IMPROVING BEHAVIOUR AT SCHOOL

26 Jun 2024 Leave a comment

by Dr.Vijay . in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,


Improving Behaviour in Schools

Six recommendations for improving behaviour in schools

Misbehaviour in lessons is something that has been documented by teachers for centuries. And while most pupils in most lessons are well-behaved, it’s a major cause of stress for teachers and can have a lasting impact on the outcomes of the pupils in the class. There’s a clear need for school to have consistent and clear behaviour policies that promote positive behaviour in lessons. 

This EEF( Education empowerment foundation ) guidance report is designed to support senior leaders in primary and secondary schools to make better-informed decisions about their behaviour strategies. It includes a number of practical examples of programmes and approaches that should be helpful in schools and classrooms where behaviour is generally good as where there are problems.

To develop this report’s six recommendations for improving behaviour we not only reviewed the best available international research, but also consulted with teachers and other experts. As with all EEF guidance reports, its publication is just the start of how we aim to support schools in implementing these recommendations. We will now be working with the sector, including through our colleagues in the Research Schools Network, to build on them with further training, resources and tools. This report is well-timed for school leaders to consider alongside the recent Timpson report on exclusions, and to be part of professional conversations around behaviour that will be central to the Department for Education’s Behaviour Support Networks.

1.Know and understand your pupils and their influences Pupil behaviour has multiple influences, some of which teachers can manage directly.Understanding a pupil’s context will inform effective responses to misbehaviour.Every pupil should have a supportive relationship with a member of school staff.

2.Teach learning behaviours alongside managing misbehaviourTeaching learning behaviours will reduce the need to manage misbehaviour.Teachers can provide the conditions for learning behaviours to develop by ensuring pupils can access the curriculum, engage with lesson content and participate in their learning.Teachers should encourage pupils to be self-reflective of their own behaviours.

3.Use classroom management strategies to support good classroom behaviourEffective classroom management can reduce challenging behaviour, pupil disengagement, bullying and aggression.Improving classroom management usually involves intensive training with teachers reflecting on their classroom management, trying a new approach and reviewing their progress over time.

Reinforcement programmes based on pupils gaining rewards can be effective when part of a broader classroom management strategy.

4.Use simple approaches as part of your regular routineSome strategies that don’t require complex pedagogical changes have been shown to be promising.Breakfast clubs, greeting children at the door and working with parents can all support good behaviour.School leaders should ensure the school behaviour policy is clear and consistently applied.

5.Tailor targeted approaches to meet the needs of individuals in your schoolUniversal behaviour systems are unlikely to meet the needs of all your students.For pupils with more challenging behaviour, the approach should be tailored to individual needs.Teachers should be trained in specific strategies if supporting pupils with high behaviour needs.

IMPLEMENTATION AT Whole-school LEVEL Consistency and coherence at a whole-school level are paramount. Whole-school changes usually take longer to embed than individually tailored or single-classroom approaches.However, behaviour programmes are more likely to have an impact on attainment outcomes if implemented at whole-school level.

IMPORTANCE  OF QUESTIONING SKILL IN TEACHING AND LEARNING

19 Jun 2024 Leave a comment

by Dr.Vijay . in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,


Sir Albert Eistein once said I quote
” *if I had an hour to solve a problem and my life is dependent on the solution ,I would spend the first 55 minutes determining the proper question to ask for . Once I know the proper question ,I could solve the problem in less than five minutes” I unquote.
Such is the power of questions .
Had Arjuna not asked  wise questions ,It would  not have prompted Lord Krishna to answer  to quench the thrist  of  knowledge of Arjuna..Thus credit for the world class mythological text  GITA  goes to questions asked by ARJUNA Such is the power and importance of questions .

Children gherefore need to be allowed to ask questions fearlessly and There is need to develop the art of asking the questions for the success
Insights of successful people from different walks of life show the importance of right question which help us to increase our curiosity and creativity
Therefore
Questioning is one of the most important skill for successful people

At our Hasti Public school more stress is given on framing questions we believe that “ *One who  answers  the question may be intelligent * but *One who ask question is wise*    In our Hasti Public school we have revolutionized the home work system , our teachers , instead of giving home work to bring answers , (to the questions (which they are likely to ask or copy from digest or from friends notebook) , give home work to  frame or make questions (as many as possible)  from the portion taught to them 

Our Hasti School is now creating  a wonder  wall or QUESTION WALL  in everty class room where children are allowed to write the question before and after the lesson /topic/chapter/unit discussed

i think , Had Arjuna not asked  wise questions It would  not have prompted Lord Krishna to answer  to quench the thrist  of  knowledge of Arjuna.. Thus credit for the world class mythological text  GITA  goes to questions asked by the ARJUNA . Such is the power and importance of questions .

We all know that the moment a child takes birth, it makes announcement of    his/her arrival with the first cry. As children grow, parents start modeling conversation skills thereby aiding the development and nurturing the communication skills of children by making them capable of expressing themselves. While growing up, children tend to ask a lot of questions and this innate desire or curiosity to know the world by asking questions acts as a **catalyst in communication.

Just like plants need the right amount of sunlight, water, clean soil, and some nutrients in the soil for food . Our learners should be taught the art of *listening,* speaking*, receiving and giving feedback* and most importantly of asking questions.

Why Is Questioning Skill Important In The Teaching And Learning Process ? child’s world is full of excitement and wonder. To strengthen the natural instinct of wondering, questioning is an important skill to be developed in learners., A good question can open minds. It is a question that often leads us to wonder, reflect, discover and challenge new ideas, uncover new meaning by taking us from the known to unknown.

Those with good questioning skills are often also very good listeners as they spend more time absorbing information Questioning is at the heart of communication, it is an expansion of critical communication skills in children.* A great question is equal to great communication* hence questioning is the key mantra to successful communication.

Promoting learner questions in class is a significant role of an Inquiry teacher.

How Can Teachers Develop A Culture Of Questioning In Their Classrooms ?

Nearly a century ago, John Dewey made a prescient observation about classroom culture and questioning that still holds true today:

No one has ever explained why children are so full of questions outside of the school ,? and the conspicuous absence of display of curiosity about the subject matter of school lessons.The real issue is in the classroom culture, here would point out that teachers have enormous power, their behaviour will determine an impact on the climate of questioning in the classroom.

A teacher’s curiosity infects the entire classroom in a positive way,Thomas Kuhn said “ The answers you get depend on the questions you ask

*What Can we Teachers Do to Improve Questioning Skills in Learners?

Question Cube –The question cube creates tension on the learners in framing critical thinking questions from a book you have read, as well as pictures of important things or main ideas. This strategy can be used in any subject focus.

See- Think- Wonder- Visible thinking Routine is simple yet a powerful tool to help learners generate questions. Beginning with a visual prompt, learners share their thinking at each step along the way before moving on to the next one. This facilitates the learners to build on the group’s thinking and often results in deeper and meaningful discussions.

Question Quadrant-                        

Teachers often struggle with getting their learners to understand and ask good open ended questions. To get them to understand the different types of questions, the Question Quadrant is a tool first devised by Philip Cam (2006) while working with students and teachers in order to *hone, sort and categorise learner questions. It is a tool which assists teachers to explicitly teach question types with the intention of using students’ questions to guide learning.                                                                                             *

Question Wall – Question wall is popularly known as a wonder wall or learning wall. A question wall is a space in the classroom where learners post their questions. In remote teaching we can design a virtual wall Teachers can incorporate this questioning strategy in their classes before, during and after a lesson. *With question walls, learners can write their burning questions enabling them to safely express their wonderings. This strategy is particularly useful as it stimulates learners to think critically, boosts active learning and participation.

The importance of communication skills in children is key to being a successful communicator, an empathic leader and a contributive global citizen.The art of questioning is at the heart of the development of communication skills. Questions can be asked in a formal or an informal setting. Asking questions in the classroom or at home is a driving force of learning. It will always be an indispensable slice of every child’s learning. Powerful questions can create an explosion in learning. Parents and teachers must encourage young learners to ask questions and provide them with an opportunity to investigate their own learning.

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CURIOSITY IN KIDS

14 Jun 2024 Leave a comment

by Dr.Vijay . in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,


 “Why a twinkling star or say the moon following us*?”

*Why does a tree appear to be moving with us while we are in train

 “Why is 2×2 = 4 and not 5?”

“Why is the sky not red?”

“Why can birds fly but not me?

These questions should definitely sound familiar to you! Years ago you must have asked these same questions to your parents too . While a lot of times we ignore these questions asked by our preschool kids, it reflects a very important inherent quality in them – curiosity. 

Remember when an apple fell on Newton’s head and he almost made jam out of it? But why didn’t he? Because he was curious to find out about why the apple fell off the tree. Had he not been curious we would also be asking questions like our toddlers – “Why things that go up come down again?”  All pre-schoolers have a little Newton hidden inside them  somewhere. You simply need to let their curiosity bloom to allow them to scoop out a new discovery!

Quite often, questions asked by young kids get submerged in a classroom either due to a crunch of time or it being unrelated to the topic of discussion going on. However, in most cases, the teaching-learning methods used in the classroom does not provide the space for curiosity to bloom out of the minds of young learners . And so, the curiosity sort of gets buried as an unfulfilled desire to “know”.

 “When children are in pre primary school, one of the things that really defines them is their curiosity, how curious they are and so keen to learn new things.”

This is the importance of curiosity in the life of school-going kids although hard work is a crucial factor to walk on the path of success, curiosity is what drives the journey towards it! 

To push their journey of success, preschool kids need “a good pre primary school, one that really encourages this kind of curiosity in its children.” Encouraging new thoughts, ideas and most importantly questions asked by young minds are the primary steps towards appreciating and uplifting curiosity in kids. Most teachers have a “*ask me a question” session* at the end of a class which allows the students to raise their doubts and seek information. But the type of questions allowed to ask remains confined to the “syllabus” being taught and that is something that needs to be pushed out of its boundaries. And in the case of pre primary kids, patience is not their strong trait. They tend to follow their spontaneous nature and ask a question in the middle of the class! This is where a teacher’s reaction can make or break the kid’s morale . If the teacher allows the kid to proceed and answers the child or maybe politely request them to hold their thought and discuss it at the end of the class, the child will feel that his or her question matters. This not only makes them patient but also keeps the spark of curiosity alive!

On the other hand, *if the teacher has an opposite reaction and does not entertain impromptu questions from the young students, the child would think twice before asking questions * from the next class, thereby reducing their will to participate in classroom discussions. This might look like a small incident but in reality, little acts like these are what decides the degree of involvement of the child in the teaching learning process, not just physically but also mentally.

Body language should be welcoming enough for new questions, ideas, thoughts by the young learners. If they see you being interested in what they have to say, they will feel free to share their thoughts!

Curious kids are always active. It’s time for the teacher to be an active listener too!  Carefully listen to what they have to ask and answer their questions patiently.

Their questions and your answers can be turned the other way around. Why don’t you ask them a question and spark a conversation? This will give them the opportunity to think, analyze and come up with their own viewpoints!

Some topics may be difficult (and maybe boring) to teach, even for you! So why not turn them into something relatable to the young kids! Relating a concept to real life is known to help understand better than giving age-old examples time and again. Go ahead, try this in the next class!

A conversational tone, rather than passive lecture, can be incorporated into the teaching learning process in the classroom. This will help in creating a comfortable, judgement free environment for kids to fearlessly ask questions and spread curiosity among peers too!

Just like there are no regulators of Bitcoin, curiosity too can’t be regulated by anyone You simply need to let your child invest themselves fully in activities that feed their curious mind. “They are sort of developing as young adults so they are very keen to explore the world around them..”

One of the challenges faced by teachers in a majority of schools is the high student-teacher ratio which does not allow the space for teachers to encourage curiosity in their students. Schools following the ideal ratio such as HASTI PUBLIC SCHOOL, have been able to keep the spark of curiosity alive in students encouraging them to speak their minds and actively participate in classroom discussions!

MENTAL MATHEMATICS

14 Jun 2024 Leave a comment

by Dr.Vijay . in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,


How to Teach Your Children to Do Mental Math*

It is important that everybody learn to do some calculations mentally when paper and pencil or a calculator is not handy.

*Let us see  few beginning mental math strategies that a parent might help a child learn at home*.

*Mental math should not be confused with the memorization* of basic mathematics facts*— such as knowing the times-tables by heart. While memorizing basic facts makes mental math easier, *doing mathematics mentally requires both memorized facts and the manipulation* (strategies) of numbers and operations*  

 The following mental math strategies are arranged in general order *from the easiest* strategies children can learn to perform in their head , *to more difficult and challenging mental math gymnastics*.

*Strategies for Addition*

Doing addition problems in your head is probably the best way to start doing mental math. Even young children—5, 6, and 7 year olds—can do the easiest strategies below. While the first few may seem *trivial to adults* , But they are a *good way for children to begin learning to do mental math*.

When the words “hearing” and “saying” are used in these strategies, they mean “hearing in your head” and “saying in your head.”

Adding One

*Adding one means hearing a number, then saying one number up—or counting up one number*. The best way to introduce this to your children is to *say a number out loud and then, after allowing they time to think, have them tell you the next higher number*. Make it fun by having your children tell you a number and then you tell them the next number. Start with low numbers and, when your children are able to count higher, move to larger numbers.

Adding Two

Adding two means hearing a number, and then saying the number that is two more. To do this, children can either mentally add two or count up by two. *If you first teach your children to count by twos: 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc., it will be easier for them to add two mentally. However, remember that they will also have to learn how to count by the* *odd numbers: 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, Also, if children understand that any odd number, plus 2, will always be another odd number, and that any even number, plus two, will always be another even number, these mathematics concepts can help them check their answers mentally*.

Counting-On

*Counting-on is one of the simple but powerful mental math strategies children can learn and is the easiest for most students* —many children figure out this strategy naturally. *Counting-on means a child mentally says the biggest number to add, and then counts-up the second number*, one (or two) at a time. For example, *in the equation 5 + 3, you start with the 5 in your head, and then count up: . . . 6, 7, 8. You might suggest to your children that if they want to add 2 + 6 in their head, they should start with the bigger number, in this case 6, and count up (. . . 7, 8) since, with addition, you can add numbers in any order and get the same answer—order does not matter. *This is called the commutative property of addition*

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When mentally counting-on, children and adults often resort to using their fingers to count up (or down), simultaneously counting on their fingers while they count in their heads. If your children use this handy device, let them. It is not harmful if it helps to make counting-on a useful mental math strategy.

*Making-Ten*(s)

Since ten is the basis of our number system, students who know all the single-digit combinations that equal 10 can make good use of them in doing mental math. The *making ten strategy involves memorizing the number combinations that add to ten*: 7 + 3, 8 + 2, 5 + 5, etc.—they are not as useful if children need to think hard to remember these combinations. *Once students memorize these, counting-on or other strategies become easier. For example, 6 + 4 = 10 may be a trivial problem, but *if you know your combinations of ten, this strategy can then be extended to harder problems, such as 76 + 4, since 76 + 4 = 70 + 6 + 4 = 70 + 10 = 80—easy*!

Rearrange Numbers and Operations

*On paper, we tend to calculate with numbers in the order they are given. Doing mathematics mentally frees us to do calculations in the order we choose and can do more easily*. For example, if we do 6 – 3 + 2 + 4 + 8 in our heads, we can rearrange it as (6 + 4) + (2 + 8) – 3—*two combinations of 10*, then subtract 3 last. However, to do this, a child must be able to remember the numbers and rearrange them mentally. This is hard for some people.

*Visualizing a Mental Number Line*

Number lines, such as those found on the wall in many classrooms, are a visual model of our number system and can be very helpful for children who need to see how numbers are logically arranged. *If children can close their eyes and  visualize a mental number line, this too can be helpful in doing mental math. *The best way to help students picture a number line is to PASTE*  *A PAPER NUMBER LINE IN YOUR HOME WHERE YOUR CHILDREN CAN SEE IT AND USE IT REGULARLY*  ON TV,MIRROR , INFRONT OF DINING TABLE , KITCHEN TABLE ETC. *

*Do you remember in our HASTI PUBLIC SCHOOL*  *we ask children to paste* their aim or objective of future career for ex.*I WANT TO BECOME DOCTOR/ENGINEER/CA/ ARMY OFFICER ETC. or of scoring total % at public exam.for ex.I WILL SCORE 95% MARKS IN MY SSC/HSC EXAM* ..on *mirror, TV*  etc.and *TO WRITE LETTERS TO THEIR 10 RELATIVES AND FRIENDS ABOUT THEIR DETERMINATION TO ACCOMPLISH THE AIM*

Adding Ten

*The number line can teach students that adding ten is easy because ten is an easy “jump” up the number line. No matter what number you start with, the one’s digit stays the same but the ten’s digit increases by one. For example: 5 + 10 = 15, 12 + 10 = 22, 23 + 10 = 33, etc*.

Adding Nine

*Once adding ten is easy to do, adding nine is the next strategy to learn. To add nine, a student just adds ten, and then counts down by one. A child would mentally say 5 + 9 = 5 + 10 – 1 = 15 – 1. Once understood, this mental math strategy is almost as simple as adding ten*.

Double Numbers

*Making use of doubles—5 + 5, 7 + 7, etc.—is a bit harder, but can be very useful for mental math*. Doubles come up often in calculations, so if all the single-digit doubles are memorized, students can combine these known facts with the mental math strategies already mentioned. *For example, when faced with the problem 76 + 6, students can think of it as 70 + 6 + 6. If they remember that 6 + 6 = 12, then they can rearrange the problem as 70 + 12, and then again rearrange the problem as 70 + 10 + 2 = 82*—making it an easy mental math problem.

Near-Doubles

*Once students have memorized their doubles; the use of near-doubles in mental math*  follows easily. *For example, in the expression 5 + 6, if students first remember the double, 5 + 5 = 10, then it is easy to add one more, getting an answer of 11*. Children actually do not have to memorize the near-doubles if they know their doubles. For example, in the equation 37 + 8, when children use the near doubles strategy, it follows that 30 + 7 + 7 + 1 = 30 + 14 + 1 = 44 + 1 = 45.

Front-end Addition

*We frequently do mathematics differently in our heads than we do with paper and pencil. The typical way to add a pair of two-digit numbers is to add the digits in the ones place first, carry ten if necessary, add the digits in the tens place next, and finish by combining the tens and ones results*. *For example*, in the problem 65 + 26, if students first mentally calculate 60 + 20 = 80, the number 80 is pretty easy to remember—to store away mentally for a few moments. If they then add the ones, 5 + 6 = 11, they can recall the easily remembered number, and compute 80 + 11 = 91. Not everyone prefers front-end addition, but those who do often use this strategy without thinking about it.

“Friendly Numbers” Strategy

*certain number pairs go together nicely and are easy to work within our heads; we call these friendly numbers*. For example, 75 + 25 totals 100—we know this well from using money. Although we do not often get many problems as simple as 75 + 25, we can combine this friendly number strategy with other mental math strategies. *For example, to add 78 + 25 students would instead think 75 + 25 + 3, changing it into two friendly numbers* and one easily added number instead.

A Bit of Mental Math Advice

For some students these mental math strategies will be interesting and fun—and may even make them feel mathematically powerful. However, what appeals to one child may be uninteresting and hard to another. If there is one important bit of advice before you share any of these strategies with your children, it is: go slow and proceed only IF your children enjoy learning how to do mathematics in their head. *A few minutes of playing with mental math are plenty—do not make it tedious. If learning mental math tricks is not fun for your children, it is best if you stop and look for other areas of mathematics, such as geometry or puzzles that will appeal to your children more than mental math*

In our Hasti school this is planned and *This is what we do and expect teachers and learners to do and more importantly the parents to play with their wards a  mental mathematics.

CRIATIVE THIKING* AND  CREATIVITY*  

12 Jun 2024 Leave a comment

by Dr.Vijay . in Uncategorized Tags: , , , ,


*Creativity is the ability to make something new* . This might be a picture, or a piece of music—but it might also be a new idea. *Creative thinking, therefore, is the ability to think differently*: to see a problem or issue from a new angle or perspective.Critical thinking is the ability to clearly and logically consider information that is presented to us. Creative thinking is about generating new, novel, or useful ideas.

*High scores do not necessarily equate to effective learning and the onus of education is being defeated in the competitive mad race for marks* writes AK Bakhshi

*Creativity is the most difficult thinking skill to acquire, and also the most sought-after*. We value it in our music, entertainment, technology, and other aspects of our existence. We appreciate and yearn for it because it enriches our understanding and can make life easier.

*Creativity always starts with imagination*, and history shows that *many things we imagine are later actually created*.

*Gene Roddenberry imagined the Star Trek flip communicators in 1966, and Motorola produced them in 1996*

*In the mid-1800s, Augusta Ada King envisioned a language for computing machines that didn’t even exist; today she is honored as the founder of modern programing languages*.

*creating is the highest order of thinking*, it should be in the *forefront of all learning environments* and an end goal. When students create what they imagine, they’re in the driver’s seat.

*Creative thinking involves students learning to generate and apply new ideas in specific contexts*, *seeing existing situations in a new way* , *identifying alternative explanations*, and seeing or *making new links that generate a positive outcome*.

The recently announced National Education Policy *(NEP) 2020* emphasises on the need to *shift focus from examination and rote learning to conceptual clarity*, *critical-thinking*,*problem-solving*,*innovation* and  *creativity* 

*Creativity is one of the most important human resources which* enable us to look past what exists and discover new ways of thinking*.

Nurturing creativity in our students is, therefore, the need of the hour and hence *our Hasti school* is trying to  introduce major reforms* in our teaching learning pedagogy* .

According to a reliable study, *98% of the kids at the time of entering schools think different* but when they go through the education system, at the age of 25 *only 2% think different*. This happens so because from childhood *we  provide ready-made answers to the questions* and hence strips the learners of their ability to think on their own* therefore

 *at our Hasti school  *we do not ask children to* *bring answers from home*  as *home work* but instead *to bring questions*  which we intend to discuss in  class  room and make children give answers differently this gives  exposure to their-creativity* .

*The passive one sided teaching discourages questioning, discovery, experimentation and application in the classroom and thus draws them to rote learning*  .

 This situation is further aggravated by the misunderstanding that *good marks equate to effective learning* and the *onus of education is being defeated in this competitive mad race for high marks*.

*Creativity is not an injection which you can give to someone* . *For creativity, you need to create an environment for curiosity and a way to encourage students and get the best out of them* . Teachers can play the most important role in nurturing creativity among students. However, as the teachers themselves are mainly the product of the same old system which focused on rote learning, therefore they need to be massively trained in various ways to nurture creative thinking in students

*Some of the ways to nurture creativity amongst students include*:

1. *New teaching technology*  *Students need to be encouraged to ask innumerable whys and why nots* . *Curiosity is the seed of creativity*

*Therefore students ,at our Public school & Jr.colllege are encourage to ask & to   make more and more questions  & thereby advocates  & encourages  curiosity and hence creativity*

2. ICT-empowered pedagogies: In this information age the teachers need to be empowered with the new ICT-empowered pedagogies such as blended learning and flipped classroom which can help meet the learning needs of the 21st Century.

3. *Experimental learning and exploration*  There is an urgent need to shift focus from passive learning to experiential learning i.e learning by doing. As we have at our school regular students seminars .This approach is extremely effective in helping the students to grasp, explain and retain otherwise difficult concepts.

4. Focus on keen observation: Keen observation of the world around has caused many important breakthroughs in science and medicine and in the social and business worlds. Strong observation skills are found to be greatly linked to greater creativity,

5. Avoid excessive use of the internet: *One of the main reasons behind the lack of creativity in our students is the excessive usage of the Internet*. This has impacted adversely the generation of original ideas and plans.

6. Reforms in Assessment Pattern: Assessment drives learning. Special training needs to be given to the teachers through workshops in setting examination questions which test out of box thinking and hence creativity. Assessment process needs to be made more scientific to encourage multiple skills of the students.

7. Teaching beyond curriculum: *At least one lecture per week should be devoted to “teaching beyond curriculum”. In this lecture, students may be asked to decide what they will like to do* in one year or in one semester. This project may involve anything like *writing poetry, news report, general articles, scientific fantasies etc*.

*Imagination and creativity are the traits that fuel the future*. Both serve to inspire students and should be integrated into every part of learning. In planning and designing learning for students, this we know: Teaching students how to think is more important than teaching students what to think.

*There are various activities and work sheets* that if given to students individually or in groups/  bubble,  will encourage them to think independently and creatively .

*Some  such activities are given in our next blog*. please do read and record your impression and do share this to your colleagues and teaching community   if you like.

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