Pedagogy is changing that will be more experiential, holistic, integrated, inquiry-driven, discovery-oriented, learner-centered, discussion-based, flexible and enjoyable shared Kajal S Somai, Principal, CES’s Dr. Cyrus S. Poonawalla English Medium High School & Junior College CBSE with an exclusive conversation with Sheeba Chauhan of Elets News Network (ENN). Edited excerpts:
Artificial intelligence can be seen everywhere today, be it ChatGPT, Bard, or any other AI application. Though these applications are fast and innovative, do you think you can trust such applications for generating content to teach at your school?
AI technologies facilitate “personalised learning” (tailoring instruction to the needs of each student) and “blended learning” (combining technology with face-to-face interaction). I hope that such approaches will improve academic performance and reduce achievement gaps between students. As we know, personalised learning increases student engagement, motivation, and independence too. But, somewhere, AI-based learning may face significant implementation challenges. More student independence may disadvantage children who are less self-disciplined or who receive little educational support at home, exacerbating the achievement gap. And also, surveys indicate that some educators face problems in translating the data they receive from personalised learning tools into actionable instruction. The question may arise as to how well students retain knowledge learned from an AI-based system, and whether spending class time on computers diminishes social learning at school. AI-based systems also derive their knowledge, firstly from the initial data, programmes, and algorithms provided by human programmers. Secondly, they “learn” through their own experiences and observations without being explicitly programmed. We need to remember that AI tutoring or other technologies cannot substitute for a teacher or parental engagement and supervision as well as we need to look at what criteria will be used to evaluate the appropriateness of all new technologies for children and youth in schools. Learner’s and teacher’s data privacy and security mechanisms are also a concern before introducing either internet-based or AI programmes for learning and teaching.
Maharashtra has witnessed a steady decline in the reading and arithmetic skills of children, as per the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2022. What could be the possible reason for the same in the state of Maharashtra?
Too much technology around is making the human mind lazier every day. Nowadays, children are hooked on play stations, television sets, and virtual games, and adolescent learners are to social media. Using gadgets is now a way of life. Adults have no time as their main focus is scaling to new standards in their life and also making more money. Buying and storing books is looked upon as a waste of precious space at home, and it may even be considered old-fashioned. These days; children have no patience to sit and read books or enjoy literature. And this may be the major reason for the decline in reading and arithmetic skills in Maharashtra. But, still, there is a small percentage of parents who read books and they are keen on inculcating reading habits in their children and it may continue throughout their lives. School libraries have provisions for good literature but all children are not inclined towards reading, and in our school, it’s mandatory for all children to go for reading periods. Foundational literacy and numeracy course can improve the conditions if applied in schools, as our school is doing.
Reading books are not just for getting information or knowledge, but to expand the mind like a parachute, trigger imagination, enh\ance creative thinking, strengthen logical reasoning, and make children emotionally, spiritually, socially, and mentally intelligent. Reading physical books is least tiring for human eyes as compared to reading digitally on screen, students need to buy books and if there’s space constraint for storing them, can donate the books to any public or school library once they finish reading.
The PM Schools for Rising India (PM SHRI), a scheme to develop and upgrade nearly 15,000 schools, has been allocated Rs 4,000 crores in the recent budget. What are your thoughts on this scheme and do you think this will transform the school education segment of India?
PM SHRI is a great initiative by Hon. PM Narendra Modi is focusing on providing high-quality education in an equitable, inclusive, and joyful school environment which will take care of the diverse background, multilingual needs, and different academic abilities of children and makes them active participants in their own learning process as per NEP 2020. PM SHRI is introducing the concepts of Green schools, developing nutrition gardens with natural farming, waste management, plastic-free, and water conservation and harvesting, a study of traditions/practices related to the protection of the environment, etc. to adopt a sustainable lifestyle.
Pedagogy is changing that will be more experiential, holistic, integrated, play/toy-based (particularly, in the foundational years) inquiry-driven, discovery-oriented, learner centred, discussion-based, flexible, and enjoyable. The learning outcomes of every child in every grade will be focused on. Assessment will be based on conceptual understanding and application of knowledge to real-life situations and will be competency-based. For enhancing employability and providing better employment opportunities Linkage with Sector Skill Councils and local industry will be explored and a School Quality Assessment Framework (SQAF) will be developed, which will specify the key performance indicators to measure outcomes. These all features are for sure going to transform the entire education system and the quality of the Indian context. So, it’s a great initiative.
CBSE strives to provide education that explores, challenges, and grooms every aspect of the child’s personality. What are the various programmes followed at your school for the overall development of the child’s personality?
Education is not about the amount of information that is put into a child’s brain. It is the system that caters the individual needs. We at CES’s Dr. Cyrus S Poonawalla English Medium High School and Junior College, CBSE strive to provide education that explores, challenges, and grooms every aspect of the child’s personality by emanating and sprinkling an atmosphere where each child receives love, dignity, and acceptance. We are firmly determined to provide seamless learning targeted towards excellent academic performance through blending the modern and traditional approach which is conducive, explorative, challenging, and grooms every aspect of the child’s personality. Our school is focused to achieve our aim by providing an exemplary infrastructure with a plethora of extracurricular activities to work upon a child’s physical, mental, social, emotional, and artistic faculties molding the character, morals, value system, 21st-century skills, and spiritual training of our children. The school believes in providing top-quality education coupled with holistic growth of a child and aims to create a successful global citizen through exploration, experimentation, and optimum exposure to innovate and think critically and lead the learning process. The very competent, dedicated, professional expertise team at our school concentrate on each child, monitor and mentor them, appreciate their achievement, and encourage them to overcome their shortcomings. All teachers are trained to evolve new ways of teaching, keeping in mind the modules of Bloom’s Taxonomy and National Education Policy 2020.
