The Progressive Teacher Vol 05 Issue 03

Editorial 

Jul/Aug, 2018 Vol. 05 No. 03 

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CLASSROOM DYNAMICS 

Greetings from The Progressive Teacher 

After all the fun and frolic of the summer 

vacation, going back to school can be 

challenging for the students. While all make a 

fuss about going back to the school routine, it 

is this same school routine that gives them the 

much needed focus and stability we all long for. 

This is where Classroom Dynamics occupies an 

important place. 

Classroom Dynamics involves interaction 

between the students and teachers in a 

classroom. Students should feel comfortable 

learning in the classroom climate and should 

freely communicate with each other and the 

teacher. Students are motivated to learn when 

they feel that the classroom dynamics focus on 

their goals and interests. 

Good classroom dynamics include all students 

in its activities and discussions. Teachers 

show an interest in every individual student 

and strive to see each one participate in the 

classroom activities. Classroom participation 

is not, however, only about the students. The 

teacher has to be willing to participate fully 

in class discussions and activities to create 

lively and dynamic classroom dynamics. A 

teacher who merely goes on teaching the 

material without noticing whether the students 

understand it has a major problem with 

classroom dynamics. 

A classroom should have a balance of static 

and interactive elements to allow time 

for individual work and cooperation and 

collaboration. Thus, there will be no time for 

boredom as the students will be involved in 

meaningful activities. The more interesting 

these activities, the more learning will take 

place. The teacher should use different ways 

to cover a topic and different learning styles to 

cater to the needs of the different individuals in 

her class. 

Students should be allowed to move about 

in the classroom while they are engaged 

in meaningful activities. This leads to 

motivation through collaboration, encourages 

communication and makes for an informal 

atmosphere in the classroom which reduces 

tension. A good class is not how hard the 

students work but how well they work 

together. Brainstorming and discussing 

controversial topics with the students facilitates 

learning and is a hallmark of a dynamic 

classroom. 

An understanding of sociometry is very 

important for good classroom dynamics. 

Besides teaching science or maths, teachers 

should also focus on the social aspects of 

the group, such as managing behaviours, 

responding to tensions, and generating interest. 

In addition to the competences of content 

knowledge and teaching skills, teachers should 

be able to generate a psychological climate 

conducive to high quality learning. In this 

context I would like to share with you what 

Leena Satuluri (who has been teaching for the 

last eighteen years), has written to me – 

‘A teacher may be well-equipped for the class 

with his/her paraphernalia; all set to dissect the 

teaching-learning material with panache, but 

what if the learning outcomes are not achieved? 

The reasons could be several – students’ prior 

knowledge or entry behaviour wasn’t checked, 

they were disinterested or someone wasn’t 

keeping well or perhaps Jai, Teena and Radha 

are dealing with issues at home… In addition 

to lesson planning, there is more to classroom 

transaction. Students’ behaviours, attitude, 

emotions and interactions with the teacher or 

their peers which are beyond our academic 

discipline are pivotal to educating a child and 

fall within the ambit of Classroom Dynamics. 

Albeit, these things are vital for education, they 

are compromised and the primacy of academic 

subjects holds prime importance’. 

Have you introduced any new learning styles 

in your classroom or are you carrying on in 

the age-old teacher-centred classroom with 

excellent ‘results’? Please share your styles and 

techniques with the teaching fraternity through 

the pages of The Progressive Teacher. 

The theme for the September/October issue of 

The Progressive Teacher will be Education for 

Global Development. Please find time to collect 

your thoughts on this theme and send them 

to be published in The Progressive Teacher. 

I await your views on Education for Global 

Development. 

Rita Wilson 

ritawilson@gmail.com 

Subscription / Missed copies helpline: 08920636286 

Rita Wilson has over 40 years of rich experience as educationist including over 30 years of experience in school 

leadership positions. She is the former Chief Executive and Secretary Council for the ICSE, New Delhi. 

She is a consultant to a number of corporate houses and educational institutions. She is serving as a Member of the 

Board of Governors/Managing Committees of some of the most prestigious schools and colleges of the country. 

She has vast exposure to the education systems of Japan, Germany, England, Thailand, Singapore, Sharjah, Dubai 

and Finland. She has initiated, conducted and organised workshops for school teachers and principals all over India 

With a B.A. (Hons) English Literature, M.A., M.Phil. (English Literature), B.Ed. to her credit, she has edited three 

series of English readers and work-books for school children. 

Nov/Dec 2017 

www.progressiveteacher.in 3

C O N T E N T 

18 


Classroom dynamics defines the way 

people within a class interact with each 

other. It’s how they talk and act; it’s how 

they show their feelings and opinions and 

how they behave as a group. 

–Jaspal Kaur 

21 

CLASSROOM DIMENSIONS 

AND DYNAMICS 

Education is a gateway to the world. Children use their 

senses and logic to gain knowledge, wisdom and reasoning 

to be equipped and empowered to impact their environment. 

Campuses, inside and out, must respond to the senses to 

maximize learning and expression. 

– Shimmi Sharma 

53 

Q&A 


Dr Anita Pant Sharma 

Dr Uma Ramesh 

54 

CONNECTEDNESS TO NATURE 

AND WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN 

Connectedness to nature is defined as feelings of close 

affiliation with the natural world in a physical, cognitive, 

and emotional manner. Today, children are aware of the 

global threats to the environment, but their physical 

contact, their intimacy with nature, is fading. 

–Khamarudheen KP 

4 THE PROGRESSIVE TEACHER 

JUL/AUG 2018

JUL/AUG 2018 www.progressiveteacher.in 5


–P Ajitha 

This calls for periodic audit of academic 

processes and fine tuning of methods 

and pedagogical styles to suit 

the needs and demands of a particular 

generation of learners uniquely defined 

by their environment which in turn is 

determined by the advancements and 

progress brought in by newer ways to access 

and process the vast domain of knowledge 

and accumulated wisdom. In this era of 

constant flux and uncertainty, thankfully 

there are a few things that remain constant 

in the teaching-learning space! These 

things will continue to remain sacrosanct 

for eons to come. 

It is an undeniable fact that the classroom 

dynamics today is very different from 

how it used to be before the advent of the 

internet and the subsequent information 

age that dawned. Millennials today are 

better informed and thus more empowered 

in a democratic learning space that the 

classroom is morphing into. But however 

‘advanced’ (read tech-savvy) the millennials 

today are, they are still held to ransom by 

their fleeting thoughts and restive minds 

- things that have remained constant 

over time! And the fact that schools still 

exist with human teachers and not robots 

dispensing customized learning modules 

to individual learners in the comfort of their 

homes, where mass education model is 

still the norm, some ground rules still hold 

water. 

All said and done, the ultimate floor 

test that a teacher needs to take and also 

pass day in and day out is what we, in the 

teaching jargon call ‘Student Engagement’. 

How well and effectively a teacher manages 

his/her class is very often misconstrued 

as keeping the class quiet (read docile and 

passive students) and the droning voice of the 

teacher filling the room. Whether the students 

are actively listening or just passively putting 

on the act of listening is hardly taken into 

consideration when seen through the prism 

of strictly enforced external discipline 

being the sole criteria of defining classroom 

management. Only if the students are actively 

engaged in the curriculum transaction, the 

class could be considered a well- managed 

one. 

It is equally true that when the students 

appear distracted, fidgety or restless, talking 

to one another and involved in activities 

not related to what is being done in class 

indicates poor student engagement. There 

are many reasons why this happens. In 

the course of the article, we will look at the 

different reasons and learn some strategies 

to bridge the learning gap that occurs due to 

poor student engagement. 

It is a known fact that the human mind 

cannot focus on something for very long. 

The attention span of students in particular 

happens to be very short. Children by 

nature are teeming with energy and life. 

When confined to a closed physical space 

with restrictions imposed even on physical 

movements, they naturally tend to get 

restive and this restlessness manifests itself 

in different behavioural problems that we 

teachers are all too familiar with! 

The first step in addressing such 

behavioural issue is acknowledging the fact 

that behavioural issues most often than not 

crop up due to disregard of this simple tenet 

that students ought to be given some room 

for physical movement during the course of 


Teaching profession today is a highly challenging one chiefly 

because of the changing paradigms of teaching-learning process 

brought about by advancements in technology that has been 

constantly redefining how every generation prefers to learn. 

teaching – learning process. It is precisely for 

this reason that CBSE in its latest directive to 

schools affiliated with it has asked to make 

provision for one period a day for physical 

activity! The author of this piece believes that 

such opportunities to move about and also 

talk (interact) should be an indispensable 

feature of every teaching- learning session 

(teaching period). Towards this end the 

following teaching strategy can be used: 

1. Determine the learning objectives based 

on the topic/ lesson to be achieved in a 

teaching period. 

2. Frame questions that would elicit the 

desired response and pose it to the 

students either individually or in pairs/ 

groups. This is done to give the students 

an opportunity to talk but with a caveat 

that they need to discuss either in 

pairs or in their designated groups with 

the aim of arriving at the appropriate 

response to the question posed or on 

the given theme which would be shared 

with the entire class. The various 

responses from the students will then be 

tied to the learning objective formulated 

by the teacher and the lesson/ concept 

transaction for the day could begin. 

3. This small activity serves the dual 

purpose of prepping the students 

towards the lesson being taught and 

fulfilling their need for self-expression 

and instant validation of their learning. 

P Ajitha is an 

‘accidental’ teacher 

who having 

stumbled upon 

teaching by chance 

has stayed put 

by choice having 

found the vocation 

enabling as well 

as ennobling. She teaches English 

and Life Skills with occasional foray 

into in-house teacher training at 

Delhi Public School, Coimbatore but 

prefers to call herself a co-traveller 

in the journey called education she 

embarks with her students and 

peers together. Like minded teaching 

practitioners can reach her at 

ajithapaladugu@gmail.com. 

It also caters to the kinesthetic learners 

whose urge for physical movements is 

met during the activity when they get up 

from their assigned places to move about 

in the process of getting together with 

their respective groups. 

4. To enhance the involvement and 

engagement levels, students could be 

given the choice of forming their own 

groups depending on the comfort level 

they share with their fellow students. 

This freedom of choice that they are able 

to exercise makes them feel respected 

and consequently they begin to own 

responsibility for their learning. 

5. Every activity carried out in the class 

should be tied to the learning objectives 

that are predetermined and all the 

practices –routines and procedures 

should be employed to realize those 

objectives. 

It does not end here! In order to gauge 

whether learning objectives have been 

met, an assessment has to be carried out 

within the stipulated time of every teaching 

period. The mode of assessment may vary. 

In fact, there are innumerable ways to 

carry out this indispensable element of the 

teaching-learning process - the individual/ 

pair/group work that students are made to 

engage in could very well serve the purpose. 

The response of the students give instant 

feedback to the teacher about the level 

of understanding and internalization of 

the concepts/values/skills introduced and 

engaged with in every teaching period. 

If student engagement is one aspect 

of classroom management that can be 

achieved with meticulous lesson planning 

and execution, the attitude of the teacher 

towards teaching-learning process and his/ 

her understanding of the process of learning 

alongside his/her values system play a very 

crucial role in determining the classroom 

dynamics that comes to define how 

effectively cross curricular learning objectives 

are achieved. 

(With inputs from S Thangeswaran 

S Thangeswaran prefers to call himself a 

students’ teacher who believes that teaching 

should be aimed at impacting students at three 

levels moulding them to perform their roles as an 

individual, a family constituent and an ideal citizen. 

Teaching is an ennobling process and should be 

practised to give real life contexts – a blend of 

utilitarian and the idealistic.) 

JUL/AUG 2018


THE BUILDING BLOCKS 

OF BEHAVIOURAL CODE 

Pic courtesy: https://work.qz.com/1010784/good-managers-give-constructivecriticism-but-truly-masterful-leaders-give-constructive-praise/ 

–Devendar Sandhu 

It was the beginning of the 

new academic year and I 

was in Grade XI. I hoped to 

have a fantastic year ahead with 

throbbing excitement in the air, 

a sea of possibilities, and a fire in 

the belly. I knew that there was 

no stopping me because I was all 

geared up. I worked laboriously 

in class X to get respectable 

marks in Maths but I knew I was 

slow. I was clued that my journey 

after opting for Maths in class XI 

will be an uphill task. After a lot 

of rumination, I opted for PCM 

stream. I was working hard. As 

fated, Murphy’s Law shook me, 

clipped my wings and brought 

me to the real world. 

I was excited about my new 

class, new teachers and a new 

time to set impressions. The 

school had an experienced Maths 

teacher with a lot of batches to 

her credit though her teaching 

style did not match the years. I 

worked like an ant, regularly and 

tirelessly to keep my notebook 

updated and ready for correction 

as and when required. But 

with the results of my first unit 

test, my teacher’s delusion was 

cleared. I could not complete 

the questions in time as I had to 

labour a lot for each question; I 

was not a natural. Resultantly, I 

did not score well. 

My Maths teacher, as 

I distinctly remember, had 

a slouched back with the 

weariness of the world but she 

initially had a good opinion about 

me. I used to see a twinkle in 

her eyes when she used to talk 

to me. It was probably because 

she thought that I was herkind-of-good-student. 

She was 

particularly known for her special 

quality of speech. Owner of a 

unique behaviour pattern, she 


had a mellifluous tone along with 

a harsh set of words to express 

herself. She could crush the best 

ideas in the world in a jiffy. 

Well! My impression on her, 

of being a good student, did not 

last for long. With our marks for 

the first unit test announced, 

it was an unexceptional 

moment for me, as the marks 

were as expected.This event 

was memorable because of its 

inappropriate blown up reaction 

from my teacher. She glared at 

me and hurled my answer sheet 

like a bomb. Zooming, it came 

on my table, accompanied with 

a rebuke. The sheet hit me in 

the face and she labelled me 

as being an ‘impostor’. She was 

critical of my marks which she 

saw that day. Soon, she forgot 

what she experienced with 

me for a month. All my neat, 

completed and timely work faded 

in her memory like waves in a 

sea. She then decided that I was 

not-what-she-took-me-to-be. She 

spoke with bulging eyes and a 

heavy voice, ‘You acted like an 

I have been a fun-loving and committed 

facilitator for almost ten years, working 

with middle and high school students. 

Particularly, ‘seeing a smile on the face of 

every student’ motto makes me suitably 

draft my classroom instructions and 

plans. My double MA degrees in English 

and Education help me to create a relaxed 

atmosphere with learners and specifically 

ease interactions, thereby teaching 

‘growth mindset’ to my students. 

With my B.Ed. and MCA degrees, I love to be a technology 

savvy learner and a teacher. I am intrigued by the 

conveniences offered by Google Classrooms, and Khan 

Academy. With these and similar kinds of inspirations from 

co-teachers, magazines and my students everyday, new rays 

of hope fill my heart and mind to be a curious gap-filler for 

generations. 

Having undergone various short-term courses from IGNOU 

and Coursera, I have realised that I cannot tell my students 

that sky is the limit because there is ‘curiosity’ on the Mars. 

intelligent student; such a lot of 

drama every day but you are just 

an average student.’ 

She left no room for dialogue; 

I took time to realise what had 

happened to her. I did not act at 

all; I was just an average student 

working hard to be better. 

Teachers try to keep a record of 

students in various ways. But 

how can a person blame others 

for their misunderstanding? 

Those words of dislike and her 

lasting grimace are still there in 

my mind. That day, I learnt an 

important lesson. I learnt that 

I should take responsibility for 

my actions and not blame others 

for ‘my understanding of them’, 

particularly, when I come across 

the chapters of Sequence and 

Series, Probability, Statistics, 

the words of my Maths teacher 

start clamouring in my mind. 

Honestly, speaking I am still 

weak in these areas of Maths. 

Teachers’ have lasting 

impressions on the minds of 

students. Teachers try to make 

classroom teaching studentcentric 

but for students’ teachers 

are the centre of their universe. 

I don’t blame my Maths teacher 

for my difficulties in learning 

but that day I lost both, my love 

and respect for her. And as I 

mentioned earlier it was the 

beginning of the year when this 

episode took place. It is very 

evident that the rest of the year 

was like a load on the donkey’s 

back. But, then I learnt to 

struggle and passed Grade XII 

with average marks. 

Well! Now that I am teaching 

I have realised that there is no 

‘learning’ in the lives of kids 

without love and respect for 

teachers. Being a student, I was 

a ‘vessel’ to be filled, filled by the 

teacher with lore and learning, 

courage and concepts, motivation 

and methods, resourcefulness 

and reasoning, planning and 

proofs. According to John Hattie’s 

‘Barometer of Influences’ as per 

the ‘Visible Learning’ research 

findings ‘Teacher-Student 

Relationship’ has an ‘effect size’ 

of 0.72. It clearly lies in the ‘zone 

of desired effects’. John Hattie 

of the University of Melbourne, 

developed a way of quantifying 

various influences in a student’s 

life and termed the research as 

‘Visible learning’. It was based on 

1400 meta-analyses according to 

their effect size. 

Hattie found that the 

average ‘effect size’ of all the 

interventions he studied was 

0.40 (hinge point). Therefore, he 

decided to judge the success of 

influences relative to this ‘hinge 

point’, in order to find an answer 

to the question ‘What works 

best in education?’ He ranked 

252 influences that are related 

to learning outcomes from very 

positive effects to very negative 

effects. Hattie mainly studied six 

areas that contribute to learning: 

JUL/AUG 2018

the student, the home, the 

school, the curricula, the teacher, 

teaching-learning approaches, 

and the classroom. 

In his influential long-term 

research findings, John Hattie 

cogitated the results of more than 

80,000 studies on the effects of 

hundreds of interventions on the 

learning of 300 million pupils. 

He found many eye-opening 

facts. According to him, the 

aspects of schools that parents 

care about a lot, such as class 

sizes, uniforms and streaming 

by ability, make little or no 

difference to child’s learning. 

What really matters most is the 

‘Teacher’. Other factors related to 

teachers having high influence 

includes - involvement, clarity of 

subject, passion, and ability to 

take feedback effectively. 

John suggests that teachers 

should take more feedbacks 

than give. According to his 

Collective Teacher Efficacy 

(CTE), staff believe that 

through their collective action, 

they can positively influence 

student outcomes. CTE has an 

effect size of 1.57 and it is the 

highest influencer on ‘Student 

Achievement’. Educators with 

high efficacy show greater effort 

and persistence. They display a 

willingness to try new teaching 

approaches, set more challenging 

goals, and attend more closely 

to the needs of students who 

require extra assistance. In 

addition, when collective efficacy 

is present, the staff is better 

equipped to foster positive 

behaviour in students and in 

raising students’ expectations of 

themselves by convincing them 

that they can do well in school. 

If my Maths teacher was 

ready to take feedback or there 

was some mechanism for the 

students to tell teachers about 

how they feel about teacher’s 

behaviour then my school days 

would have been better. It would 

have been more purposeful 

and eventful and would have 

lead to a happier school time. 

Principals and teachers should 

welcome this suggestion of 

forming collaborative teams 

for schools. Rachael Jean Elle, 

Albert Bandura, Jenni Donohoo, 

etc. are some of the researchers 

who second this opinion of CTE 

for student achievement. 

All teachers in every 

department think that they 

are ‘the greatest’- nobody can 

check them and that they 

are ‘superhuman’; because if 

they were human, they could 

make mistakes. They could 

get feedback and they could 

also correct their mistakes 

and improve on them. The 

responsibility lies with the 

school administration for 

imposing collaborative teaching 

techniques. The authorities 

should implement the method 

in the right spirit. A ‘risk-free 

growth environment’ should be 

created for teachers to teach and 

students to learn.Teachers are 

wrapped up in their own snuggly 

fitted egos. They fear losing 

control in class if some peerteacher 

reviewed their classroomteaching. 

Most teachers lack 

familiarity with alternative class 

management and assessment 

methods. 

As the whole institution 

works for the betterment, 

learning and future of the 

students, they should work with 

the same strides. Although, 

there is no collaboration taught 

in teacher training courses and 

work but we should realise that 

we are living in a global village 

and so the whole education 

system should be based on 

‘Collaboration’. Therefore, 

teachers in the school should 

collaborate. Inter-school alliances 

should be encouraged. Students 

are also in dire need of learning 

teamwork and cooperation. 

We all know that ‘actions 

speak louder than words’ so is it 

with painting the perfect picture 

of inclusion and fellow-feelings 

with teachers when they share 

and work in concordance with 

one another for the progress of 

the students. Sachin and Binny 

Bansal’s partnership emerged 

as a giant in India’s e-commerce 

market popularly known as 

‘Flipkart’. They were like-minded 

but would have differed in 

opinions and actions at times, 

would have given feedback 

to one another but either they 

‘convinced or got convinced’ for 

the progress of the company and 

the greater cause. 

The receiving of formal 

and informal ‘feedback’ is an 

important part of collaborative 

learning. Feedback could be 

sugar coated or critical or 

full-of-praise. There’s a fine 

line between feedback that 

is ‘forward corrective’ and 

effective. A clear, aptly worded, 

accurately-timed, direct and 

constructive feedback cuts a lot 

of unnecessary chase and haze. 

Also, being able to ‘give and 

receive feedback’ which helps is 

a simple and progressive process. 

Though it is much sought after 

but is considered to be ‘a rare 

and fine art’. Here, Leah Fessler’s 

quote is enlightening as she 

states that ‘Good managers 

give constructive criticism—but 

truly masterful leaders offer 

constructive praise.’ 

Only if, my Maths teacher 

thought differently, used different 

words and tone, she could have 

made a huge impact on me 

that day. There was no conflict 

between both of us and this is 

not a blame game. I was her 

student; ready to get myself 

sharpened like a pencil, she 

could erase my marks wherever 

required and could have made 

me realise that what’s inside me 

really matters. She could have 

been calm, considerate, and unassumptive. 

She was dwelling 

on the past and worrying for the 

future. She should have built 

trust between the two of us by 

using the right words rather than 

being cynical. 

With her mean words, it was 

like she pressed the ‘dislike 

button’ on the video of my life. 

But do we really need such 

feedback? Does someone like to 

know on YouTube -’I don’t like 

your video/ creation’ or ‘I don’t 

like you’? But, I am sure that 

everybody likes to hear ‘I like 

you’ or ‘I like your creation’. When 

you like someone, you develop 

a fondness for the person. You 

take a shine to that person and 

feel inclined towards them. The 

star YouTubers are followed by 

millions of followers. It makes 

them feel like ‘a sought-after 

Celebrity’. The Streamy Awards, 

Shorty Awards, BRITTs Awards, 

YouTube Ads Awards, etc. 

are the public appearances 

of the social media major 

leaguers. What if, the popular 

social networking YouTube 

giant popularised the button 

‘SUPPORT’ or ‘HELPFUL’instead 

of the button ‘LIKE’? Something 

like ‘I support you’, ‘I support your 

work’ or ‘You and your work are 

helpful’, etc.? 

The heroes of the social 

networking platform would 

have had a different mindset 

if the viewers would have said 

a million times - ‘Thank you 

for helping me’ rather than ‘I 

like/ love you’ while trying to 

feed their bigwig’s self-love and 

megalomaniac ego. Whatever 

the button may be, in either case, 

the YouTuber’s ‘Social Capital’ 

remains the same. What alters 

with the change in the buttonword 

is the video blogger’s and 

the viewer’s thought process, 

relationship, beliefs, personality 

and their understanding. But 

how would the mindset of the 

YouTube luminaries change the 

world? 

The change in mindset will 

make these humble personages 

work for society. They will strive 

hard to become ‘society makers’ 

instead of just ‘record breakers’. 

Popular leaders, thinkers, artists, 

teachers, etc. will set new 

milestones. They will realise 

the importance of working hard 

for the people and not for their 

personal votes and vogue. On 

YouTube, it is repeated by every 

channel owner today, ‘click the 

like button’, ‘give me a thumbs 

up’, etc. You don’t have to ask for 

praise, it comes naturally from 

the viewer. World cultures do 

not encourage egoistic attitudes 

of ‘Like Me’ or ‘do-this-for-me’. 

Instead, they inform of ‘selfless 

advocacy in a selfie(sh) world’. 

‘Seclusion’ will do no good; 

instead we should practice 

‘inclusion’. The world today is one 

big global village. We should gain 

wisdom from Sadhguru Jaggi 

Vasudeo’s words, ‘It is in inclusion 

and gentleness where the very 

process of life thrives.’ 

We should be more 

thoughtful, ready to be allembracing, 

be it in a classroom or 

social network or the world. We 

should be more considerate, nonjudgemental 

and compassionate 

towards others in the world. 

We should be limitless and 

stretch our support without any 

boundaries to each and everyone. 

• John Hattie;https://visible-learning. 

org/2018/03/collective-teacherefficacy-hattie/ 

• Jenni Donohoo;“Collective Efficacy: 

How Educators’ Beliefs Impact 

Student Learning“ 

• https://work.qz.com/1010784/ 

good-managers-give-constructivecriticism-but-truly-masterfulleaders-give-constructive-praise/ 


CLASSROOM DYNAMIC 

CONNECTING IN SIMPLE WAYS WITH STUDENTS 

With changing times and progress towards a connected world, students have to be trained to 

become citizens of the world. Greater connectivity translates to more exposure and a greater set 

of issues to attend to; along with, of course, more scope for learning. The building blocks of their 

personality development are laid and fixated in the classroom. 

– Alka Mahajan 

I 

understand that the change 

in the student- teacher 

interaction needs to be 

managed in the most innovative, 

balanced and comprehensive 

way possible, by connecting 

with students in new ways. 

The common goal is all-round 

development by the use of 

positive strategies for classroom 

management. 

My teaching strategy is 

characterized by Masti, Morality 

and Wisdom. This strategy 

specifically caters to middle 

school students. 

The learning outcome is to 

make teaching fun, inculcate 

good human values and equip 

children with tools to manage life 

in the present and in the years to 

come. 

I feel that activity-based 

learning helps students to think 

before they act, with a sense of 

enjoyment. It tests their grasp, 

reaction-time and understanding 

of a concept in addition to giving 

them a hands-on experience. It 

calls for the task of arriving at a 

consensus through observation 

and discussions in the lab 

which encourages sensible 

communication and team work. 

Lab activities help children 

conduct themselves in a group 

and share resources. When 

students record experiment 

readings, I ask different groups 

to share aloud their observations 

and ask other groups if their 

observations vary. This helps in 

auto-correction, discussions and 

brings to the fore ideas that may 

have been missed by peers. 

I shall elucidate through 

two examples how I implement 

the aforementioned strategy at 

school. 

SPEED EXPERIMENT: 

To teach the concept of speed, 

distance and time, we did an 

outdoor activity. Children were 

divided into groups. They were 

given a start and a finishing 

point, a measuring tape and a 

stop clock. They were to measure 

the distance enclosed between 

the two points, run a race and 

record the time taken. 

Through this fun-filled and 

simple activity, students were 

able to understand the concept 

of speed and its dependence 

on distance and time; hence 


deriving a relation between the 

quantities. On repetition of the 

concept in the classroom, they 

were able to refer to the activity 

performed, combine practical 

and theoretical knowledge. This 

resulted in better understanding 

in a playful manner. 

During the performance of 

the activity, one child fell. A few 

children stopped to help, others 

continued to run. We discussed 

issues like ‘is it important to 

win or help others - what comes 

first?’ and ‘Who emerged as the 

real winner in the race from the 

point of view of science and life?’ 

The children learnt that losing 

gracefully harbours respect and 

pride. 

HEAT EXPERIMENT: I 

employed the discovery method 

to introduce and explain 

the concept of heat wherein 

they conducted a conduction 

experiment in the laboratory. 

The use of contemporary 

illustrations like air fryers, 

microwaves, etc made heat 

more relatable and realistic for 

the students, promoting proper 

understanding of appliances that 

they use on a daily basis. 

I recall a recent school trip 

where we teachers bought a 

cake for a student to celebrate 

his birthday, which much to our 

dismay landed on his face, his 

hair and then in the dustbin. We 

were disappointed and hurt by 

this behaviour. 

I decided to speak to the 

children about the matter and 

reason with them. It turned 

out, there was no malice and 

this was the youngsters’ way of 

celebrating. I then told them the 

teachers’ viewpoint. They were 

apologetic and proposed that the 

next time round they would get 

two cakes - a small one to play 

and another one to eat. I was 

assured of their accountability as 

they had proposed the solution 

themselves, which the teachers 

found to be rather practical. 

In this way, students offered 

a practical solution that served 

their interests as well as the 

concerns of the teachers and they 

understood the importance of 

eliminating wastage of food. 

Alka Mahajan’s students call her lady 

Einstein with affection, because she shares 

her fiercely curly salt and pepper locks, 

passion for physics and philosophical 

outlook with him! 

Three decades and a half an educationist, 

in her current young-at-heart avataar, 

she enjoys getting up without an alarm, 

travelling on her two feet, eating salads and reading between 

the lines. She edits books on science, and sometimes uses her 

experience to help students. Most of all, she is focussed on 

improving her karma, and is enjoying her schooling in the art 

and science of life! 

EFFECTIVE 

STRATEGIES, THEIR 

IMPLEMENTATION 

AND IMPACT 

Strategy: Use of 

Multimedia to Promote 

Learning 

I use educomp (an online 

portal) and smart boards to 

explain lessons. It helps avoid 

extensive reading of chapters 

and gives an audio-visual touch 

to the students’ understanding, 

thus enhancing the extent 

of their grasp of a particular 

concept. This approach 

involves deviation from the 

tradition of dictation of notes 

and the unnecessary focus on 

maintaining them and mugging 

them up to pass the grade. 

I create assignments and put 

them up on the internet. Students 

are required to search answers 

for themselves. Children develop 

the ability to independently 

find solutions to unknown 

concepts over a period of time. 

This inculcates a value of selfexploration 

and independence 

in them which helps them to 

become professional learners. 

For class assemblies, I 

encourage them to prepare 

PowerPoint presentations (PPTs) 

on topics that most students can 

relate to. For example, students 

presented a PPT on ‘Teenage’ 

which was appreciated by all 

middle school students who 

are new to this phase of life. It 

acted as a medium for students 

to share their findings with 

their peers and I’m sure that 

the motivational presentation 

could rid them of some of their 

insecurities and supplemented 

their knowledge. 

Learning outcome: 

Self-learning, ability to find 

and analyze information 

independently. 

Strategy: Innovative and 

unconventional question 

papers. 

My question papers are so 

designed that home tutors are 

completely eliminated. They 

focus on 

Diagrammatic 

representation and 

interpretation. The papers 

contain challenging MCQs and 

diagrams ask children to analyze 

what’s wrong. Unless the student 

JUL/AUG 2018

has followed the demonstration 

in the lab and internalized the 

concept, he/she will not be able 

to answer the questions put 

forward. No rote learning will 

help. 

Another novel twist is that 

I give answers in the form of a 

paragraph and ask students to 

comprehend what questions are 

being answered. These practices 

have created a stress- free 

condition for the students and 

the parents with minimum 

amount of preparation in the few 

weeks prior to the examinations 

[in the form of mugging up entire 

textbooks to no avail]. 

I also ask students to prepare 

mock question papers and 

put in a few questions along 

their lines of thinking. It helps 

them revise the entire concept 

while having fun and feeling 

important. 

My findings convey that 

students are willing to sacrifice a 

part of their break to arrive early 

and occupy the front benches 

of the classroom. They have 

come to love my classes and the 

spontaneous method of teaching 

and learning. 

Learning Outcome: Full 

attendance in class. 

Strategy: Use of 

contemporary examples to 

teach concepts. 

I understand that mud huts 

and cow dung cakes are not my 

students’ reality but air fryers, 

microwaves and LED bulbs are. 

I used these to teach concepts of 

heat, light, etc. 

Reference to the movie ‘3 

Idiots’ to simplify principles 

of conduction [actor Amir 

Khan urinating on a wire to 

escape ragging] and the Oscar 

nominated ‘The Theory of 

Everything’ to talk of Black 

Holes, etc, made it easy for 

students to recall concepts and 

apply them. The social message 

that was conveyed through these 

movies was also discussed such 

that students appreciated it. 

Children respect you when 

you are in touch with their world 

and quote from it. They feel you 

understand their vocabulary and 

are updated in your knowledge. 

Learning Outcome: 

Immediate connection and 

relatability to concepts 

Strategy: Economic 

sensitivity and conservation 

of environment 

I am frugal with resources 

and find a way around in case 

they are not available. I use 

slates and encourage online 

submission of homework 

via e-mails to save paper, use 

the suitably tiled ground in the 

corridors as a substitute for graph 

paper, smart boards to present 

questions/teach curriculum, etc. 

I encourage students to use LED, 

CFL bulbs at home and teach 

them their working. 

In case I find the classroom 

dirty, I pick up scrap paper, etc 

myself and children follow suit. 

I take pride in the fact that 

my students are home-learners. 

I give them assignments that 

enhance their knowledge 

regularly. On some occasions, 

the assignment is such that the 

students have to reach out to 

their parents and grandparents 

to accomplish their quest 

for obtaining answers and 

completing the task. It helps 

them to compare the working 

of appliances that they use 

and those used by their 

grandparents when they were 

younger. Students appreciate 

the progress made in the field of 

science and technology and the 

aforementioned rubric stimulates 

fruitful interaction with 

their family, spending quality 

time with their grandparents 

and creating new memories; 

supplemented by the joy of 

having learnt something new. I 

believe that experience speaks 

for itself and my students should 

definitely learn from it by seizing 

every opportunity that they get. 

Learning outcome: Ability 

to find alternative solutions; 

being practical. 

Strategy: Constructive and 

beneficial use of the library 

Through the strategy of 

‘Parivartan aur Vikaas’ 

(change and progress), I intend 

my students to be able to choose 

the right books by means 

of going by authors and read 

books in a systematic manner 

as opposed to being lost in the 

library and resorting to playing 

games. They found it rather 

intriguing to learn about the 

author alongside. 

For instance, while going 

through Khushwant Singh’s work, 

I told them about his column in 

The Hindustan Times. I gave 

them an insight into his life and 

in addition, they read some of his 

works. 

Learning outcome: 

Enabling students to practice 

optimum utilization of available 

resources. 

Strategy: Connecting 

concepts across disciplines 

I took students on a field trip 

to the ‘Toilet Museum’ built by 

Mr. Bindeshwar Pathak who is 

also credited for the initiation 

and maintenance of Sulabh 

Toilets across the country. I 

collaborated with the History 

teacher and asked children to 

write an essay comparing ‘Shah 

Jahan’s love for his wife to Mr. 

Pathak’s love for the poor’. It 

helped children philosophize 

on higher concepts. 

Similarly, while preparing 

for the Founder’s Day exhibition 

on ‘The uses of Flowers in 

Hindu, Muslim and Christian 

weddings’, the students were to 

think of a title to best describe 

their display. One of the students 

propounded the title ‘Flowers 

know no religion’. This goes on 

to reflect that middle school 

students have the ability to 

ponder upon philosophies which 

unfortunately, some adults find 

hard to decipher. 

On another occasion, I 

referred to an old Panchatantra 

tale of the lion ruminating on the 

impression of his form in the lake. 

I spun a question related to the 

same - ‘Whether the impression 

was a shadow or an image?’ 

This was with reference to their 

syllabus. 

I asked children to find out 

which politician was famous for 

wearing HMT watches while 

teaching the concept of time. 

Learning Outcome: Ability 

to see the bigger picture. 

Strategy: Not take oneself 

too seriously whatever your 

position or status 

A student of mine drew an 

excellent sketch of me on the 

last page of his notebook during 

class. While he was petrified 

of being reprimanded, I sought 

his permission to put it up on 

facebook. It fetched me an 

unbelievable number of likes and 

helped me win the students over! 

Learning outcome: Some 

situations are best handled with 

a little humour. 

Strategy: Take calculated 

risks 

My grade eight students 

were to present an assembly 

on the occasion of Shivratri. I 

suggested we try ‘chaupai’ from 

the Ramayana. Children felt that 

the idea was boring and outdated 

and in fact, they threatened 

to boycott the assembly. I 

further suggested that we try 

it as an Antakshari to give it a 

contemporary twist. Children 

then warmed up to the idea. 

A student of mine drums 

his school desk- much like a 

percussionist- something that 

makes him a butt of jokes. I 

decided to use his skill, called it 

‘Raag Mez’ (table). He was scared 

of being ridiculed before the 

school but he agreed after much 

encouragement. He received 

a standing ovation for his feat 

and became a bit of a star. The 

assembly was a roaring success. 

Learning Outcome: 

Well- presented concepts find 

acceptance. 

Strategy: Promote 

open communication, be 

approachable and rational. 

A student of mine was to 

attend a wedding. She got 

herself an expensive French 

manicure and was pulled-up 

by the discipline in-charge 

and asked to get rid of all the 

colour. She approached me and 

promised to take it off the day the 

function was over. I granted her 

permission and she lived up to 

her promise. I believe that rules 

are all right but life should be 

lived practically. 

Similarly, in the peak of Delhi 

winters, a child was asked to 

take off his sweater as it was not 

the one prescribed by the school. 

He informed the discipline incharge 

that his sweater was dirty 

and had been sent for a wash. He 

approached me so I fetched him 

another sweater from the lost and 

found room and he was grateful. 

I believe that it is important 

for students to be able to confide 

in their teachers. Being too 

strict doesn’t serve the purpose. 

Too much idealism is hardly 

acceptable. Similarly, students 

ought to be able to take their own 

decisions after having inculcated 

the right values. For instance, 

banning of the AIB knockout and 

the BBC documentary on the 

Delhi rape case(Nirbhaya rape 

case) doesn’t stop concerned 

entities or people from reuploading 

them and concerned 

viewers from watching them 

(adults and children alike). They 

need to be allowed to choose 

what is right or wrong for them. 

Strategy: Learn from 

anyone, anytime. 

While reading the newspaper, 

I came across an abbreviation 

the full form of which I was 

unaware of [MGD - Million 

Gallons per Day]. The article was 

about water consumption and I 

was surprised that I did not know 

what it stood for. However, I took 

it in my stride to find out what it 

meant and informed my students 

of the incident. They realized 

the fact that age does not fall in 

the definition of learning. The 

process of learning is devoid of 

any age bracket. 

I, by all means, try to match 

my students’ level to teach them 

and learn from them. My desire 

to learn and teach, to give life 

in the form of knowledge and 

experience my reincarnation 

during the span of my life - the 

happiness it brings to me - fuels 

my spirit with each passing day. 

Learning Outcome: Manage 

egos and pride; ask for help if 

someone is better. 


LANGUAGE LEARNING 

IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE ACQUISITION 

AND THE FUNCTIONS OF BRAIN IN EDUCATION 

Language learning and its acquisition plays a pivotal role in our society. Language teaching in 

a class room involves interaction among the learners and the teacher. The aim is to bring about 

a change in the learners. Language teaching does not operate in isolation from other aspects of 

life. If we view second language teaching in its totality, we find that it is a very complex task 

indeed. In order to understand the nature of this complex task, it is necessary to approach it in a 

systematic manner. 

–Biswajit Majumdar 

It is imperative to organize 

the various components, map 

out their relationship and 

analyse the way in which they 

operate. A language teacher has 

to keep in sight the ultimate 

outcome and at the same time 

be alert to what is taking place 

in the classroom. According 

to Chomsky, an American 

linguist and philosopher, the 

linguistic competence of human 

beings is due to the existence 

of innate language knowledge. 

This innate knowledge is 

an essential element in the 

acquisition of language. 

LANGUAGE 

AND THE BRAIN 

E.H. Lenneberg, in his book 

Biological Foundations of 

Language (1957) points out 

that the slightly unusual features 

shown by the human brain and 

the vocal tract can be viewed as 

partial adaptation of the body to 

the production of language. It is 

possible to distinguish the area 

of the brain which is involved 

in the actual articulation of 

speech. This is located in the 

cerebrum, the front of the brain, 

also known as the ‘primary 

somatic motor area’. The section 

of the brain involved in the 

articulation of speech seems to 

be quite distinct from the areas 

involved in its planning and 

comprehension. However, two 

areas are particularly relevant. 

The neighbourhood of Broca’s 

area (in front of and just above 

the left ear) and 2.The area 

around and under the left ear 

known as Wernicke’s area. These 

areas are important for speech 

comprehension and production. 

The left hemisphere of the 

brain is known as ‘analytic’ while 

the right hemisphere is ‘creative’. 

It is the left hemisphere which 

develops the power of acquiring 

and using language. Further, 

interpretation of metaphors, 

understanding of discourse, 

telling a story, understanding 

of ambiguous sentences 


and production of intonation 

patterns in sentences – all seem 

to be controlled by the right 

hemisphere. 

LANGUAGE 

DEVELOPMENT 

Chomsky’s believes that 

children somehow know that 

all sentences have a deep 

and a surface structure. This 

knowledge enables them to infer 

abstract deep structures which 

are not visible on the surface. 

A number of ways have been 

suggested in which people think 

that children learn language. 

One of these is imitation or 

mimicking. Others are overt 

connection of form by adults. It 

has also been suggested that 

‘motherese’ or the way mothers 

talk to their children help them 

learn. Research suggests that 

imitation and overt connection of 

form does not have much effect 

on children’s learning. However, 

parents’ talk seems to be 

important since it provides a rich 

environment. By five years of age, 

most children are able to produce 

most of the essential structures of 

Biswajit Majumdar, a senior English 

teacher, has been in the field of education 

and researching on English Language for 

more than two decades. He is the Senior 

School Co-ordinator at M C Kejriwal 

Vidyapeeth, Liluah, Howrah, West Bengal. 

He is zealous about making education 

relevant to the needs of the present times. 

His focus is on addressing the diverse interests and abilities 

of the students by presenting information in a variety of ways. 

He has presented a paper at the International Conference 

for School Leaders at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi in 

December, 2017. He regularly conducts workshops both for 

teachers and students in various parts of the country for the 

betterment of learning. He continues his educational voyage 

with excellence, undeterred determination and indomitable 

spirit. He is a keen learner and fosters true learning and 

critical thinking in students. 

their language learning. Passive 

and other complex structures 

are acquired later. Some of the 

problems our children face are 

- speech impairment of various 

kinds, stuttering, and repetition 

of one word only, making 

grammatical errors and language 

delay, etc. 

SECOND LANGUAGE 

ACQUISITION 

Jean Piaget, a biologist and 

a psychologist, whose ideas 

have been influential in the field 

of first and second language 

acquisition studies, probed 

into the overall behavioural 

development in the human 

infant. His view was that 

the development of language 

acquisition results mainly 

from external factors or social 

interaction. An understanding 

of second language acquisition 

can improve the ability of 

mainstream teachers to serve 

the culturally and linguistically 

diverse students in their 

classrooms. Current theories of 

second language acquisition 

are based on years of research 

in a wide variety of fields 

including linguistics, psychology, 

sociology, anthropology and 

neurolinguistics. 

There are several distinct 

stages of second language 

development and they are – 

1. The silent/receptive or 

reproduction stage (teachers 

should not force students to 

speak until they are ready to 

do so in this stage) 

2. The early production stage 

(in this stage students can 

usually speak in one or 

two word phrases and can 

demonstrate comprehension 

of new materials) 

3. The speech emergence stage 

(students usually develop 

approximately 3,000 words 

and can use short phrases 

and simple sentences to 

communicate) 

4. The intermediate language 

proficiency stage (students 

develop close to 6000 words 

and begin to make complex 

JUL/AUG 2018

sentences, state opinions, 

ask for clarification, share 

thoughts and speak at a 

greater length) 

5. The advanced language 

proficiency stage (in this 

stage students develop 

some specialized contentarea 

vocabulary and can 

participate fully in gradelevel 

classroom activities if 

they are given occasional 

support). 

Understanding these 

theories can help teachers 

develop appropriate instructional 

strategies and assessments 

that guide students along 

a continuum of language 

development. A basic knowledge 

of language acquisition 

theories is extremely useful for 

mainstream classroom teachers 

and it directly influences their 

ability to provide appropriate 

content-area instructions. 

MEASURING TOOLS 

OR RUBRICS 

Measuring language 

acquisition is not as easy as 

measuring distance or weight. 

Language knowledge is not 

directly accessible and we rely 

on learners to display their 

knowledge in some way so 

that it can be measured. We 

must encourage students to get 

involved in interactions. 

UNIQUE STRATEGIES 

TO BE IMPLEMENTED 

Some of the strategies that 

parents and teachers can use 

to support children in learning 

to express themselves, to hear 

and understand language 

and to become competent 

communicators: 

1. Build Relationships — be 

an Empathetic Language 

Partner 

2. Respond and Take Turns — 

be an Interactive Language 

Partner 

3. Respond to Nonverbal 

Communication 

4. Use the Four Es Approach: 

i. Encourage children to 

communicate by listening, 

responding, and not 

correcting their language 

ii. Elaborate 

iii. Extend the sounds, words, 

iv. Expand on both semantics 

and the syntax of a child’s 

words and conversational 

turns. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES 

1. Aitcheson, Jean.1983.The 

Articulate Mammal, Second Edition, 

London etc. Hutchinson 

2. Newmeyer, F.J.(ed) 1988. 

Linguistics,the Cambridge Survey, 

Vol III, Language: Psychological and 

Biological Aspects ,Cambridge etc. 

C.U.P. 

3. Steinberg, Danny D.1982. 

Psycholinguistics .Language, mind 

and the world. Essex: Longman 

Group Ltd. 

4. Hudson , R.H.1980. 

Sociolinguistics,Cambridge:CUP 

5. Krashen, Stephen D.1987.Second 

Language Acquisition and Second 

Language Learning .London, 

Prentice-Hall International. 

6. Lenneberg, E.H.1967: Biological 

foundations of language. New York: 

John Wiley 

7. Brown, H.D.1987.Principles of 

language Learning and Teaching 

.New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc 

8. Braindi ,S.M.1999.The Acquisition of 

second Language syntax 

9. Practical and Proven Strategies For 

Teaching Dual Language Learners: 

Linda M.Espinosa and Elizabeth S. 

Magruder 

10. Netaji Subhas Open University Study 

Materials(Paper 2) 

11. Hyms,D.1974.Foundations in 

Sociolinguistics :Philadelphia 

:University of Pennsylvan Press 

12. D.S.Wittmer/S.H.-Peterson-Person 

Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall Updated 

on July 20,2010. 

‘THE PROGRESSIVE TEACHER TEAM FELICITATES’ 

SHRI HIMANSHU GUPTA 

OF S CHAND GROUP ON 

BEING LISTED AT #9 IN 

PRINTWEEK INDIA POWER 100 

PrintWeek India Power 100 is about ranking the printing 

industry’s 100 most influential individuals, decided 

through a fair voting in which voters considered the 

spending power, industry influence, knowledge, and innovation 

quotient of the printers while casting their votes. Himanshu 

Gupta, Managing Director, S Chand Group is in the list of 100, 

recognising his way of mastering the art of monetising books. 

He is at the 9 th rank in the list. S.Chand Group acquired three 

firms in a short span; then in 2017 the group launched S Chand 

IPO (Initial Public Offer). 


LESSON PLAN 

EFFECTIVE LESSON PLANNING 

A lesson plan is actually a plan of action. It is a pre-active phase of Teaching. A lesson plan 

gives a detailed description of the lesson, which a Teacher teaches in a period of fixed duration. 

Lesson plan can be designed for one class or a period or for a week. Basically a lesson plan 

provides guidelines for planning the instructional strategies, resources and learning experiences 

to be provided to the students. According to the International Dictionary of Education ‘Lesson 

plan is the outline of the important points of a lesson arranged in order in which they are to be 

presented to students by the teachers’. 

–Surekha Nayani 

Lesson plan has its origin 

in Gestalt psychology. 

There is a lot of influence 

of Gestalt theory of learning 

on human learning. Students 

can learn the whole concept, 

if it is divided in two units. 

Hence, in schools the whole 

concept is perceived as a part 

and the part is divided in two 

units. Within a unit all the 

activities are interrelated. 

These activities provide 

understanding and meaningful learning experiences. 

The need for lesson planning- 

1. Presentation of concepts or subject in an orderly manner. 

2. To accomplish the instructions or objectives. 

3. To cater to the needs and abilities of students. 

4. To build effective teaching strategies. 

5. To evaluate learning outcomes. 

The two common approaches of lesson planning are Herbartian 

approach and Bloom’s or Evaluation approach. 

Herbartian lesson plan is most commonly used in educational 

institutions which emphasises order and planning, presents the 

concepts that are related to previous interest of the students. Its 

main features are to present new topics, compare new topics to prior 

knowledge, remind students of their previous knowledge, apply the 

new knowledge to some other situations, generalise a central idea 

and find the effectiveness of teaching through recapitulation. It gives 

utmost importance to content, can be applied to any size of the class 

and helps in achieving cognitive objectives of teaching. But Herbartian 

lesson plan also shows a few demerits like giving importance to only 

content and memorisation, does not provide opportunity for creativity 

and originality of students and is Teacher centred. 

Bloom’s evaluation approach to lesson plan enables pupils to learn 

from basic to complex, promotes critical thinking and constructivist 

approach to learning, provides a stage for the Teachers to design 

different classroom experiences for students and gives importance 

to student centred classroom. It focuses on educational objectives, 

creating learning experiences and evaluating the change of 

behaviours. This approach is based on psychological and scientific 

principles, provides scope for improving the learning experiences, 

teaching becomes purposeful and objective oriented. Few demerits 

shown in this approach are – Teaching activity has no specificity, 

no opportunities for creativity and originality of the Teacher and 

in behavioural terms, the mental abilities are not taken into 

consideration. 

To design an appropriate lesson, the following main areas are 

to be observed. 

Topic 

/ Day 

Learning 

Objective 

Teacher 

Activity 

Student 

Activity 

Resource 

Used 

Assessment 

Assessment 

The content is divided in two parts in sequential order and the 

lesson plan should start with recapitulation or introduction of new 

topics by testing the previous knowledge. This results in smooth 

transition from old to new knowledge. 

Objectives: The presentation of every concept is objective 

based. Objectives should be in written form and clear. Objectives 

constitute three basic taxonomical segments - cognitive, affective 

and psychomotor. The enunciation of objectives sets the desired 

educational targets by 

providing learning experiences 

to children. The manipulation 

of teaching-learning situations 

with a view to realising the 

desired objectives are in fact 

the methods of teaching. 

‘A vision could yield many 

goals, a goal to many aims, 

an aim to many objectives 

and an objective to many 

specifications’. Objectives 

indicate the level of targets 

which are tangible for being 

handled in educational processes. They must be achievable, clear, 

aligned to the subject and level of abilities of the students. The 

different objectives of lesson can be stated in the following ways - To 

acquire knowledge, Understand, Define, Differentiate, Solve, Identify, 

Calculate, State, Draw, Perform, Recognise, Give reason, etc. which 

focuses on student learning. 

Stages of enunciation of Objectives: 

Overall objectives of education → Stage wise objectives of 

education→ 

Subject wise Instructional objectives →Lesson wise 

Instructional objectives. 

Teachers’ Activity: A Teacher must have good subject 

knowledge and at the same time differentiated strategies of teaching. 

Teaching-learning processes should have active involvement of pupil 

and interactive classrooms. Teacher must plan every class with 

various procedures like Introduction or Recapitulation, presentation 

of concepts, Illustrative method, use of appropriate resources or 

strategies, Time management, etc. giving utmost importance to 

the learning of the child. Teachers need to assess the learning and 

understanding of the child and further continue to introduce new 

lessons. 

Student Activity: It is the most vital area of lesson planning, 

which decides all other areas. The active involvement of students 

in learning can showcase the planned objectives are achieved. 

Discussion of topics, clarification of doubts, hands on activities, 

solutions given to the questions, performance in tests can be a few 

measures of learning in children. 

Teaching Resources: Use of resources or aids like board, 

Surekha Nayani, M.Sc (Chemistry),B.Ed 

has fifteen years of teaching experience 

in CBSE schools and has been teaching 

Physics and Chemistry to secondary 

school students. 

Presently, she is working as Head of 

the Department of Science and also as 

CBSE Co-ordinator in Delhi Public School, 

Nacharam, Hyderabad. As HOD she 

trains teachers in teaching-learning processes like developing 

and presentation of content, preparation of worksheets and 

question papers, designing CCE etc. and also conducts 

workshops on various aspects of teaching science. 

She has written articles on teaching science by focusing on 

creative methodologies which arouse interest in the subject. 

She strongly believes that every teacher should emphasise 

proper planning, preparation and effective presentation of 

subject matter, every day and in every class with commitment 

which influences and empowers student learning. 


JUL/AUG 2018

eference books and laboratories will undoubtedly give understanding 

of the concepts. But resources like audio-visual classes, group work, 

use of simple materials which are easily available to everyone, field 

trips will interest children more, develop interest in the subject and 

provide long term memory in children. 

Assessment: It is a vital area in any classroom. How can 

a Teacher assess the learning of children in the classroom? 

Assessment is not always by conducting tests, it can be done 

by involving students in discussion, observing the answers 

given to oral questioning, by reading the faces of the children, 

their participation in classroom activities, etc. Based on these 

techniques the Teacher can plan various methods of subject 

presentation. 

Assignment : Home assignment is to be planned for every 

lesson, which has to be balanced and gives scope for self learning 

at home. Depending on the lesson discussed, assignment can be 

designed. This may include collecting relevant data out of textbook, 

solving the given questions which test knowledge and application, 

drawing, plot graphs or maps, solve the given worksheets etc. 

Assignment is a good tool to promote the habit of learning at home, 

which results in independent and quality learning too. 

Advantages of Lesson planning are - It is preset and 

appropriate, which provides confidence and self-reliance to the 

Teachers, resulting in effective Teaching-learning processes. 

Through proper lesson planning the Teacher can set clear 

aims and objectives. It makes the classroom teaching interesting, 

systematic and avoids repetition. It enables the Teacher to 

understand and plan relevant methods of teaching of the lesson. 

Principles of good lesson planning are - to be age appropriate, 

focus on aptitude and interests of the students. It has to proceed 

from simple to complex, whole to part and back to the whole. 

It should follow the objectives and specifications - To induce 

reasoning, analysis and critical thinking among the students. 

Appropriate teaching resources to be used, evaluation procedures 

must be suitable to the lesson and can provide extra information of the 

topic. It should indicate definite assignments for the students. 

JUL/AUG 2018 www.progressiveteacher.in 

15


– Padmini Sriraman 

‘It is the Teacher who makes 

the difference not the classroom’ 

How effective is 

our classroom 

management? 

Today’s classrooms are 

filled with diverse learners 

with varying needs. Nowadays 

many new teachers and even 

some experienced ones find it 

extremely difficult to maintain 

discipline in their classrooms 

by following the traditional 

methods of teaching. Hence 

we must encourage teamwork, 

communication skills and 

use of technology to enhance 

students’ learning. 

Are we managing the 

classroom dynamics 

well? 

Teachers play various 

roles in a classroom, but the 

most important role is that 

of a classroom manager. If 

teachers have to perform well, 

they have to understand class 

room dynamics. Class room 

dynamics includes student 

behaviour, emotions and 

imagination. It also includes 

teacher’s ways of presenting 

academic materials and student 

interactions. It helps in creating 

a positive class room culture. 

Effective teaching and 

learning cannot take place in 

a poorly managed classroom. 

Well-managed classrooms 

provide an environment in 

which teaching and learning 

can take place successfully; but 

it takes a lot of effort to create a 

well-managed classroom and it 

doesn’t just happen on its own. 

The person who is responsible 

for creating such a classroom is 

the teacher. 

Teachers can have a major 

impact on student achievement. 

The three major roles of the 

teacher are - 

1. Choosing the right 

instructional methods, 

2. Designing curriculum, 

3. Using effective classroom 

management techniques 

The most important 

characteristic of a good class 

is not how hard the students 

work, but how well they work 

in groups. This is classroom 

dynamics. It is about the way 

the people within a class 

interact with each other. It is 

how they talk and how they 

act; it is how they express their 

feelings and opinions that 

matters. 

If we have to become 

better teachers, we need 

to understand classroom 

dynamics. Classroom dynamics 



We are always interested in how well our students conduct themselves 

and how well they can work with each other. It is this expectation 

of the school which makes every teacher first learn how to maintain 

classroom discipline before talking about the students’ academic needs. 

It is a fact that no teacher can effectively teach and make students 

learn in an ineffective environment. 

means building of a classroom 

community and the creation 

of an active classroom culture. 

I believe that class room 

dynamics is helping students 

to develop skills in working 

together and creating an 

atmosphere in the classroom 

where students are encouraged 

to take risks. 

The easiest and most 

appropriate way of boosting 

classroom dynamics is to make 

sure that the students have no 

time to feel bored and instead 

they enjoy the classes. We 

can offer a balanced learning 

environment by adopting a 

few simple strategies and 

Padmini Sriraman, M A in History and 

Economics, M Ed and M Phil, is the Principal 

of The Hindu Senior Secondary School, 

Chennai. She is also the Vice Chair person of 

Chennai Sahodaya Group of Schools. 

She received the CBSE National Award in 

2012 and the Best Principal Award from 

the Bombay Stock Exchange. She has also 

received awards from Mylapore Academy, 

Rotary Club, recognition from various other institutions and 

the International School Award from the British Council. 

She has written social studies books for Classes 6, 7 and 

8, EVS books for Classes 1 to 5 and articles in educational 

magazines. 

She has conducted workshops in Social Science, EVS, 

Classroom Management, Handling Slow Learners, Life skills, 

Value Education, CCE, and Study Techniques in various states 

in India, also at Dubai and Doha. 

She has learnt Carnatic music, does oil painting and was a 

basket ball player during her school days. Her personal vision 

is to create a positive impact and motivate everyone with a 

‘can do and never give up’ attitude; to encourage inspire and 

motivate everyone to discover and develop their potential 

while igniting their passion for life and their dreams. Contact – 

mini_sriraman@yahoo.com mobile --9841131685 

introducing them as part of our 

teaching routine. 

How can we improve 

them? 

Activity Centred 

Classroom dynamics mean 

that students are kept busy 

with productive activities and 

projects and there is no time 

for boredom. It does not mean 

that the teacher must use 

more materials, but she/he 

must simply keep the students 

absorbed with activities. 

The more interesting and 

challenging these activities are, 

the more absorbing the lesson 

will be for the students. 

Encourages Self 

learning 

A vibrant classroom that 

offers different ways to cover 

a topic will always be more 

effective and appealing. If 

you introduce a range of 

teaching techniques such as 

experiential learning, digital 

JUL/AUG 2018

learning or group work, it will 

make the students learn more. 

Such approaches will help to 

engage students and make 

learning more meaningful and 

interesting. 

Independent 

learning style 

The majority of student 

learning happens within the 

classroom. However, it’s up 

to the teacher to manage 

and engage the learners by 

using various learning styles. 

Students learn best through 

interaction and inquiry. Some 

students learn by moving 

around, others by working in 

teams. A dynamic classroom 

enables the students to move 

around freely while being 

engaged in a creative project. 

All of them have special talents 

and interests which they 

should be able to explore and 

use during classes. Offering 

a dynamic environment will 

certainly help them to achieve 

this. 

Brainstorming sessions 

Students are generally very 

energetic, and the teacher 

must plan to keep them 

active, attentive and focused; 

otherwise they may start to 

lose concentration and at times 

become restless. Organizing 

brainstorming sessions to 

activate the students and 

offering them opportunities 

to express their views during 

group discussions will help to 

satisfy their needs. Keeping 

students absorbed means they 

will get busy, learn lessons 

easily and they will understand 

concepts which we are trying to 

teach them. 

Learning by doing 

Whatever may be the topic 

of the lesson, we must make 

sure that the students spend 

some time to learn by doing. 

They can work individually or 

in groups and the exercises we 

give them can be of different 

types such as experiments, 

digital learning, work sheets, 

art and craft and field work. 

Hands-on learning is one of 

the best methods to absorb 

students in tasks, they can 

explore on their own. 

Peer interaction 

Good examples are group 

activities where students need 

to move from one group to 

another to discuss or work on 

the said topic. Working area, 

library work is another great 

way to make sure students 

do not sit at their tables all 

the time. Depending on the 

students’ needs, we may create 

theme-based working tables 

and encourage them to set 

them up. To promote joy in 

learning we may also introduce 

entertainment games and 

puzzles. 

Instead of teaching the 

students throughout the entire 

lesson, the teacher could 

provide some direction during 

part of the lesson, and then let 

the students be in control of 

their own learning and work 

with their peers. 

Use of Resources 

Resources and use of Art, 

Craft and Music will help to 

keep the students busy and 

excited. The resources should 

be useful, and they should 

not be too challenging for the 

students. Introducing dynamics 

in the classroom will not only 

help us to keep our students 

active, lively and motivated, but 

it will also facilitate the overall 

learning experience for the 

students and the effectiveness 

of teaching. 

Group Work 

Cooperative learning 

and group work is another 

instructional method where 

students work together in pairs 

or groups to complete a task. 

Cooperative learning strategies 

can work in any classroom 

regardless of age groups, the 

subjects taught or the number 

of students in a class. 

By adopting different 

teaching techniques, we can 

expect excellent response from 

the students. They will develop 

good communication skills and 

will excel in their learning. 

It will further enhance their 

confidence level and help them 

develop skills of learning. 

As teachers, we must face 

challenges and overcome 

our fears of trying something 

new. Ultimately, we will be 

surprised to note how these 

strategies have helped our 

students. 

With each new class, 

the teacher must focus on 

classroom dynamics from the 

very first session, which will 

help in retaining the attention 

of students and the student’s 

academic achievement will 

also rise. Thus, in my view the 

stress on classroom dynamics 

is essential for the learning 

and teaching process. 

As it has been rightly said, 

Education keeps evolving 

and every student learns 

differently. It is up to 

the teachers to keep the 

students engaged in the 

classroom. 



–Jaspal Kaur 

Classroom dynamics first 

depend on the teacherstudent 

relationship. 

These dynamics always provide 

clues to teachers on how they 

can create the best positive 

environment in the class. The 

motivation to learn comes from 

the student-teacher attitudinal 

qualities. 

Student concentration is the 

major element in the teaching 

learning process because it 

focuses student’s attention on 

material being learned and 

the teacher presenting it. In 

addition, the teacher needs to 

make a few changes in his/her 

presentation style. 

A classroom consists of 

children with different levels 

of understanding and different 

needs and expectations too. It 

is very important for a teacher 

to understand the individual 

differences and reflect on the 

dynamics of the class. So, first 

we need to know how to find out 

what is happening in our class 

and what is the most appropriate 

action that needs to be taken. 

The teacher needs to 

maintain the record of the class. 

A class that is new to her needs 

more attention as she has to 

understand each and every 

child’s behaviour, inside the 

class and at home. She/he needs 

to know if there are any special 

points to be taken into account 

like, fast or slow learners. 

The work and attention to 

be given to both categories of 

students would be different 

and according to their levels. 

This will provide a framework 

of analysis that would help the 

teacher to make better decisions 

when considering how to 



Classroom dynamics defines the way people within a class interact 

with each other. It’s how they talk and act; it’s how they show their 

feelings and opinions and how they behave as a group. 

manage classroom dynamics. 

The teacher needs to put in 

extra effort on specific needs of 

different students. Each student 

should feel important while 

learning and communicating 

with the other students of the 

class and also with teachers. 

There should be a conducive 

environment in the class. 

Each and every student must 

participate in the class activities 

and no student should be left 

unattended. 

Classroom dynamics is 

all about creating a positive 

classroom atmosphere where 

students feel comfortable with 

their classmates and teachers, 

they should get such a platform 

Jaspal Kaur is a special Educator working 

with Yadavindra Public School, Patiala as 

a faculty member. She has several years 

of experience in helping students to jump 

past the barrier of their limitation to achieve 

a better and self-driven lifestyle so as to 

bring them at par with the others in the 

class. With a degree in Bachelor of Special 

Education in Learning Disability, she utilizes 

every opportunity to educate students of all age groups, both 

inside and outside, classroom settings. She has also been 

conducting workshops to educate teachers to help identify 

learning problems and advising parents on the positive 

parenting for holistic development of children. 

wherein they can explore and 

have holistic development. It 

is all about involving students 

through interactive and 

innovative teaching learning 

methods. 

There are some situations 

where some students do not 

want to participate in groups or 

in pairs.They may not even want 

to speak in front of the class and 

the teacher. In such situations 

classroom dynamics play an 

important role. 

A class with only boys 

or only girls also affects the 

understanding and the learning 

behaviour of the students. 

Sometimes, gender differences 

play an important role in 

group dynamics. At times, girl 

students lack participation due 

to shyness. 

As teachers, we should 

render help and support. 

This requires us to suspend 

all personal judgements on 

teaching and learning. Research 

should be done carefully. 

Meaningful activities and 

projects should be taken up, 

which would prove beneficial 

to the students. It not only 

helps to maintain the interest 

of the students but also helps 

in drawing the attention of 

the students learning. It helps 

in recognizing the personal 

characteristics of individuals 

and in creating a conducive 

environment for learning. 

JUL/AUG 2018


–Mitashi Pawar 

Each day in my classroom, 

I observe this boy 

dragging himself to his 

desk. 

It looks like someone has 

literally pushed him out of bed, 

shoved the toothbrush into his 

mouth, ordered him to bathe 

and eventually dropped him 

outside the school gate. There 

is nothing too attractive about 

him except the fact that he 

sits in complete isolation. If 

you stand beside my desk, you 

will notice that he is a part of 

the bunch of kids around him, 

but if you go nearer, you will 

sense the void he is carrying 

every day. He gets extremely 

conscious as you walk towards 

him, wondering if he has again 

made some mistake. The 

moment he looks up in my eye, 

he seems lost! Not willing to 

understand his problem, I try to 

avoid and rather focus on other 

kids who are done with their 

work. 

A day later, I saw him 

peeping into his partner’s 

notebook. I rushed fuming to 

his desk and questioned him, 

rather humiliated him, ‘Can you 

not do it on your own? Is it that 

difficult for you?’ In a hushed 

tone he said, ‘No, ma’am. I 

cannot do it. I tried a lot of 

times, but I could not.’ I felt 

embarrassed and upset at the 

same time. I was embarrassed 

that I only judged him so far 

and upset that it took me so 

long to realise I was wrong. 

It got me thinking what I 

must have missed out on. Was 

there anything I could do to 

make it a happier, learning 

experience for him? I went back 

home and like a professional 

researcher, I started reading 

about several concerns kids 

must be dealing with while 

in school. I sat infront of the 

screen for hours hoping for a 

quick fix. Soon I realised I was 

going in the wrong direction. 

‘What am I looking for?’ I asked 

myself. My mind was blank! A 

teacher looking for an answer 

without even knowing the 

question. Strange! I shut my 

laptop and sat with myself for a 

few minutes. And there I had a 

plan for my next day at school. 

After months I had 

experienced this excitement to 

get ready and hurry to school. It 

felt as if I cracked an unsolved, 

awaiting mystery. Dressed in 

my yellow saree, with a big 

smile on my face, I was eagerly 

waiting for him to step into the 

classroom. Meanwhile I had 

completed all the clerical work 

– date on the board, present 


LOST AND FOUND 

day, time table for the 

day and other important 

details. I desperately 

waited for him to walk 

into the classroom. I 

felt restless with each 

passing minute. And 

finally, he was there! He 

stood at the door and very 

gently asked, ‘May I come 

in, ma’am?’ With a big smile 

on my face now, I said, ‘Yes’. As 

he walked towards his seat, I 

wished him good morning. He 

looked at me in awe. For the 

first time he felt acknowledged. 

His eyes were wet, reflecting so 

much hope. He did not utter a 

word and sat on his seat. How 

much I cursed myself for not 

noticing him before. As the bell 

rang and the first period began, 

I instructed students and wrote 

the class work on the board. 

As a typical situation is, all of 

them started copying the work 

to finish first and get rewarded. 

I strolled between the rows, 

curious to see his work. I tried 

hard not to make it awkward 

for him. I was certainly 

excited, but I cannot make it 

an uncomfortable situation for 

him. My steps got bigger as I 

was getting closer to his desk. 

I stood beside him and 

could sense his nervousness. I 

whispered, ‘Have you finished 

your work?’ He replied, ‘No, 

I have not’. I requested if I 

could have a look, hesitatingly 

he slid to the edge of his 

desk. I flipped through the 

pages and on the last one I 

saw some drawings. In great 

astonishment I said, ‘Not in 

the mood to write today?’ He 

expressed his misery for the 

first time and said, ‘Ma’am, 

I do not understand all that 

you write on the board. It is 

all so confusing. The amount 

of time I take to write one 

sentence is equivalent to the 

time others take to copy all of 

it.’ ‘Why didn’t you ever tell me 

this?’ I asked. To my surprise 

Mitashi Pawar, MA in Applied 

Psychology, PG Diploma in Counselling 

and Family Therapy is at present working 

as a School Counsellor with The Shri 

Ram School, Aravali. She has done her 

schooling from DPS Vasant Kunj. Her 

expertise lies in working with kids, 

parents and teachers. Over the years, 

she has worked for several schools such 

as DPS Ambala, DPS Panipat, Apeejay School Kolkata, 

Bal Bharti School to name a few. She is passionate about 

creating awareness about mental health and help people 

understand the benefits of counselling. Her interest also 

lies in doing workshops for students and adults. 

he said, ‘Because you only 

love and hug those who finish 

their work first. I do not want 

to disappoint you.’ Filled with 

embarrassment, I dared to ask 

him further, ‘What about the 

work? Who does that?’ ‘My 

mom’, he said. ‘Mom told me 

not to tell anyone that I struggle 

with reading as others might 

make fun of me.’ 

No, he did not have dyslexia. 

Just like you, I got worried 

too. I blamed myself. I blamed 

myself a zillion time. My idea 

of teaching had gone through 

enough editing in six years 

of my practice. From being a 

dedicated teacher, I had turned 

into someone who focussed 

only on work and results. Yes, 

I too became a part of the 

rat race. Nowadays it is a rat, 

dog, cow all sorts of races. 

Competition has impacted 

everybody. 

I called for a meeting with 

his parents and decided on 

different strategies we could 

apply to help him improve. He 

felt important. He felt rescued. 

His parents got a great sense 

of relief. They were dreading he 

might need professional help 

and that might burn a hole in 

their pocket. Unfortunately, the 

battle got stretched for him. 

A simple concern got ignored 

because of lack of knowledge 

and no one willing to put in the 

‘extra’ effort. 

There is no major rocket 

science he required to overcome 

his fears. All he needed was a 

little support from the school 

and his peers. 

I made sure I would pay 

extra attention to him. I gave 

him more time and even more 

opportunities to participate 

in class. I encouraged him to 

actively perform in the activities 

he liked and avoided judging 

him. My focus had shifted from 

result to respite. 

Initially the class laughed 

at him wherever and whenever 

he fumbled and each time 

he would look at me for 

encouragement. This time to 

help all my children, I planned 

circle time with my class. I sat 

down with them and talked 

about respecting others. This 

sensitizing activity worked as a 

booster for all of us. 

It certainly did not show 

results in one day, but as 

days went by and bonds got 

stronger, I saw my class more 

united and connected. With 

regular connect time with my 

students and giving them the 

space to express, I realised the 

amount of change it can bring 

to their personalities. A year 

well spent! 

JUL/AUG 2018


CLASSROOM DIMENSIONS 

AND DYNAMICS 

Education is a gateway to the world. Children use their senses and 

logic to gain knowledge, wisdom and reasoning to be equipped and 

empowered to impact their environment. Campuses, inside and out, 

must respond to the senses to maximize learning and expression. 

– Shimmi Sharma 

A 

focus on tangible 

experiences and 

expression is especially 

important for catering to 

the educational needs and 

for fostering knowledge in 

the students. Successful 

programmes engage students 

through movement, colour, 

touch and sound. School 

design should promote these 

experiences and make them 

accessible to all students. 

To allow this to happen, 

physical barriers must be 

eliminated. 

School as Home 

As students spend most 

of their day in the classroom, 

careful attention should be 

paid to how each design 

element effects well-being, 

learning and functionality. 

When entering, warm colours, 

natural materials and daylight 

can put children at ease and 

remind them of home. Both 

natural and artificial lighting 

is best when indirect and 

controllable, eliminating 

dark areas and shadows and 

reducing eye strain. Proper 

combination of colours and 

texture of the walls, floor 

and curtains make spaces 

more enjoyable throughout 

the day. Proper space for 

backpacks and instructional 

items is important not just 

for maximizing space but for 

safety as well. 

Specific classroom zones for 

instruction, rest and projects 

Shimmi Sharma has Master’s degrees in 

English, Psychology and Education, plus 

a Bachelor’s degree in Education, Post 

Graduate Diploma In Higher Education, a 

Certificate in English Teaching as a Second 

Language, a Certificate in Functional 

English and a Certificate In Guidance. She 

has been teaching English at Sunbeam 

School,Lahartara, Varanasi for the last seven years. 

define the space and allow 

for a variety of activities and 

choices throughout the day, 

accommodating both high 

and low-functioning students 

and individual and social 

learners. Soft seating, low 

shelving, flexible furnishings 

and ample storage should be 

considered. Oversized marker 

boards, interactive technology 

and unique manipulatives are 

some aspects that encourage 

student engagement in the 

classroom. 

Beyond the Classroom 

Throughout the school, 

students make their way to 

a variety of other learning 

spaces. Life skills programmes 

teach students autonomy 

and prepare them for the 

future, simulating challenges 

in a safe and supervised 

environment. Sensory learning 

and expression continues 

to the outdoors. Open 

classrooms, musical elements 

and tactile sculptures can be 

incorporated for fun learning. 

For play structures, current 

accessibility standards require 

equal access to each type of 

play component which adds 

on to the learning space 

of the students positively. 

The intentional design of 

accessible, experiential 

learning environments 

opens doors for all students. 

Architects and designers 

have the responsibility to 

work with administrators to 

ensure students have access 

to all opportunities, providing 

a foundation for growth 

and empowerment to last a 

lifetime. 

Requires Students 

Moving Around 

Classroom becomes lively 

and happening when the 

students are free to share their 

thoughts and expression and 

for that they need to explore 

the ideas of their friends. To 

make both the ends learning 

and experiments to meet, 

every faculty member should 

engage in self-reflection, 

exploring the students’ 

personal willingness to 

experiment with alternative 

approaches to instruction. 

When children roll, creep, 

crawl, jump, or walk, their level 

of physical fitness is increased 

and academic concepts are 

reinforced. As students move 

from one point to another for 

exploring ideas along with a 

partner or partners, their selfawareness, 

self-esteem, and 

social skills are enhanced. 


Posters & 

Gallery Walk 

Give groups of students an 

assignment that they need to 

work on together and present 

their ideas on a sheet of 

chart paper. Once they have 

completed their poster, 

have them display it on the 

wall, much like a scientific 

poster session. One of their 

groups will stay with the 

poster and help to explain 

it as the class circulates to 

look at all the posters. 

Students take turns standing 

by their poster so that each 

one of them has the chance 

to visit the other groups’ 

posters. This sets up a more 

interactive way of presenting 

as compared to Power Point 

Presentations. 

Multi - Dimensional 

Effect of Classroom 

Environment on 

Learning 

A better learning 

environment optimizes the 

mind set to improve alertness, 

attention, and motivation. It 

prepares and encourages nerve 

cells to bind to one another, 

which is the cellular basis for 

logging in new information 

and it spurs the development of 

new nerve cells. When humans 

exercise for thirty minutes, 

positive changes happen in the 

brain and body that increase 

student performance. 

The brain and body 

movement and learning 

systems are interdependent 

and interactive. For example, 

motor development provides 

the framework that the brain 

uses to sequence the patterns 

needed for academic concepts. 

The body’s vestibule system 

controls balance and spatial 

awareness and facilitates the 

students’ ability to learn words 

and letters. When a student 

moves around the class 

where the walls are covered 

with vibrant and informative 

charts in specific patterns, 

the brain’s ability to encode 

symbols is increased. The four 

visual fields needed for eye 

tracking are strengthened. 

Proper development and 

remediation of these systems 

are critical to a child’s ability 

to learn. As a result of a 

student moving through the 

station progressions, he/she 

will experience challenge, 

feedback, and physical activity, 

three components that are 

necessary for optimal brain 

function. 


Class Room Games 

and Activities 

Getting and keeping 

students engaged is perhaps 

the most important step 

in creating a successful 

learning outcome. The 

Collaborative Learning Spaces 

provide a unique learning 

environment. The 21st century 

is challenging old notions 

of learning spaces. The idea 

that students must be seated 

at desks working in rows is 

quickly becoming archaic. 

Technology and collaborative 

work environments are 

changing the design of 

learning spaces. Experts hope 

that the emerging paradigms 

will translate into improved 

learning spaces and influence 

future architectural design. 

When the students sit in their 

classroom for a long time they 

tend to lose interest in the 

learning process. It is very 

important for educators to play 

games with the students to 

keep their learning process 

intact. Educators, researchers, 

and students are discovering 

the benefits and advantages 

of cooperative, active, and 

engaged learning. Classroom 

spaces that do not support 

such a shift in teaching and 

learning have lagged behind. 

A significant opportunity 

exists for maximizing learning 

opportunities and creating 

meaningful experiences by 

rethinking the classroom 

experience. 

Conclusion 

The goal of classroom 

environment is to enrich 

academic, psychological, 

and sociological growth. 

The design of such learning 

spaces should be intentionally 

serendipitous and avoid 

prescriptive and restrictive 

behaviours, for both teachers 

and students. The design 

of learning spaces should 

increase levels of engagement, 

foster active learning and 

teaching, and support the 

learning goals of higher 

education institutions. 

Collaborative and dynamic 

working spaces help students 

see themselves as coconstructors 

of knowledge, 

rather than ‘subjects’ of 

teachers. Without hierarchical 

front to back row seating, every 

seat is the best seat in the 

class, and students are always 

at the centre of learning. 

Let the dynamics of 

learning meet the dimensions 

of the classroom to make our 

students emerge as great 

learners and experimenters. 

JUL/AUG 2018

JUL/AUG 2018 www.progressiveteacher.in 23 

PULLOUT PLANNER

24 THE PROGRESSIVE TEACHER JUL/AUG 2018

THE PROGRESSIVE TEACHER 

WORKSHEET 

Name : ................................................................ 

Class : VII 

Subject : MATHEMATICS 

Fill in the blanks. 

1. a × a × a × .... × a (n times) = 

2 . The value of (3 –1 – 3 2 ) 2 = . 

3. If x is any rational number and m and n are integers, then (x m ) n = . 

4. The value of 9 0 × 9 0 × 9 0 × (9 0 – 9 0 ) is . 

5. Decimal number 3712.5 can be written in standard form as . 

6. A negative rational number raised to an even power is . 

7. A negative rational number raised to an odd power is . 

8. 3 x × 3 y × 3 z = 

9. If m and n are positive integers, then (x m ) n = x ........ . 

10. For all rational numbers x and y, if m is a positive integer, then 

(xy) m is . 

11. Complete: 

a. 76,000,000 = 7.6 × 10 ........ 

b. 930,000,000,000 = 9.3 × 10 ........ 

c. 76,000,000,000,000 = 7.6 × 10 ........ 

d. 42,400,000,000 = 4.24 × 10 ........ 

© S. Chand And Company Limited (This material is designed to be used as a supplement with the book MathsWiz 7.) 



25


WORKSHEET 

Name : ................................................................ 

Class : VII 


1. State whether the following statements are ‘true’ or ‘false’. 

a) A symbol which can be assigned different numerical values is 

called a variable. 

(b) 

A symbol having a fixed numerical value is called a constant. 

(c) 

Terms having same variable are called like terms. 

(d) 

An expression having one term is called polynomial. 

(e) Degree of a constant term is 1. 

(f) 

The sum of two like terms is an unlike term. 

(g) 

(h) 

The letter factor variable of a product is the literal coefficient. 

A compound expression or a polynomial is an algebraic 

expression of two or more terms. 

(i) An algebraic expression of the form a + bx + cx 2 + dx 3 + .............. 

where a, b, c, d are constants and x is a variable is called a 

polynomial in x. 

(j) 

(k) 

The degree of the polynomial is the greatest power of the 

variable present in the polynomial. 

Addition and subtraction operations can also be performed on 

unlike terms. 

(l) 

A letter used to represent a number is called literals. 

2. Fill in the blanks. 

(a) If |||| + + represents 4x 2 + 3y 2 + z, then the algebraic expression 

for + + | = 

(b) Subtracting y from zero results . 



www.progressiveteacher.in


WORKSHEET 

Name : ................................................................ 

Class : VII 


Write the following statements in equation form. Find numerals to make true statements. 

S.No. Statements Equation form Solution 

1. The sum of 7 and x is 15. 7 + x = 15 8 

2. x decreased by 9 is 18. 

3. Six more than two times y is 32. 

4. If 11 is taken away from the number n, the 

result is –7. 

5. 144 divided by r is 36. 

6. q multiplied by 9 gives –63. 

7. If d is divided by –6, the result is 7. 

8. Seven increased by 3 times a number 

equals 2. 

9. The product of 14 and the number x is 196. 

10. Quotient of m divided by 13 is 6. 

11. If 14 is added to the number 2y, the result 

is 32. 

12. If 23 is taken away from the number 3x, the 

result is –47. 

ANSWER KEY - CLASS VII: MATHEMATICS 

Page25: 1. a n ; 2. 676 ; 3. x 

9 

; 4. 0; 5. 3.7125 ×10 3 ; 6. positive; 7. negative; 8. 3 x + y + z ; 9. x m × n ; 10. x m × y m ; 11. (a) 7, (b) 11, (c) 13, (d) 10 

Page26: 1. (a) True; (b) True; (c) True; (d) False; (e) True; (f) False; (g) True; (h) True; (i) True; (j) True; (k) False; (l) True; 2. (a) x 2 + 2y 2 + 3z ; (b) –y 

Page27: 1. 7 + x = 15; 8; 2. x – 9 = 18; 27; 3. 2y + 6 = 32; 13; 4. n – 11 = –7; 4; 5. 144 ÷ r = 36; 4; 6. 9q = –63; –7; 7. d ÷ –6 = 7; –42; 8. 3a + 7 = 2 ; 

10. m ÷ 13 = 6; 78, 11. 2y + 14 = 32; 18; 12. 3x – 23 = –47; –8 

Page28: 1. (a) 1 : 5 (b) 5 : 1; 2. (a) 4 : 9 (b) 9 : 4; 3. 15 : 32; 4. 19 : 15; 5. 2 : 1 

–5 

3 

; 9. 14 x = 196 ; 14, 

ANSWER KEY - CLASS I: ENGLISH GRAMMAR 

Page29: 

Page30: 

Page31: 

Page32: 

A. 1. Three balls; 2. Two cakes; 3. Three ships; 4. Five pencils; 5. Three oranges; 6. Four toffees; B. 1. Mangoes; 2. Temples; 3. Cars; 4. Orange; 5. Girl; 6. Rose; 

7. Monkeys; 8. Trees 

A an apple; a guava; a cucumber; a potato; a dog; a crow; a tiger; a sheep; a fan; a bed; an elephant; an ant; 

B. a sunflower; an owl; a bed; a mango; a cabbage; a hen; an apple; a cow; a clock 

A. 1. She; 2. He; 3. She; 4. She; 5. He; B. 1.I; 2. They; 3. We; 4. They; 5. We; 6. They 

A. 1. This; 2. That; 3. This; 4. That; 5. This; 6. This; 7. That; 8. That; B. 1.These; 2. Those; 3. These; 4. These; 




27


WORKSHEET 

Name : ................................................................ 

Class : VII 


1. The instructions on a bottle of juice said, it should be mixed with 1 part juice to 5 parts water. 

(a) What is the ratio of juice to water? 

(b) What is the ratio of water to juice? 

2. A recipe has 40 grams of butter and 90 grams of sugar. 

(a) What is the ratio of butter to sugar? 

(b) What is the ratio of sugar to butter? 

3. A class has 17 boys and 15 girls. What is the ratio of girls 

to the total children? 

4. A multi-storied colony has 15 single-storied and 19 two-storied flats. 

What is the ratio of two-storied to single-storied flats? 

5. Rajni is twice as old as Bhawna. What is the ratio of Rajni’s age to 

Bhawna’s age? 

ANSWER KEY - CLASS III: COMPUTER SCIENCE 

Page37: 

Page38: 

A. 1. a; 2. a; 3. b; 4. a; 5. a 

B. 1. Shapes Tool/Fill with Color; 2. Shapes Tool/Fill with Color; 3. Shapes Tool//Fill with Color; 4. Shapes/Fill with Color; 5. Paste Tool; 6. Rotate Tool 

Answers: 

A. 

B A C K K C B A V Q 

I T X E T R A E L C 

E L T R U T W O H S 

Q W E R T Y U R I O 

K J H G F D S I A P 

Z X C F T R E G Q A 

Page 40: 

Answers: 

A. 

C S A T R G H H I U 

V B N M L E F T A O 

H O M E J I R A D S 

H I D E T U R T L E 

B. 

B. 1. RULER; 2. TITLE BAR; 3. FILE MENU; 4. UNDO; 5. DOCUMENT; 

6. RIBBON; 7. CURSOR 

C. Do it Yourself 

Page39: 

A. 1. a; 2. b; 3. a; 4. b; 5. a 

B. 1. PRINT DIFFERENCE 11978 32 ; 2. PRINT (SUM 78,67,43,54,33); 3. PRINT (PRODUCT 13,24, 32); 

4. PRINT QUOTIENT 117 13; 5. PRINT REMAINDER 114 15 

C. 1. SUM; 2. PenPaint; 3. PenErase; 4. PenUp; 5. DIFFERENCE; 6. PRODUCT; 7. PenDown 





WORKSHEET 

Name : ................................................................ 

Class : I 

Subject : ENGLISH GRAMMAR 

A. Fill in the blanks by adding s to the naming words to make it many. 

1. One ball - Three 

2. One cake - Two 

3. One ship - Three 

4. One pencil - Five 

5. One orange - Three 

6. One toffee - Four 

B. Write down the singular or plural spellings of the words. 

1. Mango - 

2. Temple - 

3. Car - 

4. - Oranges 

5. - Girls 

6. - Roses 

7. Monkey - 

8. Tree - 

ANSWER KEY - CLASS V: SCIENCE 

Page33: 

Page34: 

Page35: 

Page36: 

A. Fill in the blanks: 1. Proteins; 2. Carbohydrates; 3. Health; 4. Sweat and urine; 5. Non-communicable 

B. Match the following: 1. (d); 2. (c); 3. (e); 4. (b); 5. (a) 

C. Write T for true and F for false statement: 1. T; 2. F; 3. T; 4. F; 5. T; 

D. Multiple Choice Questions: 1. (a), 2. (b), 3. (d), 4. (a) 

A. Fill in the blanks: 1. Green; 2. Gas stove; 3. Bone; 4. Coconut; 5. Fire brigade; 

B. Give one word for the following: 1. Synthetic clothes (nylon); 2. Zebra crossing; 3. Sand or mud; 4. Rabies; 5. Orthopaedic doctor; 

C. Write T for true and F for false statement: 1. F; 2. F; 3. F; 4. F; 5. T; 

D. Multiple Choice Questions: 1. (c); 2. (a); 3. (c); 4. (d); 

A. Fill in the blanks: 1. Innermost; 2. Pumice; 3. Sandstone; 4. Crust; 5. Petroleum 

B. Give one word for the following: 1. Marble; 2. Soil erosion; 3. Humus; 4. Metamorphic; 5. Paraffin wax 

C. Write T for true and F for false statement: 1. F; 2. F; 3. T; 4. T; 5. F 

D. Multiple Choice Questions: 1. (d); 2. (c); 3. (b); 4. (b) 

A. Fill in the blanks: 1. Stratosphere; 2. Oxygen; 3. Matter; 4. Soluble; 5. Chlorine; 

B. Give one word for the following: 1. Sedimentation; 2. Distilled water; 3. Filtration; 4. Exosphere; 5. Carbon-dioxide; 

C. Write T for true and F for false statement: 1. T; 2. T; 3. T; 4. F; 5. F 

D. Multiple Choice Questions: 1. (b); 2. (c); 3. (d); 4. (a) 

© S. Chand And Company Limited (This material is designed to be used as a supplement with the book The Grammar Gate 1.) 



29


WORKSHEET 

Name : ................................................................ 

Class : I 


A. Fill in the blanks with a or an. 

apple guava cucumber 

potato dog crow 

tiger sheep fan 

bed elephant ant 

B. Choose the correct word (a/an) and write the name from options below under each 

picture. 

hen bed apple owl sunflower cabbage cow mango clock 





WORKSHEET 

Name : ................................................................ 

Class : I 


A. Fill in the blanks with she or he. 

1. This girl is my classmate. goes to school every day. 

2. This is Mr Amit Kumar. is our school principal. 

3. This is Vineeta. is my sister. 

4. This is Mrs Margaret Gomes. is our neighbour. 

5. This is Ram. is a policeman. 

B. Complete the sentences using I, you, we or they. 

1. am playing. 

2. There are two cats. are playing. 

3. I am Manoj and he is Manish. are brothers. 

4. are singing. 

5. are eating. 

6. There are two kittens in the picture. are playing. 




31


WORKSHEET 

Name : ................................................................ 

Class : I 


A. Fill in the blanks with this or that. 

1. is a bus. 

2. is a car. 

3. is a clock. 

4. is a doctor. 

5. is a mountain. 

6. is a tree. 

7. is a tiger. 

8. is a ship. 

B. Fill in the blanks with words like these and those. 

1. are kites. 

2. are the birds. 

3. are trees. 

4. are flowers. 





WORKSHEET 

Name : ................................................................ 

Class : V 

Subject : SCIENCE 

A. Fill in the blanks. 

1. help us to grow and repair our body cells. 

2. Wheat, rice, corn and potato are some sources of . 

3. is a state of being free from illness or injury. 

4. Water gets rid of wastes from our body in the form of and . 

5. Diseases that cannot spread from one person to another are called diseases. 

B. Match the following: 

Column A 

Column B 

1. Deficiency of vitamin K (a) are caused by viruses 

2. Minerals (b) helps in removal of undigested food 

3. Communicable diseases (c) keep our body fit and healthy 

4. Roughage (d) causes delayed clotting of blood 

5. Common cold and chickenpox (e) can spread through animals and insects 

C. Write T for true and F for false statement. 

1. Mosquitoes, flies and bugs spread many diseases. 

2. Non-communicable diseases spread by bacteria, protozoa, virus 

and fungi. 

3. Regular exercise tones up our muscles and improves the blood 

circulation in our body. 

4. Night blindness, beriberi, scurvy and rickets are diseases that can 

be passed on from one person to another. 

5. Sleep repairs our body cells and increases the efficiency to work. 

D. Multiple Choice Questions. 

1. This is an ideal representation of the balanced diet. 

(a) Food pyramid (b) Food chain (c) Food web (d) None of these 

2. Apple, banana, guava and dates are the foods rich in 

(a) Vitamin E (b) Vitamin A (c) Vitamin K (d) Vitamin C 

3. This disease is caused by eating infected food or drinking polluted water. 

(a) Chikungunya (b) Influenza (c) Malaria (d) Typhoid 

4. All are the ways of preventing communicable diseases except 

(a) Keeping the cooked food uncovered 

(c) Using proper ventilation in houses 

(b) Keeping the drains covered 

(d) Using purified water for drinking 

© S. Chand And Company Limited (This material is designed to be used as a supplement with the book Lakhmir Singh’s Science 5.) 



33


WORKSHEET 

Name : ................................................................ 

Class : V 



1. Cross the road when it is light for the pedestrians. 

2. In case of a gas leakage do not light fire near the . 

3. A fracture is caused when there is a crack or a break in the of our body . 

4. In case of minor burns, you can also apply some oil. 

5. In case of fire in the building, call 101 for . 

B. Give one word for the following: 

1. These types of clothes should not be worn while burning the crackers. 

2. This should be used for crossing the road by pedestrians. 

3. This is used to control fire caused by petrol. 

4. This virus is usually carried by the stray dogs. 

5. This is the doctor of bones and muscles. 


1. If the burn is severe and blisters are formed then prick the blister to clean it. 

2. Make sure that the material that you are keeping in the first aid box has 

exceeded the expiry date. 

3. In case of an animal bite, wash the wound with soap and water. 

4. In case of electrical short circuit or fire, switch on the main switch. 

5. A vehicle driver should give way to the ambulance coming from behind. 

D. Multiple Choice Questions 

1. Which of the following safety rules is not correct for vehicle drivers? 

(a) Do not speed up if traffic light is yellow 

(b) Give way to ambulance coming from behind 

(c) Do not overtake from the left side. 

(d) Follow the speed limit on the road 

2. What should you do if your clothes catch fire? 

(a) Roll yourself in mud 

(b) Cover yourself with synthetic clothes 

(c) Run fast to control fire 

(d) Cover yourself with paper 

3. This thing is present in a first aid box. 

(a) Hair brush 

(c) Cotton gauze 

(b) Nail cutter 

(d) Coloured pencils 

4. The safety rule that should not be followed in case of fire caused by petrol: 

(a) Calling 101 for fire engines 

(c) Throwing sand and mud 

(b) Using a fire extinguisher if installed 

(d) Throwing water over the fire 





WORKSHEET 

Name : ................................................................ 

Class : V 



1. The core is the layer of Earth and is made of molten lava. 

2. is porous and has a lot of holes in it and that is why it can float. 

3. Jama Masjid is a famous monument made up of red . 

4. is the uppermost layer of the Earth that supports life and provides food 

for all. 

5. is a fossil fuel which is formed from the dead remains of land and 

sea creatures. 


1. This is a metamorphic rock made from sedimentary rock, limestone. 

2. This is process of wearing away of soil by wind or water. 

3. This is a brownish black material formed when plants and animals decay. 

4. This rock group is formed either by intense heating up or squashing of 

the Earth’s crust. 

5. This is obtained from petroleum to make candles, waterproof material 

and polish. 


1. Granite, an igneous rock is formed by the fast cooling of the lava. 

2. Slate is used for making bricks and cement. 

3. Gneiss, marble and quartzite are some metamorphic rocks. 

4. Basalt is grey in colour and rich in magnesium and iron. 

5. The tightly packed shells of sea creatures form sandstone. 


1. Which of the following minerals is a non-metallic mineral? 

(a) Platinum (b) Copper (c) Aluminium (d) Coal 

2. All of these cause soil erosion except 

(a) Blowing of wind 

(c) Growing new plants 

(b) Overgrazing by cattle 

(d) Cutting down of trees 

3. This igneous rock is formed by quick cooling of lava but it does not have pores like pumice. 

(a) Obsidian (b) Basalt (c) Granite (d) Marble 

4. Quartzite is used for making 

(a) Statues 

(c) Cement 

(b) Jewellery 

(d) Both (a) and (b) 




35


WORKSHEET 

Name : ................................................................ 

Class : V 



1. The ozone layer in protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet rays of 

the Sun. 

2. Air has 21% of which is essential for all living beings. 

3. Air is and thus it occupies space as well as has weight. 

4. The impurities that dissolve in water are called impurities. 

5. is added to water to kill germs and make the water pure. 


1. This is a process of settling down of impurities at the bottom of the vessel. 

2. This water is used in injections, medicines and also car batteries. 

3. This is the simplest way of purifying water in households. 

4. The space shuttles orbit in this layer of the air. 

5. This gas of the air is required by the plants for performing photosynthesis. 


1. Contaminated water may contain germs and can spread diseases. 

2. Air occupies space, has weight and exerts pressure. 

3. The soluble impurities in water can be removed through sedimentation, 

decantation and filtration. 

4. Air has 78% of nitrogen which is essential for burning. 

5. The troposphere is the fourth layer of air from the Earth. 


1. Which gas of the air is used for making light bulbs and fluorescent tubes? 

(a) Hydrogen (b) Argon (c) Helium (d) Xenon 

2. This is not a process to remove soluble impurities from water. 

(a) Decantation 

(c) Distillation 

3. Which of the following is the main property of air? 

(a) It exerts pressure. 

(c) It has weight. 

(b) Filtration 

(d) Sedimentation 

(b) It occupies space. 

(d) All of these 

4. This is the outermost layer of Earth and has very thin layer of air. 

(a) Exosphere (b) Thermosphere (c) Troposphere (d) Mesosphere 





WORKSHEET 

Name : ............................................................... 

Class : III 

Subject : COMPUTER SCIENCE 

A. Choose the correct option. 

MS Paint 

1. Selections are of type. 

a. 3 b. 4 c. 5 d. 6 

2. option helps you in removing the unwanted portion of a picture. 

a. Crop b. Flip c. Rotate d. None of these 

3. The angle of a picture or a portion of the picture can be changed by using 

option. 

a. Flip b. Rotate c. Cut d. Copy 

4. The option helps to delete the selected portion of a picture from the 

drawing area. 

a. Delete b. Cut c. Copy d. Paste 

5. A picture can be selected without the foreground colour by using option. 

a. Free-form selection b. Transparent selection c. Magnifying d. None of these 

B. Identify the names of different tools used in the given images. 

1. 2. 

3. 4. 

5. 6. 

© S. Chand And Company Limited (This material is designed to be used as a supplement with the book Take Off with Computers 3.) 



37


WORKSHEET 

Name : ............................................................... 

Class : III 


A. Find the following commands in the word grid given below. 

1. BACK 

2. RIGHT 

3. LEFT 

4. HOME 

5. CLEAR TEXT 

6. HIDE TURTLE 

7. SHOW TURTLE 

B. Given below is the Logo screen. Label the parts of the Logo screen. 





WORKSHEET 

Name : ............................................................... 

Class : III 


A. Choose the correct option. 

1. command is used when we want to make the turtle to stop drawing a line 

when it moves. 

a. PenErase b. PenDown c. PenUp d. PenPaint 

2. command is used when we want to make the turtle draw a line again when 

it moves. 

a. PenPaint b. PenDown c. PenErase d. Right 

3. command is used for erasing a line in LOGO. 

a. PenErase b. Erase c. PenPaint d. None of these 

4. command is used to stop pen erase command from erasing the line. 

a. PenDown b. PenPaint c. Draw d. All of these 

5. in logo can be made using different commands. 

a. Calculations b. Paint c. Difference d. None of these 

B. Write the commands for the following. 

1. To print the difference between 119,78 and 32 

2. To print the sum of 78,67,43,54 and 33 

3. To print the product of 13, 24 and 32 

4. To print the quotient of 117 and 13 

5. To print the remainder of 115 and 15 

C. Name the commands which are used for doing the following: 

1. To find the sum of two or more numbers 

2. To come back to the original pen mode. 

3. To correct the mistakes in logo. 

4. To move the turtle without drawing a line 

5. To find the difference between the number 

6. To find the products between the numbers 

7. To move the turtle by drawing the lines 




39


WORKSHEET 

Name : ............................................................... 

Class : III 


A. Label the parts of the MS Word screen in the picture given below. 

B. Write the jumbled words correctly. 

1. RERUL 2. RAB TTLEI 

3. MNUE IELF 4. ODNU 

5. MNTEUOCD 6. NIBORB 

7. RSUCRO 

C. Imagine that Microsoft Company hired you to make new icons and shortcuts for MS 

word. Look at the old ones and create your own new ones. 




CLASSROOM DISPLAY PULLOUT 

JUL/AUG 2018 

www.progressiveteacher.in 25 41

PULLOUT PLANNER 


JUL/AUG 2018


–Arti Prasad 

Students should be 

comfortable and 

communicating with 

others and learning is a 

fun activity. Keeping class 

dynamics at the right level is 

also important so that students 

have no time to be bored and 

instead enjoy the class. A 

dynamic classroom should 

provide all supportive elements 

(physically and psychologically) 

to foster growth of children. 

A dynamic classroom offers 

students various opportunities 

to explore and understand 

the topic and where different 

types of activities and teaching 

methods are applied which 

appeal to students’ individual 

learning styles. 

Attractive Resources: 

It will have a balance 

of static and interactive 

elements allowing some 

time for individual work and 

cooperation, and will use 

various tools and resources 

such as apps and games, 

everyday objects, magazines, 

books and toys to appeal 

to students’ needs and 

preferences. The teacher will 

also use various teaching 

approaches such as hands-on 

activities, projects, team work 

and outings to motivate the 

students and keep students 

busy and excited. Resources 

should be easily accessible 

and enjoyed without too much 

restriction; incorporate them 

in special projects, team work 

sessions and experiments. 

Collaborative 

Engagement: 

A dynamic class reflects all 

students engrossed in activities 

and discussions. Teachers must 

encourage participation of all 

children, instead of maintaining 

discipline. A good teacher 

is always willing to create a 

lively and dynamic classroom. 

Cohesiveness of classroom is 

very important. Introducing 


The classroom has special memories for every 

child. In the school spectrum, a classroom is 

an active, vibrant place, full of joy, teasing 

remarks, colourful boards, etc. It involves 

interaction between students and teachers 

in a positive, vibrant atmosphere. It means 

engagement of every individual and a 

changing scenario every day. 

collaboration gets students 

motivated as they are working 

together to achieve the same 

goal. Teamwork also facilitates 

more informal atmosphere and 

encourages communication, 

which in turn help students 

relax. Working with friends 

also helps to reduce the tension 

related to not understanding 

the task, not being able to 

complete it and having to 

struggle with it alone. 

Motivation: 

Every class has different 

dynamics on different days. 

Children are curious by nature 

and want to explore out of the 

boundaries. Some are naturally 

motivated and self-disciplined, 

while many need a pushing 

force. Each student has own 

interests, potential and talents. 

Flexibility: 

There is no one size that 

fits all. A dynamic class should 

be flexible, depending on the 

mood and environment of 

children and topic. It should 

accommodate the individuality 

of its children, without any bias. 

Dynamics should be focussed 

on their interests, rather than 

syllabus completion. 

Approach and Conduct: 

For a successful dynamic 

class, certain rules and code 

of conduct are necessary, 

to avoid chaotic situations. 

Students should be able to 

express themselves within time 

constraints. Rules and tone 

should be set in the beginning 

and behavioural expectations 

should be communicated to the 

children. Changing classroom 

dynamics means there is no 

time for boredom as students 

are busy with meaningful 

activities and projects. They 

should not be overwhelmed 

with the quantity of material, 

but simply absorbed with the 

activities offered. The more 

interesting and appealing 

these activities are, the more 

fascinating the lesson will be 

for the students. 

Facilitates Experiential 

Learning: 

A dynamic classroom with 

a range of teaching approaches 

and different ways to cover 

a topic will always be more 

effective and appealing. Such 

approaches help to engage 

students and make learning 

more enjoyable and meaningful. 

Hands-on learning is one of 

the best tools to facilitating 

learning processes by absorbing 

students in tasks they can 

explore on their own. This 

means they will not get bored 

and misbehave and will 

understand what you are trying 

to teach them. They can work 

individually or in teams, and 

the experiences you offer can 

be of different nature starting 

from scientific experiments, 

app testing, cooking, and 

construction to field work. 


Individual Learning 

Styles: 

Different learning styles, 

individual pace for students’ 

development, and their special 

needs and requirements 

mean that you need to offer 

something that will cater to all 

these equally. Some students 

learn by moving around, others 

by working in teams. But all of 

them have special talents and 

interests which they should 

be able to explore and use 

during your classes. Offering 

a dynamic environment will 

certainly help to achieve this. 

Unstructured motion 

and Freedom: 

There are many ways to 

offer some movement in a 

classroom environment in a 

controlled way. Good examples 

are team work or group 

activities where students need 

to move from one person/group 

to another to discuss or work 

on a specific issue. Working 

stations is another great way 

to ensure your students do 

not sit at their tables all the 

time. Depending on students’ 

needs, you may create themebased 

working stations and 

encourage your students 

to help you set them up. To 

promote movement, you may 

also introduce short and funny 

games and quizzes. Sitting in 

one place for the whole lesson 

is not a good example of a 

dynamic classroom and it does 

not promote healthy habits 

either. Children are naturally 

very active otherwise they 

start to misbehave or may 

develop concentration and 

posture problems. A dynamic 


Arti Prasad has a post-graduate degree in Physics with a B.Ed and M.Phil. She 

has 21 years of experience in the teaching domain. She is an alumnus of DEI 

(Dayalbagh Educational Institute), which is celebrating 100 years in the service 

of education. 

She started her teaching career as a Physics teacher in DPS Vasant Kunj. 

Presently she is the Principal of Soami Nagar Model School, in Soami Nagar, 

New Delhi. SNMS fosters academic excellence along with physical, cultural, 

intellectual, ethical, spiritual education with scientific methodology and 

transforms children into good citizens by fostering courage, character and 

commitment. 

She is an educationist and academician by choice and has a strong passion for teaching and 

serving the society. She has conducted various workshops for teachers and students in different 

areas related to Curriculum (development & designing, planning) and CCE. She has been an 

excellent sports person and has participated in Table tennis, Volleyball, Shot-put at the regional 

and national level. 

classroom means students 

can move around freely while 

being engaged in a meaningful 

project. 

BRAINSTORMING AND 

DISCUSSING 

Discussing current and 

controversial topics, asking 

students for their opinions 

and organising intensive 

brainstorming sessions are 

all perfect tools to activating 

students and offering them 

opportunities to express 

themselves. You don’t need to 

plan extensively to organise 

discussion session – just make it 

a habit to ask students’ opinions 

e.g. after reading sessions or 

scientific experiments, events 

they took part in, etc. and 

before your planned activities 

to encourage predicting and 

planning, or after the activities to 

promote reflection and reasoning. 

They can even be loud during 

their brainstorming sessions 

which will help to satisfy their 

natural needs. 

A dynamic classroom keeps 

students busy, happy and 

motivated, and it also facilitates 

the overall learning experience 

for students thus enhancing the 

effectiveness of learning and 

teaching. Boosting classroom 

dynamics should support 

students’ individual needs 

and preferences. Let’s make a 

difference and bring change in 

a dull classroom with a wide 

spectrum of relevant tools and 

techniques. 

JUL/AUG 2018


CLASSROOM DYNAMICS: THEN VS. NOW 

While classrooms will be in use for many years to come, their value will diminish quickly as 

the online options become more pervasive. Many of the physical classrooms will be converted 

to eLearning laboratories, some to research centres. The real classroom of the future will take 

place inside the mind of the student, wherever they happen to be. 

–Thomas Frey 

–Saday Mahajan 

Not long ago, I was 

on the other side of 

the table, a student. 

Learning was straightjacketed 

and ‘monolithic’. It followed 

the ‘chalk and board’ formula 

at the teacher’s end, and the 

rote approach to ‘show what 

you know’, at the student’s. 

Personally, my emphasis was 

on creating spectacular class 

notes, which I could replicate in 

the exam. Every page or chapter 

deleted from the syllabus gave 

me joy as it meant less to 

memorize. I never went beyond 

the ‘Bible’ - the textbook, and 

was focused on finding patterns 

in exams that I could crack! As 

a result, I didn’t retain much 

after the exam. 

However, more and more 

educators are now beginning 

to realise the futility of the 

method. Students now enjoy 

a more engaging and organic 

experience, thanks to the 

focus on experiential and 

interdisciplinary approach. 

Concepts are now taught across 

subjects and with an eye on 

simulating the real-world 

experience with activities, 

storytelling, practical projects, 

teamwork, strategy building 

sessions, and case studies. 

Information 

Knowledge is now freely 

and widely accessible. As a 

result, the classroom requires 

a facilitator, not so much a 

teacher. One can no longer 

enter a class assuming students 

have no prior knowledge of the 

topic. 

For my subject, Business 

Studies, the synopsis of the 

A class board prepared using posters chalked out for the topic ‘Anatomy of 

an Entrepreneur’ made by the students 

Students here designed advertisement to recruit an assistant for a clown, 

minutes after learning the concept of Recruitment 

topic is often based on prior 

knowledge. Case in point, while 

talking about characteristics of 

a successful entrepreneur, we 

conducted an exercise called 

‘Anatomy of an Entrepreneur’ 

where, using the outline of a 

person, students detail skills, 

qualities and attributes that 

they feel are vital, say strong 

backbone to show leadership 

skills, heart for sensitivity, or 

brain for creativity. 

Activity-based learning 

A personal favourite, 

this aspect makes me 

want to be a student again! 

The learning process is no 

longer linear, rather it is 

two-fold – after a concept is 

introduced, it is also used. 

Alternatively, the processes 

are carried out in conjunction 

– concept is taught via an 

activity. 

Fun and Games 

Classrooms these days 

rarely exhibit one-way 

communication. The monotony 

of information overload is 

broken via various techniques. 

Quiz, games, debates, role plays 

are often incorporated. 

A challenging concept 

such as Cash Flow can be 

taught using Monopoly or 

Communication barriers are 

best understood via a quick 

game of Chinese Whispers. 

Integration with other 

Subjects 

Not just obvious integration 

(say a demand supply concept 

in Economics integrated 

with marketing strategies 

in Business Studies), but 

innovative integration is key. 

Students use clay in the Art 

Room to understand Evolution, 

or write and compose songs in 

the Music class to summarize 

Marketing concepts. It breaks 

monotony, encourages creativity 

and well, makes for a ‘killer 

class’, as the children love to 

put it. 

Technology 

Technology is the present 

and the future. No wonder, it 

has entered the classroom in a 

big way. Differentiated learning 

is a possible through this 

revolution. Data is projected, 

relevant videos and movies to 

support the topic are shown. All 

this goes a long way in making 

learning relatable, interesting 

and fun. Teacher- student 

interaction outside the school 

walls takes place via emails 

and other online mediums. 

Class time lost because of 

unplanned smog breaks, etc. 

Students applied the concepts of Market Research and Product Development in designing a wallet for their customers in their Business Studies class. 

Creativity and innovation were displayed in abundance during this activity. 


JUL/AUG 2018

OPPORTUNITY 

Saday Mahajan teaches Business Studies 

under the IGCSE (CAIE) framework at The 

Shri Ram School, Moulsari, Gurgaon. She was 

all-India topper in Business Studies(CBSE). 

She pursued B.Com (H) from Delhi University, 

where she was a college rank holder. She 

was with Deloitte for over half a decade, 

during which she also pursued a degree in 

M.Com and B.Ed. Saday then transitioned to teaching, which 

she believes was always her calling. She uses her rich corporate 

exposure to empower the next generation of students to become 

college and eventually industry ready. 

are made up through Skype 

sessions/Google hangout 

classes, etc. 

Flip Model 

Imagine asking a student 

to walk into class as a teacher 

and teach a lesson. It’s a 

high for them! Flip Model has 

truly worked wonders. Topics 

that do not require grave 

technical intervention are often 

To tap into this sentiment, I 

introduced something called 

‘Applause Awards’ in the 

classroom. Instead of each 

assignment being graded/ 

marked, we decided on the 

award system. Every major 

topic was followed by a debrief, 

where head of the school came 

to the classroom, engaged 

with the students on their 

Students create innovative recruit adverts for multiple job profiles in the 

Art Room 

competing in teams builds various skills Marketing is introduced via the 

creative-thinking category-based 

game of Scattergories 

Smiles galore as students receive their Applause Awards and interact and 

share their Business Plan with the Principal. 

transacted via a flip model. 

The child drives the plane, 

while the teacher is a co-pilot, 

supplementing the lesson! 

Motivation/ 

Encouragement 

While students (and parents) 

today too continue to be 

‘marks monsters’, matters are 

changing, slowly but surely. 

Children do acknowledge the 

plethora of opportunities even 

without getting top scores. 

recent learning and handed 

out awards to the winners. A 

non-graded subject was treated 

with equal zeal and vigour. 

To conclude, I believe that 

classroom dynamics generates 

laudable results, more so today, 

as it supports sustainable 

learning. Children find it easier 

to apply concepts seamlessly in 

their everyday life as well as the 

corporate world. The classroom 

is indeed a wonderful place 

to be. 

MAKE HAY WHILE 

THE SUN SHINES 

–Rathna Sindhur 

The work of a farmer 

depends almost 

entirely on the 

weather. But this is a 

very uncertain factor, 

and he has, accordingly, 

to make the most of his 

opportunities. Hay making 

requires bright sunshine, 

and as hay is ruined by 

exposure to rain or mist, 

the farmer has to be quick 

in getting his hay in while 

the weather is favourable. 

In an extended sense, the 

difficulties of all human 

beings, no matter what 

their sphere of action, may 

be the same. 

Life like the weather 

is uncertain. No man 

can tell how soon, or in 

what form, death may 

overtake him. Nor will 

our faculties always 

remain equally vigorous. 

Much depends on the 

state of our health. As 

youth comes but once, so 

opportunities never repeat 

themselves; or if they do, 

the circumstances are 

Rathna Sindhur 

with her ambitious 

aim inspires young 

minds about love 

of learning and 

helps them become 

free thinkers. 

Rathna currently 

teaches English 

from Class III-V at Edify 

School in Bengaluru. Prior 

to this she taught French at 

elementary level from 2009- 

2012 at VIBGYOR High. 

Rathna loves to be working 

with people from different 

trades and walks of life at 

varied levels. As an ISA 

coordinator at Edify School, 

she balances concerns of 

different groups in order 

to reach a common goal. 

Academically, Rathna is an 

MA in English from KSOU 

Mysore University; she 

holds Diploma in Teachers 

Training, Cambridge TTF 

and Level-A in French from 

Alliance Francaise. 

not favourable enough to seize them. It is therefore necessary 

to make the best of those that come our way. Like the careful 

farmer, we should always be on the alert to make the sunshine 

of opportunity serve our needs and ends. The man who takes 

things easy, who is always putting off till to-morrow what he 

should do to-day, who does not strike while the iron is hot, 

will soon find himself in the predicament of the farmer whose 

hay, not having been made while the sun shone, is ruined by a 

change in the weather. 

The story of the Athenians who made war on the 

Syracuseans is to the point. On account of an eclipse of the 

sun the former postponed setting sail, though in desperate 

circumstances. The delay was fatal, for at the end of that time, 

Nicias the Athenian general was forced to give battle, lost his 

fleet, and suffered a most crushing defeat. 

It is necessary then to seize opportunities while they are 

within our grasp and use them to the best advantage; to 

labour, in other words, while health and strength are still with 

us, against a day when we shall be deprived of one or the other, 

or both. 

JUL/AUG 2018 www.progressiveteacher.in 

47

PARENTING 

DEVELOPING EQ THROUGH STORY TELLING 

Our thoughts are the easiest way to change the way we feel. I would call the present generation 

of children as high risk kids. There will be very few children who will not fall in this category. 

–Dr Shayama Chona 

In the good old days our parents prepared 

us to face the world with dos and don’ts 

that helped us to sink or swim but 

children today need different survival skills. 

Parents need to teach their children to use 

their intellect as well as emotional and 

social skills to cope with an increasingly 

complex way of personal, family, and 

societal stresses. 

Children can be raised to act both in 

their own best interest and in the interest of 

others by seeking the world exactly as it is 

and responding with appropriate decisions 

and behaviours. Many of us neglect to 

teach our children the EQ skills to face the 

harsh realities of life. 

Children must face the harsh realities 

of their lives be it death of a pet, or 

unexpected poor results of an examination 

or sudden sickness on the day of his own 

birthday party, or missing a flight, etc 

rather than protecting a child from facing 

these problems; we can help them most 

by being truthful, no matter how painful 

the situation for our children, detailing the 

facts from our point of view. They learn that 

they have emotional strength to examine 

and cope with even the most distressing 

situation. This implicitly sends the message 

that they can do the same. 

Clearly the most important thing you 

can do to help your child develop a pattern 

of realistic thinking is to be honest and 

truthful. There is no benefit in protecting 

children from stress and unavoidable pain. 

You are actually doing them a disservice by 

doing so. 

But modeling realistic thinking and 

truthfulness can only be effective when 

you take time to talk to your child. 

Parents nowadays spend less and less 

time simply talking to their children. 

Viewing the television seems to be a full 

time preoccupation of the parents and the 

children when they are together. In the 

car they listen to music while driving the 

children. Mothers have even found the one 

minute bed time stories like the one minute 

`Ramayana’ and one minute ‘Bible`. 

Doing things faster is not really the 

answer to what children need. The most 

critical ingredient for raising an emotionally 

intelligent child is your time. 

The influence of good stories on children 

cannot be over emphasized. They influence 

their behaviour and even shape our culture. 

Think about how stories from ‘Panchtantra’ 

teach the fundamentals of the art of living. 

Dr Shayama Chona, is the former Principal of Delhi Public School, 

R K Puram, New Delhi; Founder President of Tamana (NGO 

for physically & mentally handicapped children); Founder of 

Anubhav Shiksha Kendra (a school for the under-privileged); she 

has been a member of 96 Advisory Boards and Committees; she 

has been nominated to Managing Committees of 46 schools and 

other educational institutions; she has been named in the Limca 

Book of Records 2007. She has been awarded the State Award 

for Services in Education 1993, National Award for Services as 

a Teacher of Outstanding Merit 1994, National Award for Outstanding Performance 

for Welfare of People with Disabilities 1997, Padma Shri 1999, Padma Bhushan 2008, 

and 49 other awards. She lives at C10/8, Vasant Vihar, New Delhi-110057. Email: 

shayamachona@gmail.com, tamanapresident@gmail.com 

Think of these parables and fables that 

moulded our values. Think of how stories 

about your national culture or family history 

have shaped your attitudes about yourself 

and others. 

Stories are particularly effective in 

influencing the way our children think and 

behave, because they like to hear or read 

them again and again. This repetition, 

combined with your children’s imagination 

and the inestimable power of your 

presence, make stories one of the best ways 

to influence their thinking. 

Do remember that in order to raise 

the EQ of your children, you need to face 

the real world with them good or bad. 

Spend lots of time with your children; 

storytelling is one of the best ways to do 

so. Your children will ultimately learn to 

think realistically about their problems and 

concerns, if you do the same. Do not hide 

the truth from your children even if it is 

painful. 

Pic courtesy: 2018 Jobs at Multistory Learning Pvt Ltd 


JUL/AUG 2018

SOCIAL MEDIA 

MEDIA LITERACY- THE NEED OF THE HOUR! 

Media Literacy is a 21st century approach to education. 

• It provides a framework to access, analyze, evaluate and create messages in a variety of forms 

- from print to video to the Internet. 

• Media literacy builds an understanding of the role of media in society as well as essential 

skills of inquiry and self-expression necessary for citizens of a democracy. 

–P Ajitha 

A 

cursory glance at the 

definition of Media 

Literacy provided by 

Centre for Media Literacy clearly 

articulates the need to recognize 

the importance of media literacy 

to tackle the onslaught of 

information available through 

different media and approaching 

the subject in a judicious 

manner so we learn to harness 

the benefits of media while 

remaining vigilant to its pitfalls. 

Media - The main means 

of mass communication 

(broadcasting, publishing, and 

the Internet) regarded collectively 

- has no doubt revolutionized 

the way we stay connected and 

respond to various developments 

taking place not just in the 

immediate surrounding but 

all over the globe. But has this 

proliferation of media and the 

resultant effects made us any 

wiser? I doubt it. 

Just look at the impact of 

social media platforms alone. 

Our life today – the choices and 

decisions that determine the 

course of our earthly sojourn 

are unfortunately dictated 

by the façade we wear in the 

virtual world we seem to inhabit 

most of our waking time. This 

obsession about advertising to 

the entire world even the most 

intimate aspects of our lives, 

the brandishing of personal/ 

private moments reveals a kind 

of sickness as evinced by the 

craving for likes and insincere 

gratifying comments for which 

the personal life is made fodder 

for public consumption. How 

else does one make sense of 

the deluge of photographs - of 

self and family doing the most 

mundane and routine things; 

accomplishments - big and 

small to even trivial and nonconsequential 

making their 

way to social media? And what 

explains the exhilarating highs 

and dampening lows people 

experience depending on the 

likes that they are able to garner 

for their self-blandishments? 

And how credible are the ‘likes’ 

that are most often than not 

given begrudgingly and with 

the implicit understanding 

for reciprocation? An earnest 

introspection will blow the lid 

off the double standards we 

have been espousing ever since 

the social media became the 

touchstone for measuring our 

well-being and ‘well-becoming’. 

What youngsters know but do 

not pay heed to, are the dangers 

lurking behind the dark web 

and the seemingly innocent 

but deadly honey traps which 

can put their lives at risk. There 

are masquerading thugs and 

scoundrels waiting to prey on 

the gullible and the vulnerable. 

Even the educated and wellinformed 

are no exception to it. 

The diabolic nature of online 

gaming and addiction to them 

has claimed many a precious life 

begging for urgent regulation 

in access and usage of online 

services. 

Another down side of 

the ubiquitous media is the 

proliferation of fake news and 

personal opinions and views 

claiming the currency of 

public opinion. The unfiltered 

consumption of such unendorsed 

personal views poses a risk 

of opinion being passed off 

as information. There is an 

urgent need to teach children to 

differentiate between information 

and opinion. Sensationalization 

of news has led to trivialization 

of human interest stories. Now 

anything and everything is news 

worthy if it can grab eyeballs 

and scandalize people in high 

offices and public spaces. 

Obsession with life of celebrities 

with exclusive news stories 

and slots devoted for grapevine 

reflects the perversity of the mind 

and spawns a host of problems 

when the average Joe/Jane 

tries to ape the public icons one 

idolizes. Trying to identify with 

the celebrities by buying things 

they endorse and mindlessly 

following them in the virtual 

world results in obliteration 

of individual identity. Eating 

disorders many young girls suffer 

as they are bombarded with 

images of models in hour glass 

figures and body shaming results 

in impressionable minds losing 

grip of reality and leading a life 

based on standards sets by other 

people. 

It is all too clear what 

damage unregulated exposure 

to media content can do to the 

immature minds that is not 

trained to filter the authentic 

information/ knowledge from 

content propagated by vested 

interests. Since media has 

pervaded our lives so inextricably 

that we cannot simply wish it 

P Ajitha is an ‘accidental’ teacher 

who having stumbled upon teaching 

by chance has stayed put by choice 

having found the vocation enabling as 

well as ennobling. She teaches English 

and Life Skills with occasional foray 

into in-house teacher training at Delhi 

Public School, Coimbatore but prefers to 

call herself a co-traveller in the journey 

called education she embarks with her students and peers 

together. Like minded teaching practitioners can reach her 

at ajithapaladugu@gmail.com. 

away, it would help if we have 

mechanisms in place to ensure 

that we only reap the benefits of 

the proliferation of media and be 

immune to its adverse effects. 

Now sample some insights 

strewn in the write-up by young 

media savvy ‘consumers’ and 

how they perceive the role and 

potential of media in their lives in 

particular and society in general. 

The Millennial 

and the Media 

Media today has become 

an essential and integral part 

of every millennial’s life. This 

all-encompassing source of 

information and news stories 

is impacting an average 

individual’s life in more ways 

than one! Today’s world without 

the omnipresent media can be 

likened to a wallet sans money in 

a marketplace with its enticing 

merchandize. Let us explore this 

analogy a little more. After the 

Knowledge Revolution brought 

about by the Internet boom, 

information and quick access to 

important information became 

the new currency. The ability 

to use relevant information for 

customized needs and leveraging 

the advantages of such 

accessibility for improving career 

prospects gave the generation 

Y a distinct advantage. The 

millennials are continuing to 

manipulate this advantage to 

give themselves an edge over 

others who have not accrued the 

benefits of being ‘media savvy’ 

in a world characterized by high 

connectivity and speed. One can 

no longer be ‘blissfully ignorant’ 

in today’s interconnected world. 

Media plays an important role 

in updating people about the 

various events taking place in the 

world every day which have wide 

ramifications in every sphere of 

human activity and enterprise. 

The role of media is visible in not 

just disseminating information 

but shaping of public opinion on 

matters of critical importance. 

The power of media is also being 

used to push for social and 

economic reforms. 

This heightened level of 

awareness that the millennials 

enjoy today can be attributed 

to the all-powerful Media. With 

social media offering a platform 

to create and curate content, the 

consumer feels empowered and 


JUL/AUG 2018

consequently makes the medium 

more popular. 

Today media has become 

a very significant part of our 

daily lives as it has helped 

reinvent the ways we have been 

communicating. Now that surely 

makes a persuasive case for 

Media, doesn’t it? 

Yamini. M, 9A, DPS 

Coimbatore 

Regulating Media 

With the invention of new 

technologies, the digital media 

which sprang up has taken the 

centre stage. In the publishing 

world, print media is slowly 

being taken over by digital media 

which the current generation of 

information seekers rely on for 

instant and quick access. This 

has led to transformation of 

earlier generation of print media 

giants into digital media houses. 

Digital media has the advantage 

of bringing information from 

all corners of the world into our 

living rooms within no time and 

has created new employment 

opportunities like bloggers, 

editors, feed assemblers, etc. 

This reliance on instant news 

from digital media is killing the 

age old habits of reading printed 

media like books, magazines, etc. 

Printed books/magazines provide 

pleasure of uninterrupted reading 

and leave long lasting impression 

on readers than instant news 

feeds where information overload 

hinders assimilation and 

internalization. 

Modern media houses have 

become successful commercially 

due to their heavy investments 

in latest technologies to gather 

information, curating the 

information to cater to readers’ 

interest and making information 

available in many languages. 

There is 

also a lopsided 

development that 

becomes obvious to 

a discerning reader/ 

consumer. Today 

many media giants 

are aligned with 

major political 

parties (becoming a 

mouthpiece of political parties) 

- at state and national and even 

international level- going by 

the stakes such parties have in 

the management of the media 

houses. This has resulted in 

biased reporting, fake news 

and paid news allegations that 

surface in the media way too 

often! This becomes a serious 

cause of concern as media is 

used as a tool by vested interests 

to alter behavioural patterns and 

change outcomes; one recent 

example being the Russian 

intervention in American 

elections to manipulate election 

results. 

Individual web sites like 

Face book, Integra, etc became 

very addictive in nature and are 

changing/controlling human 

behaviour patterns. This is 

resulting in mental health issues 

like depression, slowing down 

cognitive thinking, etc. By giving 

children free and unrestricted 

access to these sites is putting 

gullible children in harm’s way. 

Used correctly, Media holds 

enormous power to improve 

human life on this planet. But 

it is also used for the detriment 

of society unless regulated 

properly. Media when fulfilling its 

intended function as the fourth 

pillar of democracy can act as a 

check point for corruption, enable 

faster, quicker transmission of 

necessary and useful information 

and can become a sane voice in 

today’s fragmented and polarized 

world. 

Varshitha Bandaru, 10 A, DPS 

Coimbatore 

Social Impact of Media 

Technological advancements 

in Media technology have made 

accessibility to current, vital 

information increasingly easier 

with every new innovation. 

Children today are encouraged 

to use media tools in school and 

are expected to have a general 

understanding of the various 

technologies available. The 

internet is arguably one of the 

most effective media tools for 

communication with its wide 

array to cater to different user 

needs which has brought people 

closer and created new online 

communities. 

In a large consumer-driven 

society, electronic media and 

print media are important for 

advertisement content. More 

technologically advanced 

societies have access to goods 

and services through newer 

media. Media is nowadays a tool 

to share knowledge all around 

the world. It has also helped in 

the aspect of online or internet 

businesses and other activities 

that have an online presence. 

All media intended to affect 

human behaviour is couched in 

consumer psychology. Therefore, 

understanding media and 

communication psychology is 

fundamental in understanding 

the social and individual effects 

of media. The expanding field 

of media and communications 

psychology combines these 

established disciplines in a new 

way. 

The information revolution is 

based on modern advancements. 

During the 19th century, the 

information boom rapidly 

advanced because of postal 

systems, increase in newspaper 

accessibility, as well as 

modernization of education 

systems. These advancements 

were made possible due to the 

increase in literacy rates and 

education status of average 

citizens. The tools and medium of 

communication has changed and 

dispersed in numerous directions 

and so has the scope of its sociocultural 

impact. Biases in the 

media that affect religious or 

ethnic minorities take the form of 

racism and religious intolerance 

doing far more damage than 

good. Judging the wide ranging 

ramification that use of modern 

media can create, calls for its 

regulation so that these powerful 

and influential tools of mass 

communication can be leveraged 

only for collective good of the 

society. 

Anumitha Jayaram, 

8A, DPS Coimbatore 


HEALTH 

A GUIDE TO PROTECT YOUR CHILDREN 

FROM INFECTIONS THIS MONSOON 

The most common ailments which affect children and spread 

rapidly in the schools and daycare centres are flu and common 

cold. Swine flu cases also tend to increase in this weather. 

Apart from this, there are chances of them suffering from skin 

diseases, water borne diseases and mosquito borne diseases. 

–Dr Shabbir Chamdawala 

In India, monsoon is the most awaited season of 

the year as it gives everyone the much needed 

relief from heat. People like to indulge in fried 

food like samosas, bread and onion pakodas 

along with hot tea or coffee. However, the 

change in weather conditions also brings along 

various diseases. Elderly people and children are 

most affected by this sudden change as their 

immunity is not strong. There are innumerable 

types of germs and infections that monsoons 

bring with them and it is very important for 

parents to take necessary precautions to 

prevent their children from falling ill. Most of 

these disease causing germs boom in moisture; 

monsoon is the season when you should be very 

careful about keeping your children away from 

these germs. 

Here are some common diseases which 

children suffer from during this season and some 

preventive measures to avoid them. 

Viral Fever: 

This is the most common disease that 

affects children during monsoons. The drastic 

fluctuation in the temperature makes the child’s 

body susceptible to bacterial attack resulting in 

viral cold and flu. It is important to treat children 

at an early stage as any delay can lead to serious 

infections ahead. 

Dengue: 

It is one of the most severe diseases that 

comes along with monsoon. It is a very common 

and quite a life threatening disease caused 

when bitten by Aedes Aegypti mosquito. These 

mosquitoes breed in hot and humid climate. 

India is very prone to dengue outbreaks! Being a 

mosquito borne disease, there is a rise in dengue 

cases during humid monsoons. Some early 

symptoms are fever, headache, rashes, and pain 

throughout the body. 

Malaria: 

This disease is caused by the bite of female 

anopheles mosquito, that are found in areas 

where there is water logging. The symptoms of 

this disease are high fever along with frequent 

shivering and severe exhaustion. If the child is 

experiencing any of the symptoms mentioned 

above, you must consult your doctor immediately. 


Cholera: 

It is a serious bacterial disease that causes 

severe dehydration. It is caused by the Vibrio 

cholerae bacteria present in contaminated 

food and water. This disease is triggered by 

poor sanitation and hygiene conditions.The 

symptoms of this disease can be vomiting, 

sudden onset of diarrhea, nausea, dry mouth, 

reduced urine output. 

Typhoid: 

This is another common water-borne disease 

which is caused by consuming contaminated 

water and food. It is caused due to bacterial 

infection caused by Salmonella Typhi. Most 

common symptoms of this disease are prolonged 

fever, severe pain in abdomen and headache. 

Chikungunya: 

This is a mosquito borne viral disease, similar 

to Dengue. It causes fever and severe joint pains 

and can last for a long time. This disease can 

be transmitted from one person to another with 

the bite of female mosquito. It doesn’t have any 

proper cure or vaccination. However, if your child 

is suffering from this disease, he must rest as 

much as possible and have plenty of fluids to avoid 

dehydration. 

Stomach Infections: 

This can be one of the easiest diseases 

to attack children during this season. Due to 

consumption of contaminated food and water, 

there are high chances of children suffering 

stomach infections. The early symptoms are 

vomiting, headache and mild fever. 

Dr Chamdawala has been practising for over three 

decades. He is currently the lead Pediatrician at 

Mumbai’s Saifee Hospital - a leading multi-speciality 

tertiary healthcare centre - and has been at the 

hospital since the hospital’s inauguration in 2005. 

Prior to Saifee Hospital, Dr Chamdawala was a 

consultant at Saboo Siddique Maternity & General 

Hospital for close to 15 years. Prior to that, Dr 

Chamdawala began his medical practice at 

Dholkawala Maternity Home in 1985. 

Dr Chamdawala attended Mumbai’s KC College and 

then passed his MBBS from Seth Gordhandas Sunderdas Medical College before 

moving to Vienna University, Austria to complete his Diploma in Pediatrics. In his 

spare time, Dr Chamdawala enjoys reading and watching movies. (Dr Shabbir 

Chamdawala, Pediatrician, Saifee Hospital ) 

Jaundice: 

Consumption of contaminated food and water 

is the primary cause of this disease.The symptoms 

of jaundice are yellowing of eyes and nails, loss of 

appetite, loss of taste, weakness, high temperature 

with shivering. Symptoms of this disease 

shouldn’t be ignored as this disease can prove life 

threatening also. 

Leptospirosis: 

A type of spiral-shaped bacterium called a 

spirochete causes leptospirosis. It occurs because 

of close association with contaminated water. 

Symptoms of this disease include high fever, chills, 

headache, and liver failure. If ignored this 

disease can be fatal. 

Hepatitis A: 

This is a disease that affects the 

liver majorly. It is caused by consuming 

contaminated food and water. Some of 

the common symptoms of hepatitis A are 

fever, vomiting and rashes. It is a virus 

that can easily affect anyone; it can also 

be transmitted from one person 

to another. 

Precautions for the rainy season are 

really easy and practical. Although the 

monsoons are most enjoyable, it is the 

main period in which health and skin 

diseases are most common. If one follows 

some simple tips during this season, he/she can 

enjoy the monsoons thoroughly. Here are some of 

the preventive measures - 

• Ensure that the child drinks purified water. 

Most of the diseases are transmitted via 

contaminated water, hence it is a good idea to 

make sure it is purified. 

• Ensure healthy and balanced diet. A daily 

bowl of hot vegetable soup normalises body 

temperature and boosts immunity. 

• Use mosquito repellent and nets to avoid bites 

from mosquitoes transmitting dengue. 

• Make sure that the child eats fresh homemade 

food. Avoid junk and oily food as much as 

possible. 

• Make sure that children wash their hands 

with soap and water prior to touching any 

food item. This will help in reducing the risk of 

major diseases. 

• Seek medical attention if you see your child 

suffering from any of the above symptoms. 

• Make sure that the child covers his / her 

mouth and nose while coughing and sneezing 

as this will reduce the spread of germs. 

• Keep your children’s clothes and shoes clean 

and dry as it helps avoid skin infections. 

• Parents should ensure that their child’s nails 

are clipped short to prevent accumulation of 

germs and dirt. 

• Keep your child indoors during the first rain of 

the season. This rain can be acidic and could 

cause skin ailments. 

• Do not let children play in dirty water and 

protect your child from mosquitoes. 

• Make sure there is no stagnant water either 

in your house or around your house as it is 

a breeding ground for mosquitoes (cause 

diseases like Malaria and Dengue), parasites 

and anaerobic bacteria. 

• It is important for parents to take care of 

themselves, since they can transmit the 

infection to their children. 

• Keep ginger handy as it is a natural antibiotic 

and it can be mixed with all other natural 

ingredients. 

• Lemon is very helpful in fighting cholera. 

• Keep honey and tulsi leaves handy as they also 

fight cold and flu. 

As children love to enjoy the cool weather 

and rain, it is important that their parents take 

some extra care and pay more attention to them. 

Children easily get affected by seasonal changes 

as monsoon raises health issues in children. It 

is important for parents to follow these simple 

tips in order to protect their children from various 

diseases this monsoon, without holding them back 

from enjoying the rain this season offers. 

JUL/AUG 2018

Q&A 


Dr Anita Pant Sharma, Principal, Delhi Public 

School, Bhiwani, holds a PhD degree in Applied 

Arts, MA in Fine Arts and English, B Ed, M Ed 

and a Certificate in German language. She has 

held the position of head of school since 2007 in a 

number of reputed schools in the country. She is 

efficient in school administration & management, 

staff orientation, academic counselling, event 

management, organizing seminars and workshops. 

She is also an artist and a poet of repute. 

In recognition of her talents and abilities she 

has been designated for various assignments 

of responsibility by the CBSE. She has had 

international exposure to education in countries 

like Dubai, Malaysia, Singapore, France, etc. 

Uma Ramesh, Head Curriculum – Lakshmi Vidya Sangham, a young spirited 

fresher, entered the LVS institution three decades ago as a teacher of the 

primary level. Now she is a confident and promising leader of all the LVS 

schools. 

Her passion for teaching Maths is boundless and is proven across the student 

community. She gained the ability to handle teachers and share her subject 

competency through the post of the Academic Supervisor of the middle level 

of TVSMHSS. Active participation in Quality Circles has enabled her to travel 

across nations and be a part of international conventions. 

As the Principal of TVS Matric School, she took the school to great heights 

through her open attitude for learning and her love for children. As the 

Project Team Head she has been able to spread her learning to the outside 

world. Heading the LVS Schools as the Head of the Curriculum department, 

she strives to enhance the learning climate of the LVS institutions and 

ensure 21st century learning and skills for each and every child of all schools. 

What is classroom dynamics all 

about? 

Dr Anita Pant Sharma: Classroom 

dynamic has a range of different 

ways to cover a topic with 

effectiveness and appeal. A 

dynamic classroom has a range 

of teaching approaches such as 

experiential learning or team work 

to engage students and to make 

learning more meaningful. A 

dynamic class room has a balance 

of static and interactive elements 

allowing some time for individual 

work and cooperation, and use of 

various tools and resources such 

as apps and games, everyday 

objects, magazines, books and toys 

to appeal to students’ needs and 

preferences. The teacher also uses 

various teaching approaches such 

as hands-on activities, projects, 

team work and outings to motivate 

the students further. In a dynamic 

classroom children do not get bored 

and instead enjoy and look forward 

to the classes. 

Uma Ramesh: Classroom 

dynamics is about the emotional 

interaction, language interaction, 

(communication), planning, 

learning, ground rules, cooperative 

learning through balanced blend of 

techniques, activities and materials 

for a smooth learning process. 

How can classroom dynamics 

prepare a conducive environment 

for learning? 

Dr Anita Pant Sharma: Classroom 

dynamics is not only about learning 

and teaching, but also to prepare 

a conducive learning environment. 

A teacher needs to focus on the 

social aspects of children, such 

as managing their behaviours, 

generating interest, managing their 

stress and reaction to tensions, 

parental and peer pressure. In 

other words, in addition to our 

competences of content knowledge 

and teaching skills, we need to 

inculcate cooperative skills and 

attitudes in our students. 

Uma Ramesh: Classroom dynamics 

is a shared responsibility of 

teacher and taught. To provide 

scope for learning from mistakes 

and encouraging feedback is 

an important trait of classroom 

dynamics. The classroom 

transaction processes lead from 

the ‘known to the unknown’. The 

ownership of learning is with the 

individual. 

How can a teacher upgrade 

her skills vis a vis classroom 

dynamics? 

Dr Anita Pant Sharma: There is 

no one size that fits all. To a large 

extent, a classroom dynamic is 

a product of its own context as 

defined both internally by the 

uniqueness of its children, and 

externally in the cultural settings 

of the institution and the society in 

which it is located. Still a teacher 

can upgrade herself by working 

on these common features and 

characteristics for useful classroom 

dynamics such as 1. Cohesiveness 

of the class 

2. Variety of interaction within a 

class. 

3. The amount of empathy class 

members have for each other. 

Uma Ramesh: The reward for 

a teacher is to see the students 

happy to attend the class and 

comfortable with asking as many 

questions as they need by creating 

a learning environment that 

facilitates each style or mode of 

learning. In the process of setting 

class room dynamics the skills 

of communication, negotiation, 

emotional intelligence, with 

commitment, dedication and being 

an ideal learner will naturally be 

upgraded. 

How can classroom dynamics 

be used to the advantage of 

differently-abled children in the 

school? 

Dr Anita Pant Sharma: Activity 

focussed classroom dynamics 

helps differently- abled children in 

engaging and learning. Group work 

helps them to learn effectively with 

others and they can be monitored 

by peers during activities which 

increases their faith in school and 

builds their confidence. 

Uma Ramesh: There will be a 

special provision to attend to 

the need of differently – abled 

students. Classrooms with crowded 

environments to be arranged in 

a way to observe each individual 

child with verbal exchanges that 

addresses understanding, Time 

driven tasks to be in place to avoid 

waiting or being interrupted. 

During activities checking on the 

students’ performance, probing 

students’ understanding, providing 

constructive feedback, monitoring 

individual progress to be the focus 

areas. 

Can a teacher create positive 

classroom learning environment 

in a classroom through classroom 

dynamics? 

Dr Anita Pant Sharma: Yes, a 

teacher can create a positive 

classroom learning environment 

by using these common effective 

classroom dynamics such as – the 

teacher must connect lessons to real 

life; she must use students interests; 

she must teach students self 

monitoring skills; she must present 

information in multiple formats; 

she must group students; she must 

allow students to set the pace and 

try homework menus (means - give 

choice in homework according to 

their learning abilities rather than 

giving one home work to all.) 

Uma Ramesh: Teaching the 

students how to ask questions, 

involving students in decision 

making processes relating to 

classroom dynamics, giving equal 

opportunities to students, fine 

tuning and modifications in the 

methodologies will contribute to 

productive learning environment. 

Ensure the availability of different 

learning stations in the classroom. 

What is unique about the 

classroom culture in your school? 

Dr Anita Pant Sharma: We believe 

in shared experiences, values and 

objectives. Our teachers foster 

this awareness with activities and 

use them to enhance learning. 

We try to develop a sense of 

community within a class. We have 

flexible approach to have more 

inclusive and participative climate. 

Successful group activities in class 

involve all the children in order 

to support each other and thus 

enhance empathy in students for 

each other. 

Uma Ramesh: Freedom is provided 

to students to express their views 

and ideas in the teaching-learning 

process. Ground rules are framed by 

the students for their own class. An 

opportunity for peer learning that 

matches with the pace of learning 

is ensured. Mistakes committed 

by students are viewed as an 

opportunity for learning. Emotional 

needs of students are constantly 

addressed. 

Can experiential and digital 

learning make learning more 

meaningful and interesting in the 

classroom? 

Dr Anita Pant Sharma: Yes, 

in this digital age experiential 

learning such as laboratory-based, 

workshop-based, apprenticeshipbased, 

problem-based, case-based, 

project-based, community- based 

learning is an essential part of 

teaching for a 21st century global 

learner. It enables students to move 

from the concrete to the abstract. It 

helps students to develop skills in 

analytical thinking and reflecting 

judgment by practical work, by 

reading and discussing complex 

real life scenarios. 

Uma Ramesh: Yes. Learning 

through experience promotes 

better construction of concept 

understanding with extraordinary 

informal experiences. That leads 

the learner to engage emotionally, 

socially, physically combined with 

increased attention. This approach 

leads to internalizing concepts and 

its field of application. Learners, 

who engage in direct experience 

and focused reflection will 

construct knowledge, develop skills 

and contextualize the meaning of 

the experience. 

Which is the most effective 

learning style used by the faculty 

in your school? 

Dr Anita Pant Sharma: All four 

learning styles - visual, auditory, 

reading and writing and kinesthetic 

with multiple intelligence are 

used according to the need and 

requirement of the lesson and the 

learner. 

Uma Ramesh: To mention a few 

- Self directed learning, Problem 

solving approach, Learner centric 

process, Differentiated approach, 

Inquiry based learning and 

Personalized learning programmes 

are used by our faculty. 

Intuitive, verbal, reflective 

approaches are being used to 

address the different learning styles 

of students (sensory, visual and 

active). A holistic and systematic 

approach is also used to see the big 

picture first and then other details 

are attended to. 

Every student learns differently. 

How do you keep all the students 

engaged in the classroom so that 

effective learning takes place? 

Dr Anita Pant Sharma: Each 

student has his own interests 

and talents, so each classroom is 

flexible enough to accommodate 

the individuality of its students. 

Students are motivated when they 

feel that the classroom dynamics 

focus on their goals and interests. 

A behavioural code of conduct 

is followed in each class. We 

encourage cooperative learning, 

working in pairs and small groups. 

The students help each other as 

well as work and reflect together. 

Uma Ramesh: Plurality in teaching, 

making lessons interactive, 

discovering new things together, 

science corners, mini lessons, 

relating contents with real world 

connections, allowing students 

to be creative, able to understand 

why a mistake is made, using 

technology, peer teaching, mentors, 

etc - these strategies are used 

to keep the class interesting and 

engaged. The focus of the teachers 

should reflect on backward design 

approach, multiple teaching 

methods (using discussion, group 

work, hands on activities). 

What do you consider more 

important for your students – 

marks on the result sheet or 21st 

century skills? 

Dr Anita Pant Sharma: We are 

striving hard to make our students 

‘global citizens’ who have to 

be equipped with 21st century 

skills. We need to produce good 

human beings ready to face new 

global challenges with humanity 

and empathy. Marks do not 

matter for any child now as many 

new avenues and professional 

opportunities are open globally 

where your attitude and personal 

traits are judged not your 

percentage. 

Uma Ramesh: Two things in 

education are important ie domain 

knowledge and soft skills as each 

compliments the other. Explore and 

enjoy should be the theme that will 

make a huge difference in the lives 

of students. 


NATURE AWARENESS 

–Khamarudheen KP 

A 

number of recent 

international surveys 

indicate that fewer 

children are experiencing nature 

directly, with the majority of 

children playing indoors more 

often than outdoors. Many 

young people are ‘glued to 

the virtual world’ and are far 

removed from nature, resulting 

in a lack of knowledge of 

biodiversity and awareness of its 

importance. 

American social 

commentator Richard Louv, 

in his revolutionary book 

‘Last Child in the Woods’ 

says that children now 

wander less, discover less and 

are losing some important 

connections with nature and 

place. Ultimately, children 

– and therefore everyone – 

are becoming increasingly 

disconnected from nature. 

Louv coined the term ‘naturedeficit-disorder’ 

to describe 

this phenomenon of childhood 

increasingly being spent indoors. 

Children who disconnect 

from nature and stay indoors are 

less healthy and generally have 

a lower quality of life (RSPB, 

2010). 

Causes of Disconnection 

• Urbanisation and loss of 

green space 

• Parental fears and control 

• Perceived risk of nature 

• Modern lifestyles 

• Increased screen time with 

television, computers, tabs, 

etc. 

Why is connectedness to 

nature so important? 

Time spent amidst nature is 

not a leisure time activity but it 

is an investment for the future. 

‘Connection to nature’ is a set 

of constructs which refer to an 

individual’s subjective sense 

of his/her relationship with the 

natural world. There is emerging 

evidence that ‘connection 

to nature’ is associated 

with certain wellbeing, 

educational outcomes and 

pro-environmental behaviours. 

A variety of factors may have a 

vital role in the development of 

Connection to Nature including 

contact with the natural world, 

childhood experiences, certain 

interventions, and socio-cultural 

status. Connection to Nature 

can be an important influence 

on other environmental 

behaviours, practices and beliefs 

as well. 

Advantages of 

connectedness to Nature 

Direct connection with 

nature creates restorative and 


CONNECTEDNESS TO NATURE 

AND WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN 

Connectedness to nature is defined as feelings of close affiliation with 

the natural world in a physical, cognitive, and emotional manner. 

Today, children are aware of the global threats to the environment, but 

their physical contact, their intimacy with nature, is fading. 

introspective skills, which 

means to love your environment 

and to commit to protect nature 

in the present context. Physical 

and mental health is being 

destroyed and so are diversity 

and nature contaminated. To 

enhance thinking on these 

basic necessities, nature friendly 

camps can be a solution. 

Connectedness to nature can 

be a way to help children who 

have natural deficit disorders, 

depression, anxiety, decision 

making issues, loneliness, 

anorexia, commitment issues, 

obesity, etc. 

Benefits of being 

connected to nature 

Spiritual benefits – 

mindfulness, compassion and 

gratitude, which help secrete 

hormones that can build energy 

to develop relationships and 

academic skills. 

Khamarudheen KP is a master, 

social worker and a Ph D Scholar at 

the TATA Institute of Social Sciences 

(TISS) Mumbai with keen interest 

in child rehabilitation, school social 

work and life skills education. He has 

been involved in various rehabilitation 

projects for deprived and orphaned 

children. He played a significant 

leadership role in an International NGO. 

He has developed unique projects for school social work 

and life skills education. He is an expert trainer in brain 

gym and has published a series of work books - ‘TRAIN 

THE BRAIN -a workbook that accelerates your mind’ for 

young children. 

He is a nature enthusiast interested in developing empathy, 

resilience, compassion through ‘Connectedness to nature’ 

programmes. He is also a nature and wildlife photographer. 

Emotional benefits – 

resonance, intimacy and 

fluency, which can create 

equilibrium in the limbic brain 

and also stimulate the neo 

cortex. 

Social benefits – resilience, 

non-judgmental attitude, 

diversity, co-existence which 

can help to keep inter and 

intrapersonal relationship skills 

intact. 

Physical benefits – it 

helps to develop physical health 

holistically. 

Schools are the places 

to create connectedness to 

nature. When young people 

are connected to nature, it 

has positive impact on their 

education, physical health, 

emotional well-being and 

personal and social skills. 

Children connected with 

nature are more likely to be 

interested in their environment 

and will want to enjoy and 

save it – now and in the future 

too. Schools can have different 

programmes like nature clubs, 

outings, outdoor classes, 

environmental day celebrations, 

do it yourself projects, outdoor 

camps, workshops, outreach 

JUL/AUG 2018

programmes, etc to promote 

this connectedness. 

Solution 

Attitude of both the family 

and school authorities towards 

nature are a strong factor 

that can influence children’s 

connection to nature. Spending 

time with nature helps children 

develop a strong connection to 

nature. Environmental education 

opportunities that increase 

children’s knowledge and 

skills for solving environmental 

problems may help promote proenvironmental 

actions. 

Activities to promote 

pro-environmental 

feeling and 

connectedness to nature 

• Exhibit and arrange nature 

related pictures in class 

rooms and schools 

• Show nature related movies 

and videos to children 

• Growing indoor plants in 

classrooms and in the homes 

• Visiting exhibitions depicting 

nature 

• Visiting wildlife sanctuaries 

POEM 

• Conducting debates 

and discussions on 

environmental issues 

• Outings with children to 

parks 

.• Recreation programmes like 

hiking, camping and wildlife 

viewing 

• Gardening or farming in 

school and home 

• Conservation volunteering 

A BIG QUESTION 

TO ANSWER 

–S I M Jafri 

O, God, spare not those wild brutes 

Who smothered ‘n’ crushed a bud like me 

What harm did I do to them? 

To have such a ghoulish act inflicted upon me 

Where I bled in pain and tears welled up in my eyes, 

By those wolves - savages of human race 

I detest and loathe such animals 

They lost all the sensibilities 

Of a civilized race. 

(Shrieks of mine, nobody heard) 

Alas, they should have recalled the faces of their mother 

Sister and daughter 

Before indulging in such a barbaric act. 

But no, they were sadists of the first order. 

O, God I urge you earnestly 

Whatever had happened to me 

Should never ever happen to anyone 

Of my race ’n gender. 

Or the best solution I beseech in your honour - 

No more birth should take place 

Of a girl child in future 

To be repeated with the act 

Of fornication and rape 

In a running train, bus, taxi, car 

And from within the confines of 

A protected place - that is home. 

O God! enough is enough 

Now no name should be pronounced any longer - 

Nina , Lovely ,Rosy, Harpreet ‘n’ Zeenat 

O God, I invoke you sincerely 

I will forget my pain of being smothered and raped 

If you grant me this last wish - 

Not to send a girl child any more 

Upon this wretched ‘n’ meek earth. 

and nature clubs 

• Maximising opportunities 

to provide exploratory, 

hands-on, play-orientated 

experiences with – and in – 

nature 

• Offering activities and 

occasional events to engage 

children with the natural 

world around them 

• Nature play which includes 

any unstructured play 

outdoors, such as riding 

a cycle, climbing a tree, 

walking on grass, swimming, 

planting trees and fishing 

Connectedness to nature 

POEM 

PRAYER FOR KIDS 

A Simple 

Call 

–Prashant Agarwal 

O Almighty! 

O Supreme! 

Please listen to me 

I have a dream 

Live in my heart 

I am Yours 

Enlighten my soul 

Open all doors 

Show me the true path 

Give me a pure mind 

Make me courageous 

Make me kind 

Deep faith in You 

Keep intact 

May I feel You 

In each act 

At last, I want 

Only You 

You are my love 

You are true 

should have an important 

place in the routine studies 

of children. We need to allow 

them to develop their biophilia, 

their love for the Earth, before 

we ask them to academically 

learn about nature and become 

guardians of it. 

Further studies and efforts 

are needed to make nature more 

available to children, and to 

connect them with nature and 

empower a future generation. 

Experiential activities in 

nature provide a foundation 

for development of responsible 

environmental behaviour among 

children. 



–Vandita Sharma 

Creativity is imagination 

at its best. Where there 

is creativity passion will 

follow suit. It brings in zest to 

life. Along with passion we can 

find dedication, determination 

and the confidence to bring our 

creative pursuits to life. In our 

hands our dream creation can 

come alive. 

We all remember Edison who 

to bring his creativity to light 

discovered the electric bulb. In 

the process he not only gave life 

to his dreams but also brought 

light and smiles all around the 

world. He continued his rigour 

even after failing 999 times. 

What helped in these failures 

was his passion and rigour to 

make his efforts not go in vain. 

These are the indomitable parts 

of creativity. Creativity has the 

power to unleash the talent and 

rigour within us. Then how can 

we say that creativity and rigour 

don’t go hand in hand. Creativity 

and Rigour may look like two 

separate pursuits, but to aim for 

something creative we cannot do 

without putting in extra hours of 

rigour. 

Teaching is an age old 

profession, a pillar of our society 

which has the power to bring so 

many professions alive. The same 

teacher through her creativity 

can bring alive a classroom, 

taking the young minds on a 

journey of learning where the 

yearning never ceases, where the 

quest for knowledge is on. It can 

be said Creativity is foreplay for 

this love to go on a never ending 

pursuit for knowledge, with the 

same passion and ardour which 

the teacher emitted in her class. 

Whatever the creative 

geniuses achieved has been 

achieved by doing things over 

and over again within tight 

boundaries. So is with students, 

unless and until they put in extra 

hours whatever they imagine 

cannot come to the forefront. 

It requires extra drilling and 

rigorous practice to make that 

imagination come out in some 

productive form. 

Creativity involves breaking 

out of established patterns 

in order to look at things in a 

different way. 

Edward de Bono 

While teaching, a teacher 

needs to be creative, has to 

put in extra rigour so that she 

becomes a model to behold for 

her students. She should help 

in bringing out creativity in the 

students which in turn would 

bring zeal and enthusiasm 


CREATIVITY AND 

RIGOUR IN TEACHING 

‘Imagination is the beginning of Creation, 

You Imagine what you Desire 

You Will what you Imagine 

And at last 

You Create what you Will’ 

Elizabeth Gilbert said ‘Creativity itself doesn’t care at all about results 

- the only thing it craves is the process. Learn to love the process and 

let whatever happens next happen, without fussing too much about it. 

Work like a monk, or a mule, or some other representative metaphor 

for diligence. Love the work. Destiny will do what it wants with you, 

regardless.’ 

in them making that rigour 

spontaneous and help in 

enhancing their creativity. This 

can be made possible through 

her ‘out of the box’ thinking 

which enables the students to 

go in for the same. The teacher 

needs to leave her comfort 

zone and move away from the 

traditional lecture method to 

make the best of her time while 

in the classroom. To be creative 

involves courage and risk. All hell 

may break loose and it might be 

a place of chaos but if at the end 

of the day one is able to unleash 

the creativity of the students you 

have made your day. It is not only 

giving a free rein to creativity 

amongst them but is like opening 

a store house of passion and 

rigour in them. They will work 

An alumna of St. Mary’s Convent, 

Vandita Sharma is an educator 

whose passion is teaching. She has 

a missionary zeal and a natural flair 

for creative writing and encourages 

the students to do the same and 

gives them a platform to compete in 

various national and international 

competitions. She is a teacher, guide, 

friend, philosopher and mentor for her students. She is a 

disciplinarian and practices what she preaches, which has 

helped her in inculcating values in them. She is at present 

working in Birla Balika Vidyapeeth, Pilani, where she 

teaches English and is the Editor of the School Magazine. 

She feels that learning is a journey of sharing knowledge 

and her quest for perfection is on. 

whole heartedly instead of 

making a half-hearted attempt 

which leads to frustration on 

both sides. Alan Alda said, ‘The 

creative is the place where no 

one else has ever been. You have 

to leave the city of your comfort 

and go into the wilderness of your 

intuition. What you’ll discover 

will be wonderful. What you’ll 

discover is yourself.’ And sure 

enough it will be a journey worth 

embarking. It is said that any 

invention is 1% inspiration and 

99% perspiration. The teaching 

methodology should be inspiring 

to bring out 99% perspiration of 

the students. 

Though creativity and rigour 

look poles apart they go hand 

in hand because as it is rightly 

said ‘where there’s craft, there’s 

graft’. Creativity does not mean 

doing something perfectly. We 

should apply the same rigour to 

mistakes. We should make sure 

we approach mistakes with a 

keen eye for finding the golden 

nuggets within them. But then 

JUL/AUG 2018 

Pic courtesy: Mount Abu school Rohini

e encouraged to fail fast and fail 

once. Learning from mistakes 

and nearing perfection with 

rigour is what makes us creative. 

As Scott Adams has aptly said 

‘Creativity is allowing yourself to 

make mistakes. Art is knowing 

which ones to keep.’ Learn to 

make mistakes because then 

only will the doorway to your 

creative pursuits open. 

It has been rightly said that 

‘No one can say he has learnt 

enough. We are all learners’. It 

is, therefore, true that we teach 

best what we most want to learn. 

While bringing in creativity 

to our teaching, mistakes 

are permissible but what is 

important is how much learning 

we achieve through them. A 

teacher should always remember 

that the students are fountain 

heads of energy and creativity. 

She just needs to harness for 

empowering them and also to 

bring forth the most required 

value, missing in today’s youth – 

Interest. Once interest is created, 

both can walk miles together 

to cross the frontiers of their 

knowledge, making a wonderful 

contribution to their Teaching 

Learning Process. Rigour added 

to creativity brings perfection 

and makes learning an enjoyable 

process. Have we not heard from 

our teachers and are telling this 

to our students that ‘Practice 

makes a man perfect’? 

A teacher should remember 

that there is a fountain of youth: 

in her mind, her talents, the 

creativity that she brings to her 

life and the lives of students that 

are left in her care. She should 

remember that she is dealing 

with the young, she needs to 

Pic courtesy: Mount Abu school Rohini 

think like them and when she 

learns to tap this source, she 

will truly be a role model for her 

students – her classes will be the 

most sought after and she would 

have not only brought satisfaction 

to her endeavours but would 

have defeated age. Her youth 

will remain intact, she would 

remain forever young, would have 

surpassed old age and would 

have brought a new 

vitality through her 

creativity and rigour 

thus becoming 

invincible. 

Being creative 

and making others 

creative is a highly 

rigorous process. It 

involves planning, 

originality of ideas, 

and the making 

of a meaningful 

product. It is a highly 

collaborative process 

that involves a 

great deal of critical 

thinking. Thus 

very few teachers 

want to venture 

into this arena. 

They prefer traditional ways 

to creative thinking. They feel 

it involves a lot of time but in 

‘The creative 

is the place 

where no one 

else has ever 

been. You have 

to leave the city 

of your comfort 

and go into the 

wilderness of 

your intuition. 

What you’ll 

discover will be 

wonderful. What 

you’ll discover is 

yourself.’ 

–Alan Alda 

reality one just needs to analyse 

and evaluate. Is this not what 

Bloom’s taxonomy propagates? 

Are Higher Order Thinking Skills 

not to be imparted? Should we 

not promote creativity? Lower 

order thinking skills anyone can 

impart but true teaching is when 

we are able to promote Critical 

and ‘Out of the Box’ thinking. 

Creative stimulation can help not 

only in engaging 

a class but also 

in the holistic 

development of 

the learner. The 

teacher and the 

environment she 

creates in the class 

can help the young 

brains to start flying 

with bright colors. 

Passion is one 

great force that 

unleashes creativity, 

because if you’re 

passionate about 

something, then 

you’re more willing 

to take risks. 

Yo-Yo Ma 

Creativity 

involves the 3Ps – Passion, 

Patience and Perfection. Passion 

for work and profession helps 

in becoming creative. The 

love for the students and your 

subject can help in scaling 

the uncountable summits of 

endurance - a quest to leave no 

stone unturned, which teaches 

us not only to be passionate but 

to be patient because the road 

may not be smooth, there might 

be many hindrances in your way 

and you will have to remove 

the thorns patiently. You might 

have to pursue again and again 

because you are dealing with 

heterogeneous classes where the 

response might be good in some 

and at times zero but that doesn’t 

mean that you have failed. It 

only means you have to put in a 

little more of your imagination 

and rigour because only then 

you can strive for perfection 

and make your students do 

the same because when it 

comes to thinking beyond, we 

become blank and thus we do 

not encourage our learners to 

go wild and give wings to their 

imagination. The more creative 

they are, the more interest will be 

created and more motivating and 

engrossing the class will become, 

thus leading to perfection. 

So, if one is really passionate 

about teaching one has to ensure 

that rigour and creativity go hand 

in hand. It’s like bringing quality 

and craftsmanship – hand and 

mind working together or the 

marriage between techniques 

and expression. To sum up, 

teaching is craftsmanship that 

brings about a civilizing force 

and the ability to plug real 

thinking into real doing which is 

extremely important. 

So let the imagination take 

wings and rigour its course. 


JUL/AUG 2018

LIFESTYLE 

– Dr Upendra Kaushik 

Every individual is engaged 

in one or the other 

task or activity. Some 

complete it successfully while 

others leave in between. Why 

does it happen? Why some are 

successful and others are not? 

Why some are afraid of failure 

and others focus on the goal? 

Don’t you feel that the surest 

way not to fail is to determine 

to succeed? Why don’t you go 

confidently in the direction of 

your dreams, distinguish the 

relevant from irrelevant and live 

the life you have imagined? Do 

you feel that success is a state 

of mind; if you want success, 

make perseverance your bosom 

friend, caution your elder brother, 

hope your guardian genius and 

think of yourself as a success. 

Does it occur to you that the 

secret to success is consistency 

of purpose and true success lies 

in overcoming the fear of being 

unsuccessful? 

In the words of TGL Iyer, 

‘Your individuality is your sense 

of what you are. If you have a 

clear image of who you are, you 

will not allow yourself to be 

defined by labels. Do not defeat 

yourself by the job you do, the 

house you live in, the car you 

drive or the clothes you wear. 

Successful people believe their 

potential to succeed is dependent 

not on status or labels but their 

confidence where they want to 

go. Success begins with one 

person seeing an opportunity 

and working hard to turn that 

opportunity into success’. 

Mary Lay Ash said, ‘When 

you reach an obstacle, turn it 

into an opportunity, you have the 

choice. You can overcome and be 

a winner, or you can allow it to 

overcome you and be a loser. The 

choice is yours and yours alone. 

It is far better to be exhausted 

from success than be rested 

from failure’. Success is not a 

destination, it is a journey. 

Remember success is never 

final and failure never fatal. 

What counts is courage. Do 

not stare up the steps – step 

on the stairs. In the words of 

Aristotle, ‘the way to achieve 

success is first to have a definite, 

clear, practical ideal – a goal, 

an objective. Second, have the 

necessary means to achieve your 

end – wisdom, money, materials 

and methods. Third, adjust all 

your means to that end’. To be 

successful think big and you will 

become big. Life is too short to 

be bitter. Believe that you will 

succeed and you will. Belief is 

the thermostat that regulates 

SUCCESS, STRESS AND YOGA 

Take up one idea, make that one idea your life, think of it, dream of it, 

and live on that idea. Let the brain, muscles, nerves every part of your 

body be full of that idea and just leave every other idea alone. This is 

the way to success. 

–Swami Vivekananda 

what we accomplish in life. 

So to be successful you 

should: 

i. Be willing to do the task, set 

the goals or objectives, get 

focused, 

ii. have the knowledge and 

ability to do the task, 

iii. have the ability to get on with 

people, to know their point of 

view and see things from their 

angle as well as from your 

own, 

iv. see that tradition does not 

paralyze your mind, 

v. listen rather than talk and 

vi. make your attitude your ally 

and that will always help. 

Remember once you stop 

learning, you start dying. So, 

learn from yesterday, live for 

today, and hope for tomorrow. In 

the process follow the beautiful 

words stated by Albert Einstein, 

‘More the knowledge lesser 

the ego, lesser the knowledge 

more the ego’. Those who were 

successful in their lives, it was 

Dr Upendra Kaushik, B Com (Hons), 

M Com, B Ed, Ph D, D Litt is in school 

education and administration since 

1978. He is a well known educationist, 

consultant, mentor, trainer, motivator and 

institution strategist. He has authored 

19 books and has rich experience in 

the field of Curriculum Development, 

Measurement and Evaluation, Development of Text Books 

and Instructional Materials. He has been a resource person 

for training programmes on Value Education, Consumer 

Education, Population and Development Education, General 

Management, Marketing Management, Capacity Building 

for Skill-Upgradation, and associated with CBSE, NIOS,CIE 

University of Delhi, etc. Since 1990, he has trained more 

than 2,000 entrepreneurs. He is the recipient of more than 

65 accolades at the State, National and International level 

including ‘National Award to Teachers 2001’ instituted by 

Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government 

of India, ‘State Teacher’s Award 2002’ instituted by the 

Government of NCT, Delhi. 

At present, Dr Upendra Kaushik is Chairman, Governing Body, 

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Vallabhram Mehta Public School, 

Vadodara; Member Governing Councils and Management 

Committees of a number of well-known schools of the country. 

not easy for them. They passed 

through a lot of difficulties, 

hurdles, problems and stress. 

The word ‘Stress’ was coined 

by Hans Selye in 1936, who 

defined it as ‘the non-specific 

response of the body to any 

demand for change’. Have you 

played any string instrument like 

a sitar or guitar? If the strings 

are loose, the sound is dull and 

out of tune. If the string is too 

tight, it will break. It has to 

have the right level of tightness: 

neither too loose nor too tight. In 

other words, when an individual 

feels that he cannot cope with 

pressure, stress happens. It 

comes in various forms. It 

triggers physiological responses. 

It is a state of psychological 

and physiological imbalance 

resulting from the disparity 

between situational demand 

and the individual’s ability and 

motivation to meet those needs. 

These needs or demands can 

be related to fiances, work, job, 

relationships and other situations, 

but anything that poses real or 

perceived challenges or threatens 

a person’s well being can cause 

stress. Stress slows normal bodily 

functions, such as digestive and 

immune system. During stress 

the body changes in many ways 

like faster breathing, high blood 

pressure, high pulse rate, tense 

muscles, decline in immune 

activity, slow digestive system 

JUL/AUG 2018 www.progressiveteacher.in 59 

Pic courtesy: Bhavan Vidyalaya, Panchkula

and loss of sleep. The American 

Psychological Association (APA) 

recognises three types of stress – 

• Acute Stress - 

It is short term stress normally 

due to the pressure of recent 

events. Short term stress 

causes headaches and upset 

stomach. It can be harmful, if 

repeated over a long period. 

• Episodic Acute Stress - 

An individual who worries 

too much constantly suffers 

from this type of stress. It 

may be due to too many 

commitments and poor 

organisation system. This 

type of stress causes high 

blood pressure and heart 

disease. 

• Chronic Stress - 

This type of stress exists for 

a long period and is most 

harmful for an individual. It 

can continue unnoticed. It 

may lead to final breakdown 

resulting in suicide, heart 

attacks and violent actions. 

Causes of Stress:- 

Various causes of stress may 

be- 

Illness 

Mental health issues - 

depression, accumulated 

frustration, anxiety. 

Past experinces 

Lack of time 

Shortage of funds 

Issues related to employment/ 

business 

Retirement 

Problems in relationships – 

marriage, divorce 

Shifting home/residence 

Problems in the family 

Death in the family 

Abortion or miscarriage 

Pollution 

Over crowding 

Too much noise 

 

 

 

 

 

First pregnancy 

Fear of an accident while 

driving in crowded areas or 

heavy traffic 

Uncertainty in life 

Problems with neighbours 

Post-traumatic stress disorder 

( PTSD ) 

Symptoms of Stress: 

Symptoms of stress may be 

physical or emotional. Physical 

symptoms may be stomach 

upset, sweating, sleep disorders, 

pain in the chest or back, pins 

and needles, fainting, cramps, 

obesity, nervous twitches, high 

blood pressure, headache, heart 

disease, muscular aches, low 

immunity against diseases, loss 

of libido and erectile dysfunction. 

While emotional symptoms may 

be nail biting, sadness, fatigue, 

depression, anger, anxiety, 

issues related to concentration, 

forgetfulness, feeling of 

insecurity, social withdrawal, 

problems in relationships, 

eating too much, eating too 

little, frequent crying, sudden 

angry outbursts, irritation and 

restlessness. 

Stress Management: 

In stress management, it is 

the mind set of an individual 

which matters. The greatest 

weapon against stress is an 

individual’s ability to choose one 

thought over another. In times of 

great stress, it is always best to 

keep busy, to plough anger and 

energy into something positive 

or constructive. It’s not stress 

that kills an individual; it is his / 

her relation to it. If an individual 

adopts the right attitude he / she 

can convert negative stress into 

a positive one. Remember that 

stress does not come from what 

is going on in the individual’s life. 

It comes from his / her thoughts 

about what is going on in his / 

her life. 

Yoga and meditation can 

be very useful to an individual 

suffering from stress. Yoga helps 

to manage stress because it 

heals the body and the mind, 

encourages us to develop correct 

attitudes and habits so that we 

have a good lifestyle, supported 

by healthy food, proper rest and 

relaxation and a sound way 

of working without becoming 

emotional about the ups and 

downs of success and failure. Jim 

Gaudette said. ‘The purpose of 

yoga is awareness, not perfected 

poses, or any kind of attainment’. 

Awareness from moment to 

moment requires quiet strength, 

flexibility and balance. A good 

yoga practice develops exactly 

these characteristics. There are 

five disciplines suggested by 

yoga to regulate an individual’s 

life. They ensure that an 

individual begins walking along 

the path of harmony in his/her 

life. 

(1) Aahara or Food 

Yoga is particular about food 

and advocates mitahara: the 

amount of food and the kind 

of food one should eat. It also 

suggests what an individual’s 

state of mind should be when 

he/she eats. 

• What should he/she eat? 

Healthy, nutritious, freshly 

cooked food is the best. 

Junk food is not considered 

appropriate as it does not help 

the body or the mind in any 

way. 

• How much should an 

individual eat? Half the 

stomach should contain food, 

one quarter should have water 

and the remaining quarter 

should be free for air. This will 

also help the free flow of all 

digestive juices. The capacity 

of the stomach will vary from 

person to person according to 

body weight and kind of work 

that he/she does. 

• How should an individual eat? 

Food should always be eaten 

with a sense of gratitude and 

the atmosphere should be 

relaxed when we eat. Food 

should be eaten at the place 

specially meant for it. 

(2) Vihara or Relaxation/ 

Lesisure 

There is a time for waking 

up, a time for getting ready, 

a time for school, for eating, 

for homework and for helping 

with household chores. There 

is also time for recreation and 

relaxation: for an individual 

to play, meet friends, go for 

a walk, listen to music or 

paint, or simply to daydream. 

Time for vihara or leisure 

time is very essential because 

it reduces the stress an 

individual faces every day. 

Both body and mind are 

recharged by vihara. 

(3) Aachara or Conduct 

Aachara is the correct 

conduct that must be 

followed both in an 

individual’s personal life and 

in interacting with others 

socially. It emerges from 

his/her habitual thoughts, 

emotions, values and 

attitudes. 

If he/she is habitually lazy, 

then doing something quickly 

and immediately will irritate 

him. If he/she is usually 

untidy, then cleaning up is a 

very difficult task. If he/she 

tends to get irritated or angry 

very often, then he/she finds it 

very difficult to remain calm 

when reacting to someone 

who is rude. 

(4) Vichara or Thought 

As an individual thinks, 

so he/she becomes. That 

is a famous saying. If he/ 

she always frowns, he/she 

will develop lines on his/her 

face that show him/her as 

a scowling person! If he/she 

smiles, then he/she appears 

happy. 

Start examining your 

thoughts. See which of them 

are worthwhile and which 

are not worth keeping. Every 

day, we throw garbage out of 

our houses. Start collecting 

thoughts that you find are 

‘garbage’ in your mind. You 

will find your mind and body 

becoming healthier if you 

throw out all the negative 

thoughts. 

(5) Vyavahara or 

Behaviour/Actions 

An individual’s behaviour is a 

reflection of all that goes on 

inside him/ - aahara, vihara, 

aachara and vichara. An 

individual’s behaviour must 

reveal the kind of person 

he/she is. The practice of 

yoga helps an individual to 

transform himself/herself 

not only into the person he/ 

she wishes to be, but into the 

person he/she can ideally be. 

The following Yogasanas can 

be very useful to minimize 

stress – 

• Malasana 

• Balasana 

• Halasana 

• Utttanasana 

• Shavasana 

• Sravangasana 

• Bhramari Pranayama 

• Surya Namaskara 

• Hastottanasana 

• Padahastasana 

• Trikonasana 

• Shashankasana 

• Ushtrasana 

• Bhujangasana 

• Matsyasana 

• Shirshasana 

• Bakasana 

• Hamsasana 

• Mayurasana 

When one door of happiness 

closes, another opens; but often 

we look so long at the closed 

door that we do not see the one 

which has opened for us - Helen 

Keller 

Reference : - Devika Kumar, Yoga : A 

Pathway to Health and Harmony, Srijan 

Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Delhi, 2017 


JUL/AUG 2018

Q&A 

Senior Principal: 

Dr S Namasivayam 

Maharishi Vidya Mandir 

Sr. Sec. School, Chetpet, Chennai. 

Place of Birth : Virudunagar. 

The best thing about being 

a teacher? 

Being a teacher keeps us 

motivated and fuels us 

to be lifelong learners. 

We are blessed with the 

gift of shaping the young 

generation to face a better 

tomorrow with confidence. 

How did you feel on the 

first day being a School 

Principal /Leader? 

I was flooded with thoughts 

of responsibility and a sense 

of commitment. It seemed 

challenging to meet upto 

the expectations of the 

stake holders. 

The best thing about being 

a Teacher -Leader? 

We become the guiding 

force /mentor to all who 

come under our tutelage, 

which includes parents, 

staff and of course the 

children. It is wonderful to 

spot the right person among 

the staff, with zest and 

enthusiasm coupled with 

a thirst for learning and 

making leaders of them. It is 

great to see them also shine 

as Principals. 

What are the traits of an 

effective Principal? 

An effective Principal 

needs to have a holistic 

approach. He/she should 

have the acumen to see all 

the facets of any situation. 

He also needs to have the 

foresight to extrapolate the 

future developments in the 

educational scenario. Tact 

is required in handling 

sensitive issues. Poise and 

elan puts us on a better 

platform to perform our 

responsibilities with ease. 

Please describe the role 

you feel parents should 

play in the operation of the 

school? 

Parents are also important 

stakeholders in the 

functioning of the school. 

Parents should have a 

positive approach and help 

their children grow up in 

a healthy environment 

at home. This would 

automatically augment 

the child’s progress in the 

school. 

When you visit a 

classroom, what are the 

first things you look for as 

signs that the classroom is 

an effective learning place? 

It is very important that 

the children feel safe and 

secure. The best learning 

happens when there is 

bonhomie between students 

and teachers. Classroom 

management should be par 

excellence, which would 

in turn create a perfect 

learning ambience for the 

children. 

What is your vision on 

special education? 

We need to identify children 

who require special 

education. This should be 

followed by a structured 

learning programme which 

would eventually help in 

integrating them into the 

regular stream. Parents and 

staff need to work together 

to meet the needs of these 

children. 

What is your view on the e- 

learning platform? 

With Artificial Intelligence 

and Machine Learning 

being the order of the 

day, it is imperative that 

students be given an 

excellent platform to meet 

the demands of 21st century 

learning. They should get 

hands on experience of e- 

learning. 

in their lives, it kindles a 

sense of satisfaction and 

achievement in us also. It 

is almost like their joy and 

success becomes ours too. 

What is your view on QCT( 

Quality Circle Time)? 

QCT is yet to make a 

stronghold in the present 

Indian Education system. 

All the same, it will 

help students to have 

better learning through 

collaboration. 

The best conference / 

seminar that you have 

attended on Education? 

Recollecting the many 

seminars and conferences 

in India and abroad, 

‘The Making of a Perfect 

Principal’ by Alert 

Knowledge Services is the 

best that I have attended. 

Which is your favourite 

book? 

What are the most 

touching things that school 

children have done for 

you? 

When our children return 

to us and speak of their 

achievements and success 

You Are Unique by Dr. A.P.J. 

Abdul Kalam. 


JUL/AUG 2018

The Progressive Teacher Vol 05 Issue 03

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