Are College Lectures Unfair? Photo DOES the college lecture discriminate? Is it biased against undergraduates who are not white, male and affluent? The notion may seem absurd on its face. Yet a growing body of evidence suggests that the lecture is not generic or neutral, but a specific cultural form that favors some people while discriminating against others, including women, minorities and low-income and first-generation college students. The partiality of the lecture format has been made visible by studies that compare it with a different style of instruction, called active learning. Continue reading the main story Research comparing the two methods has consistently found that students over all perform better in active-learning courses than in traditional lecture courses. There are several possible reasons. Active-learning courses deliberately structure in-class and out-of-class assignments to ensure that students repeatedly engage with the material.
Choose a student loan Federal Loan Options Federal student loans almost always cost less and are easier to repay than private loans. You must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to be eligible for federal student loans. Perkins Loans Subsidized with a fixed 5% interest rate, administered through your school, and awarded based on financial need If you are eligible, you should take this loan first Direct Loans Either subsidized or unsubsidized Everyone is eligible for the Unsubsidized Direct Loan, and Subsidized Direct Loans are awarded based on financial need Parent or Grad PLUS Loans Available to graduate students and parents Parents with PLUS loans are responsible for repaying those loans Private Loan Options There are many different private loan options, with different interest rates and costs. Borrowing beyond your federal loans could mean high levels of debt. However if you need a private student loan, you should know that there are some unexpected places to look for deals. School Loans
Home : Career Outlook: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Featured Article Elka Torpey | January 2016 What do police, ER doctors, and whitewater kayak instructors have in common? They’re among the workers whose careers involve risk and keeping calm under pressure. Read full article » Projections of occupational employment, 2014–24 Projected employment change by occupation and occupational group, including job growth and openings by education assignment. Read more » Projections of industry employment, 2014–24 Projected employment change by industry and industry sector. A Parent's Guide to Financial Aid Your child is worried about getting into college—but you're probably more concerned about paying for it. Here's the good news: there is plenty of financial assistance for families paying for college. You just need to know how to get it. The prospect of applying for financial aid can seem intimidating—especially the first time. Previewing Your Magic Number The "magic number" of the financial aid process is the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). You can get a preview of your EFC using one of several calculators on the Internet (to get two estimates based on the two most widely used methods). "Do not assume you will be ineligible [for financial aid] before calculating your expected contribution with this tool," says Robert Massa, vice president of enrollment, student life, and college relations at Dickinson College (PA). How It All Works The point of any financial aid form (see the next section for details) is to figure out your EFC. The Nuts And Bolts: How To Apply The FAFSA Other forms
A New Approach to Internships? Maybe a little less time preparing this… [Photo by flickr user chichacha. Used under a Creative Commons license. Click image to view source.] Guest Contribution by Timothy Muirhead Although we all like to talk about sound work as a very creative discipline it is also a technical one. As the business model for audio post-production has been changing in the last decade, internships aren’t fitting into the system in the same way. At the same time there really is an important principle we all have to remember. One path that needs a lot more attention is the idea of a virtual internship. I corresponded with Michał Fojcik about his experience as one of the students in Prebble’s internship program. That was back in 2009, but just this week on a LinkedIn sound design group a sound editor working on his first feature reached out to the community for someone to mentor him through the experience. It is easy to get caught up in the day to day and feel like our schedules are full to capacity.
Avoiding Scams Before you apply for financial aid, learn how to spot potential fraud, avoid paying for free services, and prevent identity theft. Save Your Money: Don’t Pay for Help to Find Money for CollegeTry These Free Sources of InformationDon’t Pay for the FAFSA® Save Your Identity: How Does Identity Theft Happen? Report Fraud and Identity Theft: Report Financial Aid FraudReport Fraudulent Activity by a CollegeReport Identity Theft Save Your Money Don’t Pay for Help to Find Money for College Commercial financial aid advice services can cost well over $1,000. If you're unsure whether to pay a company for help finding financial aid, stop and think for a minute: What's being offered? "Buy now or miss this opportunity." Top Try These Free Sources of Information Types of Federal Student Aidother federal agenciesa college or career school financial aid officea high school or TRIO counselor your state grant agency the U.S. Don’t Pay for the FAFSA® Save Your Identity How Does Identity Theft Happen?
Skills Assessment - Virginia Education Wizard This is the Skills Assessment. Here you will see a set of statements. You can select whether the statement is:Very easy for youSomewhat easy for youSomewhat hard for youVery hard for youOr that you have no experience with that skill.For example, if participating as a member of a team is very easy for you, select that option from the drop-down menu to the right of that statement. If it is somewhat hard for you to participate as a member of a team, select that option. If you have never participated as a member of a team, you can select 'I have no experience with this skill'.When you are finished with the assessment, you will see broad career areas called ‘career clusters’ that match your strengths. You may select a cluster to view specific careers in that area.
Types of Aid Financial aid is money to help pay for college or career school. Aid can come from Besides financial aid, you also should think about what you can do to lower your costs when you go to college. “Types of Federal Student Aid” Video Check out this video to learn about grants, loans, and work-study jobs and how they can help fund your education. View accessible version (wmv) Aid and Other Resources From the Federal Government The federal government offers a number of financial aid programs. The U.S. Federal student aid includes: Grants—financial aid that doesn’t have to be repaid (unless, for example, you withdraw from school and owe a refund)Loans— borrowed money for college or career school; you must repay your loans, with interestWork-Study—a work program through which you earn money to help you pay for school Use FAFSA4caster to get an estimate of how much aid you might receive from the U.S. Apply for federal student aid using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®). Top
Great Teachers Don't Teach In a conversation on LinkedIn, one person asked, "What are the characteristics of an effective teacher?" I read quite a few excellent remarks that describe what such a teacher does to be effective. I couldn't help thinking about some of my best teachers. I had an amazing psychology professor in college. He was on fire every class period and his enthusiasm was contagious. But the things I remember most are the psychological experiments in which we participated. My psychology professor was an effective teacher because he provided experiences that created long-term memories. "I appreciate all of the comments that have been made so far. My experience is that good teachers care about students. All of this is good but great teachers engineer learning experiences that maneuver the students into the driver's seat and then the teachers get out of the way. In The Classroom Long past are the times when we teach content just in case a student might need it. Taking Action
State & Regional Associations NASFAA works in partnership with six regional associations of financial aid administrators to deliver excellence in student aid administration. These regional associations in turn work closely with state associations representing all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Pacific Islands. While we work at the national level, state and regional associations play an important role in advocating for and serving students in their communities. Background NASFAA was created as an outgrowth of regional associations of financial aid administrators and maintains a healthy working relationship with the regions to this day. While NASFAA and the six regional associations share many commonalities, they are independent non-profit organizations with their own governance.
'Strings Attached' Co-Author Offers Solutions for Education Sept. 27, 2013 7:17 p.m. ET I had a teacher once who called his students "idiots" when they screwed up. He was our orchestra conductor, a fierce Ukrainian immigrant named Jerry Kupchynsky, and when someone played out of tune, he would stop the entire group to yell, "Who eez deaf in first violins!?" He made us rehearse until our fingers almost bled. He corrected our wayward hands and arms by poking at us with a pencil. Today, he'd be fired. I was stunned by the outpouring for the gruff old teacher we knew as Mr. We're in the midst of a national wave of self-recrimination over the U.S. education system. I would ask a different question. As it turns out, quite a lot. Now I'm not calling for abuse; I'd be the first to complain if a teacher called my kids names. All of which flies in the face of the kinder, gentler philosophy that has dominated American education over the past few decades. But the conventional wisdom is wrong. 1. Psychologist K. 2. 3. 4. What makes a teacher successful? 5. 8.