Month: March 2023

Combating the curse of knowledge

Roopa Vinayak Ram
Teaching is more than just imparting knowledge to students; it also involves the ability to transmit that knowledge to them in a way that they can understand and progress further.

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Draw what’s inside your body!

Meena Kharatmal
The human body is an amazing thing and how it works makes for an interesting topic and a fascinating lesson. However, when it comes to teaching children about the human body, it is important to check their prior knowledge. Most children may be aware of the organ systems as a whole but they may not know how the systems are connected and how they work to keep us healthy. Through a drawing-based classroom activity, teachers can get an idea of any pre-conceived notions that children may have and it will also help children stay motivated and excited.

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NFT learning

Neerja Singh
The rapid growth of NFTs in the digital world can help the education industry to look at it in a different way. An NFT or a non-fungible token is a digital asset that exists entirely in the digital universe and can be in any form such as a photo or a video. NFTs can inculcate curiosity, excitement, creativity and problem – solving skills in the minds of students. This article takes a look at the primary power of NFTs in a school setting.

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It’s time to listen to those unheard voices

Timira
Inclusive education does not restrict itself to ensure that schools must accommodate children with special needs. Inclusion is more than just that. It needs to be a part of our everyday vocabulary where all unheard voices get heard and represented. So how can we make room for children’s voices to be heard? Children’s literature has taken the first step by publishing books for children written by children. Therefore it is time to listen.

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Let’s get beezy with Bees!

Adithi Muralidhar
Did you know that bees are the most important living beings in the planet but they are at risk of facing extinction? Bees are part of biodiversity on which we all depend for our survival. As pollinators, they contribute directly to food security. Bees are therefore absolutely critical for our ecosystem. A topic on bees can engage students in science, math, social studies and even critical thinking.

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The key to student success

Manasa Sunkavalli and Vignesh Krishnan
Parent engagement is crucial for the academic and social success of children, especially those coming from disadvantaged backgrounds. By fostering a positive and open relationship with parents, educators can gain valuable insights into their students’ needs and help ensure that every child reaches his/her full potential.

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Anna Mani: Weather Woman

Mamata Pandya
Is it hard to believe that women in science were the torchbearers for many incredible things that happened in our country? In the story of Anna Mani, also known as the Weather Woman, there is brilliance, grit, passion and ambition. Anna Mani spearheaded India’s efforts to manufacture its own weather observation equipment, such as barometers and wind gauges, bringing down their cost but ensuring their reliability and precision. Anna Mani is inspirational in that her quest for knowledge and zeal for discovery needs to be emulated.

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The biological cell

Jyotsna Vijapurkar
The biological cell is an important curriculum topic that is taught in middle school. But are teachers teaching the topic the right way? How are students understanding the topic? A preliminary investigation revealed that although students had some prior knowledge about the biological cell, they could not internalize the structure and functions of the cell. Teaching about biological cells simply as a definition, ‘structural and functional units’, with absolutely no quantitative description, is an entirely meaningless exercise. This article explains how models can be used teach this topic.

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Re-imagining learning spaces

Vasudha Kapoor
Every intervention in education needs to be planned keeping enough room for the teacher’s and student’s agency. This article talks about experiential learning spaces and opportunities accessible to the grassroots population. Local youth, fresh out of college, with minimal job experience and little or no training in specific pre-teaching courses helped bring out major changes in teaching strategies that improved children’s participation and engagement in learning.

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