The Progressive Teacher Vol 06 Issue 04

Read inside 

Role of teachers in the transitory 

years of a child’s academic life P10 

tHE Parent-Teacher connect: A must 

for AN effective learning EXPERIENCE 

P18 

10 Tips for new teachers P24 

Towards physical & mental well-being 

of teachers & students in schools P34

from the PUBLISHER’s desk 

Let’s empower 

the teachers! 

sep-oct, 2019 Vol. 06 Issue 04 

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Opinions expressed in the articles are of the authors 

and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or 

publisher. While the editors/publisher do their utmost 

to verify information published, they do not accept 

responsibility for its absolute accuracy. 

John Wooden rightly said, “I 

think the teaching profession 

contributes more to the future 

of our society than any other 

single profession.” Teaching is such a 

noble profession and it is the teachers 

who shape the citizens of tomorrow, 

that’s why the quality of teachers is very 

important. For this, teachers need to be 

adequately educated and trained. 

The government is introducing a 

four-year integrated B.Ed. programme 

from this year with an aim to improve 

the quality of teachers and teaching. So, 

the 2-year Bachelor of Education degree 

would give way to 4-year integrated 

teacher training programme. 

This will ensure that people who are genuinely interested in making 

teaching as a profession would choose this course right from graduation level. 

Candidates, who complete this course, are qualified to teach at secondary and 

senior secondary schools in the Indian schools. 

Teaching is an ongoing learning process and from time to time, teacher 

training workshops are conducted in schools to make them abreast of the world 

class pedagogies and practices. They should be provided latest information on 

classroom management, curriculum resources, emerging technology tools, etc. 

Teachers transform lives….let’s empower our teachers with the best tools 

and learnings so that they can bring the best in students. In this issue, teachers 

can read about the impact of the 4-year integrated B.Ed. course on education. 

Besides, there are interesting articles on integrating art in education, using 

teaching moments effectively, project management, etc. 

Happy learning and happy teaching! 

Sonal Khurana 

Publisher 

Subscription / Missed copies 

helpline: 08920636286 

The next issue of 

Managed by 

Owned by 

The Progressive Teacher 

will focus on 

integrating – 

co-curricULar and extra 

3 curricULar activities in 

THE PROGRESSIVE TEACHER mainstream curriculum 

www.progressiveteacher.in

t a b l e o f 

Vol. 06 

issue 04 DELBIL/2014/55800 

06 

Teacher 

development is 

the challenging 

face of the 

education 

system in India 

03 From the PUBLISHER’s desk 

teACHER development 

06 Teacher development is 

a challenge for the education 


10 

Role of 

teachers in 

the transitory 

years of a 

child’s 

academic life 

viewpoint 

08 What do we lose if 

we shut down B.Ed. colleges? 

ROLE OF A TEACHER 

10 Role of teachers in the transitory 

years of a child’s academic life 

TEACHER EDUCATION 

16 Why teacher education is of 

utmost importance to a growing 

nation like India 

LEARNING TECHNIQUE 

18 The Parent-Teacher connect: 

A must for an effective learning 

experience 

28 

Drawing 

to learn: 

integrating 

art to 

promote 

learning 

Classroom Tactics 

20 Optimally utilising 

teaching moments 

TEACHER TRAINING 

22 Reflections on teacher’s 

training 

24 10 Tips for new teachers 

VIEWPOINT 

26 In defense of being average! 

4 THE PROGRESSIVE TEACHER www.progressiveteacher.in

c o n t e n t s 

36 

5 th Edition 

of The 

Progressive 


Conclave 2019 

learning thru art 

28 Drawing to learn: integrating art 

to promote learning 

STRESS MANAGEMENT 

34 Towards physical & mental wellbeing 

of teachers & students in 

schools 


50 

Onine 

Assessment 

– an effective 

tool to 

support 

learning 

conclave 

36 5 th Edition of The Progressive 

Teacher Conclave 2019 

teacher EDUCATION 

40 Educating 

the educator 

CASE STUDY - ASSESSMENT 

44 Project assessment: 

an effective approach 

CLASSROOM ETHICS 

48 Decoding the lingering effects of 

labelling in classrooms 

62 

Mylestone 

School 

Leadership 

Summit- U.P. 

Chapter 

CASE STUDY 

50 Onine Assessment – an effective 

tool to support learning 

– A case study of Middle School 

Mathematics 

event 

62 Mylestone School Leadership 

Summit- U.P. Chapter 

THE PROGRESSIVE TEACHER 

5

TEACHER development 

In shaping the 

future of a student, 

a teacher plays the 

most vital role. A 

number of teachers 

with different 

specialization 

gauge the 

productivity 

of a student, 

understand their 

capability and 

provide him or her 

the right training 

to deliver optimal 

result. 


development is 

a challenge for 

the education 


Teacher education and development is certainly 

gaining ground across government-recognized boards 

of education. Reflective practices are encouraged and 

channelized to support and enhance student learning 

while also creating a level playing field for everyone. 

However, it is important to understand the inherent 

problems faced with regards to ‘Teacher Education’ in 

India. 

Abhishek Kumar I 

Regional Director, Onvu Tech 

Abhishek Kumar is Regional Director 

at Onvu Tech. 

Preparing for the future with a forward-looking approach 

To begin with, we must realize that India is a young country which has more 

than 50% of its population under the age of 25. Out of this, over 15 crore people 

are aged 7 years or below – which 

is more than a quarter of our young 

population. These young and 

dynamic children in the coming 

two decades will be joining our 

workforce as vibrant professionals. 

In shaping the future of a student, 

a teacher plays the most vital 

role. A number of teachers with 

different specialization gauge 

the productivity of a student, 

understand their capability and 

provide him or her the right 

training to deliver optimal result. 

Sadly, the case is very different 

in India, where the quality of 

the teacher itself is in question. 

According to a report by CII- 

KPMG, outdated curriculum, 

low teacher quality and lack 

of accounting and monitoring 

mechanisms were found as the 

biggest stumbling blocks in the 

Indian education system. 

However, it is not just 

teachers who are at fault here. 

The individual administrations– 

at macroscopic and microscopic 


levels – also share equal responsibility. Often, 

teachers are required to carry out duties that are 

unrelated to their fundamental responsibility, 

that is teaching. Some schools go to the extent of 

asking teachers to go for door-to-door canvassing 

of students, while others expect teachers to 

handle admin duties leaving very little time for 

their own professional development. 

If we wish to change this landscape, certain 

measures have to be taken in these three areas 

with urgency. The areas are: 

1. In-house Training: In the recent 

past,state and central government bodies 

have invested in teacher training in a bid to 

improve the teaching and learning in schools. 

However, the mechanism to check whether 

this training is being implemented properly or 

not is often absent. This leads us to marginal 

(and often negligible) results despite investing 

significant capital. India is today experiencing 

unprecedented digitization. With the help of right 

tools and technology, it is possible to reign such 

scenarios, so that superior long-term results can 

be experienced with minimal capital. 

2. Lack of professional feedback: In a 

typical governmental setup, teachers are on 

their own when it comes to their pedagogical 

training and classroom management skills. 

The large-scale workshops, while addressing 

the macroscopic challenges,give very little 

to negligible feedback on the areas where 

they need to individually improve, apart from 

the macroscopic challenges. Today, we can 


personalize such training with the help of 

the desired infrastructure. Even installing 

a 360-degree surveillance camera within 

a classroom and then integrating it with a 

centralized ‘video analytics’ solution can help 

us drive the desired results. This approach will 

also ensure that the entire education system 

of the country is up to the mark qualitatively. 

3. Exam-driven: India has, for a very 

long time, been solely focused on marks and 

percentages as the ultimate benchmark of a 

student’s performance. This has led to most 

schools emphasizing singularly on terminal 

exams at the end of grades X and XII. With 

this as a focus, schools have very little time 

to change their teaching practice to focus 

more on application-oriented learning, which 

in reality is the goal of a good education 

ecosystem. Using cost-effective tech-driven 

solutions, rapid transformations can be brought 

to ensure that all of the school training is 

application-oriented, both in the long-term and 

short term. This will also help in making our 

education system more dynamic and futuristic. 

These are some of the biggest challenges 

faced by our education system at present. 

All of us should strongly establish this goal 

within our mind and work collectively towards 

achieving it. Only this will ensure that India 

continues to shine across the globe in as many 

fields as possible. Delaying this, on the other 

hand, will lead us to a diametrically opposite 

situation. 

Using costeffective 

tech-driven 

solutions, rapid 

transformations 

can be brought 

about to ensure 

that school 

training is 

applicationoriented, 

both 

in the long-term 

and short term. 

This will also help 

in making our 

education system 

more dynamic 

and futuristic. 


7

VIEWPOINT 

What do we lose if 

we shut down B.Ed. 

colleges? 

The draft National Education Policy 2019 proposes to merge teacher education with 

institutions of higher education. While this is aimed at restoring the credibility of 

teacher education in the country, is there anything that we will lose as these long 

standing B.Ed. colleges are shut down? Let’s find more. 

Dr. Shamim Suryavanshi 

Dr. Shamim Suryavanshi is an educationist 

with solid grounding in classroom teaching, 

education management and research. In her 

more than two decades of experience,she 

has interacted with hundreds of teachers in 

mainstream as well as NGO sector across the 

country. She has also taught in private as well 

as government aided B.Ed. colleges. In her 

recently concluded doctoral thesis she compared 

the B.Ed. in India along nine dimensions (such 

as location, structure, teacher educators etc.) 

with teacher education in top universities in the 

world. 

That apart– having lived, taught and studied 

in different countries further adds to Shamim’s 

understanding of societies and education. 

The draft National Education Policy (NEP) 2019 laments the mediocrity 

as well as rampant corruption in the ‘beleaguered’ teacher education 

sector of India. One reason for this state of affairs is that most 

institutions today providing teacher education in India are small 

colleges in private sector where there is, “general lack of commitment to 

the needs for rigour and quality in teacher preparation.” Understandably, 

the draft NEP 2019, strongly recommends moving teacher education into 

multidisciplinary colleges and universities. This radical action, it seems to 

believe, is critical to revitalise teacher education in the country. 

Need for teacher education 

One can neither deny what the draft NEP 2019 observes nor agree with 

the need for the proposed measures. If one looks at teacher education across 

countries it can be noted that universities have been teacher education 

institutions from their inception. Long before teacher education got recognised 

as an independent profession, it was graduates from local universities and 

colleges who were taken in as teachers by surrounding schools. It was believed 

that anyone who had reached a particular education level could teach others. 

This was in an era where education was meant for the elite. It was only with 

the mass schooling system in 19 th century, that first in Europe and then 

gradually around the world, the need arose for large number of teachers and 

subsequently teacher training. The institutions created to prepare teachers in 

France, the United States and England, were called “écoles normales”, normal 

schools or like in India colleges of education. The focus of these institutions 

has been on training teachers with basic knowledge of teaching teachers how 

to teach core academic subjects. Further more there would be focus on skills 

such as classroom management and disciplining young children. 

Gradually, as educational thought and theory developed with emergence 

of disciplines like psychology and sociology, teacher education began to gain 

more respect. Eventually, most countries brought teacher education in the 

realms of universities both in terms of location and management. 

Thus, the proposed measure of moving all teacher preparation programmes 

into multidisciplinary higher education institutions seems the most natural 

progression for India’s teacher education system. 

Impact of shutting down of teacher education colleges 

However, while doing so, the policy makers must also take stock of what 

India stands to lose by shutting down the standalone teacher education 


colleges. Experts around the world point out that 

the ethos and style of the normal or stand-alone 

college has been quite distinct from that of the 

university. These have a strong commitment to 

the overall moral development of the teacher 

trainees. They focus on the development of 

a teacher as a professional almost along the 

lines of a craft. In contrast, universities across 

the globe maintain a strong commitment to 

theoretical discipline of knowledge with a 

relatively impersonal environment. The liberal 

pursuit of curiosity with an orientation to deep 

level understanding and long term change. 

This distinction in the contrasting cultures 

of a university based and standalone teacher 

education college was clearly evident in this 

authors doctoral research. When asked what 

would they consider as the strength of the 

programmes, teachers who had graduated from 

stand-alone B.Ed. colleges in Mumbai described 

their programme as ‘life changing’ experience. 

They used words such as it ‘brought out the best 

in me...makes you a teacher but touches you as 

a person.’ 

One teacher even went on to say that, ‘Even 

if you don’t want to become a teacher ...just to 

become a good mother to your children do a B. 

Ed. It’s a life course!’ 

It was noted that the interviewed teachers, 

considered their teacher educators in these 

stand-alone colleges to have played a pivotal 

role during the programme. It was the teachereducators 

who, according to the respondents 

of this study were apparently instrumental 

in eliciting above experiences. They were 

appreciated by the respondents for their 

mastery over their jobs, their role as facilitators, 

their ability to make every student teacher 


learn and their zeal to organize events that 

would add to the future teacher’s profile. One 

teacher summed up the sentiments of most 

participating teachers by stating that, “My 

teachers [teacher educators] gave me the best!” 

For the research, this author interviewed 

only teachers who had undergone teacher 

training in aided colleges. But her formal and 

informal interactions with teachers across diverse 

curriculums and sectors leads her to believe 

that the same sentiments should exist in at 

least some private colleges. One does not know 

when eventually all the stand-alone colleges will 

be shut down and merged with institutions of 

higher education or universities. But there is a 

real danger that if the transition is not managed 

well, we may lose out on many of the strengths of 

stand-alone colleges – its unique culture, ethos, 

distinct value orientation and a committed and 

dedicated band of teacher educators. 

Going forward… 

I suggest that communicating the strengths 

of the existing teacher education system to 

the management and staff of higher education 

institutions should be a mandatory step as 

institutions are merged. For teacher education 

to be elevated to a more respected status its 

current stand-alone colleges and their associated 

stakeholders should be acknowledged for their 

contribution so far. One must remember that 

many of these colleges were founded before 

independence. We must not forget they have led 

us to where we are today as a country and as a 

society. Their contribution towards our children 

and their education cannot be ignored. 

In fact, the aim should be to make new 

beginnings while safeguarding old legacies. 

Experts around 

the world point 

out that the 

ethos and style 

of the normal 

or stand-alone 

college has been 

quite distinct 

from that of the 

university. These 

have a strong 

commitment 

to overall moral 

development 

of the teacher 

trainees. They 

focus on the 

development 

of a teacher as 

a professional 

almost along 

the lines of a 

craft. By contrast, 

universities 

across the globe 

maintain a strong 

commitment 

to theoretical 

discipline of 

knowledge 

with a relatively 

impersonal 

environment. 


9

ROLE OF A TEACHER 

Role of teachers in the 

transitory years of 

a child’s academic life 

Life is a novel where each page has to be turned in order to reveal the treasure 

hidden in the next. Similarly, there are three turns during a child’s academic 

progress and these are the times when she/he needs the most scaffolding from 

teachers, parents and peers alike. 

Geetanjali Mukherjee I H.O.D. English, Gaurs International School 

Geetanjali Mukherjee has been associated with 

the training industry since the last fifteen years. 

She began her career with the corporate world 

and has been associated with renowned schools 

such as Bluebells School International and 

Tagore International School. She has served as 

the Head of the English Department since the 

last five years. 

All parents remember the first time, their daughter or son holds their 

finger. Our heart is wrapped in their fist from that very moment. So 

how can it be easy for a child to leave that finger and spend even a 

few hours with complete strangers away from home? 

The first transition – the move from home to the school 

Preparation is key.Parents have to start preparing the child for school 

much before school years actually begin. I’m sure most parents take their 

children to parks but quite a few cannot leave their child alone on the greens. 

They must tag along on the merry-go-round or sit in the adjacent swing. If the 

space isn’t available, they must at least push the seat where their princess 

or prince is enthroned. They must follow every curve of the slip-and-slide or a 

maze and definitely run behind their bikes. Parents need to let children play 

on their own with minimal intervention. Sit back and watch your child make 

friends. Be there if they need help but do not cripple them with your eagerness 

to assist. They are more capable and independent than you give them credit. 

Once they adapt to spending time independently with their peer group in a 

park, they will be better prepared to spend time in a classroom with other 

munchkins of their size. 

Similarly, most young parents are more focused on force-feeding their 

child an entire meal or all the water in their sippy cup. They run behind the 

child trying to get the tiny tot to take just one more bite. Stop spoon-feeding, 

literally and metaphorically! 

Let the child learn to eat and sleep independently. Do not let them run 

around. Leave the plate and water and let the child come to it. The child will 

cry and throw tantrums – be strong. This is where your discipline is being 

tested – ace the challenge. Do not give up, my dear parent body. And most 

importantly, make them adopt one hour of self study time every day. Take away 

the distractions and give them a colouring pad or join the dots activities. These 


If you are a 

preschool or 

nursery teacher, 

insist on a parent 

orientation as 

early as possible 

before the child 

begins school. 

Once the child 

is ready to enter 

the gates of the 

school building, 

stand there to 

welcome the new 

ones. Welcome 

them to their 

second home. 

After all, they 

call you mother 

teachers for a 

reason. 

activities will be the strongest connect the child 

will have between his/her home and the school 

room when you leave the child there. 

What can teachers do to help? If you are a 

pre-school or nursery teacher, insist on a parent 

orientation as early as possible before the child 

begins school. Tell them everything mentioned 

above and set the expectation that in the first 

days of school, the child may be irritable. She/he 

may vomit, may have psychosomatic symptoms 

such as headaches and stomach aches. They 

may make up wild stories of how they are treated 

at school. Teach parents to take it all in their 

stride. 

Once the child is ready to enter the gates of a 

school building, stand there to welcome the new 

ones. Welcome them to their second home. After 

all, they call you mother teachers for a reason. 

Primary classrooms are colourful and 

exciting. Teachers are called Mother Teachers 

and the curriculum move from art and craft to 

swimming, napping and story time. What’s not 

to love? Give them a day or two. Soon, they will 

be regaling you with stories from the classroom 

which will make no sense to you but their joy 

will be palpable. From one rung of the ladder to 

the next, for about five years, life will be a bed of 

roses for them. And then, everything will change. 

Second transition – from Primary to 

Middle School 

It is tough for children 

to move from Primary 

to Middle School. The 

classrooms have cream or 

pale yellow walls which 

sport undecipherable 

quotes on pastel – yes, 

pale pastel – chart papers. 

Even the chairs no longer 

bring rainbows into the 

room. Friends do not sit 

together and teachers 

suddenly begin to scold 

for the most innocuous 

reasons. What’s worse is 

that naptime disappears 

from the curriculum as 

silently as a bubble falling 

untouched on the ground. 

And to top it all, teachers 


assign pages and pages of homework. It is an 

extremely confusing time for the child. Parents 

have to begin talking about middle school about 

a year in advance. In Grade IV, tell them they 

have just a couple of years to be a ‘big girl’ or a 

‘big boy’of middle school. In Grade V, tell them 

they look more grown up and mature now. Teach 

them to be curious and tell them middle school 

will answer many of the questions floating in 

their young minds. Teach them to love reading 

by making them pick out bed time story books. 

And most importantly, make them adopt one 

hour of self study time every day. 

When children are unable to understand the 

task assigned as homework, help them out but 

do not do the task for them. Do not cripple them 

before they even learn to walk. Give them hints 

and explanations but the pencil or pen must 

never leave the child’s hand. 

What should teachers do in their case? 

Teachers have a very important role to play 

during this transitional intersection. The child 

has left a mother at home and mother teachers 

of the previous classes to place their faith in you. 

Love them, nurture them and guide them but do 

not pamper. Just as you would play with your 

child, play with your students. A teacher Ms. 

Isha Chaddha at my school became Pinocchio 

for her students by entering the class with a long 

paper nose on her face. Imagine the children’s joy 

and eagerness to know what she was up to. She 

turned the paper nose into a paper plane. As she 

set it off in the class, whosoever’s desk it landed 

on became the next Pinocchio. What a fun way 

to introduce a lesson! 

I caution you against using animated 

videos too much. Teachers of middle school 

do so when trying to compensate for the joyful 

primary school. However, the idea is not to make 

them intellectually lethargic and dependent on 

someone’s else’s image of a character or story. 

Instead, bring music into your classroom. Find 

a song that goes with each lesson you teach 

regardless of the subject. If Sheldon Cooper 

can turn the periodic table into a fun song, you 

can find one that resonates with your field of 

expertise. Make them good listeners by giving 

them tasks associated with the song such as 

drawing the first image that comes to mind using 

only geometric shapes, or writing the song in 

the form of a story or using the song to identify 

grammatical concepts. Music creates listeners 

and allows the ears to lead the imaginative brain 

into new horizons. 

Grade VI teachers have to find that crucial 

balance between what the child has left behind 

and what they will encounter in the next year. 

You are extremely important to this child’s 

learning curve my dear teachers. Discipline is 

crucial at this stage. You must teach them to 

obey rules and respect their elders; however, you 

cannot expect the child to be quiet in class if you 


shout at them. So slow down, take a minute, talk 

to that naughty one, and help them understand 

why it is important that they be quiet. They will 

remember to be quiet the next time as well. 

I always advise my fellow HODs to give 

grade VI to the warmest teachers. Make the 

classroom joyful and bright like your personality. 

Your warmth can bring back the sunshine into 

the child’s classroom regardless of the insipid 

furniture or dull walls. After all, in three years, 

they must go through another transition – middle 

to senior school. 

The third transition – an 

amalgamation of the mind, body 

and heart 

As teenage hits, so do hormones. Puberty 

may have come for some and may be delayed 

for others. While the body is going crazy trying 

to keep track of the changes, the heart starts 

feeling the first pangs of attraction and the 

mind turns body image an obsession. Without 

proper guidance, this is the transition which 

can either make or break children’s evaluation 

of their own self. 

Become friends, but not too friendly. 

Parents and teachers have to be extra 

cautious. Keep an eye without being intrusive. 

Parents and teachers must be constant team 

members with the welfare of the child being their 

common topmost priority. Respect your child’s 

privacy but know all their friends. Study their 

body language, dear parents. No one knows them 

like you do. But do not try to put chains on their 

feet for they will renege and rebel. Instead, try 

to recall your youthful errors. Draw the line and 

tell them exactly what you will just not accept; 

in other words, teach them to be adventurous 

within reason. If you have given them your 

values; tell them clearly that you expect them 

to uphold those. Give them lots of inspirational 

Bring music into 

your classroom. 

Find a song that 

goes with each 

lesson you teach 

regardless of 

the subject. If 

Sheldon Cooper 

can turn the 

periodic table 

into a fun song, 

you can find one 

that resonates 

with your field 

of expertise. 

Make them 

good listeners by 

giving them tasks 

associated with 

the song. Music 

creates listeners 

and allows the 

ears to lead the 

imaginative 

brain into new 

horizons. 


13

Students 

remember 

teachers who 

loved them like 

genuine parents 

and disciplined 

them like 

genuine parents. 

Teach children 

to be confident 

more than you 

teach them 

to be toppers. 

Teach them to 

find the best in 

themselves and 

in those around 

them. 

stories to read. Encourage them to journal but 

dont read! Emotional health is as important as 

physical health. 

Sometimes, children go off track despite the 

parent’s best efforts. Do not be afraid to seek 

help. Educational counselors and psychiatrists 

need not be a shameful secret; rather a healthy 

and timely cure to a problem which has not yet 

turned into a disaster. 

What teachers can do? Many teachers 

cannot even fathom how they can change a 

child’s life in this phase of their young lives. 

Teachers can become role models with just the 

right combination of playfulness and discipline. 

In many schools, at each of the transitional 

stage discussed above, the child often comes 

from different sections to a new section. This is 

usually done by the school faculty to break the 

notorious groups and teach children to adapt 

to new people outside their comfort zones. 

However, we often forget to take into account 

all the other changes the child is experiencing. 

Devote the first two days to fun activities and 

help the children get to know each other. Some 

such activities are suggested below: 

• tête-à-tête: Children sit with someone they 

do not know in class yet and interview them. 

The partners then introduce each other to the 

class. 

• Mirror activity: Pairs stand at various places 

in the class and mimic each other’s actions by 

turns, as if one was a mirror for their partner. 

Encourage them to make faces and go crazy 

with gestures. 

• Throwball: Get your students to form a 

circle. Next, take a sponge football and throw 

it to one of the children taking their name. 

This child will throw it to the next and take 

their name. The game continues till all the 

children are covered. It’s a great way to know 

the names of new classmates. 

• Blindfold Parity: Ask three or four students 

to put on blindfolds and stand side by side. 

Ask them questions which resonate with 

each new child in the class (such as are 

you worried you will not be able to make 

many friends this year? Do you miss your 

friends from last year? Are you nervous about 

the level of studies this year?). For each 

question, ask them to take a step to the left 

if the answer is yes, and to the right if the 

answer is no. You will notice that most of the 

children will take steps in the same direction. 

Afterwards, point that out to the class and 

tell them they all have the same concerns so 

they can help each other out. 

As they grow up, students remember 

teachers who loved them like genuine parents 

and disciplined them like genuine parents. Teach 

children to be confident more than you teach 

them to be toppers. Teach them to find the best 

in themselves and in those around them. 

Give the same training to the parents as well. 

Parents tend to focus on the highest scorer of the 

class, the best dancer, the best singer and so on. 

If everyone was the best, the word itself would 

lose its importance. Teach them to find the best 

within their child and to polish it to a shine. For 

one moment, let us assume that there is a child 

who isn’t interested in anything nor motivated to 

try. This child is the true test of your skills, dear 

teacher. If you can take this apparent lump of coal 

and find the diamond beneath, you have paid 

the gurudakshina of all your teachers. Nothing is 

the end of the road. Every child finds their space 

under the sun. Teach them to seek their place 

eagerly. Stephen Spender said, “History is theirs 

whose language is the sun.” 



Why teacher education is 

of utmost importance to a 

growing nation like India 

How can we expect our teachers to do wonders, if we are not providing them an 

appropriate platform to enhance and sharpen their own knowledge and skills? 

Saleena Pannikote 

Saleena Pannikote’s tryst with teaching began 

immediately after she completed her Master’s 

in Chemistry. Although she tried her hand at 

various professions, her experience as a young 

educationist and the adrenalin rush at the 

end of a lesson well done, is what encouraged 

her to continue with her career. Her passion 

for mentoring teachers began when she was 

pleasantly surprised that she was able to 

motivate young teachers to come up with 

outstanding ideas and lessons, by encouraging 

them to look deeply into and around themselves, 

all the time giving them hints for improvement. 

Today after a long 17 years as a teacher, writer 

and teacher educator, she is continuing her 

education at the Murdoch University, Dubai. 

She is a resident of Dubai for the past 11 years 

and feels lucky to be a part of the positive 

changes in the educational field here, due to the 

visions and aspirations of its leaders. 

As Print, 1993, rightly puts it: a professional teacher must be familiar 

with the concepts associated with curriculum, because curriculum 

is the very substance of schooling. Therefore, all teachers must 

possess the knowledge of curriculum, the process involved 

in developing one, implementing it effectively and be able to check the 

effectiveness of the curriculum. Curriculum issues and substantive matters 

of schooling can be resolved only if teachers are able to tackle the following 

questions efficiently: 

• What to teach? 

• How to teach? 

• When to teach? 

• What is the impact of teaching? 

If teacher education in a country is able to equip teachers to solve these 

questions effectively, then the professionally equipped teachers will be able 

to develop, adapt and modify curriculum content, pedagogy and assessment 

to suit the needs and aspirations of the stakeholders including society. 

What to teach and when to teach? 

According to Carl, 2009, the first principle in academic Curriculum Planning 

is the identification of the goals with respect to the learner, society, subject 

disciplines, philosophy and learning psychology. The learner’s characteristics 

and needs must be analysed in terms of physical, psychosocial, intellectual and 

moral development, when designing a curriculum. Moreover, the needs of the 

society like economic crisis, value conflicts, environmental pollution and racial 

discrimination must alsobe taken into consideration. The goal of a curriculum 

in subject disciplines must encourage the development of intellectual skills or 

cognitive process, in students along with the subject content. The research 

and theories of developmental psychologists and teaching theoreticians like 

Piaget, Dewey, Maslow, Prescott and others should also be studied in depth 

to enhance feasibility of curriculum and learning. 

How to teach? 

This embodies all the instructional strategies and learning activities 

planned by the teacher to implement the content and curriculum. Experience 

and research indicate that a variety of methods are required for effective 

learning. 

According to Print, teaching-learning strategies can be grouped into: 

Expository teaching, Interactive teaching, Small group teaching/ discussion, 

Inquiry based teaching, Individualisation and Models of reality. 

What is the impact of teaching? 

During lesson planning, decisions must also be made about the designs 

for the evaluation procedures and techniques to be used for Individual, 

Formative and Summative evaluation of the learners. This will provide valuable 


information about the attainment and progress 

of individual and group of learners, with respect 

to the achievement of the expected learning 

outcomes. 

Moving in the correct direction… 

Hence, it is imperative that the 21st century 

teacher must be aware of all these concepts 

and must be able to use them judiciously, in the 

appropriate circumstances. The recent ‘National 

Education Policy 2019’, is rightly moving in this 

direction, by laying down policies and procedures 

for training our teachers to achieve the above 

objective. 

‘The National Education Policy 2019’ has 

clearly stated that by 2030 the 4-year integrated 

B.ED program will become the minimum 

degree qualifications for all school teachers. 

However, the Institutions can also design a 

2-year B.Ed. program for outstanding students 

who have completed their bachelor’s degree 

in a specialized subject and wish to pursue a 

teaching career. 

This policy not only aims to improve 

the integrity and credibility of the Teacher 

Educational institutions by laying down specific 

guidelines for teacher education but it will also 

help the country realise the dream of having 

a holistic, experiential, integrated, student 

centered educational system that helps improve 

creativity, critical thinking and problem solving 

skills of our young learners to equip them for 

the ever-changing employment and global 

ecosystems. 

If teacher 

education in 

a country is 

able to equip 

teachers to solve 

these questions 

effectively, then 

the professionally 

equipped 

teachers will be 

able to develop, 

adapt and modify 

curriculum 

content, 

pedagogy and 

assessment to 

suit the needs 

and aspirations of 

the stakeholders 

including society. 



17

EFFECTIVE LEARNING 

the Parent- 

Teacher connect: 

A must for an 

effective learning 

experience 

A bond between parents and a teacher translates into a 

better relationship between the student and the teacher 

as well. This in turn can be used to improve the overall 

experience for students while they are learning, creating or 

playing during their developing years. 

Shishir Jaipuria I 

Chairman & Managing Director 

Jaipuria Group of Institutes 

Shishir Jaipuria is Chairman & Managing 

Director atJaipuria Group of Institutes 

Raising a young individual is serious business. Teachers and parents 

need to work in tandem to bring up a child and ensure that he lives 

limitless and excels in a chosen field. Ongoing discussions between 

parents and teachers can enhance the achievement and happiness of 

young learners, both inside the classroom as well as outside. 

An open line of communication between parents and teachers as well as 

engagement of parents in school activities facilitate a better understanding 

of expectations of various stakeholders. This in turn can be used to improve 

the overall experience for students while they are learning, creating or playing 

during their growing up years. 

Professional developmental programs are being initiated in different schools 

and universities across the world to improve the association between these two 

vital stakeholders. The idea is to provide training to teachers on how to engage 

with the parents of their students. 

According to mentors, a close connection between parents and teachers can 

instill discipline in students, highlight achievements, and identify weaknesses; 

without that, students are not able to grow to their full potential and achieve 

all the dreams in their lives. 

One could say that teachers are a school parents, he is responsible for 

the student at school. A parent can talk to a teacher and expect to get a 

comprehensive report on the behaviour as well as performance of the student 

at school. Such kind of a dialogue, as is evident in a parent teacher meeting, 

builds a strong relationship between the two groups and works really well for 

the overall development of the student. 

Why is this important? 

A bond between parents and a teacher translates into a better relationship 

between the student and the teacher as well. Students can place their trust and 

faith in the teacher and have someone on whom they can rely in school. The 


teacher in turn can channelize the energies 

and behaviour of their students towards 

productive activities. 

A strong connection between parents and 

teachers triggers academic excellence as the 

work of the young one is monitored closely by 

both the groups. When a parent is involved, it 

creates a positive attitude in the child towards 

schoolwork. In such a context, the young child 

becomes more interested to attend school 

regularly. It ignites a passion for learning in 

young minds. 

It is also important that the teachers 

understand the psychology of children and 

try and help the parents to sort out issues at 

home to ensure the complete wellbeing of the 

little ones. 

If the teacher sees potential in a child, he 

should ideally inform the parents so that all of 

them can work together to nurture 

the talent in the little one. 

How can such 

a connection be 

maintained? 

A solid partnership between 

the parents and teachers can be 

maintained through technology 

tools, email, social media, and also 

over telephone calls. Moreover, 


one-on-one meeting can be used to share 

information pertaining to the overall growth 

and improvement of the child in the classrooms. 

With improved technologies and software 

programs, students, parents and teachers 

can communicate openly with each other. 

The use of such technology saves time as the 

parents are not required to visit the schools 

physically while also being able to talk to 

the teachers and monitor the academic 

progress, discipline, and other activities 

of their children. 

What should be the frequency of 

communication? 

Ideally, communication between the 

parents and teachers should be on daily basis. 

It is not advisable for one of the parties to leave 

the entire responsibility of the child to the other. 

A consistent and open dialogue 

between the two parties can 

steer the students in the right 

direction and motivate them to 

make correct choices in their 

lives. For a school going child, 

parents as well as teachers are 

mentors and guiding souls who 

can shape their lives for the 

better with dedicated efforts 

every day. 

Professional 

developmental 

programs are 

being initiated in 

different schools 

and universities 

across the world 

to improve the 

association 

between 

these two vital 

stakeholders. 

The idea is to 

provide training 

to teachers on 

how to engage 

with the parents 

of their students. 


19

Classroom Tactics 

optimally Utilising 

teaching moments 

A constructivist teacher provides techniques such as problem-solving, learning by 

doing and inquiry-based learning activities. She/he helps students to test their ideas, 

draw conclusions and inferences in a collaborative learning environment. 

Dr. (Mrs.) Pramila Kudva 

The classroom curtains had become old, and the class teacher brought 

this up with the class. The students decided to take it up as a project 

to buy new curtains. Teacher did not want to miss out on a teaching 

moment. Teacher uses the integrated approach to build the curiosity 

and teach the concepts enumerated below: 

Dr. (Mrs.) Pramila Kudva is currently working as 

a Principal of a reputed school at Mumbai. She 

is a Ph. D. (Education) from Bombay University. 

She has taught at schools and also at the B.Ed. 

College. She has worked in the corporate at the 

senior managerial level. Since 2004, she has been 

working as a principal of ICSE schools. 

She has published several papers, general and 

academic in local and international magazines 

and journals. She has also presented keynote 

papers on various themes, which are research 

based/general from academic areas of interest 

at International and National Conferences. In 

addition has presented several white papers. 

She has also been a resource person at several 

organizations/institutions at seminars, 

conferences and conducted workshops on 

varied topics of both general and academic 

interest at college/university level; school level 

for principals & for teachers. 

The areas one could look at for teaching in Mathematics: 

1. The size of the windows and the amount of material to be bought - to be 

considered for stitching curtains is the length of the material to be bought 

keeping in perspective the width of the material. 

2. For ready-made curtains, the length and the width of the windows to be 

considered. 

The areas one could look at for teaching in History and 

Geography: 

1. Track the history of ‘charaka’ [spinning wheel] and cottage industries in 

India. 

2. Discuss the principles of Gandhiji and the use of ‘Charaka’ in creating 


women empowerment and subsidiary 

employment 

3. Which are the countries that produce cotton, 

linen? 

4. What are the climatic/soil conditions required 

to grow cotton/linen? 

5. How does the production of cotton affect the 

economy of the country? 

6. Why are silk curtains expensive? 

7. Would animal activists promote the use of 

silk curtains? Why not? 

8. Teacher introduces the concept of sericulture. 

9. Teacher narrates the story about the discovery 

of silk worm by the Chinese empress as an 

act of serendipity. 

10. Where is the silk route located in India? Why 

is it called the silk route? 

11. Plan a visit to a textile factory. 

The areas one could look at for 

teaching in Economics: 

1. Mass production vs production by the 

masses which would be beneficial for Indian 

economy. Discussion on Gandhian principles 

related to the statement. 


teaching in Science: 

1. Could colour affect the glare / heat? 

2. Could the curtains have lining as insulation? 

3. Which material is to be used? – cotton, 

polyester, linen – which would last longer? 

4. Which material would get soiled faster? Why? 

5. Which material would be cheaper – cotton or 

man-made fibres? Why? 


6. The amount of sunshine that comes through 

the window to be a factor for the thickness 

of the material. – could be also used 

by the Physics teacher to teach concept 

of light. 


teaching in Language: 

1. Autobiography of the Cotton Plant. 

2. Autobiography of the Silk Worm. 

3. A dialogue between the students and the 

shopkeeper on the shopping transaction. 

The teacher used the teaching moment to 

provide contextual learning to the students. 

When the teachers present information to 

the students in such a way that each student 

can derive meaning from it based on their 

experiences, it can be referred to as contextual 

learning. There are many other terms used to 

describe contextual learning including: Hands 

on experience; Active learning; Integrated 

learning; Project based learning; Applied 

learning. 

Contextual learning is based on a 

constructivist theory of teaching and learning. 

The constructivist teacher provides techniques 

such as problem-solving, learning by doing and 

inquiry-based learning activities. Teacher helps 

students to test their ideas, draw conclusions 

and inferences in a collaborative learning 

environment. Constructivism transforms the 

student from a passive recipient of information 

to an active participant in the learning process. 

This technique is also horizontal correlation 

leading to holistic learning. 

Contextual 

learning is 

based on a 

constructivist 

theory of 

teaching and 

learning. The 

constructivist 

teacher provides 

techniques such 

as problemsolving, 

learning 

by doing and 

inquiry-based 

learning activities. 

Teacher helps 

students to test 

their ideas, draw 

conclusions and 

inferences in a 

collaborative 

learning 

environment. 


21

TEACHER TRAINING 

Reflections 

on teacher’s 

training 

The change in the scenario of families (shift from 

joint to nuclear) and globalization have put high 

expectations from the teachers. Thus, teachers need 

more professional development in multiple required 

areas to empower them to help shape the future 

citizens of the country. 

Surekha Nayani 

Surekha Nayani, M.Sc., B.Ed., is working 

as Academic Co-ordinator and Head of the 

department for science in Delhi Public School, 

Secunderabad from past 13 years. She has a 

total teaching experience of 19 years in CBSE 

curriculum and has been teaching science 

to secondary school students. She conducts 

workshops for teachers in the areas of Teachinglearning 

processes and CBSE compliances. 

She is a recipient of Teacher Excellence 

Awards twice in Effective Lesson Planning and 

Innovative strategies in Teaching Resources 

organised by S. Chand & Progressive Teacher in 

the year 2016 and 2017 and also Global Teacher 

Award in the year 2019 by AKS educational 

society. 

Most teachers agree that they ended up joining the teaching 

profession, not by passion, but by chance. The success of 

teacher education depends on training the teachers to handle 

people (and pupil), while promoting their welfare and achieve 

the goals of education. In the past, teachers were a source of knowledge, 

but now multiple sources of knowledge are available such as, internet, 

newspapers, magazines, media etc. The change in the scenario of families 

(shift from joint to nuclear) and globalization have put high expectations 

and demand on the teachers. Parents aim their children to not only achieve 

good academic results but also physical,social,emotional and spiritual 

training. Thus,teachers need more professional development in multiple 

areas to empowered to shape the future citizens of a country. Design 

of teacher training programs becomes very important in this context 

and have to include wider areas of cognitive, psychomotor and affective 

domains. 

Teacher education in India: then and now 

In India, Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) is a professional degree which 

is mandatory for students to work as teachers in schools. The course can 

be done by any graduate, who wishes to teach primary or secondary level 

students. It was a one-year course (almost 10 months) until 2014, but the 

National Council of Teacher Education (NCTE) has updated the duration 

of course to two years from 2015.This change has definitely given wider 

scope of course for quality improvement. This year (2019), the B.Ed. course 

program is converted into a four-year integrated training program, which 

can be taken up after 12th class at two levels – pre-primary to primary 

and upper primary to secondary. The four year integrated B.Ed. course 

will be conducted in three streams – B.A. (Bachelor in Arts), B.Com. 


(Bachelor in Commerce) and B.Sc. 

(Bachelor in Science). The course is 

taken up after 12th class for three 

years, one year is saved since in 

the previous plan after three years 

of graduation, two-year course of 

education is done which comes to 

a total of five years. Students who 

would like to opt for this course 

have to think well and take the 

right decision before choosing it as 

they need to justify the profession. 

The aim of four-year teacher 

training program is to have quality 

teacher training and to generate 

well trained teachers who shape 

the classrooms and in turn the 

future citizens of the society. It 

also aims to highlight the fact that teaching 

should become a profession of choice but 

not a profession of left over. Teachers need 

more professional development than they had 

received during the training period of one or 

two years. 

What is happening elsewhere? 

National Institute of Education (NIE) in 

Singapore, has earned 2nd place in Asia and 

12th place in the world, is offering a four undergraduate 

Bachelor of Arts (education) and 

Bachelor of Science (education) which gives 

quality training in both subject content and 

professional teaching qualification. The degree 

programs focus on grooming the passionate 

and driven students to become truly effective 

educators and differentiate them from others. 

The program will equip the trainee with 

content knowledge that is school-relevant 

and pedagogical, making it most suitable for 

teaching career. 

While the education system in Finland 

has been the centre of attention of educators 

across the world since Finnish students 

have consistently featured among the top 

performances in PISA (Programme for 

International Assessment). Teacher education 

in Finland had introduced to a two-tier degree 

system in 2005, which suggest that all teachers 

need a 3-year Bachelors degree and a 2-year 

Master’s degree (kindergarten Teachers need 

only a Bachelor degree). Classroom Teachers 

(I-VI level) teach all the subjects and Subject 

Teachers (VII- IX) teach one or two subjects 

(one major and one minor subject) only. The 

important principles behind the design of 

education is pedagogy studies, language and 

communication (including ICT) along with 

personal study plan which forms a common 

core between the classroom and subject 

teacher education curriculum. Teachers have 

to write a research-based dissertation at the 

end of course of study in education and human 


development, training in diagnosing students 

with learning difficulties and extensive training 

on how to teach the children of varied learning 

abilities by applying differentiated strategies 

are given. 

Attributes of a 21st century 

teacher 

Following are the attributes of the 

21st century teaching professional, which 

definitely needs more time (training period) for 

empowering the teachers: 

1. Skills: Pedagogical skills, People 

management, Self-management, Reflective 

management and thinking disposition, 

Administration and management, 

Communication skills, Technological skills, 

Innovation and entrepreneurship skills, 

Social and emotional intelligence. 

2. Learner centered skills: Empathy, 

Valuing of diversity, Belief that all children 

can learn, Commitment to nurturing the 

potential in each child. 

3. Knowledge: Self, Pupil, Commitment, 

Subject content, Pedagogy, Educational 

foundation and policies, Curriculum, 

Multiple literacy, Global awareness and 

Environment awareness. 

4. Teacher Identity: Aims for high standards, 

Enquiry nature, Quest for learning, Strive to 

improve, Ethical, Professionalism, Passion 

and adaptiveness. 

5. Service to the profession and 

community: Collaborative learning and 

practice, Building apprenticeship and 

membership, Social responsibility and 

engagement. 

On a concluding note… 

The initiative of four year Teacher training 

course, which can cover wider aspects of 

education and teaching-learning processes 

can empower the teachers towards quality 

improvement of education system and prepare 

global citizens in every classroom. 

The aim of fouryear 

teacher 

training program 

is to have 

quality teacher 

training and to 

generate well 

trained teachers 

who shape the 

classrooms 

and in turn the 

future citizens 

of the society. 

It also aims to 

highlight the fact 

that teaching 

should become 

a profession of 

choice but not a 

profession of left 

over. 


23

10 Tips for 

new teachers 

Teaching is a noble profession and a very important one too as 

teachers shape the citizens of tomorrow. A new teacher might 

wonder how to do the right things. Here are a few tips for new 

teachers to increase effectiveness: 

by Varsha Verma 

1 

Plan for 

the year 

While it is good to make short-term 

plans, a long-term plan is necessary to 

keep you on the track. So, plan for the year in 

advance, and assess it at frequent intervals. 

2 

Adapt your 

teaching 

methodologies 

It is important to change your methodologies 

as per your students’ needs. See what 

works for your students – independent 

learning, group learning, teaching aids, etc. 

3 

Be open to 

ideas and 

insight 

Educators or practicing teachers are the 

best people to take advice as they have 

spent their time teaching students. So, listen 

to their experiences and tactics, you might 

get some sound advice. 

4 

Disciplining 

students is 

important 

Never tolerate bad behaviour in classroom. 

Address it as and when it happens. Check 

the standard discipline procedure at your 

school. 

24 THE PROGRESSIVE TEACHER july/august 2019 


5 

Use positive 

reinforcement 

Encourage good behaviour with 

positive reinforcement. This will 

motivate your students to do better. 

6 

Think 

positive 

Always look at the bright side of things. 

Be positive even in difficult situations. 

Your students will perform better when 

they learn in a positive environment from 

a positive teacher. 

7 

Make 

learning 

fun 

Children learn better when they are 

in a happy environment. Make your 

teaching process interactive and engaging. 

8 

Remember 

your 

student’s 

names 

It is always good to remember the names 

of students. Students feel connected to 

their teachers if teachers remember them. 

This is the first step in your bond with them. 

9 

Update 

yourself 

regularly 

Like all professions, teachers also need 

to be updated and upgraded regularly. 

Check out for teacher training programmes 

and adopt best practices across the world. 

10 

Be a role 

model 

Children look upto their teachers. Be 

a role model. You have an influential 

role in students’ lives. So, inspire them and 

mould them into responsible future citizens. 


july/August 2019 


25

VIEWPOINT 

In defense of 

being average! 

It’s important to teach children the value of the ordinary things in life, and to tread 

between a fine line between praising genuine achievements and creating unrealistic 

expectations which, when they don’t realise them, will not make our children feel 

like failures. 

Soumya Gulati I 

Deputy Director- Academic Development and Innovation, Blue Bells Group of Schools 

Soumya Gulati, Dy. Director - Academic 

Development and Innovation, Blue Bells Group 

of Schools, is an ideator and resource person 

for national and international practices in 

Education. She is a much sought after Thought 

Leader in Education in various forums with 

over 27 years of experience in Education. She 

has authored several publications in the area 

of English Language. She has a Masters in 

English Literature from Delhi University, a Post 

Graduate Diploma in Journalism, Japanese 

Language and a Certificate in Pedagogy of Play 

by Fairydust Teaching, US. 

We have had it drummed into our minds from an early age that 

we are exceptional, or that we have the potential to be. This is 

an appealing aspect of an egalitarian society – a meritocracy 

in which we can all become someone or something, if we only 

apply ourselves. It’s a nice idea to reach for the stars, they’re there for the 

taking, but the other side of it is: if we become anything other than ordinary, 

we need to answer haven’t we failed someone, maybe ourselves? 

So, it’s important to teach children the value of the ordinary things in life, 

and tread a fine line between praising genuine achievements and creating 

unrealistic expectations which, when they don’t realise them, will not make 

our children feel like failures. 

Superheroes do not exist 

As it was brilliantly put by Mark Manson-”There’s this guy, who is a worldrenowned 

billionaire,tech genius,inventor and entrepreneur. He is athletic and 

talented and handsome with a jaw so chiselled, it looks like Zeus came down 

from Olympus and carved the man himself. This guy’s smile can melt the damn 

room. His charm is so thick, you can swim in it. Half of his friends were TIME’s 

“Man of the Year.” And the ones who weren’t don’t care because they could 

buy the magazine if they wanted to. When this guy isn’t jetsetting around 

the world or coming up with the latest technological innovation to save the 

planet, he spends his time helping the weak and helpless and downtrodden. 

This man is, you guessed it, Bruce Wayne. Also known as the Batman. 

And (spoiler alert) he doesn’t actually exist. He is fiction.” 

It’s an interesting facet of human nature that we seem to have a need 

to come up with these sort of fictional heroes that personify perfection 

and everything we wish we could be. Medieval Europe had its tales about 

chivalrous knights killing dragons and saving princesses. Ancient Rome and 

Greece had their myths about heroes who won wars all by themselves and in 

some cases challenged the Gods themselves. Every other human culture is 

full of such fantastical stories as well. 

And today, we have comic book superheroes. Take Superman. I mean, 

the guy is basically a God with a human body wearing a blue jumpsuit and 

red underpants inside-out. He is indestructible and unbeatable. And the only 

thing as sturdy as his physical strength is his moral fortitude. In Superman’s 

world, justice is always black or white, and Superman never wavers from 


doing what’s right. We all have our own strengths 

and weaknesses. But the fact is, most of us are 

just average at most things we do. Even if you 

are truly exceptional at the thing — say math, 

or jump rope,chances are you are just average or 

below average at most other things. That is just 

the nature of life. 

Every child is unique… 

“Every person has something good to offer,” 

says Newman. “But many of us need to cultivate 

a more realistic self-images, one in which we 

recognise that it’s all right to have strengths and 

weaknesses in our make-up.” 

Different areas of expertise need 

recognition,they need to be addressed, for a ballet 

dancer, her performance matters the most, which 

is her area of acclaim and success, for her it is a 

trophy beyond marks. For a young boy waving 

his bat in the air, hitting a six in the field is an 

accomplishment that is his exam. Colours on 


the palette of an artist define his existence but 

sordidly we appreciate the numbers,the grades, 

the marks. The mindset of a child awaiting the 

board results is encaged in stifling competitions 

and comparisons. Let them be free,free to choose 

free to excel. Each competency matters. Let’s 

stop teaching fish how to fly and bats how to 

swim. The so-called average child on the basis 

of academic result could be an excellent painter, 

dancer, sculptor, artist, writer or just a happy 

child. Let them explore and excel in their areas 

of expertise too! 

Nothing wrong with being average 

The time is just right to inculcate the 

sensibility that it’s not wrong to be average, a 

60 percenter can and should not be labelled as 

a nobody,he is someone’s world. Let him be in 

a world of compassion,pleasure and above all 

a world that gives each one of us the freedom 

to choose our expression of living this life. The 

frantic pace at which we all have mastered the 

rat race of academic excellence has somewhere 

stifled the childhood and its innocence. Slow 

down, and take a few steps back to enjoy your 

children and their dreams. Let’s give them 

freedom to dream and live their fantasies even if 

they seem out of our thinking domains. 

So, here’s to the joy of being average, 

unexceptional, middle of the road, whatever you 

want to call it. It’s time to embrace averageness 

and enjoy our ordinary lives. 

“Sometimes, success lies in the nobility of 

leading a good and simple life.” 

The frantic pace 

at which we all 

have mastered 

the rat race 

of academic 

excellence has 

somewhere 

stifled the 

childhood and 

its innocence. 

Slow down, and 

take a few steps 

back to enjoy 

your children 

and their dreams. 

Let’s give them 

the freedom to 

dream and live 

their fantasies 

even if they 

seem out of our 

thinking domains. 


27

LEARNING THRU ART 

Drawing to learn: 

integrating art to 

promote learning 

VARK: Visual, Auditory, Read/write & Kinesthetic modalities; the four learning styles 

are the benchmarks of effective teaching strategy. How can a teacher be expected 

to deliver a content in four varied modes? Where is the time? And what are the 

remaining students expected to do while the teacher delivers study material for one, 

say Kinesthetic learner? 

Abhilasha Pandey 

Abhilasha Pandey is a keen learner,educationist 

and a teacher for past 14 years. She is working 

with KendriyaVidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) 

since 2014. Currently posted as PGT Biology 

at KV, INS Shivaji, Lonavala, she is an avid 

reader, interested in educational psychology, 

pedagogy, & neuroscientific research pertaining 

to teaching-learning. 

In the year 1837, a young man of 28, fresh from a five-year-long 

expedition on-board the famous HMS Beagle wrote on a page ‘I Think,’ 

and then he went on to show the world what,and how he thought; 

through a drawing (Fig1). 

As a freshly graduated teacher, I explored multiple modalities to fully 

comprehend the teaching learning process; and in turn enhance my own 

teaching efficiency. Among the eye openers were VARK: Visual, Auditory, 

Read/write & Kinesthetic modalities; the four learning styles that are the 

benchmarks of effective teaching strategy; described initially by Fleming 

& Mills (1992) as they managed to explain why some students in a class 

learn and recall better than others; and how that can be changed. But they 

also suddenly added a Herculean obstacle to classroom teaching. 

What can a teacher do to help? 

A teacher can, for a topic, follow either one or two of the VARK 

modalities. However, learners in a classroom are diversely multimodal. 

Our students come from varied social strata, unique psychologies, and 

disproportionate background knowledge set. Some schools, like mine, have 

first generation learners which may totally miss out on the topic covered 

if the modality delivered is discordant to their specific learning styles. 

How can a teacher be expected to deliver a content in four varied modes? 

Where is the time? And what are the remaining students expected to do 

while the teacher delivers study material for one, say Kinesthetic learner? 

Cherry on the cake; life itself is multimodal. Promoting learner’s 

inherent learning style and ignoring the other modalities completely; may 

misshape the learning trajectory of the learners. 

Can there be an effective teaching strategy that can simultaneously 

captivate & stimulate all categories of learners? Is it too much to ask for? 

The answer is No & No. Teaching is a profession which is foundation to 

every other profession and therefore nothing that a teacher asks for, can 

be too much. 

Importance of art in education 

A justification lies in the old English adage, “A picture is worth a 

thousand words.” Science teachers have always known the significance 


of a diagram. Neuroscientific research takes 

the significance of drawing diagrams a few 

notches higher. 

It was in the year 1991 that Zeki et al. 

identified the distinct areas of cerebral cortex 

involved in the process of image formation in 

our brain. Forming a ‘mental image’ of a scene 

requires identification (by temporal lobe), 

locations & dispositions (by parietal lobe). 

The level of complexity is further enhanced 

when we are expected to draw a scene since 

now, besides the comparative size, locations 

and identification; we need to synchronize 

hand movements based on cues received from 

various parts of cerebral cortex. Even before 

initiating these movements, our brain makes 

Fig 1 


Fig 2: Cells of Phloem by Vinit, Class XI, 

KV INS Shivaji 

inner representations of these movements. So 

even if we are not drawing, thinking about 

drawing can initiate the mental processes that 

are essential prerequisites for drawing. Further 

making virtual images in our brain of the things 

we plan to draw, activates the same areas of 

cerebral cortex that were activated upon seeing 

an actual image. 

The hand movements involved in drawing 

are also controlled by different regions based 

on source of cues. A drawing from external 

cues involves lateral regions of pre motor 

cortex while drawing from memory involves 

medial regions. 

To fathom the significance of these 

researches, I shall summarize the information 

gathered so far. Seeing and 

interpreting an image is a 

complex process stimulating 

multiple brain areas. 

Drawing the same image 

from memory stimulates 

the areas involved in visual 

imagery (again); cerebral 

cortex involved in observing, 

interpreting, recalling and 

motor control. Since drawing 

from memory is ‘at will’ 

rather than restricted by 

external cues; creative skills 

are refined as one draws 

from internal cues/memory. 

Reverting to VARK 

model; drawing from 

memory has been identified 

Even if we are not 

drawing, thinking 

about drawing 

can initiate the 

mental processes 

that are essential 

prerequisites 

for drawing. 

Further making 

virtual images in 

our brain of the 

things we plan to 

draw, activates 

the same areas 

of cerebral 

cortex that were 

activated upon 

seeing an actual 

image. 


29

Fig 3: Rishabh, Class IX, KV INS Shivaji 

Fig 4: Environment & Sericulture (class VII, KV INS Shivaji) 

A learner 

attempting to 

draw during 

retrieval uses 

conceptual 

comprehension 

(semantic), 

pictorial 

representation 

(visual) & hand 

movements 

for drawing 

(kinesthetic). As 

data transforms 

from concrete 

to abstract 

and back to 

concrete during 

the process of 

drawing,deep 

learning develops 

as a complex activity activating regions of 

brain associated with visual, semantic and 

kinesthetic activity. Applied appropriately, 

drawing can be used as a learning style in 

agreement with all four modalities of learning. 

Drawing vs. writing 

Next, there’s always the question of 

efficiency. Its good for all, but is it better than 

four individualized approaches? A recent 

research by Fernadez, Wammes & Meades 

(2019) provides conclusive evidence that 

drawing from memory has led to much more 

enhanced learning, almost double, compared 

to writing the same information. They provide 

two explanations for this: 

1. A learner attempting to draw during 

retrieval uses conceptual comprehension 

(semantic), pictorial representation 

(visual) & hand movements for drawing 

(kinesthetic). As data transforms from 

concrete to abstract and back to concrete 

during the process of drawing,deep 

learning develops. Recall, encoding and 

transformation of knowledge boosts the 

memory by almost double compared to 

writing, wherein only semantic (R of VARK) 

is activated. Artistic talents of learner have 

no bearing or impact learning outcome. 

2. Assimilation of information is dependent 

on the number of synapses formed during 

presentation and retrieval of information. 

Fig 5: Digital Art, Genetic Code, Abhilasha, KV INS 

Shivaji 

An isolated data is soon forgotten. Drawing 

encompasses various modalities and hence 

activates multiple regions of brain. As 

information passes through various neural 

networks, multiple neural connections are 

formed enhancing assimilation. Thus,the 

number of synapses formed are many more 

during drawing than in singular activity 

involving either visual or kinesthetic mode. 

Memories formed are multi layered and 

retention is highly enhanced. 

Drawing as a learning tool 

As we inculcate the habit of learning by 

drawing, we not only tap into the favoured 

learning style of the individual learner to 

improve learning outcome, we also build up 

upon the other learning styles. We help the 

learner reinforce modalities that are not his 

forte. 

So how does drawing fit into teaching of 

languages or Arithmetic. Few suggestions: 

1. Let students leave pages on the left side of 

notebooks blank, and ask them to draw on 

the basis of notes on right side. 

2. Encourage students to use hand drawn 

learning aids, posters during peer learning 

sessions. 

3. Pictorially represent stories or poems in 

languages. Try to recall as many details of 

scenarios/expressions as possible. 

4. Present concepts as comics, with thought or 

dialogue bubbles. Parts can be visualized as 

animated characters. 

5. Push the boundaries. Encourage learners to 

draw while stressing on concept presentation 

rather than artistic skills. 

Significance of a research lies in its 

applicability. Here I present few drawings 

by my students in which they present during 

retrieval practice their interpretation of 

information presented to them as part of 

classroom teaching (fig 2& 3). I also requested 

teachers of English, Social Science & Hindi for 

a similar practice in their respective subjects. 

Here I present the outcome (fig 4 & 5). 


32 THE PROGRESSIVE TEACHER july/august 2019 



july/August 2019 


33

STRESS MANAGEMENT 

Towards physical & mental 

well-being of teachers & 

students in schools 

Teaching is a remarkably rewarding pursuit, if one is able to enable and empower 

learners. However, it is also about being a confident and committed teacher with a 

sound balance of a healthy mind and a healthy body. 

Karishmma V Mangal I 

Director and Trustee, Thakur International School Cambridge 

Karishmma V Mangal is Director and Trustee 

at Thakur International School Cambridge. 

She has established herself as an educationalist 

par excellence over the last decade. Thanks to 

her vision, dedication, integrity and humble 

demeanour she has endeared herself to 

teachers, parents and students alike. She places 

tremendous importance on the impact bought 

about by real life experiences. She believes 

that nothing – books, classes, tuitions etc can 

substitute the learning one receives from the 

teacher called life. 

She has a Diploma in Computer, a degree 

in Engineering and an MBA in Finance. 

Throughout her academic life she focused on 

developing a refined personality rather than 

being only bound to books. 

In 2009, Karishmma took over the responsibility 

of managing the IGCSE division of Thakur 

International School - Cambridge. This 

opportunity offered prodigious exposure and 

learning. She not only understood the intricacies 

of how a school works but also imbibed vital 

learnings of running a venture. 

Nowadays, the importance of physical and mental well-being 

of teachers and students needs to be emphasized more than 

ever. Education or any activity that involves an exchange of 

knowledge should involve a consistent focus on mental and 

physical wellness. Let us look at some of the crucial aspects that can guide 

us about focusing on the overall well-being of our teachers and students. 

Teaching is stressful 

According to a report by National Foundation for Educational Research 

(NFER), 20% of teachers are tensed about their job all the time. For other 

professionals, this number drops to 13%. Another report highlights the 

fact that burnout among teachers could be contagious. Teachers undergo 

tremendous stress to create an engaging learning experience. Creating 

a sound teaching plan and finally achieving the “learning-objectives” 

involves many stages. At each stage, a teacher gets involved and strives to 

deliver to the best of his ability. In a performance-driven world, it becomes 

increasingly stressful to fulfil the demands of students while ticking all 

the deliverables in a limited time frame. 

Modern teaching methods involve experiential learning. Teachers 

should be encouraged to use various tools like documentaries, animation, 

museums, national parks, art, and craft to educate students about a 

subject. Such engaging methods ensure participation and improve quality 

of learning thereby creating a satisfying outcome for both teachers and 

students. 

A mentally relaxing environment brings in positivity. Wellness of 

teachers has been linked to the effectiveness of teaching. It has a positive 

impact on the achievement of students. The objective of all teaching 

activities must be a free exchange of knowledge. Students can always use 

scores of digital resources to seek information. However, it is the teacher 

who gives the correct perspective to process this information. A mentally 

relaxed and blissful teacher brings positive energy to the sessions. 

Emotions of teachers have been shown to influence the 

emotions of students 

Medical researchers have discovered that in classrooms of teachers 

who admit higher level or burnouts, students tend to have higher levels 

of cortisol – a stress hormone. Similar studies have confirmed that stress 

suffered by teachers can be passed on to students. 

Students look up to their teachers. All actions of a teacher are 


observed closely by students. Therefore, it 

is but obvious that the emotional state of a 

teacher affects the students in more ways 

than we would like to believe. A happy teacher 

exudes positivity which directly impacts the 

learning environment. Whereas, a detached or 

disturbed teacher is likely to impair the learning 

environment. An emotionally unsettled student 

may perform poorly. Therefore, it is very 

important to ensure the emotional well-being 

of teachers. 

Unaddressed needs of students 

increase stress for teachers 

Even if students are facing problems 

outside of the classroom, ranging from unmet 

needs to mental health, teachers are held 

accountable for the overall progress of their 

students. Teachers know that all students 

are not the same. Each human individual 

has a different set of talents, pursuits, and 

ambition. However, it is not always easy to 

strike a balance. At times, a teacher may not 

realise that some demands of students are 

unmet. More often than not, the unaddressed 

needs of students increase stress for teachers. 

Therefore, it becomes increasingly more 

important to pay careful attention to each 

student. This ensures that the teacher is more 

attuned to behavioural aspects, and will refine 

the learning experience. 

Focus should not just be on selfcare 

but also building systems that 

reduce stress 

Teachers and students need to be healthy 

and happy. Any teaching or learning activity is 

incomplete without the inclusion of physical and 

mental fulfilment. Any study-plan that doesn’t 

focus on nutrition and exercise fails to create 

happy teachers and students. One of the most 

crucial aspects of well-being is peace of mind. 

Focus should not just be on self-care but also 

building systems that reduce stress. 

Teaching schedules and administration work 

expected from teachers must be rationalised. 

Students should get ample time to indulge in 

extra-curricular activities. Meditation sessions 

are highly beneficial for everyone including those 

actively involved in the pursuit of knowledge. 

Practising yoga and physical fitness helps trigger 

hormones within the brain which reduce stress. 

Appointing in-house counsellors or psychologists 

who can interact with teachers and students 

suffering from stress is no longer an option. 

Students and teachers must be oriented through 

multiple sensitisation programmes about the 

importance of opening up as well as being 

mindful about what their colleagues might be 

going through. Schools must think out of the 

box and deliver holistic solutions that would 

ensure both mental and physical well-being of 

teachers and students. These solutions should 

be implemented consistently keeping their long 

term impact in mind. 

A mentally 

relaxing 

environment 

brings in 

positivity. 

Wellness of 

teachers has 

been linked to 

the effectiveness 

of teaching. It 

has a positive 

impact on the 

achievement 

of students. 

The objective 

of all teaching 

activities must be 

a free exchange 

of knowledge. 

Students can 

always use 

scores of digital 

resources to seek 

information. 



35

CONCLAVE 

5 th Edition 

of The 

Progressive 


Conclave 2019 

300+ school educators from 75 cities/towns 

across India attended The Progressive Teacher 

Conclave. 


As a part of its mission to make India a global 

superpower in school education, S Chand 

Group organized The Progressive Teacher 

Conclave for school educators. The conclave 

delivered the pedagogical insights on the 7 most critical 

domains of school leadership to the attendees. S Chand 

Group’s defined school leadership domains are 

School Environment & Culture, Curriculum & 

Content, People, Learning & Assessment, Finance, 

Operations & Legal, Technology, and Leading 

Organizational Change. 



37

The key objectives of the conclave are to: 

• Ignite thoughts on how to improve the quality 

of education in India. 

• Spark debates, talks, and discussions on the 

challenges in school education. 

• Create a national knowledge-sharing 

platform for schools/leaders. 

Dr. Atul Nischal, Founder-Director, ICSL in 

his welcome note, addressed the critical issues 

of contemporary school education. The keynote 

address was delivered by Vineet Joshi, Director 

General – National Testing Agency. 

The panel comprised of G. Balasubramanian, 

Dr. Rajesh Hassija, Sangeeta D. Krishan, Suraj 

Prakash, VineetaKher & Dr. Atul Nischal. 

Saurav Ganguly, BCCI President & former 

captain of the Indian cricket team, was the Guest 

of Honor for the event. He spoke on Sports 

Education & Leadership in India. He coached 

the attendees on how to take forward the “FIT 

India Movement” at their schools. 

The conclave was followed by the S. Chand 

Group Star Educator & Teaching Excellence 

Awards 2019. A total of 39 outshining school 

leaders were felicitated as Star Educators 

for their contribution to education. Out of 

2500+ nominations received for 15 different 

categories for Teaching Excellence Awards 

2019, 38 teachers were awarded. 

Punam Kashyap was honored with 

the Lifetime achievement award by Saurav 

Ganguly for her outstanding contribution in 

the field of education. 


Name 

Ms Sangeeta Puri 

Mr Jameswar Mohanty 

Mr Ramesh Nair 

Ms Sheetal Ashish Christian 

Ms Urvi Patel 

Ms Rekha Shelke 

Ms Ritu Khandewal 

Ms Sonal Band 

Mr Prashant Bukkawar 

Mr Joel Edwin 

Ms Geetha Lakshmi 

Fr Bino Pattarkalam CMI 

Sr Theophine SAB 

Ms Tummala Radhika 

Ms Vimala Nihil 

Ms Radhika Unni 

Ms Karuna Verma 

Ms Sindhu Praseeth 


SCG TEA Awardees (Teachers) 

Award Category Name School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In English - Primary Ms Shraddha Khare Ashoka Hall Sr Sec School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In English - Middle Ms Anjana Ramachandran Swami Vivekanand International School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Hindi - Primary Ms Rachna Sharma Nirma Vidyavihar 

Innovation - Primary Ms Chitra Kumar Iyer Sri Ma Vidyalaya 

Innovation - Middle Ms Rajni Jauhari Bharat Ram Global School 

Innovation - Secondary Ms Monika Sachdeva Darshan Academy 

Star Lead Teacher - Secondary Ms Swapna Nair Arwachin International School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies in English - Secondary Ms Rakhi Jha Little Flowers Public Sr Sec School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies in English - Secondary Ms Sudeshna Ghosh The BSS School 

Use Of Multimedia/ICT - Secondary Ms Jyoti Lakhwani Sunbeam School 

Use of Multimedia / ICT - Secondary Ms Sabita Tripathi Krishna Public School 

Use Of Multimedia/ICT - Secondary Ms Chandni Khanna Nirmal Bhartia School 

Use of Multimedia / ICT - Secondary Mr Rajesh Gautam Gurukul International Sr. Sec. School 

Rising Star Ms Pappu Deepti M L Khanna DAV School 

Rising star - Primary Ms Vandna Vedic Girls Sr. Sec School 

Classroom Management - Primary Mr Bhisham Bhardwaj Drona Public School 

Classroom Management - Middle Ms Rajni Sharma Rayat Bahra International School 

Classroom Management - Secondary Ms Radha Chauhan Tarun Niketan Public School 

Star CAT ( Curriculum & Training ) Team / Head Dr Sanjay Chugh Cambridge Convent School 

Star CAT [Curriculum & Training] Team/Head Ms Mala Kapoor Salwan Public School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Hindi - Middle Ms Shobha Sharma Sam International School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies in Science - Secondary Ms Monika Sindhwani Bal Bharati Public School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Science - Middle Ms Babita Verma Nirmal Bhartia School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Science - Secondary Ms Nisha Sanga Bombay Scottish High School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Science - Middle Ms Rinky Sharma Indirapuram Public School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Other Languages - Secondary Ms Isha Verma Scottish High International School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Other Languages - Secondary Ms Shashi Bhanotia Salwan Public School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Other Languages - Middle Ms Karishma Sharma Ramjas School 

Star Librarian Mr Anand Kumar Tripathi Sainik School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Social Studies - Primary Ms Richa Chaubey Sunbeam School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Social Studies - Middle Ms Ananya Bhattacharya Kalyani School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Social Studies - Secondary Ms Maitreyee Bhattacharya Tagore International School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Math - Primary Ms Jasleen Khot Kalyani School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies In Math - Middle Ms Seema Bhatia Indirapuram Public School 

Innovative Teaching Strategies in Math - Secondary Ms Divya Chhabra Ramjas School 

Star Innovator Ms Gajalakshmi Chennai Public School 

Star Lead Teacher Ms Divya Reddy SMP High School 

Special contribution to K-12 education in India: Jury Nomination Ms Navita Puri Kundad Vidya Mandir Sr. Sec. School 

Lifetime Achievement Award Ms Punam Kashyap Delhi World Foundation 

SCG Star Educator (Principals) 

School Name 

Children’s Academy Group of Schools 

Delhi Public School 

Muljhibhai Mehta School 

Holy Redeemer English Medium School 

Smt L P Savani Vidhyabhavan 

Jay Ambe Group of Schools 

R D Public School 

Aaryan’s World School 

New Horizon Public school Panvel 

The Bishop’s School 

Rani Public School 

Christ Nagar Central School 

St.Anne’s Public School 

Hindu Public School 

Siakasinadars Matric School 

SBOA School and Junior College 

Sam International School 

Joseph & Mary Public School 

Name 

Ms Pallavi Sharma 

Ms Alka Kapur 

Ms Neelam Kumar 

Ms Rekha Sharma 

Dr Sarita V. Singh 

Ms Amita Mittal 

Ms Harish Yadav 

Ms H M Rawat 

Mr C. R. Mahesh 

Mr Yousuf Shareef 

Ms A. Radha 

Mr G. M. Manjunath 

Mr Mujtaba Khan 

Mr K. Suresh 

Ms Madhavi. V 

Mr Ravi K Manda 

Ms Madhvi Chandra 

Ms Bindu Bhatnagar 

Ms Priyanka Gulati 

School Name 

Mamta Modern Senior Secondary School 

Modern Public School 

Masonic Public School 

Alpine Convent School 

R P S Senior Secondary School 

The Learning Field 

Suraj School 

Deewan Public School 

Camford School 

Excellent Group of Schools 

Raju High School 

Sainik Public School 

VIP’s International School 

Vivekananda E.M. High School 

VSN Siddartha School 

Fort City School 

Gitanjali Devshala 

S.N. Sidheshwar School 

Evergreen Public School 


39


Educating 

the educator 

Here are the various avenues for instituting feasible and 

effective programme of In-Service training for teaching 

practitioners. 

P. Ajitha 

Learning is a never ending life-long process. As the frontiers of 

knowledge keep expanding, our ignorance of things beyond our 

comprehension keeps confounding us. So it becomes imperative for 

those who have been given the mandate to aid man’s efforts towards 

creating the thinking individuals, to not only be abreast of the developments 

taking place in various domains of human endeavour, but also create 

knowledge and steer thinking in the direction of realizing the larger objectives 

of collective human effort. Does this capture the crux of the job description 

of teachers? Isn’t this what education entails at a time when there is an 

environmental apocalypse looming large threatening the very existence of 

human race and billions of other life forms? Does this put things in perspective? 

Every society and culture that has the foresight to realize this, takes the 

process of education seriously. Tasked with such a momentous responsibility, 

one can imagine the level of preparedness required of educators to carry out 

this mandate. This begs the question - Are we equipped to do just that? What 

are educational intuitions doing to spruce up their efforts in educating the 

educators? The level of preparedness determines to what extent the learning 

outcomes will be realised. And this level of preparedness which ensures the 

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. 


teachers are delivering on expectations their 

role requires them to do, is achieved by the two 

crucial components of Teacher Training namely 

Pre-Service and In-Service training. This article 

looks into the various avenues for instituting 

feasible and effective programme of In-Service 

training for Teaching Practitioners. Detailed 

below are core areas of Teacher Training : 

Continuous professional 

development 

A key area of focus in the context of teacher 

readiness is Professional Development of 

Teaching Practitioners. The provision of in-service 

training is an indispensable part of Continuous 

Professional Development of Teachers. Without 

this, the teaching fraternity will become obsolete 

with redundant pedagogical practices that were 

designed for an era bygone before technological 

advancements made their inroads into the 

education field. The learners today are digital 

natives who have the access to any and every 

vital information /knowledge they seek at the 

click of a mouse or touch of a finger. They 

are better informed; tech savvy and have a 

wider exposure to the world compared to the 

generations before them. This is both a blessing 

and a curse. Exposure and knowledge across 

and beyond the curricula changes the classroom 

dynamics where the teacher is no longer 

standing on the pedestal to impart knowledge 

but becomes a co-learner, contributing to the 

learning process and facilitating to streamline 

the learning process and catalyzing it. To 

engage such learners actively, the teacher has 

to ‘up her game’ to create and then sustain the 

ever dwindling interest levels of the students. 

Conventional pedagogical tools of instruction 

will not come to her rescue in the present class 

room scenario. She needs to constantly strive to 

learn to transact curriculum in ways that would 

not only appeal her students but also kindle in 

them the desire to own their learning. 

Reflective teaching 

The hallmark of good teaching-learning 

process is the efficacy of achieving the intended 

learning outcomes. And for that to happen,a 

continuous and comprehensive audit of 

teaching-learning process needs to be carried 

out periodically. One way to do that is to carry 

out a self-audit that can be taken up by teaching 

Time and 

resources are 

to be set aside, 

freeing teachers 

to chart out 

Individual 

Learning 

Programme 

by exploring 

a plethora of 

learning avenues 

through MOOC 

or other digital 

platforms for 

upgradation of 

teaching-learning 

practices and 

building core 

competencies 

and subject 

domains. 



41

Teachers 

showing promise 

of fulfilling core 

leadership roles 

need to be 

cherry picked 

and groomed 

to take on 

future roles. 

Such practices 

create better 

synergy and 

fulfil individual 

aspirations 

of educators 

by aligning 

institutional 

vision with 

individual 

growth. 

practitioners themselves by incorporating tools 

of reflective teaching like journaling, recording 

the actual classroom transaction etc. 

Individual learning programme 

A provision for in-house teacher training once 

a week is a good premise to initiate the process of 

building competent and motivated teachers who 

take ownership for their development as teaching 

practitioners. Time and resources are to be set 

aside, freeing teachers to chart out Individual 

Learning Programme by exploring a plethora of 

learning avenues through MOOC or other digital 

platforms for upgradation of teaching-learning 

practices and building core competencies and 

subject domains. An exclusive time slot with 

uninterrupted time (3- 4 hours) would go a long 

way in making the effort worth its while. To 

ensure that the teachers are productively utilizing 

the given time, they maybe asked to submit an 

action plan for implementing learning garnered 

from the courses taken, in actual classroom 

setting. This action plan in turn can be reviewed 

by the school head and considered to evaluate 

teaching efficacy in the classroom. 

Mentoring 

A personalized mentoring programme, 

especially, for the new recruits is a very essential 

feature of induction programme that every 

educational institute should have in place. 

Senior and experienced teachers need to 

provide guidance and counsel during the initial 

days. They could be entrusted to hold subject 

enrichment sessions at least once a week to 

orient the mentees towards new pedagogical 

tools and techniques to improve learning 

outcomes. 

Feedback 

A robust feedback mechanism which features 

regular and periodic assessment of teachers’ 

strengths and weaknesses in pedagogical 

and classroom practices spearheaded by the 

academic heads helps in better performance of 

teachers. 

Nurturing leaders 

Teachers showing promise of fulfilling core 

leadership roles need to be cherry picked and 

groomed to take on future roles. Such practices 

create better synergy and fulfil individual 

aspirations of educators by aligning institutional 

vision with individual growth. 

In-house, In-service Teacher Training 

programmes creates a positive environment 

to foster creativity, innovation and healthy 

exchange of pedagogical knowledge, up 

gradational of skill sets, formation of newinsights 

into the teaching –learning process,all 

of which lead to better teaching practices in 

the classroom which automatically translates 

into better learning outcomes and realizing the 

objectives of education on a broader spectrum. 


CASE STUDY - ASSESSMENT 

Project 

assessment: 

an effective 

approach 

Here’s how to find an assessment system which 

benefits the students without stressing the teacher out. 

by Tenzing Rapgyal 

Tenzing Rapgyal holds a Masters Degree in 

Economics and a Bachelor of Education. He has 

worked for a couple of years in Sherab Gatsel 

Lobling, a transit school for adult refugees 

from Tibet, and then in the year 2005, he joined 

Tibetan Children’s Village School, Dharamsala 

Cantt, Himachal Pradesh. In 2011, he was 

transferred to Tibetan Children’s Village School, 

an elite school for bright students from other 

Tibetan Children’s Village School, which is in 

Selaqui, Deharadun. 

Presently, he is teaching English to the 9th 

and 10th grade students in Tibetan Children’s 

Village School, Dharamsala. 

For the last few years, the hardest challenge I have faced in my 

professional life is to assess students’ work effectively considering the 

large number of students I have had to teach: four classes, consisting 

of 30 students each on an average, with extra responsibilities to 

shoulder. 

I have tried different types of assessment methods, but somehow I have 

not been satisfied with them. Is it because the methods of assessment change 

with the composition of students? Is it because I have bogged myself down 

with poor planning? It is possible that I don’t have any clear idea as to how to 

go about it. Or I may not have guiding principles to back up my assessment. 

What goals did I set? 

I have been trying to find an assessment system which benefits the 

students without stressing me out too much at the same time. 

So, I am desperately in need to get the professional answers to the following 

questions: 

1. How often should I check students’ work for effective results? 

2. How do I assess their creative writing more effectively? 

3. How do I assess their project work to serve the purpose it is meant for? 

The areas I have cited above are very broad. So, I will focus on effective 

assessment of students’ project work. IT IS A BIG CHALLENGE. I have been 

trying to apply the maxim: Don’t work hard, work smart. But it is exciting 

nevertheless! 

As in our school every month, students are assigned project work on 

different disciplines; I have noticed that students across the classes work 

on their project at the eleventh hour. If they are given one month, they start 

working in the last week. If they have a week, they rush a day or two before 

the deadline. Moreover, when we assess their work, we know most of their 

contents are lifted directly from different sources, viz. online, without giving 

them any credit. These days, due to internet, it has become easier for students 

to do research and plagiarize others’ work. 

I have always felt that I should do something about it before it becomes 

a trend. The crux of the problem is the lack of time management and basic 

skills of research on the part of the students and the absence of regular and 

continual assessment of the ongoing process of students’ work on the part 

of the teacher. 

What actions did I take to achieve my goals? 

With these ideas in mind, I started planning the English project month. 

So, first of all, democratic choice of topics/subjects is very important. For both 

classes, IX and X, I had prepared some, but in the class we had brainstorming 


on what they are going to work on for their 

English project. I divided the students into 

groups. Having discussed the task, they came up 

with different ideas. In class IX, the ideas they 

came up with were not different from what they 

had already done in the past. So, I suggested that 

they should act as their favorite authors in a wax 

museum. They liked the idea. In class XA, out of 

noisy storm, came an idea to do TV commercial, 

which they had done in class IX while doing pun. 

They know how pun is used in advertisement 

for humorous effect. And in class XB, there were 

lots of ideas, but we decided on making a short 

film based on the crimes of passion. I took the 

advantage of their craze for Crime Patrol! In both 

classes, IX and X, I thought that they should do 

a short documentary film on some social issues 

like slum dwellers or street children. However, I 

humbly sacrificed my idea to their interest. 

Now comes the most important aspect 

of project work: planning, which is time 

management and resource allocation. Usually, 

we don’t stress much on this aspect. Usually, we 

just give them some general guidelines, but when 

we assess their work, we know something went 

wrong somewhere. So, what I did this time is that 

I spent some sessions in the class as lessons on 

forming groups with mixed talents, assigning 

specific roles to every member according to their 

interest and strength, making a rough plan of the 

task, dividing the project work into manageable 

chunks, setting deadlines to finish the different 

parts of the plan, self monitoring and self 

assessment of their work in progress on a regular 

basis and monitoring their work continually by 

asking the group leaders to report the progress 

they have made in the class. 

We had a discussion on the criteria of 

assessment so that students know the expected 

learning output which will guide them in regular 

self assessment of their work in progress. Their 


individual project files were evaluated on the 

basis of completion of work, details and reflective 

elements in the report writing. Likewise,to assess 

their contribution to the team work, I checked 

the responsibilities they have taken, ideas they 

have shared, leadership qualities they have 

displayed and regularity of their attendance in 

the group task-which is reflected by the group 

leaders’ overall comment-from their report they 

have submitted to me. 

To keep track of the contribution they have 

made on a daily basis and to help them avoid 

procrastination, I made it mandatory for them to 

maintain an individual file, not a group file which 

is common practice, to record their daily progress 

report. I showed them a simple template with 

three questions: What did we do today? What 

was my contribution today? What needs to be 

done tomorrow? The daily report of each student 

is signed by their group leaders with his/her 

remark. And then every 2nd or 3rd day, before the 

start of a lesson, group leaders inform the class 

how far they had progressed, what challenges 

they had faced and how they had overcome them. 

Three days before the deadline, I took stock 

of the final progress of their work. A day before 

the final day, we discussed how and when we 

were going to display the project work in the 

class room. For class IX, it was not possible 

for everyone to do the role play of their favorite 

authors. So, they chose the best among their 

respective groups and they rehearsed in front 

of the class. The rest of the students presented 

their project every day before the start of lesson. 

Regarding Class XA, who worked on TV 

commercial using pun, and XB, who had been 

shooting short films based on crimes of passion, 

screened their projects in the class. There were 

some glitches like the absence of casting and 

some minor language errors. But it was too late. 

I felt I should have checked their films a couple 

I spent some 

sessions in the 

class as lessons 

on forming 

groups with 

mixed talents, 

assigning 

specific roles to 

every member 

according to 

their interest and 

strength, making 

a rough plan of 

the task, dividing 

the project work 

into manageable 

chunks, setting 

deadlines 

to finish the 

different parts 

of the plan, self 

monitoring and 

self assessment 

of their work in 

progress on a 

regular basis and 

monitoring their 

work continually 

by asking the 

group leaders 

to report the 

progress they 

have made in the 

class 


45

The most 

important 

learning 

experience at the 

end of the project 

is that if one 

delves into one’s 

mind in search 

of answers to 

one’s questions, 

one will find it. 

The torch which 

will guide you 

through the 

dark recess is 

reflection. So, one 

has to question 

oneself to get the 

answers. 

I felt I should have checked their films a couple 

of times, but is it right to do so, since it was for 

assessment? 

On the final day, the projects were displayed 

in the class. It was during the 20-minute recess 

that the projects were showcased. Class X did 

not get enough time to show all their projects, 

so after the recess; class XA and XB watched 

one another’s work during 5th and 6th periods 

with permission from the concerned subject 

teachers. I am planning to show their projects 

with other classroom activities captured on 

my camera to all students in the hall before 

the end of the year. 

After collecting their project files, my test of 

patience started! Since I demanded students to 

make individual files, I had to go through 101 

files consisting of around 1000 A4 size pages 

with their daily progress reports, presentation 

write ups, reflective writings, which consisted 

of how their experience working on the project 

had been, what challenges they faced, how 

they overcame them, what they learned from 

the whole experience and how they could have 

done their project better; group leaders’ report 

specified how he/she had been while working 

on the project, what his/her contributions 

were and what the areas he/she needs to 

improve upon; and the materials they had 

collected. It took me a month to complete 

the assessment spending one and a half hour 

after the class every day except weekends. 

It was helpful for me to get a deeper insight 

into students’ minds and manners. Their 

reflective reports revealed the challenges they 

faced, viz. time management, team work and 

logistic arrangement. What they have learned 

as revealed by their reports is to cooperate, 

share their ideas, juggling between different 

academic and social skills, dealing with 

unexpected turns in the course of their project 

and managing time and resources. 

Later in class, I told them that they have 

tried their best to overcome those challenges, 

which we all face at work and in life in general, 

and it goes on and we should keep learning 

and improving. 

What has been the students’ 

experience? 

Let me quote some unedited reflective lines 

from the students’ project reports highlighting 

some of their learning experiences. 

Sonam Choedon declares, “This project 

apart all of the other projects that I have done, 

has been a challenging one. I have faced fights 

and had to come over it. This was not easy. The 

commercial project was challenging and it was 

more than a mere language project. This was 

a new experience for me.” 

“Well, this year’s English project was fun, 

informative, interesting, one of the things 

I like and in some point, a little like a daily 

test,”remarks Tenzin Woeser. He further 

opines, “Times came when things were out 

of our hand like for shooting, because of the 

busy activities schedules. Well we couldn’t 

change the school’s timing but could manage 

our time.” 

Tenzin Lekden, shares his learning 

experience thus: I always had to think 

alternative, i.e. what if he falls ill? What 

if she goes outside? What if camera is not 

available? And what if our video gets deleted 

accidently?...I had also learned to use a 

software to make video for I was video editor 

and man don’t know how to use it, so I had 

asked my seniors how to use it. Many of them 

I myself explored and learned so I know that 

the more time you explore the computer the 

more you learn. 

Tenzin Thinley, a group leader, advises 

one of his members, “…need to learn how to 

be patient.” 

Tsethar writes, “My author is George 

Orwell and his book animal farm. To be true 

I have read it last year but today, I not only 

going to read it. I am going to research on it… 

When we present it before Gen Rapgyal, our 

English teacher, I become aware of mistakes 

and unfinished works that we had put forward 

on his table…” 

Dhondup Tsering, a group leader, realizes, 

“I was right that you are creative and make 

good action plan. But due to you and me, we 

waste few precious time of our group. I realize 

it was my false and I am sorry for that. 

What has been my learning 

experience? 

The most important learning experience 

at the end of the project is that if one delves 

into one’s mind in search of answers to one’s 

questions, one will find it. The torch which 

will guide you through the dark recess is 

reflection. So, one has to question oneself to 

get the answers. 

Of course, one can steal others’ ideas! 

However, I don’t remember the specific 

places as my robbery was random. In my first 

attempt to find activities for English project 

work, Google guided me to some schools 

where I pillaged the idea of Wax Museum for 

Class IX, which I modified and adapted to my 

need. In another search for the criteria of the 

assessment of short film making for Class X, as 

it was an unknown territory for me, it directed 

me to sneak into some universities to loot; and 

next time when I pressed my query to Google 

about project based learning, it showed me 

many sites where I lifted some arguments as to 

why this approach to learning is indispensible 

to teach students the 21st century skills. 


CLASSROOM ETHICS 

Decoding the lingering 

effects of labelling 

in classrooms 

Labels have both positive and negative effects. Everything is always a matter of 

balance, and we can all make a difference by countering the stigma, by adjusting our 

expectations and by giving them all the possible opportunities to thrive, no matter 

what code or label they may carry in their backpack. 

Pooja Khatri 

Pooja Khatri is a teacher and teacher educator 

who continues to be fascinated by the way 

people think, what they think and how they act. 

She has a keen interest in education psychology 

and research. She believes as a teacher it is her 

duty not to just educate young minds but also 

bring out best in them and herself. She believes 

that “The task of the modern educator is not to 

cut down jungles, but to irrigate deserts” –C.S. 

Lewis. 

Every classroom has a “clown,” “bully,” “geek”, “scholar,” 

“good for nothing” and the list of such adjectives goes on… . 

I would like to narrate one incident between two girls who met at a 

reunion of school. Ruchita and Payal were classmates in school and 

the conversation begins as follows: 

Ruchita: “Hey fatso! What are you up to these days?” 

Payal: “I am doing nothing great, but I am sure you must have got 

admission in top college; after all you were the scholar of our class.” 

Ruchita: “Nothing like that, even you were favourite of many teachers. Do 

you remember that geek of our class? He keeps texting me.” 

Payal: “Oh yeah! Loser! Look at the Clown of our class, there he is! Still 

the same?” 

Actually, we have labels for everything. For example, Fat is a person who 

is heavier than expected weight, crazy is a person who act differently than 

the way we are used to see, Dumb is a person who is not able to perform the 

simple tasks. 

These labels are not harmful but they are telling us the truth of deep 

impression of people created in such a manner that they become our identity. 

Such types of labels are interior part of our classroom and we keep using them 

every now and then. 

Labelling by teachers 

It’s not that the labelling exists only among students, teachers are also a 

part of it. A common practice by many teachers is that the students who obey 

them and get high marks are good students. 

Now the question over here is, will students with bad academic record but 

high moral value will still be considered as bad students? If students complete 

all the assignments on time then he/she is clever but, does this interpret that 

being clever is confined only with completing the assignments on time? 

Teachers teach the same syllabus over and over for years. This becomes 

routine, so when they see students coming to the class, sitting in front and 

becoming engaged in the learning process, it sends a message to the teacher 

that these are “good” students and will more than likely do well in the course. 

They learn those students’ names and pay more attention to their completed 

assignments. While, other students are thought to be not good. 

Therefore, I as a teacher keep wondering: is teaching a partial profession? 

The worst part over here is once a child’s reputation has begun to circulate 

in staffroom, canteen or among parents, then it becomes harder to recognize 

them as a good student again even if they achieve great success. 


The instances… 

Now, consider the following scenarios: 

Scene 1: 

Sujeet is a very intelligent boy. He stands first 

in academics, be it any subject. But after board 

exam when the result came out, he ends up 

scoring less marks. What must have happened? 

Actually, remarks like excellent, very good, A 

grade, ten on ten,made him overconfident and 

he felt that even if he doesn’t work hard, he will 

hold first rank. 

Scene 2: 

Tom is always humiliated and bullied by his 

peers and teachers for not understanding simple 

formulae, so he stopped coming to school. 

So, as a teacher, sometimes, we become 

source of bad motivation (consciously or 

unconsciously). Giving positive or negative labels 

can affect self-esteem of students. 

Scene 3: 

Pankti is an ambitious girl. She wants to be a 

doctor but her parents are poor and cannot afford 

her education fees. In spite of her financial status 

and demotivation from her family to discontinue 

further studies because she is a girl child she 

doesn’t want to give up on her dreams, thus, 

she worked hard and enrolled in good medical 

college. She gained scholarship. 

This is an example of self-motivation where 

the environment doesn’t affect and challenges 

are overcome by an individual to achieve success. 

I also believe that a student really deserves nice 

comments and feedback every time. The teachers 

also have to tell the students that everything is 

possible even if he/she gets a bad grade. If a 


teacher tells one of the students that he is good 

for nothing, then he will definitely lose motivation 

which is a very bad thing. 

Tips for teachers… 

I would like to highlight a few points for 

teachers that can help them overcome such 

difficulties: 

• Believe that there is always a scope for 

improvement. 

• Help children to grow psychologically, 

emotionally, mentally and academically. 

• If you are offended by the behaviour of a 

student, then condemn the act, not the 

student. 

• Do not be judgmental and biased among the 

students. 

• Do not believe a generalized statement given 

by others, make your own judgement and 

take fair actions. 

• Do not disown any child due to some 

disability, rather help them to overcome. 

• Do not under or overestimate a child. 

• Be conscious with your vocabulary, some 

words can affect child’s self-esteem. 

• Know that you as a teacher are judged by 

students too 

• Lastly, smile! It projects kindness, empathy 

and sympathy. 

Labels have both positive and negative 

effects. Everything is always a matter of balance, 

and we can all make a difference by countering 

the stigma, by adjusting our expectations and 

by giving them all the possible opportunities to 

thrive, no matter what code or label they may 

carry in their backpack. 

“People are too complicated to have simple 

labels.” -Philip Pullman. 

What we can do 

is to start at the 

root and educate 

our children and 

young people. We 

need to develop 

sensitivity around 

the issues so 

that we are 

able to create 

a supportive 

framework and 

build capacity in 

the caregivers. 


49

CASE STUDY 

Onine 

Assessment 

– an effective 

tool to support 

learning 

– A case study of 

Middle School 

Mathematics 

Teachers need inputs and training to generate good 

assessment tools so that schools are able to use them 

to assess the learning levels achieved by the students in 

the various school subjects. Generating or developing 

a good assessment tool (the question paper) is another 

aspect of assessment which needs improvement. 

Anita Sharma & Dr DharamParkash 

Anita Sharma is Principal of Sanatan Dharam 

Public School, BU-Block, Pitampura in New 

Delhi since 2002. She has raised the school 

standard bilaterally by enhancing the teachers’ 

competencies in their subjects as well as by 

facilitating the training programmes for them in 

usage of technology in the classroom especially 

the use of open software. She is also a Member 

of curriculum committee, Mathematics for CBSE 

and CBSEi (international curriculum launched 

by CBSE ) 

She has conducted more than 300 training 

programmes for teachers in India and overseas 

about effective transaction of Mathematics 

curriculum. She has won many awards and 

accolades including a Presidential Grant 

from Ministry of Science and Technology to 

conceptualize, plan and execute the programme 

“Mathematics Movement.” She is also the 

recipient of Lifetime Achievement Award 

Aryabhat Award by All India Ramanujan 

Mathematics Club and many other prestigious 

awards. 

She has authored a series Math ZING for 

Primary School Mathematics (Classes I-V) 

for Encyclopaedia Britannica and a series for 

Middle School Mathematics (Classes VI-VIII) 

with S.Chand Publications. 

India is a country with 1.3 billion people . Out of this population, more 

than 470 million people are below 14 years of age. The number of young 

people between the age of 6-14 years who attend the school upto upper 

primary Level are approximately 210 million. Quality education for such 

a large number is a big concern and there is need to use different strategies 

to achieve the ultimate goal of universalisation of education qualitatively 

and quantitatively. Huge efforts and inputs are required to create interesting 

learning materials, giving classroom teaching-learning processes a more 

creative and qualitative push and to standardized assessment for all the 

students across the country. 

Importance of assessment 

Assessment is an important aspect of education, which also provides 

indicators about what the students are learning and how well they are 

learning. Even if the teaching and learning processes are improved and are 

implemented in the schools, they will lose their relevance if the assessment 

is not in consonance with the teaching-learning processes. For example if 

assessment is consisting of test items which are only knowledge based / 

memory based , then the whole school system will be moving in that direction 

promoting knowledge focused learning. 

PISA – Programme for International Student Assessment, assesses 

students in Mathematics and benchmarks the mathematical literacy of a 

15 year old to formulate, employ and interpret mathematics in a variety of 

contexts all around the world. India participated in PISA for the first time in 

2009 and ranked 72nd among 74 participating countries. The low scores were 

explained due to the difference in cultural contexts of the questions used in 

the assessments. 


However, these results and many other surveys done by ASER etc, clearly 

indicate that assessments in mathematics need to move from memory-based 

assessment to understanding-based assessment. Assessment agencies like the 

CBSE have taken a note of these trends and are taking steps to move in this 

direction. 

Also it is a known fact that the teachers need inputs and training to generate 

good assessment tools so that schools are able to use them to assess the learning 

levels achieved by the students in the various school subjects. Generating or 

developing a good assessment tool (the question paper) is another aspect of 

assessment which needs improvement. Stereotype questions papers which focus 

on assessing memory/knowledge are no more relevant as the teaching/ learning 

strategies are moving on to activity based learning or experiential learning. The 

educational scenario is still struggling to adopt and adapt the relevant assessment 

strategies due to its complex structure. 

Digital Assessment 

Digital Assessment could provide an alternate solution to overcome some 

of the road blocks and difficulty being faced in assessment. By using digital 

technologies, each child could be assessed by tapping into a question bank of 

good quality items prepared by trained teachers & experts. The questions will 

be available based on various aspects like difficulty levels, domain of learning 

etc. It is also possible to provide equivalent different assessment tools/question 

papers to the students with the flick of a click. 

Online assessment is slowly emerging as an assessment tool to be used 

in the next decade. Popularity of online assessment for entrance tests to large 

numbers of courses has brought it in the forefront. 

Using online assessment in the school education is at a nascent stage. 

Schools are looking at the whole system critically and apprehensively. The major 

question being how it would help them to assess students, diagnose the gaps 

in learning and provide indicators for fulfilling the learning gaps and planning 

remedial measures. 

Case Study 

The present case study is based on an initial attempt in this direction to 

explore the impact of creating an online assessment system, and analyzing 

the results to look for patterns and indicators to help the schools and students 

to diagnose the learning gaps of the students, and to provide information and 

patterns to teachers about these learning gaps. 

Mathematics was chosen to be the subject for which online assessment 

would be planned because the general perception is that it is a tough subject 

to learn and assess. 


Prof(Dr.) Dharam Parkash, MA ( Maths), MADE, 

MEd, PhD has worked with School Television, 

Directorate of Education, Delhi. He has been 

associated with CIET, NCERT in Film & Video 

production in various capacities including Head 

of Media Production. He has been involved in 

development of Teacher’s training packages for 

different levels of teachers. 

He is the Executive Producer of the Video 

programme “The Changing Moon” which won 

Maeda Prize at NHK International Competition, 

1999. His Action Research Paper “Teaching 

Science using Science & Technology Literacy 

Material”, won Commendation Prize, CASTME, 

London 2001 based on material developed 

under UNESCO. He received the B.K. Passi Prize 

(2008) instituted by All India Association of 

Educational Research (AIAER) for best paper 

in Education Technology – based on the pilot 

study for using mobile devices for delivery of 

educational content and interaction. 


51

Assessment is 

an important 

aspect of 

education which 

also provides 

indicators 

about what the 

students are 

learning and how 

well they are 

learning. Even 

if the teaching 

and learning 

processes are 

improved and are 

implemented in 

the schools, they 

will lose their 

relevance if the 

assessment is not 

in consonance 

with the 

teaching-learning 

processes. 

• It requires a great deal of effort on the part of 

the student to learn and do problem solving. 

• There is a lurking fear about Mathematics. 

Lots of students are afraid of learning 

Mathematics. Online assessment could help 

them by identifying the learning gaps and 

making effort to fill them. 

• Creating assessment items for assessing 

understanding of concepts and its 

applications require creative thinking on 

part of teachers. 

Then was the question “for which classes the 

online assessment be planned”. After detailed 

discussions, middle classes were chosen by the 

research team. The team felt that: 

• Mathematics starts becoming abstract for the 

students in the middle and upper classes, as 

concepts like Number Systems, Algebra and 

Euclidean Geometry are introduced. 

• There is no link for transition from an 

activity based experiential learning 

approach (in primary) to an approach based 

on understanding of abstract nature of 

Mathematics in upper primary or middle 

classes. 

• Teaching/learning in upper primary or middle 

classes is based on the understanding of 

Mathematical concepts learnt in primary 

classes. The students may or may not have 

understood the basic concepts resulting in 

further anxiety and fear about Mathematics. 

• It was also observed by the research team 

that a common problem area cutting across 

all Mathematical themes was problem 

solving. Whenever a student is confronted 

with a problem, he is either unable to 

comprehend it and to create a mathematical 

model to solve it. Most of the times the 

class teacher is requested to interpret the 

problem and tell them how to solve it.It was 

felt that the questions can be designed in 

a style or approach in which the students’ 

comprehension skills, modeling skills and 

computational skills are assessed along with 

the conceptual understanding, knowledge 

and operational skills. Some research findings 

also supported this strategy of assessment. 

Ketterline-Geller, Yovanoff, 2009, concluded 

that “Assessment results provide information 

about students’ mastery of relevant prior 

knowledge and skills within the domain as well 

as preconceptions or misconceptions about the 

materials” 

How does this information get used to 

discover the learning gaps? Errors made by 

learners could provide the indicators towards 

the learning gaps, and diagnostic assessments 

could prove useful in this regard. 

“Combining diagnostic assessment 

approaches may prove useful for designing 

instructional programs to remediate students’ 

misconceptions. In the approach, multiplechoice 

items may be strategically designed to 

incorporate distractors that mirror systematic 

error in student thinking.” (Ketterlin-Geller, 

Yovanoff, 2009) 

For pilot testing, one topic for each class was 

selected as per following details: 

CLASS 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

UNIT 

Large Numbers 

Integers 

Rational Numbers 

For each theme, some subthemes were 

also identified for assessments. For example for 

the theme Integers, following subthemes were 

chosen for assessment: 

a) Need & Representation of Integers 

b) Addition & Subtraction of integers 

c) Multiplication of integers 

Similarly subthemes for class VI and VIII 

were identified. Questions generated by team 

were based on the following model: 

All questions were multiple choice questions 

and options were based on common errors. The 

various options to each question were created 

based on the classroom experience of research 

team with learners. Misconceptions, errors and 

mistakes generally committed by the students 

were taken into account to write options. 

On the basis of classroom experiences of 

teachers and the errors made by the students 

the error codes were determined for respective 

skill domain. 

In addition to such questions, two more 

sets of questions were prepared. To focus on 

Modelling and computation skills second set of 

questions was designed to assess modelling and 

computation/ calculation question. 

Such questions would help to focus 

assessment of modelling and computation skills 

of the students. It was designed in such a way 

that students were required to use little bit or low 

level of comprehension skill. 

After detailed discussions on the various 


Digital 

Assessment 

could provide 

an alternate 

solution to 

overcome some 

of the road blocks 

and difficulty 

being faced in 

assessment. By 

using digital 

technologies, 

each child could 

be assessed by 

tapping into a 

question bank 

of good quality 

items prepared 

by trained 

teachers & 

experts. 

categories of questions , it was also worked out 

how many questions of each category a student 

would face so as to assess her/his understanding , 

comprehension , modeling and calculation skills. 

It was also felt that in order not to disturb 

the time table and class management the total 

time duration of pilot assessment would be 30 

Minutes. 

The total time and time taken to attempt one 

question was worked out and it also helped to 

finalize the number of questions. 

Parallel sets of questions were also created 

so that all students taking the online assessment 

would get different equivalent questions. 

To have a comprehensive assessment of 

concepts & skills a judicious mix of questions of 

various types were chosen. 

Name Type of question Number 

Binary Calculation 3 

Process 

Medium 

Modeling & 

Calculation 

6 

Process 

Comprehension 

& Modeling & 

Calculation 

These questions & their options, combined 

with error identifications, the software was 

equipped with identifying learning gaps 

conceptually and skill wise. 

Our presupposition based on the research 

team’s previous experience and knowledge was 

as follows: 

• The learners will depict learning gaps in 

the modeling skills in the problem solving 

contexts maximally. 

• A segment of learners will have learning gaps 

in comprehension, but they will be fewer than 

those in modelling 

• Most of the learners will have better 

computational skills and would attempt the 

computational part of the questions correctly. 

• Diagnostic online testing will be able to 

showcase these patterns in learning gaps so 

as to indicate a remedial learning path. 

The research team pilot tested themselves 

the online tests generated by the software and 

then issues of student interest and total time 

taken for the test also came up. It was further 

discussed and test was further modified keeping 

in view the time limitations of 30-40 minutes & 

students interest. 

It was found, that for quite a lot of students 

and teachers, it would be their first exposure to 

online assessment; it was decided to take up 

additionally following steps: 

• Orientation of teachers to explain and make 

them aware about online test, if possible 

make them to take little bit of assessment 

to experience it, before forming an opinion 

about. 

6 

• Provide comfort and confidence to the 

students about online testing by planning 

a demonstrative animated video of short 

duration (one & half minute or so)and playing 

it back before the actual online testing 

started. 

Sample for Online assessment 

Various schools were contacted to participate 

in the online test for class VI, VII & VIII. 

Finally four schools agreed to participate in the 

experiment and 1500 students (approx) took 

part in it. 

The schools provided the infrastructure i.e. 

desktop computers connected to a server in a 

closed loop. Most of the schools were able to 

provide 30-40 computers connected to a server. 

Therefore the assessment had to be staggered 

into 2-3 days. Also because of limited manpower, 

the test was conducted in different schools on 

different dates. 

In some schools all the students studying in 

classes VI, VII& VIII took part but in others only 

limited students, who were randomly selected, 

took part. 

List of ELO (Expected learning outcomes) 

selected for classes VI, VII& VIII are as follows: 

Class VI VII VIII 

Unit Large Integers Rational 

numbers 

numbers 

ELO-1 

ELO-2 

ELO-3 

Estimating 

results 

Operations 

on Large 

Numbers 

Need & 

Representation 

of 

integers 

Difference 

of integers 

International 

System of 

Numeration 

Multiplication 

of 

integers 

Addition 

of Rational 

numbers 

Properties 

of Addition 

Rational 

numbers 

between 

two rational 

numbers 

During the Pilot Testing: 

The following responses were observed by 

the research team during the actual pilot testing 

of online assessment in the school. 

• During the orientation of the teachers, it was 

felt that the teacher has apprehensions and 

concerns about the efficacy and impact of 

online testing. Efforts were made to address 

those concerns and questions. Some of the 

concerns were 

o Would the students be able to take online 

test? (Most of them have no experience to 

take a test on computers) 


o Will the software be able to analyse the 

result and showcase the right details? 

o What kind of report it will generate? 

o Will such a report be helpful in 

identifying and filling the learning 

gaps? 

As a first time user of online assessment, 

such concerns/questions are bound to be 

raised. The process of online assessment and 

analysis of the results were explained to the 

school management,teachers and students. 

• It was observed that inspite of being their 

first online assessment most of the class 7th 

and 8th students were excited and showed 

no sign of nervousness about it. However, 

class 6 students were less confident and 

needed reassurance and support. 

• As the infrastructure spared by the schools 

taking part in the pilot study was limited 

in each participating schools, the test was 

staggered. round 30-40 students took in 

a 30-40 minutes online test. It took 15-20 

days (3-4 times a day) with breaks to let 

1500 students (approx) to undergo the 

experience of online testing. 

This experience has created some learning 

points for the research teams: 

• For the online assessment in the school 

infrastructure - availability of computers 

and their interlinkages, printers etc. is a 

must. Only then, it can be operational and 

successful. 

• The students need be given experiences 

and exposure to online assessment regularly 

so that it becomes a routine activity in 

the school.Only then, lots of bottlenecks, 

hesitations and concerns which were 

observed during the pilot testing will find 

their solutions and then online assessment 

will become an integral part of school’s 

academic calendar. 

• Students/teachers attitude towards online 

assessment will also change and the 

assessment will be treated as part of the 

whole package of assessment for learning 

and assessment of learning. 

Analysis of the data 

The software was able to analyse data at 

different levels 

• At individual level for each student about his 

performance.Various small details about his/ 

her understanding mistakes,learning gaps 

etc. 

• At a large group level for each class or section 

showing the trends and strength/learning 

gaps etc. 

• At school level, taking into consideration 

performance of all the students. 

The following diagrams illustrate the analysis 

of the report generated by the software and 


support the school in improving the teaching/ 

learning of Mathematics; 

With the help of the reports 

• Each child would know the details like time 

taken to take the test, number of correct 

responses, mistakes done, strength and 

learning gaps. Suggestions for going forward/ 

revisiting the concepts, if any. It is possible 

that students may make individual efforts to 

plug the learning gap in addition to the efforts 

being taken up in the class. 

• The class report with its trends and patterns 

in the performance of the students will get 

insight into the strength of the class-the 

areas where most of students performing 

satisfactorily and the areas where learning 

gaps are depicted. Also other detailed 

information about mistakes and so on will 

help the teacher to pinpoint the students who 

need additional support in the some areas. 

Then the teacher can plan action to plug the 

learning gaps. 

• The institutional reports will provide the 

administrators and academy directors an 

indepth insight into the learning gaps of the 

whole class in the school and plan corrective 

action administratively & academically. 

Analysis Report of a Large Group 

Details provided by the online assessment 

software 

(A) Analyse by concept 

(B) Analysis by problem solving skills 

-comprehension modelling calculate 

(C) By the error codes 

Analysis by the software based on the online 

testing provide details based on 

(A) The sub- concepts assessed 

(B) Problem solving skill –Comprehension, 

Modelling and Calculation 

(C) Mistakes done by the class in the online 

assessment 

With the 

comprehensive 

inputs and 

indicators 

provided to the 

teacher online 

assessment 

could be very 

useful for the 

teacher to modify 

her teaching 

/learning 

strategies and 

fine tune them 

to fulfil the needs 

of the students 

as highlighted by 

the assessment. 


55

Grade 6 – Assessment Outcome 

Grade 6 Assessment Outcome Summary 



a customised plan. 

• With the comprehensive 

inputs and indicators 



Thus the report provides a very comprehensive 

analysis about the whole class. So the insights 

can help the teacher to plan and revisit or 

create remedial activities for the whole class 

or particular set of student as per the report 

indicators. 

Analysis for the institution 

Following graphics gives a detailed view of 

the performance of the whole class 

• Concept wise 

• Skill wise 

• By Error Codes 

If different schools allow academically inter 

institutional comparisons could be done there by 

learning from each other’s experiences 

Let us illustrate with the help of reports 

generated by the software. For the sake of privacy 

protection, the names of the school and the 

students etc. have been omitted out. 


• Estimation was the weakest link across 

schools in terms of concepts learnt. 

• International System of Numerations was 

generally well understood across schools 

• Students across all schools were found to 

begood in Calculations 

• Students across the schools were found to be 

weak with Modeling. However, some schools 

performed better than others. 


• Difference of Integers was the weakest 

concept across schools 

• Need and Representation of Integers was 

generally well understood across schools 

• Students across all schools were good in 

Calculations 

• Modelling was the weakest skill among all 

students of all schools. 


• Number Between Two Rational Numbers 

was the weakest link across schools 

• Properties of Addition of Rational numbers 

was generally well understood across schools 

• Students across were good in Comprehension. 

• Modelling was the weakest skill 

• A major difference noted was that students of 

Grade 8 were better at comprehension than 

those of Grade 6. 

Report for an individual student: 

This report is of a class 7th student of one 

school that participated in theonline assessment. 

The theme was Integers: 

• Need and representation 

• Sum and difference of integers 

• Multiplication of integers 

Such a comprehensive report may help the 

student to self-realise the efforts she/he has to 

make to learn the concept very well. 

Based on the data collected and analysed, 

these reports can be further customized to 

various audiences like the students, their tutors 


and the school administration, 

keeping in mind their specific 

needs, ability to understand the 

complexity of data and intended 

use of the report. 

Further, a remedial action 

plan may be suggested based 

on the findings of such an 

assessment, focusing on the 

specific learning gaps and error 

patterns identified. 

Learnings from the 

experiment (Case Study 

“Online Assessment.”) 

• In spite of 

the limitations of 

focusing on limited sub concepts 

of mathematics in middle classes, 

the potential of online assessment 

as a supporting tool to teaching 

learning was clearly evident in the 

analyse reports of the experiment. 

It provided detailed inputs to all the 

stake holders- namely individual 

student the class teacher and the 

school management, so that based 

on the indicators provided each 

one of them could plan and take 

remedial action. 

• Each individual 

student, based on the assessment 

can get specific inputs about 

the learning gaps and with help 

of her teacher/ parents peers. 

The students can think of taking 

action themselves on remedial in 

provided to the teacher online assessment 

could be very useful for the teacher to modify 

her teaching /learning strategies and fine 

tune them to fulfil the needs of the students 

as highlighted by the assessment. 

• School management gets a 360 degree view 

and may think of taking systematic correction 

and changes. 

• Based on the patterns/ trends generated the 

academic community at large curriculum 

planners, textbook developers etc. could 

provide more specifically focused materials 

so that the goals enunciated by the national 

policies are achieved by the students 

• This experiment also throws up pointers 

towards using online assessment in the 

schools, although this kind of assessment 

is prevalent in various kinds of competitive 

examinations for admissions and ranking 

purposes. 


• It’s use in providing inputs, insights 

and support in further improving the 

quality of school education largely remains 

unexplored. 

Hence, there is an urgent need to provide 

good quality assessment through online 

technology. This experiment is just a beginning. 

With the advent of newer technological tools 

and assessment techniques, variety of tests 

will provide comprehensive inputs and support 

to teachers to help them achieve the goals of 

imparting quality education. 


event 

Mylestone School Leadership 

Summit- U.P. Chapter 

Mylestone organized the 3 rd School Leadership 

Summit at the Renaissance Hotel, Lucknow 

on 11th October 19 with the Existing School 

Leaders as a part of the Client engagement 

Workshop series. 

The event began with an outlook on the S Chand’s 

development history and the growth of Mylestone from 

its inception to the current stage. Following this, detailed 

information was given on the Mylestone Pedagogy & 

alignment with NCF, New Education Policy 2019, NCERT 

Pre-Primary curriculum and then a brief information of the 

services and new initiatives by Mylestone – new product 

launch was also given. 

Two activities – Reflection activity & Audit Scale for 

Self-evaluation – were conducted for the participants. 

The next round was Panel Discussion with our 

honourable guests, G.Balasubramanian (Chairman ICSL, 

Ex CBSE Director), Srishti Srivastava (Principal, Nav 

KanyaMahavidhalaya, Lucknow), and Atul Nishchal 

(Director ICSL). 

The Panel Discussion was focused on the following : 

• Understanding and adhering to CBSE guidelines and reforms 

• Best practices in managing schools 

• Importance of activity based and digital based learning. 

• How to facilitate and educate parents 

• 3Ds – Dedication, devotion and discipline. 

The participants were enlightened and given information 

about NCF and NEP guidelines which was undoubtedly one of 

the most remarkable takeaway for them.

The Progressive Teacher Vol 06 Issue 04

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