Author: Soham Dighe

Date and Time  : 04-06-2020, 10:00 am – 11:00 am

• At the beginning of the session, Megha explained the importance of Mathematics in our daily life. She emphasized that students like games and stories much. So if we teach them Mathematics through games and stories then it will be easy for them to understand the Maths and they will also enjoy it. In this webinar, she tried to highlight the advantages of teaching Mathematics through games and stories.
• While sharing her experience of Mathematics teaching she said that children often don’t understand that Multiplication is the process of using repeated addition. She also explained how she removed some students’ confusion about the expansion formula (a+b)².
• She explained the Pythagorean Theorem using a farmer’s story and said that if we teach students Maths by giving examples then it will be easy for them to understand & remember the concepts.
• She also said that students learn the area of the circle in school. But they don’t understand why the area of the circle is ∏r². She explained why the area of the circle is (pi)r²  using the story of Beckmann.

Views shared by other participants:

• Satyavati ma’am said that in Mathematics too we should allow children to do experiments and discussion should happen based on the experiences they gain through their experiments. Only Maths teaching aids/kits are not important but teachers’ interaction with students is crucial for better learning.
• Shaila Thakur ma’am said that Mathematics will be easy for students once they understand how formulae are formed/derived. She also said that in the workshop organized by HBCSE we learned that we should give an opportunity to students to make the formulae. When we give students formulae directly then they forget those formulae after some time. And unable to solve examples. But when they make/form formulas on their own, that experience of self-creation makes students happy. Whatever teaching strategies we learned in the HBCSE workshop, we have implemented in our school and we found those strategies very useful.
• Aaloka praised Megha’s idea of bringing Maths through games and stories. Adding to this she said that even traditional stories also contain Mathematics. Maths in the folk tales are quite interesting. We should try to bring mathematics of the folk tales and games in the classroom while teaching Maths. Teaching Maths through games and stories all such things will work only when teachers and students will create a subject in the class by interacting with each other. So the culture of discussing the subject is important. Teaching through games and stories will enhance this culture of discussion.
• Mayuri said that, while teaching Maths when teachers give different daily life examples to students then it helps students to understand the concepts in a better way.
• Vadodkar sir said that stories shared by Megha in this webinar for teaching different concepts in Maths would be useful for students.
• Namdeo Chavan sir said that students learn Maths easily when we give them the opportunity to do things on their own. 

Report prepared by: Mayuri Pawar & Pranav Khot.

Date and Time  : 31-05-2020, 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Facilitator : Shaila Thakur (Chikhle Ashram School, Chikhle, Panvel)

Title of the talk was उपलब्ध साहित्यातून गणित अध्ययन आणि अध्यापन which translates as ‘teaching and learning mathematics through available (teaching learning) material’. In this talk she described how she uses different TLM to teach different concepts of mathematics.She argued that if we make math teaching joyful with help of TLM then students show interest in learning math.She underlines the fact that most of the times teachers are unaware about use and making of TLM and because of that students do not get a chance to learn math with help of TLM. Then she is describing how one can use available material as a TLM. And how her students started liking the Mathematics subject because of TLM. Below is the list and description of the material she showed in her presentation:

1. Multipurpose frame: This activity was originally Design and technology activity. Which was taught to teachers during a workshop at HBCSE. The teacher extended that activity to math. She is using that activity to teach concepts of square numbers, prime numbers, triangular numbers, formulas of algebra and geometry.
2. Geoboard: Teachers learnt to use geoboard for understanding concept of area. They also made a geoboard for their schools and took it with them. Shaila ma’am explained how she uses that board with her students. She mentioned how this TLM is robust and can be used many times and many students can handle that. And how this TLM can be used for students of multiple gradesShe mentioned the concepts angles and type of angles, types of triangle, finding area and perimeter, and graphs. Here she extended the use of TLM, at HBCSE she learnt about finding areas with help of Geoboard. But then she extended its use for other mathematical concepts too.
3. 3-D Shapes: Here she explained how she uses different different things used in day to day life to teach 3 D objects which is one topic in 6th std. For eg. using matchbox for cuboid, using joker cap for cone etc. She also added how to make shapes which are not much common with the help of Youtube videos. She argued how students learn more by handling those shapes instead of just reading about them in textbooks. She mentioned some activities like counting surfaces, edges and vertices of shape, calculating volume and area of shape etc.
4. Number cards (अंक कार्ड): Here she showed number cards made of cardboard (single digit numbers). She added how any teacher can make these cards and how one does not require any artistic skill to do so. Even students can make them using an old calendar. These cards can be used for the activity of making different numbers, writing those numbers, writing expanded forms of those numbers, identifying position of numbers, etc. Also students can play these types of games within themselves. She added how this TLM is very low cost to make.
5. Different types of boxes: Here she showed different boxes of different sizes (box of colgate, medicine, etc). She uses these boxes for teaching measuring length, breadth of box to 5th grade students. She mentioned how this can also be useful for 7th grade students. She also told how her students collect different boxes for measuring activity.
6. Number cards (संख्या कार्ड): These cards are structure wise similar to number cards mentioned above but the difference here is these cards have multi digit numbers on them. These cards can be used for activities like identifying a number, writing it in words, addition and subtraction of numbers, arranging them according to increasing and decreasing order.
7. Matchsticks: She mentioned activities which she learnt in a workshop at HBCSE with use of match sticks. She added how she uses those match sticks for more activities like making shapes and calculating their area and perimeter. She also used those matchsticks to make puzzles which were shown to teachers during a workshop at HBCSE under the topic ‘Introduction to algebra’.
8. Clock: Here she showed a clock made of cardboard, but in her talk she also mentioned the usual clock. This TLM can be used to learn time and also angles.
9. Currency notes: She mentioned how currency notes are favorite things of many people and how currency notes made in classrooms using cardboard or paper can be used for the concept of addition, subtraction, multiplication, division and proportion. She also mentioned even if one student doesn’t understand the concept of addition or other operations does maths with notes. She also says how this can be made easily with sketch pens, paper etc.
10. Tangram: Shaila ma’am mentioned how she learnt tangrams at HBCSE and how they are exploring more activities with the help of tangrams. She mentioned finding area and perimeter. And how that can be a good activity for students.

After presenting the session was open for discussion. Where few teachers from Pen ashram school mentioned how useful these activities will be for them and their students. Some teachers of the SSRD project asked to share the slides with them in the comment section. One of the teachers (who works in govt. Ashram school) mentioned about Ganit Peti (Mathematics box) which contains TLM and which they received from the government then Shaila ma’am told everyone how aided ashram schools do not receive something like this.

Then people from HBCSE added their comments. All people liked how Shaila ma’am presented the topic and how she invented new activities through Teaching learning materials. Aaloka suggested how tangrams can be extended to the activity of ratio and proportion. Sugra ma’am asked Shaila ma’am if possible then to share videos which she has recorded of students doing activities with help of these TLMs.

Report prepared by: Mr. Sushant Pawar.

Date and Time  : 24-05-2020, 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Facilitator: Dr.Satyawati Rawool and Dr. Narendra Deshmukh.

Focus of the webinar: Role of teachers or facilitators in evolving among the students the culture of inquiry.

• Satyavati ma’am explained that enquiry begins when a person starts observing, sensing, feeling discrepancies, wondering about experiences and starts questioning. She explained this by giving a few examples.
• SR also explained the steps of developing answers of enquiry, which included prediction, forming hypothesis, mental experimentation using systems approach, construct understanding, etc. She mentioned that to implement inquiry approach teachers should create a free classroom environment where students can ask questions fearlessly and put their views. Teachers should look after that there would not be any stress on students’ minds.
• Deshmukh sir shared following reference sites related with this:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inquiry-based_learning

https://www.nextgenscience.org/

• Prakash sir said that Inquiry-based approach is good. Considering the practical problems of teachers, it’s not good to blame teachers if they are unable to use inquiry-based approach. In school, they have many responsibilities other than teaching too. Like, they need to complete the syllabus at a definite time.
• Deshmukh sir requested participant teachers that try to teach to their students using an inquiry-based approach. For this, follow the steps of developing answers of inquiry shared by Satyavati ma’am in today’s webinar.

Report prepared by: Mayuri Pawar & Pranav Khot.

Date and Time  : 23-05-2020, 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Facilitator: Prakash Nawale (PKN)

• Prakash sir started with the famous quote of Margaret Mead that, “Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.”
• By giving different examples [Like, change in the state of the wax, heat, and change in the state of the objects, different things in our surrounding (birds, insects, plants) and things in our houses (ceiling fan, table fan etc,.), puzzle]  he discussed how we can encourage students to observe the things around them carefully and think over it.
• Shashikala madam (an Ashram schoolteacher) mentioned that due to network issue she couldn’t able to attend the entire webinar. But whatever part of the webinar she attended, she felt it more useful and informative.
• Purna ma’am (an Ashram schoolteacher) shared an experience. One of the girls studying in her class identified that the shopkeeper in the rationing shop in her area was selling some different lentils under the name of chickpea lentils. The girl mentioned that, she identified this just because of the trick of identifying the adulteration in the lentils, which Purna madam told in the class.
• Purna ma’am also mentioned that when she was in school, her teachers used to ask the students to observe the things around them. And used to ask questions to them, like, why sky is blue in colour?, why birds fly in particular pattern?, etc,.
• Jyotsna madam (a teacher of NVM) added that, children should become habitual of observing the things around them. And, as a teacher we must try to keep continuity in children’s observation skill.
• ST also shared her experience, which indicates that observations of children sometimes help adults also to know different things. She told that one of her students once showed her, how sometimes broken vermicelli noodles added to the basmati rice to increase the quantity.
• VCS said that the questions shown by PKN in his presentation is challenging for teachers too.
• Purna ma’am said that we would try to find out the answers of these questions. She also requested PKN to give them answers of these questions, if they won’t able to get the correct answers. And PKN agreed to this.
• NDD suggested teachers to share their answers on the what’s app group. He said that the thinking process should start with observation. So, now we should think about how we can use the observations of students in science education.

Report prepared by: Ms. Mayuri Pawar.

Date and Time  : 21-05-2020, 10:00 am – 11:00 am

Facilitator: Dr. Sandhya Thakur (ST)

• ST started the meeting with a discussion about what will be the situation after the corona pandemic.
• She mentioned that if we won’t able to keep the children of age 8-9 years in the education stream after the lockdown ends, then there are chances that they can get disconnected from the education forever. And,  even a few of them may go on the wrong path.
• As a teacher, it is our responsibility to keep them on the path of education continuously even after lockdown ends. The corona pandemic has not only influenced our health but also affected our education system. In addition, it has raised the question of people’s employment.
• So to keep the continuity in the education of children now everyone is thinking about the option of online education and digital learning.
• However, today’s session is about the education of those students who do not have the option of online education. Like, Students learning in government and municipality schools, Ashram school students. It is not good at all if these students will remain deprived of education or get low-quality education just because they do not have access of smartphones or computers to take digital education.
• ST encouraged all the teachers by saying, “Let’s try to create learning opportunities for these students at their place. We should make efforts such that wherever these students are, they can learn there.”
• She mentioned that 15% of rural households have internet access in India. Also, India has only 69.3 million DTH subscribers. Many rural children, students in Ashram schools do not have internet facilities. So, instead of considering the lack of internet facilities as a disadvantage, it should become a blessing for these students. So, let us try to give student-center education. Let us consider COVID-19, a golden opportunity to come up with creative ways of imparting education to children from rural and lower-income families.
• She requested teachers to give an opportunity to the students to do experiments and activities. They will perform experiments, activities first, and then will learn the concepts.
• Students won’t able to come to schools immediately after lockdown ends. So, till that time we should give them some activities which they can do in their homes.

Following is the list of activities/project ideas suggested by ST for students to do at home:

1. Students can be asked to classify the different things in their homes.
2. Students can be asked to measure different things in their houses and keep a record of these measurements.
3. Students can list down the things bought at home and keep account of monthly expenditure.
4. Students can categorize things at home as per the frequency of use-monthly, weekly, daily, annually.
5. Students can be asked to observe how their parents prepare meals and which ingredients they used in the food. And they will note down the time required to prepare the food.
6. Students can be asked to note down how many times they sweep their house and what does this collected trash contain.
7. Students can put some marks on their nails using nail polish and can observe the growth of their nails, the time taken for the growth.

After discussing many such activities, ST had given time to teachers to share their views on this:

• Shashikala madam ( ashram school teacher) said that she wasn’t aware that there are too many things we have in our houses to classify.
• Satyawati ma’am said that students sometimes do not like to write much. So, if we provide them the record books then it will be better. Also, students will not perform all these activities on their own. So, these are family activities. So, parents must encourage their children to discuss these things with them.
• Sharmila ma’am suggested the activity of seed germination. She also mentioned another activity in which students will observe the leaves of different plants and note down the differences in them.
• Sugra ma’am suggested that students can be asked to make things such as rain gauge, clock, etc. Because making different things is entertaining for students.
• One of the YCMOU student teachers suggested that we could try to give education to these students with the help of a radio receiver.
• Purna ma’am shared that we can give students activities based on ‘measurement and capacity’ through what’s app. She told that she had given her students one activity in which students had completed the picture by sticking various types of grams. She also mentioned that few students had sent the information of different medicinal plants available in their surroundings on what’s app. Purna ma’am also told her students to draw a tree diagram of their relatives.
• Mayuri mentioned that ‘There is science everywhere in life.’ So, if we encourage students to observe the things around them carefully and keep notes of them. Then these experiences and observations can later help them to understand the different concepts in science in a better way.
• NDD mentioned that we will make a list of all these activities discussed here and share with all as teachers are sharing good experiences, ideas, and concepts.
• ST mentioned that we must try that the thinking process of these students won’t break.
• Sumangla Khamankar madam said that she is not in contact with village children. But she would like to help to keep these children in the education stream. She also suggested the activity of studying the pitch of the sound by changing the volume of water in the glass.

Report prepared by: Ms. Mayuri Pawar.

Date and Time  : 08-05-2020, 11:15 am – 12:45 pm

Co-ordinators : Mayuri S. Pawar

The objectives of the seminar were:

1. To describe the role of the science centre in making science easy and interesting for school students.
2. To provide comprehensive coverage of activities and models at Nehru Science Centre
3. To discuss about Mini science centres

The points discussed in the seminar are as follows:

• Why children should visit Nehru science centre?
  • It provides excellent learning opportunities for students. It has various activities and models, which gives students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience.
  • Helps you to clear your concepts. Here Ms. Mayuri gave a popular example of an energy model. This model demonstrates how energy is converted from one form to another. Another example she gave was a model of the brain and senses. It explains different types of senses and in which part of the brain these are located. Thus, science centers have a special place in school education.
    
• The work of the Nehru Science Centre
  • The Centre has attractive interactive models on Sound, Light, climate change.
  • It organizes various events, talks, workshops, and competitions to increase interest and curiosity in science and technology. E.g. Sunita Williams talks Science quiz competition.
  • Introduction to current events by celebrating special days.
  • Provides facilities and opportunities for teachers and students to work on their new ideas and projects.
  • Organizes teachers training program
    
• Galleries in Nehru Science Centre
  Ms. Mayuri discussed the following five galleries in detail:
  
  1. Sound and Hearing:
     She first explained the nature of sound and how it travels using an example of a slinky. As waves move, the energy that was introduced in the first coil moves from one location to another. Sound needs a medium to travel. If there is no medium, then the sound wave can’t travel. Later, she discussed how virtual harp and floor piano are played.
     
  2. Light and sight:
     When explaining this gallery, Ms. Mayuri discussed four interesting exhibits: “Is light visible?”, “Light and Heat”, “Frozen shadow” and “Light Island”. The exhibit “Is light Visible” demonstrates that we inherently can’t see light. What we see is the light reflected from the object. The second exhibit “Light and heat” shows how color change is caused by heat. In the exhibit of frozen shadow, the flashlight casts a shadow on the special screen. After a few seconds, the flashlight goes off and the shadow remains frozen on the screen for some time.
     
  3. Science for children:
     In this section, there are various interactive exhibits with scientific explanations for children. E.g. Nail seat, rod with the hot and cold end.
     
  4. Our technology heritage:
     The exhibits in this gallery were related to ancient surgical instruments, Indian craft, architecture, etc.
     
  5. Prehistoric life:
     Exhibits include prehistoric animals that existed on earth before humans in chronological order.
     
• Other shows in the Nehru Science Centre:
  
  • Science on the sphere:
    It is a dynamic spherical projection that explains the complex environmental processes.
    
  • Science shows:
    Exciting interactive demonstrations are done.
    
  • 3D shows:
    It gives you a thrilling experience.
    
  • Science Odyssey:
    Things are projected on a dome-shaped screen.
    
  • I am a Mother:
    It’s a human anatomy show. Helps you learn about human anatomy as the different internal organs in a life-size transparent glass model of a human body light up.
    
• About Mini Science Centre:
  It is a very educative and innovative system. It helps students to raise awareness, grasp the information & strengthen the aptitude foundation of children.
  
• Question and Answer session:
  Participants discussed their earlier experience visiting science centers and how they can build mini science centers in their schools.

Report prepared by: Megha Chougule

Date and Time  : 08-05-2020, 11:00 am – 12:00 noon

Co-ordinators : Vinod Sonawane.

Webinar attended by: NVM & Pen Ashram schools teachers

• VCS had discussed the following topics in this webinar. Few are listed here
  Magnetic & non-magnetic material, History of Magnet, characteristics of a magnet, attractive and repulsive properties of the magnet, the strength of the magnet, induced magnetism, electromagnet, magnet keeper, use of electromagnet, magnetic lines of force, etc.
  
• One of the teachers asked what would happen if the repulsive property of a magnet is used to run vehicles?
  • While answering this question Deokar sir (HM of NVM) said that due to attraction between magnets vehicles will stick to each other.
  • PK also replied that the magnet fixed in the vehicle could also affect other parts of the vehicle made with magnetic materials.
  • VCS told that big magnets used to run the vehicles would make them heavy.
    
• Purna ma’am said she had shown the activity of magnetic lines of force demonstrated in the workshop conducted by HBCSE in her school. And it has helped students to understand the concepts better.
  
• One of the teachers asked about the concept of induced magnetism. MP answered this by saying; magnetism acquired by a magnetic material when it is kept near a magnet is called induced magnetism.
  
• Another question asked by Purna ma’am on which discussion took place was, what happen if bar magnet is hang outside the earth atmosphere or in space?

Report prepared by Ms. Mayuri Pawar.

Date and Time  : 06-05-2020, 05:00 – 06:00 pm

Co-ordinators : Narendra Deshmukh

In this meeting discussion on  worksheets which were submitted by teachers (which arundhati displayed on a webinar page for everyone’s convenience)  took place.

1. Teachers explained their worksheets, the aim of their worksheets. HBCSE members also shared their views and suggestions about these worksheets.
2. Shashikala Birajdar ma’am shared a worksheet of identifying tenses in the Marathi language. Sonawane Ji suggested she make multiple worksheets and distribute the content of a single worksheet in those small worksheets.
3. Shaila Thakur ma’am shared her worksheet on a topic related to plants. The same teacher also shared photos of her activity of using design and technology for mathematics.
4. Poorna Patil ma’am shared her worksheet on geometric construction. She also shared her worksheet on magnetic fields after this meeting.

At the end of the meeting teachers asked for worksheets of different topics of Maths and Science made by HBCSE people so they can use them for teaching purposes.

Report prepared by: Mr. Sushant Pawar.

Date and Time  : 24-04-2020, 10:00 – 11:00 pm

Co-ordinators : Narendra Deshmukh

Following points were discussed by Dr. Deshmukh in this webinar:

• In teaching, it is important to understand learners and their learning environment.
• Worksheets are one of the teaching recourses which can motivate students to learn without the teacher’s assistance.   
• While designing worksheets we should keep in mind that learning is an active process. Students’ prior experiences shape learning. So, generally, teachers should first bring prior experience to students’ awareness and then introduce new experiences.
• During the process of learning, the teacher plays a crucial role in making connections between prior knowledge and newly introduced concepts. So, worksheets should also have this element.
• Worksheets can be used to convey ideas precisely and effectively. Worksheets can be used to make students think and motivate them to learn on their own. And they can also be used as an evaluation tool. 
• Before designing teachers should have a clear idea about the purpose of the worksheet.
  • Worksheets should be engaging, enjoyable, and should promote students’ curiosity.
  • Sentences used should be short. Language used in worksheet should not be too formal. Diagrams should be used at appropriate places.
  • There should be enough space for students to write.

Report prepared by: Ms. Megha Chougule.

Date and Time  : 27-04-2020, 10:00 – 11:00 pm

Co-ordinators : Narendra Deshmukh

General topics covered in this webinar  meeting were:

1. What is the state of Covid 19 in their area?
2. Are they connected with their students? If yes then what kind of activities they are doing with students?
3. What kind of activities have they done with their students which they practiced/ learned in HBCSE?

To which teachers responded as:

1. They said Covid 19 situation is not very serious in their region.
2. Some of them are connected with their students via WhatsApp and some of them are not. Those who are connected with their students also added the point in which they said many of their students/parents don’t have WhatsApp which’s why it is difficult to connect with students.
3. Teachers said they have used many activities which they learned/ practiced in HBCSE few of them are as follows:
   • They prepared worksheets for different topics of the syllabus and gave those to students for solving.
   • Using worksheets seems useful to them since students were showing interest in difficult subjects like maths.
   • They have been asked to share their worksheets on WhatsApp group so other teachers can also use them for their teaching. (which some of them did before the second meeting and they were discussed during the meeting).
   • One teacher said his school didn’t have a science lab. Lab material was shelved. He set up the lab with help of other teachers and students were visiting labs regularly.
   • One teacher mentioned that because of teaching-learning material students are showing interest in learning mathematics. She used matchsticks for the area and perimeter activities. She used to design and technology activities for teaching mathematics (images are attached to that activity). Further, she also added that because of the change in teaching methods her students now love mathematics, when there are options students always give preference to mathematics period over other subjects.
   • Some of the teachers are busy with some surveys and some of them are busy with training of the “ Diksha app” ( government app for teachers).
   • At the end of the meeting, teachers said they will share their worksheets before the second meeting.

Report prepared by: Mr. Sushant Pawar.