“Merugu polishes their [teachers’] innate potentials with its innovative ideas.”

The Teacher Foundation organized graduation ceremony for the participants of Merugu and HeadLAMP on 16 Sept, 2011 at the Deshpande Foundation Auditorium, at Hubli. Merugu- a sustained teacher development programme and HeadLAMP- Heads Leadership & Management Programme were conducted in the region with support of Deshpande Foundation during 2010-11. The first batch of 153 teachers and 44 heads from Government primary schools graduated.

 

The event commenced with the prayer by Smt. S. M. Arkasali, teacher,HPS Gokul.  Sharing her experiences from the workshops, Smt.Vijayalakshmi, Teacher, HPS, Mantur recited a poem written by her which described TTF's programme and indicated that Merugu was a sea of highly meaningful and new teaching-learning experiences. Shri H.L.Tuppad, teacher,HPS-1, Ghantikeri said, ''All Merugu trained teachers must become mentors for the fellow teachers to bring in quality in the teaching-learning process.''

 

Shri B.S.Mayachar, BEO-Hubli Rural opined that professional trainings are must for teachers as they help them maintain quality in teaching process. Shri V.F.Chulaki,Teachers' Union President recalled teachers saying, “....as the Merugu commenced, our teachers were not willing to attend the training,but gradually after attending a few workshops, same teachers expressed that Merugu polishes their innate potentials with its innovative ideas.”

 

Shri Prakash Kamath, Program Officer, Deshpande Foundation, in his presidential address congratulated the participants for receiving certificates and underlined that, “ Workshop learnings must reflect in students' learning and their performance.” Prakash Nedungadi, Director-Development,TTF addressed the gathering and stressed the need for continuous professional development for teachers and heads to uplift the quality of education.

 

Posted by Guruswamy, Coordinator – Teacher Training & Support, TTF Bangalore Centre

Read More...

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...

Merugu in Hubli!

“Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among the stars,” is an appropriate thought to guide teachers as they devise new and more effective methods to assess student learning. As part of Merugu, the sustained teacher training programme, over 40 government school teachers from Hubli rural blocks participated in the Measuring Learning module at the Hubli Centre on June 24th.

Guruswamy C. And Rajaratna facilitated the workshop. Throughout the day, the facilitators guided the teachers about the different ways of authentically assessing student learning. Uncovering the details of rubrics, the importance of formative assessment and the difference between lower and higher order thinking, the teachers were kept busy all day!

For the teachers, highlights included preparing rubrics and devising different activities related to formative assessment. These included report cards, but also using memory games and matching activities in new and different ways. The teachers also came up with their own examples which correspond to the subjects they teach.


Participants commented on the unique nature of the workshops and how active and engaging they are. They also shared their new, and more detailed understanding about formative assessment, assessment that occurs in the midst of the learning process, and how it can be used to shape future lessons and better address student needs. Bloom's Revised Taxonomy was another component of the module which received high praise and how it helped them better understand different aspects of student learning.

Supported by the Deshpande Foundation, the Measuring Learning workshop is only one of a series of modules that comprise the Merugu Programme. Future modules will cover topics such as designing lesson plans, composing precise and accurate objectives and reflecting on classroom events.

Posted by Julia Bach, 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...

What do we have on offer in 2011-12?

Are you looking for a school development or teacher training programme that will dramatically improve the quality of teaching and learning in your school? Well, we are here to help you choose. TTF has several tested programmes that are so well-grounded in the reality of the “Indian” classroom, that they receive extremely good feedback from teachers and schools who go through them. TTF's services and support systems for teachers are the products of dedicated and focused research by school education specialists, who work very closely with Indian Schools. Following is a map of what TTF can offer your school in 2011- 12:

Which of the above would you like to choose for your school? If you would like to know more about any of the above mentioned programmes/courses, contact us online or call any of our centres in Bangalore, Mangalore, Hyderabad, Haveri, Hubli, Yadgiri or Mysore. 

Read More...

Unleashing creativity in Hubli!

TTF Hubli Centre organized Afternoons with TTF titled Unleash Your Creativity, on January 6, 2011. 28 teachers from 10 different schools were present and shared their views and ideas on creativity. The session had a video, group discussion, activities to bring out the creativity in oneself. Teachers talked about modelling creativity, how they should be ready to take risks and go out of the way to reach out to the learners by follwing the unconventional methods of teaching and make learning more interesting. One very important aspect which came out from the discussion was that planning was really really fundamental to productive creativity.

Teachers brainstormed how to make use of items from daily life in teaching and came up with using a calendar to teach social studies or even language. Another group explained how to teach shapes using a scarf. When asked to show concepts from science, maths or languages using simple things like bottle caps and icecream sticks, ribbons, plastic cups and even pebbles- they came up with some unique and colourful posters of shapes, solar system, water cycle.

Teachers thought that such workshops really helped them to gather ideas from and share with the teachers from other schools. Reflecting on their own experience in the workshop, teachers commented that they need to be creative first in order to foster creativity in their students and that it is a skill which can be developed with practice. One teacher said that we need to encourage students to think differently to make learning more effective. Overall, the teachers enjoyed the activity based productive afternoon and said that they are looking forward to more of such afternoons!

Posted by Roopali Katti, Centre Coordinator, TTF Hubli Centre 

Read More...

Afternoons with TTF at Hubli - Unleash your creativity!

TTF Hubli Centre is hosting an Afternoons with TTF, titled 'Unleash your Creativity' on 6 January 2010. The purpose of "Afternoons with TTF" is to encourage interaction between teachers from different schools and facilitate exchange of thoughts and ideas. There would be a different theme for each month. These sessions enable focussed small group interactions and thus the learnings from these sessions would be more personal and internalized.

"Afternoons with TTF" in Hubli are free and open for teachers of Hubli - Dharwad Schools. Individual teachers can attend any 'Afternoons With TTF' of their choice.

Venue: The Teacher Foundation, #18, Dr. Goni's Mansion, Behind Gurudutt Bhavan, Jayanagar, Vidyanagar, Hubli- 580021
Directions: Take a right turn after Amrutha Scan Centre
Landmark: Near Gurudutt Bhavan Bus Stop Date and Timing Date : Thursday, January 6th 2011
Timing: 2.00 pm to 4.30 pm.

In this session we'll try to understand creativity, learn ways to encourage students to think creatively and how to become aware of our own creativity. We'll explore the importance of creativity in the teaching – learning process. The session will provide an opportunity for discussions and hands on experiences.

To be a part of the session,  confirm your participation to Ms. Roopali on 9886352472 or 0836-4260074 before 4 January 2011.

Read More...

Train the Trainer for Kannada Team

Kannada TTT for four days was organized at TTF, Vidyanagar,Hubli. Three modules were covered in three days. The modules were Tools for Teaching 1 & 2 and  Measuring Learning. 23 trainers from different regions i.e Yadgiri, Haveri, Mangalore, Mysore, Bangalore, Hubli participated in the TTT which included full timers and freelancers. The trainers actively participated in the workshop. There were mock sessions by the trainers to make the trainings effective.

Posted by Indrani Anchan, Coordinator, Government Projects, Mangalore

Read More...