The monthly newsletter
SCOPE Issue 86 | October 2012 | www.ei-india.com
This Month’s Issue Personalised Learning ..... 01 Joy of Giving ................... 02 Workshop ....................... 04 Thoughtful Story ............ 05 Creating a Positive ......... 06 Teacher’s Bite ................. 07 Ask An Expert ................. 08
Personalised Learning The term “Personalised Learning” is a buzz word that educators use as an alternative to “one size fits all” teaching. Personalised Learning puts the needs of students FIRST! Personalised Learning honours each student as an individual learner, recognizes that each student has his or her own learning style, unique gifts, interests, aspirations, and challenges to learning, and supports each student to learn in his or her own unique way. Personalised Learning is a blended approach to learning that combines the delivery of education both within and beyond the traditional classroom environment. The Personalised Learning model fosters a collaborative partnership between the teacher, parent, student and school that designs a tailored learning program for each student according to the needs and interests of each individual student. What Makes Personalised Learning A Distinct Educational Model? The Personalised Learning approach embodies a unique combination of key components that qualify it as a distinct education model within the public school system. As a model that embodies flexibility, innovation, and individualised
student learning, Personalised Learning offers positive and encouraging hope as an alternative choice for a growing segment of public school children who need or desire a more tailored approach to learning to succeed academically.
Personalised Learning is a leading, "21st Century" educational approach that incorporates the results from the most recent leading education research studies. In congruence with these research results, the Personalised Learning model recognises that every student is an individual, with a distinct learning style, learning pace, learning path, and learning aspiration. Research confirms that children look to their parents as their primary role models for learning. Parents, in turn, are ultimately responsible for guiding their child's
learning and education. The Personalised Learning model recognizes the value of parent involvement and participation in their children's education and learning process, and the value of ongoing teacher development training. Personalised Learning supports a collaborative relationship between parents, students, teachers, and the school in creating an optimal learning process. Personalised Learning supports a variety of learning choices and opportunities, both within and beyond the classroom, to address each student's individual learning needs and optimise each student's learning potential. Personalising learning starts with the learner. It is not personalised instruction. The teacher, the school, and textbook companies can individualise instruction for the different types of learners. Personalised learning means that students drive their learning and the teacher is the guide on the side, the codesigner of their learning, and more of a facilitator to make sure the students are meeting their learning goals.
JOY OF GIVING WEEK C My maid always kept eagerly looking at my books while cleaning my room. On enquiring, I was surprised to find out that such a big didi was even less educated than a 6 year old. So I took out my Hindi story book and read it to her explaining the words she didn’t know. I felt elated when the next evening she came up to me and asked me to read another! Ever since that day I have been giving her daily lessons and I must say that she is a very hard working student. Today I can proudly say that she can read the full book on her own :) - Anoshkaa Gupta, Class 2, Delhi Public School, Vasant Vihar
te Thank you no We should always help others and bring joy, in their lives. But, during the “Joy of Giving Week”, we brought happiness in many people’s lives, by helping them, doing something pleasant or giving them, gifts. The students of Class 6A in our school wrote notes to teachers who have inspired them. They wrote about how they have inspired us, why they look up to them as role models and thanked them for everything they have done for them. They expressed their feelings of gratitude through their letters. At the end, they had an array of notes to various teachers, who had made a difference in their lives. The teachers were glad to receive these small and sweet messages from their students.
with your Craft something give it away. own hands and My name is Shivansh Bhatnagar and I have shared a photo of my craft with you. I took a long strip of yellow and red paper and glued it round. Then I made some more round things like the one I made before. In the next step I glued them all together which looked like a chain. Then I put some glue and attached the face to it. This made me feel proud and happy about my work. Then I saw a child playing around in the mud so I thought of giving him my creation. He was very happy after having such a colorful snake to play with.
using Make paper bags nd old newspaper a r give them to you local shopkeeper I took 80 bags of this and distributed them to 8 shops in my neighbourhood. This is a small step but its impact will be big
Jeevalkant Dandona
By students of Global Indian International School, East Coast, Singapore
My nanny who is about 12 years old, cannot read or write. When I came to class 'Prep' and started learning hindi, I started teaching her also. Now she knows as much Hindi as I do. She can recognise and write about 14 Hindi akshars and two-letter words that can be framed with those Hindi akshars. I feel proud that I am passing on whatever little knowledge I have gained so far from my teacher and school and... that's my JOY OF GIVING...Giving it Back to the Society...which will only enhance with time..She will always carry it with her...always...I feel great that I am giving something to my 'didi' in return of her love and care. Navya Singh, Delhi Public School, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi
CELEBRATION BY STUDENTS g The Joy of givin hildren’s celebration at C Academy, Malad Gifting Diaries Students visited a Municipality school, gifted the children there with a diary that the students have made using blank papers left from our note books. The children were very happy to receive the bright and colourful diaries
rd Thank you ca Students visited a police station. The policemen were taken by surprise when we gifted them a thankyou card for their selfless service, especially during the Ganpati Visarjan. When we all enjoy our holiday, the police force is busy trying to maintain peace and providing security to all citizens of Mumbai. They were overwhelmed by our gesture and promised to preserve our thank-you cards. It was a wonderful experience seeing their delighted faces. They, who are never cared for by the society, were gifted a thank-you card by us. A smile on their faces brought happiness in our life.
g Drive in n a le C h c a e B Students along with some teachers went on a beach cleaning drive, a day after the Ganpati Visarjan. It was appalling to know that the beaches were all strewn with the remains of the idol of the God whom we revered for ten days. We made an effort to clean the beach.
y Visiting Mentall dren Challenged Chil
It was heartening to know that there were many who had a genuine concern for the environment. I felt very proud to do my bit to keep the environment clean.
This was a way of assuring them that we are always with them. The big smile on their face was the best return gift for us.
Maushis Bringing joys to We decided to have an oral check up for them by none other than our ex-student, who is a dentist. The maushis benefitted greatly from this check up. We felt that this was a very good idea of taking care of the maushis who have been taking care of us since childhood.
Along with a few teachers, we got an opportunity to entertain the mentally challenged children. We found great pleasure in tying them a friendship band and offering them small gifts of crayons.
iring Translate an insp y with news piece of stor read people who can't I read out a story to people who could not read and explained to them the story. After doing this I felt over the moon with joy
Shubham Poddar
Understanding and Managing Anger A Workshop Anger seems to be the dominant emotion of our times. We are struggling with constant changes in technology, and the increasing pace of life. The tools to function have changed dramatically, and that has thrown our world and important relationships into disarray. The parent-child-teacher relationship is one amongst such relationships that has altered significantly. Children and youngsters have the tools to access world of information. They also know how to use these tools. That makes them disregard the experience, depth and advice of their parents and teachers. Elders on the other hand, are feeling out of control with regard to their children and students.
make us calmer and more effective. It focuses on how we may become participants in the solutions to temper the emotion of anger, rather than contributors to more anger around us. The workshop includes the screening of the award-winning International film ‘THE SUBTEXT OF ANGER’, by Vandana Kohli. The film features renowned experts in Neurology, Psychology, Psychiatry, Sociology and other disciplines from Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Wisconsin-Madison and other universities from the US, UK and India. DURATION: 4 hours CONDUCTED BY: Vandana Kohli Vandana Kohli is an award winning filmmaker, photographer, musician and teacher. Between film projects, Vandana conducts workshops on photography, writing, film and understanding and managing anger. She appears as a social commentator on television debates and has recently begun to contribute articles on a variety of issues for two prominent publications.
This feeling of loss of control drives us to frustration and anger. And if we express our anger as anger, we end up creating more anger. It is a vicious cycle. UNDERSTANDING AND MANAGING ANGER is an interactive workshop for teachers or parents or both, which discusses anger and its various facets – the emotion, expression, patterns and root causes that drive us to anger. It offers a deep analysis of the emotion and ways to manage it, to
www.vandanakohli.com www.thesubtextofanger.com Email: thesubtextofanger@gmail.com
Teacher’s Day celebrations at
The Creek Planet School, Hyderabad
classes. No doubt they imitated their Teachers!! Later they felicitated their teachers in the traditional manner, which was followed by a Cultural programme. The teachers were given a sumptuous lunch by the Management. After the yummy lunch the Management invited each teacher on to the dais describing their best qualities and showed their appreciation by felicitating them and presenting them with lovely gifts. It was a great moment of pride and satisfaction as the yearlong effort of the Teachers’ worth was recognised and appraised.
The teachers are the true guides, mentors and gurus in moulding the lives of students. Teacher’s day is actually the Birthday of the great guru and President of India Sri Radhakirshnan. Since he was a teacher, his Birthday is celebrated as Teacher’s Day. So, this day is dedicated to all the TEACHERS who selflessly strive hard all the year round in building the future of the students. So, to honour and pay their respects to the teachers, the students of Creek conducted various sports like throw ball, basketball etc. The teachers participated with great zeal, having become students while playing and enjoyed every moment. The students of grade X dressed up like teachers, in colourful dresses and looked handsome and beautiful. They conducted
It was a day full of fun and relaxation for the Teachers at Creek. It was a day not only of fun but a reminder for the Teachers for being dedicated to their work to develop the best citizens of India, more intensely.
Thoughtful Story: Alexander the Great’s Last Three Wishes Alexander, after conquering many kingdoms, was returning home. On the way, he fell ill and it took him to his death bed. With death staring him in his face, Alexander realised how his conquests, his great army, his sharp sword and all his wealth were of no use. He now longed to reach home to see his mother’s face and bid her adieu. But, he had to accept the fact that his sinking health would not permit him to reach his distant homeland. So, the mighty conqueror lay prostrate and pale, helplessly waiting to breathe his last. He called his generals and said, “I will depart from this world soon, I have three wishes, please carry them out without fail.” With tears flowing down their cheeks, the generals agreed to abide by their king’s last wishes. “My first desire is that”, said Alexander, “My physicians alone must carry my coffin.” After a pause, he continued, “Secondly, I desire that when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard be strewn with gold, silver and precious stones which I have collected in my treasury”. The king felt exhausted after saying this. He took a minute’s rest and continued. My third and last wish is that both my hands be kept dangling out of my coffin”.
strange wishes. But no one dared bring the question to their lips. Alexander’s favourite general kissed his hand and pressed them to his heart. “O King, we assure you that all your wishes will be fulfilled. But tell us why do you make such strange wishes?” At this Alexander took a deep breath and said: “I would like the world to know of the three lessons I have just learnt. I want my physicians to carry my coffin because people should realise that “No doctor on this earth can really cure anybody”. They are powerless and cannot save a person from the clutches of death. So let not people take life for granted. The second wish of strewing gold, silver and other riches on the path to the graveyard is to tell people that, “Not even a fraction of gold will come with me”. I spent all my life with the greed for power, earning riches but cannot take anything with me. Let people realize that it is a sheer waste of time to chase wealth. And about my third wish of having my hands dangling out of the coffin, I wish my people to know that, “I came empty handed into this world and empty handed I go out of this world”. With these words, the king closed his eyes. Soon he let death conquer him and breathed his last.
The people who had gathered there wondered at the king’s
News Bite Azim Premji Foundation Re-launches Teachers Portal The Azim Premji Foundation, set up by the IT Czar, Azim Premji, on 5th September marked Teacher’s Day by launching "a new and significantly improved version" of the 'Teachers of India' portal. "The portal ‘www.teachersofindia.org’ is a free and open platform for teachers across the country to hone their professional capabilities and get access to quality teaching aids and digital resources," the foundation said.
Children empowered to monitor RTE Schoolchildren are being empowered to oversee the proper implementation of India’s ambitious education-for-all law. The National Law School of India University (NLSIU), Bangalore has created a Right to Education (RTE) Vigilance committee comprising children – since they are undisputedly the most important stake-holders in education. “Numerous committees involving all other stakeholders are in existence. We felt there has to be a body comprising children themselves for better implementation of the Act,” said Niranjan Aradhya, a fellow at the Centre for Child and the Law NLSIU. Source: Deccan Herald
Creating a Positive Learning Environment Dealing with Forces that Effect the Learning Environment
under control. 4. Student Characteristics
Many forces combine to create a classroom's learning environment. This environment could be positive or negative, efficient or inefficient. Much of this depends on the plans you have in place to deal with the forces that effect this environment. The following list looks at each of these forces in order to help teachers better understand these forces and how to help ensure that they do not negatively affect the classroom learning environment. 1. Teacher Behaviour
This factor takes into account overriding characteristics of the group of students you are teaching. For example, you will find that students from urban areas will have different characteristics than those from the rural areas of the country. Therefore, the classroom environment will also be different. 5. Curriculum
Teachers set the tone for the classroom setting. If as a teacher you try hard to be even-tempered, fair with your students, and equitable in rule enforcement then you will have set a high standard for your classroom. Of the many factors that affect a classroom environment, your behaviour is the one factor that you can completely control.
What you teach will have an effect on the classroom learning environment. Mathematics classrooms are much more different than the social studies classrooms. Typically, teachers will not be holding classroom debates or using role playing games to help teach Maths. Therefore, this will have an effect on the teacher and student expectations of the classroom learning environment. 6. Classroom Setup
2. Teacher Characteristics The core characteristics of your personality also affect the classroom environment. Are you humorous? Are you able to take a joke? Are you sarcastic? Are you an optimist or a pessimist? All of these and other personal characteristics will shine through in your classroom and affect the learning environment. Therefore, it is important that you take stock of your traits and make adjustments if necessary. 3. Student Behaviour Disruptive students can really affect the classroom Classrooms with desks in rows are quite different from those where students sit around tables. The environment will be different too. Talking is typically less in a classroom set up in the traditional manner. However, interaction and teamwork are much easier in a learning environment where students sit together. 7. Time
environment. It is important that you have a firm discipline policy that you enforce on a daily basis. Stopping problems before they start by moving students or diffusing situations before they begin are the key to effectiveness. However, it is hard when you have that one student who always seems to push your buttons. Use all the resources at your disposal including mentors, guidance counselors, phone calls home, and if necessary the administration to help you keep the situation
Time refers to not only time spent in class but also the time of the day in which a class is held. First, the time spent in class will have an impact on the learning environment. If your school uses a block schedule, there will be more time on certain days spent in the classroom. This will have an impact on student behaviour and learning. The time of day in which you teach a specific class is beyond your control. However, it can have a huge impact on student attention and retention. For example, a class right before the end of the day is often less productive than one at the beginning of the morning.
Teacher’s Bite Mr. Pramod Mahajan, Principal, Podar International School, Kalyan
Q:
Who has most influenced you to become an educator, and how did they influence you?
I am influenced mainly by two eminent personalities; they are the father of our nation, Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam one of the most distinguished scientists of India. Mahatma Gandhi’s views on education was not only holistic and practical; it was also highly decentralised and integrated, with a demonstrated capacity to motivate the entire community and place responsibility and accountability at the community level versus the state. I am motivated by some innovative views of my ideal and Eternal Soul of Education Dr.A.P.J.Abdul Kalam (Hon’ble ExPresident of India) that Knowledge has three components: creativity, righteousness and courage; His focus is on transforming India into a developed nation by 2020. I am committed not only to maintain that impeccable image and highest standards but also to carry that forward to new heights.
Q:
What is your approach to classroom management and student discipline?
According to me, classroom management should be Inductive for adaptation, there should be wide scope for divergent thinkers, no doubt it should be child friendly but innovative tactics should be there so that the child is forced to
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think beyond the box. Student discipline!!! The child should be self disciplined. They should not treat the teacher as a teacher but an educator and facilitator. The classroom environment should not be tedious; there should be lot of interactions in the positive direction to enhance learning, the application level and creative thinking. Students should be discouraged from cramming and mugging information.
Q:
What are your views regarding the Importance of teacher training and development in educating students?
Keeping in view the concept of global learning, an educator has to be updated every day, his skills and techniques should be sharpened and for that, the training and development of teachers plays a vital role. Teachers may not be the ultimate source of the information, keeping in view, electronic media, but definitely he should be very rich in resources to impart knowledge.
Q:
What is your view regarding the ASSET Test?
ASSET testing is no doubt a good evaluation tool to measure the degree of learning knowledge but beyond that it is diagnostic tool to diagnose the academic needs, intellectual merits and demerits. The detailed analysis following the test helps students, parents, teachers and the Principal. To be said in brief, it is a complete package of diagnosis, testing, measurement, evaluation and remedial actions to be considered and followed. The unique features of the ASSET test ensures that it is completely as per the pace and speed of the child, quite flexible, and stress free. It enhances competitive spirit and helps to keep the children on a positive track, forcing him to introspect and to be a divergent thinker.
Chemistry – A Volatile History A 2010 BBC Series on History of Chemistry presented by Prof. Jim Al Khalili
From Fiery phosphorous to lustrous gold, the earth where we live, breath and walk are made of several elements. Yet for centuries, the world of elements was completely un-known. Ancient Greeks believed that the earth was made of four elements, namely, earth, water, fire and air. The same beliefs also existed also existed in our country adding ether as yet another element (which together were referred to as panha bhutas or the five elements of nature) In the three part award winning series, each of one hour duration, Prof Jim Al Khalilli traces the extra ordinary stories of how elements were discovered and mapped and subsequently how their combinations were instrumental in shaping the modern world. In the first episode, Prof Khalili explores the explosive story of chemistry, i.e., the discovery of elements. To cite an example is the discovery of phosphorous. In 1669 Brand was looking at possibilities of extracting gold from human urine. Brand boiled the urine for several days until he was left with a thick paste. Finally, fragments of a substance emerged which burned brighter than the candles of that time. Soon Brand named it icy noctiluca – ‘cold night light’. Today it is named as phosphorus. In the episode two, Prof. Kalilli traces the mapping of elements
by looking at the 19th century chemists who struggled to improve an order on the apparently random world of elements. In the beginning of the 19th century, only 55 of naturally occurring 92 elements were known. Scientists had no idea how many more they might find, or indeed if there was an infinite number of elements.Their work focused not only on numbers of elements but also their unique relationships, which ultimately lead to the chemistry’s most beautiful intellectual creation, the periodic table. Mendeleev’s Periodic Table is the highlight of episode 2. In the final episode, Prof Khalili uncovers tales of success and struggles in the story of chemistry battle to control and combine the elements and build our modern world. Towards the end of the episode, Khalili explores how the new age scientists are attempting to command the extreme forces of nature and create brand new elements. The series is mostly downloadable from YouTube and can also be purchased online from Amazon. It is a highly recommended series for students and teachers interested in history of science. - By Jitu Mishra, Educational Specialist
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