Introduction
The NCERT
(National Council of Educational Research and Training, New Delhi, India) is a
unique organization. Perhaps no other country has such an agency that keeps all
areas of school education and experts in different school subjects and in
disciplines of higher learning under one umbrella. The NCERT functions as an
advisory body to the Ministry of Human Resource Development in matters of
school education at all levels.
The basic
role envisaged for NCERT by the first Prime Minister was an organization that
would provide a scientific basis for thinking about education. Through its
pre-service and in-service courses, NCERT is committed to improve the quality
of teacher education in India. It also carries out, implements educational
policies of the Centre, and promotes educational research. Children's education
should be an exercise of reasoning to enable them to reflect on it. The NCERT
's role as a facilitating body was to be a clearinghouse of ideas in education.
It could bring people together, collaborate and cooperate with other
institutions for the betterment of education and empowerment of teachers and
teacher educators. This brief indicates that NCERT has a broad mandate and a
wide area for functioning.
Change?
The core
educational system of a country needs redirection from time to time in
accordance with social, cultural, economic and / or technological changes to
make the teacher and the classroom powerful instruments for social change.
Literacy is important in the development and democratization of societies.
National
Focus Groups
In the
drafting of the National Curriculum Framework 2005, twenty one national focus
groups were formed in all subjects, including those which had till recently
been relegated to the background. Some of them were: Art and music, Heritage
crafts, Educational technology, Systemic reforms, Environment education, Peace
education, and Rural education. It is worth emphasizing that schoolteachers
were members in all committees. NCF 2005 reflects a commitment to preserve the
secular character of education.
National
Curriculum Framework 2005
A curriculum
is never static; a curriculum has to be an enabling document. A curriculum is a
vision. Therefore, National Curriculum Framework 2005, having passed through
various bodies including the CABE, is an official document laying down the
needs of the school system of India envisioning the Constitution of India
upholding all its tenets.
Curriculum
debates of 1968, 1986, and 2000 provided a forum to interact with people and
the documents were prepared after much interaction. The 2005 document was
drafted after an analysis of inputs and deliberation with a large number of
organizations including NGOs and institutions of higher learning. The main
purpose of this exercise was to reduce the curriculum load, remove the
anomalies in the system and to create a consensus with the help of new syllabi
in the form of a thematically organized body of knowledge. The new syllabi mark
a sharp departure from existing practices in our country and others.
The Five
Basic Tenets of the National Curriculum Framework 2005 are:
1. Connecting knowledge to life outside
the school
2. Ensuring that learning shifts away
from rote methods
3. Enriching the curriculum so that it
goes beyond textbooks
4. Making examinations more flexible
and integrating them with classroom life, and
5. Murturing an overriding identity
informed by caring concerns within the democratic polity of the country.
Recommendations
In order
that education may be relevant to the present and future needs, NCF 2005
recommends that:
1. Subject boundaries be softened
leading to integrated knowledge and understanding
2. Textbooks and other material should
incorporate local knowledge and traditional skills
3. School should provide a stimulating
environment that responds to the child's home and community environment
Textbooks
While
textbooks continue to be produced, NCERT's concern was to provide affordable
books reflecting the change in thought, policy and social aspirations. The
Preamble to the Constitution of India was its mainstay. Students in different
classrooms require constant readjustment of methods and activities since every
teaching episode is a new and valuable experience. We have to integrate theory and
practice by making teaching a pleasurable experience for teachers and students
alike. The challenge to produce child friendly books required a new mindset,
within both the NCERT and outside. The educational visions of Gandhi and Tagore
point towards the linking of schools with work and nature.
In the light
of suggested curricular changes and the societal reactions the NCERT launched a
project to produce a new generation of textbooks that would be free from biases
of all kinds - caste, creed, sex, gender, deprived. It also required bringing
into them recent educational thinking, the policy of a democratic nation, its
concern for the rural, the challenged, and the marginalized.
As NCERT
Director Prof. Krishna Kumar says, we have to ask why India can meet global
standards in civil aviation, software and defence but not in its provision for
rural children.
Re-orientation
of Teachers
Research in
all aspects of children's education was NCERT's primary mandate. The
modernization of teacher training was its other given. Teachers should see the
child's talk as a resource rather than as a nuisance, the vicious cycle of
resistance and control would have a chance to be turned into a cycle of
expression and response. Opportunities for individualized reading need to be built
at all stages in order to promote a culture of reading, and teachers must set
the example of being members of such a culture. Just as the prematurely imposed
discipline of pronunciation stifles the child's motivation to talk freely, in
her own dialect, for instance, the demand for writing in mechanically correct
ways blocks the urge to use writing to express or to convey one's ideas.
Teacher
training had remained moribund and commercialization is the only change it is
going through. Orissa is the first state that has made provision for up linking
with EDUSAT for teleconferencing, ICT, and bringing technology in the
classroom. Starting with four schools in Koraput, sitting in their classrooms,
students and teachers can access satellite education facilities like curriculum
based teaching and training for teachers. Teacher education has to be on going
and on site.
Master
Trainers
Keeping
teacher training as high priority for the advocacy of NCF 2005, NCERT started
conducing 3 day training programmes in NCF for Master Trainers who were senior
teachers of Central School, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas and other prominent
schools in the country. Teachers were exposed to the new inputs and curricular
changes and how to go about handling the new textbooks. Besides face to face
interaction we also screened CDs - video and audio, to highlight the issues.
Teleconferencing
In yet
another move geared towards empowerment of teachers NCERT introduced a one-day
programme through the teleconferencing mode. This made available the highest
functionaries of the NCERT on the screen and was successful when the teachers
were convinced of the remarks made by them. Further, writers of textbooks
interacted directly with the teachers and were able to reply to most of their
queries, with relevant suggestions for teaching. Teleconferencing made NCERT
reachable from all corners of the country, from where any one could ask a
question to which a reply was assured. In Bhubaneswar itself, three such
centers are operational simultaneously at present.
With the
Master Trainers and the teachers thus trained, it is expected that they will
organize similar camps for others in their areas to spread the message of the
NCF 2005, to carry forward India to a brighter dawn of the next century. Both
these programmes have been continuing on a regular basis since June 2006.
The training
design will not be thrust on the states. It will be evolved through
consultation among stakeholders based on local specific needs. There is a need
for identification of performance indicators for teacher educators at different
levels.
Syllabus and
Curriculum
For a long
time the system of education has functioned in a state of confusion over the
relationship between the curriculum, the syllabus and textbooks. This linkage
has been taken seriously, and established on sound academic ground in NCF 2005
and in a democratic atmosphere since the NCERT showed all its cards on its
website where stakeholders in education freely commented and suggested changes:
people and parents, activists and professionals, students and teachers, from
all walks of life.
Then and Now
Teachers
have to be mentally prepared for running activity centred classrooms. The mode
of transaction of curricular materials is also important. Not only should new
knowledge be useful, it is noteworthy how it is transacted so that it reaches
the learners in the easiest and best way possible. Earlier children had rarely
any opportunity to spare for hands-on experience The Constructivist approach to
learning has made its foray in 2005, after many years of waiting into becoming
a reality. Every child is the creator of his own universe, his own learning. In
this context, the NCF 2005 and its textbooks offer new transactional
strategies, requiring greater student involvement. This collective involvement
of students, teachers, textbooks, mode of transaction and related material will
help us build a school for future generations who can proudly enroll their
children in government schools.
Centrality
of Language
The
importance of language in the life of any human being needs no emphasis.
Language plays a very important role in the all round development of a child.
It shapes the child's world, gives him / her means of expressing himself /
herself, contributes to his / her emotional growth, besides academic and all
other aspects of life.
India - A
Linguistic Giant
Our language
scenario has tempted researchers to call India variously as a
"sociolinguistic area" "a linguistic giant" and a
"language laboratory". The multilingual and pluricultural nature of
our society makes it clear that we need more than one language for 'national
cohesion', 'cultural integration' and 'social area mobility'. Different
languages have different roles to play; they are complementary. The imagery of
'salad bowl' is appropriate: each language has its characteristic features and
contributes to the richness of the overall pattern.
India is a
country in which the Indo European family of languages is spoken mostly in
north and central India. Of this group, 54 languages constitute 3/4 of the
Indian population. About 1/4 of languages i.e. 20 belong to South India of
Dravidian family. In Assam 20 languages are spoken. In northeast India 98
languages are spoken, even though its population density is much less than that
of other states of the country. In total therefore, in the NE 118 languages are
spoken. In this context, the role of Hindi and English becomes very important.
In spite of all this diversity, it is to be acknowledged that Indian languages
have been gaining through tourists, media, print and electronic, and other
sources.
Therefore,
what should a language teacher or a teacher of any other subject know about the
language he/she is teaching in? Obviously, that the teacher has to be fluent in
the language being used and can handle it with ease. The teacher has to be
effective and economical given our limited time and facilities.
NCF 2005
Gives a Fresh Impetus to Language Education:
1. A renewed attempt should be made to
implement the three language formula.
2. Children's mother tongues, including
tribal languages should be considered as the best medium of instruction.
3. Proficiency in multiple languages
including English should be encouraged in children.
4. Reading should be emphasized
throughout the primary classes.
Culture and
language are intermingled. NCF 2005 advocates an interdisciplinary approach.
However, teachers of different subjects do not discuss these matters. Language
can relate all the subjects, as it is the heart of education so is the heart of
children. Centrality of language, and achieving it would be a great milestone.
The
three-language formula is an attempt to address the challenges and opportunities
of the linguistic situation in India. The primary aim of the formula is to
promote multilingualism and national harmony.
Home
Language/ First Language/ Regional Language / Mother Tongue
Primary
school education must be covered through the home language(s). It is imperative
that we honour the child's home language(s). According to Article 350A of our
Constitution, 'It shall be the endeavour of every State and of every local
authority within the State to provide adequate facilities for instruction in
the mother tongue at the primary stage of education to children belonging to
linguistic minority groups." In the non-Hindi speaking states, children
learn Hindi. In the case of Hindi speaking states, children learn a language
not spoken in their area. Sanskrit may also be studied as a modern Indian
language in addition to these languages.
Care must be
taken to honour and respect the child's home languages / mother tongues. At the
primary stage, child's language(s) must be accepted as they are, with no
attempt to correct them. It is known that errors are a necessary part of the
process of learning and that children will correct themselves only when they
are ready to. We have to spend time by providing children comprehensible,
interesting and challenging inputs.
While
children come to school equipped with basic interpersonal communicative skills,
they need to acquire cognitively advanced levels of language proficiency. In
addition, higher-level proficiency skills easily transfer from one language to
another. It is thus imperative that we do everything we can to strengthen the
sustained learning of Indian languages at school.
The goals
for second language curriculum are two fold: attainment of a basic proficiency
such as is acquired in natural language learning and the development of
language into an instrument for abstract thought and knowledge acquisition
through literacy Improving linguistic skills in one language improves it in
others, while reading failure in one's own languages adversely affects second
language reading. Other Indian languages need to be valorized to reduce the
perceived hegemony of English.
Home
Language and School / Standard Language
A child
acquires his / her home language, naturally through larger kinship groups,
street and neighbourhood and societal environment. Children are born with an
innate language facility, and research has shown that Indians have a flair for
languages. (domestic help, multilingual beggars, tsunami spoilers, spelling
bees, scrabble)They internalize an extremely complex system of language before
they come to school. They come armed with 2/3 languages of which we do not make
use, we do not exploit them.
Languages
provide a bank of memories and symbols inherited from fellow speakers and
created in their own lifetime. It is a medium through which knowledge is
constructed. Language is identity. Let us first recognize this inbuilt language
potential of our children as well as remember that languages get socio
culturally constructed and change our daily lives.
There is a
difference between dialect and language. Similarly, the language spoken at home
is different from the one spoken in the school, which is usually the standard
language, though there is much give and take between the two. For instance,
standard Hindi has been derived from Khari Boli. Sometimes, the converse is
also true, Avadhi, Brij, Maithili, Bhojpuri were fully developed languages
once, now they are dialects. Whenever the child enters the school in his / her
locality it is assumed that his/her first language, or mother tongue is the one
spoken in the school, which may not always be true. Therefore, the child is
educated in the standard form of the language. In such a situation the child is
placed in a dilemma as to which language is to be used or which one is correct.
At home, e.g., the student may use Brij, but in the school he / she learns
standard Hindi, which is different. Other subjects taught through the medium of
Hindi also use its standard form.
A creative
language teacher must use multilingualism, a typical feature of the Indian
linguistic landscape, as a classroom strategy and a goal. This is also a way of
ensuring that every child feels secure and accepted, and that no one is left
behind on account of his / her linguistic background. Language subsumes
multilingualism / bilingualism. Multilingualism - where each language is
assigned its own distinctive societal functions - may be the wave of the
future. The Constitution of India perceives multilingualism as a resource. We
should talk about medium of education instead of medium of instruction. The
need is to explore the role of language in education and the role of language
in a child's life, since language is not content, but language gives life to
content. Studies have shown that bilingual or multilingual people are capable
of greater cognitive flexibility and creativity, and perform better
academically than monolinguals. Polyglots may be polymaths as well. Perhaps it
is the ability to switch codes that comes from knowing more than one language.
Bilingualism / multilingualism confer definite cognitive advantages.
Languages
would ideally build on this resource, and would strive it through the
development of literacy scripts including Braille for the acquisition of
academic knowledge. Children with language-related impairments might be
introduced to standard sign languages, which can support their continued growth
and development to the fullest.
Studying
sign language and Braille could be included as options for learners without
disabilities.
Stories,
poems, songs and drama link children to their cultural heritage and give them
an opportunity to understand their own experiences and to develop sensitivity
to others. Fantasy and mystery play an important role in a child's development.
As a sector of language learning, listening also needs to be enriched with the
help of music, which includes folk, classical and popular compositions.
Folklore and music deserve a place in the language textbook as discourses
capable of being developed with the help of exercises and activities unique to
them.
Language
across the curriculum
English in
India is a global language in a multilingual country (22 languages recognized
by the Constitution, 1652 mother tongues, over 3000 dialects.) multilingual
context. (no monolingual state, diglossic situations, language continuity,
language preservation, language protectionism, etc.)
Language
education is not confined to the language classroom. A science, social science
or mathematics class is ipso facto a language class. Such a policy of languages
across the curriculum will foster genuine multilingualism in the school. It is
important to view language education as everybody's concern at school and not
as a responsibility of the language teacher alone.
Many
students who have to switch over to English, having had their earlier education
through their mother tongues face barriers of language.. Teachers would be
doing them a service by being bilingual to some extent for the first few weeks.
Teachers
should make themselves aware of their students' first language or mother tongue
so that in times of difficulty they can explain to the students in a simple and
comprehensible language, may be mother tongue. Teachers of other subjects such
as History, Economics, Physics, Botany, etc. should also have knowledge of the
dialect spoken around their area. Students may be corrected in an unobtrusive
manner, not authoritatively. A proper atmosphere in the classroom should be
created even for teaching the mother tongue or the first language. By talking
to students outside the classroom on topics other than the text or the school,
students will take to the standard language and understand the subtle
difference between home language and school / standard language. Language thus
learnt will go a long way in helping the students not only with the language
but also with other subjects as well. They will also be able to use the
language outside the classroom, in the society with confidence without the
teacher, thus fulfilling the basic purpose of language.
Therefore, a
language across the curriculum approach is required. This brings down the
barriers between English and other subjects, and other Indian languages. All
learning, it must be emphasized occurs through language. English does not
stand-alone. The aim of English teaching is the creation of multilinguals who
can enrich all our languages which has been an abiding national vision.
Language in
the Classroom
Input rich
communicational environments are a prerequisite for language learning, whether
first or second. Inputs include textbooks, learner chosen texts and class
libraries allowing for a variety of genres. The language environment of
disadvantaged learners needs to be enriched by developing schools into
community learning centres. All teachers who teach English should have basic
proficiency in English.
Evaluation
in Languages
Language
evaluation need not be tied to achievement with respect to particular syllabi,
but must be reoriented to the measurement of language proficiency. Ongoing
assessment could document a learner's progress through the portfolio mode
National benchmarks for English language proficiency would help greatly in
achieving certain basic standards. English is perceived to open up
opportunities. A student may be allowed to 'pass without English' if an
alternative route for English certification (and therefore instruction) can be
provided outside the regular school curriculum. The transfer of skills could be
achieved from one language to another.
In this
context the objective of teaching languages is not simply to make the students
learn language skills but to enable them to play their communicative roles
effectively and select languages from their linguistic repertoire and within
those chosen, select registers and styles, befitting the roles they are
playing.
Reviving
Sanskrit, Ol-Chiki, Urdu
The revival
of Sanskrit is a kind of reverse sanskritisation - an attempt to hold people
back in cultural ghettoes while Indians aspire to globalise themelves. This
hardly makes economic sense. Indian teachers are being recruited for jobs
abroad. Hence learning Japanese, German, Chinese, French, Spanish would be as
fruitful, productive and revenue oriented, as was the learning of English
earlier.
In the state
of Orissa of late there has been a demand for the introduction of tribal
languages. Since the inclusion of Santhali in the 8th Schedule, now Ol-Chiki is
the language many tribals want included in the curriculum, along with its
script, particularly in the districts of Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Balasore and
Sundargarh. There is also a demand for the setting up a Santhali Academy on the
lines of the Urdu Academy.
Agreed, that
languages have to be life sustaining. However, pulls of a different kind also
exist. In severe contrast, we have compelling authority, mobility, power, and
exploitation.
The fate of
Urdu is much the same. Urdu has to be kept alive in the schools. However, the
conditions of Urdu medium schools and Urdu textbooks are abysmally low;
textbooks are available only late in the school session. The ever falling
results of Indian Urdu schools shows the teachers', parents' and students'
confusion. The low results in Urdu schools are indicative of the incoherence
and lack of coordination among the managing bodies and stakeholders. Spoken
throughout the country in pockets, Urdu does not belong to any particular
region, though it is a second language in some states, and as is well known
keeps its diglossic function. Its falling standards need urgent attention. A
language does not prosper through TV channels alone but by the people who use
it.
Teachers for
Generation Next
Therefore,
in the context of languages and the changes taking place in society and
education, every teacher would do well to introspect and reflect on his / her
teaching, with particular attention to languages being used.
Who am I as a teacher?
Who are my students?
How do they experience my teaching?
Do they easily understand my language?
Do I use too many technical words?
Do I follow known conventions of language?
What are the consequences of my language abilities on the students?
How is my tone in the language?
Do I maintain the rhythm of the language?
What sort of change do I see as fit for my own teaching?
Who are my students?
How do they experience my teaching?
Do they easily understand my language?
Do I use too many technical words?
Do I follow known conventions of language?
What are the consequences of my language abilities on the students?
How is my tone in the language?
Do I maintain the rhythm of the language?
What sort of change do I see as fit for my own teaching?
The teacher
has to reason with himself / herself about their teaching which they have been
constantly improving through reflection. The answer lies in the ultimate
question:
Will my teaching improve with better
fluency and appropriate use of language?
Conclusion
The right to
choose any language is fundamental for searching for and earning the right to
livelihood. More so in a globalised world, whose opportunities are to be
availed of with the skills one possesses, may be, as language teachers. For
instance, the culture of the English speaking may be dominant but English is no
longer a political instrument of the downtrodden. Today proficiency in the
language is a skill, liquid assets and financial gains for educators in India
and abroad.
Language as
a constellation of skills, thought encoders and markers of identity cuts across
school subjects and disciplines.
Language has
to be maintained as a marketable skill. And therefore, he / she who can will
talk his / her way in a world of global opportunities.
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National Curriculum Framework for school
education—2005 Backgrounder
|
|
Curriculum designing has a special
place among the diverse responsibilities envisaged in the charter of NCERT.
As an apex national agency of education reform, NCERT is expected to review
the school curriculum as a routine activity, ensuring the highest standards
of rigour and deliberative openness in the process. The NPE, 1986 and the PoA
1992 assign a special role to NCERT in preparing and promoting a National
Curriculum Framework. The present exercise of reviewing the NCF was initiated
following the statement made by the Hon’ble Minister for Human Resource
Development in the Lok Sabha that NCERT should take up such a revision. This
was followed by a decision in the Executive Committee in its meeting in July
2004 to revise the national Curriculum Framework Subsequent to this meeting a
letter from Education Secretary to the Director NCERT reiterated the
necessity to review the National Curriculum Framework for School Education
2000 in the light of Learning without Burden (1993).
Accordingly,
NCERT set up the National Steering Committee under the chairpersonship of
Prof. Yashpal. The National Steering Committee has 35 members, including
scholars from different discipline, principals and teachers, CBSE Chairman,
representatives of well known NGOs and members of the NCERT faculty. The
National Steering Committee was responsible for preparing the revised
National Curriculum Framework document. The National Steering Committee had
the benefit of the position papers prepared by the 21 National Focus Groups.
The
21 National Focus Groups, also chaired by renowned scholars and
practitioners, covered the following major areas:
a) Areas
of Curricular Concern
Teaching of Sciences
Teaching Mathematics
Teaching of Indian Languages
Teaching of English
Teaching of Social Sciences
Learning and Habitat
Art, Dance, Theatre and Music
b) Areas
for systemic reform
Aims of Education
Systemic Reform for Curricular
Change
Curriculum, syllabus and Textbooks
Teacher education for Curriculum
Renewal
Examination reforms
Early childhood education
Work and education
Educational technology
Heritage crafts
Health and physical education
c) National
Concerns
Problems of SC/ST children
Gender issues in the curriculum
Education for groups with special
needs
Each National Focus Group has had
several consultations in which they have interacted with other scholars and
classroom practioners in different parts of the country.
In addition to the above NCERT has
had consultations with (a) Rural Teachers, (b) Education Secretaries and
Directors of NCERTs, (c) principals of Delhi-based private schools and KVS
Schools. Regional Seminars were also held at NCERTs Regional Institutes of
Education in Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhuvaneshwar, Mysore and Shillong. Advertisements
were placed in 28 national and regional dailies to invite suggestions from
parents and other concerned members of the public. More than 1500 responses
were received.
The draft National Curriculum
Document (NCF) has emerged from the wide ranging deliberations of the above
groups.
The salient features of the
revised NCF are as follows:
Chapter 1: Perspective
It provides the historical
backdrop and the rationale for undertaking the revision of the National
Curriculum Framework. It discusses curricular reform efforts since
Independence drawing from Gandhiji’s vision of education as a means of
raising the nation’s conscience towards injustice, violence and inequality
entrenched in the social order. It refers to the recommendations of the
National Commission on Secondary Education, 1952-53 (Mudaliar Commission) and
the Education commission, 1964-66 (Kothari Commission) and traces and
development of Curriculum Framework, 1975 as also the formulation of the
National Curriculum Framework, 1988, following the adoption of the National
Policy on Education in 1986. It refers to the report entitled Learning
without Burden (1993), which highlighted the problems of curriculum overload
which made learning a source of stress for children during their formative
years. It refers to the National Curriculum Framework for School Education
introduced in 2000.
Chapter
1 reaffirms faith in the Constitutional vision of India as a secular
egalitarian and pluralistic society founded on values of social justice and
equality. It proposes four guiding principles for curriculum development,
namely (a) connecting knowledge to life outside the school, (b) ensuring that
learning shifts away from rote methods, 9c) enriching th curriculum so that
it goes beyond textbooks, (d) making examinations more flexible. It addresses
the challenge of quality in a system that seeks to reach every child the exclusive
triangle of equality, quality and quantity. This chapter looks at the social
context of education and the hierarchies of caste, economic status and gender
relations, cultural diversity as well as uneven development that characterize
Indian Society, and deeply influence access to education and participation of
children in schools. It cautions against the pressures to commodify schools
and the application of market related concepts to schools and schools
quality. Finally, it discusses educational aims as deriving from the Guiding
Principles. Education should aim to build a commitment to democratic values
of equality, justice, freedom, concern for others’ well being, secularism,
respect for human dignity and rights. It should also aim at fostering independence
of thought and action, sensitivity to others’ well being and feelings,
learning to learn and unlearn, ability to work for developing a social temper
and inculate aesthetic appreciation.
Chapter 2: Learning and
Knowledge
The Chapter focuses on the primacy
of the learner. Child centred pedagogy means giving primacy to children’s
experiences, their voices and their active participation. It discusses the
nature of knowledge and the need for adults to change their perceptions of
the child as a passive receiver of knowledge; rather the child can be an
active participant in the construction of knowledge by encouraging children
to ask questions, relate what they are learning in school to things happening
outside, encouraging them to answer form their own experiences and in their
own words rather than by memorizing. It recognizes the need for developing an
enabling and non-threatening environment, since an environment of fear,
discipline and stress is detrimental to learning. Healthy physical growth is
the pre-condition for development and this requires that they benefit from
nutrition, physical exercise and freedom from physical discomfort.
Development of self identity through the adolescent years, particularly in
the case of girls who are constrained by social conventions, is an important
component. This chapter emphasizes that gender, caste, class, religion and
minority status or disability should not constrain participation in the
experiences provided in school. It pints out that the diagnostic criteria of
‘earning disabilities’ is not well established. It is, therefore, entirely
possible that learning disabilities may arise from inadequate and
insufficient instruction.
This
chapter also highlights the value of interaction—with the environment,
nature, things, people—to enhance learning. Learning in school regretfully
continues to be teacher-dominated and the teacher is seen as transmitting
knowledge-knowledge of ten being confused with information. It points out
that interaction with peers, teachers and older and younger people can open
up many rich learning possibilities. Learning tasks and experiences,
therefore, need to be designed to ensure that children seek out knowledge
from sites other than the textbooks—from their own experiences, from
experiences at home, community, from the library. Heritage sites, therefore,
assume great significance as sites of learning. The approach to planning
lessons must therefore move away from the ‘Herbartian’ lesson plan to
preparing plans, activities that challenge children to think and try out what
they are learning.
Chapter 3: Curricular Areas,
School Stages and Assessment
It recommends significant changes
in Language, Maths, Natural Science and Social Sciences with a view to
reducing stress and making education more relevant to the present day and
future needs of children. In Language, it makes a renewed attempt to
implement the three-language formula with emphasis on mother tongue as the
medium of instruction. India is a multi-lingual country and curriculum should
promote multilingual proficiency in every child, including proficiency in
English, which will become possible only if learning builds on a sound
language pedagogy of the mother tongue. It focuses on language as an integral
part of every subject, since reading, writing, listening and speech
contribute to a child’s progress in all curricular areas and therefore
constitute the basic of learning.
This
chapter also focuses on Mathematics and enhancing the child’s ability to
think and reason, visualize and handle abstractions and formulate and solve
problems. It recommends that the teaching of Science should be recast to
enable children to examine and analyze everybody experiences. Environment
Education should become part of every subject. In Social Sciences it recognizes
disciplinary markers with emphasis on integration of significant themes, such
as water. It also recommends a paradigm shift to study social sciences from
the perspective of marginalized groups. It recommends that gender justice and
sensitivity to tribal and dalit issues and minority sensibilities should
inform all sectors of social science. The document draws attention to four
other areas, namely Art education, Health and Physical Education, Work and
Education and Education for Peace. Work should be recognized as a creator of
new forms of knowledge and promote the values necessary for democratic order.
Work education must link up with heritage crafts, especially in craft zones
which need to be mapped, so that this important source of cultural and
economic wealth can be properly harnessed through linkage with education.
Chapter 4 : School and Classroom
Environment
The Chapter talks about the need
for nurturing an enabling environment by bringing about suitable changes in
the school and classroom environment. It revisits traditional notions of
discipline and discusses the need for providing space for parents and
community. It also discusses curriculum sites and learning resources,
including texts and books, libraries, education technology, tools and
laboratories, etc. This chapter addresses the need for plurality of material,
as also the need for teacher autonomy and professional independence.
Chapter 5: Systemic Reforms
It covers issues of quality and
the need for academic planning for monitoring of quality. It reaffirms faith
in Panchayati Raj and suggests the strengthening of Panchayati Raj
Institutions through systematic activity mapping of functions appropriate at
relevant levels of panchayats, while simultaneously ensuring appropriate
financial autonomy on the basis of the funds-must-follow-functions principle.
This chapter also looks at issues of academic planning and leadership at
school level to improve quality.
Teacher
education for curriculum renewal focuses on developing the professional
identity of the teacher as also in-service education and training of
teachers. Examination Reforms is an important component of this chapter to
reduce psychological pressure, particularly on children in class X and XII.
The NCF, therefore, recommends changing the typology of questions so that
reasoning and creative abilities replace rote learning as the basis of
evaluation. Finally, it encourages innovation in ideas and practice through
plurality of textbooks and use of technology and recommends partnerships
between the school system and other civil society groups.
The revised National Curriculum
Framework is being placed before the Executive Committee and the General
Council of the NCERT today and it will be placed before the CABE tomorrow for
discussion and approval. Suggestions derived from deliberations will be
presented to the National Steering Committee for incorporation.
SK:SPS:NC
(Release ID :9606) |
The National Curriculum Framework 2005 (NCF) and
Integral Education
INTRODUCTION
I believe we
can conclude that the principles of education reform first articulated by Sri
Aurobindo 100 years ago in his essays on A System of National Education have
culminated in the methodology formulated by the National Council of Educational
Research and Training, adopted by the Central Board of Secondary Education
(CBSE), and now being implemented nationally, known as NCF. This document and
the principles of education that it expounds embody the most progressive,
child-centered educational ideas and strategies practiced today in many schools
of the world, and illustrate the pervasive nature of the insights expressed by
Sri Aurobindo in the early decades, and by the Mother in the 40s and 50s, of
the 20th Century. Their seminal ideas have become the norms of progressive
education reform. The purpose of this brief essay is to demonstrate the
concreteness of this remarkable achievement, and thereby to draw a direct
connection between NCF and Auroville Education.
Constructivism
In the
introduction to NCF, Prof. Yash Pal writes on the first page; The document
frequently revolves around the question of curriculum load on children. In this
regard we seem to have fallen into a pit. We have bartered away understanding
for memory-based, short-term information accumulation. This must be reversed,
particularly now that the mass of what could be memorized has begun to explode.
We need to give our children some taste of understanding, following which they
would be able to learn and create their own versions of knowledge as they go
out to meet the world of bits, images and transactions of life.
Here Yash
Pal has indicated the problem formulated long ago by Sri Aurobindo in these
words: The argument against national education proceeds in the first place upon
the lifeless academic notion that the subject, the acquiring of this or that
kind of information is the whole or the central matter. But the acquiring of
various kinds of information is only one and not the chief of the means and
necessities of education: its central aim is the building of the powers of the
human mind and spirit, it is the formation or, as I would prefer to view it,
the evoking of knowledge and will and of the power to use knowledge, character,
culture that at least if no more (SA/M p.9).
It is especially
important to note here one of the most meaningful concepts in education reform,
which is indicated by the phrases create their own versions of knowledge and
the building of the powers of the human mind for this is the notion of
constructivism. When the Mother expressed these ideas, she used the notion in a
very explicit way: The growth of the understanding much more than that of
memory should be insisted upon. One knows only what one understands. Indeed, as
the child progresses in his studies and grows in age, his mind too ripens and
is more and more capable of general ideasfor a knowledge stable enough to be
made the basis of a mental construction which will permit all diverse and
scattered and often contradictory ideas accumulated in the brain to be organized
and put in order (SA/M p. 116-117). But learning is only one aspect of mental
activity; the other, at least as important, is the constructive faculty, the
capacity to give form and therefore prepare for action (SA/M p.118).
The
underlying insight in all of these expressions is now commonly known as
constructivist, activity based education, and it has become the formal
methodology of NCF as well as of the Harvard Graduate School of Educations
teacher training program. It is also the basic methodology that has been
practiced consciously in most Auroville schools for at least the past ten
years.
In the body
of NCF, after an elaborate description of the problems of a memory and
examination based system of education, the constructivist approach is stated
explicitly: Child-centered pedagogy means giving primacy to childrens
experiences, their voices, and their active participation (p. 13). Learners
actively construct their own knowledge by connecting new ideas to existing
ideas on the basis of materials/activities presented to them through experience
(p. 17). Active engagement involves enquiry, exploration, questioning, debates,
application and reflection, leading to theory building and the creation of
ideas (p.18).
In Sri
Aurobindos writings, the first principles of a child-centered pedagogy were
stated succinctly, very early in the process of educational development which,
we may perhaps say, is now in its completion phase, and these are the most
oft-quoted of his statements on the subject: The first principle of true
teaching is that nothing can be taught. The teacher is not an instructor or
task-master, he is a helper and a guide. The second principle is that the mind
has to be consulted in its own growth. The idea of hammering the child into the
shape desired by the parent or teacher is a barbarous and ignorant
superstition. It is he himself who must be induced to expand in accordance with
his own nature. The third principle of education is to work from the near to
the far, from that which is to that which shall be. The basis of a mans nature
is almost always (in addition to his souls past), his heredity, his
surroundings, his nationality, his country, the soil from which he draws
sustenance, the air which he breathes, the sights, sounds, habits to which he
is accustomed and from that then we must begin. The past is our foundation, the
present our material, the future our aim and summit (SA/M p. 20-22).
In his
introduction to NCF, Yash Pal said that the NCERT document was the product of
research to focus attention on what should be taught to our children and how.
The what and the how are generally known, respectively, as the content and the
method. The NCF document, however, like the writings of Sri Aurobindo and the
Mother on education, focuses almost exclusively on the how, the methodology.
And that is the aspect of what is generally known as child-centered education
reform suggested above by Sri Aurobindos three principles. But how does NCF
deal with these principles, either in theory or practice? The document says,
for example, The childs community and local environment form the primary
context in which learning takes place, and in which knowledge acquires its
significance. In this document we emphasize the significance of contextualizing
education: of situating learning in the context of the childs world, and of
making the boundary between the school and its natural and social environment
porous. If we want to examine how learning relates to future visions of
community life, it is crucial to encourage reflection on what it means to know
something, and how to use what we have learnt (NCF p. 30). The way that Sri
Aurobindo put this idea was this: there are three things that have to be taken
into account in a true and living education: the individual in his commonness
and in his uniqueness, the nation or people, and universal humanity. It follows
that that alone will be a true and living education which helps to bring out to
full advantage, makes ready for the full purpose and scope of human life all
that is in the individual, and which at the same time helps him to enter into
his right relation with the life, mind, and soul of the people to which he
belongs and with the great total life, mind and soul of humanity (SA/M p.13).
This is the shift from teacher centered education to learner centered
education, for the development of both individual and society.
And to
encourage the application of this principle, the syllabus/texts frequently
suggest activities to be done, in or out of school, such as, in social
geography for example, construct a population pyramid of your school to assess
gender distribution or visit your neighborhood retailers or self-help groups to
find out about gender, education and migration patterns in your village, etc.
In our school (NESS) students have conducted detailed surveys in the community
to learn about water distribution and sanitation in our local villages, and to
analyze local food production and consumption patterns. Living in a rural area
is an ideal situation for studying todays radically changing socio-economic
patterns, in order to put a relevant what to the how of the three first
principles.
We can
compare these activities with some that are documented annually in the SAIIER
reports on Auroville education, (which I happen to have edited for three years
2006-2009), where we find elaborate descriptions of similar activities undertaken
by students in their schools, from explorations in the bioregion, to dramas,
research projects on the environment, art projects, visits to Auroville farms,
etc. And we find frequent reference to the fact that the students choose an
activity, explore their interests, make oral presentations, debate their
positions on topics, etc. In all of these activities, the teacher is a support
and guide to the students learning process, students are being consulted with
respect to their interests and skills level, and the subject matter is
generally relevant to todays reality in relation to the past and the future.
Because of
our small school size in Auroville, and our relaxed environment, it is
undoubtedly easier for us to implement the NCF reforms here, in a school like
NESS, than it is for large public schools which have thousands of students, and
there is therefore a closer relationship between our CBSE program and Auroville
education in general than there is between our CBSE program and what we would
find at the JIPMER Central School. But the point of this essay is to illustrate
the former closeness, in principle and practice, between NCF and Auroville
education. That closeness is what makes NCF relevant for us.
Integralism
In her short
but very influential essay on education, around 1950, the Mother wrote:
Education, to be complete, must have five principal aspects relating to the
five principal activities of the human being: the physical, the vital, the
mental, the psychic, and the spiritual. Usually, these phases of education
succeed each other in a chronological order following the growth of the
individual; this, however, does not mean that the one should replace the other
but that all must continue, completing each other, till the end of life. (SA/M
p. 96). This is undoubtedly the basis of the ideal that she assigned to us in
the Charter of Auroville: to be the place of an unending education.
And in this
essay she especially emphasized the importance of the education of the vital.
Of all education, the education of the vital is perhaps the most important and
the most indispensable. This is what we normally refer to as character
development, or as she put it to become conscious and gradually master of ones
character. The child must be taught to observe himself, to note his reactions
and impulses and their causes, to become a clear-sighted witness of his
desires, his movements of violence and passion, his instincts of possession and
appropriation and domination Evidently, the process would be useful only when
along with the growth of the power of observation there grows also the will
towards progress and perfection (SA/M p. 107-112).
In this
context, one of the most remarkable aspects of the NCF education reforms is the
introduction of what is called Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) which
is a system for observing, annotating, and supporting the development of the
whole child: mental, emotional, social, physical in addition to the normal
exclusive preoccupation of schools with academic development. And again, NCF
has added a very substantial how to the what by creating a system that
sensitizes teachers to the aspects of child-development which should now be
emphasized in place of the old, one dimensional system of ranking students
according to examination results. This idea of assessment as an on-going part
of the teaching/learning process, rather than an end-of-the-road ranking, has
been one of the main focuses of progressive education, especially at Harvards
Project Zero, under the direction of Howard Gardner, who is perhaps the most
influential education reformer in the world today. And why is on-going
evaluation important? The answer is simple: If we dont state our desired goals
clearly and measure our progress toward achieving them, no one will know where
we are headed or how far we have to go.
As an
example of what this aspect of education reform means and how it works, a few
short examples may be taken from the Position Paper on Aims of Education -
NCF 2005, NCERT:
Need:
The School
Based Continuous and Comprehensive
Evaluation
system should be established to:
Reduce
stress on children
Make
evaluation comprehensive and regular
Provide
space for the teacher for creative teaching
Provide a
tool of diagnosis and remedial action
Produce
learners with greater skills
The
objectives are:
To help
develop cognitive, psychomotor and affective skills
To lay
emphasis on thought process and de- emphasise
memorization
To make
evaluation an integral part of teaching- learning process
To use
evaluation for improvement of students achievement and
teaching-learning
strategies on the basis of regular diagnosis
followed by
remedial instructions
To use
evaluation as a quality control device to maintain desired
standard of
performance
To determine
social utility, desirability or effectiveness of a
programme
and take appropriate decisions about the learner,
the process
of learning and the learning environment
To make the
process of teaching and learning a learner-centered
activity
Life skills
to be evaluated:
1 Self Awareness
2 Problem
Solving
3 Decision
Making
4 Critical
Thinking
5 Creative
Thinking
6
Interpersonal Relationships
7 Effective
Communication
8 Empathy
9 Managing
Emotions
10 Dealing
with stress
For teachers
to be required to observe students and themselves with respect to these
qualitative aspects of learning is just a step away from the recognition of
those ideal psychological qualities that the Mother pointed to in her
guidelines for vital education, which she said should be inculcated in both
teachers and students: sincerity, honesty, straightforwardness, courage,
disinterestedness, unselfishness, patience, endurance, perseverance, peace,
calm, self-control.
There are
many other examples of the NCF reforms, from the original 125 page document, as
well as from numerous other publications of NCERT and CBSE during the past five
years, which indicate the quite remarkable results of an intensive and thorough
process that is underway in India to revolutionize public education, and which
can be linked directly to the early teachings of Sri Aurobindo and the Mother
on education. It is also well-known that many students of their teachings, and
followers of their example, have been involved in this process at the national
level for several decades. It should also be recognized that the Auroville
Foundation portfolio sits in the Ministry of Human Resource Development
alongside the CBSE/NCERT portfolio, and the UNESCO portfolio, and that we are
natural collaborators in bringing about this revolution, for India and for
Human Unity, along with all those who have adopted non-traditional,
student-centered educational practices.
Continuous
Comprehensive Evaluation and Integral Education Philosophy
It will be
instructive to examine more closely some of the specific guidelines published
by the CBSE to help teachers implement the principles of continuous assessment.
In its CCE Manual for Teachers we read, for example:
Education
aims at making children capable of becoming responsible, productive and useful
members of a society. Knowledge, skills and attitudes are built through
learning experiences and opportunities created for learners in school. It is in
the classroom that learners can analyse and evaluate their experiences, learn
to doubt, to question, to investigate and to think independently. The aim of
education simultaneously reflects the current needs and aspirations of a
society as well as its lasting values and human ideals. At any given time and
place it can be called the contemporary and contextual articulations of broad
and lasting human aspirations and values. Conceptual development is thus a
continuous process of deepening and enriching connections and acquiring new
layers of meaning. Simultaneously theories that children have about the natural
and social world develop, including about themselves in relation to others,
which provide them with explanations for why things are the way they are and
the relationship between cause and effect. (CCE Teacher Manual, p. 1)
This
definition of the aims of constructivist education, sometimes known also as
discovery or enquiry based learning, assumes that students are in the end
responsible for their own learning. This was the idea behind that early first
principle formulated by Sri Aurobindo, that nothing can be taught. The constructivist
assumption is that learning is a process that takes place in the individual
consciousness; it is not something that is imposed from outside by a teacher.
But for Sri Aurobindo, writing his philosophy of social development in the
early 20th Century, there was more to this psychological discovery than
educational theory: it was the basis of a new and radical conception of the
right of all individuals as members of the society to the full life and the
full development of which they are individually capable. social development and
well being mean the development and well being of all the individuals in the
society and not merely a flourishing of the community in the mass which
resolves itself into the splendour and power of one or two classes.
It was the
dawning of the democratic ideal in Indian political theory, and of the values
of individualism. Sri Aurobindo was in the vanguard of that movement and was
acutely aware that it was only the full development of each individual that
could result eventually in a successful renewal of the collective life. For,
this new spirit of individualism contained in it a deeper insight: ..only by
admitting and realizing our unity with others can we entirely fulfill our true
self-being. Education, conceived as a tool of the society and culture, must
therefore offer students opportunities to experience connections, - between
language and meaning, symbols and reality, ideas and values, - in order to
truly understand themselves and their relationships with the natural and social
world around them, of which they are an integral part. The early trend toward
such a progressive and integral educational development of the inner and outer
being, of self and society, and of a balanced development of mind, life, body,
and soul was noted by Sri Aurobindo as early as 1918: there was a glimmering of
the realization that each human being is a self-developing soul and that the
business of both parent and teacher is to enable and to help the child to
educate himself, to develop his own intellectual, moral, aesthetic and
practical capacities and to grow freely as an organic being, not to be kneaded
and pressured into form like an inert plastic material.
Assessment
for learning
Teacher-guided,
activity-based learning experiences and exposures, intended to enhance the
development of academic skills and knowledge, are generally what we mean today,
in a progressive educational context, by schooling. In this context there is a
variety of formative and summative assessments whereby such skills and knowledge
acquisition are assessed, and we can measure students progress. But how do we
determine whether the students are also acquiring self-knowledge, a sense of
who they are in relation to the world around them, and a value system that will
enable them to live healthy, productive, creative and responsible lives beyond
school? It is this more profound psychological aspect of schooling that the CCE
system is attempting to bring into focus, for both teachers and students. And
the pedagogical approach that it has adopted is sometimes known as assessment
for learning and assessment as learning. It is an approach that has been
extensively researched by the Harvard Graduate School of Education in America
and it is being applied in many progressive educational systems around the
globe. And, like all good, enquiry based methodology, it asks the question! It
is when we ask the question, when we enquire, that we inform ourselves and
others about the things we want to know. And this enquiry, in turn, also
conveys our values: What we want to know, is what we believe is most important.
The CCE
system, therefore, creates checklists made up of the kinds of
information-questions that we want to assess. These checklists may be
considered rubrics or codes, which set forth the value-criteria by which we
expect students to achieve and demonstrate individual self-development. Below,
we find three sets of value rubrics for thinking, social and emotional skills,
derived from a longer CCE list, which indicate the skills that we want students
to develop. The lists have been shortened and modified slightly from the
original text (CCE Teacher Manual, p. 50-52) for the sake of simplicity and
convenience. This shortened list will provide ample material to illustrate the
principles.
(i) Thinking
Skills
1.
Recognizes and analyzes a problem
2. Collects
relevant information from
reliable
sources
3. Evaluates
alternative decisions for
advantageous
and adverse consequences
4.
Demonstrates divergent (out-of-the-box) thinking
5.
Demonstrates flexibility and openness to modification
of opinions
(ii) Social
Skills
1. Helps
classmates in case of difficulties in
academic and
personal issues
2. Actively
listens and pays attention to others
3. Explains
and articulates a concept differently
so that
others can understand in simple language
4.
Demonstrates leadership skills, like responsibility,
initiative
etc.
5. Helps
others develop independence and avoid dependency.
(iii)
Emotional Skills
1. Is
optimistic
2. Believes
in self and shows self confidence
3. If
unsuccessful, gracefully tries the
task again
4. Maintains
decency under stressful
interpersonal
situations
5. Does the
student recognize her strengths and weaknesses?
This list of
fifteen character traits might easily be considered a good beginning of a
profile for the ideal student, although there are certainly many more traits
that we could add. The CCE manual also includes descriptors for physical
health, artistic expression, creativity, moral values, and so on. But let us
consider some of these fifteen descriptors briefly. How shall we assess them?
First we must ask corresponding questions: Does the student recognize and
analyze problems? Does the student demonstrate divergent thinking? Does the
student actively listen and pay attention to others? Does the student
demonstrate leadership skills? Does the student show self-confidence? If she is
unsuccessful, does she gracefully try the task again? Does she recognize her
strengths and weaknesses? In order to answer these questions, the teacher must
develop a much greater degree of sensitivity to the student than is normally
required for teaching a unit or grading a quiz. In fact, the teacher must set
aside the academic subject altogether, and tune in to the psychology of the
student. These questions are not even verbally presented to the student; they
are formulated and held in the consciousness of the teacher/evaluator who must
try to perceive the answers! Does the student recognize her strengths and
weaknesses? can only be answered by the penetrating observation of an aspect of
the student which cannot be seen at all! It is an aspect of personality that is
normally hidden to all but the student herself, and perhaps it is also hidden
even to herself. And so it is with most of the other criteria that have been
listed. And yet these behaviors and values can be demonstrated and observed
more and more clearly and objectively as we make them the object of our
attention, and as we discuss them with our students. As with the development of
any skill, frequent opportunity for practice and awareness of the behaviors
must be given, and their occurrence must be recognized and rewarded. And yet
they are not things that we teach; in fact they have little to do with us, as
teachers. They are qualities and actions that belong strictly to the student,
for which the student alone is responsible. We are merely observers and
monitors, seeking to learn more about our students. And we know that what is
valuable to us will also be valued by them.
In order to
systematize the assessment of personality traits such as these, it is helpful
to maintain a schedule of observations. Circumstances and settings must be
arranged which lend themselves to the types of behavior that should be
expressed. Therefore, the CCE manual recommends certain tools and techniques
which can be utilized for this purpose. For example, debates and project
presentations, which are a regular feature of an activity-based classroom,
offer ample opportunity for listening actively to others, for helping others to
be independent learners, for leadership, for modifying ones opinions, and even
for dealing with stressful interpersonal relationships. The teachers art is to
utilize such opportunities for noticing and documenting the presence or absence
of these traits on a regular basis, and then to give the students constructive
feedback on what has been observed. In this way, a culture of subjective
knowledge and behavior can be created, parallel to the usual activities and
content for developing academic skills and knowledge but which now will provide
the context for enhancing the students integral development.
The next
challenge is to document and assign credit to these traits. In any learning
process there is a curve of change and growth which must be monitored and
documented in order to ascertain whether learning is actually taking place.
This can generally be measured either quantitatively or qualitatively. And one
of the best tools to use is an assessment rubric which clearly defines the
range of skills to be measured. The checklist of descriptors may be considered
a holistic rubric against which the presence or absence of the traits described
can be evaluated. For example, five observations for the first five descriptors
may be made for a particular student over the course of a few days or weeks and
recorded as follows:
|
Recognizes
and analyzes a problem
|
x
|
x
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
2
|
|
Collects
relevant, reliable information
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
o
|
o
|
3
|
|
Evaluates
alternative decisions wisely
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
x
|
o
|
1
|
|
Demonstrates
divergent (out-of-the-box) thinking
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
o
|
0
|
|
Demonstrates
flexibility and openness
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
x
|
5
|
This student
has scored 11 out of a possible 25 points on this assessment. For future
reference we may add a space for anecdotal evidence below the form to record
particular instances of the presence or absence of the trait which we discuss
with student. After collecting similar observations in a variety of
circumstances throughout a semester, it will be possible to ascertain, reflect
upon, and discuss the pattern of behavior that emerges. The frequency of
observations is an important factor in eliminating personal bias on the part of
the evaluator. The marks given will remain subjective, no doubt, but if they
are based on a clear understanding of the nature of the behavior to be
observed, then similar patterns should be observed by other teachers, thus establishing
a reasonable degree of objectivity. And there is ample opportunity for the
teacher to further verify her observations in discussions with the student.
Self-assessments and peer assessments may also be added to the picture to
further validate the observations made.
In addition
to the holistic rubric, which relies primarily on quantitative analysis, a
vertical, analytical scale of qualities for each descriptor may be added. Such
a scale can then be used to evaluate each observation with respect to the
quality of the behavior observed. For example:
|
Descriptors
|
Needs
improvement or “never” (1)
|
In
progress or “sometimes” (2)
|
Basic or
“often” (3)
|
Proficient
or “most of the time” (4)
|
Advanced
or “always” (5)
|
|
Recognizes
a problem
|
During
class discussions
|
During
class discussions
|
Duringclass
discussions
|
During
class discussions
|
During
class discussions
|
|
Collects
relevant information
|
Using the
text or computer resources
|
Using text
or computer resources
|
From three
sources
|
From more
than three sources
|
From more
than three sources
|
|
Evaluates
decisions for/against
|
In a
written paper
|
In a
written paper
|
In
discussions and writing
|
In
discussions, debates and writing
|
In
discussions, debates and writing
|
|
Out-of-the-box
thinking
|
During
class discussions
|
During
class discussions
|
In
discussions and writing
|
In
discussions, debates and writing
|
In
discussions, debates and writing
|
|
Shows
flexibility in opinions
|
During
discussions
|
During
discussions
|
In
discussions and writing
|
In
discussions, debates and writing
|
In discussions,
debates and writing
|
Analytical
rubrics are especially useful for assessing projects and academic skills
development. They require a much greater degree of specificity but they provide
a much better guideline for both the teacher and the student to understand the
expectations or goals of the activity and its assessment. If the analytical
rubric is created in the context of class discussion with students, then there
can be little doubt or misunderstanding about what is expected.
Appendix 1- Sample rubrics for both academic and non-academic
assessments for learning
CCE
Co-scholatic Skills Assessment Rubric – New Era Secondary School, Auroville
|
Thinking
Skills Descriptors
|
Obs 1
|
Obs 2
|
Obs 3
|
Obs 4
|
Obs 5
|
Score
|
|
Recognizes
and analyzes a problem Comment:
|
||||||
|
Collects
relevant, reliable information Comment:
|
||||||
|
Evaluates
alternative decisions wisely Comment:
|
||||||
|
Demonstrates
divergent (out-of-the-box) thinking Comment:
|
||||||
|
Demonstrates
flexibility and openness Comment:
|
New Era Secondary School 2011-12
Part 2 D
Attitudes Towards School Programmes and Environment
Name of the
student_____________ Class _______ Teacher_________________
|
S.N.
|
Descriptors
|
Score (Out
of 5)
|
Observations
|
Comments
|
|
|
1
|
Attaches a
lot of importance to school activities and programmes
|
||||
|
2
|
Participates
in school activities relating to improvement of environment
|
||||
|
3
|
Shoulders
responsibility happily
|
||||
|
4
|
Insists on
parents to participate/witness school programmes
|
||||
|
5
|
Takes care
of school property
|
||||
|
Total
|
Grading
Scale
|
A - 5 -
Always
|
|||
|
Average
Grade
|
B - 4 -
Most of the time
|
||||
|
C - 3 -
Often
|
|||||
|
D - 2 -
Sometimes
|
|||||
|
E - 1 -
Never
|
Persuasive
Essay Rubric Heidi Goodrich Andrade, Project Zero
|
Criteria
|
4
|
3
|
2
|
1
|
|
The claim
|
I make a
claim and explain why it is controversial.
|
I make a
claim but don't explain why it is controversial.
|
My claim
is buried, confused and/or unclear.
|
I don't
say what my argument or claim is.
|
|
Reasons in
support of the claim
|
I give clear
and accurate reasons in support of my claim.
|
I give
reasons in support of my claim but I may overlook important reasons.
|
I give 1
or 2 weak reasons that don't support my claim and/or irrelevant or confusing
reasons.
|
I do not
give convincing reasons in support of my claim.
|
|
Reasons
against the claim
|
I discuss
the reasons against my claim and explain why it is valid anyway.
|
I discuss
the reasons against my claim but leave some reasons out and/or don't explain
why the claim still stands.
|
I say that
there are reasons against the claim but I don't discuss them.
|
I do not
acknowledge or discuss the reasons against the claim.
|
|
Organization
|
My writing
has a compelling opening, an informative middle and a satisfying conclusion.
|
My writing
has a beginning, middle and end. It marches along but doesn't dance.
|
My writing
is organized but sometimes gets off topic.
|
My writing
is aimless and disorganized.
|
|
Voice and
tone
|
It sounds
like I care about my argument. I show how I think and feel about it.
|
My tone is
OK but my paper could have been written by anyone. I need to tell more about
how I think and feel.
|
My writing
is bland or pretentious. There is either no hint of a real person in it or it
sounds like I'm a fake.
|
My writing
is too formal or too informal. It sounds like I don't like the topic of the
essay.
|
|
Word
choice
|
The words
I use are striking but natural, varied and vivid.
|
I make
routine word choices.
|
The words
I use are often dull or uninspired or sound like I am trying too hard to
impress.
|
I use the
same words over and over and over and over. Some words may be confusing to a
reader.
|
|
Sentence
fluency
|
My
sentences are clear, complete, and of varying lengths.
|
I have
well-constructed sentences.
|
My
sentences are sometimes awkward, and/or contain run-ons and fragments.
|
Many
run-ons, fragments and awkward phrasings make my essay hard to read.
|
|
Conventions
|
I use
correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
|
I
generally use correct conventions. I have a couple of errors I should fix.
|
I have
enough errors in my essay to distract a reader.
|
Numerous
errors make my paper hard to read.
|
SCIENCE
PROJECT RUBRIC – PROJECT ZERO by Heidi Goodrich Andrade
|
ATTRIBUTES
|
LEVEL 1
(ADVANCED)
|
LEVEL 2
(PROFICIENT)
|
LEVEL 3
(BASIC)
|
|
Organization
of written work
|
Well-organized,
complete and factual, correctly formatted
|
Fairly
well-organized, mostly complete and factual, a few errors in format
|
Poorly
organized, lacking significant factual information, several errors in format
|
|
Prairie
and basic ecology information in reports and presentation
|
Reflects a
deep understanding of ecosystem functioning; contains abundant specific facts
about prairie organisms and abiotic factors; includes at least two aesthetic
values of the prairie habitat
|
Reflects
some understanding of ecosystem functioning; contains adequate specific facts
about prairie organisms and abiotic factors; includes at least one aesthetic
value of the prairie habitat
|
Reflects a
basic or no understnding of ecosystem functioning; contains minimal or
incorrect specific facts about prairie organisms and abiotic factors; does
not include aesthetic values of the prairie
|
|
Quality of
oral group presentation
|
Well-organized,
logical sequence, clear evidence of planning, use of two or more high quality
visual aids
|
Fairly
well-organized, sequence not always logical, some evidence of planning, use
of one high quality visual aid
|
Poorly
organized, sequence not logical, little evidence of planning, low quality or
no visual aids
|
|
Group
involvement
|
All
members actively involved in research, planning, organization, and
presentation
|
All
members usually involved in most group activities
|
Inconsistent
effort by group members
|
|
Final
decision statement
|
Decision
is clear and well-supported by three or more factual arguments
|
Decision
is clear but is supported poorly or by 1-2 factual arguments
|
Decision
is unclear and/or is unsupported or is supported mostly by opinions
|
|
Quality of
overall proposal
|
Creative,
well-designed, meets all requirements, reasonable, and economically possible
|
Some
creativity, meets all requirements, generally reasonable, and economically
possible
|
Little or
no creativity, meets most requirements, problems with feasibility
|
|
Evidence
of varied viewpoints considered
|
Counter
viewpoints presented with well constructed rebuttals
|
Counter
viewpoints presented without adequate rebuttal
|
Counter
viewpoints ignored or discounted
|
Appendix 2 – Supplementary Essay for Higher Secondary
Level Assessment
Performativity
Criteria and Integral Assessment
Introduction
By
“performativity criteria” we generally mean technological efficiency, standards
of excellence, marketability and profitability of products. Work performance is good if it
meets these criteria, whether in academia or business. In technologically
advanced countries, for example, people expect more efficient cars each year,
better roads, faster and cleaner health services, state of the art schools and
teachers, etc. If they don’t get these things they are unhappy. They are
conditioned to expect certain standards of technological excellence.
In India we
can easily see that such standards and expectations are becoming more necessary
and more feasible. In the developing world, traditional values no longer
provide the standards needed to evaluate our life systems. Doing things the way our parents
did them no longer works. And at the same time, while conventional expectations
are breaking down, many standards of technological excellence may be too costly
to achieve, there may not be a sufficiently high level of expertise, and such
expectations may be unrealistic. In fact, environmental and economic crises may
prevent India from ever achieving the performativity standards of advanced
technological societies.
Under these
circumstances, we may also recognize that “information based” systems and norms
of performance alone are not enough to take us forward towards a desirable
future. The ability
to adapt to a complex reality, to make relevant and ethical choices, to think
and act creatively and with an inclusive discrimination are also skills that
the educational system needs to cultivate in students if they are to achieve a
viable future. These skills will require a higher set of performativity
criteria, a more integral approach to learning, and a more complex and
authentic means of assessment.
Information
Based Values - A Critical Perspective
The reason
for posing the question of educational values in this way is to create a
critical perspective in which to assess our theories and practices.
Performativity criteria are based on standards determined largely by the market
place and by corporate finance. Schools in the world of advanced technological values
and corporate control are supposed to further the values of these domains;
preparing students to be consumers as well as purveyors of such values is what
will make life meaningful, people happy, and civilization a success.
Sociologists and philosophers in the developed societies have recognized these
patterns since the 70s, and they are now replicating themselves with renewed
vigour in the developing world; a very large percentage of the information
conveyed by information based systems, whether educational, scientific,
political or economic, is shaped by the values and forces of finance and
technology. And such values are often not respectful of our higher human selves
and capacities, nor of our connectedness with each other and all of life.
The
problematic that I wish to raise is therefore twofold: 1) the worlds of
technology and finance must not be allowed to disconnect the minds and lives of
students from the five-fold reality of body, life, mind, inner self and spirit,
by displacing it with another, flat-screen, virtual reality; and 2) our
educational practices must enable students to develop all their capacities, and
especially the powers of critical thinking and creative imagination. And I will attempt a unified
solution to these problems that employs another rather suspicious activity and
terminology: assessment. Well, the bottom line is, if we aren’t going to simply
and blindly accept what our elders, teachers and employers tell us to do, think,
believe, feel, then we are going to have to evaluate these things and determine
whether they are true, beneficial and meaningful, or not. And to do this we
must have criteria with which to judge them.
An
educational program that aims to encourage and develop learning for the sake of
understanding and knowledge, and individuals who are creative, imaginative,
ethical, practical, and respectful of a complex and integral reality, must be
able to assess and verify these outcomes. And in order to have these outcomes
to evaluate, the initial unit or project design must deliberately create
opportunities for such outcomes. In other words, the assessment criteria that we
propose at the end also provide us with design criteria going into the design
of learning modules. We do not want to simply teach the textual content or
access the information, nor do we want to simply pass on outworn formulas; we
want to develop creativity, imagination, critical thinking, persuasive speaking
and writing, and a strong sense that what is being learned is relevant and
meaningful. A 33% pass on a standardized exam isn’t going to tell us anything
about what we really want students to know.
The Integral
Assessment Rubric
Now I want
to move beyond the critical and theoretical issues, - about which I suppose
many of us will agree - and to show you and explain a practical tool that you
can use to shape integral educational outcomes in your school. The first step
entails a basic attitude of questioning and discovery. We simply ask the student to
reflect on the unit we are teaching or on the project being done, by asking: Is
it of any practical use or personal benefit? Is it socially or economically
relevant? Is it inclusive of different points of view or values? Is it
beautiful or inspiring? Does it bring us a sense of peace and joy? Is it
meaningful? This is a kind of heuristic approach to prime the student to take
interest.
If the
lessons and activities don’t answer such questions positively, we are probably
wasting valuable educational time. So then, how do we build these values into
the learning process? First we
must be ready to consult the student in the planning of an assignment and try
to formulate an enquiry based approach: What can you do to make this project
meaningful? How will you show whether this project is relevant either locally
or globally to our lives? What skills do you need to develop to make this
project worthwhile? What kind of an outcome do you think would show that
different values, different approaches to learning, different levels of human
potential have been included – artistic, economic, psychological, political?
Then, an
assessment rubric is created, also in consultation with the student if
possible, that incorporates specific criteria for measuring these goals and outcomes
of the activity.
Example:
Writing, Speaking and Research Project - Integral Assessment Rubric
|
Knowledge
and skills assessment criteria
|
Unsatisfactory
|
In
Progress
|
Basic
|
Proficient
|
Advanced
|
|||||
|
COMMUNICATION
|
||||||||||
|
Conventions:
|
||||||||||
|
grammar,
punct, etc.
|
||||||||||
|
PRESENTATION
|
||||||||||
|
logical,
sequential,
|
||||||||||
|
relevant,
etc.
|
||||||||||
|
visual –
illustration
|
||||||||||
|
VOICE
|
||||||||||
|
clear
point of view,
|
||||||||||
|
enthusiasm,
|
||||||||||
|
confidence,
etc.
|
||||||||||
|
CONTENT
|
||||||||||
|
factual,
|
||||||||||
|
theoretical,
|
||||||||||
|
contextual
relevance,
|
||||||||||
|
accuracy,
scope, etc.
|
||||||||||
|
SOURCES
|
||||||||||
|
attribution
|
||||||||||
|
credibility
|
||||||||||
|
sufficiency,
etc.
|
evidence
|
|||||||||
|
UNDERSTANDING
|
||||||||||
|
scope,
depth, etc.
|
||||||||||
|
originality
|
||||||||||
|
social/moral
relevance
|
irrelevant
|
light
|
||||||||
|
MEANING
|
||||||||||
|
In
relation to previous achievement, present goals, local/global values,
personal growth…
|
||||||||||
|
OTHER
|
||||||||||
|
Adding the
measurements…
|
||||||||||
|
Knowledge
and skills assessment criteria
|
Unsatisfactory
|
In
Progress
|
Basic
|
Proficient
|
Advanced
|
|||||
|
COMMUNICATION
|
||||||||||
|
Conventions:
|
Mostly
|
Partially
|
Mostly
|
Completely
|
Excellent
|
|||||
|
grammar,
punct, etc.
|
incorrect
|
correct
|
correct
|
correct
|
&elegant
|
|||||
|
PRESENTATION
|
||||||||||
|
logical,
sequential,
|
Unconvincing
|
Partially
|
Mostly
|
Totally
|
World
|
|||||
|
relevant,
etc.
|
convincing
|
convin-
|
convin-
|
changing
|
||||||
|
visual –
illustration
|
cing
|
cing
|
||||||||
|
VOICE
|
||||||||||
|
clear
point of view,
|
Absent
|
Partially
|
Mostly
|
Consistently
|
Over-
|
|||||
|
enthusiasm,
|
present
|
present
|
present
|
powering
|
||||||
|
confidence,
etc.
|
||||||||||
|
CONTENT
|
||||||||||
|
factual,
real,
|
rudimentary
|
elementary
|
mature
|
compre-
|
Exhaust-
|
|||||
|
theoretical
validity,
|
narrow
|
simplistic
|
thought
|
hensive
&
|
ive
|
|||||
|
contextual
relevance,
|
irrelevant
|
low level
|
solid
|
important
|
||||||
|
interviews,
surveys
|
impact
|
&sound
|
||||||||
|
SOURCES
|
||||||||||
|
attribution
|
No
research
|
Weak
|
Sound
|
Thorough
|
Pulitzer
|
|||||
|
credibility
|
evidence
|
evidenc
|
accurate
|
Prize
|
||||||
|
sufficiency,
etc.
|
evidence
|
|||||||||
|
UNDERSTANDING
|
No light
|
mostly
|
Good
|
Shining
|
Dazzling
|
|||||
|
scope,
depth, etc.
|
no
interest
|
borrowed
|
insight
|
bright
|
||||||
|
originality
|
copied
others
|
light
|
some
|
&
clear
|
||||||
|
social/moral
relevance
|
irrelevant
|
light
|
||||||||
|
MEANING
|
||||||||||
|
In
relation to previous achievement, present goals, local/global values,
personal growth…
|
Lost in
dreamland
|
Signs of
awaken- ing
|
On the
path
|
Breaking
new ground
|
Moon
walking
|
Conclusion
Here is
where performativity criteria and integrality in the educational process come
together on a higher level than either can attain by itself. When we ask of the learning process
and outcome, Is it good?, we mean also Is the outcome meaningful to the
student?, Has there been observable progress in relation to previous
attainment?, Is the student stimulated to change the world, or at least to
understand it better?
If we can
see evidence that the student can express clearly the intention of the lesson
or project, and finds that it is something interesting, relevant and
meaningful…
If we can
see evidence of an inclusiveness of different approaches, levels, and values…
If we can
see evidence that the skills, procedures, outcomes, content of the student’s
performance have applicability and relevance in the local or global context…
If the
skills, interest level, understanding, and personal values of the student have
been enhanced and enriched by the lesson or project in a clearly perceptible,
measurable way…
Then it is likely
that the information obtained and used, the technology involved or implied, the
student’s learning, and the time spent in carefully assessing these most
worthwhile outcomes will bear fruit in the lives of our students and in the
world that they will create.
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