The Four Stages of Learning

By Michael Angier

Paul Zane Pilzer, a leading economist, predicts that nearly half of the jobs people will have in the next five years haven't even been invented yet. Today, over 90% of the jobs in the U.S. weren't in existence when most of us were born.

What that tells me is that understanding the learning process is a major key to our future success. There are four stages of learning anything.

* Unconscious Incompetence This is when you don't know that you don't know how to do something. For instance, a young child isn't aware that he doesn't know how to drive a car.

* Conscious Incompetence In the second stage, you become aware you don't know how to do something. You know that you don't know. This awareness is critical. Attempting to drive a car without knowing how to drive a car could prove fatal.

* Conscious Competence The third stage is when we know how to do something, but it requires we be very much aware of what we're doing.

To continue with our example, when you first learn how to drive a car, you must concentrate on blending the power, easing out the clutch, watching traffic and the many other skills that are part of operating an automobile.

* Unconscious Competence This is when you've reached a level of competency, which requires little or no thought. The skills are ingrained so deeply that you can talk, adjust the radio, open the window and think about your next presentation-all while orchestrating the direction, speed and performance of the car.

As we progress through the new millennium, being able to learn new skills and quickly access information will be critical to our success. Knowing how to learn will become one of our greatest assets.

About the Author:

Michael Angier is founder and CIO (Chief Inspiration Officer) of SuccessNet--a support network helping people and businesses grow and prosper. Get their free Resource Book ($27 value) of products, services and tools for running your business more effectively. And most of the over 150 resources are FREE to access and use.

Distance Education- The World is Your Oyster

By Robin Brown

Distance education might have been developed back in the 1700s, when messenger services brought weekly assignments to scholars in a small section of Boston, but it certainly has grown and changed since then. With the development of the Postal Service in the 19th century, Victorian scholars were able to complete their college educations in as little as six to ten years, which was a great improvement. Then, planes came along and the process became even faster.
Today we do it in real time! Distance education like many other disciplines has come into its own with the advancement of the internet and computers. With the lightning speed of the internet and the well heeled platform of Web 2.0 attending an online university has come a long way since the 1700's or even the 19th century. Forget 6-10 years or even 4-5 years, you can pretty much get your degree anytime you want.

The flexibility of online courses has put you in the driver's seat. You can work as hard as you want or take your time depending on your situation but one thing remains true, you can get a quality education and achieve a higher degree that is just as marketable from an online college as a traditional one.

Your career opportunities can open up immensely because of a distance education. When you receive an associates, bachelors, graduate or even doctorate degree from an online college you show that you are committed to your discipline. In today's economy you need every tool you can get to get a good job and advance your career and an online education is the perfect way to do it.

Online degree programs and distance education have limitless possibilities, and you don't have to worry about moving or commuting to a traditional campus. You can do everything right from your computer, either from home or from wherever you want to learn. Plus, the programs online will be much less expensive than a traditional college education.

Online education itself may not be new but because of the internet it is certainly different than it was in the past and more popular as well. More and more people are taking advantage of all then opportunities distance education offers for career advancement. It's perfect for just about anyone in any situation because of its convenience and low cost. And, you can start your degree right now.

About the Author:

Robin Brown has earned two degrees online. She counsels and writes about online degree programs and the availability of scholarships for students enrolled in online college programs.

Choosing a Medical School

By Deniss Durrell

Choosing a medical school can be a challenging task. There are a large number of considerations that should be made prior to deciding on an educational facility for your professional training.

The common of students select particular existing parts of the schools that they are keen on, and then weight the profits and weak points of the medical schools up against the specific job path that they are keen on. In general, it helps to narrow down the medical school alternatives, thus adding the chance that the correct learning service can be chosen. Now, you are going to learn what parts the categories of schools are measured by.

The first consideration is how the education will be funded as far as a particular medical school is concerned, as well as the financing options that are available. Receiving a professional education at a school that specializes in the medical field can be a hefty expense, and the interested party must know that it can be paid for.

The next consideration is usually the location of the facility. Most medical school students enjoy a school that allows them the opportunity to work in or near a medical facility so that they can receive the hands on experience that they need to succeed in their given profession. In addition to this, there may be personal preferences when it comes to the location of the medical school, such as being near a relative, and so on.

Once one evaluates the funding and location of the medical school, they should then consider the curriculum and the overall reputation that the facility has. The school should be accredited and have a superior reputation among medical facilities around the nation. The curriculum should display the highest quality, and cover every aspect of the medical field in which a potential medical school student wants to work in. If you are searching for a medical school that can assist in offering you a positive and successful future, take these things into consideration, and you are sure to succeed!

About the Author:

About Author: MedicalSchoo-l.com. Most medical school students enjoy a school that allows them the opportunity to work in or near a medical facility.

Is Every Private School a Preparatory School?

By Amy Nutt

Parents who are concerned about their children's ability to get into college are interested in seeing what options Toronto private schools have to offer. One of the confusing items surrounding private school in Toronto is the difference between a private school and a preparatory school. While many private schools are also considered prep schools, not all of them qualify for this label.

What is a Preparatory School

A preparatory school is a private school, independent of the Toronto public school system, that is designed to get students ready for college. Every aspect of the school is designed for college prep. Academics are emphasized more than extra-curricular activities, although extra-curriculars are available. This type of Toronto independent school typically has low student-to-teacher ratios. Because of this, the teachers are able to give the students more attention than they would likely receive in a public school. This, in theory, will give the students a better instructional environment.

Some prep schools are also boarding schools. Both local and out-of-town students can take advantage of the boarding option. By living at school, students are able to focus more on their academics without the distractions of home. Some prep schools are gender specific, another tactic that is designed to eliminate distractions from academics.

Many Toronto prep schools are just high schools, without a junior high or elementary. Some of the more elite schools will have a full program, but many parents choose this option only for the last four years of high school, as this is when the preparation for the university scene really begins.

What Is a Private School?

A private school in Toronto is simply a school that is independent from the Toronto public school system. This can be a preparatory school, but it may not be. Some Toronto private schools have a completely different focus, such as a Montessori approach to education or a vocational training focus. Preparatory schools are private schools, but not all private schools are preparatory schools.

All private schools, whether or not they are prep schools, charge tuition for admission. In most cases, a preparatory school will have a high tuition requirement, because they are considered one of the best ways to prepare for college. In fact, some Toronto independent school options have tuition costs comparable to a college or university. Some have scholarship programs available for students with qualifying GPAs.

Choosing an Independent School

Parents who are interested in prep schools need to do their research before enrolling their students, because not all prep schools have the success statistics that would be assumed based on the cost of tuition. Ask the school for their statistics relating to the number of students who went on to complete a college or university program. Find out if the school has any records about the number of students who qualified for academic scholarships in college. Choose a preparatory school that has excellent numbers indicating the future success of their students.

Also, look for a school that has a well-rounded education. Some prep schools focus so strongly on academics that students are not taught other important life skills, such as proper physical fitness or financial planning on a personal budget level. While getting an education that prepares the child for college is important, it is just as important to prepare a child for real life, because not all students will attend college, no matter how well intentioned the parents and the school are.

Once you find a school that has excellent success reports combined with a well-rounded education, you have probably found the right school. Apply early, because most Toronto private schools fill up quickly, and some prep schools have stringent enrolment requirements. By choosing the right school carefully, you will prepare your student for college as well as you possibly can.

About the Author:
Toronto private school is committed to educational excellence and development of the character and individual abilities of students. When seeking a CESI accredited member school, consider Holy Trinity School.

Your Ultimate Self Improvement Guide

By Irene Mmari

There are many assorted books and courses that may help you get a hold of some self improvement guides and these sources can work against the negative factors in your daily life. This guide will extend to you the best methods to get rid of these factors for good or at the very least, reduce them.

There are lots of things that people must do every single day and most of the time, things like family, friends and many times, even ourselves frequently come last. At times we find out too late that these are in fact the greatest assets we have and sadly, at times that we don't realize it at all so we then begin to wonder why we are so unhappy. And so we are charged with the responsibility to never give in to stressful situations and to go fighting for true happiness in being alive.

Let us not forget also that bad time management can result in health issues both at the physical and mental level. But there is good news - time may be controlled and we can make it, in a certain manner, answer to us The first step in implementing this process is to find the things that take up your time and for the most part they are divided into two groups:

The extrinsic factors - These are generally caused by events and problems that we have no influence over but still need to be attended too.

The intimate components - These are strictly related to our weaknesses which include priorities and targets that can change, and the lack of a daily working plan and self imposed deadlines, the tendency to take care of too many things at the same time and the inability to say no.

By now you've probably recalled situations like this have arisen but all you have to do is to find a way to defeat and eliminate them, so that you can be in charge your time. Here are three possible ways in which you can do that:

Get accustomed to penning anything down -This is helpful and really if you have a bad memory. If not, there's a possibility you could forget to make that important meeting to make important phone calls, to answer messages that your promised to return. You can also make note of good ideas and inspirations that occur to you at unusual times.

List everything that's important - It takes a small amount of time to draw it and you can even do it as you have your coffee in the morning. Write the things that need done in the day in the order of importance.

Learn to speak up - A huge mistake that a lot of us make is that we put other people's problems as more important than our own. But by helping them at a bad time in our lives we creating an opening for frustration as well as stress and we find that we can't finish anything we start.

About the Author:

You can visit: Best Public Speaking Powerpoints plus Public Speaking Relaxation Techniques for more accurate information.

Basic Principles of Grammar for Language Students

By Neal Walters

Learning a second language like Spanish often requires a review of some basic grammatical terms. Every language has ways of dealing with the parts of speech such as nouns, verbs, adjective, adverbs, direct objects and prepositions. If you've been out of school for a few years, you might need to review these terms.

A noun is word that names a person, place, thing, animal or idea, such as CAT, JOHN, DALLAS, FLORIDA. Nouns come in number, either singular (one) or plural (multiples). CAT is singular, but CATS is plural.

Almost every world language, except English, has two or three genders for nouns: masculine, feminine, and occassionally neteur. For example, in Spanish one root word can represent two different English words. For example, CHICO menas boy, and CHICA means girl. Another way to look at this word is that it means child, where a male-child is obviously a boy, and female-child is obviously a girl.

An adjective is a word that qualifies a noun, for example, not just the noun CAT, but the BIG Cat, not just BOY, but the SMART BOY. In languagess where nouns have gender, the noun and adjective have to agree in number and gender. For example, in Spanish: EL CHICO ALTO (the tall boy) and LOS CHICOS ALTOS (the tall boys).

Verbs are a class of words used to show the performance of an action (do, throw, run), existence (be), possession (have), or state (know, love) of a subject. To put it simply a verb shows what something or someone does; for example: The boy THROWS the ball. The tiger EATS the food. Verbs can further be qualified by adverbs: The boy SKILFULLY throws the ball. The tiger QUICKLY eats the food. Verbs are "conjugated", often with suffixes and sometimes with prefixes. For example, in English, we say "I eat" but in the past tense "I ate" or "I have eaten".

The subject of the sentence is the item doing the action. The DOG bit me. The MAN dropped the ball. The direct object is the action that receives the action of the verb: He lectured US on the values of studying. The dog bit THE CHILD. He dropped THE CHAIR. A transitive verbs usually require a direct object, and an intranstive verb cannot. "The plant thrived" is intransitive. "The child broke" sounds like an incomplete sentence because the word "Broke" is transitive. Usually, you would say "The child broke the glass" (adding a direct object to complete the thought).

A preposition introduces a prepositional clause. Common prepositions include: in, on, over, under, with, for, against. Example: I put the chair ON THE FLOOR. He put the ball IN THE HOUSE. I went WITH THE CHILDREN. It often adds the flavor to where or with whom the verb happens.

A sentence can be a declarative (tells you something), an interrogative (a question), or an imperative (an order). An interrogative is just another word for a question, and an imperative means a command or an order. An example imperative is: TAKE out the trash. PUT on your clothes.

About the Author:

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Scholarship opportunities in Australia

MANILA, Philippines—Applications are now open for the 2010 Australian Leadership Awards Scholarships, open to current and emerging leaders in the Asia-Pacific region, Australian Ambassador to the Philippines Rod Smith said.
“An ALA Scholarship is a significant opportunity for high achievers in the Philippines to extend their education, strengthen their leadership skills, build networks, and develop strategies to address the development challenges we share,” he said.
The ALA Scholarships, which provide funding for study at Masters and Doctorate levels in Australia’s leading education institutions, is one of the Australian government scholarship programs managed by the Australian Agency for International Development, AusAID.
Around 150 Scholarships are being offered for students from countries within the region to study at Australian universities in 2010, including candidates from the Philippines. Scholars will be selected on merit from a highly competitive regional pool on the basis of demonstrated leadership qualities and academic achievement.
Study programs must relate to AusAID’s priority areas of focus, which include disability, economic growth, education, environment, food security, gender, governance, health, human rights, infrastructure, regional stability, rural development, and water and sanitation.
Students at Australian universities are taught by academics recognized internationally for quality research. Australia’s major universities are consistently ranked among the top 50 in the world by the Times Higher Education London and make major and world-leading contributions to international research projects and initiatives.
Since 2007, 35 Filipinos have been awarded ALA Scholarships in various fields including public administration, public policy, environmental and natural resource management, international trade, international law, justice and law enforcement, and disease pandemics.
As well as providing higher education degrees, ALA Scholarships also offer scholars the opportunity to participate in a unique Leadership Development Program.
Applications for 2010 ALA Scholarships close on June 30, 2009. For further information visit their website.
Australia provides more than A$133 million worth of scholarships annually throughout the world.