Issue of a learning deficit in India's education system, despite high enrollment rates.
India has been struggling with a learning deficit for years now.
And though there is more awareness about this thanks to Pratham’s annual surveys, little seems to have changed on the ground.
Attendance in public schools tends to be low, so despite children being enrolled in school, many of them don’t learn much.
This is largely because schools are unable to engage children.
Therefore, children and parents see little value in school.
Across classrooms, government school teachers attribute poor student learning outcomes to poor student attendance.
When students don’t show up, teachers lose their motivation.
Only 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.
Students learn when there is motivation to do so.
This happens when classrooms are meaningful and psychologically safe spaces.
However, in classrooms across India, the teacher focuses only on the few students who sit in the front rows.
The teacher writes questions and often even the answers on the blackboard.
The students spend most of their learning hours copying off the board while the teacher leaves the room to do “more important” work.
The teacher asks questions, but only a few children generally answer.
Otherwise, the class answers in a chorus.
The children repeat after the teacher in unison.
The teacher asks if everyone has understood and receives an enthusiastic ‘yes’ in response.
But this does not give a sense of how much the students have really learned.
This looks and sounds like active learning, but is not, because the children are not cognitively or emotionally engaged.
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.
Now imagine a classroom where the teacher calls upon every child randomly.
Every child is alert, curious, and attentive.
The students are allowed to discuss and solve problems with their peers and learn from one another.
Every child gets to touch, feel, and use the learning material — whether a maths manipulative, a book, or a science kit.
The teacher stays in the classroom while the children work and gives them feedback in real time.
The children cognitively engage with the topic.
There is a happy buzz of students taking ownership for their own learning.
This is student engagement and this is what makes the classroom a meaningful space for every learner.
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.
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