Helping teachers to help their students learn!

The Diocese Education Board, Belgaum invited The Teacher Foundation, Hubli to conduct Livewire workshop - “Buzzing Classrooms” in various schools in Belgaum, Dharwad, Hubli and Ranebennur.

 

On 12 September 2011 Buzzing Calssrooms workshop was conducted at St. Xavier's, Belgaum and the next day in Divine Mercy School, Macche, Belgaum. Then on 14 and 15 September 2011 in St. Joseph's School Dharwad and St. Mary's School, Hubli respectively and finally on 16 September 2011 in St. Lawrence School, Ranebennur.

 

The teachers spent a whole day engaged and involved in various activities. The number varied from 42 to 35 participants in each of the schools. Some of the activities like Sticky note compounds, Living photographs and Maths Trail were a hit in some of the schools while in some others, teachers liked activities like Dig it, Story ball and Daffy Definitions. In all these schools teachers were very new to the idea of attending a workshop as they were used to attending Seminars where they had to listen to lectures. They liked the way they were kept engaged and involved the whole day with some or the other activity and were also forced to think of devising new activities for their own classes.

 

Following are some of the feedback from teachers who participated in the workshop:

 

I learnt the importance of involving the students while teaching – Poonam Desai, Divine Mercy School, Belgaum

 

I learnt how to impart knowledge to students and at the same time let them have fun while learning – Sunitha S. H. St. Lawrence School, Ranebennur

 

I learnt that it is important to develop thinking skill in students.- Sister Natalia, St. Lawrence School, Ranebennur

 

It helped me to be more creative in my classroom and to use various activities while teaching to make the learning in the classroom more interesting – Mrs. Arogiamary Vinod, St. Mary's High School, Hubli

 

Hope the classes in these schools keep buzzing all year round!

 

Posted by Roopali Katti, Centre Coordinator, TTF Hubli Centre

Read More...

Buzzing Classrooms at KLS School!

In a typical TTF fashion, Friday's workshop at the Karnataka Law Society's School in Belgaum was buzzing with activity. This was especially appropriate since the workshop, Buzzing Classrooms, helped teachers explore how to make their own classrooms more engaging, lively and productive for their studuents.



Thirty-seven teachers coming from Kindergarten to Tenth grade classrooms joined TTF for a full day of activities, exciting learning opportunities and discussions on how to adapt the activities to the needs of their own students.



Several highlights of the day included careful examination of a collection of items involved in uncovering the background of a mysterious person, empathizing with people in a historical photograph and a rousing and competitive keyword pictionary used as an assessment tool.



Perhaps most exciting was the Math Trail, a treasure hunt involving pairs of teachers racing around to solve dozens of math problems before their peers got the chance.



Reflecting back on the day, teachers had interesting comments and thoughts to share. Remembering  that “learning can be an enjoyable experience” is always a common aim of all TTF workshops and it is great to see teachers picking up this message. Similarly, another teacher remarked that, “activity based methods help teacher and students remain active throughout the class. Permanent learning can be easy and fast.”



Judging by the amount of laughs, the discussion, and yes- competition -among the teachers at KLS's School, classrooms throughout the year are sure to be buzzing with activity after this workshop.

Posted by Julia Bach, TTF Hubli Centre

Read More...

At Hubli: Teacher as person and as a professional

The Livewire Classrooms Workshop on February 26, 2011 “Teacher as person and as a professional”, helped teachers of Mallasajjan School in Dharwad understand themselves and their impact on their students.  35 participants including the Principal of the school  attended the workshop. The group had teachers who taught from Nursery to Grade X. The workshop started with the participants sharing their expectations that “it would not be boring or lengthy” and that they don't “want to be a mechanical teacher.” Surely they were not disappointed!

Using Quality Circle Time, participants were taken through different stages of structured discussion and within a few minutes the group opened up. Some of them were brave enough to ask for help from the group and some others were generous enough to offer. The group enjoyed each and every activity which was a part of the workshop. They all let out the child within during the Parachute activity in which they had to run across the circle when their numbers were called or make the action of rowing a boat. The teachers realized that we need to be sensitive enough to understand the students that we are dealing with and once that is done, learning and teaching becomes both easier and more fruitful.

The group discussed their top values in life, their own self-esteem, and how they are instrumental in building or marring the self-esteem of a child. They were also asked to delve into the impact that their own teachers had on them, and what impact they would want to leave on their students. They also realised that more than a routine and mechanical teacher they should practise being a reflective teacher, one who thinks about his or her actions and decisions carefully, to make learning more interesting and effective. The teachers took part actively in the discussion freely without being conscious of the language barrier. The workshop ended on a high note with the teachers wanting more!

Posted by Roopali Katti, Centre Coordinator, TTF Hubli 

Read More...

Making classrooms buzz with excitement!

Teachers are expected to play a greater role in maintaining the equation of making learning fun and meaningful. But the question is, how do they do it? How do we motivate children to learn? How can we convert our classroom into a place where there is a lot of excitement and buzz happening in connection with learning?

29 teachers from Government Schools in Bantwal Taluk, Mangalore discovered how to make their classrooms buzz with excitement and meaningful learning when they attended the one-day workshop, Buzzing Classrooms, organized by The Teacher Foundation on 20 November 2010. Buzzing Classrooms is one of the workshops from TTF's Livewire Classrooms Series, a collection of workshops for teacher training, which can be chosen based on the needs and requirement of the school.

Buzzing Classrooms, organized as a part of Contemporary Classroom Workshop Series initiative by the TTF Government Team, was held at GHPS Salethur in Bantwal Taluk. Pradeep Kumar S P, Teacher Trainer and Coordinator - Government Project, TTF Bangalore led the workshop.

"After this workshop I realized how to make my class excited. I learnt the use of  different activities to make my students enthusiastic to learn, at the same time how to bring a lot of clarity in my subject.", a teacher wrote in her feedback about the workshop. "I learned about making the classroom more attractive for the children by implementing these activities or strategies. Through patience and hardwork, I want to strive to implement these strategies in my classroom.," another teacher said.

Posted by Indrani Anchan, Coordinator, Government Projects, Mangalore

---

Visit our Facebook Page for more photographs on Buzzing Classrooms and other events!

---

For more information on organizing a Livewire Classrooms workshop in your school, please feel free to contact us. Click here to contact us online! [Please mention "Livewire Classrooms" in the subject line]

---

Read More...