Research Findings on Listening Techniques.

Teachers are of different type. Type 1 come down to the students during the lecture, through various live illustrations. There is a type 2, teachers who would never come down, but try to raise the students to their level through an elevated style. Most of the students would like to listen type 1. But some, this may be very little, really motivated students love the type 2. In other words, type 2 lectures will be a great success in a class of active listeners. Active listeners, indeed, used to motivate the type 1 teachers too. They know how to control their attention in the teachers explanations, avoiding unnecessary internal as well as external noises. Is there any common process which is followed by active listeners? Yes; the following can be taken as some tips to become an active listener in the class.

The important steps for active listening can be summarized as LISAN.

L = Lead. Don’t follow. Try to anticipate what the instructor is going to say. Try to set questions as guides. Questions can come from the instructor’s study guides or the reading assignments. Or it can be made from the text too. If so, there should be a prior reading on the topic.

I = Ideas. Every lecture is based on a core of important ideas. Usually, an idea is introduced and examples or explanations are given. Ask yourself and make clear, “What is the main idea now?” And “What ideas support it?”

S = Signal words. Listen for words that tell you the direction the instructor is taking. For instance, here are some groups of signal words:
There are three reasons why … - The idea will follow
Most important is… - Next will be the main ideas.
On the contrary… - Opposite idea to the main idea will follow
As an example… - Support for main idea will be delivered.
Therefore… - The speaker tends to conclude.

A = Actively listen. Sit where you can hear and where you can be seen if you need to ask a question. Look at the instructor when he or she talks. Bring question you want answered from the last lecture or from your reading. Raise your hand at the beginning of class or approach your instructor before the lecture begins. Do anything that helps you to be active.

N = Note taking. As you listen, write down only key points. Listen to everything, but be selective and don’t try to write everything down. If you are too busy writing, you may not grasp what is being said. Any gaps in your notes can be filled in immediately after class.

Findings suggest that most students take reasonably good notes, but never use them properly! They wait until just before exams to review their notes. By then the notes would have lost much of their meaning. Thus, notes those are taken should be reviewed regularly. LISAN will help to listen carefully as well as to motivate the teachers. After all, good teachers are made by good students. The main reason for the lack of class room performance by well eminent scholars may be that they would not have faced well motivated class of students.

Research Inquiries on Dwarfism

Being a dwarf is strangely bitter in reality than in fiction. Studies done in search of the factors behind dwarfism points out one of the prominent reasons - insufficient growth hormone. If this condition is not treated, a child may fall 6 to 12 inches behind age-mates in height. As adults, some will be hypo-pituitary dwarfs. Such individuals are perfectly proportioned, but tiny.
For many years, dwarfism could be treated only with injections of human growth hormone. It was a painstaking and expensive process. Now, a relatively cheap synthetic growth hormone is available. Regular injections of this hormone can raise a hypo-pituitary child’s height by several inches.
However, it has to be noted that synthetic growth hormone has side effects. If not carefully administered, it can cause giantism, acromegaly, diabetes, or other medical problems. Also, it has to be noted that normally short children are found to fail to increase their height even after the application of this hormone.