 |
|
| EDUCATION TRIBUNE |
|
Teaching financial skills early
Tips for exam preparation
Campus Notes
|
|
|
Teaching financial skills early
IN a school hall in central Taiwan, teams of students are grilled on the finer points of international finance. How should the canny investor respond to inter-Korean tensions? What does the US hurricane season do to the commodities market?
Their parents clap their hands to their heads and shout “much too hard!” from the sidelines. The contestants in Washington Elementary School’s Finance Olympics are, after all, only 12 years old. But the pupils calmly reply that the military escalation makes it a good time to buy bonds, and that commodities tend to go up when hurricanes hit the United States. “The key to success is understanding the economic contexts and the optimal structure of your own portfolio,” a composed Jiang Xiangzhou, 12, told the television cameras. Washington Elementary School in the town of Taichung is leading a trend among Taiwan’s private schools to take financial education beyond the traditional outing to the local bank, or getting one of its employees in for a day to show young savers how to use bank books and cash machines. In several schools, six- to 12-year-olds are taught to find their footing in the world’s ever more hectic financial and stock markets, in a bid to make them shrewder investors than even their own parents. And the move has met with approval from parents of children at Washington Elementary, who are mostly among the island’s wealthier families and keen to ensure the financial competence of the next generation. Most lessons take the form of specially designed games, which go much further than the classic board game ‘Monopoly’. The decisions involved are not so much whether to put a house or a hotel on a property, but rather how to maximise portfolio gains whilst minimising exposure to the vagaries of politics, economics and natural disasters. The Finance Olympics held in early December by the Washington school, named in reference to its American education style and emphasis on English-language teaching, were the first of their kind, in a country where schools often hold “Olympics” in various subjects. The event showcased the pupils’ knowledge and skill, as 16 teams calmly answered questions which would probably have caused economics undergraduates to break out in a cold sweat. The “Olympics” received extensive coverage in the Taiwan media, sparking the interest of less privileged parents in preparing their own progeny for the future by teaching them about stocks and shares. But opinions differ over whether to drop six-year-olds straight into explanations of share value, investment funds and capital assets. It might be better, some say, to start with lessons on personal budgets, savings and bank accounts. Only private schools have followed the ambitious example of Washington school to date, with the state sector’s efforts limited to teaching basic personal finances such as how to use a cash machine. The Education Ministry has said that it is planning to introduce courses on foreign exchange and stock markets “soon,” but only for secondary school, which pupils normally enter aged 13. But waiting that long would be a missed opportunity for the children, said Luo Wen-gui, director of education systems at Washington and also one of the school’s finance teachers. Luo has appealed to parents and education policymakers to consider introducing financial education into the curriculum as early as possible. “Even one lesson per week teaches the children much more than how to use a cash machine,” he said in a recent television interview, and can help pupils “to understand exactly what’s going on in the world.” — DPA
|
||
|
Tips for exam preparation
STUBBORNLY cramming to memorise dates and figures when an exam is imminent helps little toward getting a good grade. An easier strategy involves students knowing which learning techniques can help them remember. The material can then be better internalised.
Every few weeks it’s the same drama: A test is coming up and shortly beforehand many students have to cram late into the night to prepare. They have to study vocabulary, learn dates in history by heart and understand their maths problems, all in a relatively short time. But cramming for a test shortly before taking it usually brings little benefit because the knowledge gained soon disappears from memory. Students who study regularly spare themselves getting stressed out before a test and forgetting everything they learned afterward. “Everyone can study,” said Professor Martin Korte of the Technical University in Braunschweig, Germany. “When a student, however, associates studying with negative things, it goes badly.” Students who get aggravated that they have to study at all for what they consider a stupid exam will not be able to study well, said Korte, who is an expert in study habits. “It’s better to be clear why you would like to learn certain material — come up with your own motivation,” he said. When a student sees the sense of learning something, studying it is easier. “It is like a hobby that you have. You often learn a lot more new stuff in short spurts because it’s fun,” said Albrecht Kresse, a studying coach in Berlin. Before actually studying, students should set out a firm goal. For example, “I would like to learn English vocabulary in order to be able to communicate better with my foreign friends.” Or, “When I can do the rule of three in mathematics, maybe I will better understand my telephone bill or a discussion over tax increases.” Secondly, it’s important to recognise how one learns. Students should ask themselves what kind of studying type they are, Kresse advises. In addition there are numerous tricks that can be used to remember things. “The most effective and time-saving studying is continual learning,” said Korte. Students who study for 30 to 45 minutes on one subject only have to review and internalise what they already know right before a test. Rewriting notes taken during a lecture helps summarise the most important points and create a written overview. This serves to lock into memory conclusions made during class. Another variation is the so-called mind map. This method involves writing down the central conclusions of a subject in a pattern, said Korte. The student writes a topic in the middle of a piece of paper, then all around it in a star shape, for example, writes short descriptions of the content and conclusions made in class. Writing crib notes is also a good way to prepare for a test, said Kresse. “Crib notes show that a student can summarise the material and remember central conclusions. A student who writes crib notes often has no problem with the things he writes down, rather he can remember these things best.” Many students anguish over oral examinations because they don’t occur so often. This doesn’t have to be, said Kresse. “It’s important to simulate the setting of the oral exam,” said Kresse. A good way to do that is to form a study group in which the members grade each other. Another preparation technique is to visualise a test. “Go into the room where the test will be given ahead of time,” said Kresse. “Then you can imagine yourself there and the test going well. It is a strategy that can leave a student feeling positive.” —DPA
|
||
|
Campus Notes
TO provide better boarding and lodging facilities to foreign girl students, Haryana Agricultural University has decided to build a new International Women's Hostel on the campus at a cost of Rs 2 crore. Dr K. S. Khokhar, Vice-Chancellor, laid the foundation stone of the new building. Speaking on the occasion, he said improving facilities for the students was one of his top priorities. He said there were already 12 hostels, including an International Boys Hostel and two women's hostels, one each on the main campus here and the other at Agriculture College, Kaul. The new hostel would cater to the girl students coming from other countries to study at the university. Dr Khokhar said the hostel would be equipped with world-class amenities and it would accommodate 58 students. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) would provide funds for the construction of the hostel, he added. Workshop on IPRs Dr K. S. Khokhar, Vice-Chancellor, has called upon scientists to understand the intricacies of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) to give a fillip to research and development and extension programmes. He said this was necessary in view of the global competition. He was addressing a workshop on "IPR and Commercialisation in Agriculture" in which postgraduate students of HAU and Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary & Animal Sciences participated. He said all developed countries were using IPR licensing and entrepreneurship development as tools to give stimulus to science and technology. "If we do not recognise these aspects, it will adversely impact our technology development and extension programmes," he said, adding that this would have a negative bearing on the economy and employment as well. He said students engaged in postgraduate research might understand the intricacies of the IPRs and patent laws. In developed countries, the student research had played a vital role in making technological breakthrough and inventions. There was fierce competition among students, faculty, laboratories and institutions to file more and more patent applications and commercialisation of technologies. He said similar competitiveness was needed in the country. He underlined the need for focusing on the development of food processing technology. He said due to lack of food processing technology, India had to import many processed food items which caused economic loss to the country. CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar Board of Studies constituted Dr Hardeep Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, has constituted the Board of Studies for the university's College of Veterinary Sciences. It comprises 19 professors and heads of departments of the College of Veterinary Sciences and the College of Animal Sciences, which were earlier part of Haryana Agricultural University. Dr A. K. Pruthi, Dean, College of Veterinary Sciences, will be the Chairman of the board, while Dr R. K. Jain, Head, Veterinary Anatomy, will be its Secretary. — Contributed by Raman Mohan Lala Lajpat Rai University of Veterinary
and Animal Sciences, Hisar
|
