Features, articles and reviews of teaching approaches, ideas and new developments in the area of teaching and learning. Teaching children at school or at home requires skill.
What would you answer if you were asked to give one reason to show that the 14th Century King, Ferozshah Tughlaq, was a good and kind ruler? At a leading school in the capital, a grade seven child gave the following answer. The king abolished the harsh punishment of cutting off limbs for committing crimes…. [ Continue Reading ]
What does creativity in education mean? It not only implies an original approach towards tackling the same old lessons on the part of the teacher but also an attempt to foster and stimulate the natural inborn creativity that every child possesses and which often dies a slow death on exposure to the stultifying routine school… [ Continue Reading ]
I waited eagerly for the school to begin. I was eager to take my class and start my work; eager to put my new plan into practice; eager to bring about peace and order in the class; eager to make classroom teaching interesting and win over my pupils. I felt my pulse throbbing. The bell… [ Continue Reading ]
We all ask questions when we want to know something, or when we are puzzled or curious about something. Our questions show what we do not know and what we would like to know. Children’s questions are no different; they give an important lead to what the children have already understood and what they have… [ Continue Reading ]
It is a big hall where children sit by themselves or in groups – working. A boy of about 17 years is busy with an experiment with test tubes and keeps referring back to a card to check whether he is on the right track. Next to him, a much younger child is trying to… [ Continue Reading ]
Ms. VaReane Heese, an American teacher, shares her experiences about using the Internet either in the classroom or as an active tool in the learning/teaching process. When our district was considering a technology adoption, one school board member was definitely for the purchase of computers and all the connections. However, he was definitely against placing… [ Continue Reading ]
Anna Chandy used to teach at Anand Niketan school in Ahmedabad. She recounts one of her experiences gained while working with children in different schools. She had an unusual name for a girl. Ninaad. The three-and-a-half year old was the last to join my class. She reminded me of Geeta Bali, the actress of yesteryears,… [ Continue Reading ]
Anna Chandy, who used to teach at Anand Niketan School, in Ahmedabad, remembers a special friendship. Where is your son?” I was startled out of my wits by this unexpected query. I looked around and saw Bhaskar sitting next to me. Unbelievable! Bhaskar sitting beside me and speaking! For three months we had travelled together… [ Continue Reading ]
As a follow-up, let students choose one animal to draw using the computer and write a short sentence under it telling about the animal. Print these for inclusion in a class book. Ask students to use just drawing tools without color to show the setting or main character from a favorite book. On the top… [ Continue Reading ]
In their thought-provoking book, ‘UNESCO Sourcebook for Science in the Primary School: a Workshop Approach to Teacher Education’, Wynne Harlen and Jos Elstgeest provide a means of self-evaluation which teachers can use at those points when they ask themselves ‘how good a job am I doing?’ They present three check-lists relating to children’s activities, their… [ Continue Reading ]
My friend’s four-year-old daughter, Tania, loves the daycare centre she goes to. She enjoys the home environment, the laidback...
Last year, while holidaying in Europe, I conceived my first baby. I was not overjoyed, perhaps because both my...
While speaking of somebody with a visual impairment we would be referring to a person who is either partially...
What does creativity in education mean? It not only implies an original approach towards tackling the same old lessons...
Do you wonder why the shampoo that you have been using for the past five years suddenly makes your...
People’s attitude to the world of the disabled is changing rapidly. This is perhaps due to a greater understanding...
Many of us would waive an article of immunisation as irrelevant to us — the educated, fairly affluent members...
The most likely reason for milk drying up is the inhibition of the ejection reflex (the mechanism by which...
You are feeling giddy and nauseus. Your menstrual cycle has been delayed. Things don’t seem quite right. You might...
You often hear the phrase ‘balanced diet’ and its advantages, particularly for pregnant mothers and growing children. What does...
