As the new school year ramps up, teachers and parents need to be reminded of a well-kept secret: Across all grade levels and academic subjects, girls earn higher grades than boys. Not just in the United States, but across the globe, in countries as far afield as Norway and Hong Kong.   This finding is reflected in a recent study by psychology professors Daniel and Susan Voyer at the University of New Brunswick. The Voyers based their results on a meta-analysis of 369 studies involving the academic grades of over one million boys and girls from 30 different nations. The findings are unquestionably robust: Girls earn higher grades in every subject, including the science-related fields where boys are thought to surpass them. Read more

According to Vanderbilt University, “because students can typically answer a multiple choice item much more quickly than an essay question, tests based on multiple choice items can typically focus on a relatively broad representation of course material, thus increasing the validity of the assessment.” Read more

Call conferences of co-operative associations of producers of farm products organized under or subject to the provisions of chapter seventy-seven of the consolidated laws   1 for discussion of cost of production, transportation and marketing, of market conditions and prices for sale of farm products to the end that the marketing operating operations for such co-operative associations may be facilitated, made more efficient and the producers may obtain the reasonable cost of production, plus cost of compliance with sanitary regulations affecting production or marketing.  Such conferences shall be held under the supervision of the commissioner.  Neither such conferences nor any agreements or arrangements resulting therefrom, if such agreements or arrangements are approved by the commissioner, shall be deemed or construed to be acts, conspiracies, agreements or arrangements in restraint of trade or commerce or injurious to public welfare.  The powers hereby conferred may also be exercised in conjunction with officials or representatives of the federal government. Read more

An election is usually a competition between different parties.[5] Some examples of political parties worldwide are: the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, the Democratic Party (D) in the United States, the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Germany and the Indian National Congress in India which has the highest number of political parties in the world (2546 political parties) [6]. Politics is a multifaceted word. It has a set of fairly specific meanings that are descriptive and nonjudgmental (such as "the art or science of government" and "political principles"), but does often colloquially carry a negative connotation.[1][7][8] The word has been used negatively for many years: the British national anthem as published in 1745 calls on God to "Confound their politics",[9] and the phrase "play politics", for example, has been in use since at least 1853, when abolitionist Wendell Phillips declared: "We do not play politics; anti-slavery is no half-jest with us."[10] A variety of methods are deployed in politics, which include promoting one's own political views among people, negotiation with other political subjects, making laws, and exercising force, including warfare against adversaries.[11][12][13][14][15] Politics is exercised on a wide range of social levels, from clans and tribes of traditional societies, through modern local governments, companies and institutions up to sovereign states, to the international level. During the past decade two tendencies (1.Concern for theoretical explication and methodological rigor, and 2. The emphasis on field studies of the “emerging,” “new,” and “non-Western” nations) made it possible to overlook comparative politics. [16] Read more

Two important federal mandates protect the rights of eligible children with ADHD-the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504). The regulations implementing these laws are 34 CFR sections 300 and 104, respectively, which require school districts to provide a "free appropriate public education" to students who meet their eligibility criteria. Although a child with ADHD may not be eligible for services under IDEA, he or she may meet the requirements of Section 504. The requirements and qualifications for IDEA are more stringent than those of Section 504. IDEA provides funds to state education agencies for the purpose of providing special education and related services to children evaluated in accordance with IDEA and found to have at least one of the 13 specific categories of disabilities, and who thus need special education and related services. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder may be considered under the specific category of "Other Health Impairment" (OHI), if the disability results in limited strength, vitality, or alertness, including a heightened alertness to environmental stimuli that results in limited alertness with respect to the educational environment and that is due to chronic or acute health problems. Under IDEA, each public agency-that is, each school district-shall ensure that a full and individual evaluation is conducted for each child being considered for special education and related services. The child's individualized education program (IEP) team uses the results of the evaluation to determine the educational needs of the child. The results of a medical doctor's, psychologist's, or other qualified professional's assessment indicating a diagnosis of ADHD may be an important evaluation result, but the diagnosis does not automatically mean that a child is eligible for special education and related services. A group of qualified professionals and the parent of the child determine whether the child is an eligible child with a disability according to IDEA. Children with ADHD also may be eligible for services under the "Specific Learning Disability," "Emotional Disturbance," or other relevant disability categories of IDEA if they have those disabilities in addition to ADHD. After it has been determined that a child is eligible for special education and related services under IDEA, an IEP is developed that includes a statement of measurable annual goals, including benchmarks or short-term objectives that reflect the student's needs. The IEP goals are determined with input from the parents and cannot be changed without the parents' knowledge. Although children who are eligible under IDEA must have an IEP, students eligible under Section 504 are not required to have an IEP but must be provided regular or special education and related aids or services that are designed to meet their individual educational needs as adequately as the needs of nondisabled students are met. Read more

Educational Technology The history of educational technology is marked by the increasing complexity and sophistication of devices, exaggerated claims of effectiveness by technology advocates, sporadic implementation by classroom teachers, and little evidence that the technology employed has made a difference in student learning. Although technology proponents have from time to time claimed that technology will replace teachers, this has not occurred. The typical view among educators is that technology can be used effectively to supplement instruction by providing instructional variety, by helping to make abstract concepts concrete, and by stimulating interest among students. Read more

Curiosity is the main driver of learning. As a basic principle of learning, it makes little sense to force students to memorize large reams of text that they will either begrudgingly recall or instantly forget. The key is to let students focus on exploring an area which interests them and learn about it for themselves. A perfect example of a teaching technique based on self-learning is outlined by http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/es/sugata_mitra_the_child_driven_education.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sugata Mitra at the TED conference. In a series of experiments in New Delhi, South Africa and Italy, the educational researcher Sugata Mitra gave children self-supervised access to the web. The results obtained could revolutionize how we think about teaching. The children, who until then did not even know what the internet was, were capable of training themselves in multiple subjects with unexpected ease. A common technique for exploring self-learning is the use of https://www.goconqr.com/mind-maps/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mind Maps. Teachers can create a central node on a Mind Map and allow students the freedom to expand and develop ideas. For example, if the focus is the Human Body, some students may create Mind Maps on the organs, Bones or Diseases that affect the human body. Later the students would be evaluated according to the Mind Maps they have created and could collaborate with each other to improve each others Mind Maps and come to a more comprehensive understanding of the Human Body. Read more

  A test tube is a kind of https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laboratory_glassware">laboratory glassware, composed of a fingerlike length of https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glass">glass tubing, open at the top, usually with a rounded https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lip">lip at the top, and a rounded 'U' shaped bottom. They range in size from a couple https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inch">inches to several inches long, from a few https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millimeter">millimeters to a couple https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centimeter">centimeters in https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diameter">diameter. They are designed to allow easy heating of https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample">samples, to be held in a https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame">flame, and often are made of expansion-resistant glasses, such as https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Borosilicate_glass&action=edit&redlink=1">borosilicate glass (known by brand-names such as Pyrex and Kimax).   Read more