Children grow better with innovative learning at school' - Educationists

Updated on: Tuesday, March 01, 2011

In most schools, teachers want their pupils to do well in their exams so that they can flaunt their results.

But this single-minded motive to do well in exams and get good marks prevents young minds from exploring their other abilities that could otherwise make them true winners, says Kiran Bir Sethi, founder and director of Riverside School, Ahmedabad.

Sethi, who claims her school is a radical departure from other schools, believes that unless you make young children know themselves better, they will not able to shift themselves from the position of "Can I do" to "I can do" -- a change that is essential for the overall development of a child.

And how can it be achieved?

"By implementing design thinking into the traditional form of teaching and learning process," Sethi told.

"At Riverside, insights from cutting-edge research are turned into working models of pedagogical practices with a single-minded focus -- student wellbeing," she said.

According to Sethi, her institution offers a curriculum which is designed in a way that it will not only help children do better in their studies, but also enable them to better understand their skills, potential, and responsibilities as citizens.

"Practical community-intervention knowledge is essential to build children as responsible citizens. But, traditional teaching methods don't provide such grooming," she noted.

Dennis Littky of the Big Picture Learning, a network of schools with innovative curriculum in the US, also echoes similar views.

"Today's students are taught at the schools of yesterday, by teachers of the past and are imparted the curriculum of the medieval ages," said Littky, a veteran educator who has achieved astounding success with students in some of the most underperforming schools in the US.

On how the system can be improved, he said: "The focus should rather be on long-term specialised programmes which would empower teachers in a big way."

Littky's Big Picture Learning is an initiative which is working to make students feel the necessity of learning in a relaxed environment.

The secret of his success, Littky says, is to allow students to develop a curriculum that is personally meaningful to them, have them to work and study outside school and get their family's support.

For instance, he says, if a student is interested in skateboarding, give him an internship opportunity with a skateboard manufacturer. It will give him real knowledge about the field of his interest.

"At school he will learn what he is supposed to learn, but at work he will have the opportunity to explore his potential," Littky said.

According him, systematising education doesn't work because students don't come "standardised".

"That's why providing real-world learning opportunities to students is necessary. At Big Picture, we help students learn core content through their passions," he said.

Although the teaching methods adopted by both Sethi and Littky are different in their nature, the aim behind their "out-of-the-box" curriculum is the same -- to help students know their true potential.

Parents and many teachers believe that a child should focus more on his or her studies than out-door activities.

But the educationists, who had recently participated in the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) in Doha, say the reverse is proved to be more beneficial for students -- both at studies and other activities.

"Our experience with experiments proved that the students who are active in extra-curricular activities also do better at studies, especially in mathematics," Sethi said.

According to her, the curriculum developed at Riverside are custom designed, tested with student feedback and then modified. Her model is now endorsed by premier institutes in India and the world.

Besides, adopting innovative teaching methods, the experts also stress upon the importance of teacher motivation which is crucial for the learning process of a child.

"Motivation of teachers is one of crucial factors of the education process," said Sethi.

Littky contends, saying there are many pitfalls and shortcomings in the global educational scenario.

"What I believe is that teachers around the world are now teaching subjects and not reaching students anywhere. This is perhaps due to the lack of motivation, inspiration and support from the community which employs them," he said.

Children grow better with innovative learning at school' - Educationists

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