The monthly newsletter
SCOPE Issue 73 | June 2011 | www.ei-india.com
This Month’s Issue Back To School ................ 01 First Week of School ....... 02 ASSET Ambassador ......... 03 Video Review ................. 03 Duke TIP - Summer ........ 04 Mathcovery Season 2 ..... 05 International .................. 06 Teacher’s Bite.................. 07 Earthian ......................... 07
Photo Courtesy: Anand Niketan School, Ahmedabad
News Bite ....................... 08
Back to school It's school time again! You're probably feeling excited and maybe a little sad that the summer vacation is over. Some children feel nervous and others a little scared on the first day of school because of all the new things that come along: new teachers, new classmates, and more. I still remember my childhood days; my brother, sisters and I used to wait for days for the school to reopen. It was the excitement to go to school with new books, new uniforms and shoes – geared to take on the year. A new year at school brings a lot of transition - some start using pens instead of pencils, for others the uniform might change or even the school building might change. In middle school, you might move from classroom to classroom for each subject. Most teachers let you pick your own seat on the first day, but by the second or third morning, they would
It is tough for students to get back to school after a two-month vacation. A big change from fun and frolic to academics.
surely have mapped out a seating plan. Some schools have a special assembly arranged for the first day of school, where the head of the school welcomes the students to the new academic year with some activities or with some gifts. Teachers start the first day of schools with a variety of activities to help the students know each other. The introduction or the ice-breaking sessions elevate the mood and help thaw out the jitters of the first day of school. It is tough for students to get back to school after a two-month vacation which is a big change from fun and frolic to academics. So, the management and teachers of a school in the South, came up with an idea to make Day 1 of this academic year interesting for the young ones, as reported in a recent edition of the ‘Mirror’ in South India. They hired a band to play popular numbers as students
trudged into the school. Parents and staff sprinkled rose water as they entered and greeted every child with flowers. The children were so thrilled by the welcome that they took out a procession, shouting out loudly that they were happy to get back to school. After the formal assembly, the children were offered pulav and payasam instead of the regular hot meals offered every day in the school. Surprise among the students, would be an understatement! One interesting activity that you can try too in your class, is using ‘drawing’ as a tool to describe them. This exercise helps the teacher to understand the nature, orientation and perspective of the students and how to deal with them in the future. It creates a warm atmosphere in the classroom. Some teachers start the first day of the class by assigning a list of tasks to class leaders. The first day of school can set the mood for the rest of the years. We are happy to welcome you back to school and look forward to an exciting association. Have a wonderful year ahead! – Bindu Pillai
First Week of School True Values of Holidays I usually start the first day after vacation by asking the children to share their holiday experiences. There are varied stories that the children share. There are a few who visit a foreign country every vacation and like to talk about the new cities and places they visited. But my heart goes out to those poor children who, have no opportunity to enjoy the holidays like their other classmates as they are expected to help their parents with work in the fields or at home. After every vacation, I explain the true value of holidays; that what they achieve or enjoy depends on what they wish to have; that God does not give all the material things to all the people at the same time; that being good to their parents, friends and acquaintances will fetch them all good things in times to come. – Mrs. Uma Venkataraman, Cambridge Public School, Bangalore
Puzzles and Que
stions
Classrooms
Games
e st day of school w school. On the fir l tia r en ou sid is re a It . is s ick Our homes because they are es fac a ll an du pl y e an W m st. find d intere their enthusiasm an ck d ba an g in p hi br ds to en ty du eir fri es to rebuild th m ga es om ac ro pl e ss th cla t few plain abou k the children to ex e association. We as perienced during th ex ey th new things e th e nc or d tra ite en e vis th ey th nged at splay board is arra di t ge ou hu A ied n. rr ca tio k ca va e wor n show the creativ ca ey is th d oi at av th to so te ve ga we ha n. The only thing during the vacatio ts on the very first en nm sig as ework or verification of hom r, day of school. swararao, Teache – Garimel Lanage m atna Vidyalaya, Visakhap Jawahar Navodaya
To help my students recon nect with school and stu dies after the summer vacati ons, I usually start my pla nn ing before the schools close down. I assign work that bri ngs out the curiosity in the students. I give interestin g puzzles and questions to the students before they lea ve and announce that the chi ld with the maximum co rrect answers on the first day of the school will be decla red a ‘Mastermind’. Observat ional studies can also be assigned and discussed lat er. – Indu Kaushik, Vice Pri ncipal, Lions Public School, Gurga on
I was so happy to go on a trip To know, to explore, to discover- new things I am back to school now And I’m gonna give my experiences few wings…” – Sumati Padhy, Basava International School, New Delhi
Childhood Days Vacations, undoubtedly create a complete break from the otherwise hectic and exhaustive daily routine of school life. I, thus, design /workout an activity based syllabus for the first month after the vacation. Now, with the implementation of the CCE, it is easier to do that. Various formative assessment tasks in co-ordination with the respective syllabi of the different subjects should be planned in advance and carried out now. These may include the use of audio and video recordings/clippings, group activities (for discussions and presentations), a field trip , a radio/talk show, dramatization of textual prose and recitation and so on. All we need to remember is our own childhood days and how it felt to go back to school after a period of almost two months of pure enjoyment. What would shake us out from our slumber and get us re-started? – Sumedha Nagpal, Salwan Public School, Morning, New Delhi
ASSET Ambassador of the year 2010 I still remember the day I was chosen as one of the ASSET Ambassadors of my school. I was thrilled but also confused as to what exactly I had to do. But as the journey moved on, every step was a new learning for me. It was filled with activity, excitement and interaction. It was a wonderful opportunity, one that I was very fortunate to have got. Sapna Nayak Sharada Mandir School, Miramar, Panaji
My role as an ASSET Ambassador has helped me develop leadership skills and responsibilities and has given me a chance to make new friends. It was a great opportunity to interact with students of my age from schools all over India, get to know interesting happenings of their schools and exchange ideas. All this became possible because of the online site created for ASSET Ambassadors on ning. We also shared interesting facts and happenings from all over the world on various blogs and discussion groups. In my opinion, being selected as an ASSET Ambassador of one’s school is an honour. But besides that, it also gives one the opportunity to engage oneself in various activities conducted on a monthly basis by ASSET team. One also gets a chance to lead the ASSET Week initiatives in one’s school. The EI team coordinators were very supportive. Our ideas were always taken, appreciated and whenever possible implemented, from the very first activity of making a Video on “Learning through understanding” to creative writing to making an ad for one’s school. – by Sapna Nayak
Inviting nominations for ASSET Ambassador 2011 “How much is too much?” When it comes to opportunities, there are no limits. Nothing should hold back your students from excelling. The Educational Initiatives initiated activity – ‘ASSET Ambassador’ is aimed at giving the students a similar platform. We received an overwhelming response from schools and students in the very first year of introducing the activity with about 150 schools participating and appointments of over 250 ASSET Ambassadors. This year we plan to extend this opportunity to students again. We are looking at schools appointing one ASSET Ambassador from classes 5 to 9. These students can be the existing ASSET Ambassadors from your school or they could be new students. In all, your school will have 5 students as ASSET Ambassadors. So every school will have an ASSET Committee and all the appointed students will be members of the committee. The senior-most student would be the ASSET Committee – Captain. The members will work in groups and the Captain would need to make a report of the activities done. It is an opportunity for students to hone real-world skills like leadership, problem-solving, communications etc. It will give them a chance to network with students, online and through meets. It will give them a chance to know about various activities happening in other schools across the country. The invitation for the same will be send to schools in mid-June. Check the ASSET Ambassador page on Facebook www.facebook.com/ASSET.Ambassador
Video Review : The Classroom Experiment This two part series by Dylan Wiliam, emeritus professor at the Institute for Education, University of London shows how the professor sets up an experimental classroom to test BBC – Two Part Series, Duration 59 min each simple ideas that could improve the quality of children’s education. Professor Dylan tried out his approach on a class of 13 year olds at Herthwood School in UK. In the first part of the video, the professor attempts to bring an end to the traditional ‘hands up’ way of answering the teacher’s questions. Instead he proposes to choose students at random with the idea of engaging everyone in the class and not just a handful of students who usually participate. He experiments with an alternative technique where students are made to
write their answers on small white boards given to them. Then they reveal their answers simultaneously to the teacher. In the second part, he proposes removing grades from work. The professor wants teachers to give students a descriptive feedback to each student. The idea is to make the students actually read the comments on their work in order to help them improve. But the video shows that the students are left confused and angry since they are so used to the traditional grading system. Some of the clippings can be watched online on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cp5E6e14oEM (This highlights on hands up when the teachers ask questions). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw06pnjgkYw&feature =related (This highlights on removing grades.) Reviewed by Jitu Mishra, Educational Specialist, EI
Duke TIP - Summer Studies Program
Duke TIP administrator, Residential counselors, Faculties, Teaching Assistants and Pankhuri Nigam-EI
Students and Parents orientation
Not many students, while still in school, get an opportunity to learn what a college student would learn in a semester. Duke University’s (U.S.A) Talent Identification Program, is offering just that for the students of Class 7 in India. Duke TIP has been doing this program for over 30 years in the U.S. The programme was introduced in India two years ago. The search that began in India with 28,718 seventh graders finally reached its most exciting phase on 15th May, 2011. The top 90 students who were identified for the Duke Talent Identification Program (TIP) through ASSET arrived at the Infosys Campus at Mysore to participate in the 21 day summer studies program. Duke TIP identifies academically talented seventh graders in India through ASSET scores. Students scoring 95th percentile or higher in English, Maths or Science are invited to take an above level ASSET test, which allows them greater insight into their academic abilities. Participants also gain valuable benefits and have access to unique resources for gifted students. Traditional testing often fails to measure the variation among many gifted students who reach the upper limits of scoring on grade-level exams. Above-level testing at least two years above a student's current grade placement offers gifted students and their families a far better understanding of how the student compares to his or her gifted peers and what level of educational challenge is appropriate. In addition, experts at Duke TIP have developed and compiled information to inspire academically talented young people to learn through exciting educational opportunities. Eligibility for enrollment is an honor and indicates outstanding intellectual ability. Duke TIP provides participants with an exciting, stimulating and challenging opportunity to augment their capabilities. On the day of the arrival at the campus the kids and their parents were addressed by the On-Site director, Mr Novotny
Lawrence. This was a one hour long orientation program in which the 5 faculties of Environmental Engineering, Forensic Science, Java for video games and Entrepreneurial Leadership also introduced themselves to the parents. All these instructors had travelled from USA to train the students in India for ‘Duke TIP’. After the orientation the families interacted with the instructors, Teaching Assistants and Residential Counselors. After the parents left, the students were given a warm welcome by the faculty and the residential counselors during the Welcome Dinner, where the staff prepared a Welcome Skit for the children to tell them about the rules, regulations, processes and how to be safe while staying for the program. The children began their classes from Monday (May 16). Various simulation games were played in the class to introduce the students to their subjects. The instructors for each subject are among the best in their fields and within a couple of hours of starting the class they had involved students in topics like ‘decision making tree’, ‘cyclone resistant structures’.The kids actually made models which could withstand cyclones and the stability of their structures was tested in the class with the help of a very powerful fan! The students in the forensic science class learnt how to pick up evidence from a crime scene. And this was just the first day of the class!
Environmental engineering class in progress
Duke TIP Summer Studies Programs are superb academic opportunities and dynamic residential and social experiences for the students. These three-week sessions are intense and demanding; students are challenged to think critically about themselves and their world. The program concluded on 4th June, 2011.
Duke University’s talent hunt for 2012 begins Give your students this platform with Duke University has introduced their Talent Identification Program (TIP) in India and partnered with Educational Initiatives for selection of participants. This 21-day long residential training program is an exposure platform for gifted students of Class 7. Faculty from Duke University train the students in topics like:
Forensic Science Environmental Engineering Java for Video Games Entrepreneurial Leadership Take ASSET between 1st August and 5th August 2011 and be a part of Duke TIP 2012 To Register for ASSET call : 079-40269623 or email at info@ei-india.com
Season 2
Mathcovery 2010 Finale - Exhibition
Educational Initiatives is announcing Season Two of Mathcovery – the national level competition for students around Maths. Mathcovery is our initiative to inspire students to discover Maths - in the most unobvious and unexpected situations and places. It is the first competition of its kind, developed on the ideas drawn from the children themselves. The first season of Mathcovery was a great success with an overwhelming response of 10,000 students from 8,000 schools participating with their ideas. Four thousand students participated in the second round and for the finals 20 students were invited to Ahmedabad to exhibit their models. There was a crowd of over 1500, which turned up to view the exhibition. Mathcovery, this year, is going to be a Team event. Each school will get to nominate 2 teams, one in the junior and another in the senior category, comprising 3 members each. The registrations for the same will begin in July. We will communicate the same to your schools soon.
Where Maths is Real
Mathcovery Creators
Mathcovery 2011 is getting bigger and better with team participation! A panel of judges will select the best entries from the online submission. The top 20 entries from each group will then be called to present their ideas in the form of 2D/3D models at the Mathcovery National Round. Mathcovery National Round will be held at Ahmedabad in the month of November/December. The finalist teams will present their Mathcovery idea at the national round and compete with other teams from India and UAE. Mathcovery aims to change the way in which the children look at Maths in general. It implies that Maths is not just about learning the correct formulae or scoring good marks in the exam. Maths is present everywhere around us and through Mathcovery, the students learn to recognize this fact and in turn learn to love the subject. Checkout this space in the coming issues to find out more about Mathcovery Season 2.
International National Inter School Mindspark Quiz Contest - Bangladesh Educational Initiatives conducted the National Inter School Mindspark Quiz Contest at Dhaka on April 30. The competition was held in collaboration with the local national daily newspaper, ‘The Independent’. The contest had participation from around 150 students of 25 schools from in and around Dhaka. After the various levels of the competition, there were 20 students who qualified for the final round. The finals were held in one of the hotels in Dhaka where around 200 Principals, Vice-Principals, teachers, parents and students were present. ‘Oxford International School’, Dhaka won the first prize and was given a School Trophy, participant trophies and prize money of Taka 50,000, to be distributed equally amongst both participants. The second prize winner was the team from ‘South Breeze School’ who were awarded a trophy, participant trophies and prize money of Taka 20,000. The third prize was bagged by the team from ‘DPS STS School’, who were also awarded with the trophies and prize money of Taka 10,000. Each participating student received a Certificate of
Participation and their very own ASSET My Book. The occasion was graced by the Minister of Education, Mr. Nurul Islam Nahid, along with the Education Secretary to the Government of Bangladesh, Chairman of Mercantile Bank who is also a Member of the Parliament and various other dignitaries.
Mindspark in US The falling standards of Maths education amongst the children in USA is one of the greatest concern of the authorities there. EI has offered the authorities in US, a remedial tool – technology-based self-learning tool, Mindspark. Over 500 students in the state of Texas, US will be spending their summer vacation learning Maths through this tool.
from lower socio-economic backgrounds, by supplementing their learning. The programme will be launched in Texas during the up-coming summer vacation (June to August). SES is a Federal Grant program. EI will not only provide their internetbased tool, but will also give Note Book computers to the children who are a part of the summer programme.
Mindspark is a computer based adaptive self-learning programme. It is a learning system that allows the student to construct his/her own learning at the pace he/she is comfortable with. It is an interactive system, where the student is not learning passively by listening to someone, or viewing ready-made solutions. With Mindspark, learning happens interactively by answering questions of progressively increasing complexity levels.
The questions in Mindspark were designed keeping an Indian child as its reference. Before the tool was given for use to children in US, there was a process of contextualisation that had to be done. For instance ‘roti’ had to changed to ‘pizza’ or ‘bread’; ‘taxi’ became ‘cabs’ and Indian names into names in US so that the child could connect with the program better.
EI has bagged the license under the ‘Supplemental Education Services’ (SES) which is aimed at helping children, who come
Mindspark is also soon going to Singapore, where the tool will be integrated with video games and computer games. That will promote the concept of ‘learn-while-you-play’.
Mindspark Workshop – Dubai A Mindspark Workshop was conducted on the 1st and 4th of May, 2011 for the teachers of the GEMS group of institutions in Dubai. The purpose of the presentation was to familiarise the teachers with Mindspark, explain why it is essential in today's teaching/ learning scenario and how it works hand in hand with the teacher, helping clarify misconceptions of students and also helping the teacher identify students who have misconceptions. At the end of the session, teachers worked on Mindspark on tablet PCs for about 20 minutes to get hands-on experience. The programme was well received and most teachers agreed that Mindspark should be a part of their curriculum as it would benefit their students. A few school
managements have begun discussions on how Mindspark can be implemented in their respective schools.
Teacher’s Bite Mrs. Deivanai Muthuganesan Principal, Hari Shree Vidyalayam, Chennai
Q:
Who has most influenced you to become an educator, and how did they influence you?
I started teaching during my junior college years through tutoring assignments. Teaching was a great source of inspiration and eventually my passion became my profession. In secondary school, my biology teacher, Ms Thamburan, held us in awe of her. Her high expectations of us and intolerance towards complacency spurred us to give out our best. She was an embodiment of efficiency and commanded respect with her mere presence. Though I was terrified of her then, I fondly recall her whenever I reflect on my growing up years. Studying under her was indeed a defining experience.
Q:
What is your approach to classroom management and student discipline?
The classroom should be a space in which there is mutual respect between the facilitator and the learner with no ego at play. The onus is on the facilitator to communicate expectations clearly. A genuine understanding of the psychological and developmental levels of students along with consistency and
fairness in dealing with them will go a long way in building a true bond.
Q:
What are your views regarding the 'Importance of Teacher Training and Development' in educating Students?
Even experienced teachers need regular training to evolve. Though paper qualifications seem to be a requirement, a significant part of the learning for a teacher happens on the job. They also need to be aware of the latest developments in the educational arena and need to develop a desire to equip oneself with the new techniques and instructional strategies to reach out to the learner in the best way possible. Regular participation in training programs and cultivating a healthy habit of reading education related journals and publications will certainly empower the teacher.
Q:
What is your view regarding the ASSET Test?
The ASSET test is a litmus test that reflects the impact of the teaching-learning process. It helps the facilitator identify learner needs and enables them to engage the learners more effectively in the learning process. It is no doubt, a support system that provides an opportunity to enhance the performance of the facilitator and the learner. Such diagnostic tests should form an essential component of teaching in any learnercentric environment as it focuses so much on individualising education.
Wipro Announces Earthian Competition to Introduce Sustainability Themes to Schools
Weaving Sustainability into teaching and learning Environmental and social issues are the defining challenges of this century. Educationists have to play a key role in leading the change to a more sustainable future. ‘Earthian’, a landmark sustainability program for schools and colleges, is launched by Wipro with this in mind. The program consists of two stages – in the first stage, schools are invited to submit papers on any of nine sustainability themes. Schools can participate in teams from class 9 to class 12, with one or more teacher coordinators. The papers will be assessed for
originality of thinking and how actionable the ideas are, with particular relevance to the Indian context. Five national winners will be selected, These winners will be awarded Rs 2 lakhs each and will be invited for a conference where the winners will get the opportunity to present their papers. The second stage of the programme will be a phase of continuing engagement. During this phase, the winning schools will be helped to build institutional capacity on an ongoing basis – with focus on the environs of the school and the proximate community.
For more details, please visit www.wipro.org/earthian, e-mail us at earthian.contact@wipro.com OR call toll-free on 18001030353.
News Bite Little Ones aim to Fly building with an open terrace and control room cabin for a top view of helicopters and to check the positions of the helicopters through wireless phones. One of the pilots, who gave the children a tour, told them that each helicopter was given a name like Chetak and Pawan, to trace their routes and how useful these helicopters were made at times of wars and during natural calamities like floods, accidents and storms for rescue operations. Students enjoyed this experience. They also got a chance to sit in the helicopter and felt on top of the earth and were one with the birds in the clouds. Students of Junior Kindergarten were taken for a field trip while studying about vehicles. They were taken to see helicopters at the Artillery Centre. Students were taken to a
– Nilufer Chavan, Headmistress, Little Wonders International School, Nashik
Haryana teacher's composition becomes CBSE song A Hindi song 'Naya Aghaz' (New beginning) composed by a Gurgaon-based private school teacher has become the signature song of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for its Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in schools. The song composer, Ms Kamaljit, is a teacher at Salwan Public School. The CBSE has the song, which is 4.32 minutes long to further popularise its new concept of CCE in addition to
conducting workshops, training teachers and distributing manuals. The song describes the transition in the classroom from the time students were evaluated through a one-time exam to the new era of CCE. Ms Kamaljit volunteered to write this song and her school presented it to the CBSE. Source: www.topnews.in/
The Finland Phenomenon: World’s Most Surprising School System Finland, a country with a population of 5 million people, is considered to have one of the best school systems in the world. Teaching is considered as one of the top professions in the country and there is keen competition for those coveted slots in Finnish Universities. Students start school at the age of 7 and are taught according to their individual developmental needs. There is very little homework, and students endure very little
standardized testing yet maintain top scores internationally on the tests they do take. A film underscoring those attributes of Finnish schools titled, “The Finland Phenomenon” was screened recently at the Westport Public Library, drawing a large crowd of educators and parents interested in making real and impactful changes in education in the state of Connecticut. Source: http://www.minutemannewscenter.com
Humourous Bite The teacher asked for sentences using the word “beans”. “My father grows beans,” said a girl. “My mother cooks beans,” said a boy. Then a third child spoke up, “We're all human beans,” he said.
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