Mentor Magazine, September 2016; Volume 10, Issue 4 by Mentor Magazine

CONTENTs

September 2016 | Volume 10 Issue 04

Mentor Thoughts

COVER STORY

Ode to the Teacher Page - 04

Thank you for being you...

Sultan Speaks Page - 05

Nurturing Global and Digital Citizenships....

Pedagogy

Emphasizing Skills over Facts Page - 06

Skill development, the need of the hour…

Interest-Based Curriculum Page - 09

Beyond Conventional Pedagogy…

School Leadership

A Collaborative Culture The Synchro Study System...

Recognizing Teaching Excellence Page - 19

Spurring Teacher Professional Development...

School Governance

Parental Influence on School Governance Page - 22

A Congenial Climate...

Innovation

Simulation in the education-technology space Page - 26 Technology to seep into the fundamentals of education...

Using technology channels for communication Page - 29 New Avatar of Education...

Fostering Creativity- the need of the hour Page - 31 Creativity is a part of the humanistic approach...

22 31 Publisher & Owner: Syed Sultan Ahmed Editor-in-Chief: Kalpa Kartik Associate Editor: Yashika Begwani Designed by: Harpreet Singh Production: Praveen U.M., Sathish C., Guna V. Printed by: Manoj Printed at: Elegant Printing Works, # 74, South End Road, Basavangudi, Bengaluru - 560 004. Ph: +91 80 26615507 Published at: # 175, 2nd Cross, Lower Palace Orchards, Bengaluru - 560 003, India. NOTICE: As an author/contributor you are responsible for the authenticity of the information you provide in your article. The publishers do not accept liability for error or omissions contained in this publication. By submitting letters/emails or other publication materials to Mentor Magazine you agree they are the property of Mentor Magazine. All communication to Mentor Magazine must be made in writing. No other sort of communication will be accepted. All decisions regarding publishing of an article is the prerogative of the publisher and editorial team of Mentor Magazine. Mentor Magazine is owned and published by EduMedia Publications Pvt. Ltd. for and on behalf of Mr. Syed Sultan Ahmed. All disputes are subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts and forums in Bengaluru City. Source for a few pictures - Internet

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SULTAN SPEAKS

NURTURING GLOBAL AND DIGITAL CITIZENSHIPS In the month of July, I was in Boston to attend the Future of Learning 2016 held as part of Project Zero, organised by the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Over the years I have attended and spoken at innumerable conferences and summits, but this one stood because of the quality of researched topics that were deliberated. The conference design did not look at solutions to the future of education instead it focused on understanding the dynamics of the future that will in turn impact the process of learning. The theme of the conference revolved around nurturing global and digital citizenships. The topic seems urgent against the backdrop of rapid spread of digital technologies, growing calls for sustainable development as well as a rising xenophobia and a most troubling refugee crisis. The questions that guided the discussions at the conference were: I. Purpose of Learning? What are the reasons that guide our educational efforts; how are they being articulated by others and in my own work? II. How might we then rethink learning? How do we need to rethink the what, who, and how of learning in our dynamic global and digital times? III. What should we do differently? What should I, and others, do differently in our teaching, learning and leadership to meet the new digital and global demands in practice? IV. How might we prepare ourselves? What is our role as responsible professionals in Education in a digital and globally interdependent world? Some of the interesting topics

that were deliberated include: • Millennials do not want to absorb content, they want to produce and participate in creation of content. This is the reality of our times, everyone has the ability to and feel the need to create content. Our social media activity, fascination for taking photos and videos, eagerness to reply and respond to messages and posts is all proof that we love to create content. Education originally was designed in a manner where students had to absorb content already created. How will we engage a generation which wants to create content not absorb content? • Children need to learn to be curators of information and to remove the noise. There is so much content available that knowing or remembering content will not be necessary. The new skill required would be to analyze and sort relevant information from the abundance of information available. • What will happen to truth in the era of Digital Truth? Everyone has an opinion and everyone is creating content. In this era of content and abundance of

content what happens to the truth? • We have to live with diversity. The pace at which migration is happening around the world has never been witnessed. In this fast changing demographics how do we teach boundaries, cultures and traditions to our children? • Education should not be for something it should be a wonderful experience by itself. If we fail to create good experiences for children we will fail to engage them in the process of learning. The future of learning is going to be very exciting yet very different from what it is today. Finding answers to these questions and many more that will come up over the years will take us on a journey of exploration that will lead us to how learning will happen in future!

Mr. Syed Sultan Ahmed, Managing Director, LXL Ideas sultan@lxl.in

PEDAGOGY

EMPHASIZING SKILLS OVER FACTS Ms. Pratima Gupta

Ms. Pratima Gupta is a trained Museologist who started her career as a Museum Educator at The National Museum of Natural History, New Delhi and continued educating school children and teachers for eight years at the Museum. For almost 30 years she has been involved in in-service teachertraining in the area of “Linking Education with Culture” at The Centre for Cultural Resources and Training(CCRT), Ministry of Culture. She is currently working as Deputy Director in the Training Division with the additional responsibility of Cultural Club Scheme at CCRT and Fellowship Scheme of Ministry of Culture. She has also published papers in the “Journal of Indian Museums”. In this article for MENTOR magazine, Ms. Gupta highlights the importance of skill development in education.

Every year thousands of children pass out from Indian Schools unaware of what to do next. Most of them choose disciplines based either on their marks or as guided by parents and friends. I feel extremely sorry and helpless in such a situation. Parents quote teachers stating that one should take up engineering or medicine or commerce and so on! No one wants to know, what the child wants and I do not blame them. That poor child has neither been trained to understand what s/he would love to do, nor exposed to various options available to him/her. Whose responsibility is this anyway? Don’t you think the school should be sharing this responsibility? How can the school assist the child in this decision making? All these years, the school has been emphasising on rote learning and marks. But where do these marks take anyone? Today’s scenario is such that with 97% marks, children are forced to take admission in non-collegiate options of a University since the 98% scorers have blocked their seats at the coveted Universities. This is where skill

development can play a major role. Had these children been exposed to skill development at the initial stages, they would have been able to plan a better future for themselves. Skill-based education in schools will provide students with: • Meaningful, joyful learning with ‘hands-on’ experience • Enhanced creativity as they would be trained on practical approach to solve problems • More integrated approach to education • Opportunities to select career based on one’s own interest and talent • A break from monotony of classroom teaching From the economic perspective, skill development in schools will provide: • Opportunities for the youth to accept challenges of Entrepreneurship leading to job creation in the long run • An increasingly well equipped workforce which fulfills the skill demand of the industry A Fundamental Right I remember reading in the newspapers almost a year back that skill could be the next fundamental right. The news item stated and I quote, “The government is planning to make skill training a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution to boost employability of India’s workforce. The proposed right to skill will task the State Governments with the

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September 2016 responsibility of imparting Vocational training through special State Universities that will be overseen by a regulatory body at the Centre.” The proposal is that anyone between the age group of 15-45 years can go up to the district magistrate and petition that s/he has to be trained. The news item further stated that several countries like Germany, Switzerland and South Korea have already enacted this as a right. Closer home, Chhattisgarh is one state in India which has taken lead in this direction.

The government is planning to make skill training a fundamental right guaranteed by the Constitution to boost employability of India’s workforce

While I sincerely hope that the skill training becomes a fundamental right in the coming years, the school education has a larger role to play. Way back in the sixties, when the Kothari Commission talked about vocationalisation of education at the senior secondary school level, it was a novel idea. The introduction of subjects like Socially Useful Productive Work (SUPW)/Work Experience(WE) into the school system, could have brought education to a closer relationship with productivity. However, there were no takers for what the Kothari Commission proposed. Vocationalisation failed totally at that time. One can say that the proposal was ahead of its times. Today, the situation has changed completely. With a population of more than 1.25 billion people

with a large section of young people, it becomes necessary for the government to find ways of employability for this strong work force. Unfortunately, the scenario is very different from what it should be. We are churning out doctors, engineers, law graduates, architects and other graduates who are not competent enough to fit into the needs of modern industry. Hence, thousands of these young graduates, passing out from Indian Universities, remain unemployed every year. This is not the end of the story. Only 4.7% of India’s 487 million strong work force possesses formal vocational education, as compared to about 60% in most other industrialised countries. This makes them unsuitably equipped to fit into the needs of the industry. Who will bridge the gap between the market needs and the skills of the work force? The first step towards bridging this gap is to introduce skillbased learning at the school level. This is because teachers are the only ones who understand children best. They can spot the hidden talent of every child, who comes in contact with them and guide them towards the right direction. However, the schools

need to select skill trainings which can be offered at the school level, very judiciously. They need to establish links with the industry and develop a better understanding of industry requirements. Skill Development- exploring disciplines It is said that after agriculture, craft industry is the second largest industry in India. I often wonder why is it difficult for schools to identify the local crafts of their area and provide training through the local craftspersons and artisans. It is known that every little village of India has a craft tradition which is unique to that particular village. If these craftspersons are involved in imparting specific skill training to school students, it will work out as a less expensive and very practical option. Besides, this will also give an opportunity to the school children to interact with local craftspersons and understand their needs and problems. At the same time these students can survey the market and figure out the requirements of the market and design products basis market needs. Hence, integrating craft skills with school education is an easy option available to all schools through out India.

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Some of the other skills, that can easily be integrated with curricular teaching in schools, can be Fashion Technology, Jewellery Designing, Leather Technology, Ceramics, Textile Designing, Culinary teaching, Para-medical training, Nursing, Physiotherapy and so on. This is an open-ended list which can keep increasing, based on the local requirement. The schools should shoulder this responsibility of offering newer disciplines, based on the local environment and its needs.

Skill-based education in schools will provide students with more meaningful, joyful learning with ‘handson’ experience.

The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship was set up with the main objective of making someone responsible for coordination of all skill development efforts across the country and removal of the disconnect between demand and supply of skilled manpower. The Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana, one of the flagship schemes of this Ministry, aims at enabling a large number of Indian youth to take up industry relevant skill training that will help them in securing better livelihood.

by its founder Shri Sanjit Roy or Bunker Roy, who believed that solutions to rural problems lie within the community. Shri Sanjit Bunker Roy, a social activist and educationist, based his model of education on imparting informal, non-structured and onthe-job training by identifying the poor, unemployed youth who are school drop-outs and have returned to their villages, empty-handed. His education program encourages hands-on or learning-by-doing process of gaining knowledge and skills. If such a model is successful in a remote town, why can’t similar experiments be attempted in the so called ‘good’ schools of the capital of this great and highly populated country? We belong to

a land of practitioners, whether it was yoga or Charak’s ayurveda or Susrut’s surgery techniques or Vedic mathematics, they were all based on practical knowledge. It is high time we establish linkages between theory and practical skills. With the present Government’s inclination towards building a SKILLED INDIA, it is the right time for school education systems to shake up and bring changes within the system. Schools must lay greater emphasis on developing skilled, school pass outs, thereby equipping them with a rather secured future and helping in building a skilled and effective work force.

The Winners While putting my thoughts together I am reminded of many success stories in this direction. One very apt story is that of ‘Barefoot College’ in Tilonia, a small town, near Ajmer in Rajasthan. Barefoot College was established way back in 1972

ddwksp.ccrt@nic.in

September 2016

INTEREST-BASED CURRICULUM Mr. Premjith Alampilly

A Strategic Marketing professional, Mr. Premjith Alampilly leads the Marketing initiative at MeritTrac, Bengaluru. He is a management graduate with over a dozen years of experience of engaging customers in different roles - sales, through partners and as a marketer. He has extensive experience of connecting with the Indian Education Industry and has been instrumental in building and managing partnerships with academic institutions, corporate entities and government organizations. He has spoken on the key priorities in education â&#x20AC;&#x201C; curriculum and assessments at international conferences organized by India Didactics Association, FICCI and CII and has also authored articles and blogs on topics around Education, Assessments and Marketing. In this article for MENTOR, Mr. Alampilly shares his thoughts on interest driven pedagogy.

Learning is the process of attaining, reinforcing or altering existing knowledge, skills, ability, personality and behaviour through study, experiences or by being taught on specific areas. It is a continuous process that begins at birth and carries on until death. Learning can be a result of conscious effort or may occur without conscious awareness. It leads to different degrees of enablement among individuals. At the intellectual extreme, it can be perceived as a journey in search of truth. It is also a weapon to improve human life by developing knowledge and abilities. At a more pragmatic level, it helps the individual become employable and the world meet its workforce needs through skilled manpower. While learning is about empowerment, for young kids, it is believed that there is a need for a curriculum that defines what one should learn at different stages in their life. Curriculum may be defined as a sketch of proposed content and process goals that are developed based on planned set of learning objectives, defined for different grades to be attained at particular points in time throughout education. This is an important element of education and goes a long way in defining successful attainment of learning objectives. The purpose of a sound curriculum is to help education be a platform to build successful learners who can be responsible citizens positively contributing to the

society. There are different forms of curriculum development like subject-centered curriculum, learner-centered curriculum, Interest-based curriculum, problem-centered curriculum etc. Currently most educational institutions have a standardized curriculum for its students for primary, secondary or higher secondary programs.

Teachers have to be selective in deciding which interest they would want to leverage and include in their curriculum

Every form of curriculum has its own advantages and disadvantages. While subjectcentered curriculum focuses on traditional disciplines and follows textbooks on various topics, the problem-centered curriculum or problem-based learning organizes subject matter around a problem that needs to be solved. The learner based curriculum on the other hand focuses on aspects of learnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interest and their experiences. The learner based or interest based model deems that the learners are the experts who are best placed to know what they need. This form considers the learner as an individual who engages with his /her environment actively. This school of thought emphasises on the learnerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interests

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classroom activities and homework are mostly viewed as tasks that are enforced upon students.

and motivations as a key to curriculum formation. The premise of interest-based curriculum or learning is that when the pupil has an interest in something it becomes easy and rather enjoyable to learn that topic. My son, when he was a toddler liked the earth mover toy. He would notice an earth mover toy in any toy shop we went to and was attracted by it at construction sites. As he grew up, he started showing interest in moving vehicles like cars and sports bikes. At this stage, the scaled models of popular cars and books with photos of automobiles acted as his ‘pacifiers’. He had not learned to read and write but he was so fascinated by some of these cars that he would quickly notice a BMW, a Mercedes, an Audi or a Range Rower on the roads before anyone else would. Later his interest shifted to sports. Like most kids of that age, videos and gaming became his favourite pass time. He would know the emerging players of tier-two teams playing league football in England, Spain, Germany and Italy.

the game along with his friends in their local community. I was surprised to note how quickly he learned to add, subtract, multiply and divide as he had to total scores, calculate the runs required to win, the run rate etc. All these when he was around six or seven years old and with limited teaching intervention. Individuals, even as children are able to learn so much about things that interest them. Imagine teaching these as a part of curriculum in classrooms using prescribed text books and the conventional pedagogy! The teacher will have to attract the student’s attention before they teach them these topics. Students on their part are expected to memorize information and learn subject matter that can be perceived as unexciting. To add to this,

Children learn best when they are interested and engaged. Even in the Gurukul system of education, we can assume that the objective was to prepare the pupil for life and s/he learned what interested him/her the most. With years of close association with the pupil, the teacher knew their interests and motivations and was able to personalize teaching. There is no doubt for the effectiveness and successful implementation of interestbased curriculum and learning. If interest- based curriculum and learning is such a sound approach, does that mean that it is the children who should decide the curriculum? That probably is not the best idea. While designing interest-based curriculum, there are some pertinent questions that need answers. • How would a teacher cater to individual interests of so many students they teach? • Children’s interests are based on experiences they are exposed to. If teachers were to rely on a child’s limited interests, there will be a dearth of ideas and interests that can be worked upon.

A nephew of mine loved cricket. He used to follow the Indian Premier League and other international cricket tournaments. He also played

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September 2016

• Children will have diverse interests at different ages. Teachers will not be effective if they blindly follow the interests of children. Teachers have to be selective in deciding which interest they would want to leverage and include in their curriculum. • At what age groups would you follow interest-based curriculum? Is it only during early childhood or is there a scope of expanding it to adult education as well. • Redefining roles of pedagogy and technology in order to make this learning experience personalised and effective. • Using standardised tests or assessments to measure learning effectiveness. Building the right curriculum is the responsibility to educators who understand what should be learned; when and how. As educators, it is important to build the right balance between forcing a curriculum on students and blindly following their interests. Implementing Interest-Based Learning involve the following steps:

It is important to understand interests among children and use it as a source of inspiration to build curriculum; not just follow it. Children’s interest should form the basis of a lot that we would want to do in our teaching process. This would help educators and children to together leverage and convert interest to an effective learning experience. Children’s interest ideally should be one among the many important sources of inspiration for curriculum design. This interest should be married well with what educators believe are priorities for students to learn at various stages in their lives.

Immersive learning with the help of games and videos are already used as some of the most valuable resources

Infusing novel interests or expanding the current scope of interest is important in making learning holistic. As mentioned earlier, children have limited

exposure and will be interested only in things they are exposed to. Restricting teaching to what children are currently interested in will lead to limited interests to draw upon thereby limiting the scope of learning too. Most children are not bothered about the source of ideas for developing interest. As educators, it important to infuse new ideas and interests or extend current ones for meaningful learning. There are many basic foundations that are important for students to develop, but rarely come up as interests. For example, the initiative of Swachh Bharat is about keeping the surroundings clean. It is flawed to imagine that cleanliness will appear as a natural interest among children. It is important for educators to develop these interests that insist on some of the important aspects in human life. Respect, cleanliness, road safety, nationalism are some of the areas where interest has to be created in students. Prioritising interests is key to effective interest-based learning. It is quite normal in today’s lifestyle for children to have varied interest with a far

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today are far more technology savvy than their elders. It is also true that these technologies and gadgets are the future. One has to be clear of how technology can be leveraged to foster interests and learning in children. Immersive learning with the help of games and videos are already used as some of the most valuable resources. Being selective about the content that is available for children and identifying what interests can be fostered using technology are the key decisions that educators have to take in today’s world.

lesser shelf life than before. Educators have to be selective in leveraging children’s interests effectively. Every child’s interest cannot be addressed at once. Educators should identify and develop interests that are important rather than working on every passing interest. To add to this, not all interests are relevant and offer possibilities for learning. Success depends on understanding the scope of interests and deciding how to respond to it. Some interests need to be immediately addressed, a few will need an extension, others need to be postponed and there will be some that might not be worth pursuing. Managing individual interests and group interest is particularly a big challenge when one addresses larger groups. One has to combine multiple interests of students to develop a meaningful curriculum and yet give individual child the attention to address their interest. In such a case, it is very important to involve the parents / guardians or other stakeholders as well to ensure that the child’s interest is not ignored and is developed as a lesson. Communicating and

training these stakeholders is an important aspect that educators must involve in.

The premise of interest-based curriculum or learning is that when the pupil has an interest in something it becomes easy and rather enjoyable to learn about that topic

Assessments play a critical role in learning. Developing the right kind of assessments is important in fostering development of interests and make the learning process more effective. How will educators develop assessments for learning for different interests is an important consideration while designing curriculum. Designing assessments for learning will help the students engage and learn better through assessments.

Interests play a very important part in learning. Using children’s interests as the basis for curriculum decision making helps to ensure that learning is not only interesting but also meaningful and relevant to children. Developing and doing justice to interest-based curriculum and learning needs empowerment of educators to fine-tune curriculum to suite the learners. What we learn with pleasure, we never forget - Alfred Mercier In a nutshell, interest definitely has a serious role to play in learning.

Role of technology and gadgets cannot be ignored in the context of interest-based curriculum and learning. Most millennials Premjith_C@merittrac.com

COVER STORY

A COLLABORATIVE CULTURE Ms. Arti Chopra

Ms. Arti Chopra is an alumna of Lady Sri Ram College, Delhi and has been associated with Sawai Man Singh Vidyalaya, Jaipur and Lawrence School, Ooty in the past. A dedicated educationist with over twenty seven years of experience in the field of education as a teacher, mentor, planner, and skill developer, she is a firm believer of amalgamating modern skills and teacher empowerment in education. Currently serving as the principal for Amity School,Sector 46, Gurgaon, Ms. Chopra shares excerpts from her life through her journey in education. As a young girl, I recall my childhood full of simplicity, sprinkled with little everyday triumphs that brought me immense joy. I remember having a determined goal and lofty ambitions.

and knowledge dissemination have become an integral part of 21st century core skills. This makes me advocate ‘career by choice, not by chance’ to all ‘sons’ and ‘daughters’ of this country.

Most of it was living, and growing, in a warm environment with unstructured games, and delightful homemade sweets. University life taught me that “sky is the limit’, rather there is no limit to acquire knowledge for an inquisitive learner. Though mainstream education could churn out jobs that were focused on “Career for life and not life for career”, I took up something considered ‘safe’ for women.

It is my belief that if a nation entrusts its teachers with the responsibility of character building along with enhancing knowledge quotient of its children, a true teacher should work with the three H’s - Head, Heart & Hands to fulfil his/her dream.

The impact my school teachers ultimately led me to take up teaching as a profession. As a teacher, the journey... I realized early that Institutions and individuals are both accountable for student performance. It was easy to feel the pulse of the changing times as my children grew up and changes in the teaching-learning pattern became obvious to me as a parent. Today, skill-building

Leadership What according to you is the purpose of education? The purpose of education according to me is to evolve human beings via knowledge dissemination or creation to a certain level from where they lead others. If education and entrepreneurship could hold hands together, low employability would no longer remain a challenge. Real education is one that provides fullest possible development of each learner for living morally, creatively, and productively in a democratic society.

What directed you into entering the field of education? As a young adult I realized that I wanted to make a difference in the world. People who influenced me the most, were my teachers rather ‘thought leaders’ who created an impact in my life. I chose education as a career because I believed that it is perhaps the most important function performed in human culture. Innocent smiles keep us going and are enough to remind us about why we became a teacher in the first place. I believe that the life is full of lessons and thus learning has no end. Over the years, there has been a shift in my role, from being a student to a teacher, then a facilitator. With each stepping stone the responsibilities grew and so did the level of commitment. Tell us about a recent book you read or a recent film that inspired you and your key takeaways as a school leader from it. A recent book I read was Jim Collin’s Good to Great. An inspirational read, it provides valuable insights on how to make good organizations great. It talks

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about shifting focus, evaluating processes and having the discipline to remove extraneous activities or efforts that are not getting one closer to achieving one’s goals. A recent movie that really touched my heart was Nil Battey Sanatta in which a simple uneducated mother did for her daughter, what an ordinary person could not think of. The film touches upon the subjects of a girl-child’s struggles, a mother’s hopes and the ways of the education system, with a powerful message to never give in. I feel a powerful will and a positive attitude, with good planning and foresighted vision can take any educational establishment ahead, which is so pertinent in ‘Emerging India’. How do you keep abreast with the current trends in the education system? Every day is a new learning experience for me. I have a voracious appetite for research, and innovative projects interest me a lot. Reading, mastering tools of technology, joining professional networks, learning and sharing in a collaborative mode, finding creative ways of expressing myself like blogging,

training, and painting are some of the joyful exercises I indulge in. It is my endeavor to consistently identify, foster, support, and promote 21st century pedagogy in my school, to ensure further improvement on “scientific, research-based strategies”. I wish to be the catalyst to drive this change! Governance Vision/Mission of the school and steps taken to achieve the same.. Amity International School Sector 46 Gurgaon is the sixth in the chain of schools established by Ritnand Balved Educational Foundation (RBEF), the umbrella body for all Amity institutions. The school aims to develop mental faculties and physical potential of every child and also nurture individuals with values and multivalent competencies. The school maintains a healthy teacher-student ratio along with high academic and ethical standards. It ingrains values like integrity, understanding and tolerance in the children and endeavors to nurture global citizens with human values. We not only train them to find challenging careers but also prepare them to face the challenges of life.

Advice you give to your teachers/ staff at the beginning of each session Every academic session is a new beginning in a child’s life. New session is also the time when the teachers could refresh their learning, research new methods and strategies to teach and motivate students. This is the time to orchestrate positive first impressions as they are usually based on a thin slice of behavior. Setting classroom norms or clearly laying out expectations starts to orient students toward the kind of effort, learning, performance and classroom behaviors teachers expect from them, and it helps them use their time productively. Establishing what they want students to learn (including both knowledge and skills) would help determine the appropriate content, teaching methods and assignments. Classrooms are social environments, so it is helpful to start the social dynamics in a productive way using active mode of communication. Set the tone for the course /subject because the way we engage students on the first day sends powerful messages about the level of involvement and interaction we expect from them. Teachers, who respect 3 P’s namely plan, prepare and passion, can expect better results at the end of session. How would you groom teachers/ staff to become leaders of tomorrow? Our teachers are already leaders in the domain that they are serving, be it a class teacher, subject teacher, faculty head or in charge of any specific function/activity. Subjectspecific training, mentoring and coaching by school-heads, collaboration with professional learning networks and ongoing

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September 2016 support from the system shall strengthen their profiles. I would further recommend the following for promoting teacher leadership: • A vision and strategy for teacher leadership • Fostering a Collaborative Culture to Support Educator Development and Student Learning • Accessing and Using Research to Improve Practice and Student Learning • Supportive social norms and working relationships • Availability of appropriate human and fiscal resources. • Promoting Professional Learning for Continuous Improvement • Improving Outreach and Collaboration with Families and Community • Foster an openness within schools to new ideas and innovative practices by promoting classroom and school-based action research; • Tap expanded resources such as technology and collaboration with the higher education community to learn from and disseminate best practices related to improving student learning • Re-think time, space, scheduling, and other support structures within schools to facilitate collaboration among teachers; • The school and system must be oriented toward risk-taking and inquiry • Create new “hybrid” roles for teachers, in which they can remain in their classrooms at least part of the time, but also serve in such roles as instructional coaches, curriculum coordinators. What are the key challenges that you go through as a Principal/

School Leader and how do you overcome these? Conducting teacher evaluations or using data to drive learning, principals are on the front line of implementing educational change. Just like CEOs, principals are innovators or thought leaders, work strategically to hire the right staff, cultivate effective teachers at all levels of their organization, ensure staff are supported and held accountable for results, advocate for teacher professional development, and cultivate a positive culture focused on their vision for success. Principals are passionate about children’s learning and resilient in the face of all the challenges that present themselves in achieving what all teachers want: world class learning and world class learners. It is quite a challenge to maintain high satisfaction levels of all stake holders and “walk the talk”. Some other challenges are: • Time is a real challenge for principals and can be addressed using technology and personal management. • Another issue that frustrates me would be families who do not value education and support their school’s efforts. Family support is garnered through counselors or community outreach programs in order for education to be successful. • I hate it when I know a student has potential to excel, but not the motivation to do so. Mentoring and coaching helps to revive the ‘drive’. • Respecting differently abled students calls for a lot of trained counselors and special educators, who need to be motivated from time to time

• There is a gap in achievements due to shortage of quality teachers. Teacher development and skill enhancement programs are regularly done for the same • Increasing of Undesired Behaviors in Classroom/ School calls for making School Behavior policy, clearly stating expected behavior What are the activities that students engage in? Their relevance/ importance in student development? Extra-curricular activities help channelize positive energy and relax minds. The activities offered to the students are based on all eight multiple intelligences i.e. logical, linguistic, musical, visual- spatial, interpersonal, intrapersonal, kinesthetic and naturalistic. This is done through work experience clubs where the child is given the freedom to choose as per his/her interest. Furthermore, various science competition and activities are organized under the aegis of Amity Children Science Foundation (ACSF). Other pioneering initiatives of ACSF include Vasudha, Yuva Vichar Manch, and Odyssey of the

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is an attempt to integrating the curriculum by developing inter-disciplinary curriculum units that enable students to acquire knowledge from different disciplines

Mind, YRoNS, IRIS and Space Settlement Design competition amidst many others. The school offers sports facilities in athletics, badminton, basketball, chess, cricket, football, gymnastics, hockey, taekwondo, shooting, skating, table tennis, tennis and volleyball.

Real education is the one that provides fullest possible development of each learner for living morally, creatively, and productively in a democratic society

Innovation How has the teaching learning process changed from your times to now or a decade ago to now? How do you/ the school meet the current needs of students? The realization of increased complexity of today’s world has led to the belief that academic achievement could improve by adapting teaching to student’s individual differences. Students who take e-mail, instant

messaging, and seemingly unlimited online resources are accustomed to using technology to organize and integrate knowledge. Because students expect to control when, where, how, and how fast they learn, they are motivating faculty members to change their methods of instruction and interaction. Faculty and professional staff are increasingly using technology to create communities to foster the exchange of ideas, address difficult problems, and avoid intellectual or professional isolation. With the great proliferation of knowledge and rapid changes in most fields as well as the appearance of many new fields, it is critical to develop students’ capacity for self-directed learning and selfgrowth there is a paradigm shift: • From the goal that focuses on transmitting knowledge with the goal that emphasizes the development of the individual student. • Adaptation of traditional teaching methods to shift towards the ability levels, patterns of different abilities, learning styles, personality characteristics, and cultural backgrounds. • Instead of teaching bits and pieces of information related to particular disciplines, there

..A few necessary changes have ushered in an era of changing patterns in our schools to meet the needs of learners; • Appreciate creativity & Innovation in the classroomOur testing and marking system is gradually shifting to recognize original contributions, in form of creativity, problem solving, valuable original research and innovation • Teacher as Facilitator- There is a gradual move away from instruction devoted to teachertransmitted content and teacher-directed learning and toward more student-centered teaching. • Dialogic Literacy- A richer understanding of how people learn more effectively and achieve strategic change through dialogue is emerging. The uses of dialogue can be considered as face-to-face communication and computermediated communication. • TECH SMART teachers do influence students. The Internet has created this possibility- teachers would be able to reach out to the world through collaborations using technology. • Knowledge dissemination to knowledge creation- More emphasis is there on analysis, synthesis and creation of knowledge, using 21st century tools like critical thinking, collaboration, enquiry-based learning etc. • Change in mindset- Our new education system is creating entrepreneurs, innovators, artists, scientists, thinkers and writers who can establish the

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September 2016 foundation of a knowledge based economy. • Lifelong Learning- Flipping the classrooms, participatory research, virtual field trips and project-based learning used in technology enabled classrooms today, help in lifelong learning, making the process more authentic and meaningful for the learner. What is the one thing that you would like to/are trying to introduce in the school blending with the latest trends so that students may be prepared for challenges of tomorrow? Amity has formulated the Synchro study system wherein the CBSE curriculum and the course material for competitive examinations like IIT-JEE, Medical and other Entrance Exams are taught in synergy with each other. So, while a student studies a particular topic for his Board Examination, the extension of the same is taught to him for the competitive exams by the experts of Amity Institute for Competitive Examinations (AICE) within the school campus. Meritorious students are also eligible for scholarships and can avail other facilities including latest books and journals etc. from the library. Amity Five Year Conceptual Program (AFYCP) is there to make students of Grade VI-X, excel in competitive world as it proposes to spot the latent talent of a child early in life and nourish them to bloom in full might.

that we really lay emphasis on are compassion, humility, self-discipline, perseverance, patriotism, forgiveness and cooperation etc. These are the ‘intangibles’ of education which are our educational institution identifies and validates and we have made it a part of the school’s collective vision.

teachers use the right moves. Instead, schools need learning leaders who create a schoolwide focus on learning both for students and the adults who serve them. The educators need to equip themselves with tools of technology, enhance their EQ and SQ and be the co-learners in the learning process.

What is that one strong belief you have and what is the message you would like to give to fellow educators/ institutions in the making? We need to sustain the systems in which students are routinely taught by well-prepared teachers who work together to create high-quality curriculum, supported by appropriate materials and assessments that enable qualitative improvement in teaching learning process. The education system is now expected to provide the kind of high-skilled creative, flexible educators needed for the 21st century schools of tomorrow. I can see the ‘Thinking Schools, Learning Nations’ paradigm shift happening and the state taking the onus of bringing educational reforms and reaching out to underprivileged strata of society. Today’s schools do not need “instructional leaders” who attempt to ensure that

Life is the mother of learning. What is your learning from life? Race to the Top requires educators to use “researchbased” school improvement models. Unfortunately, the core strategies of both of these reform initiatives largely ignore this call for practices grounded in research. Principals are being asked to improve student learning by implementing mandated reforms that have consistently proven ineffective in raising student achievement. The current emphasis on using more intensive supervision and evaluation of teachers to improve school performance illustrates this irony. According to Race to the Top guidelines, this more rigorous supervision process should influence a teacher’s professional development, compensation, promotion, retention, tenure, and certification. Ultimately,

Pedagogy What are the key values that a school/ institute must instill in students? The school continues to be the powerhouse of a value system that we identify ourselves with and is very close to our ethics and beliefs too. Some of the values

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the evaluations should reward highly effective educators with merit pay and remove those deemed ineffective. Standards are transparent and publicly known criteria or benchmarks used to assess and inform education policy, provision, and performance. Incentives are any financial or non-financial factors that motivate a specific type of behavior or action, and can be positive or negative, i.e. encourage a certain behavior or deter it. Information in the form of clear definitions of outputs and outcomes combined with accurate data on performance and results collected at regular intervals enables sanctions to be imposed when specified standards are not met. Accountability refers to the act of holding public officials/ service providers answerable for processes and outcomes and imposing sanctions if specified outputs and outcomes are not delivered • Communicate to various levels of staff. • Participation of all staff in vision sharing. • Orientation at induction and refresher workshops for all staff. • Code of ethics given to all through vision and mission statements. • Including value education as a part of the syllabus. • Encouraging teachers to include current events. • Keeping enough space in the time table to value based and relevant films etc. • Managerial decisions should be taken in line with this. • Leading by example.

tête-à-tête

QUICK

MENTOR in conversation with Ms. Ariti Chopra

1. I would describe education as…. A force that enables selfempowerment 2. You’ve been both a teacher and a principal, which one do you enjoy more and why? I continue to remain a teacher at heart and a lifelong learner too. All my decisions are studentcentric even today, though the perspectives have widened to include macro objectives of sustainable development of wall-less classrooms in a global world. 3. You’ve said, “Principals are thought leaders like CEOs.” What are the 3 leadership qualities for a dynamic principal in today’s times? I feel that Principals of today should be: make their followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation • Lead learners, since learning is a lifelong process • Humble, since humility will take them from being ‘good’ to ‘great’

5. Give us a technological advancement in recent times that you think has changed the way in which children learn. Why is it important? It is important to design learning profiles of students to understand the multiple intelligences they possess. ‘One size cannot fit all’, hence a Blended Approach to learning is the need of the hour and the future of learning 6. Balancing work and family life as a woman; what are the 3 things required to strike the perfect balance. • Planning • Self-enhancement and • Time management 7. Your biggest learning from life has been… Never give up….

4. What are the 3 key skills that a student must be taught in school to prepare for the world outside school • Life skills • Survival skills • 21st century skills

artichopra@gmail.com

SCHOOL LEADERSHIP

RECOGNIZING TEACHING EXCELLENCE Ms. Ramya Venkataraman

Ms. Ramya Venkataraman is Co-Founder and CEO of Centre for Teacher Accreditation (CENTA), based in Bengaluru. An IIT-IIM alumna from the 1990s, Ms Venkataraman was with McKinsey & Company for 15+ years, working across sectors and geographies. She then made a career switch to follow her long-standing passion for education and built and led the firm’s education practice in India. A recently elected Ashoka Fellow, she founded CENTA in 2014. CENTA offers a Certification for teachers which aims to create a career pathway for the teaching profession and to support schools in their recruiting, development and retention efforts. In this article for MENTOR, Ms. Venkataraman highlights the importance of recognizing teacher excellence and how it can catalyze teacher professional development.

“I am keen to do high quality on-going training for my teachers, but it is not easy – any suggestions for an organization that can help me with this?” This is a question I am asked every now and then by some enlightened and progressive school principals or trustees. Based on where the school is located and what kind of training they are looking for, I try to think over it and see if I can suggest a couple of options for them to explore. Each time such a conversation takes place, I am reminded of several teacher professional development programs that have been launched in India over the last ten to fifteen years. In fact, the number would run into at least hundreds, if not thousands, combining government-run or government-funded programs, non-profit run programs, private teacher training businesses and services by some schools themselves. However, very few of these initiatives have been able to bring quality, scale and sustainability together. The

natural question that arises is – why? It is now reasonably well-accepted in India that both upfront (i.e. pre-service) and ongoing (i.e. in-service) teacher education play a critical role in enabling the teacher to deliver quality education – a view that is also supported by the findings of several global research efforts. Though teacher development is[a2] recognized as a critical need, and several people in the landscape are making efforts to address this need, then why has it been so difficult to build a high quality, large scale and sustainable teacher development program? Teacher development has struggled to scale up and sustain because of ‘lack of demand’

The core issue – lack of ‘demand’ for teacher education My view is that teacher development has struggled to scale up and sustain because of ‘lack of demand’. The progressive school principal or trustee we were speaking about earlier are relatively small in number. An average school does not want to spend too much on teacher training, since it is intangible and difficult to show as a differentiator in the near term. Even more importantly, there is not much demand from individual teachers. Beyond

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the B.Ed. or D.Ed., which is a requirement, there is limited tangible incentive for the individual teacher to get trained! Improvement in competencies does not necessarily lead to bigger or better opportunities. Therefore, teacher training entities, for their sustenance, have to depend on a smaller number of progressive schools, donor grants or government programs-all of which have their own scale and/or sustainability issues. With this kind of dependence, teacher training entities find it difficult to build long term teams to maintain quality, or put in the investment needed for scaling up, and many of them end up remaining either small or inconsistent in quality or both. So how do we create demand for teacher education and therefore also help high quality teacher training entities to scale up? For a minute, let us look at another side of this coin – recognizing teaching excellence. Tangible Rewards Every now and then, I hear a school principal saying, “Soand-so teacher of mine is outstanding… I wish I could do something special for her/ him.”

In fact, a survey of 120 school principals and trustees from around the country, conducted by CENTA in 2014, revealed that an overwhelming 95% were interested in creating incentives for high-performing teachers if there was an objective way to do that. A smaller but significant 32% were willing to create financial incentives in addition to role-based incentives such as promotion. ..both upfront (i.e. pre-service) and ongoing (i.e. inservice) teacher education play a critical role in enabling the teacher to deliver quality education Teaching of course has one automatic powerful ‘reward’, i.e. satisfaction in seeing one’s students grow and do well, and some teachers constantly keep improving their competencies towards this. However, it is natural for any professional to also expect ‘tangible external rewards’. In another survey that our organization conducted, of about 300 new teachers,

majority responded that they would be keen to see: (a) opportunities for career growth; (b) financial rewards; (c) public recognition of their good work. However, school managements also pointed out two sets of practical challenges in rewarding and recognizing outstanding teachers. First, how does one objectively identify outstanding teachers? Second, what should the rewards be? In most professions like education or health, it is difficult for an individual entity to reward its outstanding performers by itself. This is a challenge that is best solved collectively in a landscape. Here is an example of what such a solution could look like. Our national competition, the CENTA Teaching Professionals’ Olympiad or TPO, recognizes teachers’ efforts through tangible rewards. Moreover, an initiative like this also creates a platform for teachers to network and meet like-minded people across the country. This is of course one example. More fundamentally, what are the elements needed for creating systemic rewards for teachers for improving their competencies? Examples from other high-performing education systems and inputs from several stakeholders in India suggest that there are three important aspects for making this happen. The three inter-linked pillars The first aspect is a reasonably aligned view on what competencies of teachers can most contribute to high quality education and a mechanism for any individual teacher to signal that s/he has those competencies. For example, a ‘certification’ that is based on well-accepted competency standards could serve such a purpose. The international Chartered Financial Analyst

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September 2016 (CFA) certificate would be an example of such a certificate in the finance profession while The Fellowship of the Royal College of Physicians in the UK (FRCP) would be an example from medicine. The Standards towards such a certification must be well-researched and also regularly updated based on lessons from the ground. Further, I believe that such a certification needs to be ‘independent’, in order to retain its objectivity; i.e. not linked to a particular training program or a particular set of resources or philosophy. It must instead serve as a catalyst or support pillar for teacher training programs; e.g. by providing relevant information on teacher competencies and gaps. The second aspect, following from the first, is the presence of a large number of opportunities associated with such kinds of certifications or evaluations. For example, the appointment of coordinators, principals, coaches, subject specialists, etc. could be based on meeting well-defined competencies. In the government system, teachers meeting well-defined competencies could get the opportunity to become ‘Cluster Resource Coordinators’ or training ‘Resource Personnel’. Further, broader opportunities would also be relevant; e.g. selection for high quality training programs or international conferences, state or national level recognition, international opportunities for those interested in them, and so on. Such broader opportunities, beyond what an individual school or even an individual system can create, also become important at large scale. The two aspects above are closely interlinked – while some of the opportunities mentioned

may exist anyway, a high quality certification that becomes well-accepted over time, allows various stakeholders to provide these opportunities in a structured, objective and large scale manner. The third aspect, is, for teachers wanting to improve their competencies, the presence of aligned professional development options. This requires high quality information on strength areas as well as improvement areas of different teacher segments, along with appropriate linkages.

An average school does not want to spend too much on teacher training, since it is intangible and difficult to show as a differentiator in the near term

For example, analysis of detailed data from the CENTA Teaching Professionals’ Olympiad TPO 2015 reveals that while ‘pedagogical methods’ seems to be an area of strength for many teachers, ‘creating lesson plans using these methods’ is an area of improvement for many. Similarly, while many teachers displayed comfort with

a range of ‘student assessment methods’, many found it more difficult to ‘derive insight from student assessment’. In the subject-specific section, the ‘Middle School Maths’, ‘High School Maths’ and ‘Middle School Science’ tracks showed greater need for improvement, compared to the other six tracks offered. Such specific lessons with a large amount of data, over time, can play an important role in directing the efforts of professional development entities and focusing them more on the themes of greatest need. ‘Linkages’ refer to alignment between the modules offered by training entities and the independent Standards that a large number of stakeholders in the landscape see as relevant. To summarize, high quality, large scale and sustainable teacher professional development initiatives can take root if ‘demand’ (not just ‘need’) can be created for them. This requires a mechanism for ecosystemwide recognition of teaching excellence, so that a larger population of teachers feel motivated to keep improving their competencies and ask for professional development. With high quality information on strength and gap areas, teacher professional development entities can align themselves with gaps identified and respond to the demand now generated. Image Courtesy: Cloudfront.net

ramya.venkataraman@centa.org

SCHOOL GOVERNANCE

PARENTAL INFLUENCE ON SCHOOL GOVERNANCE Mr. M L Babbar

Mr. M L Babbar is the Education Director of DCM Education Society, New Delhi and the Chairman for National Progressive Schools’ Conference,New Delhi. An education enthusiast and a former Principal at several institutions in the past, Mr Babbar is an active member of the executive body at NCERT and has been in the education space for 48 years now. Proud recepient of several awards including the National Award for Education in 1993, he currently works closely with the State and Central Boards suggesting remedial measures of improvement to the Government and as education consultant for schools. In this article for MENTOR, Mr. Babbar highlights facts about parent involvement in education from the state and the government and suggests ways in which parents could work in cohesion with schools.

It is an established fact that meaningful and regular dialogue between parents and school teachers is essential for the growth of children. It is important for the ‘home’ and the ‘school’ to work in sync for this ensures that the child gets the best of quality education. Such interactive sessions provide opportunities for parents to share their views about their child’s aptitudes and interests at home which, otherwise, might go unnoticed at school. Same is true of schools sharing the innate and untapped talents of children with parents. This twoway sharing of observations helps in fully comprehending the needs and aspirations of children impelling both the parents and the school to excogitate systems of learning suited to the child’s intrinsic inventiveness. The Congenial Climate Each school differs in allocating time for such interactive sessions. Most schools provide platforms for interactions in the form of Parent-Teacher meetings (PTA/ PTM) /Open House days when parents visit the school primarily to collect progress report cards

of their wards. There is hardly any time to discuss the child’s overall progress, not necessarily in academics and activities but also how they are shaping up as individuals. Such meetings, as has been observed, do not serve much purpose. Parents are not keen to visit school merely as a formality for collecting Progress Report Cards with marks/ grades mentioned in respective columns. Good schools organise some educational talks by well-known experts to help parents understand the utility of strong and healthy communication with the school There are other schools which encourage parents to visit schools and invite them for open and frank discussions on how their children are performing and how they could help the school for further improvement. Such enlightened schools, led by dynamic and liberalist leaders, involve parents in school matters so that they can collaborate on the development of the child. This open-ended approach ensures parents’ cooperation and they voluntarily get roped in to help the school organise various functions and also participate in other assignments as found fit by the school, depending on the talents

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parents have. This gives parents and their children a true feeling of belongingness resulting in the creation of a very happy and congenial climate for learning. It is important to create a cohesive climate for the parent, the teacher and the learners so that they all understand and not blame each other. Schools that are able to achieve this are considered as pace-setters in school education and their functioning styles are widely appreciated.

found in cities and towns. The poor, the lower middle class and the uneducated are treated the same way. With such feelings of inferiority parents tend to refrain from involving with school programmes resulting in their loss of confidence to help their children with their home work. Good schools organise some educational talks by wellknown experts to help parents understand the utility of strong and healthy communication with the school.

Challenges There are some acute and grave impediments, both circumstantial and mental, which are considered to be responsible for low participation of parents in school meetings. In rural areas it is difficult for parents---mostly, daily wage earners— to take leaves for attending school meetings. Moreover, they are not educated enough to understand the importance of such interactions. They suffer from inferiority complex; they believe that the teachers know better and are the best judges for their children. There are some others who feel they are not respected at school and that their inputs are taken disdainfully. This scenario does not exist only in villages; it is also

There is another reason for parents to keep themselves away from parent-teacher meetings. They do not like teachers pointing out negative qualities of their children in

public. “Why don’t teachers talk about the good qualities my son has?” said a parent angrily after the PTM was over. It is obvious that such school teachers need to do some self reflection and develop positivity in their approach to interact with parents and their children. This would increase the school’s reputation as well as their own reputation as teachers and in the process they would connect with the learners more effectively. Let the teachers not forget that the society expects contribution in terms of nation building and that they are the conscience keepers of society. There are innumerable advantages of a healthy working relationship between the school and the parents. The school, of course, has to take the initiative. The meetings should be well planned and the dates and the programmes to be discussed must be shared with the parents in advance. In fact, it should be inbuilt in the curriculum of the school. A welcoming atmosphere for parents should permeate the school environment which in turn should help the children. A school alone cannot succeed in its mission of imparting quality education and therefore, the school and the parents must

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work as a team with mutual understanding and equal respect for each other’s view points. It is, therefore, necessary that the schools should enlarge it to class-wise interaction when teachers along with the Principal are present. The very presence of the Principal generates an aura of credibility among the parents. This would ensure that the school truly believes in meaningful connect with the parents and their children. Experience has proved that this approach works wonders for the benefit of children’s growth as balanced persons, good human beings, extroverts, international citizens with unshakable roots in their motherland. enlightened schools, led by dynamic and liberalist leaders, involve parents in school matters so that they can collaborate on the development of the child We live in an information rich society. Information Technology has brought the entire world together. The flow of information is so fast that no nation can

remain untouched by what happens in other parts of the globe. There is abundance of mediums of information available apart from print and electronic. Also consequently, parents’ awareness about schools and education they impart is increasing. The parents are no longer shy to attend school meetings and actively participate in them. The New Age parents make it a point to attend practically all the school functions—annual Foundation Day Function and Sports Athletic meets, in addition to the House Functions and other programmes organised by the school. This is a very positive step forward. Over the past few years, parents have become very active and have been demanding more role and authority in the management of schools. They want their say in curriculum framework, conduct of examinations, evaluation process, and attendance records of students and even of teachers and in various other educational programmes and administrative matters of the school. To cater to this requirement of the parents, Governments at the centre and the states have stipulated the provision of parents to be on the school management committees in addition to the existence of Government

nominees and teachers’ elected representatives. Every state has their own Education Act which lays down rules for the management and governance of the schools. In Delhi “The Delhi School Education Act & Rules, 1973” provides for the elected representative of parents on School Managing Committee. Central Board of Secondary Education and State Boards also make it incumbent on the managing committees to have parents’ representative(s) on School Management Committees in addition to nominating their own representatives. All the members whether nominated or elected have equal rights in decision making and governance of the school. The Flip Side That parents have been given new rights over their children’s schooling is undoubtedly a welcome step. However, it is also necessary to strike a note of caution and self regulation lest the parents should infringe upon the competence of qualified and experienced teaching fraternity, selected with care and according to rules framed by the Affiliating Boards and the respective State Governments. It is said that “more is merrier” but in the new situation “more can be messy;” and the possibility of some members exercising

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political clout to pressurise the Principal and teachers to decide an issue or issues they think is right cannot be ruled out. In matters of admissions, promotions, purchases etc., the Principal’s authority is likely to be eroded and s/he being reduced to a mere rubber stamp could be inimical to education. Very recently, to give Community far greater say in how a Government school should run the Director of Education NCT of Delhi issued a circular enhancing the powers of the School Management Committees. The composition of the Management Committee—called SMC— comprises (i) Head of School— Chairperson, (ii) Parent ---ViceChairperson, (iii) 11 elected parent members,(iv) Teacher member,(v) Social worker, (vi) Elected representative of Local authority, and(vii) MLA nominees. The Community Members can now ask the Principal to showcause teachers. The Vicechairperson can call a meeting and any member can ask for any records in writing. During monthly meetings all records— including financial records, bills, and attendance registers of teachers and students have to be placed before the committee; members can visit school and address assembly etc. Although the composition of the School Management Committees

has been mandated by the Right to Education Act, 2009 which in itself is a “remarkable achievement” despite its shortcomings, it would be inadvisable to comment more. This above-said composition of School Managing Committee is not applicable to Private Unaided Recognised Schools. These schools are governed by State Education Boards. In matters of admissions, selection of teachers and other staff and their conditions of service etc., are well spelled out. The Private Unaided Recognised Schools are in great demand mainly because these are headed generally by knowledgeable

Principals aided by qualified, trained and committed teachers. They enjoy, in comparative terms only, some amount of autonomy in the effective functioning of the schools. These schools provide congenial climate for learning and the teachers are abreast with latest pedagogical practices. Moreover, the parents of such schools, broadly speaking, work in unison with the teachers and have great respect for them. Differences of opinion are respected and issues are resolved amicably in the interest of school learners. The Principal and the teachers know the nuances of educational niceties which unfortunately do not exist in state run schools where there is constant attempt by the vested interests to run down the school visionaries---the teachers and the Principal. That the parents should have say in school matters is always welcome and respected. Their involvement with school is considered a positive contribution but their over-much interference and intervention in school’s basic policy matters and in day to day functioning is likely to destroy the very fabric of quality education.

mlbabbar@gmail.com

INNOVATION

SIMULATION IN THE EDUCATION-TECHNOLOGY SPACE Mr. Madhusudan Namboodari

Mr. Madhusudan Namboodari is the Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of BiBox, Bengaluru. He has worked across diverse industries such as education, health, retail and telecom. He has also developed different business models for startups and well-established organizations. He believes in bringing creative thinking among school children while working closely with the Government. A firm believer in innovation, collaboration and design thinking as key elements for holistic learning in schools, Mr. Namboodari shares his thoughts on the subject in this piece for MENTOR.

Education is the key to our future. What you impart today is what defines the returns of tomorrow. But are we really paying enough attention to it? Why is it that the education system has remained stagnant for the past 5-6 decades, while technology has been changing at lightning fast speed? While we have bettered the art of recruiting the right people for the right job, we have failed to groom the people on the job with the advances in technology. This relationship of man and machine must be balanced but slowly we are losing the balance. Ineffectiveness so far Technology in the education sector has not caused education to evolve directly. It has only played a supporting function

by making the whole process simpler and less labour intensive. Tablets can replace the humble slate, black boards can make way for LED displays, letters and diaries can make way for e-mails and smartphones. But if the crux of education remains unevolved and rudimentary, what you teach remains the same and you are not really making the difference that you ought to with technology being offered as a support pillar. We have, more often than not, picked careers without much thought or with repressed passion. We have just gotten better at the tasks that we do without innovating and recreating within the space. What we really need to do with the future generation is to enable them in identifying their passion and give them career choices that make sense to them. Identification of interests and passions can only come with the right exposure to the real world. The amount of dependence and importance we assign to theoretical knowledge in todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s curriculum fails to provide the experiential wisdom that is the need of the hour. Tracking solutions: Inviting change What we lack in our present system is the knowledge of real life applications of what we learn theoretically. Traditional lessons are being imparted to the students without incorporating latest trends in technology

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which is leading to a massive disconnect between the way students are taught in school and the way they learn in the outside world with various sources of learning at their disposal. Technology is available at our disposal and must be used to the fullest to make a difference in education. The first step towards bringing a change is to bridge this gap. Imagine the improvement in productivity and innovation if kids are trained for the real world situations during their initial years of learning itself! While it is clear that education must adapt to our transforming world, the bottleneck is the fact that parents are apprehensive about any change made in the education system. Change always makes people apprehensive, especially in case of parents whose scale of measuring a childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s potential so far, has been restricted to marks obtained and academics only. It is important for us to understand that every child is different and the concept of having a single measuring scale for every child must be eradicated. It is also clear that many educators have

already implemented excellent teaching practices and are able to skilfully create a dynamic learning environment. However, we still have a long way to go. We need to work in sync with the past while also adapting to the future. Lauding and building upon successful strategies of the past is critical to effective growth in the education sector in order to bridge the aforementioned divide. It is therefore important for us to transform educational practices and approaches so that they are aligned with the processes and operations of the world outside school. Technology and this generation The present generation is already immersed in a wide gamut tech-tools. And inherently and contrary to popular parental belief, technology is more than just entertainment. Social networking, digital gaming, and simulationsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;deserve a deeper look in order to really understand what is going on! These platforms are already demonstrating how they impact the way we think, learn, and interact and it is surprising to see the potential these channels have to create an impact!

The emergence of social networking and the evolution of digital games have helped shape the new ways in which people are communicating, collaborating, operating, and forming social constructs. In fact, it is especially true of our youngest generations â&#x20AC;&#x201C; those arriving at classroom doors, soon to be leaving them and entering the workforce and society-atlarge. Our newest generation is clearly demonstrating the impact of having developed under the digital wave. They are completely adept with digital tools and in sync with changing technology. Technology is a fully integrated aspect of their lives. Implementation Nearly all institutions namely business, industry, medicine, science and government have harnessed aspects of simulation technologies for decades. Games and simulations have been a key component of training doctors and military personnel, there are even businesses using a game about a mining company in outer space to teach its employees about derivatives. Although the concept seems like a Western concept, the truth is that defence

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and medical communities are using this technology to get better. It is high time that we get rid of this resistance to adapt simulation in the education sector. Simulation gives a student the real world knowledge that they need. It can be used in various ways like simulating scenarios for kids to make them morally upright. This must also be implemented in the imparting of scientific knowledge for children. One of the ways of implementing this technology into the world of scientific learning is pretty similar to the way how we have reverse engineered the whole idea of the personal computer. Just like how our computers have evolved from hard core coding to operating systems that have created a simple interface for a layman to use, we must create products, services and kits that enable kids to dream of products and solutions without having a Ph.D in the background processes. Today if a kid dreams of a simple automated safety alarm, the kid is also required to

know about the electronics, the computing and the electricals that go behind such an idea. What we must create is a kit or a product that can reduce the background burden of converting an idea into reality.

While we have bettered the art of recruiting the right people for the right job, we have failed to groom the people on the job with the advances in technology. This relationship of man and machine must be balanced but slowly we are losing the balance

A kit or a service or a product that enables a kid to replicate real life and create products for real world problems, will not only make it easier for testing ideas but will also boost their morale to work towards solving problems and innovating. This mentality of care and concern towards the society is the key to effective evolution. This evolution comes

in the form of the ability and zeal to innovate and innovate for good. What we will also be able to enable through this, is focus on the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s areas of interest. Inclination towards a certain cause or idea can be a good indicator of where the focus must lie in the future. What most of us adults are scared of when venturing out in a field, be it choosing a career or starting a business is fear of failure. Which is a problem addressed by simulation, trial error and failure at a young age will enhance the ability for a kid to recognise their interest, passion and abilities. Millions of people choose wrong streams and careers, only to burnout real fast in their professional lives and then try to figure out who they really are. Knowing what you are capable of and what you love can benefit way more than what we think. Here, we are winning at all ends with just identifying things for kids at a younger age. How the can Government help? Help from the government can be received in various ways. To begin with, it is the government bodies that are governing and approving the education we have today. They can bring in a change and they can help the ones that are trying to change. The government can also help by fuelling innovation in the education-technology sector. The education technology sector has been ignored for the longest time. With â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;start-upsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; being the buzzword and specialization in a particular area, being the key factor for a business model, it is perhaps the right time to encourage people to innovate in the ed-tech space. The government is already encouraging start-ups and must continue doing so at the grass root level to help bridge this gap at the elementary level itself. madhusudann@bibox.in

September 2016

USING TECHNOLOGY CHANNELS FOR COMMUNICATION Mr. Onkar Singh

Mr. Onkar Singh is the cofounder at FollowClass, Bengaluru. He has been following the EdTech industry closely for about a year now and is an education enthusiast. Having completed his B.Tech in Computer Science from MNIT Jaipur, he worked in Amazon as a software developer before becoming a full time entrepreneur at FollowClass. He believes that technology can bring about a positive and lasting change in the education industry and shares his thoughts on using technology to ease communication channels in this article for MENTOR.

Communication forms an intrinsic part of the complete education experience. You cannot expect someone to be educated on something without communicating it to them. The classroom communication within the school between a student and teacher is obviously the most important aspect of education. However, the communication between students, teachers, parents and management, outside the school scenario, is also utmost important. Somehow we seem to neglect the role of communication in Education. Why is it important to ease communication outside school? What are the challenges? It is common for students to be missing out on some assignment or the other. Students seem to be complaining about not being able to complete an assignment simply because they did not know about it. Now this is an obvious responsibility of the school and the teachers to communicate to the parents. In the age of technology especially, they may not be well equipped to do so. There are some serious challenges in getting the correct information. Schools/Colleges still rely on age-old methods like notice boards, student diaries for communicating most of the information. But there are a bunch of problems with these methods:

• Information goes missing - Isn’t it obvious that if you provide negative feedback for a student, it is likely that he would not show it at home. Students may even fake sign it. • Lot of manual work - The teacher has to write/check each and every diary. • No digital record - There is no record for you to look over at a later date and get a bird’s eye view of everything that has happened in the past. The data of exams, results and attendance can be very insightful at a later period. Now all of this is can be avoided by using technology. We have all shifted from SMS to much more efficient solutions, like Facebook, Whatsapp, Viber etc. So, why not use similar methods for communication at schools. The era of apps for schools and colleges is dawning. Just like Whatsapp, anyone involved in the school can directly download an app and can start communicating directly with each other. These are much sophisticated solutions as they have everything personalized for the user. The user sees only the things for which he is the intended audience. The difference is similar to the difference in a public announcement and a letter which was addressed to you. The benefits of such a solution

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are countless when compared to simple SMS platforms: • Real time, mobile first, twoway communication - Schools/ Teachers can send real time notifications to anyone at anytime from anywhere and get replies at the same time. Just like a Facebook post • Smoother Management – Communication is the key for smooth management. Such applications helps bridge the communication gap between everyone at the institute. • Transparency for parents - Stay on top of the child’s homework, class schedule, exams, results etc - Parents get real time communication on everyday school activity. Also since they have an app which shows everything in an aggregated way that communication is not lost in the SMSs, they can come back and see it anytime they want. • Save time for parents - With hectic schedules parents may be unable to see their children’s diaries. With notifications coming directly to their phone, they could be informed while on the move. • Save time for teachers Since everything can be communicated through the app, teachers do not have to fill diaries and then check them the next day. Same goes for making and putting up notices. • Maintaining digital record for everything - It keeps a record of all your activity so that you can look back and reflect. This helps them take informed decisions based on data, which is always the smarter choice.

There are many companies doing exciting work in this sector. EdModo, ClassDojo etc. are examples from the U.S.A which provide similar solution to the schools there. Their focus area is improving the teacher student relationship through communication. India has also seen similar solutions in the recent past which not only have an App but also send an SMS for everything so that you get the coverage, just in case parents do not have Internet access.

What is the current scenario of schools using tech channels for communication with their stakeholders?

How do you foresee the future of using technology for communication in the education sector?

Adopting such app based platforms is a piece of cake, for any institute if they have data in a digital format for e.g. in an excel or text file available. But in-case schools do not have it, there is no alternative other than preparing it and this is where things go off track. As a developer myself I can say that the biggest challenge in advent of technology in any sector is the acceptance and attitude of people towards it. No software can evolve until customer feedback is incorporated into it. It is difficult to create a product which is able to incorporate everyone’s needs, but it becomes impossible if customers are non- receptive and interactive. I always insist my users to use my product in all the possible ways and provide their insights and feedback. But unfortunately in the education sector today most teachers, management and parents are reluctant towards using technology. They just think that today’s latest technology is a misfit for the sector in context. I am hopeful that the scenario will change very soon and we will see tremendous use of technology in education sector for all kind of activities.

As always, the future holds exciting advancements that we wish we had today. Some interesting things coming up in near future are: • Just like Ola or Uber cabs parents will be able to see the school bus location on their app and they will get notified when their child reaches school • Events from the school will start appearing in their phone’s calendar and they will receive automated reminders for same • Parents will receive automated reminders for fee payment and they will be able to pay fees online through their app. No more ques at the bank or in school • Every teacher will get their personal tablets for official purposes of school • Thorough assessment of academic performance of child and extra or special classes backed by actual analyzed data and not just hunches • Career counseling for students via applications backed by their academic records dating back to even play schools • Every student gets their personal tablets with all the study material – Eliminating the of carrying back breaking heavy bags filled with books – All video lectures from smart classes on the application for friendly usage enabling them to communicate, ask doubts, give tests all through these tablets All these advances will take communication, transparency and credibility to a whole new level and enrich and improve the education for the children. In the end, we just want our kids to perform well and excel in their lives. onkarsinghmnit@gmail.com

September 2016

FOSTERING CREATIVITYTHE NEED OF THE HOUR Ms. Shirin Kulkarni

Ms. Shirin Heramb Kulkarni is Research Director and Cofounder of Council for Creative Education, CCE Finland Oy. An entrepreneur, Researcher and writer in the field of creativity in education and educational psychology she has numerous articles published about creativity and education in various international newspapers to her credit. With an experience of over twelve years in psychology, she is also the proud recipient of the Golden Women Award, 2015 in the Science and Innovation category. Having given various talks on creativity and its importance in education, Ms. Kulkarni shares her thoughts with MENTOR. The need of fostering creativity is the key concept discussed. Furthermore, role of teacher in fostering creativity is highlighted.

“As competition intensifies, the need for creative thinking increases. It is no longer enough to do the same thing better . . . no longer enough to be efficient and solve problems.” - Edward de Bono

educators and parents have understood it clearly. Before we understand the role of these factors in implementing creativity, it is necessary to pay heed to the value of creativity at the individual and social level.

Cropley (2000) in his article titled ‘Education from the Encyclopedia of Creativity’, argues that fostering creativity is part of a liberal/humanistic approach to education that dates back to the ancient world. Creativity is beneficial both to the society and to the individual. The need to support creativity is accepted in theory by most teachers, even if they do not understand what it means in practice. In line with this, Fryer(1996) conducted a project in UK regarding teachers’ attitude towards creativity and claimed that 91% teachers in her study reported that creativity has some role to play in education. There are various approaches to look at role of creativity in education and at the moment it is not possible to state that researchers, teachers,

The association of the term creativity always has been strong with arts, music and literature, however it has much wider values at the societal, individual and school level. In terms of society, creativity is required to maintain a high standard of living by reducing manual labour, for keeping up with competition in international trade and for continuous evolution of the society. At the individual level, it is evident that 50% of our skills learnt during school days will be outdated when we start working. As a result, the school cannot limit itself to the transmission of contents and techniques, but must promote flexibility, openness, the ability to adapt the known or to see new ways of doing things, interest in the new, and courage in the face of the unexpected. These are central elements of a psychological definition of creativity. Such properties help the individual cope with the challenges of life such as unemployment, uncertainty in relations, accidents and they are closely connected with the mental health. In her book, Creative teaching and learning, Fryer(1996) says, “On individual level, artistic creativity also has

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a therapeutic value. It helps individuals with very low selfesteem to get more confidence in themselves.” In this book, a teacher of design and structure shared her opinion about the inclusion of arts (creativity in general) in mainstream education. She said that when somebody totally breaks down and is unable to do his/her regular work then the art is used in some or other form to help them come to a normal life, then why it is so neglected in their general education. Another primary head teacher has also mentioned his concern about the emphasis on Mathematics and Science and the inappropriate neglect of Arts, an area in which people are allowed freedom of expression and learn to think differently. He further says that such neglect of arts and crafts will ultimately be to science’s and the society’s cost.

On an individual level, artistic creativity also has a therapeutic value. It helps individuals with very low selfesteem become more confident

Societal and Global Issues: Most social structures, including political systems, have evolved slowly over the centuries, but many of them are no longer appropriate to the modern world. At the 1993 Presidet’s Convocation of the Creative Education Foundation, USA, Dr. Iraj Ayman stressed the key role that education has to play in enabling young people to deal with this transformation effectively and in ethically sound ways.

Training in creative problem solving can enable people to be skilled in finding the best solution quickly in the rapidly changing situations. Most school curricula comprise received knowledge from the past but offer woefully inadequate preparation for the future (Guilford,1977; De Bono, 1993). To cope with the demands of the future, people must be quick-thinking, flexible and imaginative. They will need to be competent in producing effective solutions to unfamiliar problems in unclear situations. If creativity development were to have the same status in education as it does in the corporate setting, then children would be in a much better position to cope with these kinds of challenges. This kind of argument is not new. Since the 1960s, Dr. Paul Torrance has been urging educators to equip children and young people with the skills to solve the problems we cannot yet imagine. Thus, the fostering of creativity in the classroom is part of efforts leading to the development of healthy individuals. It is also noticeable that fostering creativity is not inconsistent with traditional goals of schools such as acquisition of knowledge and skills. Research has shown that learning activities, such as discovery learning, learning

under playlike conditions, and learning with the help of fantasy, can be more effective than traditional methods like face-toface lecturing or rote learning. Teaching and learning that emphasize creativity can also have strongly beneficial effects on pupils’ motivation as well as their attitude to school and their self-image. It is important to understand the role of each factor in implementing creativity in education. Since teaching and learning are the most vital processes, teachers and learners are the most affected factors by creativity. So, it is crucial to look into the details of how creativity is and could be implemented by the teachers in the process of teaching and learning. Creativity in teaching As mentioned earlier most of the teachers understand the significance of creativity in education. They also understand the role of creativity has to play in children’s education as well as life, but when it comes to their own creativity, they are confused. Most of them think that creativity means children have to do the things themselves and teachers need not be creative (Fryer, 1996). Popescu-Nevianu and Cretsu (1986) studied Romanian teachers. They found that they did not value the initiative in themselves, but they valued

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September 2016 also role models for students in schools.

it highly in others. They were inclined towards being modest and have a low self-image. They were unlikely to take risk for the sake of innovation and preferred to stick to their traditional old style of teaching. This resistance to change has always been a problem in education while it has often been displayed by teachers, students, parents and other factors of society or social systems. In modern times, the interest in creativity was aroused when people found that most of the graduates from a normal educational system only have a basic understanding of doing things in conventional ways. Whereas, in the field of psychology, the idea of intelligence was criticised heavily for not considering the aspect of creativity. Both of these things gave rise to the concept of need to foster creativity in the classroom. Most educational researchers and theorists interested in promoting creativity concentrate on aspects of creativity that they believe are present , at least as potentials in everybody. In other words, appropriate learning conditions can promote some elements of creativity in all children. The central focus of fostering creativity in the classroom is not production of creative geniuses. Teachers may sometimes make a

contribution in this direction by sowing seeds; research has shown that teachers have sometimes played a key role in the emergence, even years later, of widely acclaimed creative talents. Teacher as a role model “The most powerful way to develop creativity in your students is to be a role model. Children develop creativity not when you tell them to, but when you show them. The teachers you most remember from your school days are not those who crammed the most content into their lectures. The teachers you remember are those whose thoughts and actions served as your role model. Most likely they balanced teaching content with teaching you how to think with and about that content.” (Sternberg and Williams,1996) Explaining further the views of Sternberg and Williams, a teacher’s role in the students life is as important as any of the family members, especially in the primary schools. Students always look up to their teacher before doing certain things- be it handwriting, neatness, oration or dressing sense. It has been observed and proved through many studies that teachers are not just the facilitators but

It is from the teachers, that they learn how to be creative. Being creative involves imagination, risk taking, non conformity, divergent thinking, self-respect and expressing oneself. Students who see their teacher as using all these virtues in his/ her own behaviour are most likely to follow the footsteps of such teacher. A teacher can express her creativity by using variety of games during the lessons of Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Music, Arts and even physical education. Making appropriate use of educational aids is also very important as students understand how to use their own textbooks and simple things to understand different concepts from different subjects from the curricula. • One can use one type of knowledge in various fields. • They should have sound knowledge of the subject or art, if they want to use it elsewhere. • Interdisciplinary thinking • Interdisciplinary learning • Thinking outside the limits • Don’t hesitate to experiment • Risk-taking is good and enjoyable • Taking decisions on your own is valued Teachers’ support for creativity

Fig 1: Bloom’s taxonomy of learning domain

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know the classic 80-20 principle implemented at Google, where they encourage their employees to invest 20% of their work time in working on the idea they are passionate for. We all know their success stories.

Bloom et al (1956) explained in his taxonomy of learning domain that creating or creativity is the pinnacle of the learning pyramid. Remembering, understanding, applying are lower level skills while analyzing, evaluating and creating falls under higher order thinking.

Being creative involves imagination, risk taking, non conformity, divergent thinking, self-respect and expressing oneself

To promote the higher order thinking, it is necessary that the children are challenged in a positive way. They should be allowed to experiment, explore and fail in their efforts. The development of higher order thinking, it is necessary that the students ponder on the ideas that they have for longer period of time. Then only they can think of something original and valuable.

problems in an environment of rules, flexible rules but rules. Empirically it is proven that it is necessary that there should be clear set of instructions to students of what is expected from them as an end product. Of course, there should be flexibility, freedom provided to follow the process that they find suitable and interesting to get the end result. To foster creativity, it is very important for a young student to get support from the teacher for his/her creative ideas. Providing honest and immediate feedback is necessary to motivate the students further to explore their path. The school leaders need to keep in mind that fostering creativity needs time, efforts, flexibility and freedom. The teachers should be allowed to experiment with their class keeping aside the schedule at least once in a week. As we

Finally some quick tips for the teachers to implement and foster creativity in their classrooms: • Set rules for the class with the help and participation of the students • For large class size, make the groups in the beginning of the school year and use those till the end of one semester or that year. • Allow students to make mistake • Take 15 mins daily to do an activity that is totally unrelated to studies • Challenge the student’s imagination • Play short games where limited physical activity is involved • Listen to students often, they will lead you to the path of creativity References

Fryer, M. (1996). Creative teaching and learning. London: P. Chapman. In Jackson, N., In Oliver, M., In Shaw, M., & In Wisdom, J. (2006). Developing creativity in higher education: An imaginative curriculum. London: Routledge. Sternberg, R. J., Williams, W. M., & Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. (1996). How to develop student creativity. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Tan, & A.-G. (2007). Creativity: A handbook for teachers. Hackensack, NJ: World Scientific Pub. Co.

Creativity often misunderstood as free exploration without any set instructions. Orson Scott Card said in one of his speech at Utah State University that creativity thrives best in solving

shirin.kulkarni@ccefinland.org