A space for ‘continuing learning’

Life is all about learning and learning continuously, keeping our minds open so that new ideas flow in. Does our education system allow this to happen and are our teachers ready to continually learn even if they are in the teaching profession? How do they re-energise themselves and how can they keep track of new developments in their profession?

Sita’s Solitaire

S N Gananath
Have you, as a teacher, come across the game called ‘Vamanaguntalu’ in Telugu,’ Pallankuzhi’ in Tamil or ‘Aluguli mane’ in Kannada? You may have even played it in your younger days. It is time now for you to go back to that game because it is absorbing and it has interesting mathematical patterns that you could use in your classroom to explain some basics in math. This article explores the game and how children can benefit in different ways.

A culture of co-learning

Aditi Mathur and Ratnesh Mathur
How can schools create a culture of learning? All they have to do is to look within. Every school has an amazing pool of resources– the staff— to design and create their own learning journey. With this in place , a beautiful learning environment can be created when teachers train each other.

Shall I mind the class?

Manaswini Sridhar
If you are a teacher of math, science or even art, should a workshop on English teaching interest you? Yes, it should. Because when you use English as a communication tool to teach your subjects, it is imperative that you understand the language and speak it correctly. Also , workshops are an opportunity to enrich yourself since you get to interact with other participants .

An engaging and stimulating read

Sunanda Ali
‘ Learn English, Teach English’ by Ravinarayan Chakrakodi is an invaluable companion for an English teacher both for the beginner as well as an experienced person. Extremely well-designed and divided neatly into four sections—Reading, Listening, Speaking and Writing – the book tells you how to teach a concept and includes tasks and activities to practice. Definitely a must have for an English teacher’s personal library.

As common as salt

Sujata C
Have you as a teacher ever tried doing a project on salt for your students? Salt is found in your blood, sweat and tears and is Nature’s gift to all living things. Using this article as a base, you can get your students to learn about salt in a fun way. Take them to the beach or to the chemistry lab— there is enough material there to explain concepts. Or if you are discussing health, make sure you tell your students its importance in cooking up a healthy meal. Students will certainly enjoy the process of learning and realize that every bit of what they have learnt is worth their salt.

C is for coding

Kamakshi Tewary
Coding or computer programming is being introduced at the primary level the world over with some schools making it a compulsory part of the curriculum. Ask any child today, and he or she will say that with coding they can do ‘cool things’. This short article takes you through the basics of coding and how and where children can learn about it.

Robotics and Artificial Intelligence

Ullas Ponnadi
Robotics and Artificial Intelligence is the new buzzword among researchers and scientists. Its evolution is leading to the prediction that in the near future human created computer power will exceed the capabilities of the human brain. Both robotics and AI can be applied in various domains from military and medicine to exploration and entertainment. Read up this article to find out the opportunities that exist for students in this field.

Navigating the landscape of verse

Sudeep Ghosh
Teaching poetry to high school students can sometimes be a difficult task because it lends itself to subtle and subjective interpretations. So, how can a teacher bring some critical thinking skills into a poetry classroom and help students develop an individual way of engaging with the text? The author suggests close reading which is actually all about getting the reader to speculate in an imaginary way about the meaning in the poem. Read on to learn more.

I wish my teacher knew…

Nidhi Qazi
How can teachers get to know their children better? What issues do students face outside the school that prevents them from doing their best at school? How can families and teachers work in partnership? Here is a slightly different article where children from government schools were asked to write on a topic, ‘I wish my teacher knew….’. The answers that the children gave are self- explanatory.