Day 10....Wednesday at Jubilee Hills

Today Robyn and I were interviewed by the Grade 10 Journalism Class on the differences and similarities between western and eastern education teaching and learning styles. The recording will be edited by the Jubilee Hills AV team along with our professional development sessions.  We later recorded an additional session with Prof. Y.V.U. Varma who asked us to elaborate on career pathways and art education.  I hope to post a link to the finished video when it becomes available.

I observed a math class on place value and working with up to five digit numbers.  The teacher gave students an active role as they solved problems and applauded each other’s efforts.  When comparing numbers to determine which number is greater the teacher used a concrete example for students to understand.  She had a tall student and short student stand in front of the class, she held her arms like a crocodile mouth to be the greater than sign.  Students told here where to stand.  Students had the core concept down and may also benefit from working at learning stations, at a faster or slower pace, based on student needs. The teacher was very encouraging with her gestures and statements like, "I want all smart children, superb, clap for yourself, what any easy problem for you." There were a lot of smiles from students as they were enjoying what they were learning and building confidence as a classroom community.

In the afternoon Robyn held a professional development session titled, “Can the medium of art be used to bring a positive change in students?”  It was very relevant to curriculum innovation in India and the US. The growth in STEAM, Visual and Performing Applied Arts credit, student engagement and careers of the future put this opportunity at the forefront of education.