Teachers' training
Teachers and Educators are the ones who are engaged with the children, for most of their time. They contribute extensively to the changes Swaarka is trying to implement in the children’s current learning process. Through the workshops, we try to initiate a dialog with the teachers, understand their difficulties and help them to get through the same. How to structure the syllabus keeping in mind the background to which every child belongs? How can different mediums be used in the learning process? How to evaluate a child’s progress? How to create opportunities for children to learn themselves? These are a few questions we address through discussions with teachers. We aim to achieve these goals, through the workshop, which include ensuring a candid dialog between the teachers and the children, enabling children to exercise inquisitiveness and maintaining a balance between encouraging children to exercise their freedom wherever possible and emphasizing on them being disciplined when needed. The main intention is to help teachers access and understand children even more effectively, which is attained during these workshops.
Dnyanjyoti Vidyamandir, Pune
Swaarka is associated and working with the teachers from Gyanjyoti Vidyamandir school, Pune since July 2020. The teachers and team members of Swaarka meet up twice a week. The main aim of this workshop is to assist the teachers in designing the course. In the first stage, we worked on laying out ideas and concepts, creating a familiar environment, finalising resources needed and assessing the difficulty level of the designed activities. On implementation of the activities, teachers discovered new aspects and mediums. From one concept to another, they could understand the link between the ideas.
While working on the course/syllabus, the teachers got familiar with some thinkers in the field of education like Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky and studied their ideologies and principles. The teachers took efforts to understand different phases in the children’s learning processes. They carried out a few activities to determine how these principles could be effectively used in the teaching process.
In the Third stage, teachers read out the book,” Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window “for the children. This book tells the story of Totto-Chan. She studies at ‘Tomoe Gakuen’, a Japanese experimental school. The teachers understood the activities implemented at this school and discussed how these activities could positively impact their teaching process at the school.
QEP (Quality Enhancement Programme)
Swaarka is associated and working with the teachers from Gyanjyoti Vidyamandir school, Pune since July 2020. The teachers and team members of Swaarka meet up twice a week. The main aim of this workshop is to assist the teachers in designing the course. In the first stage, we worked on laying out ideas and concepts, creating a familiar environment, finalising resources needed and assessing the difficulty level of the designed activities. On implementation of the activities, teachers discovered new aspects and mediums. From one concept to another, they could understand the link between the ideas.
Quality Enhancement Program (QEP)
Sau. Gangabai Vidyamandir, Ichalkaranji
Since September 2024, we have been working with the teachers (from kindergarten to third grade) and students of Sau Gangamai Vidyamandir, Ichalkaranji, through the Quality Enhancement Program (QEP) project. The project has received financial support from Praj Foundation, Pune.The objective of this project is to effectively develop foundational literacy and numeracy skills, including writing, reading, and mathematical abilities. To achieve this, we have studied the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) and are addressing the challenges faced in the teaching-learning process by both teachers and students. We are organizing workshops, demonstrations, discussions with education experts, and visits to various schools in collaboration with teachers. Additionally, we are developing different games and learning materials to make children’s learning more engaging. Special classes are being conducted for children who have not yet achieved age-appropriate competencies. We are also engaging with parents through discussions on understanding children, the meaning of learning, and parenting.
