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!