Brainfeed Magazine July 2022

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July 2022 Volume IX Issue 4 `75

July 2022 Volume IX Issue 4

Trend

22

COVER STORY

14

Gamification is serious business

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The time of Metaverse has come!

30

Of unemployment and unconventional jobs

Update

Jobs

Perspective

52

Music helps children grow smarter: MIT

34

Schools need to nurture data driven culture

12

Importance of Stories in Early Years

28

Simulation based education for the 21st century

36

Thumbs up for GLEAM!

38

Nurture Early Childhood Educatiton

40

SRCPS a class apart

44

Tips to create a positive school culture

46

A look at postCovid education

50

Retaining teachers is no Child’s play

54

Ignite imagination and love for learning

56

Forestry is a viable career option

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NEWS In BRIEF

MoE extends registration dates for national awards to teachers The Ministry of Education has extended the deadline to register for the National Awards to Teachers 2022 till July 10. Eligible teachers across the country can register online and selfnominate themselves on the official website – nationalawardstoteachers. education.gov.in.

IGNOU collaborates with Singapore, Bahrain, UAE to offer courses The International Division of the Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) has signed Memorandum of Associations (MoAs) with educational institutions from foreign countries such as Singapore, Bahrain and UAE to offer IGNOU courses.

The MoAs for offering the programmes in foreign countries were signed in the presence of Nageshwar Rao, vice-chancellor of IGNOU.

Maharashtra to incorporate happiness curriculum in Government schools

T

he Maharashtra government is the latest to join Delhi and Uttar Pradesh in introducing a happiness curriculum in state run schools for grades 1-8 from the next academic session.

‘The happiness curriculum’ is being introduced in schools for the holistic development of children, especially their physical and mental well-being.

Varsha Ekanath Gaikwad, the former state education minister announced the implementation of the happiness curriculum. She also introduced the law which gives a concession of 15 per cent on qualifying marks for the children of martyred soldiers and defense personnel. She wrote on

twitter “happiness curriculum will be introduced from this year for Std 1 to 8 in all government aided Marathi medium schools.”

The Yogi Adityanath government had launched the happiness curriculum in the state run schools of UP in August last year. The ‘Happiness Curriculum’ was first launched in Delhi by the Delhi government. Twenty ‘Aam Admi School Clinics’ were also launched by the Delhi government in the government schools in the capital, which had a similar agenda of working on the physical, emotional and mental well being of students.

13-year-old Arnav learns 17 programming languages

A

rnav Sivram, a 13-year-old from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, has become one of the youngest to know 17 computer languages. Sivram started learning computers when he was in the fourth grade. The 13-year-old said, “I started learning computers when I was in the 4th grade. I have learnt 17 programming languages including Java & Python.”

It is well known that some of the most popular computer programming languages include Java, Python, C++, and Dart, among others. In this era, when digitization and the use of

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computer programming languages are increasing, knowing these languages can help you seize many career opportunities. Java is a programming language and computing platform first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995.

It provides a reliable platform on which many services and applications are built.

In addition, innovative new products and digital services designed for the future also continue to rely on Java, according to the information provided by java.com. Similarly, Python is also a programming language that allows you to work faster and integrate your systems more effectively.

Insta News

In BRIEF IIT Guwahati Researchers Design Electricity-Free Radiative Cooler Researchers at IIT Guwahati have designed an affordable and efficient ‘passive’ radiative cooling system that does not require electricity to operate. This ‘Radiative Cooler’ coating material is an ‘electricityfree’ cooling system as it can be applied on the rooftops and functions both during the day and the night to provide an alternative to the conventional airconditioners, the researchers of IIT-Guwahati said.

IIT Jodhpur researcher examines Blended Learning Framework using flipped teaching Researcher Rajlaxmi Chouhan, an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering investigated Blended Learning Framework using flipped classroom model.

The research was also aimed to know if the analytics obtained from the interactive video assignments can be used to further flag at-risk students and make timely interventions.

Five lakh children admitted to class 1, in an annual enrollment drive

5.

72 lakh children were enrolled in class 1 during the annual ‘Shala Praveshotsav’ festival in Gujarat where lakhs of students are enrolled into government run schools every year.

This year marked the 17th year of the festival. Chief Minister of Gujarat, Bhupinder Patel inaugurated the event on 23rd in Banaskantha’s Vadgam taluka. 2.80 lakh girls and 2.91 lakh boys were admitted in class one under the presence of dignitaries from across the state.

“The enrolment drive covered 30,880 government-run primary schools in the state. During the drive, 2.30 lakh children, including 1.12 girls,

B

Few takers for Engineering in mother tongue

arring a college in Pune, the response to fill seats of engineering in mother tongue received a lukewarm response. The Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering (PCCOE), is the only college in the country that has recorded full admission in its new division to teach engineering in the mother tongue. “The teachers speak in Marathi and students answer in Marathi, but the books are in English.

Orals and practicals are conducted in Marathi, but for written exams, students are given the choice to answer in either language,” said Sheetal Bhandari, Dean of academics at the college.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced under the National

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were also admitted in anganwadis and kindergartens across the state,” the education minister of the state, Jitu Vaghani stated. 1775 students with disabilities were also admitted.

Citizens donated cash and articles worth 28.53 crores to encourage children to go to school and for the betterment of education in India. A local resident of Kashipura village donated a piece of land worth Rs. 10 lakh for education purposes.

“As many as 494 classrooms, built at a cost of Rs 25.93 crore, were inaugurated during the drive. Transportation facilities for students in 2,364 schools was also launched as part of the programme,” the education minister told the press.

Education Policy last year that the plan to teach engineering to students in their mother tongue was rolled out last year by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) in 19 selected engineering colleges across the country. “This emphasis on mother tongue as the medium of instruction will instill confidence in students from poor, rural and tribal backgrounds,” Modi said.

Out of the 19 engineering colleges approved to start regional language divisions, nine did not get a single admission, while in the other ten colleges, batches are less than 50 per cent full, AICTE chairman Anil Sahastrabuddhe said.

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Books Bags Uniform

Readers’ Forum The article written on the NAS survey portrayed the real face of the Indian education system during the pandemic. Many students missed out on many online classes due to the lack of proper resources. Some students even dropped out of schools due to the lack of resources.

The survey finding states that 80% of the students were of the opinion that they could learn better if they had classroom education with their peers. It is a clear indication that online classes have limitations.

The lack of resources for education is a reality faced by a vast number of students in India which should be properly addressed by the government. Let’s hope that the assessment becomes an eye opener for the government to make the education system of the country better.

Derek Sanjay George, Ootacamund Historical revisionism looks to correct same events with a new take. Since decades this is happening and there is nothing wrong but it needs to be objective and be backed by rigours of academic and scientific discipline.

Lest, it would be nothing short of charlatanism.

The author of the cover story ‘Teaching History Today’ dwells on how it ought to be taught and has been cautious not to mention about the present Gyanvapi Masjid issue. It is quite understandable being an educational magazine.

Farooq Shapoorji, Mumbai The report ‘Demand of teachers to rise by 2030’ made me happy as I am a teacher of 30 years standing but I must confess the teacher does not get her or his due to the desired extent.

Even today, barring international schools, teachers are not paid well. I would be retiring in 2023 and wish that there is pay parity for teachers and they too lead a comfortable life. Is anyone listening?

Meghna Mathur, Old Delhi (Readers can send in their suggestions / feedback to info@brainfeedmagazine.com by 10th of every month)

Brainfeed does a good job in presenting its reader with objective facts about the current state of history and its education in India. It presents an unprejudiced view of the present discourse surrounding the pedagogy of history.

The section highlighting the additions and deletions made in history textbooks in various states is especially significant. It demonstrates how presenting only a partial picture of history may mislead children and students and can lead them to faulty conclusions about the history of this great country.

By mentioning the deletions, Brainfeed also enables the reader to do their own research and learn more about the deleted historical events and personalities.

M Raghuveeran, Mount Carmel School, Indore

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The cover story highlighting the importance of teaching history is very relevant in the current socio-political climate. It is very important to teach history with an objective and unbiased standpoint. It is true that it cannot be taught in a vacuum.

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Editorial

I

ITs to offer BEd programs is news that has gone down well with everyone. The premier institutions that churn out hundreds of students who go on to add value to the industry will in the near future augment the education sector. It bodes well as the quality of trained teachers coming out from these institutions would be excellent and become a benchmark. It is a smart move by the Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan that should be welcomed by one and all.

The idea of making the process of learning fun has been debated for a long time and schools across the country are making efforts towards this end, albeit slowly but surely. The cover story is on ‘Gamification in education’ which schools are warming up to. Gamification per se is exciting as the name suggests. Who would not like learning by doing tasks and in the process also gain points? Several studies have shown that children grasp concepts better when they learn by doing. There is another interesting study by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that states that learning music makes the brain more functional and connected. This makes the brain neurologically superior than people who did not indulge in music during their formative years.

We have a heady mix of stories for you. Do not miss the article ‘Schools need to nurture data driven culture’ by Francis Joseph who argues that many schools take decisions using intuition. Data helps in taking decisions on school policy, curriculum and much more. Numerical patterns determine how well schools are doing and what they should be doing. Harnessing data can do wonders for schools.

Schools have begun and the issues that one grappled with in pre-Covid times are back. One such problem is retaining teachers. It is indeed a serious problem. When teachers leave mid-session, it causes a lot of problems and is a principal’s nightmare. Do read the story ‘Retaining teachers is no child’s play’.

People are now engaging in artificial reality and perform activities as they do in real life which is now being called Metaverse. Many companies are now entering this space and have named it Eduverse. We are witnessing another paradigm shift in the way we live and function; do read the story to get an overall idea.

We hope you like this issue. Do write to us.

July 2022 Volume IX Issue 4

Editor-in-Chief Brahmam K V Executive Editor Harish Kakani Editor-at-Large T P Venu Sub Editor Shinjini Malik Art & Design Ravi Sankar P Circulation Hemachander S +91 91777 74851 Printed, Published and Owned by Kakani Veera Brahmam Printed at Kala Jyothi Process Pvt. Ltd. 1-1-60/5, RTC X Roads Hyderabad-500 020, Telangana, India Published from 8-3-191/565/K, Vengal Rao Nagar SR Nagar Post Hyderabad-500 038 Telangana, India Contact No.: +91 72070 15151 Email info@brainfeedmagazine.com brainfeedmagazine@gmail.com www.brainfeedmagazine.com facebook.com/brainfeededumag twitter.com/brainfeededumag instagram.com/brainfeededumag

Brahmam K V

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Editor-in-Chief

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Storytelling

Importance for

Stories in Early Years

Sunita Jain

CEO, Hello Kids Chain of Preschools & Riverstone Schools

Alone, by herself she built the kingdom that she wanted - R.H Sin

S

tories hold the attention of kids and opens a different world where they see the characters and events of the story come alive and thus learn to imagine and picture things that they listen to. In this era of advanced technology and fast paced living, parents often find alternatives to storytelling by playing animated videos or movies for kids. This is good but does not replace the charm and allure of storytelling.

Benefits of storytelling for kids Kids learn to imagine. Kids learn to picture an entire story like in a movie or cartoon in their mind. This might also throw open the doors of creative fields in front of them that they might be able to write from their own imaginations and thoughts. Kids learn shapes, colours, names, places, science etc.

Stories also serve an opportunity to teach kids various basic things like colours, shapes, landscapes, sun, moon, stars, galaxies, Earth and various other phenomenon including science and geography. Every story has characters and places; and kids might be curious to

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know how they look, how they behave, where they live etc., which opens the possibilities to teach kids all these different but basic things in an interesting manner.

Since they learn all this through stories, these things get imprinted in them and they don’t easily forget them.

Kids learn cultures and traditions through stories Narrating stories that talk about society, community, and different kinds of festivals that people celebrate etc., familiarizes the kid with the culture and traditions of their own community. This will help them fulfil their responsibilities towards the community.

Inculcating values Stories can also be used as a tool to impart basic values a human must possess to build the moral side of an individual. Early years are the apt period to lay the foundation to the moral base.

Improves listening skills Managing a kid is a tough task and to make a kid stay in a place and listen is even tougher. However, it is observed that kids pay close attention and are deeply involved when they are narrated a story. They are curious about the characters and things in the story and listen carefully. Hence, storytelling is the best mechanism to instill listening skill in kids. It kindles curiosity and doubts in kids that encourage them to ask questions.

Having doubts is a sign that the kid pays attention. This cultivates an attitude of asking questions and clearing doubts since the early years.

Storytelling

Listening to stories aids communication Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing (LSRW) are basic communication skills. The curiosity generally observed in all kids encourages them to ask questions about the stories they hear to their loved ones thereby improving their speaking skills.

Slowly, they learn alphabets and the simultaneous story sessions attract them towards books and gradually to reading. A voracious reader normally becomes a versatile writer. Reading paves the way to writing.

Stories make learning easy Even elder students are found to memorize the facts or formulas through the form of attaching some tricky story to it, just for the purpose of memorizing it. Learning things that seem to be difficult to comprehend or memorize can be made easy if it is learnt as a story or with the help of stories. Stories entertain every age group especially kids. Hence, learning can be made easy with stories. Also communication skills, imaginative skills, basic lessons learnt through stories also support the learning process as a whole.

Storytelling throws open the door to a creative future Storytelling sometimes opens the doors of creative thinking, creative or critical writing and imaginative skills that actually pave the way to becoming a writer, storyteller, movie maker or even an artist in the future.

Storytelling also fuels social skills In addition to communication skills, the characters of the stories inspire kids, and the values exhibited by the characters will also be imbibed by the kids. This, in turn, will also help improve the social development of the kids.

Storytelling is a practice that instills a lot of benefits to the kids in their overall development. Preschool teachers must try to make the story sessions as animated as possible to hold the kids attention and to kindle interest in them for stories. Hello Kids Chain of Preschool (One of India’s Leading Preschool Chain) CEO Sunita Jain & Founder, Pritam Agarwal says that story sessions is a must element of their preschool syllabus and they have given special impetus for this in the pedagogy. Narrate kids stories and let them say stories to the world tomorrow.

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Cover story

Gamification is serious business Making inroads into academics is the emerging trend of Gamification, which gets children hooked on to learning

Shinjini Malik

S

tudents always complain about lessons being boring, but the recent trend in the education system is about solving problems. Gamification is a process by which educators incorporate gaming aspects in the curriculum making students learn play, and be entertained at the same time.

This is a revolutionary development that has taken the education industry by storm. According to ‘The online Education Market in India, 2022-2026’ conducted by the firm ‘Research and Market’, gamification will catch the attention of its consumers, creating a demand for platforms that provide fun activities while also being excellent academically. Due to this, the education sector will grow by 2.28 billion US Dollars during the 20222026 period, growing at CAGR (Compound Annual, Growth Rate) of $ 19.50! Arjun Mohan, the CEO of UpGrad claimed that he was able to retain 47 per cent

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of his users with the introduction of gamification in his academic techniques.

Games retain students’ interest while making discussions about the topic fun! Prodigy Education, an Edtech firm claims using ‘Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games’ (MMORPGs) both, single participants or a group of students, to solve a problem together. These help students identify their strengths and weaknesses, ultimately pushing them to find out their true areas of passion. By capturing their imagination, they make the process of retaining information easier and also give rise to a sportsman spirit.

Grading children would become easier as it would solely depend on teachers. An aspect would also depend on the team developing the game experience for students.

It would also show the exact level children are on, with

Cover story

respect to their comprehension of the task. Other than this, the image of the school, as a place of conformity would slowly change into a place of change, acceptance, fun and productivity. It also prepares the children and gives them limited time and resources to deal with the boredom as games are filled with challenges they need to overcome, much like in reality.

The flip side of gamification, experts opine, is that education might get too graphic and ruin children’s imagination. It also might penetrate deep into the lives of students, giving them less time for other important

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Cover story

recreational activities. There is a possibility of students getting addicted to the games, which may lead to a lifestyle imbalance or cause withdrawal symptoms.

The fear of children getting too materialistic is also a possibility. Experts suggest that the very idea behind ‘Gamifying’ the syllabus is to encourage intrinsic motivation’ which is the desire to obtain something, you have an innate interest in. ‘Extrinsic motivation’ on the other hand motivates students to complete a task because of the external benefits it brings with it. Some people are of the opinion that children overtly motivated extrinsically, can only participate in the lessons out of a need to fulfill their obligations or their daily dose of dopamine.

Game elements like points scored by students for academic or non academic purposes, personalization of performances, levels of progress, earning badges for any extraordinary performance made by children increase the retention of knowledge as it releases dopamine which makes the experience very pleasing.

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The teacher’s role is to help students strike the right balance in academic performance rather than letting them get dependent on the gratification it provides.

Speaking to Brainfeed, D P Chandrashekar, CEO of the Jain Group of Institutions says, “Gamification is an integral part of our curriculum. Students learn coding by designing a game and in the lab they fix new models of robots.”

Games like ‘Second Life’ or ‘World of Warcraft’ which are based on role-playing, prove to be immersive experiences for learning new languages and games like ‘Sim-city’ prove to be insightful for comprehending economic policies.

A note to the teachers: Incorporating Gamification or game based learning does not require a paramount change in teaching. Some age old teaching techniques have gamified elements which have helped students cope with academia for centuries. With some additional changes and tweaking, these methods of teaching can be improvised, making education more effective. The incorporation of games and gamified elements should be a thoughtful process indeed.

Cover story

There is a lot of talk on gamification. Your comments.

There is a fundamental difference between gamification and game based learning. While gamification is based on goals and points, which is also the case with our educational system, and is based on rewards and many a time turns competitive, game based learning is learning about something as you play.

So you do not use the word ‘gamification’?

Aditya Kolli

Founder, Ameya Games Pvt. Ltd.

‘Game based learning is organic and effective’

We do not use the word gamification. Our products are more free play and do not come with instructions which facilitates for self-exploration by the student. The child becomes naturally curious. For example, a jigsaw puzzle comes without an instruction manual.

Explain how game based learning, as opposed to gamification, is better?

In game based learning one keeps on learning as one plays and masters it over a period of time. The student does not have the fear of failure and gets a reward which is based on points and as a result - he or she comes with an open mind to explore and learn.

One can design a game for a person to start from zero.

In gamification, the motivation is external but in game based learning motivation is internal.

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Cover story

Gamification the future of learning

feedback. It shows progress and goals and empowers students to actively take responsibility for their learning.

Gamified education rewards students for completing work and is a solid tool for formative assessment.

These are some of the key elements of high-level education, and it’s no surprise that Eduten has a high uptake in schools across India.

What is Gamification of Learning?

Gamification means including game mechanics in a non-game context. Eduten makes goals and student progress visible. For example, in the context of gamified math, equations might pop up on a screen and the student steer their personal racing car toward the correct answer.

Melissa Georgiou

Gamification in education is not a distant dream only available to elite private schools. It’s here to stay and is now readily available via sustainable and democratic learning platforms such as the UNESCO and UNICEF-awarded platform, Eduten.

The Benefits of Gamified Learning

The research-based platform, developed over 17 years ago at a top Finnish university reports that gamification works because it increases engagement and motivation.

According to researchers at Eduten, gamified learning allows repeated experimentation and continuous

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What Gamification of Learning is NOT

Often misunderstood, gamification of learning does not mean turning every single task into some sort of game. Nor is it an unrelated game that stops every now and again to ask the student a question. The nature of learning is sometimes repetitive and often ‘hard work’, therefore gamifying everything might have a negative effect if used incorrectly.

How can Teachers Gamify their Work?

In truth, the word gamification is at the tip of any good educator’s tongue. Gamification is a core teaching tool that attracts, engages, retains, and motivates students.

Before the internet, teachers used charts, reward systems, concrete materials, and prizes alongside their existing teaching and learning methods.

Cover story

The future of learning also includes utilizing innovative platforms such as Eduten, which have demonstrated scientifically proven math gamification that works.

Drawbacks of Gamification Gamification is not a cure-all for current education systems. When misused, it can erode learning rather than expand it. Sometimes the best intentions of gamification go awry due to resistance from parents, poor implementation from teachers or incorrect selection of authentic, science-backed tools. All of these drawbacks are easily fixed with clear education about the tool at hand as well as trust from school communities at large.

Does Gamification equal the end of teachers?

Introducing a digital, gamified tool into a classroom doesn’t mean getting rid of formal teaching and learning. It’s a complementary tool that works alongside conventional teaching.

Is gamification a solitary method of learning that replaces teachers? No, it’s coupled with intelligent, humane and compassionate teachers. It is also aligned with local curriculums.

Teachers will always be needed to interpret the technology and continue working side-by-side with students at either end of the educational spectrum.

Does the use of gamification cancel out the need for concrete materials? No, gamification also includes the recognition and reward by teachers, parents and other students. This is done by human interaction, discussion celebration and yes, you guessed it- plain old reward charts on the wall as well!

Reward charts are used alongside Eduten’s digital platform.

Looking to the Future The topic of gamification is often considered controversial.

Used the right way, gamification means higher student engagement, faster learning and improved results.

Recognising that students have different routes to educational success means using different methodologies.

Gamification is one of them.

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Cover story

Children learn when activities are self-initiated

Latha Bharatt

Director Minmini Early Learning Solutions

Imagine a 10-year-old reclined on the couch playing Roblox while a 4-year-old is curiously following and cheering. All the while with paw patrol blaring in the background! The question is not ‘why’ but ‘how does a 4-year-old know.

I

n this scenario, the child was engrossed in the game because of his love for animals, access to own pets and the influence and collaboration of an older sibling. The popularity of similar games isn’t new and data reveals 25% users were under the age of nine last year (www.statista.com). A quick survey among children reveals TV as passive and lacking in interactivity, whereas they experience more access and freedom through online games (See chart).

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Autonomy and space Situatedness Collaboration and Socialisation “It allows me to brush my doll’s teeth and hair like mama does.”

“It allows me to create, build and customise scenarios”

“It allows me to chat with my friends when I have to stay at home” Educators and parents tend to hold on to dominant values of children and their learning. As research indicates, children’s lives are made toxic by use of technology (Wolfe and Flewitt, 2010). We fret about tactile, sensorial experiences and they continue to experiment digital colour mixing or baking cakes! The unfamiliarity with technology, gamification, conflicting institutional agendas and pandemic forced us to react instead of respond to their evolving preferences of consuming information.

Lesson plans were incentivized through badges, stars and rewards. Avenues for social/emotional development, collaboration, co-construction and basic open-endedness of early years’ play were replaced by worksheets and competitions to fulfill curriculum needs. Did that hold ground? We frowned and were also cautiously pleased when an early learner was able to mute or change backgrounds in an online class.

When most remote learning attempts had little to do

Cover story

Children learn when activities are self-initiated, are interesting, even without rewards. This is all the more critical in a digital space with intrinsic meaning making and motivation, and grade appropriate ICT textbooks were redundant, then “how” did children learn? Did our ideas of accountability, surveillance and documentation limit children’s digital learning capabilities to rewards and badges? Most 4 year-olds are hands on asking Alexa meanings of words they don’t understand or playing quizzes about animals!

Children learn when activities are self-initiated, are interesting, even without rewards. This is all the more critical in a digital space, as the essence of learning through play is in peer engagement, exploration of their own as well as other socio cultural identities and their situated contexts, with no intended outcomes (de Castell and Jenson, 2003; Miller, 2012). Technology gives children a voice in their learning choices.

Reconceptualising pedagogies is an opportunity to view play based learning through an inclusive digital lens with the potential to then level the playing field towards equitable education across economic backgrounds.

An increasing awareness supported by researchers’ evidence encourages us to listen to the 100 languages of children and setting the prepared environment.

Imagine a world where curriculum itself is a safe space where content is built to tap into curiosities of children and their motivations to explore, share and learn while following their own individual learning trajectories together. Self-initiated role play leads to skipping counting, hopscotch games against backdrops of real world geographical areas and weather conditions to simulate real life situations and responses.

While we all know and understand digital experiences are no match for real life experiences, their role in enriching children’s learning cannot be over looked.

In the meanwhile, there is no stopping the 4 year-old playing with friends in the park only this time it is ‘cat escape’.

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Trend

The time of

Metaverse has come!

l The Metaverse is nothing but the creation of an artificial reality where people can perform as many activities as they do in real life. l It is a virtual version of everything you can do in real life.

It is interoperable, owned by no one, and allows a lot of different platforms to live within it. l Education based companies and educators have already carved out a space in it and have named it the ‘Eduverse’.

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Trend

educators have already carved out a space in it and have named it the ‘Eduverse’. They are using materials from ‘LABSTER’ and virtual reality platforms like ENGAGE and MOZILLA HUB. Teachers are also using ‘DRIFT SPACE’ to create virtual tours.

Shinjini Malik How is the Metaverse being used by schools?

I’m sure you are aware of the growth of the ‘Metaverse’ and the craze surrounding it. People across the globe have been growing crazy over this and businesses are investing billions of dollars to have a stake in it.

What is Metaverse?

The Metaverse is nothing but the creation of an artificial reality where people can perform as many activities as they do in real life. According to the founder and CEO of ‘k20 educator’, Vriti Saraf, it is “a virtual version of everything you can do in real life. It is interoperable, owned by no one, and allows a lot of different platforms to live within it.”

How do educational resources facilitate learning in the metaverse?

Experts believe the Metaverse will have a revolutionary impact on learning and the learners. Vriti Saraf the founder and CEO of ‘k20 Educators’ uses the example of the human body and states, “you can either introduce them to a textbook, where they can learn everything sequentially, or you can place their avatars inside a human body”. “One student can choose to go to the brain; other students can choose to go into the intestines. That choose-your-own-adventure learning experience is very empowering for most of the students.”

As students learn through the Metaverse, they get access to the entire world. Hence teaching via Metaverse is not only immersive but also good for incorporating the best practises in the teaching world.

Hence, the Metaverse can be created and expanded with the help of various people other than just a handful of big businesses. But Facebook and Roblox have emerged as the key contributors so far! Even though social media and gaming might not share any distant connection in the past, pairing the two up is a thing in the modern era.

Facebook has already pledged over 150 million dollars for learning experiences in the virtual reality sector in the Metaverse while Roblox started offering ISTEaligned lesson plans for a plethora of subjects, catering to a number of age groups. Roblox also supports educational organizations creating online educational experiences on their platforms by creating grants of millions of dollars.

Schools are trying to navigate the Metaverse through multiple portals A senior director from ISTE claims that k-12 education doesn’t require students to wait infinitely to participate in the Metaverse. Education based companies and

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Trend

However, at the present moment, most of the things in the Metaverse are created for high school students mainly because of security and privacy concerns which need to be corrected. But with time developers are ensuring that student’s have access only to the educational stuff.

Are VR headsets important for accessing the Metaverse?

Even though VR headsets are becoming cheaper, there are a lot of problems with the headsets that need to be solved so that they can be used within the k-12 environment. Saraf states “They’re obviously not at the point yet where they’re widely consumable, and they say you shouldn’t have anyone under the age of 10 using them. I actually don’t think it’s going to be practical, even for the next 10 to 15 years, for us to say, ‘Well, every kid needs to have a VR headset.’”

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At the present moment, the Metaverse can be accessed simply by downloading an app on a tablet or a laptop.

What are some of the best practices that can be incorporated by schools planning for a Metaverse platform?

Well, schools should first ensure that students, parents, teachers and administrators are equally involved. These parties should also realize that it is through a ‘trial and error’ method that new milestones are unlocked and everybody should be encouraged to work better.

Some critics however say that Metaverse shouldn’t be taken as a substitute for things that happen in the real world. Vriti Saraf gives the perfect answer. “We don’t want to spend all of our time online. So, the important thing here is that you want to use the Metaverse as a supplement to your in-person activities.”

Update

IITs mulling over to start

BEd courses

Training for teachers would be provided in line with the National Education Policy (NEP)

T

he Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs) will be soon offering a four-year integrated teacher education programme or Bachelors in Education (BEd) courses on their campuses. The announcement was made by the Union Education minister Dharmendra Pradhan recently.

In a series of recent developments in the education spectrum, first the promising NEP 2020 and secondly, the effective implementation and incorporation of the new policy across all levels of educational hubs are the main challenges. The overhauling of the Indian education is a big push to transform the entire educational ecosystem by integrating technology in schools system for holistic and maximum learning and teaching outcomes.

He further said that fouryear integrated teacher education programme would be introduced in IITs and the training for teachers would be provided in line with the National Education Policy (NEP).

The scope of making the higher education institutions robust and technology enabled would result in the internalisation of education and accelerate the Indian education practices on the global forum for students world wide opting to study in India. The mission is to improve the education quality in the country and make students job givers rather than job seekers.

The 4-year integrated teacher education program or ITP pilot model will be launched to provide appropriate training to teachers. This will increase the efficiency of the teachers and the full development of the students, he tweeted.

As the Indian start-up ecosystem flourishes, more and more students thrive to enter and acquire entrepreneurial skills. To fulfil this mission, the project would cost around Rs 3 lakh crore over the next four years. The NEP 2020 based educational curriculum designed for schools, potentially covers such skill-based training in tandem with apractical approach towards learning and teaching.

Setting up 500 PM Shri schools

The government is also keen on setting up 15,000 PM Shri Schools across the of the country, with 500 to 600 PM Shri Schools in the Odisha state. The project would be under the direct supervision and leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Also, attention would be paid to strengthen the alumni network, globalisation of Indian education and to raise the qualitative education bar.

These model schools will be established in each and every district and block. The aim of such an initiative is to meet the educational needs of the country and to make students’ future ready.

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |26| July 22

Opinion

IITs offering B.Ed. courses augurs well

for the sector

Reni francis

Principal Pillai College of Education & Research, Mumbai

T

eacher education plays a vital role in developing the innate abilities of a teacher.

Often being a teacher is either by choice or by chance. Teachers need to be groomed to adapt to the dynamic and challenging learning scenario.

The role of the teacher now must encompass learning including visually, aesthetically, socially, and ethically and turn the opportunities to reality.

This requires persistent efforts and skill to identify the learning space to evolve f rom books to real life learning.

Teachers need to augment these skills in their teacher training programme thus focus on immersive learning. The learning gazebo has

changed; it is no longer an ant’s view but has emerged to be an eagle’s view.

The recent announcement by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on IIT’s to offer Integrated B.Ed courses in the campus is a path breaking initiative in teacher training. IIT’s have always been looked to offer world class academic achievement of high repute and its contribution has been noteworthy for the country and the world. Since teachers are the pillars of our future generation towards a better tomorrow, it is important to groom them in a holistic manner catering to the needs of the society and also focussing on the aspects of teacher training, skill enhancement and classroom experience.

With IIT’s offering teacher training courses, it is going to create a realm in education, bringing the great minds together thus ensuring highest professional training expertise, a legacy of deep rooted ethos in education, building stronger workforce as teachers, encapsulating the vision of NEP 2020 of India -centric education, delivering high quality educational standards to all with a right blend of quality, experience, expertise and success.

Higher education has been witnessing challenging times with issues including quality, gap in student-teacher ratio, job applicability, skills not enhanced, gap between industry requirement and curriculum transaction, brain drain, prof iteering agencies/ institutions, centralisation in admission, lack of research culture etc. These challenges hold back the reins of growth and emancipation of the education sector.

Teacher Education Institutions has also been impacted in the above issues and hence it is imperative to address them and nip it off at the grassroots. With the emergence of IIT’s in Teacher Education, a high quality benchmark and quality sustenance best practices will be created for other TEI (Teacher Education Institutions) grappling with the challenges and to emerge with sustainable practices.

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |27| July 22

Pedagogy

Simulation based education for the 21st century Imitating real life scenarios to drill home concepts goes a long way in creating lifelong learners

Deepika Venkatesh

Programme Manager - Academics 21K School

A

rt of teaching is vested in presenting the concept to the learner. All of us would wish to learn things in a manner the we utilize in actual life and understand it to remember for a long time. An educator is not just a person who is willing to teach from the textbooks but also willing to teach out of the textbooks.

For this, teachers have to stay current, adapt to changes and evolving demands of the educational landscape and collaborate to learn from each other. This is the starting point towards simulation based education-creating lifelong learners.

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A true sense of education is the realization that learning is not the destination but a journey. That journey which has multiple destinations and multiple changes. In simulation based education the concept is taught not just through technical terms but through imitating a real life scenario pertaining to the concept. For example, teaching a concept of financial statement analysis, one could curate a session and create a financial model from the annual reports of a public company and explain the data in relation to the topic. Making the concept interesting to understand in relation to the real scenario.

Building resilience and not backing off, using critical thinking-objective and rational analysis-to illuminate wisest conclusions, effective listening and communicating are important. These skills are critical and they hold the highest power to influence and create long lasting impressions. Let it be a first job or getting into a B-school or leading a Fortune 500

Pedagogy

company, it all begins with effective listening and communicating. In order to develop all these skills we will have to prepare our learners for it.

A brain can process information swiftly and accurately when it is relevant and visually appealing. We all know our students’, they are a bunch of enthusiastic and curious sponges, when given the right key. Designing techniques which unlock creativity, spark innovation and decipher the real world challenges will make their journey meaningful. By making complex topics understandable, teaching fraternity could guide them towards higher-order thinking through simulation based approach.

One of the approaches to execute simulation based education in classrooms can be by having a ‘Documentary Day’ to watch a short documentary related to the topic; organize a discussion on current affairs; team activities to present the use of a concept being learnt; organize competitions; showcase videos and create some, if possible; conduct mock scenarios; discuss the problems and conduct what-if analysis; get them to meet an industry expert and many more. This simulation based approach is one of the best approaches I found so far to be working in my sessions; I would love to learn more.

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |29| July 22

Jobs

Of unemployment and unconventional jobs Lack of resources to teach new skills and inability to keep pace with technological advancements is affecting employability.

Shinjini Malik

T

he job market is interesting. The craze for government jobs is still high - for instance, 10 million people applied for 40,000 advertised jobs in Indian Railways and at the same time a whopping 42 startups entered the unicorn club in 2021. What does one make out of this extreme scenario?

India has the world’s youngest population with 65 per cent of its population below the age of 35 and a majority needs jobs.

There are jobs in certain sectors but most are unemployable. Speaking to Brainfeed, K Ramana, CTO, R Technologies says, “There is a huge demand for data analysts but there are hardly any people who can start working from day one. The industry is unable to fill vacancies.” The students in universities are still learning outdated concepts and the job market is abuzz with unconventional jobs that need logic, attitude and smartness. In short, skill matters and a large number of Indian universities are falling short of providing these skills.

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1 in 5 college graduates are unemployed India’s unemployment is at

7.83%

Haryana has the highest unemployment rate of

34.5%

Rajasthan

28.8%

Bihar

21.1%

Jammu & Kashmi

15.6%

Jobs

Machine Learning Engineer

jobs

Unconventional

Media Buyer Back End Developer Strategy Associate Data Science Specialist Recruitment Associate Social Engagement Officer Wellness Specialist

Lack of resources to teach new skills and inability to keep pace with technological advancements is affecting employability.

The gap between job seekers with traditional credentials is ever widening. However, there is a new trend of adaptability to digitization among youth, albeit slowly which is allowing job portals to look towards Tier II and III cities.

The job market is evolving with huge scope for unconventional jobs. There is a job for everyone, provided they equipped with the right skills.

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |31| July 22

Tech Buzz

No competition to human brain W

ill Artificial Intelligence overpower human brain? This is a question that is asked increasingly. Humans created machines through their intelligence to make people’s lives easier.

Still a lot of debate goes on over the future of Artificial Intelligence (AI) replacing the humans and their jobs.

Will really this be the case is the important question to analyse.

The industrial revolution has transformed the way humans work and role of machines in working spaces is increasing. There can be no competition to human brains because Homo sapiens are the only species on planet with understanding and critical thinking power.

There are two views; some swear that AI is the future and the other believe that no matter how advanced the machines, there is no match to human brains.

Do you still think artificial intelligence or machines can evoke emotions or feelings? Many of us would definitely say ‘No’. However, there are no definite answers to these questions as the quest is on to unravel the technological mysteries and myths. Humans can express, feel, emote

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and solve problems with their intelligence but these attributes are absent in the machines as machines operate through their mechanical brain and uses artificial intelligence to work.

Humans were the ones who infused life into the machines so that they run smoothly and effectively and make our lives comfortable. Humans have multifaceted calibre and prowess of mastering over a language, pattern identification, artistry and imagery which machines can never have. Moreover, both the entities should work coherently to ace the pace of world.

Limiting the consumption of technology Limiting the consumption of technology and usage of machines seems a cumbersome task, if one understands the purpose of technology in their lives and uses it wisely and appropriately without indulgence.

Technology has created new jobs but has also replaced human beings. Machines do play an important part in our daily lives but one should understand that there can be no competition between humans and machines because both have their purpose. We should try to not be slaves of machines rather its masters.

Learning

Questions matter

Asking the right question matters.

The value of a good question is even greater in the present times

T

here are several ways an educator can help learners and the most powerful way is by asking and facilitating questions. They form the core of any meaningful learning experience. Well-crafted questions lead to new insights, generate discussion, and promote the comprehensive exploration of subject matter. Many a time a simple question could lead to a fruitful discussion. On the other hand, poorly framed questions can mar a project.

Teachers usually ask lower order questions to begin with and as time passes they go on to bigger and intrusive questions gauging the mood and acceptability factor.

Whatever be the case, questions that promote deep thinking, requiring students to analyze and evaluate concepts will stand out.

Open-Ended There is no better way to move students beyond stating what they know than getting them to explain what they think. Such questions allow for the sharing of information such as feelings, supporting details, attitudes, and a deeper understanding of the concepts.

They require learners to rationalize and reason beyond figuring out the answer by formulating a stance or opinion.

Evidence-based These types of questions empower students to justify their responses through rebuttal. The teacher provides

both valid and invalid statements seeking responses that are supported with some sort of evidence. The use of evidence allows students to pull from prior learning while also enabling them to venture deeper into the content.

Probing Even if a student responds with a correct answer, this questioning technique fosters more critical thought through reasoning. All a teacher needs to do is simply ask “why?” or “how?” to have students probe their thinking a bit deeper.

Deep questions Questions should lead to more questions. It should compel one to think. Deep learning can be a reality, but we have to take a critical lens to the strategies that are being used. In most cases, issues tacked in daily life work.

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |33| July 22

Perspective

Schools need to nurture

data driven culture Every school leader should see “data” as an opportunity and build trust among teachers that using data is about improving student achievement and not about burdening teachers. They should encourage teachers and students to take ownership of data.

Francis joseph

MD, Crimson Education

Data analytical skills are fast emerging as a very critical skill that every school, teacher, and student should be equipped with

I

n this age of technology & blended learning, data or information is abundantly available. It is of limited value if not analysed for effective decision making.

Data is always a neutral party when it comes to decision making. If data is thoroughly analysed, it can reveal patterns and trends, especially relating to human behaviour and performance.

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Data is very important to analyse using technology; when it comes to decision making related to reforms and development. There are lots of critical data points which a school should capture and analyse right from the student assessment, demographics, health concerns (physical and emotional/mental), alumni placement, online reputation, resource usage, teacher observations, financial expenses, attendance, visitors to the school, fee collection, parent suggestions/concerns, student feedback, and so on.

All such data is manually collected as a routine, without deeply analyzing it. Most schools do not nurture a data-driven culture. They should use data to help make decisions about school policy, curriculum, and instruction. If decision-makers at the school pay close attention to numerical patterns to determine how well schools are doing and what they should be doing, they could recognize various issues such as changing demographics and can develop action plans to address them. Many schools still take decisions using ‘intuition’. They need to know that every school is as unique as every student, due to their local context and environment.

Perspective

capture behavioural patterns that help to effectively manage admissions, retention of teachers & students, satisfaction levels, improvement strategies, etc…

The biggest challenge is about schools finding time to collect and analyse data. They need to be trained to read the ‘data’ and further translate that into action leading to school improvement. It’s a completely unknown area and schools have a myth that one needs to make a lot of high technology investments in terms of tools and manpower capability. The CCE assessment introduced

by CBSE a few years back, aimed to capture precious data points about each student. But how many school leaders have actually analysed it over a period of time to develop a comprehensive student portfolio – not only academically but also as an individual child. The drawback of CCE was that the teachers were unable to analyse the voluminous data precisely.

The most critical data point is the assessment data which feeds into lots of patterns & trends that help a government and school to improve student teaching and learning. Teachers by using student assessment data could plan instruction and support continuous improvement. This shall also help them in their remedial teaching. The currently captured data points when compared to historical data will open a lot of insight into understanding the complete picture of where and how to move further as a school. The assessment data combined with other data points such as demographics, perceptions, etc gives a larger perspective of what’s happening and derives into what would happen.

For years parent-teacher meetings (PTM) have been the primary means of parent-teacher communication.

But now, schools are trying “student-led conferences” where students are trained to collect and analyse their assessment data. Students then meet their parents in the school to explain their performance and individual action plan to improve. This opens the line of communication with the parents and the students start taking accountability for their performance. This enables a shift in the role of a teacher, with the student now in control of his/her learning. Schools should also

Schools have not yet realised that the “change” has already begun. The government is actively capturing data at every stage in different forms such as a child tracking system known as SARAL (Systematic Administrative Reforms for Achieving Learning by Students), baseline tests, and U-DISE (Unified District Information System for Education) – an online database of schools maintained by the central government.

The National Education Policy highlights a lot on data governance.

In order to prepare schools for sustaining the needs of the future, our team at Crimson works with our schools in developing and implementing a data-driven culture among schools. It is not far when schools will no longer issue a school leaving certificate, as the data would flow online from one school to another. With the school accreditation expected to begin soon, schools will need to effectively use data in the development of school improvement plans. It will bring forth a holistic view of how a school and its entire ecosystem are performing at any given point of time.

Schools need to conduct training workshops on the data analytical tools and the various methodologies which enable them to make the best use of the data. I would also recommend teacher-education colleges to include data-analysis training focused on identifying data points, data collection, analysis & gathering resources to use the information to rethink their lesson plans.

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By Invite

Thumbs up for

GLEAM! The GLEAM model of learning through game of monopoly

The first element of GLEAM is Grade Level.

Imagine having your students play the game of Monopoly to learn core subjects. They start at a beginner's level to trade money, research the history of the streets mentioned and then move to advance levels of building their empires. They learn strategies and manoeuvres and along the way pick up a gamut of skills.

Now tweak the game to replace streets with structures and function of plants or studying enduring effects of inequality.

Kavita Sanghvi

Principal, SVKM's CNM School, Mumbai

E

Slowly and steadily, you have involved all levels of students irrespective of academic, social, racial and gender discrepancies and shared a common platform to increase levels of learning.

ducators often explore new pedagogies and strategies and one such learning model which supports equity and excellence is the ‘GLEAM’ model. The aim is to help bridge the gulf between educators and students.

The second element is engaging instruction where the educator is aware of the class dynamics and background of each student. He/ she is aware of the curriculum to be transacted and creates an environment where rigor is built into the standards.

To understand the elements of the model in our classroom transactions, the game of Monopoly is used. This game is world renowned wherein the player’s role is to remain financially solvent while forcing opponents into bankruptcy by buying and developing parcels of property.

Ex: In the game of Monopoly, the rules are the same for all. If you want to win, you move around using the same resources i.e. money, dice and board. Along the way, you will fall or rise or be even but every day, you will gain more experience and knowledge and improve

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |36| July 22

By Invite

your moves. If you have noticed, there is no focus on entertainment but focus on capitalizing resources to build student's intellectual capacity.

The third element is affirming instruction. The word affirmation means emotional support or encouragement. You have a range of students in your class and often one witnesses bias towards selected students may not be consciously but unconsciously.

In Monopoly, do we let students leave the game midway? Don't we ask them to complete the game?

Don't we push them to try and succeed? Don't we applaud their wins and console them on their losses? It might sound easy in a game but the classroom practices could be easily replicate this. Teachers are super heroes and they have already proven that countless times.

The fourth element is meaningful. If the knowledge gained within the classroom has no connection to the world outside, then it is mere information. This information is meaningless so ensure that every concept within the classroom is interlinked and interdisciplinary for the whole picture to come to light.

Ex: In the game of Monopoly, the money you use to either rent a property or buy a property has implications in the real world. You also learn that if you travelled the board and lost your money, you are bankrupt and the same theory works in real life. If you keep spending but not earning, guess what?

Ever considered how these games were not designed for fun but also shared lessons for life. Monopoly brings the GLEAM Model of learning to life.

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |37| July 22

Catch em’ Young

Nurture Early Childhood Educatiton

Shubhra Johri Sinha

Head of School, EkyaByrathi

E

arly Childhood is the most critical part of education and creating a conducive environment is important. As per The World Bank Group, the world is facing a learning crisis: an estimated 53 per cent of 10-year-old children living in low- and middleincome countries are unable to read and understand a short text. The right learning environment permits kids to collaborate with their educators, companions and environments in a way that helps them to learn and better understand the world.

ECE states that advance early learning permits kids to circle, investigate and control their environmental elements. Beyond physical infrastructure, other aspects of program structure, such as duration and intensity, ratio and group sizes, influence ECE quality and impact young children’s learning.

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Five Key Principles for Quality Learning Environments Overall safety: Children and teacher’s safety must come first. Water, sanitation and hygiene practices (such as appropriate hand washing and waste disposal) are vital components of safety to ensure children’s health. Low air quality and high noise levels have a direct negative impact on learning and spaces with no ventilation which further impact children’s learning.

Pedagogical organization: Investing in Quality Early Childhood Education is Key to tackling learning poverty. Early Childhood Education environments should motivate teaching and learning.

Collaborative experiences like group discussions, extempore, group games, etc that emerge within the learning centres are consistently associated with positive learning.

Catch em’ Young

to support their learning projects, allows them to find their voice and shared meaning as well as a sense of belonging and ownership.

Spatial flexibility: Flexibility means being able to use space in many ways for diverse and stimulating activities. Flexible spaces can encourage more effective teaching, teamwork and planning among educators, and also develop more self-reliance among children to show initiative and collaboration.

Empowerment: Empowering environments are not finished spaces.

Giving children, teachers and families opportunities to organize and personalize space, furniture and materials

Child-centered design: Early Children Education learning environments should be child-centered in design. They should be catchable, climbable and conquerable. This includes placing objects at eye level and in easy reach or finding appropriately sized chairs and tables. Adult-child ratios and class sizes should allow personalized and playful interactions to promote early learning. When groups are smaller, and staff-child ratios are low, high-quality pedagogical practices may significantly impact children by providing more frequent interactions and sustained shared thinking.

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Spotlight

SRCPS With a multitude of activities and structured programs, SR Capital Public School is providing holistic education

"E

ducation is the manifestation of perfection already in man," said Swami Vivekananda.

SR Capital Public School's (SRCPSs), Naveen Shahdara from Delhi, strongly believes in what Swamy said. The school teaches students to believe in themselves as each one of them is bestowed with a unique talent.

The emphasis is on all-round development of students which includes physical, mental, intellectual, spiritual, social, emotional, and creative evolution of children.

There is also stress on inculcating family values and making them 'Atma Nirbhar' (independent). The school believes that it is its duty to instill good human values which will contribute to usher a peaceful and harmonious world. In order to accomplish these objectives, SRCPS organises various activities throughout the year.

On the auspicious occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, SRCPS launched the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Campaign, a 21 day program, which was held in three phases. In the first week, the students were taught to prepare items like paper bags, envelopes, idols, items for home decoration, pots, etc. In the second week, the students were taught photo and video making of the ready products keeping in mind the growing trend of online shopping. They also learnt the packaging of products to make them look more attractive in order to raise their demand in the market. In the third week, students learnt to develop websites and mobile applications. The students

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |40| July 22

a class apart showcased and sold their products on online platforms.

SRCPS is celebrating Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav by conducting activities and displaying the glorious journey of Independent India in the past 75 years through an exhibition In order to inculcate family values the school never misses to celebrate the precious relations gifted by God like Mother's Day, Father's Day, Grandparents’ Day and the list is long. International Mother Earth Day, Environment Day, International Day of Yoga are also observed with much fanfare. Students also learn to value and conserve the natural resources and know about ancient Indian culture and its rich heritage.

Opportunities of candid conversations to improve communication skills through Inter-House competitions like Radio Talk Show and Live News Reporting go a long way.

SRCPS students have been invited twice as guest speakers by NIOS (National institute of open schooling) for live interviews. “We are so honoured to publish that SR Capital Public supports the United Nations Global Compact to achieve SDGs by 2030. We are also promoting SDGs in the community around us. We are also associated with NISA (National Independent School Alliance), Shiksha Sanskriti Uthan Nyas, Centre For Civil Society, Hema Foundation Participation in Generation Global events and many more organisations seeking guidance to excel and be a change maker in the field of education,” said Dr Lakshya Chhabaria, Director, SR Capital Public School.

Even after showing the winning spirit to come out of the challenging times of past years it has been enhancing the educational legacies of forefathers, contemporary leaders and educators down the ages.

Spotlight

What makes SR Capital Public School different?

We focus on the 'all-round' development of the child. There is a sincere effort to provide affordable fee without compromising on quality. We introduced yoga, motivational classes, robotics, swimming and much more.

What are the efforts to implement the NEP 2020 guidelines?

A lot of initiatives are introduced for instance, art-integration workshops and introduced multiple languages such as German, Spanish from Class 6 onwards.

We focus on allround development of the child Dr Lakshya Chhabaria

Director SR Capital Public School, Delhi

There is a lot of talk of self-reliance and schools are mandated to make students ready with life skills. Is SRCPS working towards this?

The school launched Atma Nirbhar Bharat campaign under which students were taught the making of idols, paper bags, herbal colours, envelopes. A spirit of nationalism is being fostered which is one of the main objectives of NEP 2020.

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Parenting

No parenthesis in

parent-teacher relationship

Communication can go a long way in building a healthy relationship

Shinjini Malik

E

ffective communication helps build a proper relationship between parents and teachers. Just as a wrong prescription by a doctor can lead to problems, gaps in communication between parents and teachers can mar the progress of the student.

In order for parents to know child’s classroom activities, a feedback to the parents in a structured and organized way helps.

Here are some ways in which parents and teachers can develop a reliable relationship.

Bi-Annual open houses It allows parents and teachers to develop an understanding of their child’s behavior in a classroom setup and the classroom environment.

Parent-Teacher Meetings Parent teacher meetings are a great way to

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communicate with the teachers one on one and face to face. Teachers can provide really good insight into the students’ progress and mindset which may be crucial to understand the path children undertake to attain success.

Association Groups Here parents are associated with a larger community which have common goals and interests. They participate to enhance their children’s mental and social wellness by making a conducive environment so that their children perform their best.

Phone Calls/Emails Phone calls or emails can be exchanged between teachers and parents to update them about the child’s activities and changes that take shape. Emails and phone calls should only be made when there is a positive aspect to reflect on and not for the purpose of making negative comments on the student’s performance.

Parenting

Digital Communication Today digital communication tools like ‘Unified Classroom Behaviour Support’ are also available where teachers can make the best use of technology in educational spaces.

Family portals Parents can be provided with student reports live.

Information can be exchanged via mobile phones or computers.

Social media page By doing this, teachers can retain the interest of the parents in their children’s day to day activities and expect enthusiasm and engagement.

Behaviour reports Each and every faculty member dealing with several aspects of a child’s development can pitch in their observations which maybe very valuable in the student’s overall development.

Agendas Agenda’s can be circulated by teachers to keep the parents updated about the content and purpose of every activity that takes place in the classroom and how it benefits the students.

Developing a website for the classroom Information about home works, projects, assignments, upcoming tests can all be made available for both parents and students on this classroom website for the best reasons.

Podcasts This can be shared to inform parents the topics of debates and other activities that the student’s participate in along with updating the scores, winners and a commentary of the events. This can also be a fun way of engaging parents and informing parent’s about the overall development of the student.

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Management

Tips to create a

positive school culture A

good administration is the key to run a successful organization. All stake holders- students, parents, teachers and non-teaching staff want to be a part of a system that manages conflicts in an organized way. Hence, in order to have a peaceful working organization, it is a must that all parts of the system communicate. This makes children feel safe and is crucial for success.

A positive school climate enforces equity, diversity and the inclusion of interests of the staff and students. These impact the students positively and improve productivity throughout the day.

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School leaders are expected to create robust data systems.

Beneficial tips for maintaining a positive school culture:

Management

Making the family a part of the classroom This makes them contribute heavily and help uphold the decorum set by the people and the management.

Involving students By making them a part of this process, you make the workspace more efficient as children propound peace, decorum, equity, equality more than anybody else. By stimulating their judgment, you make them proponents of a positive and healthy school environment.

Collecting data to set a goal You can focus on behavior and teaching practices.

With the result of this data, you can plan the next steps.

Capturing the interest of the staff By making them a part of the classroom, you can create a common vision where everybody contributes equally to make it a success.

Setting the bar By making it clear to students, staff and parents that nothing but a positive culture will be tolerated, you set a straight message that in order to be a part of the organization, people will have to ensure that they only give their best. It should also be made clear that negative behavior will attract consequences. It is also suggested that the administration collects data on the behavioral front and uses the data for implementing strict protocols for staff, parents and students.

Parent-teacher relationships are crucial and helps to bridge any gap. This relationship has to be nurtured and it takes effort from both sides. With help of technology, it has become easy to keep in touch but PTMs too cannot be done away in totality.

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Perspective

Dr. Sridhar & Lalit Sridhar

A look at post-Covid education

Founders of Deeksha

C

ovid 19 pandemic proved to be a watershed event that introduced sudden dynamism in educational systems, and accelerated, if not caused the infusion of technology on an unprecedented scale.

Its role in sharpening the gradient of change cannot be disputed, however, whether these contingencyinduced changes will endure and be co-opted in the conventional education systems will depend on a host of factors.

The changes in education that we attribute to the Covid 19 pandemic are still actively unfolding. The new practices are being tried and tested across

The areas which saw the pandemic set the ball rolling in terms of scalable changes are the following:

Mainstreaming Ed-tech Although Ed-tech is a particular case of technology infusion in education, it ought to be considered separately as it has implications on curricular design.

Technology in education delivery The most obvious category that took place due to the demand placed on the education system by Covid is the use of technology. Initially, it was limited to education delivery hence the sharp rise of ed-tech and mainstreaming of virtual and distant education but as their viability and scalability became clearer, it began to be seen as solutions supplemental to school education.

Curriculum designs will aim to become personalized and more practice-oriented, and the continuation of the hybrid model of education is just the beginning.

The EdTech industry will see a new transformation in the coming years. The institutions such as Deeksha that had a fair grounding in the technology prior to Covid were able to adapt well to the mandate of tech-assisted learning.

Given the new found acceptance that the virtual learning media has, we will certainly see the rise of blended and hybrid learning like flipped classrooms in the K-12 domain. However, the students beyond class 10 will see the shifts more palpably than the ones in the junior classes.

EdTech saw the major adoption of online self-based curriculums and online class management. The edtech platforms could bring sustained changes if their features are informed by research. Ed-tech has some promising features like enhanced student engagement and personalised learning. They can also help the

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Perspective

We will hopefully see generalized upgradation of school infrastructure, curricula, and digital access. In short, institutional changes which were long overdue will now effect as they have been instigated by Covid.

Mandated adaptations for success in competitive exams On a national scale, there was a lag in our adaptation to the online mode, and the resultant academic loss was mitigated by the curtailment of syllabi. And then there was the widespread cancellation of exams that further slackened the academic rigour and created a learning gap that will express itself in various ways if it remains unaddressed.

For instance, the children who were in high school during the pandemic may find it a little hard to navigate the extremely competitive scenarios like JEE and NEET. It is therefore critically important to mitigate the academic loss and ready the children for competitive curricular demands. teaching-learning process by economizing time through automated grading.

Another reason for the proliferation of ed-tech is that it has a set of extracurricular divers like Coding etc. that allow students to develop analytical skills.

Implications for Teacher-Pupil relationship The pandemic, not-so-subtly, changed the contours of communication and the imposition of remoteness had a kind of paradoxical effect. It ended upvalidating the indispensability of the teacher-student bond, teaching-learning from close quarters, and interactive pedagogical exchanges that are not necessarily mediated by technology. The role of the human element in education has become more salient and so have psychosocial aspects of education. The bearing of these elements on the overall wellness of children could intervene in a major way in the evolution of the learning solutions from here on.

Policy level changes The pandemic ignited the light on disparity in the level of educational opportunities. There are policy changes being proposed that will have a bearing on the institution of education globally.

The UNESCO’s International Commission of Future of Education and National Education Policy 2020 have proposed measures to counteract the setbacks in terms of education. They range from improving the access, new teacher training curricula, and attention to psychosocial elements of education to substantially improving the learning outcomes through targeted interventions.

Owing to the digital divide, millions of children have borne disproportionate academic loss during the pandemic. To contain this academic marginalization, large-scale intervention and periodic assessments of scholastic development on the lines of ASER will hopefully be introduced.

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |47| July 22

Update

MoE calls for

suggestions to national curriculum framework

T

he Ministry of Education has called for suggestions and launched an online public survey to revise the National Curriculum Framework. Based on the suggestions the new school text books will be drafted and will go for publication. The ministry declared that people willing to provide suggestions for the curriculum can do so through the official portal ncfsurvey.ncert.gov. in.

The survey asks participants to answer questions on issues such as "enjoyable learning" and how current curriculum deficiencies can be addressed. As part of the survey, participants can also submit a small write up on ways to make “school education more relevant, effective, and meaningful for learners.”

The NCF is a guideline that educators need to keep in mind while formulating the syllabus. The NCF has had four revisions so far, since the time of Independence.

The current board that is spearheading the policies and decisions taken, and making the final draft of the curriculum consists of a 12 member team, led by the former chairman of ISRO, Dr. K Kasturirangan. The deadline for this project is December 2022. The revised and updated NCF will be the backbone for the next NCERT books.

“All stakeholders including teachers, headmasters/ principals, school leaders, educationists, parents, students, community members, NGOs, experts, public representatives, artists, artisans, farmers and anybody who has an interest in school education and teacher education are invited to participate in this online survey being conducted in 23 languages, including the languages placed in the VIIIth Schedule of our Constitution,” a statement stated.

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The online survey asks participants to answer questions on issues such as enjoyable learning.

This survey requires interviewees to answer 10 MCQ questions

Participants can also submit a small write up on ways to make school education more relevant, effective, and meaningful for learners.

The deadline for this project is December 2022.

This survey requires interviewees to answer 10 MCQ questions like “primary issues regarding curriculum content in textbooks that a new curriculum framework must address” and “best ways to ensure that learning in classrooms is made more enjoyable” etc. Participants are also encouraged to submit small articles on topics like “ways to make school education more relevant, effective, and meaningful for learners.”

Teacher Shortage

Retaining teachers

is no Child’s play

E

veryone says teaching is no child’s play but retaining teachers too isn’t. Gone are the days when a teacher served in the same school for decades. Teacher retention accentuated after the pandemic as their morale took a beating due to increased pressure to teach through the online mode and still be effective.

Remuneration is definitely on top of the priority list but along with it, opportunities that make them feel respected work wonders. In the present times, teachers’ workload has increased multi-fold. Increased prep workload and teaching multiple subjects is an issue that needs to be looked at.

Virtual teaching has made inroads not without problems. It requires aide in the classroom which is not cost-effective. Virtual teaching has a huge benefit of reaching out to a diverse set of students across geographies and it can, to a great extent, help tackle the problem of teacher shortage.

A most important aspect is creating a positive environment and the role of the Principal is vital.

If getting good teachers is a task, keeping them interested and connected to the school is as important. Like students, teachers too have their own likes, dislikes, and way of completing tasks. Mutual respect and a sense of belongingness need to be nurtured.

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The best way to retain teachers is to pay them well and give respect. A majority of teachers feel they are not respected enough.

Surbhi Arora

Sr. Director 98th Percentile

Teacher Shortage

According to a recent UNESCO report, there is a shortage of one million teachers in schools.

Inculcate a sense of belonging and make them feel as part of the family and most importantly, include them in the larger goal of the institution.

About 30 per cent of the current teaching workforce will need to be replaced.

Around 1.1 lakh schools in India are single-teacher entities.

Anuradha Krishnan

Head of School, Ebenezer International School Bengaluru

A total of 19%, or 11.16 lakh teaching positions in schools, lie vacant in the country. In rural areas, the number is as high as 69%.

The teaching profession is gender-balanced, with women accounting for about 50 per cent of the teaching workforce.

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |51| July 22

Update

Music helps

children grow smarter: MIT

P

arents today enroll their kids in a number of activities, from horse riding, to swimming, dance and abacus to name a few. The latest is learning coding. However, according to the latest study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) teaching music in the formative years does wonders.

According to the researches, the study states that learning music makes the brain more functional and connected at the same time. This makes the brain neurologically superior than people who haven’t indulged in music during their formative years.

“This study, among other studies, demonstrates how the human brain is shaped by experience,” states Lutz Jäncke. It was found in the study that brains that were accustomed to music created more structural and functional pathways and connections than those whose brains were not.

In fact the emerging studies suggest that Chess,

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Golf and Ballet help the brain establish similar connections.

“The findings matter for any kind of expertise in all areas where one can improve through intensive, long-time training” stated Simon Leipold.

In this study, the researchers scanned the brains of 103 professional musicians and 50 nonmusicians and on comparison, it was found that all the musicians had similar networks.

Update

In a recent study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a sample of 103 musicians and 50 non-musicians, it was found that learning music makes the brain more functional and connected

The brains scans of the professional musicians also showed greater structural and functional pathways and connections especially the lobes associated with speech and sound. The other factor that contributed in the development of better structural and functional networks was how early the child was introduced to music.

“The earlier the musicians had started with musical practice, the stronger the connectivity,” Jäncke stated.

Hence the conclusion the researchers came to was that indoctrination to music helped humans establish structural functional connections and neural pathways in the brain especially the areas associated with speech and sound, which made the child sharper and smarter.

“If someone told me then about the possibility of changing the wiring of my brain, I might have spent more time practicing the piano and less time on the soccer field,” stated Leipold.

Hence music is highly recommended for parents who want the best for their wards.

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Pedagogy

significance of events and the nature of evidence, wrestle with the issues of historical agency, and cultivate and use thoughtful, context-sensitive imagination to fill in gaps in the evidence chain when they appear.

The sooner the students adopt investigative roles, obtaining and scouring evidence (much of it obtained off the Internet from rich archival sources now online); reading, analyzing, and corroborating that evidence; addressing perspective in accounts; dealing with questions of agency and significance; and building their own interpretations of events as they addressed the questions posed.

Monica Chawla

Principal, St Joseph’s Sr Sec School, Chandigarh

T

he learning of history is a complex undertaking.

Cognitive research done since 1980, however, demonstrates that learning history-the repeated study of narratives, domain-specific acquisition strategies followed by application. Majorly the domainspecific strategy engages the learner into the process of exploring, interpreting the past as historical thinking.

A tentative pedagogical proposition from the current corpus would be: First, learners construct deeper historical understandings when they have opportunities to consciously use their prior knowledge and assumptions about the past (regardless of how limited or naive) to investigate the past in depth.

Second, as learners explore the past, attention must be paid not only to the products of historical investigation, but to the investigative process itself.

Third, developing historical thinking and understanding necessitates opportunities for learners to work with various forms of evidence, deal with issues of interpretation, ask and address questions about the

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |54| July 22

Innovative methods : To understand the past, learners require to interpret the complex events through the reading of the manuscripts so following of the methods can be used for the same: Living Museum-It is a strategy for making history come alive through visits to museums and interaction with primary sources and artefacts. In this teachers plan an effective educational experience at the museums. Previsit, during-visit, and post visit activities and advice for how to develop own activities can be given.

Info graphics- Latest strategy to help the student exhibit their understanding of a subject in different ways. It helps the student in responding creatively by shifting their perspectives. It is actually a great time saver practice as visual aids, particularly the infographic templates grant a a great opportunity to learn something new!

Flashcards-Flashcards are small note cards used for testing and improving memory through practiced information retrieval. They are typically two-sided, with the prompt on one side and the information about the prompt on the other. This may include names, vocabulary, concepts, or procedures.

Virtual Trips- Virtual field trips offer digital explorations of our world through images, videos, audio clips, animations and sounds. So, this innovative technique gives next to real situations to the learners.

Contour painting on eminent personalitiesDeliberation sessions on ‘If I were…..’- Creative thinking

Pedagogy

and fictional writing have yet bean other charming learning processes. The creative writing gives wings to the learner to recall, restate with contrast and comparison to the historical happening Bookmarker based timeline: Students can be asked to prepare bookmarkers on challenging topics and use them regularly to have a bird’s eye view of the same.

Illustrated posters: An effective way to focus and stay engaged in a particular area. They are convenient both for children and parents/teachers, as they help them to absorb the information at a faster pace.

Preparing Test Items from text by students: An intelligent move used by facilitators to gauge the understanding of the lesson by the students. This practice gives freedom to the student’s to step up in

learning-understanding and executing the task. As they adorn the role of a teacher they critically analyse their learning and put it into use.

CCT Worksheets: Whenever the facilitator tries to push the learner beyond the application level on Bloom’s Taxonomy, it becomes evident that the teacher needs to scaffold with the help of Creative Crtitical teaching.

So ‘Higher Order Thinking skills’ worksheets can be prepared of the taught topic .

Note Making: Notes generally work as a trigger to our memory, so they are primarily given and taken in the manner that it supports learning. Through the notes the learner if able, reviews, connects and synthesises ideas from the lectures or readings. Making notes helps one to stay active and engaged during lectures, readings and revisions.

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |55| July 22

Career

Forestry

is a viable career option Dr. Mukesh Kwatra Founder, Smiling Tree

F

orestry is a rewarding career, especially for those who have a passion for nature. Be it a student seeking a good career choice or anyone looking for meaningful work, forestry is an excellent option.

It's a field not only exceedingly in demand which is further expected to rise, but also immensely beneficial for mental and physical health. The forestry sector provides various environmental goods, building materials, medicines, food, fuel, and so much more for various sectors in the market. Forestry and logging that contributed Indian rupees 1.96 trillion in FY2019 is a contributor of 1.7 per cent to the country's GDP. Endless career opportunities A forestry degree provides one with many career opportunities, be it land conservation specialist who is a technical expert providing conservation assistance to agricultural and private landowners, an environmental biologist who monitors environmental conditions and conducts on site research to develop a strategy for wildlife management.

A consulting forester who represents landowners in all forestry matters, seedling to harvest, sale negotiation, contract preparation and enforcement. The consulting forester can improve the quality of the forest, increase production and skillfully balance the management of water, wildlife, ecosystem services.

Learn new skills Forestry essentially helps in enhancing, managing, and conserving forests. The natural disasters such as wildfires, etc, in forests areas are on the rise. Besides

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |56| July 22

due to increasing development of forests and land use conversion, one is required to learn various skills like knowledge about the species of wildlife, trees and their habitat. A career in forestry makes one gain practical knowledge in soil health, hydrology, ecosystems management, agriculture, wildlife preservation, and the timber supply chain and many more.

Emerging field The forest industry is projected to grow 5% from 2019 to 2029, faster than the average for all occupations, particularly in the area of wildfire management, which includes wildfire prevention, mitigation, and suppression.

Improves mental health It is proven by many studies that spending time outdoors amidst nature with trees and greenery helps reduce stress, anxiety and improves mental health. The positive and calm atmosphere cools the mind from daily hassles and boosts the mood of an individual explicitly.

Save forests for the future Scientists and environmentalists have been debating and explaining how trees and forests play an important role and how its degradation rapidly increases the climate change. Forests and trees play a major role as human life depends on it explicitly for absorption of carbon dioxide, need of oxygen, water, vegetables, fruits, nuts, raw materials like timber, etc. As of 2021, India has a total of 24.62% of geographical area of forests and tree cover. Pursuing a career in forestry is a really prestigious job as you are not only protecting the biodiversity but also providing food security for the future generations.

Update

Hybrid education relevant say parents

In a latest survey it was found that parents valued hybrid education Shinjini Malik

A

ccording to a survey report by ‘Instructure’, a company dealing with education technology and ‘Hanover Research’, stake holders have given thumbs up for hybrid learning. Even though parents and education stalwarts feel teachers play an important role in the academic progress and engagement of students in academic stuff, both the parties agreed that hybrid learning empowered by EdTechs, hold immense value especially with regards to ‘individualized training’.

Parents and educators feel high quality instructions are an important factor in determining the success of students. According to them, modern education technology has created a safe space for personalized learning and has created budding opportunities, which allow students to work at their own pace both on campus and the online mode.

The survey uncovered the fact that 58 per cent educators feel better about online learning post Covid.

The survey uncovered the fact that 58 per cent educators feel better about online learning post Covid. This change in attitude is due to the fact that online learning today is being used as a supplement for ‘in-person instruction’, rather than just being the alternative to offline education.

The other discovery made by educators was the fact that students and parents were interested in balancing the exposure of students to the screens (62 %), overuse of technology (48 %), and various other distractions (45 %). Only 28 per cent parents complained about the exposure of students to screens in a classroom. The survey consisted of 1,370 parents of children admitted to k-12 schools, administrators and teachers.

www.brainfeedmagazine.com |57| July 22

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