academic coaching » Carol J. Carter

Lessons From the Near East: How America Can Learn From Educators on the Other Side of the World

I recently returned from a trip where I spoke in Bangkok at the Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA) Conference and in Singapore at the International Association for Scholastic Excellence (INTASE) Conference. The following article was originally posted as part of my blog series on the Huffington Post where I am sharing experiences and insights I gained from my trip.Â

Two weeks ago I spoke inÂ Bangkok at the Near East South Asia Council of Overseas Schools (NESA) Conference. Educators and school leaders from around the world attended, ranging from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Nepal, Greece, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, Thailand and Bangladesh to name a few.Some of the teachers were originally from countries in Asia like the Philippines, but have relocated to places like Dubai for better job opportunities in order to support themselves and their families back home.

This single conference housed a tremendous amount of economic, educational, and situational diversity. Some schools struggle with limited resources to bring their students a world-class education in places like Bangladesh and Pakistan and the provinces of the Philippines, where even a private school education is in competition for resources. Conversely, educators in oil-rich countries like Saudi Arabia are challenged to inspire their privileged students to see their unique gifts and talents, not just those bestowed on them from their parents, royalty, or any other outside force.

Continue reading on The Huffington Post.Â

Share this Article with Your Friends:

Are Non-cognitive Skills the Key to Academic, Professional & Personal Success?

What are the top skills employers demand? Communication skills, judgement and decision making, active listening to name a few. These skills are referred to as soft skills, or non-cognitive skills that are not measured by a cognitive or academic test, like IQ, for example.

In an age when our economy demands more college grads in order to fill the jobs of the future and to be globally competitive, the answer has been to make our classes harder and rank students, schools, and teachers by the scores students earn on their standardized test. Put more effort behind increasing IQ and get a better prepared workforce, right?

Read the rest of this entry »

Share this Article with Your Friends:

Google’s CEO Shares the Best Advice He Ever Received

Professionals and athletes aren’t the only people who can benefit from a coach, students who participated in an academic coaching program found increased retention and graduation rates.Â Â Through the process of coaching, students deepen their learning, take responsibility for their actions, improve their effectiveness, and consciously create their outcomes in life.

How can you use coaching to improve student outcomes? LifeBound’s Academic Coaching Training is a great professional development option for professors, teachers, administrators, counselors, and other education professionals who want to learn to be a coach for their student by listening, asking powerful questions, and encouraging problem solving. Our next 3-day coaching session is June 24-26. Let me know if you would like to learn more about our Academic Coaching Training in the comments or by sending an email to contact@lifebound.com.

Share this Article with Your Friends:

Upcoming at LifeBound: Now on Huffington Post, Summer Reading, Academic Coaches Training & More

This spring we’re definitely not sitting still at LifeBound. In the next few months we have many new events, trainings, blogs, and more that will reach communities who are dedicated to improving learning opportunities for students, teachers, and professionals. One initiative we’re supporting all summer long is to get more students involved in productive learning activities over the summer months.

Research shows all young people experience learning losses when they do not engage in educational activities during the summer. That’s why LifeBound is offering summer enrichment workshops at Lighthouse Writers Workshop for students in middle school through high school thatÂ foster self-awareness, critical thinking, and practical know-how. You can find out more about our week-long workshops for teens at our website. We are also encouraging students to read over the summer with our book display at theÂ Tattered Cover Book Store on Colfax.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share this Article with Your Friends:

How a Workplace Mindset Can Lead to Classroom Success

A new study by the Milken Institute found a strong relationship between a well-educated population and a region’s economic performance.¹ Though it’s common knowledge that well-educated workers often make more money and have better jobs than less-educated workers, this study stands out in that it also found that just by their geographic location, less-educated people can make more money if they live in the same area as more-educated people.

Other key findings from the report include:

Education increases regional prosperity. Adding one year to the average years of schooling among the employed in a metropolitan area is associated with an increase of real GDP per capita of more than ten percent, and an increase in real wages per worker of more than eight percent.
Better educated = bigger benefits. The better educated the worker, the greater the benefit of additional schooling, to both the worker and the region. Add one year of college to a region’s workforce, for instance, and GDP per capita jumps 17.4 percent.
Clusters count. In metros with clusters of high-skilled occupations, the share of workers holding at least a master’s degree is much higher than in metros without significant clusters, perhaps because of the intense competition for employment.

A Matter of Degrees: The Effect of Educational Attainment on Regional Economic Prosperity²

Read the rest of this entry »

Share this Article with Your Friends:

Redefining Community Roles: Omaha Public Library Is a Model for Summer Learning

Kids who aren’t involved in summer learning activities suffer the greatest learning losses in math and reading. Underprivileged students who have less learning resources available to them during the school year and the summer months are put at an increased disadvantage, setting them back from their more affluent peers and increasing the achievement gap. Low-income parents who arenâ€™t involved often suffer in exposure, awareness, and sometimes their own opportunity to prepare for the GED, community college, or better employment.
Read the rest of this entry »

Share this Article with Your Friends:

Defining Unique Skills Powers Economic Success for Grads

In a competitive global market theÂ soon-to-be college graduate andÂ new professional needs to know their unique talents and abilities in order to stand out from the crowd. Our economy is recoveringÂ slowly; a shift inÂ our schoolsÂ Â and colleges can set newÂ expectations toÂ better prepareÂ graduates forÂ workforceÂ realities. Many K-12 schools, whether out of choice or necessity, still teach to standardized tests and curriculums. However, the new professional is anything but standardized. The new professionalÂ is self-aware,Â stands outÂ because of their ability to develop unique strengths, can connect their education to their career, is fully integrated into traditional and digital communication, and understandsÂ how to use personal discipline for professional advantage. If there isnâ€™t enough time to emphasize this model in class, teachers can emphasize the importance of this exposureÂ outÂ of class.
Read the rest of this entry »

Share this Article with Your Friends:

Obsessed with “Successâ€: The Cost of Emphasizing Success at the Expense of Failure

Could failing be the key to success? Can we redefine our limited idea of â€œsuccessâ€?

According to a new study by the American Psychological Association, children may perform better in school and feel more confident if told that failure is a normal part of learning. One researcher said that when students are “obsessed with success” their fear of failure keeps them from taking difficult steps necessary for mastering new material. Â When students donâ€™t have the confidence to explore, take risks, fail, and regroup in a healthy way, they arenâ€™t preparing themselves for lifeâ€™s more difficult and complex challenges.
Read the rest of this entry »

Share this Article with Your Friends:

Competence and Confidence: You Can’t Have One Without the Other

Many parents and educators equate a student’s high self-esteem with high achievement. However, according in the article “In schools, self-esteem boosting is losing favor to rigor, finer-tuned praise,” empty praise is out, and a new vocabulary that supports challenge is in.Â So, how can we work with students to hold them accountable to high expectations while helping them to believe in themselves to risk, to try, to grow, and to deliver quality work?
Read the rest of this entry »

Share this Article with Your Friends: