Archive for the ‘Continuing Education’ Category
At last, concrete answers to the perennial challenge to homeschooling families: “But what about college?” Use the practical hints below to help your homeschooled child get into (and succeed in) the college of her choice.
1. Begin with the end in mind. If you know now that your homeschooled 14-year-old has the potential and interest to pursue college, start gathering and organizing information about admission requirements for representative schools.
2. Maintain your child’s portfolio diligently. It will form the basis of your homemade “transcript,” or, for some schools, can be substituted for one.
3. Contact the schools your child is interested in attending to find out if they have special admission requirements for homeschooled students.
Some (Stanford, for example) have created guidelines to help homeschoolers with the application process (and Stanford has admitted numerous homeschoolers).
4. Apply with confidence. More than 900 colleges nationwide, including many rated as “highly selective,” regularly admit homeschooled students. In many ways, the homeschool experience helps your child stand out from the masses.
5. Focus on areas other than transcript information. Many colleges state that certain parts of the application package, such as SAT II and ACT scores, letters of recommendation, and the application essay, are given greater weight when considering homeschoolers for admission. Read the rest of this entry »
Adult education programs vary in content and effectiveness. Whether you’re working as a teacher or a student, there are a few ways you can help improve the quality of instruction.
1. Purchase new materials to help keep your course content relevant. Buy kits that utilize different types of media, like audio CDs, computer programs, DVDs and worksheets.
Plan the programs budget so that a different department gets to buy new materials each year.
2. Post ads in community centers to find people who can teach special courses.
You need qualified educators for things like GED preparation and alternative high school courses, but tax courses, home planning and music instruction can be taught by professionals if your department of education approves them.
Perform a background check on every person who will be teaching alone.
3. Lobby your state legislators to increase funding to improve adult education. Explain that decreased support has made it harder for adults to gain the skills they need to advance in the work force.
Contact your state representatives in Washington and ask them to push for bills that include additional federal money for non-traditional learning.
4. Provide training sessions for your volunteer ESL teachers. Allow them to share their ideas and issues with teaching English. Give out basic lesson plans and resources to help them improve their instruction techniques and inform them of ESL certification programs in the area.
5. Raise the community’s awareness of locally funded adult education. Encourage people to come out and vote to allocate more funding for these programs. Explain that adult education benefits everyone because it leads to better jobs and more money flowing into the local economy. Read the rest of this entry »
Continuing education is a fairly broad term that encompasses various forms of adult education at the post-secondary level.
Continuing education can be for college credit or, as is more commonly the case, not.
Many continuing education courses are industry-specific in that they are meant to offer ongoing training for people working in that field.
The insurance industry, for example, uses continuing education courses to fulfill ongoing licensing requirements.
Continuing education courses can satisfy students’ curiosity and need for self-development.
Because of the importance of such courses, it is necessary that the designer or teacher of the course constantly strive to improve them or design them better.
1. Study the benefits of teaching continuing education courses. Two assistant professors at Marshall University, Wylma C. Skean and Rhonda Robinson Scragg, contend that there are “a number of benefits that the instructor derives that can be directly related to success in completing faculty duties.”
This does not include the obvious perceived benefits such as smaller classes or the lack of need for testing. Instead, they list expanded expertise, networking, “real world” exposure, and for colleges, recruiting.
Understanding how these courses help you or your institution will help you to create better instructional methods.
2. Utilize the world of high-tech media. There are so many different types of continuing education courses that it is difficult to prescribe one method for improving all of them.
It is, however, possible to suggest that technologies such as the Internet, DVDs, Microsoft Powerpoint, and the like can all have a positive impact on the learning environment and can serve as necessary supplements to course material.
Powerpoint can be particularly effective if used correctly with plenty of graphics, audio, and video elements. Be careful, however, to not let it become a distraction to the course participants by making it the sole focus of the learning content.
3. Keep the class engaged. Sometimes continuing education courses become mundane because the instructor is focused on getting through a certain amount of material for licensing requirements or for some other reason.
Using a question-and-answer format, group discussions, and other interactive methods for learning can greatly enhance your course. Read the rest of this entry »
According to “A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge,” project managers apply knowledge, skills and learned techniques to complete an initiative according to established requirements.
Project managers who are certified must maintain their credentials by participating in continuing education programs.
The Facts
The Project Management Institute (PMI) is a nonprofit professional association that offers four credentials to help professionals advance in the industry. PMI credential holders must earn a specific number of professional development units (PDUs) in a three-year credential cycle.
Function
Through continuing education, credential holders have the opportunity to expand their knowledge base and stay apprised of new techniques and processes.
These programs also offer networking opportunities and can demonstrate to colleagues and employers a commitment to the project management industry.
Types
PMI offers four credentials that require certification maintenance. Risk Management Professionals (PMI-RMP) must complete 30 PDUs with specialized training in project risk management.
Scheduling Professionals (PMI-SP) must maintain their credentials by completing 30 hours of continuing education with a project scheduling focus.
Project Management Professionals (PMP) and Program Management Professionals (PgMP) must complete 60 hours of project management training in a credential cycle. Read the rest of this entry »
To become a practicing speech-language pathologist, often called a speech therapist, in the communication field of speech pathology, an individual typically must earn a two-year master’s degree in speech-language pathology, complete an appropriate supervised clinical fellowship and pass the national Praxis Series examination on speech-language pathology offered by the Educational Testing Service.
Meeting those stringent requirements is not the end of the professional preparation process for speech-language pathologists, however, especially those who choose not to work in public schools.
To maintain and advance a career in speech pathology, 47 states require licenses that are frequently obtainable only after proof is provided of relevant continuing education.
Function
Licensing is an important aspect of a career in speech pathology because it helps states ensure that practitioners have adequate skills to successfully assist their patients or clients.
As a result, continuing education is a standard pursuit for speech pathology professionals for more than one reason. It not only helps speech-language pathologists meet licensing requirements in the area in which they practice so that they can continue working, but it also allows the development of expertise related to the pathologist’s specific career goals and/or the types of unique issues he will tend to address in his practice.
Types
Continuing education options in the speech pathology field are extremely flexible and diverse. Speech-language pathologists can essentially choose to focus on whichever topics they feel are most appropriate for their professional aspirations, as long as the subjects fall within the range of areas relevant to speech pathology.
These include just about any subject related to diagnosing, preventing and treating communication disorders of a speech, fluency or cognitive nature. Read the rest of this entry »
If you are looking to become a helicopter mechanic, you need to train at one of the 200 schools recognized by the FAA as a legitimate aeronautical training school.
Because so few schools are officially recognized, it can be difficult to know where to start looking; however, these schools can be found throughout the country.
Georgia Northwestern Technical College (GNTC)
GNTC has four locations in Rome, Calhoun, Rockmart and Rock Spring, Georgia, and enrolls around 8,200 students every year.
To train as a helicopter mechanic, you must enroll in the aviation maintenance technology program at the Aviation Training Center in Rome.
The program requires students to be at least 16 years of age and complete 11 quarters of study.
In addition to specialties in specific areas of aircraft maintenance, the program also includes basic math, physics and psychology courses.
Aviation Institute of Maintenance
The Aviation Institute of Maintenance has nine locations in seven different states nationwide, as well as an online program that teaches the human aspects of the aviation industry.
All of the school’s locations offer either an aviation maintenance technician program or an aviation maintenance technical engineer program.
The AMT program prepares students for the service aspect of the aeronautics industry, as well as the entry-level FAA examination for qualification in the maintenance field. Read the rest of this entry »