Teaching is a very subjective matter, where there is more than one way to skin a cat – or so the proverb goes. After all, different strokes work for different folks, and there is no one general formula which works across the board for everyone. This then, would mean a customized teaching plan would come in handy, but not many countries have that kind of dedicated (wo)manpower to handle a case-to-case basis, so a general, overall approach would still come in handy. How about fitting students and teachers with a Galvanic Response Bracelet that can measure emotional arousal via skin conductance?
Skin conductance is basically a form of electrodermal activity which will grow higher in number whenever one enters a state like excitement, attention or anxiety, and the activity will actually drop during states such as boredom or relaxation. Researchers at Clemson University have already received some dough from the Gates Foundation to look into the matter deeper, where the feasibility and utility of using such devices regularly in schools with students and teachers should be presented. The amount is not small – $498,055 to be exact, and if it can help increase the efficiency as well as effectiveness in the classroom around the US, then it is definitely something worth developing further.
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