Caring with Colour

Supported by: Wipro

Caring with Colour -A Manasi Kirloskar Initiative (CWC) has initiated an innovative program called the “District Education Transformation Program” (DETP) under which a model of comprehensive change in the quality of education in the government schooling system is being developed. The key goal is to get the teachers to adopt experiential teaching methods and thereby improve the learning outcomes of students.

The DETP program was initiated in Tumakuru during the year 2021-22. It works under the premise that a shift in the teaching methods adopted by the teachers can be brought about by providing high-quality experiential teacher training programs, and experiential teaching content mapped to the state curriculum along with creating an enabling environment for the teachers. This enabling environment can be brought about by aligning all the layers of the education department at a district level to be in sync with the goal of universal adoption of experiential teaching methods.

The department alignment in Tumakuru and Madhugiri has been brought about through a program called “Sanchalana”. The subsequent sections of the report provide details about what Sanchalana is and how the department alignment is being operationalized in Tumakuru & Madhugiri districts. Please refer to Tables 4 and 5 for the detailed Sanchalana calendars that have been developed working in collaboration with the education department.

The major activities accomplished during the current academic year include:

• Continuous development of Teacher Mentors
• Monthly experiential learning cycles for teachers
• Establishing a structure for continuous monitoring across all levels of the department (District-Block-Cluster-School)
• Developing and piloting the monitoring forms to ensure the adoption of improved teaching methods in the classrooms. Standard forms prescribed by the Government and Classroom observation forms that include components drawn from teaching tools are used on CWC’s technology platform Teachopia.
• Initiatives to improve Cluster and Block level academic processes – Review meetings and capacity-building sessions for HMs at Cluster and review meetings at the block level.
• District and Block level visioning workshops involving District and Block level leaders of both Tumkur and Madhugiri Educational District

The program was designed to implement experiential learning at the school level by enriching teachers by continuous professional development having Sanchalana. As per NEP 2020, teachers must invest at least 50 hours in professional development. After COVID-19, to fill the gap, 2022-23 was declared as Kalika Chetharike year. Despite a few orientations/training related to Kalika Chetharike, there were many uncertainties while implementing it in classrooms. This is Internal to Wipro achieved through Sanchalana. Hence, Sanchalana became a Hobli-level platform for peer learning.

The teacher-mentors selected in Science, Math, English subjects based on their experience & educational qualifications facilitated the discussions at the Sanchalana Centers and guided the teachers to learn the concepts that are difficult for them to transact in the classrooms and discuss the Learning Objectives to be covered during that month as per the Kalika Chetharike calendar of the Department.

CWC used to discuss with the Teacher Mentors the topics to be covered and the activities to be demonstrated/conducted during Sanchalana sessions. The webinars were transacted by CWC on hard spots to both Teacher Mentors and teachers on different days. The teacher mentors were guided to come up with innovative activities to clarify the hard spots, demonstrate the same to the teachers, clarify doubts teacher has concerning the Learning Objectives, facilitate peer learning,

Continuous improvement in the implementation of the program is ensured through regular feedback received from stakeholders at different levels. Currently, the feedback received so far has revealed that Sanchalana for the next couple of years will bring about long-term sustainable improvement in the quality of education in Tumakuru & Madhugiri districts. The State Project Director has visited Tumkur to understand Sanchalana and its outcomes so that this model can be taken up across other districts of Karnataka State.

A few learnings from the program reveal the following facts:

• Teachers participate voluntarily in the program when provided with the training on the hard spots based on their needs which helps them in effective classroom transactions.
• In addition to the training on experiential methods, the provision of experiential teaching content helps them improve their classroom practices.
• Developing mentorship support through teacher mentors within the education department that supports the teachers in their journey to adopt experiential teaching methods.
• Creating an enabling environment by the block and district-level functionaries will motivate the teacher to perform better in the classrooms.

Some of the key challenges faced during the implementation of the program are listed below.

• Aligning with the training calendar of the Department: As the department changed its training calendar in view of the Kalika Chetharike program introduced for the current year, it was very difficult for the team to align with the calendars and educate the block level, cluster, and district level functionaries.
• Managing the leadership level changes at different levels to ensure continuity and sustenance of the programs.
• Introducing the measurement tools for assessing teacher performance and children's learning improvement are considered sensitive areas of intervention and would naturally take more time to institute as a district-wide process.
• Sustaining the motivation levels of Teacher mentors and providing necessary infrastructure support for the Hobli level centers remains a continuous challenge to handle.
• Research and documentation need to be robust and require planned intervention and support.

Future plans

CWC envisions that effective implementation of Sanchalana for the next couple of years will bring about long-term sustainable improvement in the quality of education in the Tumakuru and Madhugiri districts. We plan to create vibrant classrooms across all 10 blocks by taking steps that are shared below.

• Ensuring every Teacher practices Experiential Teaching methods in classrooms.
• Developing a strong cadre of Teacher-mentors to support Teachers.
• Creating a conducive environment for teachers to learn and perform by aligning school, cluster, block, and district institutions.
• Strengthening stakeholder relationships and ensuring education ecosystem interactions.
• Ascertain the implementation of the experiential learning process in the classroom.