Author Archive » Lakshmi Sujatha A.G.

Home » Lakshmi Sujatha A.G.

Teaching Science with a Smile and Learning with Rhythm

March 6, 2022
No Comments

Being fortunate enough to teach all subjects in primary and Science in class VI and class VII. This method of teaching Science through rhymes and poems proved very successful and there is a significant improvement in academic performance.

The purpose of this innovative method is to present several topics in Science to children. Using these approaches, children learnt poems and have written poems that convey different science topics.

Objectives:

Students will be able to:

  • Identify science topics
  • Discuss the science conveyed in each poem
  • Memorize the poems with the identified topics
  • Write their own science poems

Teacher will need be manage to try this innovative approach of teaching Science, sets the true spirit of integration in science. Here is an example of inter-disciplinary in school subjects of Science, English and Drama. A teacher role is never confined to one subject or classroom. This method can bring a change in school environment and encourages co-operation and co-ordination among different departments.

The various teaching aids that can be incorporated are tape recorders, video tapes and play back equipments. Books on poems. One could take up the duration of about 2 to 3 weeks depending on student’s vocabulary and teacher’s inspiring encouragement.

Methodology:

Step 1: Simple poems which have real meanings to the students should be collected by the teacher.
Step 2: The poems should initially be read aloud to the children with explanations about the content. The rhymes in the poems should be emphasized.
Step 3: Gradually, there should be a transformation from simple everyday poems to science poems. Here, it becomes imperative to explain the poems bringing out the science concepts depicted.
Step 4: The students should note the Science concepts. After a reasonable number of poems have been studied and the children have shown considerable interests, they should then be encouraged.

Teaching Science through poems surely put a smile on the faces of the children. As much as is possible, the lessons should be recorded on audio and possibly video tapes and can be showcased during open house. As a Science teacher, I demonstrated resourcefulness in teaching. Co-operation between the Language and Science Departments is the key success factor behind this concept. The poems learned during a particular lesson are recited in class, school assembly and later at the school “Open House’ where the parents can be invited.

Learning outcome:

The level of success of this lesson is determined by the general interest shown in learning science by the students. The students are able to carry science beyond the four walls of the classroom. Also, the number of new Poems contributed by the students should be a good measure of success. Student’s latent talents and creative skills are easily captured through this activity.

Poem by class VII students with little guidance from teacher

If you want to know how a plant grows
It takes water, air, sunlight and makes cellulose
Every plant can do this fundamental process
And we can call this photosynthesis

Unlike me and you plants take carbon-dioxide
And they make oxygen and stop us turning blue
Every plant can do this fundamental process
And we can call this Photosynthesis

It is a miracle flow all chlorophyll captures
Sunlight in the leaves of the plant and trees
A plant of any size can do it thrice
And not green so we can’t be photosynthesized.

The World in the Classroom

January 24, 2022
1 Comment

PPE-WS2014-Featured-green

 

 

 

 

“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our students of their tomorrow” - John Dewey

“The principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.” - Jean Piaget

In my opinion integrating technology into classroom is a great way to ensure above adages. I have used technology successfully in my classroom and have realized that this kind of teaching helps my students better understand what I teach. Any kind of technology helps

  • Bring a student into direct contact with objects and anything.
  • Make concrete what is abstract
  • Bring near what is distant
  • Bring the world into the classroom

My experiences with technology in classroom:

Power point presentations and flash presentations are the order of the day. So, when I decided to use technology to teach my class I first tried the PPTs. Once you show students what a power point presentation is and how it is done, you can actually get your students to develop presentations that will surely help impart concepts and ideas to the entire class. I got my students to form teams of two or five and develop presentations on various concepts in English language (in subjects I taught). I found that learning imparted in this way

  • Helped make language practice lively.
  • Reduced dependence on mother tongue.
  • Helped in the formation of language habits by reception, drill and concept practice.
  • Increased students’ knowledge of the English language by providing better quality language material.
  • Boosted students’ self-esteem and confidence and improved their presentation skills.
  • Encouraged team spirit, enquiry and harmony.

As a teacher, I too benefited from this kind of teaching.

  • It helped me save time
  • Reduced strain on my vocal cords as I could revise or recapitulate a topic by repeating the presentations.
  • Gave me scope to give out different home assignments.

Besides developing Power point presentations, I have encouraged students to use Microsoft publisher to design greeting cards, pamphlets, newsletters, brochures and posters with useful slogans. Microsoft Excel allows ones to create comprehension and understanding. I drag and drop exercises, word search and puzzles.   These exercises are a much better way of assessing your students’. I have also used audio and video files in my presentations to teach music and songs.

Technology has proved effective to promote a variety of 21st century skills such as healthy competition, teamwork, problem solving, critical thinking, and communication skills.

My innovative use of technology led me to win Intel National Award 2004 for Best Integration of technology and project based learning for the topic ‘Neighborhood-At Our Service’.

When I talk about integrating technology with your classroom teaching can the internet be left behind? I have encouraged students from class IV and above to use internet resources to collaborate with global community using teacher monitored websites like www.thinkquest.com, www.epals.com, www.intel.com/education, www.goymp.org and my students won many laurels and certificated from different competitions conducted by them.

You could also get your students to do interesting projects using the internet in order to generate interest in hobbies like Philately, numismatics. I got my students to first use the internet and do some research on Philately as a hobby, history etc… My students then visited philately exhibitions and post offices, spoke to post masters and people who worked in different departments of post office. I then got them to put all the information they collected on slides and created power point presentations. To encourage my students I sent the best presentation for 2005 National Graphic Championship. Two of my students and I (guide teacher) declared winners at National level.

I have used online thinking tools in my classroom like visual ranking tool, seeing reason tool and showing evidence tool which helped students think critically and act globally. Five of my students as a team participated in web based Volvo adventure Environmental programs under my guidance and received a diploma certificate UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program)for their projects Health and Wealth Out of Waste, Hospital waste- Our concern.

I am the first guide teacher selected by Centre for Environmental Education of India in 2012 from my school to guide 18 students to complete 20 week Diploma Course from Lund University web based the young Masters Program (www.goymp.org) Empowering young people to build a smarter, more sustainable, world through new tools and networks. The Young Masters Programme on Sustainable Development (YMP) is a global web-based education and learning network. It offers a unique learning experience by connecting youth and building understanding and cooperation about sustainability issues. The challenges of building a smarter and more sustainable world are pressing and urgent. The youth of today are the future of tomorrow and therefore need to be informed and educated with tools to tackle the challenges we face globally. YMP does this through a fun, practical on-line course for high school students.

A teacher is a life-long learner and so updated myself with usage of macromedia flash which helps teacher preset his/her lessons with best animations that are useful for different concepts. I am now able to do web designing and have participated in an international web designing contest along with my students on the topic “Culprit Chemi VS Omni Organi”.

My journey of using technology helped our school to recently won ICT enabled school of the year in the 5th largest ICT event from digital learning held at Hyderabad International convention center.

I strongly believe that learning can not only be made easy, but also an experience that is rewarding in itself. The joy, we trust, is not only acquiring knowledge, bur in very process. Thus I strive in every single endeavor of mine towards enabling the learner to not only learn effectively but also discover the inherent ‘Joy in learning’.

Teach with difference: Eliminate Misconceptions through Student Interviews

December 29, 2021
No Comments

PPE-WS2014-Featured-green

 

 

 

 

“Learning and innovation go hand in hand. We cannot rest thinking that what we did yesterday will be sufficient for tomorrow.   We definitely need to change the way our students learn”

This quote always inspires me and I am trying many innovative teaching methods in my classroom.Here is a unique way to remove misconceptions in the students’ minds.

Our students are doing very well when essay type questions are tested but when it comes to multiple choice 80% students are failing to perform well. It is clearly seen in assessments similar to Olympiad Tests and other competitive exams.

Every teacher can conduct interviews after completing her/his lesson teaching and remove misconceptions from the student minds. Teacher can also understand how do our children think and can make an attempt to change her style of teaching to make concepts very clear for the student at the early age.

Interviews are useful for capturing the hidden expression of a participant’s experience. The interviewer can also pursue in-depth information around the topic and understand more about participant’s narration capabilities. Interviews are far more personal form of research than questionnaires. In the personal interview, the interviewer can capture many qualities of a student. Interviews may be time consuming, but, they are resource intensive.

Encourage students to share the facts through effective questioning by the interviewer. It’s one of the powerful ways of preparing children for facing challenges in future. I have always been trying for new teaching methods in my profession. My journey of interviews began with sharing of knowledge between students and teachers by means of personal discussions. Students are encouraged to interact with the guests who the school. I always encouraged face to face to interviews, telephonic interviews, and online interviews to improve my students communication skills, confidence, self esteem and overall personality.

For removing misconceptions in science I chose multiple choice questions to analyze their understanding and conducted interview and I was amazed to find many misconceptions and I could remove them at the early age.

Here is an example of how do our children think and my interview analysis.

  Question - Which process that happens in a tree during photosynthesis?

  1. Making of Food
  2. Breathing
  3. Resting
  4. Losing water

 

I went to different sections of Class IV with small blank papers and distributed them before posing my question. I asked them to put the right option and write the reason to speak when my interview begins.

Then I collected the papers and called out the students by names and continued my interview with the same question in class V, VI and VII.

When I analyzed my interview I found some misconceptions in 25 sections (1025 students) of my school.

  • In plants breathing means taking in carbon dioxide and giving out oxygen
  • Plants breathe in carbon dioxide where as humans breath in oxygen
  • Plants breath nitrogen as nitrogen is abundant in nature
  • Plants need oxygen during night only
  • Plants never lose water but only absorb water
  • plants breath only night time
  • As gases are exchanged it is breathing
  • Making food daytime and breathing night time

The results, here it is:

  • Out of 1025 students 615 (60 %) students answered it right and explained the process of making food clearly. Opted for A
  • 358 student’s answered B breathing as their option and gave different misconceptions. They were not agreeing for A as they feel exchange of gases is only breathing and as water is not represented in the picture so Option A is wrong
  • 13 students (2%) opted for C as they feel plants need rest like human being
  • 14 students (2%)opted for D as oxygen is present in water arrow shows outgoing so it is loss of water for them

Learning Outcome for Teacher and Taught:

I found this interview is a novel way of getting feed back on our teaching and novel way to remove misconceptions from young minds.

As we all know reading and knowing is vastly different from learning and understanding. The line between these is so thin that generations of teachers and students have failed to distinguish between them, there by defeating very purpose of learning. This interview method certainly seeks to address these issues by clearly pointing parameters required for learning and therefore teaching.

This interview method aims to inculcate the habit of learning, clear misconceptions, understand questions and to generate inquisitiveness in the children. It gives a real life view of the subject, facilitate understanding and there by trigger right imagination.

I sincerely hope this method will surely add new dimension in both learning and teaching and will bring out latent thinking in the child successfully.