This is a contributed post.
Did you know that over the course of your life, you will spend over 90,000 hours at work? That’s a lot of time spent doing something to earn yourself the money you need to eat and live. As you are going to spend so much time at work and earning cash, the best thing that you can do is ensure that your career is developing the way you want it to.
You wouldn't get your teacher certification and then not work to be a head tutor or a deputy headteacher, leading to headteacher. There is always progression to be had in any career but if you want to improve your chances, these are the tips that you will need:
Make sure that you have clear deadlines for your goals. You don't need to work toward being a certain age and then hit the goal you want to hit, but you need to create some goals for yourself so that you are working toward the success that you want. Goals offer you the chance to focus, and you need to get specific about it. There is such a thing as setting SMART goals, and these can really help you. A deadline offers you the chance to be accountable for yourself, and this eliminates the wasted time and effort you would spend.
Invest in you! You need to develop your career and if that means paying into yourself to get a further qualification, go ahead and get it! You need to make sure that you are taking the time to develop your functional skills, and the best way to do that is to take courses and improve. Your ability to learn doesn't stop after a certain age, so be smart about it and get yourself into learning. Your skills are more marketable if you have them in the first place.
Make sure that you use your current role. Speak to your current employer and make sure that you are in the spotlight for a potential promotion if there is one to be had. You know that most employers will give preference to current employees, so ensure that you are right in there and are getting the best from your current role first.
Find a mentor. You are never too old to have guidance in the career that you want, and the best way to get that is to find a mentor who is doing what you want to do. You can then work to ensure that you are having the career doors opened for you. They’ll help you to expand your personal and professional network and you can then be in a position to better realize your potential.
Get it all on paper. From your goals to your progress that you have made, you need to get it all down on paper. You have to think about how much satisfaction comes with the career advancement that you have. It’s satisfying to be able to see how far you’re getting with your career plans.
This is a contributed post.
Whatever kind of success your child tends to have with their education, you are probably keen to always try and improve it as much as possible. After all, there is no such thing as your child learning too much or finding it too easy, so this is something that is always worth looking into in some way or another. The issue of how to improve learning for your child is actually relatively straightforward, and it largely comes down to paying attention to a few key things. Let’s take a look at what they are right now.
Find Motivation
Very often with children of all ages, the issue is largely around having the right motivation to learn. Without a strong enough motivation, no child is going to be able to learn what they need to, when they need to, so this is something that you are going to want to focus on in particular. There are many ways to motivate your child to learn, from focusing on topics that intrigue them to explaining the positive outcomes of having a good education. However you do it, just make sure that they feel truly motivated to learn as much as possible.
Update The Teaching
The method in which a child is taught is obviously one of the most centrally important concerns in all this too, and you need to make sure that you are doing all you can to help update the teaching that your child is receiving. That might mean that you change your homeschooling approach, or that you need to change what school your child attends. Whatever it takes, just make sure that the teaching is as up to date as possible, taking into account all of the most recent revelations in the world of education. That is going to make a huge difference.
Try Adaptive Learning
Every individual is different, and this means that everyone learns differently and has to take different approaches to achieving the same ends. If you are keen to improve the learning for a child, then one thing you might want to consider making use of is adaptive learning. This is a way of utilising the natural learner variability that exists between people, to ensure that each and every child is getting taught in exactly the way that makes most sense for them. That’s a really forward-thinking way of approaching this whole issue.
Vary The Methods
Finally, almost everyone learns more effectively and more quickly if they use a variety of methods, rather than simply sticking to just one. Just reading about something might not do much to help information stick in a child’s mind, for instance. But reading about it, engaging with it and talking about it are all going to make a difference. In whatever way you can think of, encourage varied methods when a child is trying to learn. It really does help, and it means that they are going to be much more likely to retain that information every time.
Making learning fun for children can aid development and boost wellbeing and contentment, but it’s not always to conjure up new, original ideas. If you have young children, and you’re looking for inspiration, this guide is packed with ideas and tips to ensure that every learning experience is enjoyable and memorable.
Image credit: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-kid-with-multicolored-hand-paint-1148998/
Vary activities
We all get bored of doing the same things over and over again. Many of us remember classes at school that we didn’t enjoy because every session was the same, and there are often jobs we try to avoid at work because they are repetitive or mundane. When educating your child or drawing up plans for home learning or playtime, try to include a diverse range of activities. Switch up your schedule, include different types of activities, and combine classes your kids love with new learning techniques and resources. A variety of activities will help children to maintain high levels of motivation and also make learning and teaching more enjoyable for parents, carers or relatives. From reading, problem-solving and arts and crafts to physical activity, role-play, outdoor pursuits and doing experiments or playing games, it’s an excellent idea to try to introduce a mixture of classes and play and learning-based activities.
Change your surroundings
A change of scenery can have an incredible impact on a child’s appetite for learning. Many kids love to be outdoors and to explore different settings. When you’re encouraging your children to learn, it’s a fantastic idea to try and change the surroundings from time to time. Go outside if it’s a sunny day, visit a park, the beach or a forest or work in the garden. Visit places that are relevant to what you’re learning about and use the environment to enhance the experience. If you’re learning about animals, for example, you could go to the zoo, a wildlife park or a farm. If you’re talking about trees, insects or plants, plan a nature walk or have a look around a garden center. Interactive, sensory experiences are often more memorable. If your kids have had a great day, they will be able to retain and recall information more easily.
Picture from https://www.pexels.com/photo/boy-wearing-orange-shirt-blowing-on-dandelion-1231215/
Introduce a social element
Making friends, spending time with others and forming relationships can have an impact on how we learn and develop. If you’re looking for ways to make learning fun for your kids, have you thought about introducing a social element? From infant daycare facilities and play dates with friends and neighbors to summer schools and camps and local clubs, there are several ways to encourage socialization. Some children are naturally more sociable than others. If your kids tend to be shy around new people, support and reassure them and give them time to adjust to the environment and the dynamic of the group. It can be helpful to stick to the same groups or activities for a period to enable them to become more confident around their new friends.
Bring learning to life
Most of us will have memories of reading books, writing notes and listening to our teachers talking during our time at school. Reading is incredibly beneficial for children, but it’s not the only way to learn. One of the best ways to make learning more fun and accessible is to bring it to life. Instead of just reading books about the human body, history or animals, or looking at pictures of famous artworks in books or doing sums written down in activity booklets, use visual, interactive, practical learning techniques. Paint your own pictures in the style of well-known artists, take a look at your facial features in the mirror or use models to see where different body parts are, recreate battles or landmark historical moments by creating role-play scenarios and develop counting skills by setting up a store and using a cash register, for example. Explore the great outdoors, be creative and try to include daily physical activity. You can use online resources and get ideas and inspiration from teachers, educators and parents via forums and social media groups.
Ask for feedback and ideas
All children learn differently and they have preferences in terms of what they like to do and how they want to spend their time. Ask your children for feedback on activities you’ve tried and encourage them to get involved with planning classes or coming up with ideas for weekends or rainy afternoons.
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Every parent wants the best for their child when it comes to learning. If you homeschool your kids, or you’re eager to encourage them to learn through play and spending time together at home, it’s hugely beneficial to try and make learning as fun as possible.
This is a contributed post.
