Association of Educational Improvement (AEI)

Effective Study skills are about more than understanding

2011-02-19T16:58:00.001+05:30

Effective study skills must be practiced in order for you to improve. It is not enough to simply "think about" studying; you have to actually do it, and in the process use information from what you do to get better. This is the central idea of this page. All that follows depends on this single concept. There is a saying that goes like this: "Practice doesn't make perfect; perfect practice makes perfect." If you want to be an achiever, take this saying to heart.

The value of a schedule

Before you even begin to think about the process of studying, you must develop a schedule. If you don't have a schedule or plan for studying, then you will not have any way of allocating your valuable time when the unexpected comes up. A good, well thought out schedule can be a lifesaver. It's up to you to learn how to develop a schedule that meets your needs, revise it if necessary, and most important, follow it.

A schedule saves time

All schedules should be made with the idea that they can be revised. A good schedule keeps you from wandering off course. A good schedule, if properly managed, assigns time where time is needed, but you've got to want to do it!

Making every hour count

A schedule should take into account every class, laboratory, lecture, social event, and other work in which you engage. There are givens such as classes and so on that have to be incorporated. You must focus on the other "free time" available and how you will use it. Make a weekly schedule and block off the 24 hour day in one hour increments. Indicate times for classes, labs, lectures, social, and work time. Also block off a period for sleeping each day. With what is left over, plan time for study. This gives you a rough road map of the time available. Of course, you can revise your schedule as circumstances warrant.

When to study

The problem of when to study is critical. A good rule of thumb is that studying should be carried out only when you are rested, alert, and have planned for it. Last minute studying just before a class is usually a waste of time.

Studying for lecture courses

If your study period is before the lecture class, be sure you have read all the assignments and made notes on what you don't understand. If the study period is after the lecture class, review the notes you took during class while the information is still fresh.

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Primary Education

2011-02-04T17:34:00.000+05:30

Primary education is the foundation on which the development of every citizen and the nation as a whole built on. In recent past, India has made a huge progress in terms of increasing primary education enrolment, retention, regular attendance rate and expanding literacy to approximately two thirds of the population. India’s improved education system is often cited as one of the main contributors to the economic development of India. At the same time, the quality of elementary education in India has also been a major concern.

Free and compulsory education to all children up to the age fourteen is constitutional commitment in India. The Parliament of India has recently passed Right to Education Actthrough which education has become fundamental right of all children of age group 6-14 years. The country is yet to achieve the elusive goal of Universalisation of Elementary education (UEE), which means 100 percent enrolment and retention of children with schooling facilities in all habitations. It is to fill this gap that the Government has launched the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in 2001, one of the largest such programmes in the world.

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HIGHER EDUCATION IN INDIA: SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY

2011-01-25T16:57:00.000+05:30

India is well known for its large pool of technical manpower, a fair proportion of which
finds employment in developed countries, especially in the West. As a happy sequel to the
story, India has recently witnessed a big boom in the BPO/KPO sector. In order to sustain
this trend, and to ensure that India does not throw away this key advantage, it is imperative
that we continue to produce a critical mass of highly skilled manpower at an accelerated
pace. An enabling academic and economic setting is a key factor determining the fate of
our nation in the wake of the knowledge sector boom. This paper reviews the prevailing
policy environment in this context to evaluate its efficacy in ensuring that India remains
ahead of the curve in the knowledge sector which has been growing exponentially in recent
years.
In Section II that follows, we start with the Internet and its role in higher education, and
then indicate the perception of the academic community on e-education and globalisation.
In this context it may be mentioned that internet in education has a much wider role in
extending education to a globalised world. This is followed by outlining the recent trends
in the knowledge sector, indicating the advantage enjoyed by India in the area. Concrete
measures required to mainstream India into the knowledge sector boom are suggested.

-------Sanat Kaul

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How to improve India's higher education and research quality?

2011-01-23T19:33:00.000+05:30

It’s a well established fact that India is going downhill in science education and research, despite of relative huge increase in funding and being the major technical manpower supplier for IT and global research community, successfully undertaking Moon mission and so on. I am wondering how we can regain our lost glory and improve on that so far our science education and research is concerned. I am mentioning some remedies below that came to my mind.

1. Reduce spending of public money on higher education and research for non-performing institutes and universities. Only teaching (without any productive research in form of quality publications or usablepatents) does not justify huge spending by some so-called “elite” institutes/universities. All institutes/universities should be graded and judged as per their performance and public monetary support should depend on that. (UGC has started this but not with much cooperation from universities and so-called elite institutes and with very limited success so far).

2. Introduce strict accountability of public money for any research in any institute or university. And any research finding (mainly related to novel service or product) using public money must be mentioned in an open source (e.g unrestricted web site(s) for public access). If hundreds of corers of rupees are spent on “developing Bt- crop for insect resistance”, then public have the right to know what is the outcome from that huge spending of tax payers’ money. And if needed, a farmer or other researcher(s) should be able to access that information and more importantly the materials developed in such projects, as claimed by the researcher/institute.

3. Private institutes and universities must follow a minimum standard to give degrees.

4. Start “tenure track” system in Indian institutes/universities.

5. Increase spending substantially on primary and high school education (Both qualitative and quantitative). Increase the salaries of teachers at least at per with university lecturers and put stringent quality control while recruiting the teachers and introduce accountability among them. We must increase substantially the number of primary schools and quality of those and improve on physical infrastructures like school buildings, a minimum standard of school laboratory and library, a decent play ground, some internet connected computers in libraries etc.

6. Change the education system from the primary level (reduce work load, put more importance on physical activities, encourage original thinking etc). There should not be any form of evaluation (exam or so) till age 10 years (i.e till class 4 level). Subsequently the exam patterns should change and put more emphasis on original thinking and problem solving rather than emphasizing database-quiz type format. Basic education should be in mother tongue but English also should be compulsory from class 1.

7. Provide increased opportunities for students in rural and semi-urban India (in form of transparent information dissemination, transparent selection for fellowship/scholarships and recruitments).

For the long run:
Abolish reservation policy altogether. Provide quality primary and high school education free for all.

We have an obligation to give something back to our country which will have a long term impact on the whole society. These are few of my thoughts. Let’s start a vibrant discussion and let us know your opinion in this matter.

---------------jayanta chatterjee

Source : http://network.nature.com/groups/natureindia/forum/topics/3348

Indian Education

2011-01-22T21:39:00.000+05:30

With its plurality and paradoxes, India never ceases to fascinate. And education in India is only one among various other elements that have captured the attention of the world. While the United Nations is worried about the presence of a large number of illiterates, various other countries are amazed by the quality of some of the human resources that the Indian education system has produced.

The growth of the Indian economy in the recent past and the compulsion to sustain it is also forcing the Indian government to accelerate the process of developing all the branches of the Indian education system. Therefore, it would be very interesting to understand and analyze the various structures of education in India, its present condition and future developments.

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challenging problems of mathematics(2)

2010-06-16T18:29:00.000+05:30

Problem : 2

Solution of Problem-1

Challenging Problems of Mathematics - 1

2010-06-14T22:09:00.001+05:30

Today, I am starting a new series, where I will discuss on good problems of mathematics. So come on the first :

Anyone can send the solution on asso.eduimp@gmail.com