understanding children and their learningeng).pdfcertificate course on pedagogy for teacher...

JULY 2006

LIFE ETERNAL THROUGHLEARNING

The intertwined Hansassymbolise the integration of three

aspects of the work of theNational Council of EducationalResearch and Training (NCERT):(i) Research and Development,(ii) Training, and (iii) Extension.

The design has been adapted from anAshokan period relic of the third

century B.C. found in excavationsnear Maske in the Raichur district

of Karnataka.

The motto has been taken from theIsavasya Upanishad and means

life eternal through learning.

‘ Understanding Children and TheirLearning...’The Department of Teacher Education and Extension,NCERT, organised a three-week training programme from30 March to 18 April 2006 on ‘Pedagogy’ for TeacherEducators of Elementary Stage. This training programmewas the first phase of the ‘ Short Term (four weeks)Certificate Course on Pedagogy for Teacher Educators ofElementary Stage’.

Under the theme on ‘Understanding Children and TheirLearning’ the focus was on Observing Children, Profile ofElementary School Child, How Children ConstructKnowledge, Engaging Children in Active Learning,Understanding Child’s Language, Multilingualism, InclusiveClassroom, Rights of the Child and Making ClassroomGender Sensitive. The second theme on ‘ Curriculum, Syllabi,Textbooks and Other Instructional Materials’ includeddiscussion on issues of ‘Reducing Curriculum Load, MakingCurriculum, Syllabi and Textbooks relevant, meaningful andjoyful, related to child’s life and context’. National CurriculumFramework (NCF-2005), Syllabi and Textbooks developedby NCERT were also discussed. The trainees from differentstates analysed their own textbooks and also the NCERTtextbooks. The third session on ‘Pedagogy of CurricularSubjects’ was devoted to developing teaching-learning andassessment strategies for curricular subjects such asLanguages, Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Arts andPhysical and Health Education.

The participants worked in groups and developed chartsand other learning activities. Group discussion, drama,simulated classroom situation were some of the trainingstrategies in this programme.

Teacher Educators from seven states, namely, UttarPradesh, Bihar, Uttranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana,Chattisgarh and Delhi participated in the training programme.The entire programme was organised in Hindi, which is themedium of instruction in these states. Efforts were made torelate the training programme to the school ethos and context.

During the second phase (from April to August, 2006)the trainees will field test the ideas developed during thetraining. They will select some schools in their districtsand try out these ideas in real classroom situation. Inthe third phase trainees will review the teacher education

FOCAL THEMES

� Understanding Children and Their Learning,� Curriculum, Syllabi, Textbooks and other

Instructional Materials� Pedagogy of Curricular subjects.

2 NCERT NEWS/July 2006

curriculum prescribed by DIETs in theirstates. A workshop will be organised inSeptember, 2006 in this context.

On Teaching of IndianLanguagesA three-day meeting was held to draw aprogramme of action for the implementation ofthe ideas of the NCF and the position paper onteaching of Indian languages. This meeting ofthe National Focus Group on Teaching of IndianLanguages was held from 18 to 20 April 2006at Central Institute of Languages (CIL), Mysoreunder the chairmanship of Prof. R. K. Agnihotri,a noted linguist from Delhi University.

Prof. R.J. Sharma, Head, Department ofLanguages and Member Secretary of the Groupcoordinated the meeting.

Discussions revolved around the multilingualcharacter of Indian classroom, teaching of Indianlanguages, particularly tribal languages andlanguages without scripts, teaching strategies formultilingualism, teacher education, place oftranslation in language classroom.

The general discussions and presentationswere held on the first two days and on the thirdday the groups split into five sub groups andchalked out plan of action for implementationof the NCF with regard to teaching of Indianlanguages.

COMMON SOURCES OF PHYSICAL DISCOMFORT

� Long walks to school� Heavy school bags� Lack of basic infrastructure, including

support for reading and writing.� Badly designed furniture that gives

children inadequate back support andcramps their legs and knees.

� Especially for girls, the absence of toiletsand sanitary requirements.

� Corporal punishment — beating,awkward physical postures.

� Time tables that do not give youngchildren enough breaks to stretch, moveand play, and that deprive older childrenof play/sports time and encourage girlsto opt out ( NCF-2005.)

Poonam Agrawal, Head, Department of WomenStudies, put forward the recommendations of theCABE Committee on girls education andcommon school system. She also opined thatthe onus of getting a girl child educated shouldbe on the father rather than burdening thewomen with all such responsibilities, as in Indiamost of the decision making powers lie with malemembers of the family.

It is extremly important that textbookwriters and teachers begin toappreciate that the passive anddeferential roles generally assigned towomen are socio-culturally constructedand need to be destroyed as quicklyas possible. (NCF-2005)

Women and Education‘‘Women and Education: North RegionalConsultation on Engendering the Eleventh FiveYear Plan” was held at Chandigarh from 1-3June 2006.

NATIONAL CONFERENCE TO REVISIT INDIAN EDUCATION

Vision 2020 was organised by EducationPromotion Society for India in the month ofApril, 2006 at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

While chairing the session titled — ‘Bridginggender gap in education: Gains and challengesin Rajasthan ’, Dr Agrawal, Head DWS,mentioned that the disparity starts right fromchalking out the objectives of education. Girls’education is projected as an instrument toachieve infant and family welfare decreasingmortality and morbidity rates, populationcontrol and such other issues. This affects theopportunities, experiences and entitlements

Languages also provide a bank ofmemories and symbols inherited fromone's fellow speakers and created in one'sown lifetime. They are also the mediumthrough which most knowledge isconstructed, and hence they are closelytied to the thoughts and identity of theindividual. In fact, they are so closelybound with identity that to deny or wipeout a child's mother tongue(s) is to interferewith the sense of self. (NCF-2005)

3NCERT NEWS/July 2006

Bookshelf

CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACHES TO TEACHING AND

LEARNING TEACHER'S HANDBOOK

PUBLISHED BY : NCERTEDITED BY PROF. SANTOSH SHARMA, DTEE

Traditional teaching in schools is teacher centredand derives its goals and objectives from thebehaviourist theory. Teachers use didacticinstructional methods, where they fill student’sminds with deposits of information consideredby teachers as ‘true knowledge’. Students areexpected to memorise this information andreproduce the same in the examination. At theend of an academic session the achievement ofstudents is certified in the annual examination.This kind of information loaded education putslot of ‘memory load’ and ‘learning stress’ on thestudents with little emphasis on developing theabilities of reasoning, reflective thinking andproblem solving.

Since late 1980s, researchers have beentrying to develop a new ‘constructivist theory’ oflearning and assumptions underlyingconstructivist theory are —

� Learning is an active meaning makingprocess required to solve meaningfulproblems.

� Learners construct knowledge by reflectingupon their experiences and using their priorlearning.

� Congnitive structures within individualsfacilitate learning and these structures arein the process of constant development.

� Learning implies reorganisation of priorconceptual schemes.

� Meaningful learning occurs within authenticlearning tasks.

The present teacher’s handbook discussesconstructivist philosophy and psychologicalprinciples underlying constructivist view of

learning and derives characteristics ofconstructivist curriculum, role of teachers andstudents in the constructivist classroom.Theconstructivist classroom presents the learnerswith opportunities to develop their ownunderstanding from authentic learningexperiences using their prior knowledge. The roleof teachers is to provide such learningexperiences which facilitate construction ofknowledge. Teachers must encourage studentsto explore possiblities, invent alternate solutions,test their own ideas and hypothesis and discusstheir ideas with the peers and teachers.

Experientiallearning assertsthe importance ofcritical reflection inlearning. Theteaching-learningmethod based onthis theory helpsin developing four

kinds of abilities, namely, concrete experiences,reflective observation, abstract conceptualisationand active experimentation. It allows scope fordiverse individual learning style.

Concept mapping requires students tostructure the ideas/conceptual understandingindicating the interrelatedness of concepts. It isbasically the learner’s activity and helps learnersin examining their own understanding ofconcepts and reformulating their concepts. Theproblem solving method is not a new methodbut behaviourists and constructivists view itdifferently. In behaviourist perspective, thelearner is a passive extrinsically motivatedindividual whereas in constructivism, the learneris an active intrinsically and socially motivatedsupported by adult or more knowledgeableperson. Thinking abilities are central to theprocess of problem solving and higher levels oflearning can be achieved through this. These

offered to girls in education. This is evident fromthe fact that stress of women’s education is onliteracy and elementary education whichhampers the prospects of attaining their highereducation. In case of girl’s education, mere

physical availability of schools is not enough tobring and retain them in the education system.The indicators such as the enrolment andparticipation (drop out rate) are also insufficientand need to be re-visited.

APPROACHES SUGGESTED

� Experiential learning

� Concept mapping

� Investigatory method

� Social enquiry

� Creative writing


include reasoning ability, hypothetical inductiveand deductive thinking, judgmental ability,enquiry and observational skills, values ofhonesty and cooperation, enquiry into thenatural phenomenon and processes is one ofthe natural ways by which students constructknowledge. The enquiry process begins withcasual observation and carried throughhypothesis formulation, experimentation,inferring and predicting. Investigation methodnot only involves understanding about thephenomenon around us, but also reachingpossible conclusions, exploring relationshipsand explanations between ideas and events.

Instrinsic to this method of teaching learningis the assumption that students shouldacvitively construct knowledge throughobservations rather than receiving knowledgethrough lectures, textbook reading or recitation.Creative writing is another activity that hepls indeveloping creative thinking and expression.

The handbook is a useful resource materialfor teachers and may help them to reflect upontheir own teaching and test the assumptions ofnew constructivist paradigm in their classrooms.

BHOPAL MAIN URDU IZZEMAM KE BAAD

PUBLISHED BY : EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING HOUSE, DELHI

Nauman Khan, Reader, Department of Languagehas published his Ph.D thesis entitled- BhopalMein Urdu Izzemam Ke Baad in January 2006.

The thesis now in the form of printedbook has seven chapters. First two chaptershighlight the geographical, historical, political,educational and socio-cultural background oferstwhile Bhopal State.

Dr Khan has critically analysed the scenarioafter the merger of Bhopal State. Throwing lighton the richness of Urdu language and literatureas found in Bhopal, he is of the opinion that theposition of contemporary Urdu journalism is notsatisfactory, However Urdu literary anjumans(organisations) and tehrikaat (Movements)publishing centres and Urdu libraries arecontributing for the progress and advancementof the Urdu language. Dr. Khan hasrecommended in his book that education systemshould make efforts for making Urdu languageteaching-learning interesting and serious.

View PointCURRICULAR REFORM IN SCHOOLS: THE

IMPORTANCE OF EVALUATION

Evaluation plays a pivotal role in deciding whatthe learners learn and what the teachers teachin schools. The paper reports a study of English-language teaching conducted in Delhi State ofIndia that sought to examine the assumptionthat a change in an evaluation pattern cantrigger curricular reform. Did concomitantchanges take place in the teaching and testingof English at the upper-primary stage when theCentral Board of Seconday Educationintroduced changes in the courses of study andthe examinations in English language at the endof Class X (age 15+), the occasion of the firsthigh-stakes public examination in India? Thisexpectation of change was confirmed in thefindings of this study, which may apply to othercurricular areas and speak to any schoolsystem ready to implement reforms in theirinstructional practices.

Abstract of Prof Mamta Agrawal’s paperCurricular Reform in Schools: The Importanceat Evaluation — published in the Journal ofCurriculum Studies in 2004 and reprinted in TheEthics of Teaching by Michael and Bylanpublished by Ashgate Publishing Ltd. UK.

‘Yugdrishta Premchand’

Snehlata Prasad, Reader in Hindi haspublished an article, 'Yugdrishta Premchand'in Vol.5 Kala Abhipraya. Dr Prasad, in herarticle, has described Munshi ji as a greatvisionary and critic of his times. His literarywritings are a mirror of the society and hisrevolutionary ideas encouraged people to raisetheir voice against injustice. Premchand had adeep affection for children.

Munshi Premchand had a deep insight andunderstanding of child psychology. Theirinnocent childish activities and curiositiesgave him pleasure. He opposed the practiceof putting children in schools early in theirchildhood. He also felt that children shouldbe given opportunites to live closer to nature.


Bilingual children not only have control overseveral different languages but are alsoacademically more creative and socially moretolerant. The wide range of linguistic repertoirethat they control equips them to negotiatedifferent social situations more efficiently.There is also substantial evidence to show thatbilingual children excel in divergent things(NCF-2005)

� A Programme to acquaint Master trainerswith policy and guidelines contained in theNCF-2005 and the recommendations of theNational Focus Groups on Teaching ofScience as also of Habitat and Learning wasorganised in May 2006 by the DESM. Thethree-day two orientation programmes forMaster Trainers in Science one each for ClassVI and IX, drawn from schools under KVs,NVS, Directorate of Education, Delhi,besides representatives of some publicschools of Delhi. Each programme wasattended by about forty-five participants. Inaddition to this the participants were alsofamiliarised with the salient features ofscience textbooks including the approachand the rationale behind the organisation ofthe content in the textbooks of science forClasses VI and IX. They were given anopportunity for hands-on activities desirablefor effective transaction of these textbooksin classroom. A visit to Science Park and theNIE Workshop was also organised.

2006. Two subject experts from NCERT—Sandhya Singh and Pramod Dubey,Readers in DOL interacted with 20 teachers.

Orientation Programmes

LEARNER CENTRED CLASSROOM MANAGEMENT

A similar programme for the KendriyaVidyalaya primary teachers in Englishfrom KVS was organised in the Departmentof Languages from 21 to 23 June 2006and the teachers were oriented about themultilingual approach and constructivism.Basic tenets of NCF-2005 and positionpaper on English language teaching wasdiscussed with them. Prof. Lalitha Eapen,Resource Person from CIEFL, Hyderabadstressed that teachers should not act asinstructors, they should work with thechildren realising their requirements andlevels of understanding. Prof. Usha Dutta,coordinator of the training programme,apprised them of the content in the booksand strategies for classroom transactions.Reading material was disseminatedto them.

They were acquainted with the objectivesof the programme and detailed interactivesessions on NCF and Syllabus were takenup. Discussions on multilingualism andchild’s construction of knowledge wereeducative. There was a session on evaluationand assessment. Significant features ofMarigold, Classes I and III were presented.This was followed by interactive session andactivities on Reading, Talktime, Wordbuilding, Teatime, Song time, Say aloud,Writing, Stories and Poems were taken upwith the trained teachers.

ISSUES

� Curriculum-2005 LanguageEducaton and Multilingualism

� Teaching of poetry and prose� New approaches to language teaching� Problems of non-Hindi speaking

students� Hindi literature and journalism:

Use of computer in Hindi educationand evaluation.

The main purpose of the orientationprogrammes has been to equip the mastertrainers for conducting orientationprogrammes for their respective schoolsystems. Similar orientation programmes inmathematics and science for highersecondary stages were organised in June2006. The programmes were coordinated byProfessors B.K. Sharma and S.K.S. Gautam.

� An Orientation Programme on Hindilanguage and literature was organised inRawat Bhata, Rajasthan from 1 to 3 May


A COMPREHENSIVE ECE KIT

• Dominoes for colour, shape, picture andnumbers

• Visual perception cards• Puzzle• Self-corrective number puzzle• Reasoning or relationship cards• Story cards• Habit cards• Visual-auditory association cards• Touch cards• Rhyme booklet (draft form)

Expert group meeting and workshopswere conducted to discuss the gaps in theexisting kit and the above dummy materialwas also displayed and discussed. A user'smanual is also ready in the draft form tosupport the ECE kit. It was suggestedduring the workshops and also in the PACprogramme that ECE kit should be priced.The art work for the rhyme booklets is alsounder preparation.

Building Character

IIT NURSERY SCHOOL

IIT Nursery School is a place where a strongfoundation of children is laid. The goal of theschool is overall development of the child. Thereare innovative experiences and activities forphysical and motor development, cognitivedevelopment, language development, socio-emotional development and development ofcreative expression and aesthetic appreciationof the children.

IIT Nursery School provides a stimulatingenvironment which help the child to getopportunities to experiment with a variety ofexperiences. It provides learning experiences ina concrete form through play situations. Here the

child is an active participant, not only a passivelistener. It makes learning enjoyable for him/her. Smt. Savitri Singh, Headmistres of theschool says that the IIT school is the placewhere each child gets the answer of What?Why? and How?

Peace as a dynamic concept...

A six-week Training Course on Peace Educationis being organised by the Department ofEducation Psychology and Foundations ofEducation at NCERT, New Delhi from 30 May2006 to 7 July 2006. This is the second coursein succession. There were thirty-twoGovernment school teachers from all over India,deputed by the 16 state governments, whoattended the course. The course aimed atdeveloping the skills, attitudes and competenciesamong teachers in remaining peacefulthemselves, and promoting peace relatedattitudes and competencies amongst students.

Peace, as a dynamic concept — is based oninterrelationships marked by continual

resolution of conflicts and absence of violence— physical, verbal or structural. The values oftolerance, justice, cooperation and respect forindividual differences irrespective of gender,region, religion, caste etc. sustain peacefulbehaviour among individuals. Concerns forsocial justice and commitment to democracy arehallmarks of peace. The teachers have to beempowered with competencies and values fornurturing peace by orienting the school cultureand teaching-learning practices in and out ofthe classroom. The approach to peace educationis integrative in the sense that the entire culture,curriculum and teaching-learning processes ofthe school are to be viewed from the peace


perspective, rather than as a separate subject.‘This course aims at bringing about a

qualitative change in teachers’ interactions,relationships, and responses to conflict ladensituations in and outside classroom’. Interactiveand participative training methods are beingused to help teachers model and infuse peacevalues in the teaching-learning process.Experiential learning sessions on conflictresolution, stress management, familyrelationships, violence, media literacy, classroominteraction, and pedagogical aspects are beingorganised. Local and out-station field visits toGandhi Smriti, Bal Bhavan, and Wagha Borderwere also part of the course. Interaction withtwo previous years’ participants is yet anotherhighlight of the course. The trainees carry outassignments viz., glossary and key concepts onpeace, conflict resolution activities by teachers,identifying factors which detract from peace intheir respective schools, analysis of textbooks,

preparing lesson ideas incorporating peaceperspective etc.

Towards the end of course, participants drewfuture action plan for promoting peace in theirschools. A local area network of trained teachersis also proposed to be developed to strengthenpeace related efforts across the country.

Case Study

RAJARSHI SHAHU SARVANGIN SHIKSHAN

KARYAKRAM: AN INNOVATION FOR IMPROVING

RETENTION AND LEARNING ACHIEVEMENT OF

CHILDREN

(A CASE STUDY OF DISTRICT KOLHAPUR IN

MAHARASHTRA)

The Department of Elementary Educationinitiated a research study entitled “RajarshiShahu Sarvangin Shikshan Karyakram: AnInnovation for Improving Retention andLearning Achievement of Children" at theinstance of the Ministry of Human ResourceDevelopment.The prime purpose of initiating theabove study was to examine the Rajarshi ShahuSarvangin Shikshan Karyakram, its salientfeatures, the processes adopted, its efficacy andto document significant features of theinnovative practices for wider application as areplicable model, and for up-scaling in theconcerned states.

DESIGN OF THE STUDY

For conducting the study of a qualitative nature,both primary and secondary data were collected

from two blocks i.e. Panhala and Ajara of districtKolhapur by a research team consisting of fourmembers, from 27 November to 5 December2005. From each block four schools wererandomly selected. The schools selected fromblock Panhala were: V.M. Kakhe, V.M. KanyaSatave, V.M. Jakhle and V.M. Kanya Kodoliwhereas V.M. Mumevadi, V.M. Kanya Uttur,V.M. Masoli and V.M.Madilage were selectedfrom block Ajara. The district-sub-district

OBJECTIVES

• To identify major initiatives adoptedunder the Rajarshi Shahu SarvanginShikshan Karyakram to improveretention and learning achievement ofchildren at elementary level,

• To document the processes forimproving the retention and learningachievement of children at theelementary level.

• To document significant features of theinnovative practices for widerapplication as a replicable model andfor up-scaling in the concerned state.


functionaries, head teachers/teachers,community including parents, VEC, MTA etcand students formed the four categories ofrespondents. In these categories, 8 District-Subdistrict functionaries (DDPI-1, BEO-2, BRCC-2, CRCC-3), 16 Head-Teachers/Teachers (HeadTeachers-8, Teachers-8), 32 community(SDMC-16, Parents-16 (2 from each school) and40 students (5 from each school) i.e. a total of96 respondents were selected, which comprisedthe final sample of the study.

To collect the primary data, four interviewschedules were developed respectively for the fourstated categories. These were finalised in a two-day planning meeting organised by theDepartment of Elementary Education (DEE) onthe finalisation of the research design and toolsfor the study. Apart from these interviewschedules, unstructured interview and informaldiscussions were carried out with official holding

different hierarchical positions at the district levelwith an objective to obtain information regardingthe attitude of the educational bureaucracytowards the functioning of RSSSK in schools. Inaddition, focus-group discussions were organisedwith the community members residing aroundthe schools to assess their general level ofawareness about the functioning and impact ofthe Karyakram in the schools. Secondary datawas obtained from a number of state governmentdocuments and reports, school attendanceregister, school records, reports of Zilla Parishadresearch studies. The collected data werecarefully examined and analysed manually.

Based on perceptions and responses ofvarious stakeholders and implementers aboutthe working of the programme collected throughinterviews and focus-group discussions duringthe fieldwork some strengths of the programmeemerged.

STRENGTHS OF THE PROGRAMME

• The long and rich educational and social traditions of the district has been an outstandingfactor in motivating the society towards accepting the programme with open arms.

• Higher rural female literacy rate had been the influential factor in the whole exercise ofenhancing the educational standards in the district

• Involvement of the entire district educational functionaries across different operational levelsresulted in consistent and timely supply of all major qualitative and quantitative inputsrequired for the successful implementation of the programme

• Linkages across different departments facilitating overall development i.e. social, physical,intellectual and emotional growth of children.

• Active role of Panchayati Raj institutions particularly Gram Panchayats in planning,management and monitoring of school level activities.

• Conduct of regular monitoring of progress through visits and meetings followed by feedbackto the community for further improvement at the school level.

• Continuous encouragement to teachers/students through rewards, incentives andacknowledgement in public meetings by dignitaries.

• Massive contribution by the local community across the district for school improvementsuch as infrastructural facilities etc.

• Commitment and involvement of a large of number of teachers in preparing children forscholarship examinations.

• Phenomenal support and active involvement of Mata Palak Sangh in facilitating successfulexecution of the developmental activities in schools and those related to the education of theneedy girl child.

• The practice of Social audit emerged as a strong source of fixing accountability of teachersfor their performance inside the classroom.

• Coordination amongst officials, non-officials and teacher union leaders at all levels hasadded the needed impetus to the successful implementation of the programme.


Keeping in view the impact of thisprogramme in bringing improvements in theacademic achievement levels and in all rounddevelopment of the students of the ZillaParishad schools in district Kolhapur, theprogramme has been extended further to fourmore districts of State, viz., Sangli, Pune,Solapur and Satayra.

As stated by the District Education Officer,the state government has issued instructions toother districts for the adoption of this programme.Subsequently, Gunwatta Vikas Karyakram(Quality Improvement Programme) implementedthroughout the State of Maharashtra fromDecember 2005 has largely been inspired andbased on the philosophy of the Rajarshi ShahuSarvangin Shikshan Karyakram.

BriefsCAPACITY BUILDING PROJECT

DESM has undertaken a mega project forcapacity building of state level functionariesincluding the KVs and NVs, in EnvironmentEducation including Disaster Management andMitigation. The programme has been conductedby the DESM in collaboration with the RIEs atAjmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneshwar and Mysorebesides NERIE at Shillong. Six programmeseach of five-day duration were organised by thefive RIEs for the states/UTs of their region whilethe DESM, NIE organised the same for Delhi andother neighbouring States. Prof J.S. Gill, DESM,NIE has been the overall coordinator of theprogramme. The participants were acquaintedwith policy and guidelines contained in the NCF-2005 especially concerning environment.

NTSE, NOW AFTER CLASS VIIIThe National level examination for NationalTalent Search for the year 2006 was conductedat all India level on 14 May 2006. Theexamination was conducted at the end of ClassX. In the coming years the NTS examination willbe conducted at the end of Class VIII as thescheme has undergone certain changes.

FOREIGN VISITS

Gouri Srivastava, Reader, Department of WomenStudies visited Georg-Eckert Institute first

International School, Buck Forschring atBraunschweeg, Germany from 6 to 22 June2006 on a scholarship awarded by the Institutein connection with her work on comparativeanalysis of textbooks and education policies ofSAARC countries viz-a-viz developing/developed countries of the world to know howgender and peace have been addressed in socialstudies textbooks.

Thursday Lecture SeriesThe following lectures were organised byDERPP at NCERT, New Delhi.

� “Pre-School TV, Gali Gali Sim Sim —Creating Cultural Bridges” by Dr AshaSingh and Shri Niret Alwa, Midtech TVPro-Delhi on 13 April 2006.

� “Kitte Mil Ve Mahi’’ by Shri Ajay Bhardwaj,India Foundations for the Arts on 20 April2006.

� “School Education from the Perspective ofMasses’’ by Prof. V.K. T ripathi,Prof. of Physics, IIT, Delhi on 27 April 2006.

� “Architecture of Quality in ElementaryEducation’’ by Prof. C.S. Nagaraju, NCERTon 11 May 2006.

� “Does Teaching-Learning Need a Change’’by Prof. M.Sen Gupta, NCERT on 18 May2006.

� “The National in Our Name: The NCERTand Nationalism Revisited’’ byProf. Anil Sethi, NCERT on 25 May 2006.

� “Globalization, Neo-liberalism andEducation" by Prof. Dave Hill, UK on 1 June2006.

� “Implementation of Ten Year SchoolCurriculum in India" by Prof. SK Yadav,NCERT on 8 June 2006.

� “Emerging Perspective on Disability" by MsAnuradha Mohit Spl Rapportier, NHRC on15 June 2006.

� “The Process of Textbook Development atNCERT : Experience of an insider" by MrMV Srinivasan, DESSH on 22 June 2006.

� “The Process of Textbook Development atNCERT : An Alternative Perspective byDr Pratyusa Mandai, DESSH, NCERT on29 June 2006.


Staff News

APPOINTMENTS

� Ms. Kanchan, Lecturer in Education, DEE on1.5.2006

� Mrs. Shradha Dilip Dhiwal, Lecturer inEducation, DEPFE on 4.5.2006

� Mr. Ramesh Kumar, Lecturer in Education,DEPFE on 4.5.2006

� Sh. M.V.S.V. Prasad, Lecturer in PoliticalScience, DESSH on 22.5.2006

The Champions — NIE Team ! XXI NCERT Staff Tournament

Snapshots...

Harmony!World Conference on ArtsEducation at Portugal 2006

Experience of joy !XXI NCERT Staff Tournament


Snapshots...

A glimpse of the morningassembly organised atthe EGS/AIE Centre

NCERT Workshop‘Work is Workship’

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Back MarginAt a lecture recently organised by NCERT, ProfessorShanta Sinha spoke about the battle-like experiencethe poor have to face when they seek schooladmission for their children. Meeting deadlines,providing satisfactory certificates of birth andresidence, and so on, are among the very firstrequirements any parent must fulfil in order to puta child in Class I. For a large proportion of the ruralpopulation and migrants to towns and cities, theseinitial chores prove difficult enough, but the realbattle begins when the child starts attending school.Professor Sinha showed with the help of numerousinstances drawn from her work as the Founder-Director of MV Foundation how scarce is theavailability of positive feelings and support for theClass I child. Many village schools function withjust two teachers and they tend to focus on ClassIV and V, leaving the largest Class I to shape itselfinto a smaller Class II cohort by attrition. Class Iand II teachers seldom enjoy the high self-esteemand long-term vision necessary for working with 5-6 year olds. Many textbooks used in our country inClass I and II fail to reflect children’s ways ofthinking and imagination. There is a widespreadfeeling among headmasters and other authoritiesthat Class I is merely a preparation time, notsignificant in itself.

Educational theory has ample evidence on thecontrary. It is in Class I that the child’s basic attitudetowards school as a social institution is formed.Indeed, the first few months spent at school have adecisive role in shaping the child’s will to take theschool seriously as a place which means well.Systemic inability to distinguish little children fromolder ones, in terms of nature and requirements, is amajor obstacle to Class I reforms. Trained teachersare usually able to regurgitate the commonpsychological characteristics of adolescents but veryfew have working knowledge of how a 5-year oldthinks and imagines. The syllabus of teacher trainingfor the primary stage is usually so generalised thattrainees end up getting no clear idea about this crucialstage of the school-going child’s mind. They operateon the basis of a vague notion of stages ofdevelopment, having little clue about how to relate toa real child. We can hardly blame Class I teacherswho perceives themselves to be at the bottom of theschool hierarchy and hope to move on.

KRISHNA KUMAR

Website : www.ncert.nic.in, E-mail: [email protected] at the Publication Department by the Secretary, National Council of Educational Research andTraining, Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi 110 016, Lasertypeset in-house and printed at ..................................................................................................................................

Publication TeamP. Rajakumar Shveta UppalShabnam Sinha Arun ChitkaraMeenakshi Khar

New Publications� Riyazee ka Jadoo, Class I

� Ibtade Urdu, Class III

� Apni Zaban, Class VI

� Urdu Guldasta – A Supplementary Readerin Urdu, Class VI

� Nawa-e-Urdu, Class IX

� Gulzar-e-Urdu – A Supplementary Readerin Urdu, Class IX

� Gulistane-Adab, Class XI

� Science, Class VI

� Zamin : Hamara Maskan, Class VI

� Samaji Aur Siyasi Zindgi, Class VI

� Science, Class IX

� Ilm-e-Maashiyat, Class IX

� Shumriyat Bar-e-Maashiyat, Class XI

� Modules on Quality Dimensions ofElementary Education under SSA

� NCERT – Varshik Lekha : 2004-05

� NCERT – Annual Accounts : 2004-05

� Position Paper (NF Group) on Curriculum,Syllabus and Textbooks

� Position Paper (NF Group) on Health andPhysical Education

� Position Paper (NF Group) on SystemicReforms for Curriculum Change

� Position Paper (NF Group) on Prathmik

� Prathmik Shikshak : April – July 2005combined issue

� Prathmik Shikshak : October – December2005 combined issue

� Journal of Indian Educational : February2005 issue

� Journal of Indian Educational : May 2005issue

� School Science : June 2005

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