School Tourism club

TOURISM CLUB AT SCHOOLS

Under the auspices of Department of Tourism, Govt. of Kerala, Tourism Clubs in Higher Secondary Schools and Colleges of Kerala has been constituted as part of creating tourism awareness among the host community. The objective was to empower the student community as the Ambassidors of Kerala Tourism, thereby creating massive awareness on the benefits of tourism among the families, societies and to open up career opportunities in tourism sector. As part of streamlining the activities of Tourism Clubs, Department of Tourism had entrusted KITTS (Kerala Tourism and Travel Studies) to co-ordinate and to strengthen the activities of tourism clubs of the state.

Tourism in Kerala is going through a significant phase of growth and development. Setting up of Tourism Clubs in schools by the department of tourism is aimed at creating proper awareness about tourism among youth. Tourism Club provides platforms for more open expressions and exchange of ideas regarding tourism related efforts. It promotes a rational approach towards tourism, environment, nature and makes the younger generation to participate in the developmental activities of tourism. The Tourism Club can function under the guidance of District Tourism Promotion Council.

Objectives of Tourism club

1. To inculcate traveling culture among students
2. To minimize social problems among them
3. To promote social integrity among the various communities in the area
4. To encourage domestic tourism activities

Through planned activities for educational purposes, it is expected that teachers’ teaching and students’ learning are fostered. This is important as students gain learning experiences which fit their characteristics and produce expected educational, under the constraints of curriculum goals, school goals and subject content. By combining studying and traveling away from their home environment, students can realize their need for recreation or diversion. It provides students with a peek into the ‘back’ regions of their society, thereby facilitating experiential, experimental or existential modes of touristic experiences. Moreover, studies have found out that significant learning can exist when unlearning takes place, which often happens when students experience periods away from their usual environment.

Of particular importance is the assumption that travel results in more cross-cultural understanding. This is particularly important in Kerala, which is multi-cultural and multi-religion. In studying these, social psychologists find that face-to-face interactions between members of different groups reduce prejudices, although not under all conditions (Pettigrew, 1998). Research also shows that, as a result of travel, students are more adaptable, more independent in their thinking, more aware of their home country and culture, and better able to communicate with others (Klooster et al. 2008), although the situations are more applicable to exchange students.

Activities

1. Study Trip outside the district
2. Study Trip within the district
3. Study Trip within the locality or 'back' areas
4. Camping
5. Homestay
6. Tourism Quiz
7. Tourism Seminar
8. Logo Competition
9. Career Talk
10. Drawing Competition
11. Dramatization of the History
12. Making presentations/documentaries of culture and history of the locality
13. Enumerating important people, places, monuments, cultural events and festivals
14. Naming a place and giving one good characteristic of the place that makes one proud of it.
15. Prepare brochure/posters for the slelcted space connected with local and national culture and heritage.
16. Exchanging ideas on one’s responsibility towards the city, state, nation and world.
17. Planning field trips
18. Journalizing one’s plan on serving the locality and the city
19. Community reading of travelling experiences/books/classic novels/classic travelogues
20. Screening of films like Motor cycle diaries, Riding solo to the top of the world (Gaurav A Zhani),
21. Writing travelogues, pamphlets, brochures, posters etc
22. Adopting an area for inland toruism like Vazhiyorakkatt

Learning expectations from students

They provide a chance for students to develop intellectually and socially in relatively informal settings. Linking learning styles and experiential learning with nonformal education settings can provide new insights to the practice of continuing education when developing co-curricular activities. The activities organized by Tourism Clubs foster teachers’ teaching and students’ learning. Students can gain learning experiences which fit their characteristics and learning environment. By engaging in the activities, it is expected that students are more adaptable, more independent in their thinking, more aware of their home society, state and country and culture, better able to communicate with others, and more sensitive to other cultures.

1. Increase knowledge on tourism destinations in the country
2. Increase awareness on environmental conservation
3. Increase societal awareness
4. Increase awareness on recreational needs
5. Increase knowledge through experience
6. Increase knowledge through outdoor activities
7. Increase cultural and community integration and harmony
8. Increase in application of leadership skills
9. Increase in relation with clubmates
10. Progress in communication Skills
11. Increased self-Initiative

Types of constraints to be expected

• Time constraint
• Financial constraint
• Workload from academic subjects
• Commitment from other co-curriculum activities
• Inactive Teacher’s Coordinators and teachers' disbelief in students
• Discouraging support from family
• Inactive committee members

uniqrishnan@gmail.com

Kalari - Oru Vadakkan Chitta

BACK TO SCHOOL IN SEARCH OF NEWER EXPERIENCES, CONFIDENCE AND FOR ACQUIRING WISDOM

Trainers' log

Kalari-the school attachment programme for trainers has been conceived as a trainer empowerment programme in the context of making the schools learner/child/student friendly. It was in this context that this years' teacher empowerment programme during summer vacation has been conceived and implemented. The overarching goal of Kalari is thus to identify the feasibility of thrust areas and interventions put forward through the teacher empowerment programme and to augment the competence and confidence of trainers to provide school, class and subject specific support to teachers. The approach Kalari is primarily enquiry based because the thrust areas and interventions are hypothetical in nature, requiring more empirical evidence to pronounce them as feasible across different classes, subjects and school contexts.

But Kasaragod district revisited the 'state'd objectives and redesigned them. They were the following.

Objectives of Kalari

1. To equip the trainers with the competence to transform the thrust areas of teacher empowerment programee into teaching-learning activities in actual school contexts.

2. To enable trainers with the knowledge, processes and experience to animate school structures, resources and management mechanisms for ensuring the atmosphere and conditions for effective learning.

3. To activate the trainers towards developing methods (materials, strategies, time, instructions, physical arrangements etc) for addressing the diversity of students and application of adaptation processes in the classroom.

4. To equip trainers to develop on their own academic plans to meet the challenges (in terms of learning experiences, learning materials, learning atmosphere, socio-economic and educational status of children and their families, physical facilities, school/class culture etc) in school contexts.

3. Processes of Kalari

The process of Kalari was developed through a series of hectic consultations with the trainers and DIET faculty members. From the very outset, it was recognised that the thrust areas and the list of interventions advocated by the teacher empowerment programme-vacation teacher training have to considered hypotheticaal-yet to be tested and proved in the actual school contexts of Kasaragod. This recognition naturally lead the whole programme research oriented and enquiry based.

Secondly, any a research oriented and enquiry based capacity building programme has to be owned by the professionals who conduct it. So instead of pre-conceived notions, time plans and list of structured workshops, it was recognised that Kalari has to highly decentralised and democratic in terms of developing the form, methods and materials for the programme. This have to developed through a series of collaborative workshops, developing hypothesis to try out in the actual classroom contexts, analysis actual a school experiences and through the trainers' reflective thinking on their experiences.

The whole processes of Kalari can be summarised through a series of consultative workshops and school experiences.

Developing the framework for Kalari

The 4-day workshop of trainers and DIET faculty members at Udma community Hall finalised the framework of Kalari in terms of its objectives, processes, materials and logistics of the programme. The process can be summarised like this as a sequence of actions.

Process-academic

1. Listing out the thrust areas of Teacher empowerment programme-May 2011 across different grades and in different subjects in all the primary classes.

2. Developing hypothesis based on each one of the thrust areas identified. The hypotheses are framed as sentences which clearly shows the cause-effect relationship between an action and the expected learning performances or outcomes by students.

3. Developing performance expectations for each hypothesis. The expectations are framed as what the students are able to think and do, linking the learning/teaching idea with the what and how included in the hypothesis.

4. Developing tentative teaching manuals targeted at the hypothesis and their performance indicators.

5. Identifying tentative teaching methods for addressing diversity of students' abilities, interests and challenges against this hypothesis (methods-materials, strategies, time, instructions, physical arrangements etc).

6. Identifying the learning evidences to be expected in tune with the performance expectations.

   The trainers through their school attachment programme during the period of 10 days will be testing to what extent the hypothesis are,

• feasible in the school context,

• helpful to plan and improve teaching and learning,

• useful to identify the teachers' strength, weaknesses and support needs,

• fruitful for the trainer to augment their teaching competence in relation with the thrust areas,

• develop methods for inclusive education and addressing student diversity, and

• identify the conditions-factors and processes which make the school effective or non-effective in terms of realising the goal of student-friendly schools.

Process- school structures and resources

The workshop helped us to realise that school is a minefield of complexities in terms of structures, resources, relations, processes, expectations and cultural assumptions, beliefs and practices. So the teaching-learning process has to be placed in this complex situation. The school structures, resources and management processes also have to activated for striving towards a better academic/learning atmosphere at schools. Main school structures, resources and management processes were listed and the performance indicators of each one of them were also developed in the workshop through a series of group and plenary discussions. Major discussions centred around the following areas.

1. To what extent each structure in the school contributes towards ensuring the atmosphere and conditions for effective learning? The structures were CPTA, PTA/MPTA, Clubs and School Parliament.

2. Analysis of each resource and school atmosphere-status and use in the school towards ensuring the atmosphere and conditions for effective learning based on performance indicators. The resources identified were, Library, Lab and Computer Lab, Bullettin board, Spaces for children-Play ground, Garden, Noon meal, Provisions for Girls and School Health programme

3. Analysis of management tool/mechanisms -status and functioning in the school towards ensuring the atmosphere and conditions for effective learning based on performance indicators. They were, Class calendar, School calendar, Distribution of duties, Utilisation of school grants and Monitoring school activities and learning.

   What the trainer can do strategically to activate or augment or strengthen the structure, resources and management processes? The role of the trainer as an animator will help the school to realise their potentials and at the same time help both the trainer and the teachers to understand the future support needs for school and encourage them to strive towards strengthening these factors of school change.

THEN WHAT HAPPENED? See the next blog with photos!

Every atom is full of stories!

Distilling

INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF CHEMISTRY ACTIVITIES

2011

People are invited to celebrate the International Year of Chemistry in 2011 by recognizing the achievements of chemistry throughout history and its contributions to the humankind. The Year will give a global boost to chemical science, and hopefully increase the interest in chemistry among young people. It aims to increase the public appreciation of chemistry in meeting world needs and people around the world are invited to participate in activities and events that promote the International Year of Chemistry. Activities for the International Year of Chemistry include:

1. Events that emphasize chemistry as a creative science essential for sustainability and improvements to our way of life.

2. Experiments to explore how chemical research is critical for solving our global problems involving food, water, health, energy, and more.

3. Activities that engages young people with scientific disciplines and generates enthusiasm for the creative future of chemistry.

Background

Chemistry is the science of matter and the changes it undergoes, concerned with the composition, behaviour, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions. Chemistry is vital to our understanding of the world and the cosmos, especially molecular transformations are important to the production of food, medicines, fuel, and countless manufactured and extracted products. The International Year of Chemistry will celebrate the art and science of chemistry, and its essential contributions to knowledge, to environmental protection and to economic development.

Activity	Description	Students' level
Chemistry Quizzzzz	This quiz challenges students' reasoning	High school, Higher secondary, TTC and B.Ed
Chemical Interactive chemistry experiments	Experiments Show demonstrations in a school activities	Upper primary, High school, Higher secondary, TTC and B.Ed
Poster/Cartoon drawing competitions	Chemistry Days	Upper primary, High school, Higher secondary, TTC and B.Ed Open to the public at activities
Chemistry Stamps	Students design stamps commemorating chemists, chemistry principles, elements etc.	High school
Projects-Ex. Whole periodic table	Periodic Table developed collectively at school and public ally displayed	High school, Higher secondary, TTC and B.Ed
Panel discussions/Talks	By eminent persons/teacher teaching/working in Chemistry Global Challenges, Chemistry Solutions	High school, Higher secondary, TTC and B.Ed
Students' hands-on activities in PTA/CPTA/School	Students' event can include hands-on activities such as using household chemicals to create special effects, conducting experiments with copper.	U.P, High school, Higher secondary, TTC and B.Ed
Life sketches, Demonstration Experiments, Reading and visualisation	Know the scientist and his/her contributions. Example, Priestley and Soda Pop Marie Curie	U.P, High school, Higher secondary, TTC and B.Ed
Talks/Lectures Themes for issues are: Use of Endosulfan, Renewable fuels, Treating house-hold wastes, Water	Talks on controversial issues- Renewable fuels: can we really run our cars on waste, wee, water or alcohol? If not, are there any other sources of energy we have not thought about? How could we power up in a ‘greener’ way? Are the alternatives all that they seem?	High school, Higher secondary, TTC and B.Ed
Chemistry on the move	Every update of News in Chemistry as News board or TVshows	High school, Higher secondary, TTC and B.Ed
Chemist of the week	See the details given below	U.P, High school, Higher secondary, TTC and B.Ed
One person	See the details given below	U.P, High school, Higher secondary, TTC and B.Ed
Chemistry in Action!	See the details given below	High school, Higher secondary, TTC and B.Ed
Chemistry in Kitchen	Aspects of Chemistry happening in Kitchen-quiz, talk	People/PTA/CPTA-Presentation by students

Happy distillation!

MMarch of Birnam woods in Readers' week

ACTIVITIES FOR READERS' WEEK

Set up Classroom libraries in each classroom

Stephen Krashen's The Power of Reading addresses the impact and influence of school/class

libraries. His research supports and encourages school/class libraries with such points as:

• the more books that are available, the more reading that is done.

• access to a school library equals more reading.

• interacting with a librarian can make a difference in how much children read.

• students check out more books with a larger collection and longer library hours.

• young children read more when it is comfortable and quiet.

• students get a majority of free reading books from the library.

• hearing and talking about stories encourages reading and literacy development.

• a school/class library can be an equalizer for access to books and other information resources.

(Read more about the power of reading “81-Generalizations-about reading”. )

Process steps

• Decide the appropriate design for a class library for each classroom

• Select the books suitable for reading connected with the present unit in all subjects and other books.

• Select a class librarian and his/her assistant.

• Form Readers' circles in each class.

• Develop activities to be undertaken y class libraries.

• Develop posters for their library by each class-competition

Date for setting up class library

16.06.2011

Large bulletin board in each class/section

To display children's products of reading

Date to begin

14.6.2011

Start issue of library books for students

The students select the books that they like to read from the library and the class librarian issues it. The students can take it home and return it along with

• A summary card

• Character sketch

• A wall paper of the book

• A letter to the author

• A letter of recommendation to read the book

• Read orally what I liked in the book

• Draw a pictorial representation of the book-place of the story, characters, events, dialogues etc.

Process

Daily activity

Collect and exhibit them in the large bullettin board for displaying children's products.

Date to begin

Today

Plant a Vayana Maram in each class

Process

Improve the last year's efforts

Date to begin

16.6.2011

Develop Reading Logs

Keep a simple reading log during the week, eg

1. title

2. author

3. main ideas

4. main ideas and special characters

Date to begin

Writing a Short Book /Short books

Write and illustrate a book. This can be done as a group co-operative project. UP students can write a book for junior classes after surveying the literature that LP read and enjoy most. LP classes write a 'big book' on a theme eg 'our familiy' containing their art work and simple captions.

Write a Letter

Write a letter to their parents listing reasons why they should be given a certain book for their next birthday.

Panel Discussions

Have daily student panel discussions that include:

1. favourite character and why

2. most exciting page

3. dullest page

4. most interesting page

5. suggested changes to the plot

Adopt a Pupil /Class

A Senior class/pupil adopt a junior class or junior pupil. Read to them regularly during the week.

Invited Guests

Special Invitee of the day

Invite a special guest each day to share their love of books with the pupils, eg

1. local readers, teachers, senior students, TTC students etc share their favourite story

2. invite an author to the classroom

3. visits by the librarian

4. teachers share their favourites

5. visits from magazine and newspaper reporters

8. invite a book illustrator/artist/sacheendran to visit the classroom

9. invite parents to share favorite stories

10. local farmer /grandmother to tell their life tales and convert them to books.

Invite librarian to the class

Invite the librarian to come in and talk about visiting the library.

Time Lines

Students make an illustrated time line of what happens to one of the book characters during a story. Add captions to the illustrations.

Character Masks

All pupils make at least one mask of their favourite character/s from a story. Masks can be made from paper bags, bent & stapled card and papier mache.

Book Mobiles

Make favourite character or favourite book posters to hang around the school verandha.

Shadow Play

Action scenes from a book make exciting shadow plays, eg actors behind a sheet with bright light behind the actors.

Oral Reading

Provide daily opportunities for pupils to read out their favourite paragraph from their current book. Have UP school childern read daily to the LP school.

Read and Rate

Have pupils devise a rating system for books, eg a 1-5 scale. Pupils must provide reasons and justifications for their ratings.

Keep a Visual Record

Have a daily update of the total number of books read by the class members.This could be in graph or pictogram form. They could write the name of the book in a book shape that becomes part of a growing display.

Book Assemblies

Hold daily book assemblies where books are promoted by teachers, parents and pupils. Books are then 'auctioned' for reading.

Mother Books

Book production by Mothers. Conduct one workshop of two hr. duration and then they can be supplied with A4 sheets/Chart sheet. Let them develop books for their children.

Using Big canvas

Use the canvas to depict a book.

Dramatisation

(the last resort!)

Readers' theatre

Reading and dramatisation goes hand in hand in the production. Require experts' help.

March of Birnam woods!

All Vayana Marams march to the main hall on the final day like the Birnam woods march in Macbeth!

A trip to Library

And let the children take books, observe the arrangments, smell the books, read it to children etc. Arrange leisurely chairs to them and give them sweets!

Time Allocation for Reading week

Decide on a time allocation per day for reading week activities, eg

1. two hours per day

2. a full afternoon

3. each day or the full week , or

4. mornings only

But DECIDE.

Involvement & Preparation

Involve all staff members in planning the theme and activities.

1. Plan TODAY itself class wise activities and what is to be done on the final day. .

2. Involve the parents so they can enthuse and encourage pupils.

3. Arrange for a wide range of guests to visit during the week.

4. Make the school the focus for the reading week.

5. Arrange for displays of books in all classrooms and library.

Meeting the nightmares boldly

HOW TO PRESENT A VIDEO IN A TRAINGING PROGRAMME?

Using a video or video segment in a teacher training programme might bring nightmares to many of us. The nightmare begins when we decide to use it in a training session but paying less attention to the process of using it. We are relieved that the session would go smoothly be cause we have a powerful video, so it would work on its own. But the reality is harsh.

Often the full potential of video remain untapped too. Presenting it straight away before an unprepared audience kills the potential of the video. Many often there is no cognitive involvement from the participants because they haven't got an opportunity to ask the question,'Why am I going to see this?'. Cognitive lapse is the result.

Thirdly, all the processes at different stages, ie, before viewing, while viewing and post viewing sessions are jumbled and mingled. The net result is a mangled version of meaning, which may be far away from the objective of the session.

Then how to present a video in a training programme?

Stage-1: Before viewing the video.

This is also called pre-viewing session. It main intention is to activate the participants' background knowledge and earlier experiences related with the theme of discussion and the content of the video.

• Have a large group or small group discussion of the theme. Ask what they know already. Ask what they'd like to know.

• Introduce the participants to the general vocabulary: one way of doing this is to assign a reading activity based on the same theme as the video.

• Come to a consensus about what to look for in the video by fixing the questions, circulating written formats to record their observations, reactions, and questions throughout the viewing.

• Highlighting the expectations after viewing the film so that the participants can pay particular attention to the strategies, factors of influence etc and identify them.

Now the participants are ready for viewing the video in tune with the objective of your session.

Stage-2: Watch the Video

On the first viewing, let the participants note what they have seen using the format given to them or to in tune with the questions flagged. For example if the video is related with the development of reading in terms of a student, let them to note how the student's reading fluency develops over the year. How does she approach reading in July and in December? How does she make connections with the text?

Review What was seen

Ask participants to reflect on those questions, write down their responses individually and/or discuss them as a group. Let them review their notes in the recording format given. For example in the case of the student mentioned earlier, discuss on the student's literacy development. Then consider the following questions:

• Student's progress: How does his/her progress in reading during the year? How does her progress compare to that of your own students? What factors influenced her reading progress? What questions do you have about her literacy development?

• Classroom Environment: What classroom contexts and instructional practices support reading fluency? How does the classroom environment encourage the student to gain independence as a reader and writer?

• Home/School Connection: How do the teacher and and the student's mother collaborate to create a complete profile of the student? How do they monitor her progress to encourage her as a reader?

Stage-3: Looking closer

Take a second look at what happened in the video. Here in terms of the student's reading development to deepen the participants' understanding of her changing strengths and needs over the course of the year. Ask the participants to add their observations in the recording format based on the discussion.

• What areas of early literacy does the teacher assess?

• How does the teacher combine instruction and assessment in the group? What strategies did the student use?

• What do we know about the student's reading comprehension?

• The teacher says she is "exactly where she needs to be in first standard" What does this mean? Do you agree?

• What instruction would you plan in order to develop the student's reading skills and strategies?

• How has her reading progressed since July? What specific reading strategies has she developed?

• How has the teacher's instruction changed since July? What decisions did she make to advance the student's reading development?

• What goals would you set for the student for the remainder of the school year? What instruction would you plan to meet these goals?

• What are the milestones in reading that the student has reached over the year?

• What instructional plans and contexts for reading over the year have contributed to her reading development?

• What does the share in the beginning to help the teacher in her instruction?

• Based on the parent/teacher conference, what does the mother know about her reading? What does her teacher know?

• How do the teacher and parent collaborate to gain a deeper understanding of the student? How do their descriptions of the student differ?

Stage-4: Summing up

Ask the participants to review their notes on the student's progress throughout the year. The questions for discussion will sum up what was discussed earlier but at the same time try to generalise based on the observations made. The summing up questions can be exhibited and the participants can be asked to reflect on them and write down their responses or discuss them as a group. For example look at the following questions.

• In what ways did the student grow in her reading development over the year?

• How did the teacher's instruction change over the year?

• How was assessment used to plan instruction for the student?

• How did the teacher's instruction develop the student's fluency in reading?

• What questions do you still have about the student's reading? What other classroom practices would you have planned for her?

• How might this video influence your teaching practices? What segments affirmed what you already know and practice? What will you do differently as a result of watching this video?

Making Connections

Here the opportunities to apply and extend what the participants seen or arrived at are to be provided by the facilitator. It can be linked with the next segment of the video or with the next session objective if they are linked in order. Or this is also an opportunity to ask the teachers to reflect on their earlier concept, perspective and knowledge and the changes happened. This is also the time to develop an action plan for reading if it is intended as an objective of the training programme.

Then, what about presenting a reading material in a training programme?

Issues for discussion

Conceptual questions related with curriculum

How do teachers read curriculum? Is it just the content and structure of textbook or something large than those?

If we look at teachers as professional, how do we define 'teacher freedom' and its exercise in the class?

What should the teacher look in assessing students' learning? Is the THB make it very clear for the teacher in terms of learning goals, learning objective etc?

If the textbook is seen as one of the resources for teaching and learning, will the grand and rigid structure of the textbook narrative permit the use of textbook as one among the resources?

Teacher autonomy is permitted by the educational system, which make them as instrumentals of implementing the curriculum of the whims and fancies of executives. Teacher is not considered as a thinker butt the curriculum envisages the students as a thinker? How can this dichotomy be possible in a single system and a single curriculum?

How do we choose matter to be put to the curriculum? How do we decide? How do we decide whether the law of thermodynamics to be learned by all students in the 9th/10^th class? Do we have to cover all topics?

“We worked with teachers, we sat with them, but thinking honestly now, most of the thinking was ours. The teachers job was limited...” How does the idea of inclusion of teachers in the entire curriculum development process view this? To what extent are we critically aware of our hegemony in the textbook or curriculum development process?

Learning for assessment or Assessment for learning?

Once upon a time a child asked to her mother, "Mommy, mommy, was I born for the sake of going to school?"

When the child went to school, she asked to her mother, "Mommy, mommy, was I sent to school for the sake of tests?"

"...on behalf of SCERT Kerala I welcome Prof. Jacob Tharu to the second round of workshop on evaluation".


"...What I would like to do is to begin with the issues which propped up during the last workshop. Specifically we can think about the conceptual understandings and issues related with assessment."