The Art of Questioning

It is always the teacher who tests the abilities of students? How about creating a platform to showcase teachers’ abilities.

When, what, where, why and how – designing good questions that help to develop critical thinking skills is both an art and a science. A good question has to be creative, interesting, focus on analysis and, most importantly, stimulate the students. Making Application-based question is important to foster knowledge in students who usually memorize the questions at the end of the chapter as a drill. We tried to get teachers to break this monotony and understand the importance of good question-making and imparting knowledge with understanding.

“A good question makes the student think and if framed correctly, it can help the teacher figure out the thought process of the student as he solves the problem. A good question tests the comprehension of a child, rather than just memory or recall,” says Sridhar Rajagopalan, Managing Director of Educational Initiatives (EI).

A creative exercise on good question-making brings the fun back into learning. It provides an opportunity for teachers to create something original. For students, the benefits are manifold. It challenges and stimulates them to think deeper and apply and master the concepts they have learnt.

EI has organised three all-India question-making competition for English medium school teachers. In 2004, 726 teachers from 121 schools participated in the competition while in 2008 there were 2325 participants from 519 schools. 2009 also witnessed an enthusiastic response from more than 3700 teachers from 585 schools. The objective of EI’s ASSET Question Making Competition for teachers all over India is to tap the creative potential of the teaching community. At EI, we believe that teachers should be encouraged to make the right kind of questions as it will help hone their skills in testing as well as deepen their subject knowledge. The objective is to stimulate creative question-making, involve teachers in the activity and recognize and reward their efforts.

Few winning questions of 2009 - Click here to read

QMC Award Ceremony 2009 - Click here to read

Be the change Start with Teacher Plus - Click here to read

Teacher’s Bite

Ms. Daman Dugal,
Former Principal,
Vivek High School, Chandigarh

Importance of Teacher Training and Development in educating students
To learn, to train, to incorporate change is to evolve, to constantly update and thereby upgrade one’s knowledge base. Educators have the onus of gathering relevant information and using pertinent and innovative strategies to disseminate this to the impressionable minds of the young students in their care.

The ability to don many hats and yet maintain the zeal and passion required of a mentor and facilitator is no mean feat. Teacher training programmes serve to encourage teachers to deepen their understanding of their chosen subject and also gain a desired level of efficacy regarding the pedagogical requirements for the same.

It is vital for an educator to have sound knowledge of classroom dynamics as well as the affective and emotional components that govern these. The educator, in his/her role as an effective facilitator has to have an in-depth understanding of the various learning styles to be employed and the multiple intelligences manifested by his students.

Teacher training programmes need to be a priority in the field of progressive education. These programmes serve to augment and strengthen teachers’ effective classroom management skills and proactive teaching approaches.

Mindspark - An Internet-based Computer-Adaptive Learning Program

“I would say its the best way to do mathematics”
-Fenny Herma, S N Kansagra, Rajkot

“The questions are so motivating! they are not like too easy and I can do it very easily. I need to concentrate and it helps me.”
- Pooja Nagaraj, Sindhi High School, Bangalore

“Mindspark rocks!”
- Prajwal Baliga, Innisfree House School, Bangalore

“This is a very good way for polishing our (students) calculations and concepts. It would be wonderful for you to open a site for English.
- Dhriti Jagasheth, The Riverside School, Ahmedabad

Events

Science exhibition at Presidency School, Nandini Layout, Bangalore

The one thing that matters in life is the effort; every good that is worth possessing has to be paid for in strokes of daily efforts, for success is nothing but the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. This spirit of effort was shown on January 10th, 2010 at Presidency School, NLO, when the school organized ‘Prayaas’, its annual science exhibition. The aim of the exhibition was to bring out the hidden talents of the students and enable them to have conceptual clarity, to inculcate a scientific attitude among them to face the challenges of the modern world. The school was packed as parents piled in to see all that ‘Prayaas’ had to offer. Each of our classes had a booth from where each student - right from Grade IV to IX - could explain to our visitors all about what they had been learning and doing in science. The nervous excitement, the enthusiasm and a sense of pride could be clearly seen on the faces of the children as they explained every detail of their projects to the eager parents. Science Department, Ms. Sonia, from the Computer Department, and also the other teachers for the tremendous effort that they had put in along with the children to make the show a grand success. The other dignitaries present were Mr. Thangadurai, the Director for the Presidency Group Schools, and the heads of the Sister Concern schools. The judges on the occasion were Mr. Vishnuteerth Agnihotri, Vice President, Test Development, Educational Initiatives, Mrs. Deepali Sinha, Educational Advisor, Educational Initiatives and Mr. Prabhakaran, former principal, Kendriya Vidyalaya.

The highlight of the show was the documentary, ‘Pioneer 2009-10’, shot, edited and compiled by our young cinematographers Sharan and Sanjeev of Grade IX. The tuck shops set up within the school premises were an added feast for the visitors as they found an occasion to actually relax on a Sunday. To sum up what the visitors said, “The task of the teachers at Presidency seems to be to stimulate ‘apparently ordinary’ children to unusual efforts. The tough problem is not in identifying winners: it is in making winners out of ordinary children…and ‘Prayaas’ goes on to prove that Presidency, NLO, is going to make many winners in life”.

MIX Learning

Inventure Academy(Bangalore) organized the 3rd edition of Multiple Intelligences Xplored (M.I.X.) for students on 22 January, 2010 an event based on Howard Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences (MI). Event witnessed participation from 9 schools with more than 300 students.

Multiple Intelligences Xplored (M.I.X.) is an event exclusively designed to distinguish inherent proclivities and talents in children, apart from only mathematical or linguistic intelligences, and bring about a powerful positive impact on the child’s self esteem. It is a unique model that challenges a child’s abilities across eight intelligences.

“After organizing MIX successfully for two consecutive years, we have managed to pull off a hat-trick of victories this year! Our purpose is to make both parents and students realise that every single child is gifted in some unique way.”

She further adds, “In a country like India, where more and more students are facing stress and pressure due to intense competition, it becomes our responsibility to adapt to and promote new methods of learning that suits a child. Education should also be designed to prepare our students in such a way that they don’t get bogged down by competition and parental pressures but realize their own potential and ust that to excel.” - Nooraine Fazal, Co-Founder & CEO of Inventure Academy, Bangalore.

EI working paper series

Educational Initiatives (EI) believes that significantly improved student learning can happen only through systematic research into learning which includes assessment, as well as areas like misconception research. The working paper series shares learnings from various past and present EI projects as well as path-breaking work in these areas elsewhere in the world.

The five working papers published till date are available at http://www.ei-india.com/working-paper-series/.Please write to us at assessment@ei-india.com for questions or comments.

Principals’ Seminar on “Helping Every Child Learn with Understanding”

Educational Initiatives (EI) organised a one-day seminar on “Helping Every Child Learn with Understanding” at Ahmedabad on January 30th, 2010. Thirty (30) principals from leading schools across the country participated in the seminar.

“The seminar was very useful. Changed my perception of EI as a company”.
Mr. Rajiv Sharma, Principal, Spring Dale Senior School, Amritsar.

The objective of the seminar was to have a forum of principals from various boards share their views on learning with understanding.

Humourous Bite

Teacher: Your poem is the worst in the class. It’s not only ungrammatical, it’s rude and in bad taste. I’m going to send your father a note about it.
Student: I don’t think that would help, teacher. He wrote it.

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.

Source: http://www.dare.co.in

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.”

Comparing India and China

We always seem to lag behind our big rival. A new index that measures prosperity
tells a surprising story. - Nick Schulz

Comparing the relative strengths of India and China is a time-honoured parlour game. Which nation can grow faster? Which will be the more important power in the 21st century? Which one has a better model for growth?

By courtesy of an innovative London-based think tank, we have a comprehensive way of comparing India and China. The Legatum Institute recently released its 2009 Prosperity Index (you can find the results at www. prosperity. org). In this index, economic growth and performance matter a lot. But they are not the whole story and not the sum total of what it means to be prosperous.

In other words, it is a measure of overall well-being in an effort to include those elements that make a people not just rich but happy, healthy and free as well. These include economic fundamentals, entrepreneurship and innovation, democratic institutions, education, health, safety and security, governance, personal freedom and social capital.

And as it turns out, India is doing far better than its neighbour in the north-east, ranking 30 places higher than China on the overall global index. Both countries still have large populations of very poor people, so they are much lower down in the rankings than the countries of Western Europe and North America, for example. But India ranks 45th on the index, while China ranks far down at 75. China even ranks below pariah state, Venezuela.

What Accounts for the Differences?
Ryan Streeter, a fellow at the Legatum Institute, tells me that “India beats China solidly owing to the way that its governance contributes to the economy. That is the democratic institutions index, where India is 36 and China 100. Couple that with other key measures of governance, freedom and social capital-social capital is amazingly high in India, which is ranked fifth in the world and India is far more prosperous than its rival”.

The social capital component is especially interesting. “Indian citizens report high levels of membership in community organizations, allowing for a broad network of social capital,” the report concludes.

Indians seem to be like Americans in this respect. When Alexis de Tocqueville published his magisterial account of the American experiment, Democracy in America, he was struck by the high degree of social capital he observed during his travels. Americans were a nation of joiners, he witnessed. Indians seem to be similar in that regard—indeed, Indians are even ahead of the US on this metric, which ranks two spots behind, at seventh, in the world. And the report’s authors note that high levels of social capital are needed to bolster human happiness.

My colleague at the American Enterprise Institute Roger Bate notes that “China outperforms India in both of the main economic sub-indices because it provides greater economic certainty to investors, receiving far more foreign investment than India. Still, the overall index implies that trouble is brewing for China as it loses out to India in all other sub-indices, especially in its lack of democracy and personal freedom”.

There are, of course, areas in which India needs to make significant progress. Education, health, safety and security are all areas in which India’s performance is badly lagging behind much of the rest of the world.

But the overall picture is quite encouraging. And in this version of the India versus China parlour game, we must tip our cap to India.
Modified (http://www. livemint. com/2009/11/04212233/Comparing-India-and-China. html?h=B)

Book of the Month

‘Chicken Soup for the Teacher’s Soul: Stories to Open the Hearts and Rekindle the Spirit of Educators’ by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen

Most people recall a teacher or two who had made a significant impact on their future. In fact, outside the family unit, teachers have more influence on our lives than anyone else. Good teachers help students believe in themselves with a glimpse of what they might become. They go the extra mile to make learning fun-filled and meaningful, and they inspire students to dream and broaden their horizons. Teachers have the power to change lives.

Written by a wide range of teachers, counselors, administrators, educational consultants and former students, the stories in Chicken Soup for the Teacher’s Soul will convince teachers that they’re needed now more than ever.

‘Chicken Soup for the Teacher’s Soul’ is required reading for every teacher, student and former student. Readers will learn treasured lessons on the importance of encouragement, the power of love, the value of taking a risk in the classroom, and the need for mentors and allies. Teachers will recognize themselves and their students in these stories of hope and love. They will see their growing challenges as newfound opportunities to transform lives.

News Bite

• Centre Tells States to Adhere Norms for Teacher Training
  
• Smart Cards to Track Teacher/Student Progress in NDMC Schools
• Want Admission in Class XI - Take CBSE’s External Exam
  

Centre Tells States to Adhere Norms for Teacher Training

The human resource development (HRD) ministry has asked all states to upgrade their eligibility criteria for teachers training to meet National Council for Teachers Education (NCTE) norms. The certificates issued by states that fail to do so would be termed illegal. The warning came after the ministry was forced to step in to bail out about 31,000 West Bengal primary teachers whose D. Eds (diplomas in education) were declared illegal by the Calcutta high court without NCTE recognition.

Smart Cards to Track Teacher/Student Progress in NDMC Schools

Many government schools in Delhi are faced with the challenge of students dropping out and teachers skipping classes. Very soon, however, the NDMC might introduce smart cards that will include all details of students and teachers, including attendance, making it easier to nab erring members. The move is meant to observe qualitative improvements in education, where material related to schools can be accessed online.

Want Admission in Class XI - Take CBSE’s External Exam

The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) may have announced scrapping the Class X Board Examinations in its affiliated schools from 2011 for students who do not wish to move out of the CBSE system after Class X. The Board has, however, come up with a unique way to cover up for this and ensure that only ‘eligible’ students are promoted to Class XI. Students studying in CBSE’s Secondary Schools will be required to appear in the Board’s ‘External Examination’ because they will be leaving the Secondary School after Class X. This External Examination would form the basis for students selecting

Teacher’s Bite

Mr. Sunil Trivedi,
Principal
Delhi Public School, Ahmedabad

Importance of Teacher Training and Development in Educating Students.
A teacher deals with young minds and like Brahma, writes the destiny of young minds. This is the century of knowledge and unless the teacher is aware of the latest developments in content as well as pedagogy it is not possible for her to be effective in the classroom. Gone are the days when the teacher was the only source of knowledge, today IT and allied sources makes information easily available to students. Sometimes teachers even face embarrassing situations in the classroom due to the lack of contemporary information. Change is permanent and it is important for any professional to keep up with the times. Teachers are “Knowledge Leaders” and their most important role is to facilitate learning by providing the latest content and information sources. It is important to keep learning. Teachers act as role models and when students see their teachers constantly learning, they start believing in being lifelong learners.

ASSET Parent Orientation at Triveni Public School, Bangalore

We at Triveni Public School evolve innovative techniques to integrate comprehension-based learning and the acknowledgement towards the learning outcome is considered foremost. In order to highlight the significance of comprehension-based learning, the institute in collaboration with the officials, Mrs. Deepali Sinha and Mrs. Kalpana associated with Educational Initiatives, organized an open session with the parent community at Triveni Public School followed by a question and answer session on 29th August, 2009. The session helped us understand misconceptions clearly.
Mrs. Shylaja R Menon,
Principal, Triveni Public School, Bangalore

Misconception Series - Click to read

Students’ Corner

EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIP FOR 10TH PASS STUDENTS

If you come across any bright students coming from a poor financial background who have finished their 10th standard this year (April 2009) and scored more than 80%, please ask them to contact the NGO-Prerana (supported by Infosys foundation). The NGO is conducting a written test and those who clear the test will be eligible for financial help for their further studies.

Please ask students to contact the people mentioned below to get the form:
Saraswati (9900906338)
#580, Shubhakar, 44th Cross
1st ‘A’ Main Road, Jayanagar 7th block, Bangalore
Mr. Shivkumar (9986630301), Hanumanthnagar Office
Ms. Bindu (9964534667 ), Yeshwantpur Office

BEST PRACTICES OF ASSET QUESTION-A-DAY (AQAD) AT SRI KUMARAN PUBLIC SCHOOL, ICSE, BANGALORE

The school has appointed a Student Core Team of 12 students, one from each class that filters through the ASSET questions. The team meets once a week along with their teacher coordinator, to discuss the questions received and then selects the most challenging question to throw it open to the other students in the assembly and also puts up the same on the notice board.

Four boxes for four different options marked as A, B, C and D are placed in a prominent place in the school. All the students of the school are given an opportunity to answer these questions by making sure that they drop their answers along with their names, class and section into the ballot box marked with the respective options. Students are also encouraged to add reasons for the same. The team then collects the boxes after the time limit and puts up the answer on the bulletin board. The statistics showing the total number of children who participated and the number of correct answers and a list of those who have answered it correctly is put up on the notice board the next day.

Mindspark - An Internet-based Computer-Adaptive Learning Program

“Awesome! I get lost in these sums! They are just so interesting!” - Pooja Nagaraj, Sindhi High School, Hebbal
“I love to do Mindspark everyday” - Deepali Ujaria, S N Kansagra School, Rajkot
“Mindspark is very useful. Even my parents think that it is helping me improve in Maths. Mindspark is a companion to me. I like it very much. I believe that it is going to prove a great boon to me.” - Rhytha Kasiraj, Gundecha Education Academy, Mumbai

Out of Box

Do your class-rooms extend into the play-ground?
– EduSports offers holisitic education through physical activity and sports.

Recent studies of school children under the age of 15 years conducted in the various parts of the world have found a strong link of physical fitness in children with their academic performance and classroom behaviour. Well developed motor skills, or the ability of the body to perform/ participate in a range of physical activities, dramatically accelerates the overall learning process of children - including their ability to interact with others and the environment.

EduSports, India’s first Physical Education (PE) & School Sports enterprise, uses structured physical activity and sports as a pedagogical tool for developing mental skills, behavioural skills, and physical conditioning in the children. After working with over 500 schools, and over 100,000 children of various age-groups in the last 5 years, EduSports has also found that Structured Physical Activity is also one of the powerful teaching tools for experiential learning or learning by doing – a method which is visceral, engaging and potentially fun for school children.

Based on its deep experience and the learning in the areas of education, child psychology, physical activity and sports, EduSports has developed an integrated PE & School Sports platform – SOARTM specifically designed for K-12 schools. As part of the SOARTM platform, EduSports offers structured physical activity & sports curriculum (based on the development characteristics of children), along with the relevant props & equipment to conduct the activities, and a series of intensive workshops/ interactions with the school teachers (to facilitate the in-school experience) & parents (to facilitate the after school experience) to deliver the overall programme.

Additionally, EduSports also helps its partner schools on areas such as optimizing the school sports infrastructure, executing after-school sports programmes, advanced coaching & talent spotting for school sports teams, and creating an active school sports club/ community for creating a high quality, 360 degree sporting experience for the children.

EduSports has been founded by a team of experts from the IITs, IIMs, NIS and Stanford. EduSports list of partner schools include: TVS Lakshmi School, Yenepoya School, Bethany School, Zee School, TVS Matric School, Kaanger Valley Academy, Zenith School, Amarajyothi Public School, SSB International, and the Monarch School.

EduSports Contact: Ph: +91 9901442607, +91 9880077340, Mail: SOAR@edusports.in, Web: www.edusports.in

Mark your Calendar

ASSET Test Dates - 7th to 10th December.
ASSET WEEK- Win an educational research CD by sending the report by 20th of December 2009

Ask an Expert!

We have students and teachers asking us questions in our ‘Ask an Expert’ section. In our answers, we encourage them to look up related information on the Internet by providing them with relevant links. Here’s one such question asked of us by Reeta, a class 10 teacher.

“What is the composition of ash of burning coal or burning wood?”

Here’s our response:
Ash from burned wood is known as wood ash. Typically, what is mainly seen as wood ash is just about 6–10% of the burned wood. The composition of wood ash is influenced by the type of wood that has been burned. The conditions of the combustion also affect the composition and amount of the residue ash. This means that higher temperatures will reduce ash yield.

Wood ash contains calcium carbonate as its major component, representing 25 or even 45 percent. Less than 10 percent is potash, and less than 1 percent phosphate; there are trace elements of iron, manganese, zinc, copper and some heavy metals. However, these numbers vary as combustion temperature is an important variable in determining wood ash composition. Wood ash has several uses. Some such uses are as compost, fertilizers, pet shampoos and in waste water management. However, with coal ash, the amounts produced vary with the source and grade of coal. Coal ash is also termed as fly ash and the amount produced varies from 12–16% of the coal burned. The composition however varies with the chemical make up of the coal. They consist mostly of silicon dioxide (SiO2), which is present in two forms: amorphous, which is rounded and smooth, and crystalline, which is sharp, pointed and hazardous; aluminium oxide (Al2O3) and iron oxide (Fe2O3). Fly ashes are generally highly
heterogeneous, consisting of a mixture of glassy particles with various identifiable crystalline phases such as quartz, mullite, and various iron oxides.
For more info visit http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Fly_ash

Events

ASSET WEEK results of summer round announced!

We are happy to announce the winners of the ASSET WEEK celebration in schools for the summer round of ASSET.

ASSET WEEK was celebrated in schools to highlight the role of ASSET in improving learning at an
individual child and overall class/school level, among the key stakeholders in the process – i.e. , students, parents and teachers. We would like to thank all the ASSET Coordinators for their cooperation in making it a great event.

We have received ASSET WEEK reports from more than 170 schools, the efforts made and creativity shown to conduct various activities in school that create awareness about the ASSET is highly laudable.

In the end, we had to select five schools as National winners as per the program rules. Congratulations to the winners! They would be receiving a memento of appreciation from us.

ASSET WEEK Results - Click to read

Humourous Bite

Father: Tell me how school went today? How did you like it?
Child: It’s hard to like a place which is haunted, dad.
Father: Haunted! What do you mean?
Child: It’s that new teacher of mine…she keeps on talking about school spirit.

Strategies for Motivating Students-By Emma McDonald

We’ve all taken those classes; you know the ones that bore you to tears. We are expected to sit up, pay close attention, and learn as much as we can. How many of you can actually do that? I know I can’t. My mind starts to wander.

Take some time to think about a boring class you had to endure, whether recently or in the distant past. What about that class made it boring? What did you do when you got bored? What would you have liked to do in that class? Now, take some time to think about the classes you teach. Do you find your students staring out of the windows? Take some time to analyse what’s happening in your classroom. Once you’ve done that, try a few of the suggestions below to pep up your class.

Plan in Shorter Time Segments: The attention span of students ranges from 5 minutes in the youngest students (kindergarteners) to 20 minutes in the oldest students (high-school seniors). That means, if you plan a single lecture or activity that takes 20 minutes or longer, you’ve definitely lost the attention of your entire class. Break up your lesson into shorter segments.

Vary the Activities: If all you do is pass out worksheets or read the textbook each day, it is no wonder that everyone gets bored. Even if you have a colouring or cutting activity, everyday, you would be overusing them. Students get tired of doing the same thing day after day. So spice it up a bit. Bring children’s books and novels into your lesson. Even older students enjoy listening to someone read aloud. Many teachers assume that if they are not teaching K-3, then children’s books are not for them. That is so sad! Students can get the same information in a more enjoyable format than the textbook or an encyclopaedia.

Use Outdoors a Lot: We all love going outdoors, especially in weathers when flowers are in bloom and there is greenery all around. Is today a day when you must read out of the textbook? Then take everyone outside and read out there. It’s so much more enjoyable.

Actively involve students in the lesson. Do you find yourself doing most of the talking and working in class? That is another cause of student boredom. Find a different way of reading the textbook: have students work in pairs to turn a subsection of the textbook into a story or script, then have each pair share their story in the correct order. Again, there are so many different ways to get your students involved, even in the most boring task.

If you really want to motivate your students, it’s time to pull away from the worksheets and think out of the box. Take some time to think about how you can get students learning or practising the same information in a different way. Don’t try to do every lesson at once. Take it one lesson at a time. Start with one and then move to two lessons a week. Slowly increase until you are able to plan lessons with interesting and motivating activities throughout the week. Before you know it, you’ll have a motivating class full of students who are learning and loving it!

Modified (http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/columnists/mcdonald/mcdonald009.shtml)

Book of the Month

A Handbook on Child Learning – by Kamala Mukunda

Book Summary: This insightful and well-researched book is for teachers and educators, as well as anyone interacting closely with children. Applying frontline research in child psychology, the author calls for a dramatic change in approach towards school teaching. The skill of being able to ask the ‘right questions’ is far more important than giving the right answers, says Mukunda, and urges teachers to adopt good teaching practices and an open mind towards the learning process of a child.

Using a step-by-step approach, and giving varied examples from school situations around the world, the book unravels interesting questions on learning, memory, intelligence, child development and emotional health. This is an enlightening read for parents, social workers, psychologists and counsellors.

Book Reviews: This is a beautiful work, extremely well written, almost an encyclopaedia for those interested in children’s education.’ – Dr Yash Pal, National Research Professor
About the Author: Kamala Mukunda completed her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from Syracuse University, and has taught at the undergraduate level in US colleges. Currently she is part of the alternate school known as Centre for Learning, on the outskirts of Bangalore. Apart from her academic pursuits, she has a keen interest in music.

News Bite

• Most Indian Students Don’t Take Secondary Level Exam
• Nine Grades Under the New System of CBSE

Most Indian Students Don’t Take Secondary Level Exam

At least 48 out of every 100 students in India, pursuing secondary education, never go beyond that level,” the World Bank said, pointing out that the country was doing worse than Vietnam and Bangladesh in enrolling students in secondary education.

“Thirty seven percent of the students fail before the final examination and 11 percent drop out during the period (class 9-12),” the World Bank study released said. It said with “larger numbers of India’s children now finishing primary school, the demand for secondary schooling – Grades 9 to 12 – is growing. Over the next decade, the number of secondary school students is expected to increase from 40 to 60 million”. The challenge now for the government is to dramatically improve access, enrolment and quality in secondary education, simultaneously

Nine Grades Under the New System of CBSE

It’s official. There will be no Class X board examination in CBSE schools in 2011. While there will be a board exam for Class X in 2010, a grading system, based on continuous and comprehensive evaluation by schools, will kick in this year itself. Students in schools with classes only till X will have to take an “online/ offline/ on demand” assessment test for seeking admission in Class XI in another school. Students of schools with classes till XII need not take such an assessment test.

It will be optional for students of these schools to take the on-demand test. According to new CBSE guidelines, on demand assessment tests will be held more than once a year and students can repeat it to improve their grades. Also, for students interested in being evaluated on marks, schools will provide for these separately but not on the certificate.

Teacher’s Bite

Ms. Nagarathna Dwaraknath,
Principal,
Sri Jnanakshi Vidyaniketan, Bangalore

Importance of Teacher Training and Development in Educating Students.
Tagore said that a good teacher is a greater learner. The aim of education during the colonial period was to manufacture babus to run the administration. Unfortunately, the same trend of rote learning continued for five decades even after India became free. Teachers must be trained to bring out the best in them since they will mould the future enlightened citizens of our country. The need of the hour is quality education. By that I mean education as a shield which will challenge global competition and forge ahead.

ASSET
ASSET is a tool to train both teachers and students. The various activities they have designed for teachers are most interesting, educative and equally useful. For example, the ASSET question booklets for children, the question bank, ASSET Question a Day interaction with teachers, the Question Making Competition etc. are all extremely interesting methods of training and development. I am sure they will come out with more tools to enhance the quality of education.

Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation Course (CCE)

To provide in-depth knowledge and to help build the capability of teachers to master this new paradigm, Educational Initiatives has introduced the first Certificate Course on Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE).

The course will be conducted by correspondence with web-based resource support, for practicing high school teachers of grades 6-10, and will culminate with a certification test to be conducted in May 2010. Successful candidates will be certified in CCE and are expected to be at the forefront of examination reform in India.

EI will provide 4 CCE course material packs from November to May. Each pack contains worksheets and exercises – in addition to study notes and case studies – with a strong practical “Do it Yourself” emphasis that will produce outputs for immediate classroom implementation. CDs/DVDs with video training sessions, and the support website will provide additional tools, tips, resources and downloads and self-assessment exercises that will allow teachers to calibrate their own progress in understanding the concepts and practices underlying CCE. Teachers can use the CCE support website and helpline to post queries and doubts, share comments and interact with other thousands of fellow teachers across India.
The certification exam (1 paper, 3 hours) will be conducted in May 2010 in schools across India, based on the study materials provided through the course, to assess teachers’ ability to use CCE in schools. Successful teachers will be certified and results will be declared by July 2010. The course is offered through schools (there should be a minimum of 5 teachers per school) and the applications can be forwarded to EI through the Principal. Teachers from any subject teaching classes 6-10 can register for this course. The course fee per teacher is Rs. 5,000 and registrations are open only till November 13.

For more details contact Harit Nagar at harit@ei-india.com

Winning Contribution - An Article Contest

How I Made the Poem Interesting in my Class.
Woh Chidiyaa Jo…

After a brief introduction, I read the poem and asked the students some simple questions based on the poem. I read out the poem once again and evaluated the students’ understanding and comprehension by asking a few more questions. These questions were aimed at testing students’ understanding at different levels namely Knowledge, Comprehension and Application. Later I asked the students to read the poem again silently. They were then encouraged to think more deeply in different directions and feel what the poet was trying to convey. This involved analyzing the poet’s thoughts. Then I posed a general question to the students, I asked them to describe a bird of their imagination. This involved ‘Synthesis’. Students presented their creative ideas and colourful imagination of the bird. The students were subsequently divided into seven groups, each group consisting of five students. Each group was asked to select a bird and write a poem on it. I made sure to move around the class supervising students’ work. I stopped, clarified and helped when needed. I also appreciated the collaborative work, interaction with the peers, openness about their views and ideas.
In the next class, each group had to write its poem on a sheet of paper and set a tune to the lyrics. The representatives of the group had to present the poem rhythmically.

Teacher’s Role/View:• Used multi sensory techniques
• Caught students’ mistakes and appreciated them when they were right
• Assisted them and provided them with resources/dictionary on request
• Instead of paper-pencil test methods my students got an opportunity to create meaningful poems and make presentations to overcome their stage fright
• Used some energisers to sustain their attention and get them back to their group work
• Displayed their work which made them feel proud of having achieved something.

Outcome: Students:• had the freedom to be creative
• could write a poem with just one simple topic in hand
• could use their vocabulary for the poem
• shared the work and completed the task
• learnt to use dictionary
• could write in their own words and sequence the events in the poem

I made sure that all the group members contributed their bit to the making of the poem. So when the poem was complete, all of them felt a sense of accomplishment. At the same time, they were active participants in the process. They feel accountability for the task. This puts an end to the drudgery of the monotonous voice of the teacher explaining all the time with the students lost in their own thoughts.

WINNER OF THIS MONTH - LAKSHMI PADMASHALI
School: Little Rock Indian School, Brahmavar, Udupi, Karnataka.

Mark your Calendar

ASSET Test Dates - 7th to 10th December .
Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation Course(CCE)- Last date to send the registration is 13th November 2009.

Misconception Series - Click to read

Students’ Corner

People rarely think about the common items and devices they use in everyday life. They think
even less about adapting them to other functions. You can easily learn how to become a real-life superhero by using nothing but everyday items at your disposal. When life puts you in a bind, the best solution is frequently not the obvious one. It’ll be the sneaky one.

Solutions to a dilemma can come from the most unlikely sources:
• U.S. prisoners of war devised makeshift radio receivers using nothing more than a razor
blade, a pencil and wire from the wire fence of the prison camp as an antenna.
• Convicts in jails have used dental floss to saw through prison bars, and dental floss to braid
a 20-foot rope to scale a wall. Another prisoner used a green felt-tipped pen to colour a
spare uniform green, and he walked out with the medical staff the next day.
• On September 11, 2001, a window washer trapped in a Twin Towers lift with five other
passengers used his mop to pry open the doors and also to dig through five layers of
drywall material to escape the fire.

It just goes to show that you can do more than you think!
–Adapted from the book Sneakiest Uses for Everyday Things by Cy Tymony

Mindspark - An Internet-based Computer-Adaptive Learning Program

“I like how they explain the things first and then ask you the questions.”— Puja Palsule, The Orchid School, Pune
“It is making me become much smarter. Collecting Sparkies is so much fun. That is why I love Mindspark. It has made me get addicted to Mindspark and I do sums everyday too.”— Bharadwaj Viswanathan, New Horizon Public School, Bangalore
“Mindspark is such an innovative programme which helped me in my studies.”— Prachi Mishra, Ryan International School, Ludhiana

Ask an Expert!

We have students and teachers asking us questions in our ‘Ask an Expert’ section. In our answers, we encourage students to look up related information on the Internet by providing them with relevant links. Here’s one such question asked of us by Sonakshi, a class 7 student.

“Why is it written ‘ozone friendly’ on whitener tubes?”
Here’s our response:
Firstly, we appreciate your inquisitiveness. This is one of the best ways to educate yourself. Before we answer your question, we want you to read the following facts to help you understand the answer better.

Ozone is a gas and forms a protective layer in the atmosphere. It protects us from harmful UV (ultraviolet) radiation. Prolonged exposure to UV rays can lead to skin cancer and other health complications. So, the ozone layer is very important. There are certain chemicals which damage the protective ozone layer. Some of these chemicals are choloflourocarbon (CFC), hydrocholoroflourocarbon (HCFC), halons etc. One should avoid using products which contain such chemicals which can escape into the atmosphere and potentially harm the ozone layer. You may read more about this following the link shown below:
http://www.epa.gov/Ozone/science/sc_fact.html

To show that their products don’t contain such harmful ozone-depleting chemicals,
manufacturers mention that their products are “ozone friendly”. We hope that next time you will try searching for the information on the Internet We hope that next time you will try searching for the information on the Internet yourself. It is a very powerful tool to learn!

Events

ASSET QUESTION MAKING COMPETITION 2009! RESULTS

We are pleased to announce the much awaited results of ASSET QUESTION MAKING
COMPETITION 2009.

We appreciate your keen involvement in this national contest – it was extremely heartening to see the participation of schools from all parts of the country. We thank you for your continued support in making the event a huge success.

Overall, 3706 teachers from 585 schools sent us close to 16,000 questions for this competition. As many as 12 external and internal educationists were involved in going through each question and short-listing the finalists in two stages. Finally, a panel of five judges in each of the five subjects chose the winners. The whole process took more than a month.

QMC 2009 Results - Click to read

Excerpts from Bill Gates’ Harvard Commencement Speech - June 7, 2007

Humanity’s greatest advances are not in its discoveries – but in how those discoveries are applied to reduce inequity. Whether through democracy, strong public education, quality health care, or broad economic opportunity – reducing inequity is the highest human achievement.

We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop a more creative capitalism – if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from the worst inequities.

The barrier to change borders on too much complexity. Cutting through complexity to find a solution runs through four predictable stages: determine a goal, find the highest-leverage approach, discover the ideal technology for that approach, and in the meantime, make the smartest application of the technology that you already have – whether it’s something sophisticated, like a drug, or something simpler, like a bednet.

The final step - after seeing the problem and finding an approach – is to measure the impact of your work and share your successes and failures so that others learn from your efforts. You have to have the statistics, of course. This is essential not just to improve the program, but also to help draw more investment from business and government.

The defining and ongoing innovations of this age –biotechnology, the computer, the Internet - give us a chance we’ve never had before to end extreme poverty and end death from preventable disease.

The emergence of low-cost personal computers gave rise to a powerful network that has transformed opportunities for learning and communicating.

The magical thing about this network is not just that it collapses distance and makes everyone your neighbour. It also dramatically increases the number of brilliant minds we can have working together on the same problem – and that scales up the rate of innovation to a staggering degree.

At the same time, for every person in the world who has access to this technology, five people don’t. That means many creative minds are left out of this discussion – smart people with practical intelligence and relevant experience who don’t have the technology to hone their talents or contribute their ideas to the world.

We need as many people as possible to have access to this technology, because these advances are triggering a revolution in what human beings can do for one another. They are making it possible not just for national governments, but for universities, corporations, smaller organizations, and even individuals to see problems, see approaches, and measure the impact of their efforts to address hunger, poverty, and desperation.

You have an awareness of global inequity, which we did not have. And with that awareness, you probably also have an informed conscience that will torment you, if you abandon these people whose lives you could change with very little effort.

I hope you will judge yourselves not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how well you have addressed the world’s deepest inequities, on how well you treated people a world away, who have nothing in common with you but their humanity.

Book of the Month

Teachers, Parents, and Principals Can Make the Difference
by Roland S. Barth

This is an insightful book for administrators, but all who value public education will find wisdom here. The author reflects on the immense challenges facing today by school leaders and shares a perspective gained as a school administrator and as founder and director of the Harvard Principals’ Centre.

The most significant portion of the book deals with the Principal’s role creating conditions which can elicit the best from students, teachers and parents. The people that most need to change are Principals themselves, says Barth. “Lack of specific knowledge about the skills Principals need to be effective leaders exists at a time when Principals face dramatic changes in their roles.”

Today, Principals face extraordinary challenges: excessive time demands and workloads, stress, fatigue, heightened expectations amid dwindling resources, lack of support from superiors, and increasingly inflexible teacher contracts. Such conditions lead to an inevitable depleting of leadership.

In the end, Barth has much right. He understands that “each school faces the task of constructing an effective educational and intellectual community around a unique set of issues and individuals. What is needed is leadership from parents, teachers, Principals and students”. Improving Schools from Within speaks of this goal.

“Changes in schools may be initiated from without, but the most important and lasting change will come from within”

News Bite

• Karnataka Children up to Class 7 to Enjoy Free Bus Pass
• Minister’s Verse

Karnataka Children up to Class 7 to Enjoy Free Bus Pass

With school dropouts on a surge in the state, the Karnataka Government announced a free bus pass facility for schoolchildren studying up to class seven in order to encourage more children to go to school. School children can avail of this facility and travel to school anywhere in the State.

Minister’s Verse

	Please rid me of this awful load, preparing for the Class X Board, my thirsty mind craves to create, not have exams decide my fate! My wondorous eyes yearn to explore, much beyond my classroom doors, my dreams should not be cut to size, because I hate to memorize! If you test me for brains and guile, don’t have to look at percentiles!
	Marks encourage one-up-manship, a free ride on an ego trip! With text books I should start to surf, Inquiringly look for new turf. Walk away from the trodden path and not invite my teachers’ wrath! Solving a sum will not help find the real questions on my mind Create the space for me to run learning should be a lot of fun!

Poem by Mr. Kapil Sibal, HRD Minister

Teacher’s Bite

Ms. J. Bhuvaneshwari
Principal,
Presidency School, Nandini Layout, Bangalore

Importance of Teacher Training and Development in Educating Students.
I strongly believe that teachers need appropriate training for development of the self, and for actually educating the students. Unless teachers are thoroughly grounded in the knowledge and realisation of what needs are to be addressed, it is impossible to have a proper learning process. I believe that every facilitator needs to be oriented in terms of modern trends in education, management terms like 360-degree feedback, six sigma, SWOT analysis, WIN-WIN attitude and their practical applications. The need of the hour is the all-round development of a learner and, according to me, every teacher is the first learner and her learning never stops. I also think it is important to have soft skills and be tech savvy in the current scenario.

ASSET
For me the ASSET tool is a diagnosis test that has revealed the strengths and weaknesses of the learning system. The focus on analytical thinking and application-based questions has helped our children a great deal. ASSET exams are viewed with pleasure and no stress. We have identified the areas needing our attention and are working to convert weaknesses into strengths.

The ASSET Question a Day is a much sought after event with even little learners from Class 1 attempting to solve the questions. Our progressive results stand testimony to the success of this tool at Presidency School Nandini Layout. We look forward to more fruitful interactions with the ASSET team in the days to come, as we deeply cherish this partnership.

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.
Please mail the write-up to Bindu Pillai at bindu@ei-india.com or post the write-up before the 30 of every month to the address mentioned at the bottom of the last page.

How I taught My Students to Withstand Peer Pressure

Students today, more than in earlier days, face pressure from many quarters – parents, school, society and peers. A child is forced to be successful in all his endeavours to be regarded favourably by all. In this vicious circle of expectation, his peers too contribute by comparing their better performance against his not-so good one, leading the child to feel insecure, inadequate and inferior.

I am confident that I have been able to nip such unhealthy practices in my classes. I always ask my students to follow the maxim “compete with yourself, not with others”. I encourage a child to better his performance compared to his previous one. Whenever a child has done so, I publicly appreciate and applaud him. In fact, when a weak child gets a fairly difficult sum correct in the question paper, even though his total marks may not be good, I mention “good” against that sum. I take great pleasure in seeing the pride on his face when he shows it to his peers.

Another positive outcome of following this simple maxim is that students are overjoyed with the increase in their marks and it serves as a motivation for them to perform better the next time. Many a weak student has approached me shyly asking, “Ma’am, are you happy with my result this time?” I realize that my encouraging them in this way makes them feel special and they want to make me happy!

With this approach of mine, even “good” students who might otherwise apply pressure on the “weaker” ones are aware that they have not reached the zenith; even they are expected to show improvement. Observing my strategy, these “better students” too have come forward to help the “weaker” ones – to help them improve their grades. It gives me great pleasure that I am able to inculcate this sense of service in the other students albeit indirectly. I think “peer pressure” could also be reframed to “peer encouragement” in my classes! A sort of informal “mentor” system has evolved, quite voluntarily, and the whole class takes pride in the improved performance of these “weak” students.

I know for a fact that every “weak” student looks forward to my compliments/encouraging remarks since their sincerity and keenness to do better is obvious (Maybe they don’t want to let Ma’am down!). Parents too have met and thanked me for arousing the child’s increased interest in Maths, since there is no doubt that having fear, dislike or disinterest is the biggest impediment to learning a subject.

Peer pressure does not exist in my classes – perhaps parental pressure does. But for this the parents need to be counselled which I also do regularly. Treat each child as an individual first with his specific strengths and weaknesses and then the class as a whole is my principle. I am confident that at least as far as peer pressure goes, my approach is right on target.

WINNER OF THIS MONTH - DURGA CHANDRASEKAR
Padma Seshadri Bala Bhavan Senior Secondary School, T. Nagar, Chennai

Mark your Calendar

QMC 2009 - Results to be announced on 15 October 2009
ASSET Week - Send your report before 9 October 2009 & win an educational research CD!!!

Misconception Series - Click to read

Students’ Corner

THE IMPORTANCE OF READING BOOKS FOR WIDER PRESPECTIVES

Students learn new words by independent reading of books, magazines and newspapers. Incidental vocabulary learning may also occur from listening to vocal discourses through conversations, movies, television etc.

Fifteen to forty-five minutes of silent reading each day is very effective. Wide reading exposes students to learn more words, increase word reorganisation and reading fluently. It facilitates word learning and helps in improving a student’s knowledge base.

At least an hour of reading a day keeps a person in touch with varied styles of writing and improves his vocabulary. As compared to other means of entertainment that includes listening to music, playing games and watching television, reading books is the most productive one.

Scientific research has proved that children and teenagers who love reading, have comparatively higher I.Q. level as compared to those who watch television. Therefore, these children are creative and do better in schools and competitions.

Students who start reading from their early childhood days have been observed to display extraordinary language skills. It is known that reading increases mental development and concentration. All of us should read a book at least for an hour daily.

Happy Reading!
Contributed by Vedant, Class VIII, The Woodstock School, Gwalior

Do you know

The reason honey is so easy to digest is that it’s already been digested by a bee.
Google comes from the word “googol”– the common name for a number with a million zeros.
The sound you hear when you crack your knuckles is actually the sound of nitrogen gas bubbles bursting.
The Colgate company faced a big obstacle when marketing toothpaste in Spanish-speaking countries. The word ‘Colgate’ translates into the command “Go hang yourself”.

Karuna Kit: 100 Stories With Values for the Primary School Library, 2007

Ask some 8 to 10-year-olds what they understand by peace, and the answers you get will make you stop and think. “Uhhh…calm, silent…dullish, a bit boring…not war?”

How can we convey “abstract” concepts to children so that they understand and relate to them? The key seems to lie in imaginative writing that can breathe vibrant life into themes and issues that we encounter in everyday situations. Stories, that have the impact to make children pause and reflect, and perhaps act when an opportunity arises.

The Karuna Kit from Sutradhar brings together a unique collection of stories dealing sensitively with enduring values. A total of 16 themes have been identified, and excellent stories by different authors have been compiled to form this kit. For example, ‘Mahagiri’ is about a caring elephant that lets himself be beaten by his mahout rather than harm a helpless little creature. ‘The Mountain That Loved a Bird’ is an immortal tale of a rare friendship which results in the greening of a mountain, ‘The Shape of an Elephant’ by Rumi has exquisite artwork to depict the tale of people trying to describe an elephant in the dark. “In such limited ways”, says Rumi, “do we perceive life and god when we do not know how to look beyond”. ‘Why are you Afraid to Hold my Hand?’ confronts our discomfiture in relating to the differently-abled. Young children are exposed to this situation through the direct and simple words of such a child. In ‘Festival of Eid’, a well-known story worth retelling, a young boy brings back a pair of tongs for his grandmother so that her hands don’t burn while cooking. ‘Anju and the Stream’ is about a young girl who engages the community in cleaning up the polluted stream she loves so much.

The 100 books in the kit have been divided into 3 packs.
Pack 1: Care and Compassion; Love and Friendship; Co-operation and Team Spirit; Courage and Bravery; Peace; Understanding Feelings and Emotions; Respect for Diversity.
Pack 2: Sensitivity to the Differently Abled; Relationship with the Elderly; Dignity of Labour; Citizenship; Identity, Caste and Community; Gender Equity.
Pack 3: Sensitivity to Animals; Sensitivity to Nature; Sensitivity to the Environment.

The books are meant for the age group 6 to 10 but can be read by older ones too. The selected
books are from Indian publishers so the situations and characters are familiar and recognisable.

The books can be stored in a special display in the library and lent to children to read, followed by book talks and discussions. Another project is for children to write their own stories on these
themes, of real life incidents they have encountered. They could also go through the library collection and add other books they feel are appropriate to the themes.

The kit is priced at approximately Rs. 6500. For details, contact Sutradhar, 59/1, 10 A main, 3
Cross, Indiranagar Stg 2, Bangalore 560038. Tel: 080-25288545/ 25215191 (Tue-Sat). Email: sutra@vsnl.com

Ask an Expert

We have students and teachers asking us questions in our ‘Ask an Expert’ section. In our answers, we encourage students to look up related information on the Internet by providing them with relevant links. Here’s one such question asked to us by Soham, a class 6 student.

“Where does lightning form?”
Here’s our response:
We are giving you a simple explanation and sharing a link with more details, but don’t worry if you don’t understand this fully now. As they teach you in school about electric charge and electricity, you will understand this better and better.

Lightning is actually a flow of electric charge between clouds and the ground. How does electric charge form within clouds? This happens when the small bits of ice (raindrops) in the clouds collide with each other in a thunderstorm – this rubbing with each other fills the cloud with electric charges. The negative charges at the bottom of the cloud attract the positive charges on the ground/trees/ buildings beneath the cloud.

When the negative charges coming down from the clouds meet the positive charges coming up from the ground and they meet, lightning happens – it is like a flow of electric current.

(See the animated picture on http://www.weatherwizkids.com/lightning1.htm which makes it quite clear).

EI News

ASSET NATIONAL QUESTION MAKING COMPETITION 2009

ASSET QMC 2009 is now in the evaluation phase. A ten-member evaluation committee is assessing the questions. The shortlisted questions for each subject will be evaluated by the judges and experts, who will finally deicide on the prize winners. It’s a very big exercise. We received more than 16,000 questions from 3,700 teachers, which is 70% more than what we had received last year! Thank you for your great response! The results will be declared on October 15, 2009 – Look out for the results in this space! Results will also be sent to the school Principals and ASSET Co-ordinators.

ASSET QMC TEAM