The Monthly Newsletter
Issue 111 | January, 2015 | www.ei-india.com
MISCONCEPTION Series
? Teaching Children Values
ASSET
Educators’ Zone
COVER Story 5 Resolutions to Modernize Your Teaching New Year resolutions are usually about the typical weight/health/ finance related promises– but why not use this yearly changeover to make some classroom promises instead? The modern teacher juggles dynamic sets of roles and tasks, from friend, coach, and leader, to agent of literacy, technology pioneer, and stoker of curiosity. To help get started, here are five great ideas that can be implemented in any class.
by Jennifer Rita Nichols, Teacher
Approaches to Learning: For example, ‘No-Plan Friday’. This does not mean ‘no planning’! ‘No plan’ teaching is a great way to excite students once a week. The objectives still need to be planned, but the activity can remain unplanned. Start with a discussion about the goals and objectives students need to be working towards that day and then see where the conversation is headed!
Students could share their creativity by working on open-ended and unstructured work. Each student can Experimenting with Technology choose what works best for them. that is Scary: ‘New Tech’ doesn’t Some may work in small groups, necessarily refer to a completely while others choose to work alone. different piece of technology being At the end, each student or group used each week, but rather to a shares their creation with the class. commitment to try new ways of The class is thus treated to a variety using tech in teaching. Whether using old technology in new ways, or of skits, stories, newscast videos, or new technology in traditional ways, informational posters. challenging oneself to do something Teaching through Moments: “scary” like an app or method of Speak with at least one student student access to content or digital each day about something communities, forces one to learn completely unrelated to class work new things. The idea is to get out of or school activities. Keep track of the comfort zone to modernize and who to speak to everyday. Some refine teaching. students seek out teachers to share stories and build bonds, so show Consistently Trying New
your students that they are important and valued members of your classroom community. Share stories about yourself as well!
Consider every Monday as a Literacy Monday. Challenge yourself and the students to read something new each weekend! Students can Creating a System that Honours choose from stories or articles related to their personal interests to Students: The last school day of help them recognize the benefits of each month, is a great time to highlight the successes of the class literacy in their personal lives. Let and students. If you know a student students share information about what they read. Start sharing what has advanced his level in karate, mention it to the class! If a student you have learned in your article also. Conclusion deserves to be thanked for something, do so! Allow students to Sharing more such ideas for raise their hand and give thanks to resolutions that can others as well. Allowing time to make the classroom an celebrate successes and give special even better pace than it thanks creates bonds with teachers already is, would be and with each other. good. Thinking Literacy Backwards: Source: http://www.teachthought.com/
Student Corner
Name: Mayank Solanki Company: Val-Ed Initiatives Location: Bangalore Start Up Year: 2013 Qualifications: MBA (HR & Leadership) Inspiration: Success means giving your 100% every moment Vision: To share India’s great cultural & spiritual treasure with the world In conversation with Mr. Mayank Solanki, about his value based education start-up, which was acknowledged as Start-Up of the Week by InspirEngage, UK's Leading Social Enterprises, for having the Best Impactful Social Enterprise Idea. 1. Tell us a bit about your business Val-Ed Initiatives is an educational venture working towards imparting character building education to children. Val-Ed aims at creating stronger and healthier character in children through teaching values by way of the most innovative and impactful curriculum and methodologies. 2. What have you enjoyed most about setting up the organization? The entire process has been exuberating. Right from generating wakefulness about the urgent need of values in education; as well as convincing both parents and educators to contribute towards designing an intrinsic values education model with fun as well as impressionable appeal has been extremely enjoyable. In the end, genuine appreciation and feedback from the parents and the children keeps them motivated and makes the effort worthwhile. 3. Why have you chosen to do this? As a child, when asked what I wanted to do, I said “I want to make the world a better place”. Living up to my vision, I have discovered authentic education on values, as my greatest potential to bring about such a change. I truly believe that this is one of the best ways amongst others, that I want to explore, to induce people to make the right choices and ultimately ‘make the world a
better place’. 4. Why is it important that the children and youth learn or recall moral and value lessons? The simplest fundamental of values depends upon the traits that we value the most. For instance, if children value honesty, respect and peace, then this would influence their attitude towards situations around them. Therefore, Val-Ed aims at teaching values in a manner that induces children to make the right choices repeatedly and hence engrave such traits as their natural behaviour and ultimately make it an inherent quality of their character. The concept is to be a support system for the children and encouraging them to take the right decision in crucial areas of their life such as family, career or society. 5. What has been one of the greatest achievements for the organization till date? One of our greatest achievements is being rated 9.5 out of 10 by over 300 families from 10 states pan India, regardless of our novel approach. These families include people from different walks and backgrounds as well as special groups such as orphans and abandoned children. However, our greatest achievement lies in the enthusiasm of children to repeatedly attend the sessions, irrespective of intense and long durations. 6. What are you plans for the future? Further along, the two key
focus areas are: 1. Programs expansion i.e. adding new programs like EPICs Education (Mahabharat, Ramayan, Bible, Quran); Innovation Education (Teaching Children to think Out-of-the-Box) and 2. Impact Expansion (Increasing frequency of programs in different parts of the world).
About the Organization: Val-Ed Initiatives is an organization that aims at building stronger and healthier character in children through its programs. These programs are designed to instil values in children between the ages of 8 – 16 years in both innovative as well as impactful ways. The organization also aims at inculcating and encouraging cultural pride, purposeful living and social responsibility in child prodigies. To learn more about them or their upcoming events please refer to the contact details given below:
Website: www.valedindia.com | Email: mayank@valedindia.com Facebook Handle: www.facebook.com/valedindia
MISCONCEPTION Series
Q
Class 5: Maths D. 5.7%
Number sense, related concepts and basic number competency Twice a certain number is 58. Four times that number will be
A
4 × 58.
B
58 + 4.
C. 25.6% P
No. of students 8342
C 58 × 2. P D
A. 53.7%
B. 13.3%
8 × 58.
Only 25.6% answered correctly
Step 1: Find the value of the number (29) by framing the numerical expression 2 × number = 58. Step 2: Find what is 4 times 29 (116). Step 3: Compare the values of the options and find out which one is 116.
1 Why was the question asked in ASSET test? The question tries to check the pre-algebraic thinking of a child. The child is expected to frame a numeric expression by interpreting the information provided in the question.
2
The data indicate that students are not able to follow either of the above approaches.
What did students answer?
The problem possibly lies in the lack of exposure to such types of questions which leads to limited thinking on the part of the student. Students are probably not able to analyse the problem thoroughly and use what they have learned to solve it. The constant exposure of students to the same types of questions leads them to just look for something in the question that ‘matches’ some answering strategies they are already familiar with. They then apply a certain familiar strategy on seeing a certain “pattern” in the question.
Only about 26% of the students could answer the question correctly. About 54% of the students chose the most common wrong option A. Possible reason for choosing A: These students probably didn’t connect to what ‘that number’ stands for, in the second sentence of the question. They probably assumed that “that number” is 58, and answer “4 times 58”. Some of these students might have just seen ‘4 times’ and 58 in the question and without understanding the rest of the question, just chose “4 × 58” blindly. Possible reason for choosing B: These students probably couldn’t understand the question at all, and are just making a random guess. Possible reason for choosing D: Very few students chose this option and are probably making a random guess.
4
How do we handle this? It is important to understand the process the child is going through to solve these kinds of problems – for instance, whether he is just mapping some ‘known’ words to the options to find out the answer like mapping ‘four times’ to ‘4 × ..’ here in this question. Ask the students questions like the ones below:
3
Learnings Students are exposed to phrases like ‘4 times 6 is’ and ‘3 times a number is 6, what is the number’ etc. by this stage.
3 times a number + 2 times the same number = 5 times the number (True/False) (This question helps to understand whether the child is able to associate ‘the number’ in each of the 3 terms as the same number)
Students are expected to use an intelligent strategy of writing the equation as 2 × __ = 58 and so how much will be 4 × __? It will be 2 × (2 × __) = 2 × 58.
Ask questions by splitting them so that students understand the steps better: Twice a number is 58. What is the number? What is 4 times the number?
Even if students are not able to use the above strategy, they can use a simple systematic strategy as the one described below:
(This would give an idea to the child on how to proceed step by step and encourage him to think of what the first thing to find out is, given some information)
For more information about ASSET, write to us at info@ei-india.com
EDUCATORS’ Zone Ms. J. Bhuvaneshwari, Principal Presidency School, Bangalore South, Bangalore
are challenged to apply basic concepts and skills as they think through questions of AQADs (ASSET Question-A-Day) which prove a real asset to them. Activities suggested emphasize processes and strategies to engage students as they solve problems and discover answers through practical experience.
ASSET has become a leading name in providing reliable data to help measure student progress towards high standards. It has created a niche for itself and is a benchmark of excellence in achievement testing by helping identify student's strengths and needs in the competitive scenario.
The interactive assessment helps teachers evaluate students’ reading, Maths skill and scientific ability to bring about a sea-change while developing their test-taking strategies. Teachers gain a greater understanding of test results and use the results as a guide for Classroom Planning.
The use of reasoning to crack the answers help develop skills of estimation, make simple calculations, seek patterns, make observations, analyse the cause and effect, study the standard instruments to draw conclusions, are only a few parameters to measure its magnitude. Students
The performance data helps the Principal to identify the grey areas and work with that! It not only exactly points out the areas that require remediation but also helps to overcome the same.
Fun Zone
Just a darn minute - yesterday you said the 'X' equals two! Bookpost
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