Weaving stories, opening worlds

Menaka Raman
Teachers can now have access to an ever growing digital library of books. StoryWeaver by Pratham Books have recently launched a delightful set of audio stories for children, called Readalongs. Artfully narrated, and subtitled, these Readalongs bring stories alive in an engaging audio-visual form that will help children fall in love with reading.

Say “Hola” to Spanish

Subhas Yadav
Tired of teaching or learning French and German? Try Spanish which is fast emerging as the most popular second language at international and elite CBSE schools. Here’s a look at where the language stands in the knowledge market.

Learning to think logically

Ramya Ramalingam
Computing is increasingly being seen as a skill that has vital applications in everyday life. This has to be learned by everyone because they will change the way they see problems. And computational thinking is one aspect of computing that will be of interest to schools and children.

What’s the takeaway from a class?

Neeraja Raghavan
Can the task of writing a diary get students to reflect on what they have learned? Reflection deepens learning and helps students to realize their own shortcomings, what they have learned and what they have not. How best can diary- writing be used as a tool for reflection?

The basis of belief

Kamakshi Balasubramanian
In our series on the theory of knowledge, this article explores the idea of belief. Belief is all about a person who claims to have knowledge about something or claims to know something. Therefore this ’knowledge claim’ has to be justified, has to be true, and the person who makes the claim has to believe in it.

Feed it back – effectively

Neha Nair and Preethi Ramachandran
Here are some strategies that school leaders can adopt to communicate effectively with their teachers. Feedback is important, but the manner in which it is handed out is also important. The tips given here can help school leaders.

Educational ecology of memorization

Kathan Shukla
How can students tap into their deeper levels of learning and not just indulge in rote- learning for the sake of exams? The author in this article points out to the need for more application- level questions in exams, and more higher quality teachers who are professionally competent.

Those darn formulae!

Jayanthi Tiruvaeipati
Students generally find it difficult to write the chemical formula of a compound. How can a teacher clarify to the class when students raise doubts about why a formula should be written in a particular way? This article throws light on how chemical formulae can be written.

An action plan for project work

Tenzing Rapgyal
Work distribution and setting a timeline are important parts of completing a project work. But how can one create and implement an effective action plan? This is an important life skill that needs to be imparted to students. A teacher gives a first- hand account of how he helped his students to manage their time effectively as also to plan their assignments.

What happens when we talk science?

Garima Bansal
Is talking science in a science classroom different from other patterns of talk? In most instances, it is always a teacher-led monologue. How can teachers engage students in better learning practices and transform the science classroom into a hub for active interchange of ideas?