Handle Difficult Questions From Students Smartly
Students are always bubbling with questions! In fact, it’s important to promote the habit of asking questions and doubts in the class. This not only helps students in their learning process but also fosters a good student-teacher relationship. But what can a teacher do when students ask tough questions that may require some research on the teacher’s part? Even worse, how can teachers respond to personal questions that could get embarrassing? Sometimes, teachers simply don’t have the time to accommodate questions. In such cases, here are 3 smart ways to handle difficult questions from students:
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Encourage Students to Investigate on Their Own
Some subject-related questions could be tough, even for teachers. They may need time to research the question or refer to a resource. In such a case, teachers can simply direct the student to investigate the answer on his/her own. Fix a time later in the day or at a later date to discuss the question after the student has done his research.
This has two benefits – it gives you time to analyse the question yourself, and it also promotes self-learning and research capabilities in students. It’s a good idea to suggest the right learning material or reference book that the student can use while finding the answer to the question.
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Direct the Question to Other Students
If a student asks a question that you know the answer to, but need time to come up with a structured answer, there’s an easy way to buy time. You can ask the same question to the remaining students in class. Give them time to come up with their answers and help the discussion flow towards the right answer. Towards the end, you can either discuss the correct answer yourself or make the student summarise what the others discussed in class.
By doing so, you encourage healthy peer-peer discussion, which is an efficient learning technique. You also help student stress reduce and make them understand that most questions can be answered by discussing them with each other. This encourages knowledge sharing and helps students bond better with each other and with the teacher. In addition, it also helps build analytical skills and critical thinking skills among students.
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Answer Vaguely – For Personal Questions
Sometimes students wish to get friendly with their teachers. However, being young, they do not really know their boundaries and may end up asking upsetting or embarrassing questions. When in such a situation, you can give a vague answer that does not really answer the question. You can immediately move on to another topic, or start discussing the student’s performance or grades.
This is a good strategy to avert embarrassing questions without making the student uncomfortable. However, if the student persists in asking the question, remain calm, maintain eye contact, and then politely let the student know that such a question is inappropriate.
These are 3 smart ways in which you can handle tough questions from students. As a general rule of thumb, never discourage your students from asking questions. Always ensure that they know they can reach out to you at any point of time to clarify concepts and doubts. At the same time, it is important to teach students questioning etiquette. You can take out time to talk about the right questions to ask, the right way of asking questions, etc. with your class. If you teach using online classes apps, you can set aside a time where students can post all their questions, and you can answer them at your convenience. This helps avoid unnecessary or embarrassing questions while giving you time to frame your answers in the best possible manner.
Things to Consider Before Starting a Business
When it comes to starting a full-fledged business, it takes much more than just passion and an idea. When it comes to consistency, the passion fades away but the business remains. There are lots of things to consider before starting a business which include a successful plan, funding options, insurance, and most importantly the time you will have to dedicate to it. In order to start a business and make it run you have to keep in mind the points we will be discussing below. These will not only help you run your business, they will help you make it successful.
Write a Business Plan
While it is good to take risks, it is also very important to take calculated risks and when it comes to starting a business. No matter how small it is, always make a well-researched and well-thought-out plan, as it is foolish to start something new without having a complete vision on paper.
When you make a plan you are completely aware of how your business will run and how much you will have to work, and spend in order to stabilize what you have started. A plan gives you vision and direction, and without it people can’t take their business further.
Always Make Success Plans
While it is important to have a business plan, but when you already have a business, success plans are important. Whenever you get a groundbreaking or successful idea for your business, no matter how big or small it is, make a plan out of it and write it down step by step.
It might take an hour or half of your time but it will help give you direction, and when you will have plans written down in your diary, you will know which one to follow next, and how many resources and hard work that plan will need. This way you always have things on your fingertips and it will help you execute the ideas with accuracy. Plans are very important and helpful, so make them a habit.
Know Your Competition
When starting a business, do your research well, and visit similar stores to check their pricing, outlook, packaging, etc. Visit their website and social media to see how they market their product. This will help you to stay up to date with the new trends, and how fellow businesses run.
Also, it is important to study and know your competition not to copy them but to learn from them. So, don’t study to copy but to learn, and make sure to stay as unique as you can, so that you can stand out from the rest of the similar businesses.
Study Your Funding Options
Before starting a business, one of the most important things is to study your funding options. The most common options are to get small business loans, a family member that could sponsor you, an investor, or if you have saving of your own its best but don’t let financial problems pull you back if finances are the only problem. Explore your options, you will most likely find either loans or investors for your business, but make sure your plan is strong enough to be able to afford an investor.It is not best to completely depend on an outside investors, so have a plan where you don’t have to depend on your investor for a long time.
Always Ask For Expert Advice
If there is anything about your business plan that you cannot understand, always ask other businesspersons or people around you for advice or solutions. People are mostly more than happy to help, and getting valuable insights is very important. Talking to a mentor might solve lots of your problems.
So, it is best to make a list of mentors and people who you can look up to for advice. These people can be anyone from your entrepreneur friends, siblings, teachers or anyone whom you consider as an expert. Someone who is not extremely rational nor extremely optimistic.
Never Stop Learning
When it comes to learning, the learning that should never stop is the future and present trends of the industry you are in. You should always stay up to date with the marketing strategies of your specific industry and what kind of promotion and marketing works for your type of business. When you practice ancient marketing and business trends your business might be left behind, so learn, surround yourself with relevant people and have the latest trends on your fingertips.
Besides, learning about your field never goes to waste and always proves to be fruitful. All you need to research all day is a good internet service. Have a good internet and keep up to date with similar businesses and study them well. For interruption-free internet, we suggest checking out WOW internet plans. WOW! internet is best for streaming, and studying, and allows you to run your business profile without interruption.
Consume in Relevant Content for Inspiration
Inspiration is the most important part of a business and while your excitement might fade away, resulting in you getting lazy, engaging and consumption of relevant and similar content will always keep you on your toes and ideas will keep flowing. Positive and relevant content means watching documentaries about successful entrepreneurs, reading success stories and autobiographies.
This kind of content keeps your feet on the ground and tells you how it takes time, patience, and hard work to reach where those people are today. Apart from that, utilize your free time and watch TV shows such as Shark Tank. These TV shows are a great time pass and they teach you a lot of things about what your approach should be regarding your business.
Get Insurance
When it comes to insurance there are several kinds of insurance that you must get when starting a business, especially one where you have to hire multiple people. Insurances include healthcare, vehicle, directors and officers, liability, performance bonds, travel (to include AD&D), and life.Depending on the type of work you do or your employees do, these are the common insurances you must get if you are planning on opening an office and hiring people.
Learn to Manage Your Finances
When it comes to finances, always keep your tentative earnings divided into categories such as cost, profit, salaries even if you have to pay yourself only, bills, and then investment. Always remember that the first initial years of your business you have to religiously invest your profit back in your business in order for it to grow. If it is a small business, it is still very important for you to decide how you will pay yourself beforehand. Keeping your expenses tracked and in check is very important, because the more you invest the better. It also allows you to see how successful you are with making revenue.
So, if you are planning to start a business any time soon, do your research well and not only launch a business but make it the most successful business. In order to make that happen you need to follow the tips mentioned above, dream big, and stay consistent.
Does your website offer a good user experience?
Web design in the UK has experienced a great deal of change over the last decade. We’ve transitioned from bland, static websites whose only purpose was to display information, to highly interactive web-based experiences that engage, inform and entertain – all whilst building a relationship with the end-user.
As a result of the evolution of web design, the web design industry in the UK has adapted too. Some of the world’s very best online experiences are developed by web design teams and web design agencies, right here in the UK.
So what constitutes great web design in 2022? – Whilst many consider the answer to this question to be subjective, in my opinion, there are specific key factors that do indeed define a well-designed website:
Visual appeal
It’s a fact; a book really is judged by its cover, and that concept rings true across all mediums – nobody likes unattractive websites. Incorporating ill-considered colour pallets, mismatched fonts, misaligned columns and shabbily placed content, are all just some of the many design mistakes that can make a website look awful, which can devalue a brand and turn potential customers away.
A visually appealing website is one that encourages its users to engage with it, after all, it takes a user only half a second to decide if they’re going to continue using a website they’ve just visited, or go elsewhere for a better experience.
Loading times
Loading times are often neglected, but the amount of time a website takes to load plays an important role in defining its success. Netizens are not patient individuals and very rarely do we have patience for a slow site. One particular fact that shocked me was that 18% of all internet connections in the UK are still on dial-up connections. But as technology improves, and more of us have access to fiber connections, our tolerance of slow sites is only going to lessen.
A slow-loading website is not only painful to use, but it also ranks poorly on SERPs.
Navigation
Have you visited a website and found yourself instantly lost due to indecipherable navigation? – Annoying isn’t it? A website that lacks intuitive navigation is on a path to irrelevance.
I’ve presented just three here, but there are many factors that must be considered when creating a functional website that will form the face of your business for years to come. Collaborating with a specialist web design company in the UK will really help your business to offer the best user experience possible.
Web Choice is a highly respected web design agency in the UK, with a great deal of industry experience delivering high-performance websites that sustainably increase traffic.
For the best experience on the web, connect with Web Choice today.
About the author:
Sam Dunning is the Sales Director and Co-Owner at WEB CHOICE, UK.
He hosts the weekly podcast “Business Growth Show” with business leaders, experts and entrepreneurs from across the globe.
You’ll learn actionable tips across marketing, sales, and growth to help you skyrocket your business!
Visit:
https://www.webdesignchoice.co.uk/
https://www.businessgrowth.marketing/
How to Prepare Yourself for The IELTS Exam and Score 8+ Bands
IELTS (International English Language Testing System) is designed to help you work, study, or migrate to a country where English is the native language. For the uninitiated, the IELTS exam is available in two forms — IELTS academic and IELTS general training. The test covers four parts: Listening, Reading, Writing, and Speaking. However, the Speaking test (also taken through video calls) is held either on the same day of the examination or seven days before or after, depending on the local arrangements. But is preparing yourself for the IELTS exam and getting an 8+ band easy?
No, the preparation process can be a daunting task.
So, what could be the best way to prepare for the IELTS exam?
We have shared a list of critical parameters that one can focus on to crack the IELTS exam with an 8+ band score. Let’s dive into them …
- Understand the test format
Before you begin the preparation for your IELTS exam, it’s extremely crucial that you know what to expect out of the test format. To familiarize yourself with the sections by reviewing the content of the test, the questions, and task types for each section. The knowledge about the test pattern will surely help you to succeed in any examination, including IELTS.
- Get to know how the scores are calculated
The fastest and most effective approach to improve your IELTS score is knowing exactly what the examiners are looking for and providing it to them. Try to get a good score in all the sections, as its average will provide you with an overall band score. However, you can’t simply learn this tactic and get a high score; this approach should be combined with the improvement in English and test skills.
- Set realistic goals
The tip here focuses on the term ‘realistic’. There will be a big difference between the score you want and the score you are really going to achieve. To do so, enroll yourself in the best IELTS coaching institutes and begin your preparation journey. These institutes’ guidance will help you succeed and ensure that you get the best score. They provide up-to-date study material, practice mock tests, doubt sessions, online tests, and more.
- Improve vocabulary
Vocabulary is a huge component of the IELTS test. It covers 25% of the total marks in the Speaking and Writing section. Besides, it is also tested in the Reading and Listening section. So, it’s better if you implement a vocabulary improvement plan as soon as possible. Best IELTS coaching centers offer various plans to improve your vocabulary – so begin your search to find the best.
- Practice English regularly
When it comes to honing your English skills, there is no other substitute for practicing regularly. Consequently, you can practice English by reading novels, newspapers, watching series, having conversations, and more. Besides, you can also combine learning English with the most common IELTS topics, such as the environment, education, and technology. So, reading and listening among these common topics is a very powerful technique.
- Practice tests
While preparing for IELTS, there is one thought that every student comes across — which is the best IELTS coaching center near me? But why do they think this? The answer is simple – to understand what their current test score is and learn new methods to improve it. Also, be informed that there are various fake IELTS tests; therefore, enroll in an IELTS coaching institute and prepare using official test papers.
- Get your Speaking and Writing skills checked
It is very important for every student to get a qualified teacher that can access their speaking and writing skills. A qualified teacher will tell you the current level of knowledge along with the prominent weaknesses. This, in turn, will prevent wastage of time. This will help you focus on the things that you are not good at, improving leaps and bounds. So begin your journey of finding the best teacher today.
- Do not waste time on a question
If you cannot understand which answers are to be written for a particular question, do not waste much time in finding the answer. It’s better if you skip to the next question. However, you can come back at the end when extra time is given to review the answers. So in all the sections, manage your time well because if you get stuck in the beginning you will end up losing a lot of marks.
- Be grammatically accurate
You have to ensure not to make any major errors while writing the essay. The examiner will base your scores on whether the grammar is used appropriately in a sentence. To score an 8+ band in the IELTS exam, your grammar should be excellent, and the sentence formation must look unique and original.
- Speak with fluency
The Speaking test is conducted for less than 15 minutes and is split into three parts. During this test, the examiner will also pay attention to your pronunciation, lexical resource, and fluency.
However, in IELTS, practicing each test under exam conditions is essential for your preparation course. A candidate will get used to the pressure only by taking a test beforehand. To begin your practice and write down notes that will help you achieve the desired band score.
Other than these tricks, you can also develop reading skills, use assertive terms, create a study plan, maintain your calm, and more.