ASSETScope January 2010
Sparking the Hearts and Minds of Students
Getting students excited about learning, is the best way to have fun as a teacher. Students who are fired up about being in your class, bring with them unbridled enthusiasm and energy. That energy and enthusiasm is then pumped into you and it begins a positive cycle between you, your students, and learning. So, what are some ways in which you can spark the minds of your students and get them excited about learning?
First of all, you need to feel passionate about what you are teaching. If you find your subject matter boring and unworthy of your attention, then there’s no way you’ll be able to inspire your students to be excited about it.
If you find yourself teaching something that’s not your first choice, what can you do to become passionate about it? One way is to watch movies, read books, and find interesting facts about that subject area or topic. Actively search for something that will spark your interest and passion so you can pass it along to students.
I, for one, am not an avid Mathematician. Yet, I found myself suddenly having to teach Math and having to get my students excited about it. I do love puzzles and I connected solving Math equations to solving puzzles. Suddenly, Math seemed like an endless set of mysteries to be solved, rather than just skill and drill. When the topic or subject area is not your favourite, it’s up to you to find a way to make it intriguing for both yourself and your students.
Secondly, find a way to make students active in their own learning. Passive learning – including listening to lectures and doggedly copying down notes, or reading silently and answering worksheet questions - is boring. Do we need some of that type of learning? Yes. Do we need that type of learning all the time? No.
Look at your lessons and ask yourself, “What can I do to get my students actively involved?” Arrange students into groups and assign each group a section of a chapter. Have students become experts on their assigned area and present it to the rest of the class as a skit, on a poster, through a poem or story, or possibly in a Power Point presentation. Create scavenger hunts requiring students to locate information, or have them create their own scavenger hunts and swap papers. Get students to move around the classroom. Create mysteries that require Math to solve the problem. Give students sleuthing tools so they feel like detectives as they solve these mysteries. Pose questions that challenge students to think through the answers or research information to solve the puzzle. That can be done in any subject area. Allow students to cut, colour, draw, and create products as part of the learning process, not only at the elementary level but also at the middle- school level. This is because middle school students have more experiences and bigger ideas to add to the creative process, and therefore can come up with fantastic products that enhance both their excitement and learning.
Being passionate about your subject area communicates fascination and energy to your students. They soak up that energy and return it to you double-fold.
Source: Article by Emma McDonald- (modified) -
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald017.shtml
Book of the Month
Reading Strategy Lessons for Science & Social Studies: 15 Research-Based Strategy Lessons That Help Students Read and Learn From Content-Area Texts - By Laura Robb
Mentor teacher and reading expert, Laura Robb, shares 15 practical, research-based lessons that teachers can use to help kids navigate the special demands of the text they encounter in Science and Social Studies classes. She has tried to achieve a balance for Science and Social Studies teachers by providing short, focused, and easy-to-deliver lessons within the research-tested three-part learning model, which describes what happens before, during, and after reading. There are lessons that build students’ prior knowledge and vocabulary and prepares them to read and learn. There are strategies that enable students to self-monitor what they do and don’t understand as they read, as well as use several fix-up strategies that help students construct meaning when a passage confuses them. The ‘after-reading’ activities invite students to discuss, think about, and analyze information; and encourage them to write to deepen their understanding. These lessons are short and focused because helping your students learn content is the primary focus of this book. The last chapter discusses the use of primary sources and poetry in Science and Social Studies
For more details visit
http://shop.scholastic.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay_67593_-1_10001_10004
News Bite
- Read Storybooks & Get More Marks, Suggests CBSE
- Tough Road Ahead for Unrecognised Schools
- Unique Identity for Students and Teachers in India
Read Storybooks & Get More Marks, Suggests CBSE
Reading storybooks by the likes of Enid Blyton or Agatha Christie may now earn children marks at school. Students from Class V onwards could soon be rewarded on their reading habits under a Central Board of Secondary Education proposal to use a new evaluation system to encourage children to read storybooks. India’s largest school board has asked affiliated institutions to include reading habits among parameters to be used in the comprehensive and continuous evaluation (CCE) of students in English, and has even proposed a reading list. The board has cautioned against asking students to write reports on the books they read - a form of assessment the CBSE feels may bore students.
Tough Road Ahead for Unrecognised Schools
Bad news is in store for the thousands of “unrecognised schools” operating all over the Capital. Once the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act 2009 is implemented, they face the prospect of a shutdown. The Act will make it mandatory for all schools to get a certificate of recognition from a local authority before being established or to function. In case the school fails to comply, a fine will be imposed for contravention.
Unique Identity for Students and Teachers in India
The HRD Ministry is mulling close co-operation with the recently set up UID Authority. The HRD Ministry is keen on this as this will provide all school going children and teachers with a UID number, so that a countrywide monitoring of schooling and educational outcomes can be undertaken. This was stated by Kapil Sibal, Union Minister for Human Resource Development, during the meeting of the Consultative Committee of Parliament for the HRD Ministry. The subject of the meeting was, ‘The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009’.
Teacher’s Bite
Mrs. Dorothy Menezes, Principal,
Carmel High School, Basveshwarnagar, Bangalore
Importance of Teacher Training and Development in Educating Students.
The 21st century has seen a paradigm shift in classroom management and it is imperative that teachers are equipped with additional skills to offer students learning opportunities, in keeping with the changing trends. Professional growth and development must continue to enable them to gain new insights and integrate them into practice in the classroom which will surely help the teachers to explore new avenues in the teaching learning process. In short, it is a win-win proposition for everyone involved.
ASSET
The ASSET exam is a complete diagnostic test which goes beyond testing superficial learning and helps in understanding the strengths and weaknesses of children. The performance analysis would surely help in taking stock of the school’s performance class wise and help the teachers think of remedial plans to re-teach certain concepts which have been misunderstood by the students.
Contribute an article contest
Here is good opportunity to share your experience as a teacher and WIN a PRIZE!
We are introducing ‘Contribute an Article Contest’ for teachers wherein you can share an article about:
• how you taught a particular topic in class and made it interesting for students
• how you handled one particular situation in class
• an interesting article which you have read and found useful
The best entry will be covered in the coming issues of ASSETScope. The winner will get a certificate and a prize. The word count for the article should have a minimum of 300- 500 words. The word limit should not exceed 500 words.
Please mail the write-up to Bindu Pillai at bindu@ei-india.com or post the write-up at the address mentioned at on the bottom of last page before 30th of every month.
Misconception Series - Click to read
Students’ Corner
A Microscope Made From Bamboo
At a time when activity-based teaching is gaining prominence, a low-cost microscope made from bamboo by the New Delhi based company, Jodo Gyan, makes elementary science learning, a fun activity for children.
This model is priced at Rs 200, and is made out of bamboo, two lenses of 10x power each, and a mirror that acts as a reflector. Of the two lenses, placed one above the other, one can be moved up and down using a screw, and the other can be moved sideways to enable better placing of the sample. The material used in building the microscope imparts several unique features to the equipment.
First, it makes it inexpensive and eco-friendly and allows children to experiment for themselves and learn in the process.
Second, it makes the microscope compact, light in weight and simple to use and can be used by middle-level children themselves with little training.
Third, it can be assembled and dismantled by anyone. This flexibility also helps in case the equipment is dropped, as the parts of the microscope can be refitted easily by anyone, requiring little technical expertise.
Sourcing and Manufacturing
The organization operates from a rickety building in Shakurpur that houses both the company’s office and the manufacturing unit. After the bamboo is procured, it undergoes several processes such as cutting, drilling, fining and finally assembling before the final product is made. The bamboo is also given termite treatment to ensure a longer lifespan. Though not many processes are involved, there is a lot of handwork that is done to make the final product.
The Organization
Jodo Gyan, which literally means “linking education”, has over 60 products, which include several tools to aid education, and games such as puzzles, toys etc, to promote critical thinking among children. The products range from Rs 35 to Rs 550. They are not sold through shops, but directly to end-users, when it holds workshops for teachers, participates in fairs and seminars organized by schools, and holds training camps for schools, across India. Jodo Gyan has organized more than 2,500 such activities.
Mindspark - An Internet-based Computer-Adaptive Learning Program
Now it is easy for me to give an answer, because of more and more practice- Himani Tolia, S N Kansagra School, Rajkot
Your service is excellent and we want you to continue to give us fantastic questions forever - Rutvi Vadera, S N Kansagra School, Rajkot
Mindspark is a fun way of learning!! Your motto can be ‘Where learning meets fun!’- Varsha Nitish, Sindhi High School, Hebbal, Bangalore
Out of Box
Butterfly fields -Click to read
Ask an Expert!
“How do owls see clearly in the night time?”
Here’s our response:
Owls are creatures that have fascinated man for ages. They are animals that can move in the night and can see in dim light. This is mainly possible because the eyes of an owl are specially suited for this need. An eye usually has two special kinds of parts in them called rod cells and cone cells. The rod cells work to gather light. Owls have ten times more rod cells than human beings have in their eyes.
An owl’s eyes are large in order to improve their efficiency, especially under low light conditions. In fact, the eyes are so well developed, that they are not eye balls as such, but more like long tubes. These tubes are held in place by bones in its skull. For this reason, an owl cannot “roll” or move its eyes - that is, it can only look straight ahead! So how does an owl manage to look around itself then? It can turn its head around and almost upside-down! It has a long and very flexible neck, which is hidden by feathers and the way the owl sits.The owl can also adjust the amount of light entering the eye. So if it is dark, the owl is capable of adjusting its eyes in such a way that more light enters the eye allowing it to see better in the dark. This is how owls see clearly in the night time.
For more information, visit the following site: http://www.owlpages.com/ (You can find everything you want to know about owls right here!)
EI News
ASSET WEEK Celebration in Schools
To promote the value of ASSET among students, we had suggested to schools to celebrate ‘ASSET Week’ in their school, prior to the ASSET test. The school had to perform a series of actions and activities in school during the week ASSET is conducted, to highlight its role in improving learning of an individual child at an overall class/school level, among the key stakeholders in the process – i.e., students, parents and teachers.
We request to schools to send the reports along with photographs of the activities done. We would be recognizing and rewarding five schools, nationally, with a memento. The winning entries would also be covered with the school name in our newsletter ‘ASSETScope’ and our website.
So hurry!! Mail your reports to bindu@ei-india.com and be a part of the National ASSET WEEK Contest.
Science Exhibition at Little Lillys School, Bangalore
Little Lillys School, Bangalore recently held a Science exhibition in the school. The creative and detailed project displays reflected the students’ clarity on the topics of their choice. Mrs. Mahalakshmi, Chairman of Little Lillys Group of Schools, and Mrs. Vani R, Principal, Little Lillys English School, guided the student projects to ensure that students explored the topics thoroughly and gained conceptual knowledge. Ms Deepali Sinha, Educational Advisor with EI was invited as Chief Guest for the event.
Duke University Talent Identification Program Partners with ASSET
The Duke University Talent Identification Program is a global leader in identifying academically gifted students and providing them with innovative programming to support their development. They have signed an agreement to use ASSET to identify the students who will qualify for their programme. This is an international recognition from a high quality programme for ASSET!
Award Ceremony ASSET QMC’09
Now that the winners of the ASSET National Question Making Competition are announced, it’s time to formally felicitate, them. We have organized the QMC award ceremony to be held in Bangalore on 13 January, 2010 for the purpose.
It is also an opportunity to share our views and ideas on Question making and we have arranged a workshop on “Effective Question Making skills” to be conducted before the ceremony.
We expect a large gathering of teachers, school leaders and prize winners from different parts of the country to have their presence on this day in Bangalore.
The ceremony will be blessed with the august presence of Chief Guest Ms. Rohini Nilekani.
Given below are the ceremony details:
Date: 13 January, 2010,
Place: Bangalore, Venue: Hotel Capitol, Rajbhavan Road
Timings: 4:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Humourous Bite
Teacher: Ma’am your son has cheated in his examinations.
Parent: You can prove that I am sure!
Teacher: Well, put it this way, the first answer of your child’s partner was “Yes”.
Parent: So that proves nothing.
Teacher: But for the second question your son’s partner wrote “I don’t know.” and your son wrote “Neither do I.”
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