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Activity-based learning in India
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Activity-based learning, or ABL, describes a range of pedagogical approaches to teaching. Its core premises include the requirement that learning should be based on doing hands-on experiments and activities. The idea of activity-based learning is rooted in the notion that children are active learners rather than passive recipients of information. If the child is provided the opportunity to explore on their own and is provided with an optimum learning environment, then their learning becomes more joyful and long-lasting.
History of activity-based learning[edit]
Activity-based learning (ABL) started in 1944 amid World War II when a British man David Horsburgh, an innovative thinker and charismatic leader, came to India and decided to settle there.[1] He started teaching at Rishi Valley School. He joined the British Council and worked in Chennai and Bangalore for many years. After his retirement, he located a 7-acre (28,000 m2) site in Kolar District and opened a school, Neel Bagh. Neel Bagh was based on an innovative idea of Horsburgh's and is known for creative methods in teaching well-planned learning materials. With his wife Doreen and son Nicholas, Horsburgh developed a diverse curriculum that added music, carpentry, sewing, masonry, and gardening to the usual school subjects, English, mathematics, Sanskrit, and Telugu. These pedagogic materials were systematically planned, with sketches and drawings and an occasional touch of humor. Later Horsburgh created a magnificent library in Neel Baugh that was accessible to teachers and students. Horsburgh's initiative later proved to be a pioneering milestone in ABL. In modern times, the ABL method has been followed in Corporation schools of Chennai, India, since 2003, to provide special schools for children who had been freed from bonded labour.[2]
States and Organizations initiative on activity-based learning[edit]
Activity-Based Learning in its contemporary form was first undertaken on a trial basis in 2003 by the Chennai Corporation in 13 schools and has been adopted by all 270 primary schools in the district.
First designed and tested by the Rishi Valley School in Andhra Pradesh in the '90s, the Activity-Based Learning system has been implemented successfully in several Indian states and union territory, including Karnataka, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat,[3] Madhya Pradesh, Haryana,[4] Maharashtra,[5] and Chandigarh.[6] In Tamil Nadu, UNICEF supported the Chennai Corporation to introduce the ABL methods in the Government schools.
Many organisations cultivate and follow activity-based learning principles. Digantar Siksha evam Khelkud Samiti in Rajasthan, Sumavanam Village School in Andhra Pradesh, Walden's Path[7] in Telangana and Vikasana School in Karnataka are places established on principles of activity-based learning.[8] This approach started in 2010 as "Pragya" in Gujarat.
Many private organisations in India use activity-based learning to evoke curiosity in students. Some well-known ones are NumberNagar,[9] Kumon,[10] and Cuemath.[11] All of these organisations are present in multiple Indian states.
Philosophy[edit]
The ABL (Activity-Based Learning) philosophy has its roots in the idea that learning is best accomplished when it is initiated by the surrounding environment and motivated by optimal learning opportunities.A fearless environment and freedom to express always add to the learning outcomes. It also helps students to express and embrace their curiosity. Once the students become curious, they tend to explore and learn by themselves.
Impact on India[edit]
In Activity-Based learning, education takes a child-centered approach. It develops self-learning skills among learners and lets children study according to their skills. Activities may take the form of songs, drawings, rhymes, or role-play to teach a letter or a word, solve mathematical problems, form sentences, or understand social or physical sciences. The learner is given a report card only after completing all the steps in a subject. If a child misses even a single day, he starts from where he left off, unlike in the old system where the child had to self-learn missed portions.
ABL serves as a model of child-centered, child-friendly education, which is the mandate of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act (RTE) Act in India.
The Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Scheme by Government has introduced many initiatives and creative methods to bring about changes in teaching methods for both teachers and learners. In Tamil Nadu, the elementary schools have taken the initiative to use a methodology called Activity Based Learning through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.
Characteristics of activity-based learning[edit]
The key feature of the ABL method is that it uses child-friendly educational aids to foster self-learning and lets a child study according to his/her aptitude and skill. Under the system, the curriculum is divided into small units, each a group of Self Learning Materials (SLM) comprising attractively-designed study cards for English, Tamil, maths, science and Social Science. When a child finishes a group of cards, he completes one "milestone".
Activities in each milestone include games, rhymes, drawing, and songs to teach a letter or a word, form a sentence, do maths and science, or understand a concept. The child takes up an exam card only after completing all of a subject's milestones. On a common chart, milestones are arranged in the form of a ladder and the child knows exactly which milestone he completed in the last lesson. This is a child-friendly way to evaluate and reinforce learning.[12] If a child is absent one day, he/she continues from where he/she left off, unlike in the old system where the children had to learn on their own what they missed out on.[13]
Activity-based learning is closely related to Experiential Learning and Personalised Learning.
Blended Learning[edit]
Sometimes, a combination of working with physical objects (for example in a learning/experiential lab environment) along with learning with the help of technology is used for the overall development of children. In such cases, the technology can be used as an enabler or as a learning reinforcement tool. This learning methodology is called Blended Learning. Blended Learning can also use machine learning and other such technologies to implement adaptive learning.
References[edit]
- ↑ "Where mind is without fear". The Hindu. Chennai, India. 11 January 2004. Archived from the original on 22 January 2004.
- ↑ Dr. Anandalakshmi. "A Report on ABL" (PDF). SSA. pp. 1–8.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "Haryana launches activity-based learning programme in government schools : News". Indiatoday.intoday.in. 2014-02-06. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
- ↑ "Activity based learning to be introduced in 200 more schools - Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. 2014-07-08. Retrieved 2016-12-03.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-09-04. Retrieved 2014-08-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "Learning in every corner". Teacher Plus (January 2016). 4 January 2016. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
- ↑ "Alternative Education in India".
- ↑ NumberNagar. "Times Group's Brand Capital and Bengaluru-based NumberNagar® Enter Into a Strategic Partnership; Times Group Acquires Strategic Stake". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
- ↑ Kumon. "Kumon Program Math Completer to Follow in Parents' Footsteps". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
- ↑ Vignesh, J. (2016-08-04). "Startups are using newer methods like videos and puzzles to teach mathematics". The Economic Times. Retrieved 2020-02-08.
- ↑ "Children enjoy learning in Activity Based Learning Schools". unicef.in.
- ↑ "Activity based learning- A radical change in Primary Education". unicef.in. UNICEF.