The monthly newsletter
Issue 90 | February 2013 | www.ei-india.com
This Month’s Issue Enhancing Emotional ...... 01 The Value of Sports ......... 02 MHTP ............................. 03 I Rise Everyday ............... 04 Thoughtful Story ............ 05 Why Spend Time ............. 06 Teacher’s Bite ................. 07 Interesting Facts ............. 08
Learning a New Language Bilingualism in childhood can significantly influence the course and efficiency of children’s cognitive development and is a crucial concern in today’s society. Research has shown that bilingualism does not trigger confusion; has no inherent negative impact on children’s development; and even has some sociocognitive advantages. Bilingual children not only understand others’ beliefs and communication needs but also solve problems, with two possible interpretations of the same stimulus at once. They also achieve higher scores than monolingual children on a number of cognitive ability tests, including mental flexibility and non-verbal problemsolving tasks. Bilingual Kids Don't Have to Reinvent the Alphabet The potential for the transfer of reading principles across languages is noticeable when bilingual children use the methods and insights they've built up in one language and apply them to advance much more rapidly in another language. They don't have to relearn the concept of an alphabet in English if they've learnt it already in French. Learning a New Language Teaches
you More about Your Own A child setting out to learn a new language learns how languages work. The knowledge of English grammar is
commonly solidified by learning a foreign language. These insightful discoveries happen as a child's speech and thoughts evolve from simple expressions of needs to dramatic narrations of events, overflowing with new and descriptive vocabulary. Second-language learners take a long time to develop their second-language oral proficiency. Even after five to six years in a second-language environment, children may not speak as fluently as their monolingual peers. In the early stages of the acquisition of a second language, children learning two languages may show some developmental lags relative to children speaking only one. However,
these lags are typically small and don’t last for long periods of time. In terms of general language proficiency, bilingual children tend to have a smaller vocabulary in each language than monolingual children. Nonetheless, their understanding of linguistic structure is at least as good as and often better than that of comparable monolinguals. The ability to break words into their components, synthesize their sounds and learn their features, and to some extent verbal working memory are some of the issues in reading development and reading difficulties in monolingual children. These processing skills measured in monolingual and secondlanguage children often correlate with each other. Second-language learners with decoding and spelling problems in their first language have difficulties in their second language as well. Finally, second-language learners with serious problems in word-based reading skills and the cognitive processes necessary to develop good wordbased skills in the second language also have poor reading fluency, reading comprehension and writing skills.
Events Assembly Talk Competition Every year we have a wonderful competition named "The Assembly Talk Competition”. In this competition, each class speaks and shares thoughts about various topics and a few ask questions. All the classes compete to be the best class of the assembly talk. Some of the students make charts and demonstrate their ideas by reading them out , some form questions and pose them to their audience, some of them read out news items, some form groups and speak, some play music, some draw and some of them sing songs. We all enjoy this competition and eagerly wait for our turn. This competition helps us to: speak fluently, improve our skills, talk without stage fear and boosts our general knowledge skills. We all love it and wish to have it till we pass out of school. Ankith N, Class 6, The East-West School, Bangalore
Retirement Ceremony Our school respects all people, irrespective of their social status. Balaswamy Sir, a member of the support staff retired on 31 December, 2012. The school staff arranged a retirement ceremony for him in the school. The event started with welcoming Balaswamy Sir to the school and reading out the ‘Prashansa Patra’ by Lailaja Ma’am. It was followed by a sweet song by Kedarnath Sir. Later, a speech was given by Prasanna Sir about his journey in school. Then Balaswamy Sir gave a speech thanking Ma’am and support the staff. In order to have fun and joy, in the grand ceremony, this was followed by games like ‘Tambola’ and ‘Lucky Dip’. Lunch was served to everyone and this ended the beautiful programme merrily. Happy Retirement Balaswamy Sir! ASSET AMBASSADORS, Sanghamitra School, Hydrabad
Felicitation Mr. L. Krishnamurthy, Principal of MEC Public school ICSE was recently conferred with the International Achievers’ Award for Education Excellence. This award was given on the occasion of the 3rd International Achievers’ Summit on “Global Business Opportunities” held on 28th December, 2012 at Bangkok, Thailand. This award has been acknowledged as one of the absolute best in the category of “International Achievers Award for Education Excellence” for the Year 2012. The award has been awarded by H.E. Mr. Korn Dabbaransi, Former Dy. Prime Minister of Thailand. This Award was given in recognition of Mr. L. Krishnamurthy’s distinguished services in the field of quality professional education.. Sri L. Krishnamurthy says that “I wish to nurture the talent of the students at the school, by providing them with facilities which include the best teaching staff and world class equipments for them to carve their future.”
EI congratulates Mr. L Krishnamurthy for this achievement.
Thoughtful Story The 3 Hairs There once was a woman who woke up one morning, looked in the mirror, and noticed she had only three hairs on her head. "Well," she said, "I think I'll braid my hair today." So she did and she had a wonderful day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and saw that she had only two hairs on her head. "Hmmm..," she said, "I think I'll part my hair down the middle today." So she did and she had a grand day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that she had only one hair on her head. "Well," she said,
"Today I'm going to wear my hair in a pony tail." So she did, and she had a fun, fun day. The next day she woke up, looked in the mirror and noticed that there wasn't a single hair on her head. "YAY!" she exclaimed. "I don't have to fix my hair today!" Attitude is everything. Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle. Live simply, Love generously, Care deeply, Speak kindly. Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass... It's about learning to dance in the rain.
News Bite 99% Fail Test for School Teachers In an alarming indictment of the quality of training given to prospective school teachers, over 99% aspirants failed to clear the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) 2012. The results of the competency test conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), declared on December 27, 2012, showed that less than 1% of the 7.95 lakh who appeared managed to clear the exam. In fact, since the exam was introduced in 2011, the pass percentage has been consistently declining. Educationists described the situation as alarming and "a wake up call for the quality of BEd degree being granted in the country." The CTET was introduced in 2011 by the human resource development ministry to improve the quality of teaching in schools after the enactment of the Right to Education Act. CTET certification has been made mandatory to become a teacher for classes I to VIII in any central government school, while CBSE-affiliated schools can either recruit teachers based on CTET or the respective test conducted by states. In fact, the Delhi government too decided to adopt CTET for the recruitment of teachers for government-run and aided
schools. All CTET applicants need to be BEd graduates. About 9.40 lakh aspirants registered for the test, conducted in November 2012. Some 7.96 lakh finally appeared for the test, of which only 4,849 managed to clear either Paper I or II or both. Clearing Paper I is mandatory for those wishing to teach classes I to V while Paper 2 is for those wishing to teach classes VI to VIII. Aspirants who wish to get certified for classes I to VIII need to clear both the papers.
Pakistani Education Activist Malala Wins International Peace Award Pakistani teenage woman education activist Malala Yousafzai has been awarded the 2012 Tipperary International Peace Award from Ireland. Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban, was awarded for her courage and determination to speak out in support of equal access to education for children. Malala was one of five nominees, including U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton, President of Indian National Congress Sonia Gandhi, former Kenyan journalist John Githongo and Pax Christi International, the Catholic human rights and peace organization, the Dawn reports.
Meanwhile, the 15-yearold activist is recovering at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, where she was brought from Pakistan on October 15. The teenager was shot while she was on her school bus in northwestern Swat in October by Pakistani Taliban gunmen for promoting girls' education and speaking against the militant group.
Mindspark is an adaptive learning solution that helps: 1.
Students learn Maths and language by employing a constructivist theory of learning by answering questions that are appropriate to their current understanding.
2.
Remediates misconceptions identified through 10 years of ASSET tests with more than 2 million data points.
3.
Supports teachers in schools to teach to where the need is as opposed to a regular rehearsal based on his/her own intuition on what kids don’t know.
Locations
Mindspark Evolution
EXPECTED
2009 2010
2011
2012
2013
Number of students
Number of schools
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Number of schools
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Number of students
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2009
2010
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in other Languages
Mindspark Gujarati
In 2011, EI started a new product called, Mindspark Gujarati to teach Maths and Gujarati language in some government schools of Gujarat. The project is sponsored by the Torrent Group. The aim of this Program is to obtain visible and measurable improvement in students of classes 3-8 over a period of 5 years. Children are taught Maths and various skills like Reading Comprehension, Grammar, Spelling, Vocabulary, Syntax, Logical Reasoning etc. through Mindspark. Mindspark Hindi
EI is expanding its focus to marginalised communities by piloting Mindspark Learning Centres in slum neighbourhoods in Delhi. Mindspark is provided in Hindi and implemented in dedicated learning centres located in vulnerable communities. In addition to Mindspark, students also benefit from small group instructions designed to bring them up to grade-level learning at these centres. Two pilot Mindspark Learning Centres have been operational at Govindpuri and Chattarpur in Delhi, since July 2012 in partnership with the Central Square Foundation. Each child spends three hours a week at the Mindspark Centre. Half this time is spent on Math and the other half on literacy. For Math, 75% of the child's time is spent on Mindspark software that pitches learning at the level of the particular child. The remaining 25% time is spent on focused remedial instruction. For Language, the breakup is 50% computer-time and 50% small group instruction.
For more information on Mindspark visit www.mindspark.in or write to us at mindspark@ei-india.com
Learning to Communicate Linda Thornton and Pat Brunton explore ways to use the children’s curiosity about their world to become selfmotivated, independent learners. Opportunities for Communication For children, learning to communicate is a very significant step towards independence and self-reliance. Young children have a naturally investigative style of learning and an equally natural urge to communicate their discoveries. By communicating their ideas, children are able to demonstrate their curiosity and express their creativity. The science and technology aspects of Knowledge and Understanding of the World provide an ideal opportunity to help children develop communication skills starting from their own ideas about their world and how it works. Communicating through Science Although our image of science may be about ‘doing’ things, in fact it is far more about communicating theories, both to ourselves and to others. This becomes clear when we look at the processes of science which involve: • observing • raising questions • hypothesising • predicting • planning and carrying out an investigation • interpreting results • sharing findings. A wide range of oral communication skills can be developed through scientific exploration. Children will have opportunities to experiment with language and practice the skills of explaining, questioning, hypothesizing and predicting. They will be keen to find ways to influence others and persuade them to accept the ‘correctness’ of their findings. All scientists need the acknowledgement of others to confirm whether what they have discovered is ‘true for the time being’. Scientific discovery, from the Nobel Prize winner to the toddler investigating jelly, needs to be shared with others in order to be validated. Communicating through Design Technology Design technology is all about communicating ideas. The process of design technology involves: • identifying a need or problem • proposing a solution • realising a design (making something) • evaluation and testing of the design. As it is often a cooperative activity involving more than one child, a design technology activity can help children to see how individual decisions contribute to a larger group project. They will begin to appreciate the value of clear and accurate explanations, and learn to appreciate feedback from their group. There will be many opportunities to use ‘specialist’
vocabulary and communicate through oral, graphic and mathematical representations. Languages for Communication Scientific and technological ideas can be communicated through speaking, drawing, writing, constructing, music and dance, each of which will be of value in different situations. In every group of children there will be ‘experts’ – children who are fascinated by machines, by construction, by the planets, by plants and animals – with knowledge, skills and experience to communicate. Creating opportunities for ideas to be shared will help children develop the skills to communicate scientific ideas effectively. This will help them to learn how to: • express their ideas clearly • take turns in discussion • listen to the points of view of others • negotiate Explorations and investigations provide many opportunities for using mark-making and writing skills. Capitalise on these by creating reasons to produce labels, to sequence events and to write instructions. Drawings and pictures convey meaning and can be used to initiate, develop and communicate ideas. Children who find using language difficult may prefer to express their ideas through drawings, but all children will benefit from the challenge of trying to convey their thinking through graphic representation using pictures, plans, maps and diagrams. When a child represents his ideas and thoughts in a drawing he is also re-presenting them to himself. In doing this he modifies his ideas and develops his reasoning skills. By then going on to explain his drawings to a group he has a further opportunity to revisit, revise and enrich his understanding. Remember to recognise and value the very wide range of languages which young children use to communicate. Some children may prefer to express their design ideas and scientific theories using the language of the body as well as the brain. They will communicate their ideas and thinking through models, construction, music, dance and reenactment.
Teacher’s Bite environment
Ms. Meera Sain, Head &Principal, The Cathedral Vidya School, Lonavala, Pune.
Q:
Who has most influenced you to become an educator, and how did they influence you?
I have been inspired by my own teachers to follow their footsteps. I remember as a kid I was a very shy person. It was my Chemistry teacher who pulled me out of my shell and encouraged me to ask questions in the class. He gave me the confidence and above all ‘believed’ in me. Then later it was my Professors in the University and Teacher training college who encouraged and motivated me. And above all my students are my inspiration.
Q:
What is your approach to classroom management and student discipline?
I believe in a class room which is student centric and is led by the students. A teacher should be a facilitator. A class in which the students are kept constructively engaged is by itself a disciplined class. A proactive approach to classroom management focuses on structuring and organizing the classroom in ways that create a positive physical and emotional
Q:
What are your views regarding the 'Importance of Teacher Training and Development' in educating Students?
I believe in lifelong learning for myself as well as others. As educators it is of utmost importance that we keep ourselves updated with all the developments in our field. Today’s youth has much more exposure to information than what we, as youngsters, had. A teacher must keep pace with all the developments and be aware of the latest innovations. Ongoing professional development keeps teachers up-to-date on new research on how children learn, emerging technology tools for the classroom, new curriculum resources, and more. The best professional development is ongoing, experiential, collaborative, and is connected to and derived from working with students and understanding their culture.
Q:
What is your view regarding the ASSET Test?
The ASSET test is a very well prepared test which allows a teacher to know and analyse the strengths and weaknesses of her individual students and class as a whole. She can then restructure her teaching methodology according to individual and collective needs of her class. Similarly it assists a student to improve her performance in academics and helps them to learn to apply their knowledge.
Video Review BBC Series: Origins of Us; Presented by Dr. Alice Roberts The world today is home to billions of human beings, all belonging to a single species, the Homo sapiens. We are upright apes, have much evolved brains and the most complex animal in the planet. Yet becoming the Homo sapiens did not happen overnight. It was a product of 6 million years of struggle for survival. In this BBC three episode series, ‘Origins of Us’, Dr. Alice Roberts reveal how our body tells the story of human evolution. In the first episode, Dr. Robert looks at how our skeleton reveals our incredible evolutionary story. Trekking through the forests of the Rift Valley in Africa, she goes to meet the chimpanzees, our closest evolutionary cousin. In six million years we have become very different and the roots of our being different from chimpanzee can be found in an extra ordinary fossil – Sahelanthropus. A single hole where the spine was attached suggests that our ancestors started the journey to becoming human by standing upright. We take it for granted, but standing up and walking is surprisingly complex – each step involves the coordination of over 200 muscles. New research has uncovered clues in our ankles, waists and necks that show how our ancestors were forced to survive on the open plain by walking and running for their lives. In the episode 2, Dr. Robert discusses how our ancestors’ hunt for food has driven the way we look and behave today – from the shape of our face, to what we see. Alice goes in search of a
lion’s kill to find out how the tape warms in lion’s food reveal our ancestors were eating the same diet of big game 1.7 million years ago. She puts her teeth to the test to reveal that our teeth have evolved to shear through meat. But by comparing her saliva with that of chimpanzees she demonstrates that our body is as much designed to eat stomach as it is to eat meat. In the final episode, Dr Alice Robert explores how our species, Homo sapiens developed large brain, and ask why we are the only one of our kind left on the planet today? The evolution of our mind is one of the greatest mysteries. We are special, because of our extra ordinary brain, and to understand why we think and act the way we do, we need to look at where and why our brain evolved. Drawing on research on social position in chimpanzees, the cognitive development of children and the tools that have been littered across the rift valley, Alice explores how and why our ancestors’ brains became so big. The video series is available on DVD from Amazon and BBC shop and also available in YouTube in parts. The series is highly recommended for serious senior students interested in biology and human evolution. Video Reviewed by Jitu Mishra, Educational Specialist
Assessed over
1.5 million students
International Benchmarking & Diagnostic Test
ASSET Stands for Assessment of Scholastic Skills through Educational Testing. It is a scientifically designed, skill-based assessment test. Rather than testing rote learning, through multiple-choice questioning, it focuses on measuring how well SKILLS and CONCEPTS underlying the school syllabus have been learnt by the student. The test provides information on the strengths and weaknesses of individual students and also entire classes.
Salient Features of ASSET • For students of classes 3-10 • Core Subjects: English, Maths and Science • Optional Subjects: Social Studies and Hindi
Benefits Students With ASSET, students can obtain an accurate feedback on their strengths and weaknesses and further improve their skills by themselves being involved in the learning as well as evaluation process. Teachers With ASSET, teachers can monitor and evaluate each student of their class and benchmark the performance with other divisions as well as schools in the country. Based on progress reports, teachers can get a better insight into the progress of each child and aim towards continuous skill improvement. Schools ASSET enables schools to keep an eye on the overall progress of the students and scale their performance in comparison to other schools in the country. The performance and effectiveness of the teachers can also be tracked through the detailed.
Register your school Now! For more details visit www.ei-india.com or write to us at info@ei-india.com
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