Teachers..

Versatile instruments shaping young minds..

Nelson Mandela once said, ”Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world”. A teacher serves society by instructing and guiding countless students through the different stages of their growth. A teacher plays different roles in a student’s life. The teacher is a philosopher enlightening their students about the ways of the world. Apart from their mothers, children spend maximum time with their teachers. A teacher carries a big responsibility on their shoulders, the job of shaping the minds of the students.

Teachers look after the best interests of the students and genuinely play an important role in society. They can make or break a future generation; such is the power that rests in the hands of the teachers.

As we all know that our teachers play a great and most important role in our lives. They help us to improve our knowledge, skill level, confidence as well as shape us in the right shape to get success.

Role of the teacher

Teachers remain central to the learning processA shift in the role of a teacher utilizing ICTs to that of a facilitator does not obviate the need for teachers to serve as leaders in the classroom; traditional teacher leadership skills and practices are still important (especially those related to lesson planning, preparation and follow-up).
Lesson planning is crucial when using ICTsTeacher’s lesson planning is vital when using ICTs; where little planning has occurred earlier; research shows that student work is often unfocused and can result in lower attainment.Pedagogy
Introducing technology alone will not change the teaching and learning processThe existence of ICTs alone does not transform teacher practices. However, ICTs can enable teachers to transform their teacher practices, given a set of enabling conditions. Teachers’ pedagogical practices and reasoning influence their uses of ICTs, and the nature of teacher ICT-use impacts student achievement.
ICTs seen as tools to help teachers create more 'learner-centric' learning environmentsResearch consensus holds that the most effective uses of ICT are those in which the teacher, aided by ICTs, challenge pupils’ understanding and thinking, either through whole-class discussions or individual/small group work using ICTs. ICTs are seen as important tools to enable and support the move from traditional ‘teacher-centric’ teaching styles to more ‘learner-centric’ methods.
ICTs can be used to support change and to support/extend existing teaching practicesPedagogical practices of teachers using ICTs can range from only small enhancements of teaching practices, using what are essentially traditional methods, to more fundamental changes in their approach to teaching. ICTs can be used to reinforce existing pedagogical practices as well as to change the way teachers and students interact.
Using ICTs as tools for information presentation is of mixed effectivenessThe use of ICTs as presentation tools (through LCD projectors, television, electronic whiteboards, guided ‘web-tours’, where students simultaneously view the same resources on computer screens) is seen to be of mixed effectiveness. While it may promote class understanding of and discussion about difficult concepts (especially through the display of simulations), such uses of ICTs can re-enforce traditional pedagogical practices and divert focus from the content of what is being discussed or displayed to the tool being utilized. Teacher technical abilities and knowledge of ICTs
Preparing teachers to benefit from ICT use is about more than just technical skillsTeacher technical mastery of ICT skills is a not a sufficient precondition for successful integration of ICTs in teaching.
'One-off training' is not sufficientTeachers require extensive, on-going exposure to ICTs to be able to evaluate and select the most appropriate resources. However, the development of appropriate pedagogical practices is seen as more important that technical mastery of ICTs.
Few teachers have broad 'expertise' in using ICTs in their teachingEven in the most advanced school in OECD countries, very few teachers typically have comprehensive knowledge of the wide range of ICT tools and resources.
The use of ICTs to promote 'computer literacy' is seen as less important than in using ICTs as teaching and learning toolsThe use of technology in everyday teaching and learning activities appears to be more important than specific instruction in ‘computer classes’. While the development of technology skills is seen to have a role in the teaching and learning process, it is more important as an enabler of other teaching and learning practices, and not too important in and of itself. Schools that report the highest levels of student ICT-related skills and experience are often not those with heavy computer course requirements, but rather ones that made use of ICTs on a routine basis throughout the teacher professional development, and the teaching and learning process.
Students are more sophisticated in their use of technology than teachersThere appears to be a great disconnect between student knowledge and usage of ICTs the knowledge and abilities of teacher to use ICTs. This suggests that teacher inexperience and skill deficiencies may often be an important factor inhibiting the effectiveness of ICT use in education by students.
Teachers most commonly use ICTs for administrative tasksTeachers most often use ICTs for ‘routine tasks’ (record keeping, lesson plan development, information presentation, basic information searches on the Internet).
More knowledgeable teachers rely less on ‘computer assisted instruction’Teachers more knowledgeable in ICTs use utilize computer assisted instruction less than other teachers who use ICTs, but utilize ICTs more overall.

How teachers use ICTs is dependent on their general teaching stylesTypes of usage of ICTs correlate with teacher pedagogical philosophies. Teachers who use ICTs the most—and the most effectively—are less likely to use traditional ‘transmission-method’ pedagogies. Teachers who use more types of software tend to practice more ‘constructivist’ pedagogies.
Teaching with ICTs takes more timeIntroducing and using ICTs to support teaching and learning is time consuming for teachers, both as they attempt to shift pedagogical practices and strategies and when such strategies are used regularly.Simply put—Teaching with ICTs takes more time (estimates vary on how much extra time is required to cover the same material; 10 per cent is a common estimate).
Few teachers are confident users of ICTsFew teachers are confident in using a wide range of ICT resources, and limited confidence affects the way the lesson is conducted.
Fear prevents many teachers from using ICTsMany teachers still fear using ICTs, and thus are reluctant to use them in their teaching.
ICTs motivate (some) teachers, at least at the startAt least initially, exposure to ICTs can be an important motivation tool to promote and enable teacher professional development.
Incentives must be developed to promote effective teacher participation in continuing professional developmentTeachers require additional motivation and incentives to participate actively in professional development activities. A variety of incentives can be used, including certification, professional advancement, pay increases, paid time off to participate in professional development, formal and informal recognition at the school and community levels and among peers, reduced isolation, and enhanced productivity.
Access to ICTs is the most significant factor in whether teachers use themThe most significant factor for continuing the development of teachers’ ICT-related skills is for them to have regular access to functioning and relevant ICT equipment.
Teachers' subject knowledge influences how ICTs are usedThe way ICTs are used in lessons is influenced by teachers’ mastery of their subjects, and how ICT resources can be utilized and related to them.
Teacher content mastery and understanding of student comprehension make ICT use more effectiveThe evidence shows that when teachers use their knowledge of both the subject and the way pupils understand the subject; their use of ICTs has a more direct effect on student achievement.
Exposure to new/additional information via ICTs is not enoughThe effect on attainment is greatest when pupils are challenged to think and to question their own understanding, rather than on exposure to new and additional information.
ICTs can aid teacher self-learning in subject matterBy providing access to updated and additional learning resources, ICTs can enable teacher self-learning in his/her subject area.
On-going teacher training and support is critical to the successful utilization of ICTs in educationTeacher training and professional development is seen as the key driver for the successful usage of ICTs in education.
Teacher professional development is a process, not an eventTraditional one-time teacher training workshops have not been seen as effective in helping teachers to feel comfortable using ICTs, let alone in integrating it successfully into their teaching. Discrete, ‘one-off’ training events are seen as less effective than on-going professional development activities.
Introducing ICTs expands the needs for on-going professional development of teachersEffective ICT use in education increases teachers’ training and professional development needs. However, ICTs can be important tools to help meet such increased needs, by helping to provide access to more and better educational content, aid in routine administrative tasks, provide models and simulations of effective teaching practices, and enable learner support networks, both in face to face and distance learning environments, and in real time or asynchronously.
Successful teacher professional development models can be divided into three phasesPre-service, focusing initial preparation on pedagogy, subject mastery, management skills and use of various teaching tools (including ICTs);In-service, including structured, face-to-face and distance learning opportunities, building upon pre-service training and directly relevant to teacher needs; andOn-going formal and informal pedagogical and technical support, enabled by ICTs, for teachers, targeting daily needs and challenges.

Effective teacher professional development should model effective teaching practicesEffective teacher professional development should approximate the classroom environment as much as possible. ‘Hands-on’ instruction on ICT use is necessary where ICTs are deemed to be vital components of the teaching and learning process. In addition, professional development activities should model effective practices and behaviours and encourage and support collaboration between teachers. On-going professional development at the school level, using available ICT facilities, is seen as a key driver for success, especially when focused on the resources and skills directly relevant to teachers’ everyday needs and practices.
Training in assessment methods is importantProfessional development should include methods for evaluating and modifying pedagogical practices and expose teachers to a variety of assessment methods.
Effective professional development requires substantial planningA needs assessment should precede the creation of and participation in teacher professional development activities, regular monitoring and evaluation should occur of these activities, and feedback loops should be established, if professional development is to be effective and targeted to the needs of teachers.
On-going, regular support for teachers is crucialOn-going and regular support is essential to support teacher professional development and can be facilitated through the use of ICTs (in the form of websites, discussion groups, e-mail communities, radio or television broadcasts).
A variety of changes must be implemented to optimize teacher use of ICTsShifting pedagogies, redesigning the curriculum and assessment, and providing more autonomy to the schools help to optimize the use of ICT. With sufficient enabling factors in place, teachers can utilize ICTs in as ‘constructivist’ a manner as their pedagogical philosophies would permit.

Science

A dynamic, expanding body of knowledge, covering new domains of experiences. It is a human endeavor to understand the world by building - up conceptual models on the basis of observations and thus arriving at theories, laws, and principles. In a progressive society, science can play a truly liberating role, helping people escape from the vicious cycle of poverty, ignorance, and superstition. People today are faced with an increasingly fast-changing world where the most important skills are flexibility, innovation, and creativity. These different imperatives have to be kept in mind in shaping science education. Good science education is true to the child, true to life, and true to the discipline.

As consistent with the stage of cognitive development, science is being taken as a core subject in the curriculum at the upper primary stage. At this stage, it is a gradual transition from environmental studies of the primary stage to the elements of science. It is important to expand the horizon of the child gradually and start with things that are within the direct experiences of a child. The child should be engaged in learning the principles of science through familiar experiences, working with hands to design simple technological units and models and continuing to learn more about the environment and health, including reproductive and sexual health. Scientific concepts are to be arrived at mainly from activities, experiments, and surveys. Group activities, discussions with peers and teachers, surveys, organization of data and their display through exhibitions, etc., in schools and the neighborhood should be important components of pedagogy.

Curricular Expectations

Science curriculum at the upper primary stage intends to develop:

Scientific temper and scientific thinking.
Understanding about the nature of scientific knowledge i.e., testable, unified, parsimonious, amoral, developmental and creative.
Process skills of science which includes observation(s), posing question(s), searching various resources of learning, planning investigations, hypothesis formulation and testing, using various tools for collecting, analysing and interpreting data, supporting explanations with evidences, critically thinking to consider and evaluate alternative explanations, reflecting on their own thinking.
Appreciation for historical aspects of evolution of science.
Sensitivity towards environmental concerns.
Respect for human dignity and rights, gender equity, values of honesty, integrity, cooperation and concern for life.

The curriculum has been organized around the following themes that are cross disciplinary in nature:

Food
Materials
The World of the Living
Moving Things, People and Ideas
How Things Work
Natural Phenomena
Natural Resources

Social Science

At the upper primary stage primarily aim at understanding analytically various phenomena in the immediate social environment. The learners are introduced to the diversity of people and their practices in different societies, regions, and cultures within societies. Social sciences have an important role in generating sensitivity towards human values of compassion, trust, peace, cooperation, social justice, environmental protection, and other concerns.

It develops with one’s own social environment-self, family, social environment, and its interaction with various geographical, historical, social, economic, and political factors. Familiarizing the learner with the dynamics in the evolution process is necessary so that she/he develops sufficient awareness to understand the disciplinary values of these interlinked disciplines independently.

Curricular Expectations

It is expected that the learner, by the end of the upper primary stage (Class VIII), is able to meet the following curricular expectations:

Recognizes ways in which political, social and economic issues which affect their daily lives across time and space.
Understands about the earth as the habitat of humans and other forms of life.
Becomes familiar with one's own region and realizes interdependence of various regions (local to global).
Understands spatial distribution of resources and their conservation.
Understand historical developments in different periods of Indian history.
Comprehends how historians study the past using different types of sources.
Understands historical diversity to relate developments of one place/region with those of another.
Imbibes the values of the Indian Constitution and their significance in everyday life.
Gains a sense of the working of Indian democracy, its institutions and processes at the local, state and union levels.
Becomes familiar with socio - economic role of institutions such as family, market and government.
Recognizes the contributions of different sections of society to political, social, cultural, and environmental processes.

Environmental Studies (EVS)

At the primary stage envisages exposing children to the real situations in their surroundings to help them connect, be aware of, appreciate, and be sensitized towards the prevailing environmental issues (natural, physical, social, and cultural). Beginning with child’s immediate surroundings (including natural, social, physical and cultural settings) related to self, home, school and family in the early grades and gradually moving on to the wider environment (neighborhood and community at large), EVS not only helps children to get acquainted with their own environment but it also strengthens their bond with it.

Creating learning situations in the context of children is very crucial to learning EVS. Efforts need to be made to avoid giving direct information, definitions, and descriptions and instead create situations for children to construct their own knowledge by interacting first hand with their surroundings and with other children, elders, and significant others. During this process, they would access various sources of knowledge besides the textbook and explore various learning sites besides the classroom. Real-world exposure would lead to opportunities for them to encounter various social issues (such as those of gender bias, marginalization, challenges of the differently-abled (including those of the elderly and the sick) and natural concerns (such as those of protection, preservation, conservation of natural resources).

Care may be taken to ensure that besides resource material, the classroom environment and the pedagogical processes are inclusive i.e. they cater to the diversity of learners in terms of their abilities, cognitive development, pace, style, etc. It is important to acknowledge and give primacy to children’s experiences to help them connect these with the school knowledge while ensuring their active participation. Hence, the learning situations need to include a variety in approaches, strategies, and resources to ensure that each learner (including the differently-abled and the disadvantaged learners) gets the opportunity to observe, express, discuss, question, critically think, improvise and analyze, i.e. gets engaged in various processes of learning involving the use of multiple senses in individual and group set-ups.

Curricular Expectations

As per of EVS curriculum, children at the Primary Stage are expected to:

Acquire awareness about immediate/wider surroundings through lived experiences on various themes related to daily life for example Family, Plants, Animals, Food, Water, Travel, and Shelter etc.
Nurture natural curiosity and creativity for the immediate surroundings.
Develop various processes/skills e.g. observation, discussion, explanation, experimentation, logical reasoning, through interaction with immediate surroundings.
Develop sensitivity for the natural, physical and human resources in the immediate environment.
Point out/ raise issues related to equality, justice and respect for human dignity and rights.

Literature

When students study Literature, they learn to appreciate words and their power. They travel to other realms and times through the texts they read. They understand their own culture and others’. They learn to empathize with characters, to feel their joys and pain. Importantly, they learn to consider multiple perspectives and understand the complexity of human nature. In Literature, students develop a sense of individuality and creativity, as they develop their own opinions about issues in their texts. They also learn skills of persuasion– they need to convince others of their interpretations, and this builds their confidence. Students learn skills in self-management as well. Literature develops in students enduring values, such as integrity, compassion, loyalty, and responsibility. The texts students explore give them multiple opportunities to discuss and reassess their own values and beliefs. These act as a compass in life as students grow up.

Students who study literature and read for pleasure have a higher vocabulary, better reading comprehension, and better communication skills, such as writing ability. Communication skills affect people in every area of their lives, from navigating interpersonal relationships to participating in meetings in the workplace to drafting intraoffice memos or reports.

When students analyze literature, they learn to identify cause and effect and are applying critical thinking skills. Without realizing it, they examine the characters psychologically or sociologically. They identify the characters' motivations for their actions and see through those actions to any ulterior motives.

When planning an essay on a work of literature, students use problem-solving skills to come up with a thesis and follow through on compiling their paper. It takes research skills to dig up evidence for their thesis from the text and scholarly criticism, and it takes organizational skills to present their argument in a coherent, cohesive manner.

Curricular Expectations

Students should be able to:

Know and use the conventions of oral language interaction, in a variety of contexts, including class groups, for a range of purposes, such as asking for information, stating an opinion, listening to others, informing, explaining, arguing, persuading, criticizing, commentating, narrating, imagining, speculating.
Engage actively and responsively within class groups in order to listen to or recount experiences and to express feelings and ideas. Engage in extended and constructive discussion of their own and other students’ work.
Listen actively in order to get the gist of an account or presentation noting its main points and purpose. Deliver a short oral text, alone and/or in collaboration with others, using appropriate language, style, and visual content for specific audiences and chosen purposes.
Listen actively in order to interpret meaning, compare, evaluate the effectiveness of, and respond to drama, poetry, media broadcasts, digital media, noting key ideas, style, tone, content, and overall impact in a systematic way.
Read texts with fluency, understanding, and competence, decoding groups of words/phrases, and not just single words.
Use a wide range of reading comprehension strategies appropriate to texts, including digital texts: to retrieve information; to link to previous knowledge, follow a process or argument, summarize, link main ideas; to monitor their own understanding; to question, analyze, synthesize and evaluate.
Engage in sustained private reading as a pleasurable and purposeful activity, applying what they have learned about the effectiveness of spoken and written texts to their own experience of reading.
Identify and comment on features of word and sentence level using appropriate terminology, showing how such features contribute to overall effect.
Write for a variety of purposes, for example to analyze, evaluate, imagine, explore, engage, amuse, narrate, inform, explain, argue, persuade, criticize, comment on what they have heard, viewed and read.
Use editing skills continuously during the writing process to enhance meaning and impact: select vocabulary, reorder words, phrases and clauses, correct punctuation and spelling, reorder paragraphs, remodel, manage content.
Respond imaginatively in writing to their texts showing a critical appreciation of language, style, and content, choice of words, language patterns, tone, images. Write about the effectiveness of key moments from their texts commenting on characters, key scenes, favorite images from a film, a poem, a drama, a chapter, a media or web-based event.
Use and apply knowledge of language structures, for example sentence structure, paragraphing, grammar, to make their writing a richer experience for themselves and the reader.
Evaluate writing proficiency and seek remedies for those aspects of writing that need to be improved.

Mathematics

An information- and technology-based society requires individuals who are able to think critically about complex issues, analyze and adapt to new situations, solve problems of various kinds, and communicate their thinking effectively. The study of mathematics equips students with knowledge, skills, and habits of mind that are essential for successful and rewarding participation in such a society.

When we do a mathematical problem, there are certain steps that we take before ultimately getting the desired result including collecting the necessary data and breaking down its premises. Being able to comprehend the intricacies of mathematics and arrive at logical solutions helps prepare one's mind to look for the best logic when real problems arise.

To find solutions to mathematical problems at hand, you have to think of a coherent process of how best to arrive at the solution which challenges your thinking capacity.

The truth is math is all around us. As a matter of fact, some call it an inescapable quotient that we simply just can't get through life without. As such we need it to comprehend the amount of taxes we owe, how much we earn, follow a new recipe, and the kind of deals we are getting ourselves into on a day to day basis.

Unlike other subjects that are constrained to a certain culture and a particular race, math is a universal language of concepts that can be taught and easily grasped.

Math has a precise, unequivocal, and formulaic nature that further adds to its ability to foster great abilities in children including diligence, caution, and conscientiousness. All of which are paramount principles when children are doing research for both personal projects and given topics.

Curricular Expectations

Overall and specific expectations in mathematics are organized into five strands, which are the five major areas of knowledge and skills in the mathematics curriculum. The program in all grades is designed to ensure that students build a solid foundation in mathematics by connecting and applying mathematical concepts in a variety of ways.

The five strands are Number Sense and Numeration, Measurement, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Patterning and Algebra, and Data Management and Probability.

Number Sense and Numeration: Number sense refers to a general understanding of number and operations as well as the ability to apply this understanding in flexible ways to make mathematical judgements and to develop useful strategies for solving problems. In this strand, students develop their understanding of number by learning about different ways of representing numbers and about the relationships among numbers. They learn how to count in various ways, developing a sense of magnitude. They also develop a solid understanding of the four basic operations and learn to compute fluently, using a variety of tools and strategies. A well-developed understanding of number includes a grasp of more-and-less relationships, part-whole relationships, the role of special numbers such as five and ten, connections between numbers and real quantities and measures in the environment, and much more. Experience suggests that students do not grasp all of these relationships automatically. A broad range of activities and investigations, along with guidance by the teacher, will help students construct an understanding of number that allows them to make sense of mathematics and to know how and when to apply relevant concepts, strategies, and operations as they solve problems.
Measurement: Measurement concepts and skills are directly applicable to the world in which students live. Many of these concepts are also developed in other subject areas, such as science, social studies, and physical education. In this strand, students learn about the measurable attributes of objects and about the units and processes involved in measurement. Students begin to learn how to measure by working with non-standard units, and then progress to using the basic metric units to measure quantities such as length, area, volume, capacity, mass, and temperature. They identify benchmarks to help them recognize the magnitude of units such as the kilogram, the litre, and the metre. Skills associated with telling time and computing elapsed time are also developed. Students learn about important relationships among measurement units and about relationships involved in calculating the perimeters, areas, and volumes of a variety of shapes and figures. Concrete experience in solving measurement problems gives students the foundation necessary for using measurement tools and applying their understanding of measurement relationships. Estimation activities help students to gain an awareness of the size of different units and to become familiar with the process of measuring. As students’ skills in numeration develop, they can be challenged to undertake increasingly complex measurement problems, thereby strengthening their facility in both areas of mathematics.
Geometry and Spatial Sense: Spatial sense is the intuitive awareness of one’s surroundings and the objects in them. Geometry helps us represent and describe objects and their interrelationships in space. A strong sense of spatial relationships and competence in using the concepts and language of geometry also support students’ understanding of number and measurement. Spatial sense is necessary for understanding and appreciating the many geometric aspects of our world. Insights and intuitions about the characteristics of two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional figures, the interrelationships of shapes, and the effects of changes to shapes are important aspects of spatial sense. Students develop their spatial sense by visualizing, drawing, and comparing shapes and figures in various positions. In this strand, students learn to recognize basic shapes and figures, to distinguish between the attributes of an object that are geometric properties and those that are not, and to investigate the shared properties of classes of shapes and figures. Mathematical concepts and skills related to location and movement are also addressed in this strand.
Patterning and Algebra: One of the central themes in mathematics is the study of patterns and relationships. This study requires students to recognize, describe, and generalize patterns and to build mathematical models to simulate the behaviour of real-world phenomena that exhibit observable patterns. Young students identify patterns in shapes, designs, and movement, as well as in sets of numbers. They study both repeating patterns and growing and shrinking patterns and develop ways to extend them. Concrete materials and pictorial displays help students create patterns and recognize relationships. Through the observation of different representations of a pattern, students begin to identify some of the properties of the pattern. In the junior grades, students use graphs, tables, and verbal descriptions to represent relationships that generate patterns. Through activities and investigations, students examine how patterns change, in order to develop an understanding of variables as changing quantities. In the intermediate grades, students represent patterns algebraically and use these representations to make predictions. A second focus of this strand is on the concept of equality. Students look at different ways of using numbers to represent equal quantities. Variables are introduced as “unknowns”, and techniques for solving equations are developed. Problem solving provides students with opportunities to develop their ability to make generalizations and to deepen their understanding of the relationship between patterning and algebra.
Data Management and Probability: The related topics of data management and probability are highly relevant to everyday life. Graphs and statistics bombard the public in advertising, opinion polls, population trends, reliability estimates, descriptions of discoveries by scientists, and estimates of health risks, to name just a few. In this strand, students learn about different ways to gather, organize, and display data. They learn about different types of data and develop techniques for analyzing the data that include determining measures of central tendency and examining the distribution of the data. Students also actively explore probability by conducting probability experiments and using probability models to simulate situations. The topic of probability offers a wealth of interesting problems that can fascinate students and that provide a bridge to other topics, such as ratios, fractions, percent, and decimals. Connecting probability and data management to real-world problems helps make the learning relevant to students.

Special needs accomplish the learning outcomes

Additional time and a suitable mode for the successful completion of tests.
Provision of adapted, modified, or alternative activities in different content areas.
Accessible texts and materials to suit their ages and levels of learning. Respect for home languages and relating to his/her socio-cultural milieu (e.g., traditions and customary practices etc.).
Provision of additional support by using Information and Communications Technology (ICT), video or digitized formats.

Need for learning outcomes

Quality improvement in education encompasses the all-round development of learners. This requires a multi-pronged approach aiming at the quality curriculum and its effective transaction in an enabling environment. Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) to help teachers to develop an understanding of the learning progression of individual children, identify the learning gaps and bridge them in time to facilitate their growth and development in a stress-free environment. However, in the present scenario, besides students and teachers, parents, community members, and educational administrators are also keen to know about the learning of students and thus, monitor the progress of learning of their wards. For this, they need and demand some criteria against which the extent of expected learning could be mapped or assessed.

The literature on ‘Education for All’ (EFA), in the last three decades, emphasized on quality of education. It has been considered in terms of enrollment, retention, and achievement. It further included desirable characteristics of learners, learning processes, facilities, learning materials, contents, governance, and management and learning outcomes. Quality, as measured by learning outcomes to be achieved by all, especially for literacy, numeracy, and essential life skills is crucial.

Learning Through Puppets

Gone are the days when the teacher would read from the book and students were the spectators. Equal participation of all the students and teachers has become a benchmark for an engaging classroom. Thus, teachers are exploring creative as well as innovative teaching strategies to gain students’ attention. One such way is ‘Learning through puppets’. Puppets fascinate children. They learn numerous good and bad habits from them. If used in an instrumental way, they can become an educational resource, and various studies have proved that they are effective aids for entertaining and teaching young minds. This activity is great for junior classes, as it helps in understanding concepts, improves communication skills, develops a creative instinct, and logical thinking. The teacher instead of teaching as a teacher mimics the voice of a puppet and introduces a concept/poem or any topic to the students.

The students can also give a name to their ‘puppet buddy’. Interestingly, students in the guidance of the teacher can make the puppets for each subject or as per the available resources.

Let’s Shop

Shopping is an interesting activity as one learns to communicate, analyze, and make a decision. This innovative teaching strategy attracts students and increases their involvement. The teacher uses this playful activity to teach simple mathematical calculations and various measures and scales. Many textbook-based topics are adopted as part of a market-shopping scene, allowing students to have experiential learning and understand many new and old concepts. In this activity, few students become shopkeepers and few buyers, and shopkeepers sell-off a variety of stuff, the dummy/representative things to the buyers. The shopkeepers are divided to sell different items, ranging from clothes, milk, fruits, etc. The dummy items are created in the art & craft class.

Bird Watching

Bird watching for school students is a great activity that allows young minds to enjoy the environment, taking them away from screens and school work and avoid the general boredom of the classroom. On the top, children learn to appreciate nature. Birding also teaches children about responsibility for the environment. Watching local birds around their school campus gives the students an idea of numerous flora and fauna in the immediate surroundings. There are a number of benefits of this activity, such as birding which improves a child’s physical and mental health. Kids with a penchant for languages can learn species’ scientific names and keep lists of jargon’s that helps describe birds and their behavior. The students jot down the facts or peculiar things that they notice during bird watching. Since such activities are fun alongside being a source of experiential learning they ensure maximum participation of the students. Teachers across the country are adopting these innovative teaching strategies to have an attentive class.

Teachers are the pillars of this nation, and their contribution – if recognized and supported – can bring about a significant improvement in the quality and reach of education.

“He who opens a school door, closes a prison.”Victor Hugo

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