations. For instance, a good sight reader will almost always have employment options available. Options such as working as an accompanist, being a pianist for a choir, a studio musician, a church pianist, and multiple other options, are  always in constant demand. Additionally, a pianist who has strong piano sight reading abilities will often be able to learn music at a much faster rate than those who can’t read as well. It’s essentially the difference between reading one letter at a time and reading one word at a time. Just imagine how long this article would take to read if you could only read one letter at a time. It’s surprising to see how many new pianists unknowingly take the second, more difficult approach to reading. With the 9  piano sight reading exercises below, I will give you some options to help speed up your reading and quickly get you to a higher level of piano sight reading ability. But before we get into the piano sight reading exercises, take a quick look at this 5-minute video on the basics of sight reading from Pianist Magazine. 9 Piano Sight Reading Exercises for Beginners Below are some helpful piano sight reading exercises. These  will assume that you have at least a few minutes to look at a piece before you have to play it. Lets get started! 1. Flashcards Unfortunately, memorizing notes can seem really tedious at first; nonetheless, its an important step that everyone must take. If you spend just 10 minutes a day working on it, you’ll have the majority of the notes that are within the lines (not on ledger lines) on both the Treble and Bass Clefs memorized within several weeks. Using flashcards is a great way to memorize notes. Just throw them in your bag and review them whenever you have a few minutes; for example, while youre on the bus or in between classes. 2. Always Think Musically It’s very easy to get sucked into thinking  that you have to play all of the notes perfectly  and forget the innate musicality of what youre  playing. Remember, this is musicit should be musical. When something becomes too note-y and ceases to sound musical, what’s the point of playing it? Even in piano sight reading, therefore, think of the musicality that defines the piece and do your best to bring that out. 3. Think Contour,  Not Note Name After you have enough notes memorized to get the starting pitches on passagework, don’t try to read every note of a passage. Rather, look at the contour (or direction) of the notes. Do they go up or down? By how much (whole-step or half-step)? By taking this approach, youll be able to easily read passagework that would take significantly longer to read if you were trying to read every single note separately. 4. Remember Your Scales In a particular passage, do you see a succession of notes that seem to be going way up or down the staff? Does it have any sharps or flats? What note does it start and end on? Does it skip any notes? If you ask yourself questions like these throughout you’re playing,  you’ll find that many of the scale-like passages within pieces use fingerings from scales that you probably already know. 5. Practice Easy Pieces Based on Closed Hand Positions This is a great exercise  for beginners to get their feet wet with piano sight-reading. There are even some great piano sight-reading book series out there, specifically by Lin Ling-Ling and Boris Berlin, that utilize this idea. In essence, students should practice pieces that use five-finger positions that don’t give them the note-names or finger numbers except for the ones at the beginning of a piece. This forces students to look at the contour and internally distinguish what finger is playing each note. Even if they don’t know the note names yet, this method of reading is highly effective and produces great results. 6. Read Ahead as Much as Possible This is super, super important! When sight reading anything, you always need to be a few notes ahead of what you’re actually playing. To paraphrase one of my faculty accompanist mentors at SDSU: “Read it, and move on!” In essence, after you read something, you should already be reading notes ahead of what you’re playing. 7. Practice Reading Hands Separately Practice reading each hand separately, but preparing the other hand for its section well before it actually needs to play. This piano sight reading exercise is actually way more important than it sounds. While I don’t think that students should stay for a long time in the hands-separate world, I do think that the method of preparing the opposite hand early is extremely important. I’ve noticed that the biggest obstacle my students often face in piano sight-reading is the lack of preparation of the opposing hand. They are often reading one hand perfectly, then the other hand starts a melody and the student has neither prepared it or looked far enough ahead to know what the starting pitch/hand position should be. 8. Play Through the Piece Without Stopping Piano sight-reading is as much about reading notes as it is about supporting the other people you’re playing with. In many cases, a sight-reading pianist is often playing in combination with an ensemble of some type. Therefore,  you cannot stop playing. Even if you can’t read all the music, always keep counting and play what you can, when you can. Play at a manageable speed in which  you can read as much music as possible and continue to play and count even when you make mistakes, no matter how severe they are. Try not to repeat pieces you’ve already played, because then it’s no longer sight-reading, it’s just practice. As an important side note, don’t use this method when practicing repertoire â€" always try to avoid learning incorrect notes. 9. Familiarize Yourself with Note Combinations Chords and triads are the building blocks of harmony. Make a goal to learn all the major and minor chords that can be played on white keys, (C, D, E, F, G, A, B Major Minor). Now memorize the letter combinations that make up each chord. For instance, E Major = E, G#, B ; E Minor = E, G, B ; etc. Eventually, move onto the black key combinations, inversions, and seventh chords. This step is incredibly important for students who are more on the intermediate side of piano sight reading. There will come a point in your reading in which youre  seeing things more as chords, and less as individual notes. By having a solid foundation in the notes that make up chords,  youre  saving yourself tons of time down the line. It’s much like the difference described earlier reading entire words at one time  compared to reading individual letters. Now Youre Ready! The ability to sight read well is a skill that every pianist should aspire to do, as it opens up career opportunities for a pianist. For a student, this skill set will enable you to learn music faster, more accurately, and spend less time working on trying to read every note. I hope that some of these tips will be helpful and give you  some new insight into the world of piano sight reading! Photo by  Frédéric BISSON Post Author:  Ryan C. Ryan C.  teaches piano, ear training, and music theory. He  is a graduate of San Diego State  University  with a B.M. in piano  performance. Learn more about Ryan  here! Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher

A Columbia University College Experience

A Columbia University College Experience The tutors behind Varsity Tutors are not just here to teach theyre sharing their college experiences as well. Amy is currently a student at Columbia University studying human rights, English, and business management. She specializes in many areas of SAT tutoring, in addition to other subjects. See what she had to share about her experience at Columbia University: Describe the campus setting and transportation options. Amy: Columbia blends the best of both worlds with its urban setting and homey campus. Though exploring skyscraper-filled New York City is always fun, it can be a relief to come home to a school dominated by a blend of classical and modern architecture. As for transportation, Columbia has its own subway stop right outside the Broadway gates for students the city isnt very car or bike friendly, unfortunately. Ive never felt unsafe on or in the areas surrounding campus, either; police escorts and emergency services are always readily available. How available are the professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants? Amy: Columbia prides itself on a culture of the love of intellectual pursuit, and its professors, academic advisers, and teaching assistants certainly contribute toward that mold. Both students and professors embrace challenge and curiosity in the classrooms; office hours for professors are packed with students discussing everything from general theories to paper topics. How would you describe the dorm life rooms, dining options, location, socialization opportunities with other students? Amy: Interestingly, students receive lots of opportunities to score single rooms their freshman year. Certain dorms are more coveted than others, but freshmen seem to be generally satisfied (and even proud) of their residence halls. Im in the social, all-first-year dorm, and I couldnt imagine myself living anywhere else. Theres never a dull moment, and I have opportunities to meet new people every day in the elevator, at residence hall events, and through mutual friends. As for dining, Columbia has three main dining halls that offer a wide variety of selections. The dining staff always tries to provide vegetarian and vegan options, too, and locally sources a lot of produce from nearby neighborhood farms. Which majors/programs are best represented and supported? Amy: A wide variety of majors are represented at Columbia, but the university does a good job of providing support for every department regardless of its size. Popular majors include the social sciences, computer science, and various engineering fields, but interdisciplinary pursuits are encouraged as well. Im actually studying a strange combination: Im double majoring in Human Rights (with a specialization in Political Science) and English, and concentrating (essentially the universitys term for a minor) in Business Management. I really appreciate Columbias flexibility in allowing me to combine such different pursuits into one streamlined form of study, and Ive definitely received lots of support from academic advisers and professors, too. How easy or difficult was it for you to meet people and make friends as a freshman? Does Greek life play a significant role in the campus social life? Amy: Ive been very satisfied with the opportunities Ive received to meet new people and make new friends. The unique thing about Columbia is that its less of an enclosed campus, meaning people will go out into the city to explore rather than staying in, so meeting people requires a bit more energy and proactivity. Greek life definitely is present on campus and is growing, but is in no way an integral part of Columbias social scene. It can be a great way to find a community, but probably just due to geographical factors concerning housing, Columbias Greek scene isnt as traditional as one one might find at a big state school. How helpful is the Career Centerand other student support services? Amy: The Center for Career Education is great and is available for students as a resource to find internships and jobs downtown. Columbia recognizes the worth of internships in a students career, and offers significantly less classes on Fridays to give students a day to work at a job/internship if need be. The university also hosts lots of career fairs, in which companies from high-level investment banks to local startups to nonprofits come to campus to recruit Columbia/Barnard students for part-time/full-time job opportunities. New York City is one of a Columbia students greatest resources for job searching, simply because it offers something for everyone from the engineer to the journalist to the aspiring researcher. How are the various study areas such aslibraries, the student union, and dorm lounges? Amy: Butler Library is a huge, beautiful structure that resembles an Athenian temple more than it does a study space. Its the go-to for most students for late-night sessions, open 24-7 for all cramming needs. During midterms and finals, it gets pretty difficult to find a spot inside the library, so students turn to other study spots around and outside campus. Describe the surrounding town. Amy: Youll never get bored at Columbia: on campus or off campus, theres always something going on. Even exploring the couple of blocks surrounding campus never gets old! Theres everything from restaurants to bookstores within Columbias vicinity, and most students will spend a Friday or Saturday night hanging out with friends at Mels or 1020, two popular bars within walking distance. Of course, New York City has a bustling nightlife scene downtown. Students can visit a club in East Village or check out a jazz venue near Chelsea Pier. Columbia students also get free admission to museums like The Met or MOMA with their student IDs, so a lot of students spend Saturday afternoons art-gallery hopping. Central Park is also about six blocks from campus, so when the weather is nice, students can study, relax, or even picnic in the park. The campus is also bordered by Morningside Park and Riverside Park, great for morning runs or just a change of scenery. How big or small is the student body? Were you generally pleased or displeased with the typical class sizes? Amy: Columbia definitely has a larger number of graduate students, but each undergraduate class has about 1400 students, which is pretty sizable, too. Some lecture classes have a large amount of students, but Columbia actually offers lots of seminars that have no more than 15 or 16 people. Personalized educational attention carries a lot of intellectual value, and many professors and students prefer the personalized, seminar-style approach to large lecture halls. Describe one memorable experience with a professor and/or class. Perhaps one you loved the most or one youregretthe most. Amy: Columbias most prized intellectual tradition is its Core Curriculum, a set of classes every student attending the university takes. This semester, Im in Literature Humanities, dedicated to round-table discussions of a Western literary canon that includes works from ancient Greek poets to Dostoyevsky. Its a lot of reading and writing, but my entire class gets together regularly before midterms and tests to have study sessions in somebodys dorm room. Columbia recognizes the bonds students who go through the Core together form, and Im no exception Ive definitely made friendships and connections as a result of the Core. Check out Amys tutoring profile. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent the views of Varsity Tutors.

Maths GCSE Past Papers and Exam Boards

Maths GCSE Past Papers and Exam Boards Where to find GCSE Maths Past Papers Exam Boards Offering Maths GCSE ChaptersDifference Between Exam BoardsHow to Choose the Right Exam boardGCSE Maths ResourcesGCSE Maths Past PapersExams boards are organizations that conduct the GCSE maths Exams and offer the GCSE Qualification in several subjects. They are responsible for producing exam papers, marking and grading your exam work and giving you the GCSE Qualification.Most of the exam boards offer qualifications which are accepted by several colleges not just in UK but all around the globe. These GCSE Qualifications are hence, internationally recognized.Currently there are two separate set of exam boards for UK. One set of exam board is solely for England, Northern Ireland and Wales, while the other one is for Scotland. England has several exams boards, giving the schools and colleges a free choice to choose between any exam board depending on the subjects.At the present, the state schools benefit from seven exam boards. These are as follows:Assessment and Qualification Alliance (AQA)University of Ca mbridge International Examinations (CIE)Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA)EdexcelInternational Curriculum and Assessment Agency Examinations (ICAAE)Oxford, Cambridge and RSA Examinations (OCR)Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC)Out of all these boards, CCEA is the one that is most active inside the native Northern Ireland. The level of qualifications offered by these boards vary.Boards ICAAE and CIE offer very specialized and limited qualifications so if you are thinking of taking GCSE Maths, it is better if you opt for boards other than ICAAE, as these boards are most common among students taking GCSE Maths .Whatever board you choose, the material you study is usually the same. ( Image Source: Unsplash) MyriamMaths Teacher 5.00 (13) £20/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors MarkMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £200/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors Dr parikhMaths Teacher 5.00 (8) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors KamalMaths Teacher 5. 00 (9) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors PetarMaths Teacher 5.00 (8) £40/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors GowsikaMaths Teacher 5.00 (5) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors RubenMaths Teacher 5.00 (1) £15/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutors ConorMaths Teacher 4.75 (4) £30/h1st lesson free!Discover all our tutorsDifference Between Exam BoardsA survey by the BBC in 2015 revealed that three out of the four main exam boards in UK had made their GCSE Maths exams too hard for the large number of candidates.The only remaining board i.e AQA was also instructed to produce more challenging GCSE Maths exams to keep up with the standards of the rest of the three boards.The government demanded the boards to make the GCSE Maths as well as GCSE English exams more rigorous and  challenging for students.A thorough analysis of several boards revealed that the GCSE Maths tests and GCSE Maths coursework offered by OCR, WJEC and Pearson fail to test the students at their utmost ability due to their higher difficulty level.To be more specific, Pearson and WJEC Maths exams were so hard that the boundary for grade A had to be set below 50%.Research revealed that the difficulty level of these exams would hinder even the brightest students from the top schools to obtain a good score.As a result of which, the syllabus of these boards was made lenient in order to suit the skills level of students and reforms were introduced in the GCSE Maths content and syllabus which has now ensure that all the boards have nearly the same difficulty level while allowing the student to achieve the grade they deserve.How to Choose the Right Exam boardEvery student wants to have maximum chance of success in their GCSE maths and one way they can maximize their chances of a good grade is by choosing the exam board with which they feel the most comfortable.The specifications, paper pattern and marking criteria varies from one exam board to another. Cost of the exams is also a fact which you might need to take into consideration.How you find the paper of any exam board, depends solely on you, your preparation, skill level and your ability to deal with the hard parts of exam.In order to decide which exam board to choose, try getting your hands on sample papers of all the exams boards you are considering. Spend some time analyzing those sample papers and solve them too if needed.By solving the sample papers of different boards like OCR, Edexcel, you will get an idea of the question patterns, difficulty level, marking criteria and time duration of each exam. Find out which exam pattern suits you the most and go for that particular exam board.The course content of GCSE Maths of all the Exam boards usually revolves around the basic concepts of Algebra, tricky yet simple questions related to addition and subtraction, fractions, arithmetic expressions, multiplication and division, exponent, integers, decimal numbers, rational numbers, whole numbers, squa re roots, along with some advanced topics like long division,  linear equations, probability, quadratic equations, theorem of geometry related to shapes like triangles and polygons, surface area, differential equations, quotient equations, polynomials, number theory, reasoning questions and word problems to test your problem solving skills.Equip yourself with all these concepts and maximize your practice because at the end, it will be your preparation that will determine your fate in GCSE Maths and not the choice of board. You can choose the easiest board out there but if your preparation is bad or incomplete, chances of you getting a good grade is very low.GCSE Maths ResourcesThe internet is full of resources to help you in GCSE Math preparation. Here are some sources compiled for you to benefit from!GCSE Maths Worksheets:GCSE Maths worksheets (Geometry)GCSE Foundation Maths Revision WorksheetsGCSE Maths revision WorksheetsGCSE Math Revision resourcesEnroll yourself in a GCSE Math s program and take math classes designed around the GCSE Maths coursework. Ask your maths tutor to give you maths homework and complete these maths home assignments to test your mathematical concepts.You can get home tutoring too. GCSE Math education is not hard to get in this age of internet. Opt for online GCSE Maths courses. Find interactive maths on the internet such as multiplication games, addition games and other similar online math games.Practicing online with the help of mathematical courses, free math worksheets and online maths tutor  and games will train you for the test, but prioritise studying from your GCSE Maths textbook and find past maths GCSE exams of your board. There is also a wealth of maths tutors available online or face to face for that extra bit of help.Work hard ,practice harder. ( Image Source: Unsplash)GCSE Maths Past PapersSolving GCSE Maths past papers is a genius way to undertake maths revision train yourself for the exam. This will help you get famil iar with the paper pattern and marking criteria and will save you time during the actual exam. You can find past papers of your particular board on their website or you can buy a book containing past papers of all the previous years.There are a lot of digital media such as CDs, DVDs that come loaded with past papers for  GCSE maths revision along with the mark schemes. You might need to invest some money in these or you can simply find them online for free.Once you get your study material ready, start your maths revision and once you are done with a particular topic, try finding its related questions in the past papers. Try solving them and if you fail to get their correct answer, go through that topic again and repeat this until you are correctly able to solve all the related questions in the past papers.Solving past papers in this way, will help you not only save time but also to catch your weakness in time.Once you are done with all your preparation, you can conduct your own mock GCSE Maths test session with the help of these past papers and see where you are lacking. Do not assume that the questions in the past exams will repeat.This does not happen. If you prepare only according to the content in the past exams, you are setting yourself up for a really bad grade.Past Papers are the best revision tool as they allow you to cover your entire course in less than 3 hours. Mark your answers yourself according to the marking criteria and this way you will be learning a lot from your own mistakes. This method will guarantee that you don’t make the same mistakes in the final GCSE Maths test.The math questions found in the past papers are in coherence with the overall pattern of the exam board. These exams are designed to test your maths skills and the common core math concepts which you had studied in kindergarten, elementary math and high school maths.Maths teachers who design GCSE Maths exam  base the math curriculum of GCSE around the basic topics amalgamated with the more advanced maths topics of college level. These tests are structured to test your logical and analytical reasoning skills, your fluency in common math practices as well as your problem solving skills .All the GCSE Maths boards focus on your maths skills and how you utilize your math lessons and apply your math learning to solve the tricky mathematics questions in the exams. These tests follow state standards and are carefully evaluated for the students to ensure they get the grades according to their preparation.So, work hard, stay confident and make the best out of the maths resources you have, and no one can take away the success which you deserve!

Isosceles Trapezoid

Isosceles Trapezoid Isosceles trapezoid is a trapezoid has its two non parallel sides of equal length. In addition to it, the base angle that the leftnon parallel side makes with the base is equal to the base angle that the right non parallel side makes with the base. In the isosceles trapezoid shown above lengths of non parallel side AD and BC are equal to c. Also the base angle A is equalto base angle B. Example 1: Given a trapezoid PQRS with the measure of the sides as given below: PQ = 5 cm, QR = 3 cm, RS = 2 cm, SP = 3 cm Sides PQ and RS are parallel sides. Is the given trapezoid an isosceles trapezoid? Give reasons for your answer. Solution: Since the sides PQ and RS are parallel sides of the trapezoid. So the two non parallel sides are QR and SP. Thelength of the two non parallel sides is given to be equal to 3 cm. This shows that the given trapezoid is an isoscelestrapezoid. Example 2: The angle measures of the trapezoid DEFG are given below: angle D = 62 degree, angle E = 68 degree, angle F = 110 degree, angle G = 120 degreeIf angles D and E are the anglesbetween the lower base and the two non parallel sides, is the trapezoid isosceles or not? Solution: Since the two base angles D and E are not equal in measure, hence the given trapezoid DEFG is not isosceles trapezoid.

Overview of an Online Trigonometry Tutor

Overview of an Online Trigonometry Tutor 0SHARESShare Is trigonometry proving difficult to deal for you? Is looking at graphs of Sin, Cos and Tan feels like staring at death? In such cases, a personalized online trigonometry tutors can help you with everything, from the basics to complex numbers. The best thing about online tutors is that they are available at any time you want. There are many websites on the internet that provide specialized one-on-one trigonometry tuition over Skype and other video conferencing programmes. List of Trigonometry Topics Tutors on these websites are well-trained in their respective subjects. Furthermore, they have lots of experience teaching math online. You can see their profile, and choose anyone of them depending on your sill-level. These tutors can help you with any trigonometry question and concept from high school to college undergraduate level. Some of the topics taught by online tutors include: Basic Trigonometry functions Meaning of Sine, cosine, tangent General Trigonometric identities Pythagorean Theorem and Applications complex numbers Inversion of Trigonometric Functions Interpolation of Graph Personalized Specialized Trigonometry Tutoring These online tuition websites work on personalized instruction method. The procedure of hiring a tutor from these websites is as follows: Create an account on any online tutoring website. Scroll through the list of tutors available. Choose one of them, keeping your schedule and budget in mind. Talk with your chosen tutor and derive a study plan. Benefit of Online Tutoring for Trigonometry Online instructors assist students in understanding trigonometry theories thoroughly and thus get better marks. Around 80 per cent of those who take online tuition are able to complete their schoolwork on time and improve their grades. These websites work 24/7, therefore you can choose any schedule you want. Rates for online tutors are very low, and transactions on these websites are very secure. [starbox id=admin]

Changes to ACT essay scores are coming in September

Changes to ACT essay scores are coming in September 2016 has been a year of change for the college admission testing landscape with the introduction of the new SAT in March, and that change appears poised to continue with a revision of the ACT essay’s scoring structure set to debut in September.The ACT unwittingly ignited controversy with its shift in September 2015 to a new essay task and scoring scale.  Beginning with that testing date, the revised ACT essay has been scored on the same 36-point scale as the rest of the test.However, many students reported scores on the ACT essay that were significantly lower than their composite scores on the multiple-choice portion of the ACT (differences of 10 points were not unheard of).   Moreover, some students who paid $50 to have the ACT re-score their essay saw large jumps in their essay scores that called into question the reliability and consistency of the ACT’s essay grading process. The ACT contended that while the essay is scored on the same 36-point scale as the other sections of the test, scores across multiple sections are not intended to be compared to each other.  Rather, the ACT recommends that students look at their percentiles for each section to gauge their relative performance.Last month, the ACT acknowledged the confusion created by the scoring change and revealed that it plans to move to a 2-to-12 score range for the ACT writing test.  This change will take effect with the September 2016 administration of the ACT.According to the ACT, the writing task itself will continue in its current form, as will the four domains on which students’ essays are graded (ideas and analysis, development and support, organization, and language use and conventions).  Beginning with this year’s September ACT, the scores in the four domains (each scored from 2-12) will be averaged to yield an overall ACT writing score between 2 and 12.Hopefully this move towards clarity on the ACT’s part will produce greater consistency in ACT writing scores a change that wou ld be appreciated by students and colleges alike.To learn more about AJ Tutorings test prep and academic programs please call (650) 331-3251 or email us at info@ajtutoring.com

What to Do When Your Child Has Conflicts With Classmates

What to Do When Your Child Has Conflicts With Classmates Getting along at school: What to do when your child has conflicts with classmates At this point in the year, children have had the opportunity to make friends and adjust to the classroom environment. The school-age years are unique in that kids are only encouraged to socialize with children right around their age. Of course, when students finish their education they will get to know all sorts of different people in different stages of life but, while in school everybodys going through the same emotional stage. These growing pains can cause plenty of conflict with classmates that can make the educational experience negative. On the bright side, learning how to deal with these types of conflicts can help children gain valuable social skills that will help them cope with their personal and professional life later on. 1.   What causes conflict? A silver lining of conflict at this age is for a child to learn how to deal with frustration. Every single person will encounter plenty of stress and frustration throughout their life; its how they cope with it that will determine their quality of life. When children learn what, specifically, makes them frustrated or causes them to lose their temper, they learn what it is they need to cope with. This is one of the most valuable social skills a child can develop. 2. How to cope with conflict Once a child learns what it is that frustrates them, they need to learn how to cope with it. Classroom teachers and teaching assistants are a great resource when it comes to developing excellent coping mechanisms. They’re in the classroom environment every day and will be able to communicate if theres stress coming from another group of students, academic issues that need addressing, or an overall stressful environment. Also, learning coping skills has a trial and error element to it. Elementary school is a fantastic time for kids to experiment with how to cope with their stress and frustration, so they have an idea of how to be successful and overcome stress as an older student and adult (READ: 5 Ways for Students to Adjust to Post-Holiday Education). 3. Learning about different personality types When kids first enter school, they’re exposed to dozens of different personality types for the very first time. Overall, this is a fabulous opportunity for them to make new friends and get along with different kinds of people. However, socializing with different types of students can be overwhelming in the beginning. Students will need to share and take turns, work on group projects, and get along well during lunch and recess. 4. Socialize outside the school environment For many children, socializing within the strict environment of the classroom can be too much to handle if a conflict is already in place. One way to counterbalance the stress is to allow students to socialize outside of the classroom environment while still maintaining some structure. Coaches offer a great opportunity for students to learn how to work as a team outside of school. There are arts and music programs available that provide some structure in an otherwise creative and free environment. The classroom environment asks a lot of younger children, so its important they have a chance to refine coping skills in a low-pressure setting. 5. Baby steps For most kids, school is the first time they’ll have any major conflict with someone outside of their family. Of course, children will clash with their parents and siblings from time to time, but its a very different situation once they start kindergarten. Its a good idea to be in contact with the teacher to see if the child is making progress in regards to healthy and happy socialization. Sometimes it may seem like they arent getting it together as quickly as is ideal but young students are learning how to deal with everything in life for the very first time. Taking things one step at a time, as long as there is some improvement, is one of the best ways to learn how to identify and cope with social conflict. The New Year is just around the corner. Whether your child did poorly or excelled in the previous semester, its never too early to start thinking about a Orange County academic tutoring. From test prep to college admissions, TutorNerds is here to help you succeed in 2017 and beyond. 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.

With a Passion for STEM, this Kumon Student is Effecting Change

With a Passion for STEM, this Kumon Student is Effecting Change With a Passion for STEM, this Kumon Student is Effecting Change At  10-years-old,  Anvita  has a dream of becoming a neurosurgeon.  More specifically, she hopes to use artificial intelligence to improve the medical industry as a whole. That’s a big dream for a teenager, but it’s not surprising because she’s always had a passion for STEM and math in general. She fell in love with the  Kumon Math Program  because it strengthened her mental math skills, allowing her to solve real-world math problems.     Anvita  is part of a robotics team that  is currently competing in the  First Lego League  Competition.  The competition includes students, ages 9 to 16, from 80 different countries.  Anvita  and her team are one qualifying round away from going to the finals. She took time out of her busy schedule to tell us more about the competition  and her passion for STEM.   What is the First Lego League Competition?   First Lego League challenges kids to think like scientists and engineers. In our competition, we were asked to research a real world problemâ€"we chose water contaminationâ€"and were challenged to develop a solution. We also had to design, build and program a robot using  LEGO MINDSTORMS ®?technology.   What is the benefit of the First Lego League Competition?   It’s a really cool competition because it’s a fun way to learn and apply science, technology, engineering and math concepts while solving a real-world problem. It really helps you develop critical thinking, team-building and even professional skills.     How did Kumon impact your deep passion for robotics?   I love robotics and hope to work with artificial intelligence in the future! For that, I need patience, concentration and dedication.  My  Kumon  Instructor (Sharon Tung)  really helped me develop all of these skills.  Kumon also helped  advance  my mental math calculation and deepened my understanding of  math and how it relates to the world around me.     Anvita  embodies  Kumon’s mission statementâ€"By  discovering the potential of each individual and developing his or her ability to the maximum, we aim to foster sound, capable people and thus contribute to the global community.     It’s safe to say that  Anvita  is pushing herself to achieve her highest potential and we can’t wait to see how she impacts the world.     You might also be interested in: This Young Kumon Reading Program Completer is an Aspiring Computer Engineer Kumon of West Chester Students to Compete in the First Lego League World Championship With a Passion for Astronomy, this Kumon Student Wants to Become an Astrophysicist Future Leader is Inspired to Change the World With a Passion for STEM, this Kumon Student is Effecting Change With a Passion for STEM, this Kumon Student is Effecting Change At  10-years-old,  Anvita  has a dream of becoming a neurosurgeon.  More specifically, she hopes to use artificial intelligence to improve the medical industry as a whole. That’s a big dream for a teenager, but it’s not surprising because she’s always had a passion for STEM and math in general. She fell in love with the  Kumon Math Program  because it strengthened her mental math skills, allowing her to solve real-world math problems.     Anvita  is part of a robotics team that  is currently competing in the  First Lego League  Competition.  The competition includes students, ages 9 to 16, from 80 different countries.  Anvita  and her team are one qualifying round away from going to the finals. She took time out of her busy schedule to tell us more about the competition  and her passion for STEM.   What is the First Lego League Competition?   First Lego League challenges kids to think like scientists and engineers. In our competition, we were asked to research a real world problemâ€"we chose water contaminationâ€"and were challenged to develop a solution. We also had to design, build and program a robot using  LEGO MINDSTORMS ®?technology.   What is the benefit of the First Lego League Competition?   It’s a really cool competition because it’s a fun way to learn and apply science, technology, engineering and math concepts while solving a real-world problem. It really helps you develop critical thinking, team-building and even professional skills.     How did Kumon impact your deep passion for robotics?   I love robotics and hope to work with artificial intelligence in the future! For that, I need patience, concentration and dedication.  My  Kumon  Instructor (Sharon Tung)  really helped me develop all of these skills.  Kumon also helped  advance  my mental math calculation and deepened my understanding of  math and how it relates to the world around me.     Anvita  embodies  Kumon’s mission statementâ€"By  discovering the potential of each individual and developing his or her ability to the maximum, we aim to foster sound, capable people and thus contribute to the global community.     It’s safe to say that  Anvita  is pushing herself to achieve her highest potential and we can’t wait to see how she impacts the world.     You might also be interested in: This Young Kumon Reading Program Completer is an Aspiring Computer Engineer Kumon of West Chester Students to Compete in the First Lego League World Championship With a Passion for Astronomy, this Kumon Student Wants to Become an Astrophysicist Future Leader is Inspired to Change the World