Tag: CBSE

Class Saathi at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas

Posted on by clusterone

Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) is a system of central schools for talented students predominantly from rural areas in India. A rigorous entrance examination called the JNV Selection Test selects these students.

JNVs are fully residential and co-educational schools affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), New Delhi, with classes from VI to XII in English, Hindi, and regional languages.

TagHive, a technology company founded by an IITian, and JNV schools are making joint efforts in increasing the learning outcomes of students and optimizing the classes for the teachers with our Class Saathi line of assessment solutions.

We believe that for a classroom to be truly smart, the teacher needs to understand the voice of every student, and Class Saathi enables just that. Using the clicker device, teachers are able to engage every student and get insights into their learning to be able to create a contextualized strategy.

Teachers and School Principal from JNV, Sangareddy (Telangana) after Class Saathi Phase 1 orientation
Teachers and School Principal from JNV, Sangareddy (Telangana) after Class Saathi Phase 1 orientation

Currently, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas deployed Class Saathi in 5 schools:

  1. JNV Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh
  2. JNV Mungeshpur, Delhi
  3. JNV Palghar, Maharashtra
  4. JNV RangaReddy, Telangana
  5. JNV Alleppey, Kerala

During the first phase of deployment, trainers conducted orientations and training sessions for 45+ teachers and principals from all 5 locations. These sessions took place in the early stages and after mid-term examinations to increase the adoption of Class Saathi. 

Teachers can’t wait to explore the Class Saathi solution in their classrooms and see how learning and engagement improve.

Class Saathi Phase 1 orientation for JNV, Palghar teachers
Phase 1 orientation for JNV, Palghar teachers

The orientation sessions that TagHive conducted, proved to be fruitful in developing a better understanding of the solution’s on-ground effectiveness amongst teachers. Here is a glimpse of some feedback that we received:

1) “The training was very useful. We think that Class Saathi can be beneficial for the students. For next term’s exams, we hope to conduct all revisions using Class Saathi only. We also hope to get in-person training so that our teachers can master Class Saathi.” – Kavya Ma’am (Principal, JNV Bhopal)

Class Saathi Orientation for teachers at JNV, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
Orientation for teachers at JNV, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)

2) “Class Saathi is good, not just for testing students’ knowledge but the clicker system is very useful for creating interest in students for subjects. Quite helpful for teachers to conduct class in an interesting and effective way. The training has helped us understand the features better and I look forward to implementing it soon.” – Shivaji Sir (Principal, JNV Palghar)

TagHive team member explaining mechanics of Class Saathi at JNV, Mungeshpur (Delhi)
Class Saathi at JNV, Mungeshpur (Delhi)

3) “Our training was very beneficial. We have no complaints from the support team as well. Class Saathi has so many useful options (features). We can’t wait for the next refresher training session after vacation.” – Bhoop Sir (Technical Coordinator, JNV Rangareddy)

We are keenly awaiting phase 2 of our deployment with the JNVs wherein we will emphasize how to utilize Class Saathi assessment solutions during regular classroom hours, thus increasing classroom engagement and the performance of students.

Teach Your Children to Love Maths With These Tips!

Posted on by pankaj.harvard
Math textbook page
Photo by Deepak Gautam from Pexels

Mathematics or Maths for short, has been an item of absolute terror for students across generations. There is no easy way to say this, but Math, you are more feared than loved.

Before you read the above sentences and agree with us, remember that this is the fear that you can prevent your children from embodying and you could break the bad spell surrounding Maths. Want to know how? We have a list of five tips you can use!

1. Lead the change you want to see –

If you have had a bad experience with Maths and you constantly narrate it to your children, then they start internalizing a fear for the subject. This is something that you may want to prevent.

Granted that Maths may not have been easy for you but the goal is to make sure your child does not approach the subject with any preconceived fears. Maths anxiety is real and very catchy.

2. Know what they need to know and by when –

We assign a specific set of math skills that a child needs to know for each grade or level. For instance, kindergarten Maths will require number recognition and your child will need to know how to conceptualize numbers through examples; they should be able to count out five apples in a basket of ten. Knowing what they need to know is useful when you want to complement their school learning with activities at home.

3. Allow them to learn through conceptual experiences –

Learn Math as a life skill, not just a textbook concept. If your child is old enough to own a bank account, help them set up one. Additionally, you could ask them to keep track of their savings with the passbook and also teach them to calculate various things such as interest rates. This fun way allows you to see Math being used live in action! It also dispels fear if you reward it through their savings account.

4. Board Games are fun when it comes to Maths –

There are plenty of fun board games that require the use of applied Mathematics for victory. Games like Monopoly are not just great family games but will also teach your kids to appreciate the finesse with which Maths is being used everywhere, especially for fun!

5. Avoid Tuitions for performance –

Tuitions the way we have experienced are the most detrimental experiences for students who want to learn Maths. We send students for tuitions in the country only in the event that they are doing very poorly at it. A child forced into tuition will believe that they are incompetent at that subject.

Introduce tuitions as a concept to help them hone their skills instead of a method to discipline learning. It may be difficult to find a teacher who can help your student this way but till you do, avoid standardised tuition practices.

Math is only as scary as we make it, and we must treat it with confidence and respect. There’s no point fretting about a subject like Math that is highly misunderstood.

So much of Maths is a learner’s paradise and it is time we demystify the subject for now and forever! If you need help with that, start using our app, Class Saathi: MCQ Revision App. It’s for students in Class 3-10, free with 30K+ practice questions!

TagHive’s Takeaways from the Shikshak Parv Webinar on Holistic Progress Cards

Posted on by pankaj.harvard
Shikshak Parv 2021 Webinar on Holistic Progress Cards
Shikshak Parv 2021 Webinar on Holistic Progress Cards

Manoj Ahuja, Chairperson, CBSE, in his opening statement of “Transforming the System of Assessment: Holistic Progress Card” webinar said that through the new implementation of Holistic Progress Cards, they are looking to “test the success of the system and not just the students”. He claims that by doing so they are providing an avenue of growth for both teachers and students.

The old system of assessments had teachers rallying to finish portions before examinations. This practice, though standardised for decades, does not provide a reformative avenue for students to engage with learning.

These assessments model a sense of pressure in students to perform and not assess their learning. Educators actively working on reforming the assessment process assert that teaching rote memorization instead of actual skills wastes resources and time.

During the reformation process, the discussion and deliberation stage raised three major questions:

  1. How can teachers conduct assessments in a non-comparative, non-threatening way?
  2. Assessments under the NEP are collaborative. How do we ensure connectivity between all the stakeholders in the academic system?
  3. How can we standardize these ideas into a product applicable to all schools under NCERT/CBSE?

To help answer these questions, a panel of experts who worked very closely with Holistic Progress Cards, shared their learnings.

Dr AP Kuttykrishnan, Co-chair of the event and Director of Samagra Shiksha, Kerala, in his address at the webinar opened with the idea of shifting from rote testing to skill testing. “Assessments should serve as a framework for feedback on the performance of the students. It shouldn’t be used to fix a student’s abilities”. Standardized tests were designed to assess a student’s ability to reproduce rote learning, which fails to draw on important inferences like “weak skills”, “strong skills”, “areas of improvement” etc.

Now how do we ensure that students do not feel attacked or threatened by assessments? 

Dr. Pragya Singh, Joint Secretary Academics at CBSE, suggests achieving this through the framework of Holistic Progress Cards. She emphasizes the need to model the holistic approach based on three key factors:

  1. Provisions for self-assessment and peer assessment along with teacher assessment.
  2. Along with pen and paper tests, the scope for alternate assessment procedures that record the progress of children in project based and inquiry-based learning, role plays, group work, portfolios etc.
  3. 360-degree report card that tests the uniqueness of each student in the cognitive, affective and psychomotor domain.
  4. Development of interactive software that can gather key inputs on strengths, areas of interest and focus areas for growth.

The idea then is to create a pedagogical tool that will evenly distribute the participation of teachers and parents in the assessment that can also help stimulate civic responsibilities and community-driven impact.

Adding to that, Dr Anju Chazot, Founder of Mahatma Gandhi International School, said that report cards have a bad reputation of being a damning experience of what students can and cannot have. In her session, Dr Anju drew on the idea of creating assessments that enable students to integrate essential life skills into their learning curve.

Having practised the holistic approach in her school for years, Dr Anju, “Competency-based assessments will allow students to explore and internalise essential life skills that are functional for their professional lives”.

Dr Vasanthi Thiagarajan, Founder and Principal of Shishya School, Instructor of Differential Teaching for Harvard Education, said that report cards should move away from the 3 bad Cs – Comparison, Compulsion, Competition to the three good Cs – Collaboration, Choice, Cooperation. What will this achieve?

It creates a progress card with a very clear purpose; it shouldn’t be suggestive of merit and intelligence rather, it should reflect purpose, values and growth. This she says will empower the idea of “reflective practise”.

The system can be transformed through assessments is what the general suggestion is. How big of a success model can it be and what do we stand to achieve from this move is another question that needs to be addressed. 

To help answer this question, Parvinder Kumar, OSD Core Academic Unit, Delhi Government, took over the session. Assessments, according to Mr Parvinder Kumar must not be relegated to examinations alone. It must test the skills and competencies of students beyond subject headings and provide children with actual avenues of growth.

Reformative change at the core of the issue, specifically in assessments, is the key to achieving this. Assessments should engage students, providing feedback for improvement rather than assigning values to their perceived abilities. 

Thank you, reformers, for addressing some of the key issues rooting the system. It is through your hard work and dedication that we have come so far along in our educational journey.

Edtech Trends That Students Should Leverage

Posted on by pankaj.harvard

Online learning has been instrumental in keeping students engaged during these difficult Covid times. However, the one good thing that came out of this whole situation is that digital learning is one step closer to being the new normal for all.

The amount of time students spends learning through digital methods has challenged companies to ramp up their innovations and cater to these rising trends. This means that students have a wide arena of options to choose from. Now that we have spoken about the various options available to students, let’s see what some of them are.

1. Personalised Learning Tools:

Photo by Pixabay from Pexels

The name is suggestive of what it stands for. Personalised learning tools use artificial intelligence to cater to a child’s learning needs specific to their requirements. It can track anything from a student’s learning level to their pace of learning and the skills they need to focus on. We also make a very strong case for our app, Class Saathi, when we suggest that it is one of the most refined forms of leveraging personalised learning tools in academics.

2. Digital Masterclass:

Digital Masterclasses have found a new avenue of importance in the field of digital learning as there are no physical restrictions that can stop hundreds of students from accessing virtual classrooms. This makes it easy for scores of students to access quality teaching resources from A-listers in their fields. This is one way of truly learning without any boundaries.

3. Block-based Coding Systems:

An example of block-based coding: Blockly from Google Developers

Much hue and cry have been happening around children coding. Though there are conflicting opinions about coding systems for children, experts believe that it is an essential skill in these times that demonstrates the true capabilities of children to assimilate to learning techniques instead of simply learning by rote.

Block-based coding systems allow students to pick up programming languages in blocks, allowing them to create a foundation for future programming needs. There is a lot of space for growth in the IT space and it is a good idea to encourage coding in children now so they’re naturally aligned with interest when the time comes!

4. Immersive Learning:

This is honestly an expensive undertaking but one that has a lot of return on investment. Augmented reality is by far the most visual and immersive learning experience you could ever empower your students or children with.

Granted that it is not the most feasible option but immersive learning tools engage students on a multi faculty level by activating all their sensory systems to the learning environment that they’re a part of. This is also thought to increase interactivity since students experience a simulated ecosystem where their lessons come to life in front of them!

5. Subscription Based Learning Models:

Photo by Yan Krukov from Pexels

Online courses are a great way to build additional accreditation in students. However, the big challenge here is that concepts taught may not be able to cater to the diverse learning needs of students.

To combat that, Subscription Based Learning Models have emerged in the field that gives students access to a whole avenue of resources they can pick and choose from to support their learning needs.

They also have the benefits of choosing specific topics, tailor resources for their needs and also dismiss content that does not ignite their interest or cater to their needs.

The ed-tech world is rife with opportunities for learning and it can be a confusing and stressful experience for parents to pick some. To make this task easier, we have compiled a list of ideas that parents and educators can leverage to make online learning the most immersive it can ever be!