EduLog

Neuro science is science of learning. Educational institutions are hugely investing in research on neuro science because this is the new way of improving educational outcomes. So, if you feel you are not so good in learning, try understanding how your brain works; I am pretty sure you will manage and improve your learning capacity. The human brain or nervous system once considered to be only relevant for people studying science subjects is becoming very relevant to every learner. To start understanding what neuro science or science of learning is, one needs to know the basics of the brain. This post is about the brain and its function. It will set a foundation for the future posts on how your brain processes information. Everyone knows that the brain controls all sorts of activities of the body such as: Thinking Problem solving Recognition of faces and objects Receiving and processing sensory memories like touch, pain, sight, taste, hearing, cold/hot Monitoring and contr...

In one of my posts ( here ) I talked about how feedback can be useful to develop a growth mindset. Here I will demonstrate as how we can use testing strategy to provide in-depth feedback, work with students and consequently developing a growth mindset. Testing students without feedback and without giving proper time to discuss the feedback is just time wasted teaching a topic. While acknowledging that testing is not the only way of feeding back to improve students learning, here I take testing as one possible case of how to develop deep learning through feedback. I would like to start with a case in a science classroom: Ms R is teaching the topic “Cells and Tissues” to class 6 th . She has almost finished teaching the topic and today she completes the remaining few bit in half a lesson. In the second half of the lesson, she asks students to prepare for an upcoming test. She thinks that since she has taught all the content related to the topic, students should be able to prepare...

Relevant for: Teachers and School principals. A typical recess time in our schools goes with this understanding: Students need a break to eat something. They need to go outside the class and play for sometimes so they can refocus later in the day. Teachers need a break to feed themselves so they can also get through the day. In some schools teachers do recess duty to look after discipline during break time. But how effective is this time used? Can we look at using it differently and can we use it more effectively? I believe we can. Recess or break time can be used to develop social skills, emotional management and for relationship building. Outdoor physical activities are an ideal time to develop social and emotional learning. Playgrounds are the best space to build positive relationships. Sometimes it is done unconsciously while other times proper instruction and preparation is required. During recess, teacher can get involved in the activity/game/play that the student...

Dr. Carol Dweck and her colleagues studied students’ attitude about failure. They came up with the underlying principles of learning and intelligence as fixed mindset and growth mind set. From an educationist point of view, I will try to explain when students develop fixed mindset or growth mindset and how can teachers help in developing a growth mindset in students? Understanding how the brain works is the first step towards growth mindset. Students as young as in primary school need to learn how the brain has neurons and how they are inter-connected making a network. By learning about the brain and how it works, students develop an understanding that their mindset is not fixed but changeable, they will put more effort in developing a growth mindset. How can this understanding be developed? Brainstorming on what the brain does? What is intelligent? Do we have equal intelligent? Are animals intelligent? Can we improve our intelligent? is a good start point. Then teaching them a...

Recently I came across a post by a mother concerned for her four year old girl. The concern was in relation to reading the kind of story books involving prince and princess and the idea that the prince is the rescuer … “he recues her” as she would say. She rightly indicates ‘a boy recuing a girl’ might not be fit in today’s world. I will try and explain as how such cases can be handled in a manner that would help both the child and the mother. These strategies can be used with primary through to high school kids. There are many books, including our own text books where gender role is explicitly divided. Man would be ploughing the field while woman would be cooking food. Man would be driving a tractor while woman would carry water from the well. Men praying in a mosque while women in the kitchen with deserts for Eid celebrations. There are many such examples and the question is, can we avoid them? Or to be more specific, should we avoid them? Can we control what our kids rea...

There is a difference between punishing children and disciplining them. Punishment is the use of force. It involves power-relations in which an adult uses his/her authority on a weaker being as the student. It does not work all the time and equally well with all students. It is a general practice in our schools that usually the same students are punished again and again which indicates that it does not work. As a result of punishment the students develop hatred towards the teacher. There are many soft versions of punishment, however discipline is an alternative option teachers should opt. Discipline, unlike punishment, is proactive and begins before the problem occurs. Discipline teaches fairness, responsibility, life skill and problem solving. Discipline is done when the teacher and the student are in a calm state and there are no aggressive emotions and feelings. While disciplining, we must teach the behaviours we want to see. This will layout the foundation for prevention of prob...

Educational change is usually thought to be creating stress and fatigue given that there are many reforms at one time or are frequent in occurrence. However it is not only the quantity and/or frequency of the reforms that matter but also how wide/broad the reform is and its pace. It is important to analyse the scope and pace of the reform in order for it to be implemented well. The scope of any reform can be examined by analyzing the existing practices and adapting to the changing demands of the reform. For example in one school a national curriculum reform is in its implementation stages for the last 4-5 years. By analyzing how this school managed the enactment of the reform, it is evident that the school did not give up its existing practices, programs and structure. This school adopted to the change by putting it into their existing structure. This means that this school is positively biased towards their old system and are being able to pick and choose from the new refo...