‘Broadstreaming, not Mainstreaming’ – An Approach towards Solutions for Inclusive Development was delivered at XLRI, Jamshedpur as inaugural address in the conference on ‘Solutions to Inclusive Development’ on January 29, 2010.
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Broadstreaming, Not Mainstreaming
(Excerpt from the book Creative Learning by Vijoy Prakash)
Dining time is another great occasion for learning. Dining together in a family situation is helpful not only in binding the family together, it helps in understanding likes and dislikes of family members also. It is also useful in effecting emotional closeness among family members.
Traditionally, mother and grandmother used to remain present during dining time of the children and other persons, even if they were not dining themselves. This was helpful in showing concern for the family members.
Dining time interactions can be an extremely useful period for learning. This period could be used for
• Learning the experiences of the children during the day in the school and outside.
• Telling the experience of parents during the day.
• Telling the history of the family and the village.
• Discussion on the problems encountered during the day by different members of the family and possible solutions thereof
• Story/puzzle/jokes telling session by children/parents
• Discussion on any news items or important events of the day.
There are many games you play in your due course of activities. But have you ever thought about learning with games?
For example, there are many children love playing cricket.
Is it possible to learn from Cricket? Let us see…
In this game learners are divided into two groups. One group asks questions whereas the other group is supposed to tell the answer. As in cricket the baller is given chance to ask 6 questions in a row. Rules have been framed for getting boundaries and sixes based on the complexities of the problem and nature of answer.
Learning Science
In this game learners are divided into two groups. One group asks questions whereas the other group is supposed to tell the answer. As in cricket the baller is given chance to ask 6 questions in a row. Rules have been framed for getting boundaries and sixes based on the complexities of the problem and nature of answer. Children enjoy the game and learn the lessons as well. Similarly, children play the game of puzzles as well as carrom. If we improvise the game for learning laws of motion, laws of friction, laws of reflection, chemical combinations etc. it would be much easier to understand.
It can also be used for developing imagination by asking learners to arrange the coins in different shapes and patterns and give them exciting names.
As floor games are quite popular among the village children, they can arrange lot of floor games to learn mathematics, grammar, science and social sciences. In fact, in all classrooms 10X10 squarish pattern can be drawn. In the corridor various patterns 3X3, 4X4, 5X5, 6X6, etc and other geometrical patterns can be displayed.
These activities are new to both teachers and learners, but can be an interesting session of learning.
When children do not get good grades in any subject or are not able to perform up to our expectation, we often chide and goad them to work harder in the subject. Is it the right way to assess and motivate the child?
Experiences at School of Creative Learning have shown that the issue of failure in the examination may be a product of various factors like physical ailment, emotional distraction or disturbance, lack of proper motivation, etc. However, even if there is no such problem a child may not do well in the examination due to different learning style or lack of proper mental competencies. For example, if the child is not doing well in mathematical competencies, one must also look whether the child is of different learning style than logical and/or is deficient in
If the child is really deficient in these competencies, the child should be asked to perform exercises to develop those competencies. For example, if the learner’s learning style is different, the teaching learning strategy has to be different. See A short note on Multiple intelligence and How to identify the Learning Style of Your Child for details. Further, if the child does not have good concentration, he should do exercises to develop it. Once concentration is developed, a bit of hard work may do wonders. Following chart may help in diagnosing the basic problems in a child. For appropriate solution consult Creative Learning Volunteers or write to us. The table here shows the reasons for poor performance in the following categories (You can click on them to take you to related matter directly):
There has been wide divergence among psychologists about the nature of role of intelligence in learning processes. Earlier intelligence quotient was taken be the real measure of one’s intelligence. But, now there is another development in the field of learning, which has far reaching implication for educational field. In 1983, Dr. Howard Gardner1, a psychologist and professor of education at Harvard University, suggested in his book, “Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences”, that there are several kinds of intelligences or multiple intelligences, which help people communicate, problem-solve and create. Multiple intelligences are different ways to demonstrate intellectual ability. These intelligences form the base for identification of the nature of learning process of a person.
Multiple intelligence and learning Styles
One of the important conclusions of the multiple intelligence theory is that every child has a unique learning style. Learning style means the method by which a person acquires and communicates knowledge.2 Once learning style is identified, it would be easier for us to select learning methods and materials child will enjoy using because it `fits’ with his or her way of learning. Continue reading A short note on the Theory of Multiple Intelligence