At Apeejay, teachers know the art of keeping students engaged in online learning’

Jyoti is a schoolteacher. She recently took a break from teaching to look after her newborn son. Her spouse, Gaurav Tyagi, is General Manager with Golden Tobie Limited. In an informal chat, Jyoti says the school is effectively addressing every child’s learning needs. Edited excerpts:

Why did you enrol Adhyah in Apeejay?
Being a teacher myself, I was extremely particular as to pick the best school for Adhyah. We did a thorough online research and found out that Apeejay is the best CBSE affiliated school. We also analysed the school’s ranking in various media publications, including The Times Of India, and found that Apeejay was ranked first in all of them. I also consulted one of my friends, who is a tutor, and she also strongly advised me to pick Apeejay. We lost no time and got Adhyah enrolled in Nursery.

How has Adhyah’s journey been till now?

After nearly two years with the school, I can happily state that Apeejay has exceeded all our expectations. However, we had our doubts in the beginning, as the pandemic forced the closure of all schools. We were not sure how effective online learning would be. Also, Adhyah has a vivacious personality and he can’t sit for long in a particular place. Kudos to both his class teachers, Nisha Ma’am in Nursery and Geetika Ma’am in KG, for making online classes fun and engaging through activity-based learning. As a result, his attention span has drastically improved. He can fluently read simple sentences and can effortlessly converse in English.  He also actively takes part in extracurricular activities.

Can you elaborate more on the activity-based learning propagated in Apeejay?

As opposed to asking kids to simply jot down notes, activity-based learning motivates students to ‘learn by doing’. It encourages children to be inquisitive, independent and kindles their curiosity. For example, while teaching about ‘community helpers’, Adhyah’s class teacher came dressed as a milkman, a police official, a doctor, etc to explain about people who work in the community for its overall well-being. That’ how you catch the attention of little ones in a virtual set up.  In another instance, students were taught about ‘climate’ through hands-on activities. They were asked to make clouds and rain droplets using cotton and blue buttons, respectively. The kids have learned about different seasons, water cycle, how earth rotates, etc through such interesting activities. The teachers know the art of keeping students engaged in online learning. In fact, I too have learned numerous tricks of the trade from them.

Tell us about the teacher-student relationship.

Teachers share an excellent rapport with students. They know every student inside out and that helps in effectively addressing every child’s learning needs. I have never seen them scolding or losing their temper. In fact, they have also asked me to think twice before lashing out at Adhyah as this can erode his mental well-being and self-esteem to a great extent. It could also make him cranky in the long run. Parents too share a strong bond with teachers as they are just a call or message away. They are like family to us.

Share with us your most memorable moment.

In Nursery, Adhyah was having some behavioural issues. When I informed Nisha Ma’am about the same she sent a video recording for Adhyah. In the video, she explained to Adhyah not to be cranky and always listen to your mother. Such was the impact of her message that Adhyah became more positive and obedient. That moment really touched me.