Setting up peer and self assessment

Sudha Mahajan
When the pandemic struck and schools had closed down, how did teachers ensure that students of the primary grade learnt as perfectly as they did in the classroom? Most teachers started using peer and self-assessment. Here is a handy method that teachers can even now use so that students become effective self-assessors.

Developing relevant design tasks

Muhammad Jasir, Priti Dhandrut and Adithi Muralidhar
Design and technology education is new and evolving but it can resonate with students in an effective way. Design thinking and problem solving activities encourage students to plan, imagine and explore and find solutions to real world problems. This article explains a few design problems that were handed out to middle level students and how they tackled them.

Doing the “ground” work

Nandini D
As we spend more and more time inside our homes, taking up gardening in a small corner of the balcony or on the terrace seems like a really good idea. With tips and suggestions on germinating seeds and composting garden waste, the author moves from the home garden to community gardens to give us a brief history of gardens and the gardening culture. Has the gardening bug bitten you yet?

Increasing access and engagement in a virtual classroom

Mohd Amzad and Ajam Khan
During the pandemic, reaching out to children of daily wage labourers to continue the process of learning was an uphill task as government schools had shut down and as a consequence, midday meals were not available. In this atmosphere, a lot of teachers tried to increase access, engagement and well-being of students online. Here are some methods which teachers adopted.

A rockstar content creator on YouTube?

Anuradha C
As a teacher, you might want to share your expertise and knowledge to students outside of your school boundaries, and the digital revolution is here to help you in your quest. Today’s students learn as much from school textbooks as they do from YouTube videos. It is just a question of adapting from classroom teaching to teaching in front of a camera. Here is a step by step guide to making your first YouTube teaching video.

The Toshali Sands of time

Devika Nadig
Amidst the natural, religious and historic marvels of Puri, the author experienced both professional joy as she presented her framework for building high performing schools at a school excellence conference and personal bliss as she visited lord Jaganatha and explored the arts and crafts of Orissa.

The unfinished bridge between the library and school

Judith Thomas
Here is an interesting account of how an attempt was made to reopen the school library, despite the pandemic, in order to give children an opportunity to move out of their homes, meet their peers, make small but important choices for themselves – giving them a sense of autonomy and freedom. The idea was to reconnect with students, building a bridge between the school and the online learning space.

Cognitive offloading and COVID learners

Pooja Birwatkar
Has corona impacted cognition? This is a question that all educators must ask themselves and act fast to take the next essential step. In today’s education space, the use of technological tools has greatly impacted cognitive processing. At one time memory was relied upon for all cognitive processing but now all processes have been externalized. When schools reopen, will this new breed of e-learners be able to go back to the old ways of, say, solving a mathematical problem relying on their memory? That remains to be seen.

Running Notes

Vijay Anand
We have all heard of labs, activities, games and puzzles as different ways of making math learning fun. What if we told you there was one more way that would not only sharpen your mathematical brain but also make you physically fit? Close those notebooks and leave the blackboards behind as you step out of the classroom and run into the world of mathematics.