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Equally important is the need to make classroom teaching more meaningful and effective. An open-book examination piggy backing on a badly conceived textbook or an ineffective teaching methodology would be of no service to anybody. Of course, if the methodology and textbook are innovative, an open-book examination could provide avenues for learning many important and priceless skills. In conjunction with the construction of knowledge that seeks the truth, these skills form an integral part of the overall objectives of the program. Based on their experiences, the teachers suggested two reforms in the examination system we had evolved. First was to reduce the number of questions so that children had adequate time to look for the correct answers in the textbook. Otherwise, time pressures often forced them to leave out questions. Second, they felt the range of questions needed to be re-examined because most children were not fully capable of giving written answers to questions that required them to reason, compare, extrapolate, give an opinion, draw a conclusion, etc. Once when we conducted an analysis of answers given by 300 children to the whole spectrum of questions generated in the program, we found that: • • • 92% succeeded in locating the answer if it was present in a single location in the textbook 43% got average or high marks in answering questions that required reasoning, comparison, causative factors, and summarisation 38% got average or high marks in answering questions that involved extrapolation or required them to express their own opinions. We also brainstormed with teachers to fi nd the different kinds of experiences which could equip students better to give written responses to tasks that required reasoning, estimation, comparison and similar skills. For us, the limited writing abilities of children were more evident than any limitations in their mental abilities - 20% to 50% of middle school children were not at a level where they could read a textbook, understand what they read or express their thoughts in writing. On the other hand, most students almost always participated enthusiastically in the group discussions and oral exercises conducted in smaller groups, even though we do concede Section D Assessment of Social Science in Schools- Our Experiences, Experiments and Learnings that not all them contributed equally to the discussions. The children’s answer sheets provided a clear picture of their individual capabilities. By analyzing them we were able to clarify the challenges teachers faced in giving all the children equal opportunities to learn. The analysis also helped us fi nd ways to proceed. As far as the results of the children were concerned, we believed in evaluating only what we had been able to teach them effectively. That’s why we always lowered the weightage of questions few children answered correctly and redistributed these marks among the questions more children answered. After all, it was we, the initiators of the program, and the teachers who were answerable for fulfi lling its objectives, not the students. Educational Experiments, Policies and Beyond In 2005-06, National Focus Group set up to look into fundamental issues connected to student evaluation came up with a set of major recommendations. It wrote that the objective of evaluation should not be limited to assessing how much of what was taught had been assimilated by students; instead evaluation should also focus on the responsiveness of students to what was taught. Among its many proposals outlined in detail one important suggestion was to eventually move towards open-book examinations. It stressed the need to undertake a pilot project for the purpose. In this context, there are several possible alternatives that can be taken up. Some teachers once put forward one such alternative – that the open-book system could be adopted for unit tests while keeping the annual examination a closedbook affair. They felt it was an alternative that would be more easily acceptable to the public. Another suggested alternative was to divide the annual examination into two parts – one open-book, after which the textbooks could be collected to hold the closed-book portion. Our experience has been that teachers generally appreciate the usefulness and importance of open-book evaluation in the social sciences and become committed to it. They say it helps control and overcome several shortcomings in the educational system. It improves the morale and confi dence level of students, lessening the fear and tension that examinations generate in them. It also leads to a sharp fall in copying during examinations, with the tendency to resort Pg No: 104
to guide books and keys also fading away. In the fi nal analysis, all our hopes of changing the education system rest, to a large extent, on the hope that teachers will become committed to new ideas and reforms. Eklavya’s long association with teachers in trying to foster educational Author’s Note References 1. 2. 3. John Dewey, The School and Society, (fi rst published in 1900,) 2008, Aakar Publishers) Kamala V. Mukunda, What Did You Ask At School Today? 2009, Collins National Focus Group on Examination Reform, Position Paper, NCERT, 2006 change has emboldened our belief that there is no reason to lose hope – provided our policy making and administrative processes have the courage to be patient and cherish the independence and fl exibility that teachers and children require. This article is based on the social science program of Eklavya. I have drawn extensively from my team-mate Sanjay Tiwari’s work in writing this piece. Rashmi Paliwal has a background in history and has been working with Eklavya on the development of new curriculum in social sciences since 1983. She has worked with many government and non government institutions in developing curricula and textbooks. In addition, she has written extensively on social science teaching and curriculum development. Currently she is involved in the development of fi eld based resource centers, with special emphasis on primary education. She may be contacted at subburashmi@yahoo.com Section D Assessment of Social Science in Schools- Our Experiences, Experiments and Learnings Pg No: 105
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Editorial Team Aanchal Chomal, Gaut
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CONTENTS Issue XV : August 2010 Soc
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S E C T I O N A The Broad Picture
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snares and pitfalls of any examinat
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02 Section A Contested Terrain of S
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The views stated in NCFSE, 2000 wer
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“given stock of knowledge availab
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that the framework used to create i
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03 Section A The ‘Defi cient’ S
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into the mainstream in the context
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social science are also changing. T
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kind (education being one of them)
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political science and sociology tex
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05 Section A Vexing Questions in So
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the common language used to referen
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scientifi c. Natural science has a
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evolve around what the child alread
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06 Section A Social Sciences and th
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main focus should be on contemporar
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07 Section B Learning Social Scienc
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During this period I had the privil
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hunter-gatherers did not know how t
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see everything as transitional, as
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09 Section B Building Tomorrow’s
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understanding of rights that emphas
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10 Section B Facing history and Our
Page 54 and 55: asserting, for example, that the Ho
Page 56 and 57: 11 Section B Maps and Politics M. H
Page 58 and 59: Maps as Creations of Politics Polit
Page 60 and 61: 12 Section B Geography in Daily Lif
Page 62 and 63: a times we discussed and debated on
Page 64 and 65: 13 Section B Oh! Panchayat: Loose L
Page 66 and 67: Lesson 3 Accidental Crossing of Bra
Page 68 and 69: 14 Section B Geography Education fo
Page 70 and 71: Re-imagining geography Education in
Page 72 and 73: 15 Section B Issues in History Educ
Page 74 and 75: initially believe that history is j
Page 76 and 77: In tune with the overall emphasis o
Page 78 and 79: at this end. Linking Textbooks, Tea
Page 80 and 81: 17 Section C Review of new NCERT So
Page 82 and 83: in places and the monotony broken b
Page 84 and 85: were an attentive lot, eager to sha
Page 86 and 87: 19 Section C Vignettes - The Journe
Page 88 and 89: I followed more or less the same me
Page 90 and 91: 20 Section C Does Neutral = Controv
Page 92 and 93: also argue against the teacher pres
Page 94 and 95: S E C T I O N D The Role of Assessm
Page 96 and 97: 4. 5. 6. Understand the role indivi
Page 98 and 99: compare different periods and place
Page 100 and 101: Our experiences with open-book exam
Page 102 and 103: Answer 4 Answer 5 Section D Assessm
Page 106 and 107: 22 Section D Beyond Retention: Mean
Page 108 and 109: What was the contemporary political
Page 110 and 111: • What crops do you predict might
Page 112 and 113: also. So what is the objective of a
Page 114 and 115: 24 Section D Exams: The Need to Res
Page 116 and 117: in. However in the process cognitiv
Page 118 and 119: 25 Section D Role of Projects, Fiel
Page 120 and 121: which may be worth raising: Questio
Page 122 and 123: 26 Section E The Importance of Bein
Page 124 and 125: which produce professionals who cer
Page 126 and 127: sides to any story. For example, th
Page 128 and 129: 28 Section E Why the Social Science
Page 130 and 131: Alas! These were unrealised dreams:
Page 132 and 133: seeing another part of the world an
Page 134 and 135: 30 Section E How History has Shaped
Page 136 and 137: 31 Section E The Social Sciences—
Page 138 and 139: 32 Section F Beyond Dates and Fight
Page 140 and 141: is not boring and does not tire one
Page 142 and 143: D. Some Useful Books • Samajik Ad
Page 144 and 145: • • • • • • Section F T
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