languagecorpsasia

Teaching English in Asia TEFL / TESOL and Teaching Job in Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, China and Taiwan with LanguageCorps Asia

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Blonde Haired Beijinger At Home Helping Others Cope
Blonde haired Beijinger at home helping others cope. She may never be mistaken for a Chinese person but Teresa Lawler feels at home in Beijing. Whether it is discussing alterations for a wedding dress in Xidan's wedding mall or editing an academic report in Chinese, the thing that separates Lawler from a local is not her language skills or accent but, her strawberry blond hair and pale features. With her hair tied in a pony tail and wearing vintage clothing, Lawler retells how, back in 2001, a housemate suggested she try teaching English overseas. She traveled to Qingdao for six months and promptly fell in love with China. When she returned to study at Australian National University, she changed her degree in arts and law to one in Asian studies and law, a move she doesn't regret. She then took every opportunity to revisit China, including going on a whirlwind one-week Young Australian diplomatic program around China, studying Mandarin for a year at Beijing Language and Culture University in Wudaokou and going for a holiday in 2008. In Lawler's words she was simply "obsessed" with China. More than nine years on from when she first explored China, the now fluent Mandarin speaker is pursuing a long-held dream, to use her second language to work in Beijing on issues that she is passionate about. Lawler works for the grassroots non-profit organization Hua Dan, which aims to unleash potential through theater; using creativity to empower migrant women and children and those affected by the Sichuan earthquake. The group runs participatory theater workshops, advanced role-play and sessions on improvisation, creative games and story telling. "We feel that, through creativity, people can realize their potential and we can do a lot to help people," she said. "Anything that is creative or artistic has the ability to express things that words and plain speech can't. It's a way for people to explore their own lives without being confronted by them." As the evaluations and monitoring officer at Hua Dan, Lawler's job is to work closely with her Chinese colleagues to build a systematic evaluations program. "Staff at Hua Dan have an awesome drive and a unique concept to offer China, my job is to see how it works and to make improvements," she said. In her role, Lawler has seen the impact the program has had on participants, particularly the children from Sichuan. "The effects are amazing," she said. "There are changes in students' relationships with other students, their families and their ability to study." At the moment, Hua Dan has offices in Sichuan and Beijing. In the next five years, Lawler hopes Hua Dan can expand and have offices all over China working for the needs of the local community where they are, using their hearts and passion to bring about social transformation where it is needed. Q & A Q: What do you love about Beijing? A: I love the community spirit and lack of self-consciousness. People sing loudly to themselves in the street and they just don't care, there is no self-consciousness, that's how I want to be. Q: Where do you usually hang out in Beijing? How would it be different from back home? A: On a Friday night, I like to relax with friends and enjoy a glass of wine listening to the jazz lounge music of DJ Little Dave [her fianc] at the Bookworm. Q: Do you feel as though you are part of the city or more of an observer? A: It depends where I am, if I am looking out of my window on the 10th floor at the activity in the hutong below, I feel like an observer. But when I am at the KTV with my Chinese colleagues, I definitely feel part of the city. Q: Do you have many Chinese friends? How do they differ from your foreign friends? A: My Chinese friends are different from my foreign friends in how we are interested in each others' cultures and we ask a lot of questions. With my Australian friends, it is more about having a piece of home with you. Q: Do you have a Beijing shopping secret? A: It's not a secret to the university students, but Wudaokou Clothing markets have the best Korean imports I've ever seen. Read more at http://english.sina.com/cityguide/p/2010/0716/329607.html http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Apr 3, 2012, 2:00 PM
Chinese Ibero American Educators Meet To Promote Chinese Teaching
Chinese, Ibero-American educators meet to promote Chinese teaching. Education officials from China and the directors of Confucius Institutes in the Ibero-American countries have opened a conference to consider ways of boosting the overseas teaching of the Chinese language. The Second Congress of Confucius Institutes in Ibero-America, which opened Saturday in this Chilean coastal city, is aimed at sharing experiences among Confucius Institutes directors. It also seeks ways to better teaching, improve teaching materials and provide additional training for educators. The three-day event groups delegations from Spain, Portugal, Chile, Argentina, Cuba, Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica, Colombia, Mexico and China. Meanwhile, like its first session in the Spanish city of Valencia in 2008, the congress is also committed to strengthening cooperation between Confucius Institutes in Latin America and Hanban, the headquarters of Confucius Institutes in Beijing. As part of the event, a group of university students from Shanghai on Saturday staged a variety of Chinese dances, songs, fashion shows and martial arts in the Hall of Honor of the Chilean Congress in the adjacent city of Valparaiso. The artistic performances highlighted the motif of the ongoing World Expo in Shanghai, namely "Better City, Better Life," and its goal of promoting understanding between peoples. The latest figures from Hanban show that 316 Confucius Institutes and 337 Confucius Classrooms have been set up around the world. The establishments, named after an ancient Chinese scholar and educator whose thoughts remain influential worldwide after 2,500 years, are dedicated to promoting the Chinese language and culture. Twenty-five Confucius Institutes and two Confucius Classrooms have been inaugurated in the Ibero-American countries. In the host country Chile, Chinese has become the second most popular foreign language, after English. Read more at http://english.sina.com/life/2010/0718/329874.html http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Mar 31, 2012, 7:40 AM
Top 30 Universities By Reputation 2012
Top 30 universities by reputation 2012. Harvard University came first on a list of the top 100 universities by reputation, released Thursday by Times Higher Education (THE), a weekly magazine based in London. The survey, the second of its kind, received a record sample of 17,554 detailed responses from individual academics from 149 countries, up 31 percent on last year. Georgraphically, the United States has 44 unversities on the annual list, followed by 10 in the United Kingdom and 6 in China. Of the six unverisities from China (2 from the mainland, 3 from Hong Kong and 1 from Taiwan), Tsinghua University was the highest ranking, 30th on the list, moving up from 38 in the previous year. In a competitive higher education market, a strong global reputation provides tangible, real-world benefits - helping institutions attract and retain the best faculty, helping faculty locate the best universities for partnerships, and helping students in their quest to identify those elite universities whose names carry serious weight in the jobs market, said Times Higher Education. Tsinghua University (Beijing, China) World rank: 71 Reputation rank: 30 Overall Reputation score: 10.9 Reputation for teaching: 11.7 Reputation for research: 10.5 Originally founded in 1911 as Tsinghua College, Tsinghua University is today widely recognized as one of the top two universities in China. By the late 1920s, the university had already distinguished itself in terms of academic excellence and talent cultivation capabilities. Its professors are highly esteemed: 36 are members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and 32 belong to the Academy of Engineering. Of its 28,000 students, 2,400 hail from overseas. Read more at http://www.china.org.cn/top10/2012-03/16/content_24912456.htm http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Mar 30, 2012, 12:56 AM
A Fed Learner Is A Productive Learner
A fed learner is a productive learner. A hungry learner is an unproductive learner and it is for this reason that the Tiger Brand Foundation has joined with the Department of Basic Education to provide the learners of Alexandra in Gauteng with a nutritious breakfast each day. The project, which will run for three years, currently provides breakfast and lunch to 13 schools in Alexandra, an area infamous for its adverse economic conditions. Twelve of these schools have also been provided with container kitchens to provide tasty nutritious meals to the learners. Representatives from the National Department of Basic Education, the Gauteng Education Department and the Tiger Brands Foundation gathered at Ekukhanyisweni Primary School on Tuesday 6 February, 2012, to share in the milestone of the millionth breakfast served by the project. The project also has a research aspect, with data collected from the scheme to be used to analyse the impact of school feeding schemes that include breakfast for learners. Addressing learners and dignitaries at the school, Gauteng Education MEC Barbara Creecy thanked the Tiger Brands Foundation for “this important partnership”. “We are very excited to work on this project which puts food in the tummies of these young learners. If learners come to school hungry they are unable to concentrate; unable to learn, so this project will allow us to handle our core business of learning and teaching knowing that learners are well fed,” said MEC Creecy. Deputy Director-General at the National Department of Basic Education, Gugu Ndebele hailed the programme, saying that it fits in perfectly with the Department’s National School Nutrition Programme. “Currently the NSNP provides all learners at no fee schools with a healthy, nutritious and balanced lunch but we are looking at expanding the programme to breakfast as well, depending on the outcome of this project,” Said the DDG. “If breakfast was available at schools it would definitely help these learners concentrate in class and hopefully also ensure that they are all here on time every morning ready to learn. We will be monitoring the research from this project very closely to see how it could benefit the NSNP.” Read more at http://www.education.gov.za/Home/SchoolNutrition/tabid/700/Default.aspx http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Mar 29, 2012, 11:17 AM
Should You Volunteer At A Cambodian Orphanage?
Should You Volunteer at a Cambodian Orphanage? Cooking classes, cultural performances, massages, orphanage visits, adventure, festivals – this is the complete list of things to do in Siem Reap, as per the city’s Wikitravel page. Over the years, orphanage visits have seemingly become part of the Cambodian travel experience. As the popularity of visiting and volunteering at orphanages continues to rise, so does the controversy surrounding it. Some say it is an excellent way to make a positive contribution to the country. Others fear that well–meaning voluntourists may be doing more harm than good. The Orphanage Boom Earlier this year, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that while the number of Cambodian orphans has decreased, the number of orphanages has rapidly increased. UNICEF says that the number of orphanages jumped from 153 to 269 in the past five years. Only 21 of those are run by the state; the rest are privately operated. Perhaps even more troubling, UNICEF says that of the nearly 12,000 children living in Cambodian orphanages today, only 28 percent have lost both parents. If nearly three out of four of these “orphans” have at least one surviving parent, why are they living in orphanages? While parental illness, disability, abuse and desertion account for a portion of these situations, the International Organisation for Adolescents (IOFA) and Friends International say that extreme poverty is behind most of these cases. Friends International says that parents are sending their children to orphanages believing they will have better access to food, shelter and an education. That decision, which may initially have been intended to be temporary, morphs into permanence. Days after these findings were announced, the Cambodian government launched an investigation into the country’s orphanage system. Some fear that the orphanage boom is a product of Cambodia’s increasing tourism trade and the influx of tourist dollars that comes with it. Might the Children Be Better Off? When poverty is this severe, the question is often asked, might the children be better off in institutional care rather than with parents who are unable to support them? International studies have shown that children are better off in a family than in an institution. Many countries worldwide have moved to de-institutionalise childcare in favour of foster care programmes and community-based support. Orphanages, says UNICEF, should be the last resort. Tessa Boudrie, a qualified social worker who has spent the past ten years helping street children and sex workers in Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, agrees that the family unit is the best environment for a child. She says that research shows it’s cheaper to care for children in a family unit than in an orphanage. “A development dollar is better spent on helping families to create a sustainable livelihood. If that means you actually have to look beyond the family and into the community, because the whole community is facing the same difficulties, then that is where the development dollar should go,” says Tessa. Research recently conducted by IOFA found that young adults who left orphanages experienced a variety of problems, including damaged or severed family connections, homelessness, exploitation, trafficking and drug abuse. Its findings, IOFA says, challenge the widespread belief that institutional care is better for children from poor families. Tessa says it is naïve to believe that removing a child from the family unit will solve the underlying problems. “It is short-term thinking and definitively not in the best interests of the child and family.” The Rise of Orphanage Tourism Volunteer placement organisations, universities and hotels promote orphanage tourism to travellers as a way that they can “make a difference” while having experiences that are “rewarding” and “life-changing”. Volunteers are told that they can sing songs, draw pictures, paint, play, teach English and wash the kids, while being a “role model” who can “build [the children’s] confidence and hope in life”. UNICEF says that the trend in orphanage tourism is borne from the best of intentions. Whether travellers spend an afternoon or a few weeks at orphanages, these short-term volunteers donate time and money with the aim of helping the children of Cambodia. The desire to lend a helping hand is gaining traction in everyone from backpackers and gap-year students to luxury travellers. Majella Skansebakken, a Singapore expat and entrepreneur who has been involved in charitable work for Cambodia orphanages for over ten years, says that the enthusiasm to volunteer is a positive thing. “Cambodia is still a country very much in need of help. In fact, most orphanages are crying out for help,” say Majella. “I do, however, oppose people seeing an orphanage as a tourist destination where they pat a child on the head, take a photograph, then walk away.” Concerns About Short-term Orphanage Tourism While some orphanages have stringent child protection policies and structured volunteer programmes in place, NGOs worry that those with open door policies may not have the best interests of the children in mind. Concerns include: Ineffective volunteer work Reading, playing with and hugging the children may make a tremendous impact on the volunteer, but does little to support the needs of the children. Aid workers report situations where volunteers perform work that is unnecessary, such as teaching “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” to children that have recited it hundreds of times before. Though the goal is to help, volunteers sometimes confuse the impact that they are feeling with that which they are making. Emphasis is placed on the volunteer’s emotional response, rather than the effectiveness of the help itself. One volunteer summed up his experience by saying: “The kids at the orphanage changed my life completely. I can honestly say I am a different person. The 14 days I was at the orphanage taught me so much…Just having been able to make a difference by working at the orphanage and to share my time with [the children] was so incredibly rewarding. It was one of the most genuine experiences of my life.” Tessa noted the difficulty in attracting tourists towards responsible volunteer projects when the feel-good factor of working with children is so strong. Emotional loss from revolving door of volunteers UNICEF is concerned about the emotional loss that the children may feel from exposure to a revolving door of volunteers. Donor educator Saundra Schimmelpfennig writes about the trend of “hug-an-orphan vacations” on her blog Good Intentions are Not Enough. She says that that although volunteers feel that interacting with orphans is a great way to give back, it can have harmful effects. “While at the orphanage, most volunteers seek to build emotional bonds with the children so they can feel they made a difference. Though well intended, this leads to a never-ending round of abandonment,” says Saundra. Tessa agrees, noting that most short-term volunteers lack experience in dealing with institutionalised children. “No child benefits from spending intimate time with a total stranger, especially those who are uneducated in social work and education.” She says that the effect of a continuous stream of foreign volunteers is usually traumatising in the long run. “When I arrived in Asia ten years ago, I vowed never to work with a target group directly. I didn’t want to take a job away from a local, I don’t know the local culture and language, and my work is temporary. Instead, I offer my knowledge and skills to other social workers, which affects not just one child, but a much larger group of children in the end.” Exposure to child predators Earlier this year, the British owner of the Cambodian Orphan Fund, Nicholas Griffin, was sent to prison in Cambodia for sexually abusing several minor boys in his care. According to the UK’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, he ran “a number of orphanages in a tourist hotspot” in Siem Reap. Unfortunately, there have been a number of cases involving sexual abuse by directors of private orphanages. Orphanages with open door volunteer policies may unwittingly expose children to predators. In a recent interview, Scott Neeson, a former Hollywood executive who gave up his career to start the Cambodian Children’s Fund, cited safety as one reason why his organisation requires at least a one-month commitment from all volunteers. “We have to protect the children both emotionally and physically…We require police reports in advance and references. It’s not worth the time for the volunteer or CCF to go through that for a couple of days.” As the children’s home, an orphanage must also protect their privacy rights. Voluntourists often take photos of themselves with the children, some of which turn up on Facebook and personal blogs. “Most orphanages have adopted a policy whereby the children’s privacy is paramount. I have never taken photos of children on holidays in London, so I am definitely confused by people doing this in Cambodia,” says Majella. Exploitation by unscrupulous orphanages NGOs in Cambodia report that some orphanages’ primary focus is to take advantage of Cambodia’s voluntourism boom. “Volunteers come with money. In some cases, you have to pay to volunteer; in other cases, people donate after their time is up. Volunteering can be a lucrative, income-generating activity for orphanages,” says Tessa. Friends International has discovered cases where unethical orphanages have recruited and even paid parents to give their children away. In other cases, children are rented for a short stay. The children are used to tug at the heartstrings of tourists and volunteers, who are compelled to open up their hearts and wallets to help. “Orphanages that keep kids in squalor can attract far more funding,” says Daniela Papi, a long-time resident of Siem Reap and founder of an organisation focusing on youth education in rural Cambodia. Saundra agrees. “The best way to keep [foreign] donations rolling in is to keep the children at a substandard level, so that any volunteer or donor showing up will see with their own eyes how critical it is to donate to the orphanage,” she says. “A portion of these funds may be put into caring for the children, while large percentages could easily be pocketed for personal profit with few the wiser.” Daniela describes watching children being paraded around Siem Reap’s bar areas late at night. “They play music, hand out fliers and ask people to visit their orphanage. Countless travellers clap for the little performers, handing $20 bills to their ‘caretakers’ and promising to visit their orphanage during the week.” “Sometimes, doing good can cause harm, and the practice of visiting orphanages which you have not properly vetted, and which have not properly vetted you, can be a harmful practice,” she says. What You Can Do With an estimated one-third of Cambodian children living below the poverty line, there is no doubt that help is needed. Before you visit or volunteer at an orphanage, consider the following: DO your research. Ask local educators and NGOS about reputable organisations that are helping orphaned Cambodian children. Look for one that is legally registered and employs an active family reunification programme. DON’T go to any orphanage that actively solicits tourists. “People always ask me, ‘What is a good orphanage I can visit today?’ My answer is always – any orphanage that lets you visit today, unplanned, is likely not a good orphanage.” – Daniela Papi DON’T work with the children directly. Instead, assist the permanent staff; this keeps the locals in charge and minimises attachment issues. DO sign on for a long-term project. Choose a placement where you are supervised and working within a long-term curriculum. DO bring special skills. Medical specialists, teachers and human rights educators are often needed. DON’T volunteer at any organisation that doesn’t ask for a CV, references and police reports in advance. The more that is demanded, the greater chance that the children are being protected. DO ask to speak to a volunteer who came before you. DON’T post photos of children online. The orphanage is the children’s home, and their privacy should be respected. DON’T hand over large volunteer placement fees (which can top US$1,000) without ensuring that a portion is passed directly to the organisation. DO donate goods in kind. Ask the organisation, rather than a tuk tuk or taxi driver, about their needs. A common scam involves exorbitant charges for rice on the advice of a profiteering driver. “While bubbles and balloons are great, there may be a greater need for milk, rice, fruit and vegetables. Phone the organisation before you arrive.” – Majella Skansebakken DO consider helping community-based programmes, which support families and enable the children to live at home. Read more at http://expatliving.sg/article/life-family/mothers-babies/should-you-or-shouldnt-you-volunteer-at-a-cambodian-orphanage http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Mar 28, 2012, 11:38 AM
Fun Science Fair Projects That Capture Kids Attention
Fun Science Fair Projects That Capture Kids Attention. So, how do help your child decide what are fun science fair projects for them to do? Well, it depends on what activities your child enjoys doing on a daily basis. For primary age children, parents should ask, "Does my child like....outdoors activities? outer space? getting their whole body involved in whatever they are doing? quietly contemplating the world?" For middle- or high school-aged kids ask yourself what your children wonder about or what they enjoy doing for long periods of time. Together, discover what they actually perceive as fun. Why is fun so important? Because for a child to own the project, to get invested in doing their project, they must enjoy the process. Here are some ideas to get you started: Elementary School Projects Elementary school-aged students are originators of fun. They are also excellent at asking questions, which is what science is all about. Instead of answering their questions with a lot of "because" sentences, encourage them to experiment with things to find their own answers. * Why birds fly south for the winter? * Does chewing on one piece of food affect your sense of smell? Coaching your young child can be very rewarding and give you plenty of quality time together. Middle School Projects * Middle school students will love chemistry experiments such as mixing vinegar and baking soda to see what happens. * Build an electro-chemical cell using potatoes to build an electro-chemical cell. * Biology is a good topic for those kids who like to play in the yard or at the park. How about going around to different parks in your neighborhood and testing the soil's nutrients. Determine what nutrients are needed to grown healthy plants. Or is there a difference in nutritional value of foods when plants are grown in natural organic materials and chemically laden soil? * If you are right handed does that mean that when you walk you will begin with your right foot? High School Projects High school students like to have fun too. It's important that the science projects for this age group are cool. * Experiments to test the sense of taste would work well because partners are needed and high school kids often like to be with their friends. * Do violent video games affect your blood pressure? * Are fingerprint patterns inherited? * Here is an eyeopener project needing two people. One person is the questioner and observer: determine if the pupil of an eye changes sizes (gets smaller or larger) when you lie. Ask a question of your partner and have the partner tell the truth. Note the size of the eye pupil then ask a question and have your partner lie. Does the eye pupil get larger or smaller or stay the same. Ask about 10 questions of each person. Whatever the age or what science topic is chosen, there are other steps that must be included. Different schools may have different requirements for their science fairs. Most schools require that you to write a hypothesis, materials used, details of the experiment including graphs and charts of your data and conclusions. Some require background information and bibliography. Encourage your kids to keep a journal and to record every detail of what they observe when conducting their experiments. From their journal, they will be able to gather all the important information to include in their reports and displayed at the science fair. Although this may not seem like fun at first, they will enjoy documenting their progress if the project and the experiments are exciting and fun. So there you have it...how to find fun science fair projects that will capture the attention of any age kid. Read more at http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Fun_Science_Fair/ http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Mar 28, 2012, 8:30 AM
A Science Fair Survival Guide
A Science Fair Survival Guide. It's a scenario many parents dread: your child comes home from school and announces that he has a science fair project due – in three weeks! With little or no guidance on how to get it done, students and parents often leave the project until the last minute. And we all know how the results of that experiment work out. “This type of scenario can send a parent into panic mode, especially someone who does not have a science background,” says Tina Lanese, director of Science Buddies, a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting hands-on science learning. But, she says, with some advance planning and perseverance on the part of your child, the science assignment can be a boon for independent learning. The first step in the process is to choose a project – no easy task when you consider the sheer volume of options out there. Will your child be exploring genomics? Mammalian biology? Applied mechanics? Before you get ahead of yourself, take a step back. Discuss with your child what interests her the most. Is it animals and plants? Or machines and computers? Once you have a sense of the direction that your child wants to go in, Lanese recommends asking these questions: * Is the project interesting enough to work on for the next couple of months? * Are there at least three sources of written information on the subject? * Is the experiment safe to perform? * Are all of the materials needed for the experiment readily available or can they be obtained to the complete the experiment? * Is there enough time to complete the project by the due date? Choosing a project is hard enough, but once you get to the science fair floor, just what are the judges looking for? Heidi Black, Science Fair Coordinator for the East Side Union High School District, says that there are certain kinds of projects that tend to take home the blue ribbon: * Innovative and new. “Judges have seen colored lights on plants and rust so many times that they get a little tired of that,” says Black. Using creativity will not only catch the judge's interest, it may also reveal new discoveries in the process! * From the heart. Students who are inspired by a favorite hobby or specific interest really care about their projects, and it shows. One winner of the International Science Fair, says Black, designed a tracking device for his model airplane. * Solid science. You don't have to go crazy to take home top honors. Doing a simple project, but researching, analyzing, and presenting it thoroughly, can be just as impressive as a complicated project. * Just plain cool. If you can make the judges say “Wow!,” you're on to something. Doing your research and finding a project off the beaten track will help knock their socks off. * Serves a need. Things that can be used are universally liked, from wheelchairs that can climb stairs to devices for water filtration. These projects tend to follow current events, says Black. “This year we had a lot of oil cleanup projects, last year it was 'how do you make a better levy?'.” These types of project show that you are interested in using science to solve world problems. Read more at http://www.education.com/magazine/article/Science_Fair/ http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Mar 27, 2012, 9:27 AM
What Makes A Good Science Fair Project?
What Makes a Good Science Fair Project? A good Science Fair project involves the student in a journey of discovery, driven by curiosity. It typically starts with a student proposing a question or hypothesis, and doing some background research. The student then develops an experimental apparatus or procedure that will produce data, from which the student can draw conclusions to prove (or disprove) the hypothesis, or answer the question. A good hypothesis typically takes the form of "If I do this, then that should happen." A question typically takes the form of "Can I improve results by doing this?", or "If I try different ways of accomplishing something, which produces the best results?" An example of a poor question is "If I do that, what happens?". A good Science Fair Project directs the student's efforts toward a particular result or expectation; undirected experimentation just to find out what happens is play, not science (although notable discoveries have been made in this manner, they are notable because they were "accidents"). After selection of a hypothesis, the most important parts of the scientific process are to: * conduct background research * develop an experimental apparatus or procedure to investigate the hypothesis or question * operate the apparatus or conduct the procedure to collect experimental data * perform iterations of data collection * reduce or analyze the experimental data * arrive at conclusions The final step before coming to the Science Fair is to prepare a display and rehearse (but not memorize!) an explanation of how the display shows the means for conducting the experiment, developing the results, and arriving at the conclusions. Students are advised that getting the right answer is NOT the purpose of a Science Fair project. It is the intent of a Science Fair project that you go through the process of asking questions and performing experiments in an attempt to find answers. Making the attempt without answering the question still satisfies the intent of your discovering knowledge on your own. At the Science Fair, the judges appreciate a display that clearly shows the intent and results of experimentation, and a presentation that concisely describes what was done and what was concluded. The judges want to feel that you are familiar enough with your project to discuss it comfortably and answer questions about it. Memorized speeches or rambling descriptions of minutiae (trivial details) are frustrating to judges, who need to be able to pose appropriate questions in order to thoroughly understand the project. If you work on a team project, the judges will expect more substantial science in your project, and every team member should be able to represent the project. Teachers and Parents are advised to encourage students to develop a genuine interest in their projects. Judges will occasionally ask students why they chose to do a particular project, and it usually turns out that the best work is done by students who are motivated and inspired by their curiosity about what they are investigating. Students who developed a project simply because you expected them to do so will generally produce mediocre results. Judges are advised that students are expected to have a thorough understanding of the work that they have done. The students must know why the experiments they have assembled and operated can provide the answers they seek. They must correctly interpret the data they have collected. As judges, you should expect a logical answer to any of your questions about the technical terms they use or the equipment they have employed. Some students will attempt to accomplish research that is beyond their understanding, skills, or the capability of their equipment; it is preferable that they complete projects they have the ability to thoroughly grasp. County coordinators are advised that some types of poor attempts at Science Fair projects are relatively easy to identify. In order to maintain the integrity and excellence of projects entered in the State Science Fair, it is preferred that you NOT recognize the following types of projects with awards at the local level, and that you NOT invite them to submit an application to the State Science Fair: * Artwork, photographs, or replicas (physical or computer-generated) that illustrate concepts but were not used or are not useful as experimental apparatus to collect comparative data; depictions of known scientific concepts are in this category * Experiments that indicate the students have not done rudimentary background research (e.g., they could have seen the experiment described in a textbook) * Displays of collections of things (unless the collections are used for comparative research that leads to scientific conclusions) * Experiments that merely find out "What happens if I do this?", without having a scientific reason for performing the procedure * Pontification of theories with no credible attempt at proof (e.g., using literature search of quotes to provide evidence for the theory) * Experiments that present results without analyses that predict the results, quantify results, show why those results occurred, or explain how they occurred * Experiments that do not check data points for repeatability or resolve widely divergent results * Experiments using apparatus so crude that measurements could not be realistically acquired to show the intended results Read more at http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_What_Makes_Science/ http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Mar 26, 2012, 12:01 PM
What Do I Need To Teach English As A Second Language In Asia?
What do I need to Teach English as a Second Language (ESL) in Asia? What are the Job and Working Requirements for Foreigners in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Indonesia? This is what I found out when I was laid off from work in Telecommunications in the US. My job had allowed me to travel to parts of Asia which included Vietnam, Thailand and Cambodia and experience the culture and lifestyle while working there. So I considered teaching overseas for a better quality of life. Since I am a native English speaker the answer seemed obvious. Teach English. Searching for TEFL and TESOL programs online raised many, many red flags. All it seemed was that this overwhelming information was a ploy to help me part ways from my hard earned money. I was read conflicting things from different places. Like you need a degree, yet somewhere else it would say you don’t need a degree. What did I really need? While my wife and I were traveling in Cambodia, we visited with a principle at a University in Phnom Penh. He had worked as an English teacher in Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and Cambodia for over 33 years. He gave me good guidance as to what would be required to teach English in Asia and to be totally legitimate with those countries foreigner worker regulation. What I needed was: 1) TEFL - Teaching English as a Foreign Language or TESOL - Teaching to English to Speakers of Other Languages He said that I needed either a 120 hours TEFL, TESOL or CELTA Certification University of Cambridge's CELTA and Trinity College London's CertTESOL. These two courses both have 120+ hours with 6+ hours supervised teaching. He said that online TEFL or TESOL certificates weren’t considered as real training. They work out cheaper but you get what you pay for in the long run. 2) Clean Police Record Check To teach you need to provide documentation of a clean police record from where you live. This can be obtained from your local police station within your country. It’s best to get the process started as soon as possible because it can take a few months. 3) University Degree You need to also provide original documentation of a university degree and transcripts. As an aside for American's. In some parts of the world there are High Schools that are known as Colleges. You need to be careful to not be disqualified for this reason. When you have all of your documentation in order you will be able to find work teaching English as a Second Language. I received my TESOL certification because that is what the principle had done. I also took the course here in Vietnam. There are many courses all over the world. I could have taken it in Houston Texas, USA, but it was more expensive and the living expenses for one month was much higher than staying with my brother-in-law in Ho Chi Minh City. Now all you have to do is to be able to find, separate and qualify the good and bad teaching jobs when you are in your search. Once you understand how to search for these positions and understand the pay scales, you can search for decent positions. By Edward Hui http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Mar 26, 2012, 3:16 AM
Taiwan A Cyclist’s Dream, Canadian Newspaper Says
Taiwan a Cyclist’s Dream, Canadian Newspaper Says. A Canadian newspaper praised Taiwan as a cyclist’s wonderland and recommended the country as a perfect model for Canadian officials attempting to encourage more city dwellers to get on their bikes. “With a huge choice of bike paths, mountain trails, bike parks and other tourism sites along the routes,” Taiwan has been transformed into a “cyclist’s paradise,” the Ottawa Citizen daily said in an article on Saturday last week. “The Taiwanese have suddenly taken to riding bicycles by the millions, and today the island is criss-crossed by hundreds of smooth paved bike paths,” the article written by Mike McCarthy said. McCarthy wrote that twin setbacks — SARS a decade ago and the more recent global economic recession — caused a drop in international tourism and led many locals to switch to more affordable cycling vacations at home. A Taiwanese film on cycling around the island — Island Etude (練習曲) — also helped fan the flames of this health revolution, the article said. Keen to develop a new industry, the government began funding bike trails and bike parks. Bike hotels and bed and breakfasts have sprung up all over the country to lure city dwellers to the countryside for cycling adventures. “Today, the majority of Taiwanese, young and old, are frequent or occasional cyclists, and the demand for more bike paths continues to grow,” McCarthy wrote, adding that “the bike trails and mountains have also attracted serious cyclists from Europe and North America.” McCarthy referred to the Guanshan Bike Trail in Taitung County as the “perfect bike trail,” with its scenery of lush green rice paddies and rolling hills dotted with water buffalo and fragrant flowers, along a smooth paved path over tiny bridges and past shops selling tea, ice cream and lunchboxes. President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said at the opening of the Taipei Cycle Show on Wednesday that the government would extend the nation’s bike path network to 2,000km, of which 900km would be mountain biking trails and 1,200km would span along coastlines. Read more at http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2012/03/10/2003527443 http://www.languagecorpsasia.com
Mar 25, 2012, 3:09 AM

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What Do I Need To Teach English As A Second Language In Asia?

Taiwan A Cyclist’s Dream, Canadian Newspaper Says

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