Higher engagement, better learning

​Higher engagement, better learning

Student engagement is the key to driving better learning, but this is missing from many classrooms in India

The Annual Status of Education Report 2023 

Says that more than 86.8% individuals in the age group of 14-18 are enrolled in educational institutions,

 but one-fourth of them cannot read a Class 2-level text fluently in their regional languages.

A learning deficit

struggling with a learning deficit

1 India has been struggling with a learning deficit for years now.

2  And though there is more awareness about this thanks to Pratham’s annual surveys, little seems to have changed on the ground. 

3 Attendance in public schools tends to be low

so despite children being enrolled in school, many of them don’t learn much. 

4 This is largely because schools are unable to engage children.

 Therefore, children and parents see little value in school. 

5 जब छात्र उपस्थित नहीं होते हैं, तो शिक्षक अपनी प्रेरणा खो देते हैं  

When students don’t show up, teachers lose their motivation and do little to increase the level of engagement with learners, which could in turn motivate students to show up. It’s a chicken and egg situation.

 

बच्चे कब सीखते हैं ? और स्कूल में क्या क्या होता है ?

1 Students learn when there is motivation to do so and that happens when classrooms are meaningful and psychologically safe spaces.

 2 However, in classrooms across India, the teacher focuses only on the few students who sit in the front rows. 

3 The teacher writes questions and often even the answers on the blackboard.

4  The students spend most of their learning hours copying off the board while the teacher leaves the room to do “more important” work.

पढ़ाई की रीति 

1 The teacher asks questions, but only a few children generally answer. 

2 Otherwise, the class answers in a chorus. The children repeat after the teacher in unison. सामंजस्य 

3 The teacher asks if everyone has understood and receives an enthusiastic ‘yes’ in response. 

4 But this does not give a sense of how much the students have really learned. 

India has a long tradition of rote learning

Many have progressed in life learning this way, but this kind of learning does not serve all students.

 In any case, with the world changing so fast, children need different skills.

A two-way communication

कैसी व्यवस्था अच्छी ?हर बच्चे का नंबर आएगा ?

1 Now imagine a classroom where the teacher calls upon every child randomly. Every child is alert, curious, and attentive. 

2 The students are allowed to discuss and solve problems with their peers and learn from one another. 

3 Every child gets to touch, feel, and use the learning material — whether a maths manipulative, a book, or a science kit.

4  The teacher stays in the classroom while the children work and gives them feedback in real time. 

5 The children cognitively engage with the topic. There is a happy buzz of students taking ownership for their own learning. 

Unless the teacher participates, student engagement cannot happen

1  Classroom learning opportunities must be made available to everyone, irrespective of gender, caste, religion, special needs, or disability.

2 When teachers actively engage students in a lesson, learning outcomes improve. This seems like a simple premise.

 Why then is it so difficult to implement in the classroom? 

The many problems that plague the education system,

🍁 including inadequate teacher allocation, 🍁poor systemic governance, 

🍁outdated teaching practices, 

🍁lack of teacher support and coaching, all contribute to making this hard to implement at scale.

children are not learning why ? 

1 even when we have dedicated teachers teaching and good student attendance, children still do not always learn

 2 A part of the problem is that many of these teachers were themselves not taught in an engaging way. 

3 So, very few of them worry about whether they are engaging the learner as they don’t see it as their responsibility. 

4 Teaching is largely seen as a one-way communication with the teacher getting no feedback from the student during the lesson. 

5 The teacher does not know what is going on in the learner’s mind and therefore cannot customise their teaching to suit the learner’s needs.

Teaching the teacher

Training given to teaching ?

1 Teachers have not seen how practices such as questioning are practiced. 

2 This is because teacher education and training in India tends to be theoretical.

3  It is conducted in seminar-style and tends to be a one-way communication. 

4 There is little opportunity for practice provided to the participants. 

5 We must see teachers as learners too and provide them with an engaging learning environment with 

🍁70% practice and

🍁 30% theory so that training serves a 

two-fold purpose: teachers get trained, but also experience learner engagement for themselves.

Additionally, there is no one in school to support teachers

All of us need coaching and hand-holding to support us in adopting new behaviour. Even though teaching is a vital job, teachers do not get help.

Student engagement is the key to driving better learning

 but this is missing from many classrooms. Structured lessons, high quality teacher-student relationships, and student autonomy, i.e. allowing students choices in the classroom result in higher engagement and better learning outcomes. 

Simple changes in classroom techniques can positively impact the learning environment. 

In India, we have spent a few years discussing the Right to Education but this is a good time to shift the focus to the Right to Learning. Else, reading every ASER report will only lead to more disappointment.

Source the hindu