Pedagogy – We have remedial classes for weaker students, strictly banned copying of work, conduct SDC (special doubt classes) by experts. We conduct special summer camp completely free of cost and covered different aspects of academics and co curricular activities like math puzzle game, science models, pottery, painting, teaching aids, cooking, stitching, farming and many others

Infrastructure – We have social science and math lab, Disney activity room with books, play cards, puzzles, yoga kit, basket ball kit and block puzzles, solar light in school campus, play station for students, open library for teachers and students to use leisure time during holidays and small herbal park and nests for birds.

Teachers’ Training – We conduct workshop for teachers by career experts to connect with latest opportunities and also encourage our teachers to visit various workshops, lectures and educational exhibitions.

Technology – ICT has strengthened bond of education between teachers and students. It allows students to have access to more comprehensive sources of information. It has allowed students to progress at their own pace as they can evaluate their skills at home with the available web assignments.

Sports – Sports and games are very important as they keep us healthy and fit. They offer us a change from the monotony of daily life. It is useful means of entertainment and physical activity. Sports and games help us in character building and give us energy and strength. It helps a child to learn how to maintain mental balance in the midst of hopes and despair and to tackle situation in difficult times.

Principal of the school is not only a role model for the kids but for all the stake holders. So he should be well versed with all administrative skills in related fields like finance, marketing, human resource and of course he must be very good teacher in his subject. He should be able to set a trend with strong systematic method, good reflections from all sides of the organisation

Pedagogy – Effective teaching learning process through technology is a dire demand of every progressive school. It is very necessary to make a rhythm at the global learning environment.

Infrastructure – During my tenure a lot of infrastructure has developed in the hostel and school both. New departments started as Biotech, A V Room, Knowledge Resource Centre, Digital Library, Language Lab. A new branch for day scholars has also started with all necessary and advanced facilities.

Teachers’ Training – A teacher has to attend at least two week training in the different areas in campus/ off campus. These trainings aim to change the mindset of teachers towards desired field of the organisation.

Technology – We adopted all teaching learning techniques through technology as interactive boards, smart classes, smart home work mode, and smart communication system at all levels. New technologies have also been adopted by the school for the safety and security in the hostel and school.

Effective use of ICT across the curriculum results in significantly increased levels of pupil engagement

Pedagogy – The focus and priority of the syllabus is to define and implement an integrated approach through various functional skills and integrated projects.

Infrastructure – There are ICT labs in the school, each equipped with latest high configuration terminals. Any class room can be equipped with computers through trolley based system along with LCD projectors. There are AV rooms facilitated with LCD projectors and we use smart board for conducting smart classes.

Teachers’ Training – We provide various seminars and workshops to teachers through experts from different areas. We have a team of master trainers who have been trained by experts to conduct the pedagogical training on various topics for teachers. We have study groups formed to keep the teachers abreast with the latest happenings in their subjects.

Technology – Technology enables finer differentiation and personalization as shown by the research and it can support improved learning outcomes for disadvantaged learners.

Sports – In our school we have been promoting sports through various programs like interschool football, basketball, table tennis and chess championships.

Pedagogy – We have adopted a student-centric system right from the base. For us each child is important and each child is special in his or her own way. The stress is on learning by doing and handson activities help the students learn in their own way, inter disciplinary instruction combined with collaborative learning making students acquire the skills of questioning, analysing, exchange in ideas result in critical thinking.

Infrastructure – The school today can boast of an elite infrastructure in terms of a 700 seater auditorium, state of the art gymnasium, an international level skating rink, a swimming pool, a paper recycling unit to name just a few of the extensive facilities.

Teachers’ Training – We keep a minimum of hundred hours each every year dedicated to professional and academic growth of teachers and students. Towards this regular seminar, workshops awareness camps, fiestas are conducted to empower teachers and students.

Technology – As technology has become an inherent part of our education system, all functioning has become easy and quick. With the click of a button, we are able to access a world of knowledge. The use of technology has helped in adopting innovative and activity based methods of teaching, the teaching learning process has become more fun filled, enjoyable and interactive experience.

Sports – We lay equal stress on honing the sporting, scholastic and co-scholastic skills of our students right from day one.

Pedagogy – We are one of the rare school who have changed the system of learning and teaching by using
(i)‘Design Think’approach

(ii) Thematic teaching in primary classes,

(iii) Tiered learning system that takes into account the multiplicity of students academic levels,

(iv) Subject specific classroom with rich educational aids and tools,

(v) Every teacher prepare topic specific lesson plans and they pool for further reference and improvement

(vi) Diagnosis of students weakness through scientific question bank having topic specific tiered learning and remedial teaching.

Infrastructure – The school is rich enough, having state of art facilities like an auditorium swimming pool, skating rink, basketball court, short tennis courts, unique science park, splash pool and sand pit, smart classrooms, electronic lab, specially designed weather station installed by IIT Delhi among several others.

Teachers’ Training – We have a separate cell to identify areas of orientation/ updation and the same is taken up quite frequently. Our teachers themselves prepare text books and upgrade these regularly according to need. We have our own publication cell to look into the areas of importance at formative years of teaching and learning.

Technology – The use of smart boards and web links made the teaching learning process more interesting.

Sports – Our School had been overall champion in the zone and received the trophy for games and sports.

I strive to prepare students for a future in which educational institutions will cater to the demands of skill based education; rote learning will disappear and students will be equipped to face the challenges more bravely.

Pedagogy – The introduction of digital classrooms and online report card generation have lead to a major advancement in teaching-learning.

Infrastructure – We follow the directions of CBSE in enlivening the campus.

Technology – With intervention of technology in education in our school, teachers are less burdened and parents are happy with the online viewing of their ward’s progress.

Today’s parents are looking at other careers which may not have existed in their times

Pedagogy – We have noticed a paradigm shift in our approach to pedagogy, from one from that of intervention, where there was a system of rewards and punishments, to one that is of prevention – where norms are established together with the class and the teacher needs to have leadership skills as a team player and a facilitator for learning.

Infrastructure – The recently aesthetically built school gate too creates an ambience for a perfect home away from home where there is moment to moment learning from a warm and a caring community.

Teachers’ Training – Teacher enrichment programmes are an integral agenda of our schoolcalendar where not only ours butteachers from other interestedschools are invited to participate.Keeping in tune with latest trendsexperts are invited from India andabroad to delve on various topicsand disciplines. Some of theseworkshops recently conductedare Howard Gardner’s MultipleIntelligences by Margaret Warner(UK), Discipline Through Loveand Logic by Betsy Gedes (USA),Boarding School Management byTim Holgate (UK), Value Educationby Stan Davies(USA), Exam Skillsby Dr Sunita Gandhi and sessionson Comprehensive and ContinuousEvaluation by CBSE Trainers.

Technology – We are one of theforemost schools to introducecomputer literacy programmes,classroom computer-based AudioVisual Learning, ERP, sophisticatedRobotics Lab, dedicated touchand feel Math and Geography lab,interactive technology-enabledEnglish lab, Wi-Fi enabled campus.

Sports – Games and sports form amajor part of our daily routine.

School days are perhaps the best days of our lives. It is indeed that phase in which some of the best values like punctuality, self-discipline, friendship and team spirit are all imbibed by us during those days. In words of Albert Einstein, “Education is what remains after one has forgotten what one has learned in school,” and perhaps these are the values that remains with us for the rest of our lives. And our teachers are the ones who take the centre position of education and the school principals play the role of a captain or master who drives this ship of knowledge.
Principals act as leaders to ensure that best education is imparted in their school. They are the ones who define pedagogy, ensure a sociable environment for teaching-learning and manage the overall functioning of a school thus often becoming the role models for children. They are the ones who foresee future and impart quality training to students that will be useful for them for the rest of their lives; even in a future that lies at least a decade ahead of them. However, till now insignificant efforts were made towards imparting leadership skills to the principals and teachers of schools. But, over the past few years, teachers’ training has attained one of the top positions of priority list of government and regulators. According to a press release by Ministry of Human Resources Development early this year, a National Mission on Teachers and Training will be launched which will lay down a roadmap to improve the quality of teachers and teaching thereby improving the educational delivery and learning outcomes in higher education institutions and added that a sum of Rs 100 crore has been provided in Annual Plan 2013-14.
Addressing a meet on ‘ICT Leadership in Higher Education’ in Hyderabad in February 2013, the Union Minister for Human Resources Development M M Pallam Raju informed that there is no shortage of funds to upskill teachers. Not only the ministry, even bodies like the Central Board of Secondary Education, state education departments and private companies like the British Council have taken commendable initiatives to ensure quality training of teachers.
Apart from the commendable efforts being taken to improve school leadership, significant efforts are being made to perk up some of the essential elements to ensure a better learning environment in schools. Advancement of school infrastructure and pedagogy, introduction of sports in education, teachers’ training and use of technology in teaching, learning and assessment have gained momentum in most government and private schools.
A school’s infrastructure is perhaps the most important element of a school. It sets the stage for delivering knowledge. The new teaching techniques adopted by teachers to train the young minds are gaining fast recognition among everyone associated with teaching and learning today. Nowadays, with the introduction of ICT tools in the field of education, almost every school is stressing upon creating a unique, innovative style of imparting knowledge, be it with the help of digital classrooms or by providing an all new perspective to the present curriculum. An altogether different way of teaching has made a great impact on the learning capacity of students. Looking at the ever increasing scope for pedagogical innovations,schools that were once reluctant to trythe new-age teaching methods are nolonger shying away from experimentingwith it. The new-age teaching stylesand methodologies adopted by theschools across India have increased theircredibility and prestige manifold.
The introduction of ICT in Educationhas brought a breath of fresh air in theotherwise mundane way of teaching.The digital learning experience enablesstudents to get to the minutest ofdetails, understand the various facetsof the subject matter, and to find logicalsolutions to any problem at hand far moreeasily as the ICT tools leaves no stoneunturned in making the curriculuminteresting for them. An audio visualpresentation has the capacity to engagea student thousand times more than amere simple presentation.
ICT has become a vital componentof the future of education in Indiawith its ability to meet the world classeducation demands of the present.It has further helped the students byintroducing them to the school websites,alumni associations and forums whichhas served as a great platform for themto interact with their teachers and toalso remain updated with the day today happenings of their school. Withincredible intervention of ICT, all thestudent related information like theirattendance, marks, and performance is aclick away now.
Along with quality academiceducation, modern day schools havealso started giving vital importanceto sports education for developmentof a child. It helps students to developskills like cooperation, teamwork andsportsmanship. Sports nurture thephysical health, which allow studentsto function even better in classrooms.It inculcates a sense of discipline anddedication in them which in a way helpsstudents to give their best in all theactivities in school. The schools Emphasisensure physical and mental growthand development of a child throughintroduction of sports in education.
All these innovation at the schoollevel would not have been possible withoutthe open mindedness and ready-toadaptattitude of school principals. Inthis coverage, we would highlight theviewpoints of few principals on howthey brought about a change in theknowledge ecosystem of their schoolsby boosting the infrastructure and pedagogy,encouraging use of technology,introducing sports in education andthrough teachers’ training.

Interviews by R Nandini, Elets News Network (ENN)