ASSETScope June 2014 by Bindu Pillai

The Monthly Newsletter

Issue 104 | June 2014 | www.ei-india.com

Cover Story: Back to School

Educators’ Zone

3 Mindspark World

Focus on Quality and Innovation

Teacher Zone

Misconception Series

8 ASSET Poster

COVER Story Back to School Children by their very nature are amazingly adaptable and resilient, but a new school year with new expectations, a new peer group and teachers remains a huge transition. As educators, ideally, we should devote unlimited time to each student to meet a variety of needs. Establishing a bond of trust with children lays the groundwork for both receptive and expressive learning. Genuine interest in the child, not only boosts selfesteem, but conveys a vital message that we earnestly care about each student. Suggested below, are activities to help students with the emotional transition of a new school year.

For the first weeks of school, have a “question of the day”- a daily question for students to answer about themselves. This could be an ongoing project such as an “About Me” book or journal which they can share with the rest of the class. For young children, use responses to write a class experiential story, or display them on the bulletin board as part of a class “Bio Board”, or an “Introducing Us”.

Speak a few sentences to each student, every day, focusing on his/her interests with the following guidelines:

Cooperative activities like dividing the class into small groups or teams will be very useful. Students will get to know their new peer group, learn to work cooperatively with others and feel like a valued member of the class. Encourage students to set both short term and long term goals for themselves and their group and thus develop leadership attributes.

Use "door openers" - phrases that invite children to say more: "Tell me more about that," "That really sounds interesting," and "Say that again."

Incorporate lessons on feelings. Through self-expression outlets like art, music, creative dramatics, role play, discuss feelings, expectations and concerns.

Give the child undivided attention, by not talking to a student while doing something else.

Use role play activities as an ice breaker and to teach classroom procedures, rules and limits to help solidify expectations, rather than the student passively listening to information.

TALK with your students!

Look the child in the eye, ask questions, and affirm responses. Comment on something specific.

Know your students! Glean as much

information about students’ backgrounds, by talking to parents and previous teachers and researching student records. Be aware and attentive to children who show signs of anxiety and/or difficulties adjusting after the first few weeks of school, like: withdrawal, not making friends, depressed looks, non-compliance, etc. in younger children, etc.. Keep communicating with parents. Providing a student with a secure and trusting environment will enable him/her to open up and express feelings, and empower teachers to offer solutions. Use the right words and provide a caring, secure and motivating environment. Achieving a balance of physical, mental and emotional preparation for students will clear a path for stability and success.

EDUCATORS’ Zone Mrs. Namrata Kaur, Principal, The Global Edge School, Banjara Hills, Hyderabad

Who has most influenced you to become an educator, and how did they influence you? –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Sri Gobind Singh Ji, the Sikh guru has been my inspiration. My parents have influenced me to become an educator. They felt this is the only profession where you get love, respect and inculcate values to help future generations.

What is your approach to classroom management and student discipline? –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

It is important for a teacher to imbibe discipline in students by creating a friendly atmosphere, having mastery over the subject, at the same time making her class interactive, to increase their curiosity and make them look forward to the next day.

What are your views regarding the ‘Importance of Teacher Training and Development’ in educating Students? –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Teacher training is of utmost importance. She should regularly try to get updated with the latest technology and research by attending workshops and seminars which will benefit the students at large.

What is your view regarding the ASSET Test? –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

ASSET test increases students’ problem solving abilities, enhances their thinking processes and aptitudes. It also prepares them for future competitive exams in life.

Book Series The Hindi Ki Duniya Series The Hindi Ki Duniya series of books for classes 1-5 is a complete, enjoyable and modern method for teaching and learning Hindi as a second or third language for primary school-children, especially the ones who do not speak Hindi at home. Developed and refined in the classrooms of Rishi Valley School over a period of 18 years, it has recently been published by Orient Blackswan Ltd. It comprises of a set of textbooks, workbooks, audio CDs, flash-cards, Teachers’ Guides and Charts for the classroom. This method: ü Develops spoken as well as written Hindi ü Provides grammatical explanations and also develops spontaneity of response ü Offers activities that are enjoyable yet purposeful ü Includes games as well as structured written exercises

The books, with rich illustrations, invite children to actively colour, draw and write in them, thereby making the books as well as the Hindi language their own.

Developing conversational v ability

Advanced level: Hindi Ki Duniya 5 for class 5 v Enabling comprehension of The series has three levels with the different kinds of texts written following areas of focus: for children Developing a grammatical Beginner level: Hindi Ki Duniya v understanding of Hindi 1 and 2 for classes 1 and 2 v Developing the ability to v Providing an exposure to express oneself in informal sounds and script contexts, orally, and formally in v Building a memory bank of writing vocabulary with sensitization to gender of nouns By the end of class 5, this series v Developing basic reading and lays a strong foundation for writing abilities of the meeting all the objectives laid out Devanagari script in the syllabi of the CBSE and the ICSE boards for learning Hindi as a Intermediate level: Hindi Ki second language. Duniya 3 and 4 for classes 3 and 4 For more information please v Developing sentence structures visit http://www.rishivalley.org/rvite/hin for speaking and writing v Expanding vocabulary related to di_ki_duniya_series.htm daily-life situations

MINDSPARK World New Features Available for Teachers and Students in Mindspark Send emails from the Teacher Interface to Parents

Recognising the Champions – Class Leaderboard

The Teacher Interface now provides an opportunity to the teacher to communicate directly with the parent. Emails may now be sent to parents by the teacher from a feature called Mail Parents – developed on the basis of the feedback received from teachers.

“Class Leaderboard” provides recognition to a student that based on his rewards and resources. Mindspark recognizes the champions in a class and the reward is like a running trophy that passes from one child to the other every month based on the students’ performance.

Testimonials “Math is not my strong subject yet Mindspark has made Maths interesting.” Kanaka Desai, Manovikas School, Margao

“It helps me to analyse on the mistakes i do and improves me on my weak points.” Lakshay Jolly, Silver Oaks The School of Hyderabad, Hyderabad

“It teaches concepts with fun and user friendly interface.” Ibrahim Durrani, Billabong High International School, Bhopal

www.mindspark.in

App Of The Month SOCRATIVE 2.0 June is the beginning of the academic year. Everyone is excited to begin the new academic year and know each other better. So here’s where SOCRATIVE 2.0 has come to your rescue by helping you design questionnaires. SOCRATIVE 2.0 is a smart student response system that empowers teachers to engage their class through a series of educational exercises and games via smartphones, laptops, and tablets. HOW TO USE 1. Open google play store and download the app SOCRATIVE 2.0 2. Open the app and register 3. On registration you will have a unique Room No allotted to you. 4. Share the room number and ask your students to enter it in STUDENT JOIN ROOM box. 5. As the students join the group, you will be able to see the number of students

who have joined the room and their name. 6. Once all the students have joined the room, put your creative sleeve on and manage the class as you want, by creating the questionnaire, taking a formative quiz or playing quiz game. 7. Yes, don’t forget to give the exit ticket, Click on Exit Ticket option and it will help you seek the feedback of your students. CLASSROOM APPLICATION 1. Teachers can make questionnaires through which they can co-construct classroom rules, get details of likes and dislikes of students. 2. Teachers can have real time formative assessment of students in three ways – multiple choice questions, true or false and short answers. 3. Teachers don’t need to carry papers all the time, just this app can store the test results and generate reports which can be downloaded.

4. Teachers can make group quizzes and boost the excitement level using the space race. 5. Teachers can gather feedback of day to day topics from students using exit tickets. For more information on how to use SOCRATIVE 2.0 visit http://www.socrative.com/garden/

By Jinal Rajdev, EI

Focus on Quality

And Innovation The next government must promote technology-based education, introduce an Indian Education Service, and ensure that every child is in school. WHAT TO DO NOW • Appoint a human resource development minister who understands quality in school education, that ‘children learning well, is what will determine India's fate in the coming decades’. • Announce an annual Rs.100crore National Innovation Fund for Education to award grants to selected projects proposed by colleges, District Institutes of Education and Training, companies, schools and individuals. • Provide free broadband Internet to schools. TO DO IN 100 DAYS • Create a national blueprint for school education to outline a five-year vision and ensure that every child is able to read and write by Class IV. It should also list how schools, funding agencies, NRIs, private companies and individuals can contribute towards this. • Plan annual student assessments to track learning and commit India to participating in international benchmarking studies such as the Programme for International Student Assessment, and Trends in Mathematics and Science study. • Enact a law that makes it compulsory for parents to send their wards to school. Parents will be liable to punishment – say with forced community service – if their children are not in school. SEE THROUGH IN 1

YEAR

• Launch information and mindset campaigns to make

Sridhar Rajagopalan

India Today has reached out to experts in 10 different fields to not only suggest an agenda for the next government, but to also do so in the framework of clearly defined timelines. Sridhar Rajagopalan, MD, Educational Initiatives was invited to present his agenda on ‘Education’ to the new government.

parents, teachers and the society understand the importance of education and dangers of rote learning. • Announce national talent tests at Class VI besides workshops to spot talent early and prevent students from dropping out. • Introduce biometric attendance systems to ensure students and teachers attend schools.

Introduce regular assessments of teachers and academic support staff focusing on content and pedagogical knowledge. This will help identify areas in which they need professional development. • Ensure all schools have a website with all details about the institution. • Private school fees should be decontrolled but must be transparently shared on this

website. Parents and members of the public can add comments, including through SMS. COMPLETE IN 3

YEARS

• Set up a National Science of Learning Centre comprising centres for reading, research on intelligent teaching systems, elementary mathematics research. Declare them as institutes of national importance, give them autonomy and funding on a par with IlTs. • Make available free online video-based teacher training courses in various Indian languages. • Modernise school education boards, institutions and examinations, focusing on research and technology. • Allow outcome-based private remedial centres to be set up. REFORM AND MODERNISE SCHOOL EDUCATION BOARDS ACROSS THE COUNTRY IMPLEMENT IN 5 YEARS • Introduce an Indian Education Service on the lines of the Indian Administrative Service. In the mean time, ensure fixed tenures for bureaucrats in education departments. • Include pre-schools in the schooling system and combine elementary and secondary schools. • Take steps to reduce fragmentation of schools by combining them and providing

Enact a law that makes it compulsory for parents to send children to school. free transport to children living far from combined schools rather than building schools close to every habitation. • Make district education officials responsible for the quality of private schools. Provide laptops, tablets to a third of top performing teachers each year. • Focus on creativity, entrepreneurship, non-academic and co-curricular areas. • Create a resource of videos, teaching material and assessment questions encouraging creation of highquality content in multiple Indian languages. • Create an IT teacher support tool to provide both content and pedagogical support. This will allow them to identify their strengths; provide information on common mistakes and misconceptions students have on these topics; provide sample videos of teachers teaching the topic. The tool can be accessed by teachers any-time and from anywhere. Original article published in India Today – 26th May, 2014 edition

Teacher Zone The Challenges of Learning to Teach Reading Teaching reading is a complex process that draws upon an extensive knowledge base and repertoire of strategies. This article argues that many novice teachers are underprepared to teach reading effectively, and examines some of the reasons why. Teaching reading is a job for an expert. Contrary to the popular theory that learning to read is natural and easy, learning to read is a complex linguistic achievement. For many children, it requires effort and incremental skill development. Moreover, teaching reading requires considerable knowledge and skill, acquired over several years through focused study and supervised practice. The difficulty of teaching reading has been underestimated. Consider what the classroom demands of the teacher: Children's interest in reading must be stimulated through regular exposure to interesting books and through discussions in which students respond to many kinds of texts. For best results, the teacher must instruct most students directly, systematically, and

explicitly to decipher words in print, all the while keeping in mind the ultimate purpose of reading, which is to learn, enjoy, and understand. To accommodate children's variability, the teacher must assess children and tailor lessons to individuals. She must interpret errors, give corrective feedback, select examples to illustrate concepts, explain new ideas in several ways, and connect linguistic symbols with "real" reading and writing. No one can develop such expertise by taking one or two college courses, or attending a few one-shot inservice workshops. Although reading is the cornerstone of academic success, a single course in reading methods is often all that is offered most prospective teachers. Even if well taught, a single course is only the beginning. Without deeper knowledge, the specific techniques of lesson delivery cannot be acquired, let alone knowledge of language, reading psychology, children's literature, or the management of a reading program based on assessment. The demands of competent reading instruction, and the training experiences

EI -Project Social Studies on Google+ As part of the follow up to the Bangalore and Delhi workshops conducted for Social Studies Teachers held early this year, we have started a forum on Google Plus to create a space for educators to share their experiences, connect with each other and easily find resources related to topics covered in the Indian curriculum for Social Studies. We look forward to the participation of all Social Studies teachers and are confident you will make this an extremely vibrant community for Social Studies educators in India. Join or visit the Project Social Studies Community at: http://goo.gl/Y5pUDP

FUN Zone Teacher: What happened in 1809? Pappu: Abraham Lincoln was born Teacher: What happened in 1819? Pappu: Abraham Lincoln was ten years old.

necessary to learn it, have been seriously underestimated by universities and by those who have approved licensing programs. The consequences for teachers and students alike have been disastrous. Source: http://www.readingrockets.org/

MISCONCEPTION Series Living Organisms - Form & Function

Class 7: Science A. 1.6%

We know that the leaves make food for a plant. D. 18.3%

When a seed is planted, before its leaves grow, where does the young plant get its food? A

The plant does not need food at that time.

The plant gets food from the soil.

B. 27.8% No. of students 930

C The plant uses food stored in the seed. P D

C. 51.4%

The plant uses water as food.

Only 51.4% answered correctly

‘food’ could also be the source of these misconceptions. Though students may not know how a seed stores food, they can still answer this question based on various observations, logically. Students need to understand certain specific distinctions-

1 Why was the question asked in ASSET test? Students know that a seed is a living thing, the first stage in the life cycle of a plant, and the way it grows. They even know the way plants make food. This question was designed to test if students understand how a seed gets food to grow.

What did students answer?

•

that food is something that provides raw materials required to build the cells and substances from which energy can be extracted.

•

A nutrient is something that is required to carry out life processes normally; they need not provide energy. What a plant gets from soil is nutrients and water. Water is used in the process of making food.

Possible reason for choosing A: Very few students selected this. They seem to have made a random guess. Possible reason for choosing B: Students probably have a wrong notion that soil is the food for plants and since the seed is also sown in the soil, it might be getting its food from the soil. Possible reason for choosing D: Students probably have a wrong notion that water is the food for seeds. They might have seen seeds being soaked in water and sprouting and so think that they might be getting the food they require from the water.

Learnings Students learn about how plants make food by the process of photosynthesis. But before they formally learn this, they already observe plants growing in soil and build certain theories about this. One of the theories they seem to have is that plants get their food from the soil. For a young child who sees a plant growing out of soil, the idea that soil provides the food has a strong intuitive power. As the data indicate, students probably hold on to such ideas, in spite of formally learning the process by which plants make food, and extend these ideas even to seeds. The concept of a gas, carbon dioxide, from the air being converted into solid mass, and carbohydrates, is too abstract for them. As we saw, among children choosing D, there is an idea that water is the source of food. It appears that the loose use of the term

So, if a seed is growing, and sometimes without being planted in the soil, it must have the necessary substances in itself.

How do we handle this? •

Try and understand the various ideas students have about terms like ‘food’, ‘nutrients’, how plants get food etc.

•

Students should understand the correct meaning of food and plant nutrition. This can be done by drawing an analogy with a factory. They should understand that just as in a factory the raw materials are used to make a final product, plants also use raw materials like carbon dioxide and water to make their product - food.

•

Be careful about using the term food because it is very likely that the loose usage of the term is the source of many misconceptions. Explain the difference between food and nutrients clearly to students.

•

The proper understanding of photosynthesis is one of the ways such misconceptions can be removed. But since it is one of the processes taught from a very earlier age, it would be better that students understand the process first and do not get lost in the terminology. Try and teach the process without using the term ‘photosynthesis’.

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