From the academic session 2009-10, the English Course ‘A’ curriculum for Nagaland Board of School Education was changed. The shift of emphasis was from prescriptive techniques to a more accommodative insider-oriented view of language teaching/learning. This meant a change in teaching methodologies and testing patterns.

The story so far…
Dr. Jan Nienu serves as an adjunct faculty in the Early Childhood Studies at Patten University. Currently, she is also the director of a child care center. She is married and lives in Northern California with her family.

She said in her article on Perspectives on quality education for Nagaland
“Corporal punishment was the main source of discipline and was heavily practiced by the teachers. This practice exists even to this day. I remember a teacher who, with his long stick, hit one of my classmates on the head making him bleed. We were so afraid we could not even console our friend.”

A study done by project officers and conducted through questionnaires during the need analysis stage helped give a better understanding of the social context. The Department of English at Aligarh Muslim University helped devise the questionnaire.

Some social implications:

1. Majority of learners scored a low second division.
   As a result, they did not qualify for admission to most Universities.
2. Many of them opted out of higher education and got into menial jobs.
   Many social unrests and insurgency problems were related to this.
3. They developed a deep-rooted suspicion of Education as a route to higher opportunities in life.
   They are very hostile towards any non-Naga who went to work in these parts. Building faith becomes a huge challenge before beginning any work pertaining to education.
4. A small minority moved out and got admissions in Universities based on tribal quotas. They found it difficult to adjust due to their inability to communicate effectively. Mental illness, low self-esteem, social insecurities, and financial pressures on parents were an offshoot.

The story now
Broadbent (1998) has suggested that a model, which supports trainee teachers in seeing “themselves as proactive in their learning environments” would enable them to take greater responsibility for their own learning. This was the rationale based on which master trainers were chosen.

This was probably the first time in the recent history of education in Nagaland, where teachers were at the heart of textbook development process, providing insights from the classrooms and making the tasks authentic. They found working on Functional Grammar tasks very challenging. At this point, the Resource Person took on the role of a critical friend to the trainee teacher who was able to develop greater understanding of effective teaching and learning (Edwards and Collison, 1996) . They were also able to develop the ability to look more critically at their own teaching and evaluate its effectiveness.

The philosophy was “You are a bit like me and I am a bit like you…”
Suggestions on making the atmosphere non-threatening were met with resistance. Years of teacher-centric practice was difficult to shake off. Team teaching clearly supported trainee teachers’ learning, provided access to exchange views and knowledge in a non-threatening context in which trainee teachers could work throughout the practicum. ‘Jumping in,’ a strategy identified by Stanulis and Russell (2000), was sometimes used by Resource Persons to convey to trainee teachers that they were expected to actively participate in classroom life. Though learner-centric classrooms appealed to most teachers, making the real change called for supportive team teaching where no one was better than the other, where they understood: “You are a bit like me and I am a bit like you…”

The results unfolded right before our eyes. The teachers by the end of three years of consistent training and sharing began addressing their actual concerns. This was a crucial turning point for the Project officers. The hostile attitude vanished. Faith and trust grew tremendously. The trainee teachers felt empowered and began participating in decision-making. What brought about this change?

As the Project developed, four points emerged. The main point was the personal connection between the resource persons and the trainees where they understood that, “You are a bit like me and I am a bit like you…”

The second point was the value that all participants placed on teamwork and collaborative strategies.

The third point was unarguably the information gap, which made the trainees come up with their interpretations and gradually made them understand their roles in the project as a whole.

The fourth was the attitude with which resource persons and trainee teachers identified and implemented the newly evolved plans.

The project officers developed the materials into a textbook, Orchids: A multi skill course in English. It was decided that the testing of listening and speaking skills would be done towards the end of every academic year.

We had no readymade models to follow.
For a whole week, the trainee teachers shared and exchanged the assessment objectives to evolve an assessment scale that would work for them given their infrastructure. They worked it out based on their understanding of practices all over the world. One of the resource persons (Vijaya Subramaniam) suggested keeping a reflective journal, which began enhancing the professional relationship, particularly interpersonal aspects. Holly (1984) points out that there are no rules for journal keeping. Reflective journals, which in our workshop, we called a suitcase as it included what they brought with them and what they took back, provided each participant with opportunities to articulate their thinking. Most important of all, it made them understand that “You are a bit like me and I am a bit like you…”

Here is an extract from The Chairperson, Mrs. Nini Meru’s public announcement.
“I am happy to say that NBSE (Nagaland Board of School Education) is one of the first Boards (perhaps the first Board) in India to test all the language skills, i.e., Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing. It is an honour and privilege for the State of Nagaland.”

Conclusion
With a Resource Person acting as a critical friend (Edwards & Collison, 1996; Tomlinson, 1995; Frost, 1993) trainee teachers ensure that they collaborate to set common goals; hold conversations for a range of purposes; make time to critically reflect during and after teaching and think about actions and outcomes through formulating and asking questions.

They also get over some of the threats that come in the way of evolving training programmes, the threat of seeming to be of lower intellectual ability. Conversations, collaborations, and reflecting in non-threatening situations work! It makes us understand that, “You are a bit like me and I am a bit like you.”

The author is Director, ELT curriculum reforms ,Nagaland Board of School Education, Kohima, Nagaland. She has authored 12 English Language Teaching books that are used at different levels in school curriculums across the world. She can be reached at jayshrik@gmail.com.

The day after the semester results, I asked the 10^th standard students the reasons behind their satisfactory or unsatisfactory performance. Their responses fell into two distinct categories. Responses in the first category included, “I was successful because of my hard work,” or “I failed because I did not put in my best.” Responses in the second category included, “I did well in the exam because of my good luck,” or “I got a bad percentage because the teacher who corrected my answer paper is against me.”

These responses can be classified on the basis of the students’ personality dimension called Locus of Control (LOC).

Julian Rotter, an American psychologist, developed the personality dimension called “Locus of Control” in the 1950s. Locus of control (LOC)is defined as an individual’s perception about the underlying main causes of the various events that take place in their lives. It measures the extent to which individuals believe their lives are controlled by their own self or external factors. According to Julian Rotter, an individual can be classified as having either Internal Locus of Control (I- LOC/Internals) or External Locus of Control (E-LOC/Externals). I-LOC individuals believe that they can control their life events, because their behaviour is determined by their internal factors like hard work, decision-making, problem solving skills, efforts, persuasion, etc. So, the first category of responses mentioned in the first paragraph are of those individuals who have I-LOC. E-LOC individuals believe that their behaviour is the result of external factors like luck, fate, chance, and the people around them. The second category of responses mentioned in the earlier paragraph is of E-LOC individuals.

Although psychologists have studied the LOC in various populations, this article emphasizes the role of LOC in school children. LOC has a significant impact on students’ lives, as their decisions/choices related to academic performance, classroom behaviours, career development, interpersonal relationships, health, and sexual behaviours, etc., are affected by it.

Internals and Externals evaluate successes/failures differently. Internals consider themselves responsible for both success and failure. They believe that their own efforts and ability will bring the desired outcome. Externals consider outside factors responsible for their successes/failures. Since I-LOC students hold the internal factors responsible for their success/failure, they become more self-reliant in achieving their goal and are better at problem solving, as they believe in their ability to solve the problem. On the contrary, E-LOC students depend on external factors. This creates less scope for them to be more aware of their own skills, abilities, strengths, and weaknesses. This can limit their further improvement.

Research has indicated that there is a positive relationship between E- LOC and superstitious beliefs. This shows the tendency of such individuals to view life as uncontrollable and difficult to cope with, and therefore they hold on to superstitious beliefs. Since the student stage is comparatively an easy time to learn, unlearn, and relearn things, enhancing their I-LOC can help them get rid of their superstitious beliefs. Students will develop a scientific temper, which will guide them in their life during school and beyond.

LOC also has implications for adults working with students, like teachers, administrators, management officials, caretakers, etc. If the people around them have I-LOC, it will help students improve themselves. Research has indicated that in the case of classroom management, teachers with a strong I-LOC generally believe that students are responsible for their behaviour and in their ability to correct such behaviour themselves. Therefore, such teachers will put in more efforts to help students succeed in changing a certain kind of behaviour. Teachers with E-LOC may believe that the students’ misbehaviour is because of external factors like the large number of students in class, school management policies, etc. These teachers may rely more heavily on outside reinforcers to bring about changes.

We can help students develop I-LOC by making them realize that they possess the capacity and skill to improve themselves. They can achieve this by taking more and more responsibility of their life events. We can help them become more aware of their strengths and provide them with the necessary support system to overcome shortcomings.

In the school, if special attention is given to the dynamics of this personality dimension, it will help students, teachers, and the school management officials to create a climate in which all will be highly achievement oriented and constantly improving skills to make the school a better place.

So, let’s ask ourselves………….
What is my students’ “Locus of Control”?

Cultivating I-LOC

Teachers can help students develop I-LOC using some of the following strategies.

1. Developing attribution pattern: Teachers should be careful while evaluating students’ performances. They should attribute students’ achievements/success to their stable factors like intelligence, aptitude, abilities, etc., and the failures to unstable or temporary factors like lack of hard work, negative attitude, lack of confidence, etc. This will help students realize that they possess the necessary abilities to improve their performance and that their failures were because of temporary factors, which they can control.
2. Building optimism: Teachers are a great influence on many students and they can use this influence to negate the pessimistic attitude that a student may develop due to factors like a socially disadvantaged background, lack of a role model, lack of support, etc. Teachers can encourage students in whatever abilities they possess and build in students an optimistic attitude.
3. Analyzing the strengths: Each child has a special ability that may be different from another child. Teachers have to observe and analyze the strengths, which may not necessarily be academic in nature, in each child and help children become aware of their strengths. Knowing their strengths will build their self-image and this confidence will lead to the children performing well in areas that are not their forte.
4. Setting challenging goals: Teachers should now and then set challenging goals for students to achieve. These goals should neither be too easy or too difficult to achieve. Such goals will help develop motivation and the skills to achieve even bigger goals in students.
5. Building a support system: Teachers should work persistently toward making the ‘school’ a system/place, which is perceived by every student as approachable, welcoming, and nonthreatening.

Nilesh Shinde is the Consultant School Psychologist at Powai English High School, Mumbai. He can be reached at nileshmshinde23@rediffmail.com.

Prafullachandra Joshi is the Administrator at Powai English High School, Mumbai. He can be reached at prafullachandrajoshi@gmail.coml.

It’s another of those mornings in the classroom. An assignment that has been given several weeks prior is due, and when you walk around the classroom holding out an expectant hand to collect them, you find more than one-fourth of the class has not met the deadline. You get back to your desk and as the class settles down you take a quick inventory of what has been handed in. If you’re particularly lucky, most are in some sort of order, with title pages and names clearly marked, written out clearly or typed, complete at least in terms of major headings you had recommended. Some, even on cursory examination, are hastily put together with nonclear beginning or end, while others are just so perfect you know that an adult had a hand in them.

Homework and assignments are given for a reason. As teachers we know that, and perhaps the more enlightened students discern that too. But somewhere along the line, the benefit that is meant to be derived from classwork or homework remains unrealised. They become reduced to mechanical activities, often downloaded directly from the web or with very obvious adult assistance. The homework – or what passes for it – is just another manifestation of an educational system gone horribly wrong, where there is little or no understanding of what learning is all about, where the entire responsibility for transfer of content and skill is laid on the teacher. The student then is a passive recipient of teaching, not realising that a considerable effort has to be made if ‘learning’ is to happen.

This is an article for subscribers only. You may request the complete article by writing to us at editorial@teacherplus.org.

Be a friend and guide
One of the purest forms of relationships in the world is that between friends. You can share your inner most thoughts and secrets only with friends. Therefore, when you first meet your class, approach them as a friend. Although your primary role is that of a guide you should also be a friend to the children for only then will you be able mix with them and learn about what problems and difficulties they face. An authoritative teacher will only instill fear in the children who will hold back from expressing themselves.

The author is a teacher in Social Science at Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Uttar Pradesh. He can be contacted at hare_321ku@rediffmail.com.

This is an article for subscribers only. You may request the complete article by writing to us at editorial@teacherplus.org.

The only learning which significantly influences behaviour is self-discovered, self- appropriated learning.
– Carl Rogers

Self-directed learning is often considered the ultimate goal of education. Knowing how to learn is necessary. The most important skill for today’s fast changing workplace is skill in reflection. The highly motivated, self-directed learner can approach his/her workplace as a classroom where he can learn and succeed in his/her chosen profession. This article highlights some of these principles as they apply to schools and to life.

During childhood, we are naturally inquisitive. For instance, children ask parents many questions and try to learn new things. What happens to this inquisitiveness after they join school? Do we discourage/encourage self-directed learning? Do we train our teachers to teach our children to become self-learners? Do our schools and education boards promote a curriculum that fosters this kind of learning? The answer to most of these questions is in the negative. A fact that we can all agree upon is that our schools should encourage self-directed learning. All educators must understand, what is important is not the age, but the learner’s situation. In fact, the learners “need to know” that self-directing capacity increases steadily during childhood and rapidly during adolescence. Schools can foster the development of learners’ skills through enquiry-based teaching. Encouraging self-direction does not mean giving learners total control and responsibility but rather providing opportunities to facilitate independence for lifelong learning.

The author is the Vice Principal of Dhruv Academy, Sangamner, Maharashtra. He can be reached at smartteacher@rediffmail.com.

This is an article for subscribers only. To subscribe click here.

The early teen and pre-teen years are an extraordinary period of our human development; psychological, physical and emotional changes cause turbulence in the minds of adolescents. The only other time we grow as much physically, emotionally, and intellectually is from ages zero to two. Early adolescence is much more than growing taller and calling friends on the phone to discuss a variety of issues. Yes, during this time friends start becoming more important and s/he starts paying greater attention to her/his looks. The ways we deal with conflict, relationships, and personal development as adults have direct connections to specific experiences we had between the ages of 10 and 14. As teachers, we can create a very positive future, if we provide careful and compassionate experiences, for today’s young adolescents.

The author is principal, Pallavi Model School, Secunderabad. She can be reached at
manjugupta09@hotmail.com.

This is an article for subscribers only. To subscribe click here.

You will find my ‘A-Z of classroom management and relationships’ on the opposite page. This is a list of tips which I use on teacher training courses to help trainees to manage their classrooms and to build productive classroom relationships with their students. In CELTA (Certificate of English Language Teaching to Adults) courses, which usually last around four to six weeks, I present the list in one of the early sessions of the course after an input session on teacher/learner styles and after the trainees have taught their first lessons.

Having said that, I see no reason why it could not be used for or by more experienced teachers as some kind of revision, reference or in-service teacher training tool. I think it also has potential to be used for observation purposes, perhaps preceding or following a continuing professional development tutorial. Trainers could focus on a different letter or group of letters for individual observations/teachers: ‘Today we’re going to be looking at letters A to E or letters BRIAN (a BRIAN lesson).’ The choice of letters could be made by the observer or by the observee.

An A-Z of classroom management and relationships

Simon Brown has taught in France, Spain and the UK< and he is now a freelance teacher, CELTA tutor/trainer and assessor, he is interested in the welfare and motivation of CELTA candidates as they progress through their intensive training, and he is an enthusiastic advocate to teachers as humanists rather than linguistic technicians. He can be reached at snickolas2002@yahoo.co.uk

This article has been reprinted from English Teaching Professional, India with permission of Keyways Publishing UK, Macmillan Publishers India Pvt Ltd and the British Council. For information about how to subscribe to this magazine, please contact Macmillan Publishers India Ltd, 2/10, Ansari Road, Daryaganj, New Delhi 110 002
Phone: 2327 3814, 2327 3624, 2326 3969, 2328 9442, 2328 9443

This is an article for subscribers only. You may request the complete article by writing to us at editorial@teacherplus.org.