Preparing teachers who will light the way

Teachers are students till the end of time. Why? Because to teach is to learn twice over.  Apeejay School, Nerul always imparts the highest quality education to its students. And for that target, from time to time they also apprise their teachers with the latest trends in education and teaching.

The school recently held a two-day teacher orientation programme. The school prayer followed by a plenary session of meditation and om chanting rejuvenated all the educators. The session conducted by Kishanlal Arya helped teachers understand the intricacies of yoga better. This was succeeded by the introduction and welcome of newly acceded teachers by Vice Principal, Mrs Preeti Gupta. The new teachers were greeted with flower bouquets by Principal Shri P. Subhash.

In his inaugural address and session on effective communication Principal, Mr. P. Subhash touched upon G.B Shaw’s celebrated quote, ‘The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place’ and cited practical instances through videos to witness the chaos caused by ineffective instructions and messages. A relevant and innovative group activity was conducted to further illustrate the communication gap resulting from insufficient verbal and non-verbal cues.

The Principal asserted in his session that voice was an important factor of communication between teacher and student. He said, “Voice modulation is tuning the pitch or tone of voice so that the message is communicated across clearly. It instills confidence and improves presentation skills as well.” He then conducted an activity asking the teachers to read a particular sentence in a variety of voice pitch, tone and mode.

This was followed by a conclave on examination and assessments for primary teachers conducted by Ms. K.C. Vijayalekshmi, Ms.Sarasi Basu and Ms. Srirupa M. The same was also conducted for secondary and senior secondary teachers by Ms. Preety Gupta, Ms. Salamma Albert and Ms. Susan Thomas respectively. 

The agendas for this segment were the modules of syllabus, parameters of making an ideal question paper (in accordance with Bloom’s Taxonomy) correction of papers, marking and grading system, importance of making a blueprint for each question paper and abiding the due date of submitting the question paper by the concerned teachers.

This was followed by a session apprising all about the Apeejay Education Group and Apeejay School Nerul. Ms. Mrinalini Singh and Ms. K.C. Vijayalekshmi enlightened the newly joined contingent about Apeejay Stya Group established in 1967 by Dr. Stya Paul. Teachers were briefly informed about the cultural legacy of Dr Paul, an eminent industrialist, educationist and philanthropist, carrying a rich heritage over five decades by running 24 educational institutions across the country.

Ms. Singh highlighted that the prime objective of the Apeejay Education is to provide facilities for quality education and character building. Ms. Vijayalekshmi aptly added the motto of the society, ‘Soaring high is my nature’ is dedicated to pursue excellence. Post lunch break, the teachers and resource people congregated to attend the session on ‘Lesson plan’ by Principal Mr. P. Subhash and senior teachers, Ms. S. Albert and Ms Swagata Das.

The two veteran mentors reflected alternately the importance of lesson planning, tools and strategies for an effective lesson plan, maintaining high student engagement, establishing goals, creating learning outcomes and developing purposeful learning activities. Along with a detailed elaboration of all the key pointers of an ideal lesson plan, they were annexed and emphasized to include moral values and self assessment lessons in sync with the National Education Policy 2020.

At the outset of the second day of the Teachers’ Orientation Programme, Principal, Mr. P. Subhash recurred on the core elements to be imparted through education. The session was steered to develop a clear understanding of Blooms’ Taxonomy along with types of questions & competency based education. The discussion was inclusive of (Remember-Understand-Apply-Analyze-Evaluate-Create) the 6 level pyramid of Bloom’s Taxonomy to represent the hierarchy of cognitive skills and learning objectives. Mr Subash also highlighted that evaluating was no longer the highest level, instead synthesis represented the highest expression of learning.

It was followed by a meeting to discuss the Teachers’ Manual, considered as a teachers’ Bible in the Apeejay Education Group. It was followed by a class in-charges meeting, as they designed a welcoming class decoration on the re-opening day post summer vacation.