Pedagogical Innovations in School Education1

Dr.Nityananda Pradhan
Head, Department of Education,
Ravenshaw University, Cuttack.
E-mail: npradhan17@rediffmail.com
There is a broad consensus that the public school system is not delivering on its promise of
quality education for all children, particularly for the disadvantaged learners. Under this
circumstance, today there is an unprecedented level of support for doing things differently;
and widespread recognition that new approaches and new structures will be essential to
address the situation. When other sectors, e.g. health, finance, management, economics, have
turned to innovation – new ways of doing things that bring about an improved result –it is
sadly ironic that this is weaker in public education than in almost any other field, even though
the purpose of this field is to advance learning among the students. There is a lot of promising
energy behind innovation in public education today. Any innovation in education sector, be it
in student assessment, curriculum design, use of technology, content organization or
approaches to learning, aims at promotion or advancement of learning. Therefore, knowledge
of emerging theories of learning and pedagogies created from them, is a pre-requisite while
designing innovations, particularly pedagogical innovations.

Theories/Models of Learning

There are many different theories of how people learn. In this section few of theories of
learning, including, Behaviourism, Cognitivism, Constructivism, Multiple Intelligences,
Metacognition are presented with reference to their relevance to how children learn and
implications for the way education should be structured for them.

Behaviourism

Behaviourism was the predominant school of thought in educational psychology in the first
half of 20th century (from the 1930s until the mid 1970s). It defines learning as the changes
that take place in the observable behaviour of a learner in terms of stimulus-response
processes. Behaviourists are not interested in internal mental states, but concentrated their
attention on what was observable and, therefore, external.

According to this view, learning occurs when learner strengthens or weakens an association
between a stimulus and a response. This view, i.e. learning as response strengthening, was
based largely on the study of animal learning in artificial laboratory settings. The role of
learner is to passively receive rewards and punishments, whereas the role of instructor is to

1
Keynote Address Delivered on November 24, 2013 in the National Seminar on ‘Vidya
Bharati and Pedagogical Innovations in School Education’ Organized by Shiksha Vikash
Samiti, Odisha at Saraswati Vidya Mandir, Gatiroutpatna, Cuttack, Odisha
administer rewards and punishments, drill-and-practice. The instructional designer’s role is to
create environments where the learner repeatedly is cued to give a simple response, which is
immediately followed by a feedback.

Cognitivism

During the 50s, 60s and 70s, many psychologists became dissatisfied with the behaviourist
approach due to its failure to incorporate mental events in the study of learning. Cognitivism,
based largely on the study of human learning in artificial laboratory settings, viewed learning
as knowledge acquisition. It is based on the idea that learning occurs when a learner places
new information in long-term memory. The role of the learner is to passively acquire
information, and the teacher’s job is to present information, such as in textbooks and lectures.
According to this view, information is a commodity that can be transmitted directly from
teacher to learner. The instructional designer’s role is to create environments in which the
learner is exposed to large amount of information through textbooks, lectures and computer
based multimedia programmes.

Constructivism

The latest catchword in educational circle is “constructivism”, applied both to learning theory
and to epistemology – both to how people learn and to the nature of knowledge. The term
refers to the idea that individuals, through their interaction with the environment, construct
their own knowledge and meaning (Fosnot, 1996; Steffe and Gale, 1995). This metaphor of
construction comes from the idea that humans are builders, shapers, and designers, who
throughout history have created artifacts from pots to skyscrapers. All these tangible products
were and are still being built through the process of selecting the materials, arranging or
mixing the materials together, resulting in a whole that is greater than some of its parts
(Spivey, 1997). Constructivists place a strong emphasis on the learner rather than the teacher.
It is the learner who interacts with objects and events and thereby gains an understanding of
the features held by such objects or events.

Multiple Intelligences

Over the past decade, multiple Intelligence theory has been a popular basis for reform efforts
within education. It validates the belief that students represent a diversity of cognitive
strengths and ways of learning, and they use diverse practices in response. Gardner has
questioned the idea that intelligence is a single entity, that it results from a single factor, and
that it can be measured simply via IQ tests. This theory of human intelligence, developed by
Gardner, suggests that there are at least seven ways that people have of perceiving and
understanding the world. Gardner labels each of these ways a distinct "intelligence". While
Gardner (1993) suggests his list of intelligences may not be exhaustive, he identifies the
following seven: (i) Logical-Mathematical intelligence; (ii) Musical intelligence; (ii) Spatial
Intelligence; (iv) Bodily-Kinaesthetic intelligence; (v) Intrapersonal intelligence; (vi)
Interpersonal intelligence; and (vii) Verbal-Linguistic intelligence

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Metacognition

Metacognition is one of the latest theories in educational psychology. It is often defined as

“thinking about thinking” and it is a term most often associated with John Flavell. It refers to
higher order thinking which involves active control over the cognitive processes. Activities
such as planning how to approach a given learning task, monitoring comprehension, and
evaluating progress toward the completion of a task are Metacognitive in nature (Borkowski,
Carr, & Pressley, 1987).

Flavell argued that metacognition refers to both the knowledge that a learner has about how
she or he learns best, and the regulation of one’s own learning experiences. Metacognitive
knowledge can refer to learners’ recognition of their general learning processes, their
recognition of the demands of a particular task, as well as their recognition of which
strategies are most appropriate during any given task. Metacognition enables us to be
successful learners. Teachers need to promote the young people in their care to become more
reflective and self-evaluative.

How Children Learn

Recent research in diverse areas of psychology has offered new insights into the learning
process in different disciplines. As a result, curricula and pedagogy are changing in schools
today. In this changing scenario teachers are required to become more student-centered than
teacher centered; connect the school to real-life situations; and to focus on understanding
rather than on memorization, drill and practice. The four widely recognized principles on
which teachers should design the learning environments of school include: (a) learning
environment that require students to be active learners; (b) to collaborate with other students;
(c) to participate in meaningful activities; and (d) to relate new information to prior
knowledge. The teachers need to take these principles into consideration in order to design
instruction so as to facilitate students’ learning.

Active Involvement: Learning requires the active and constructive involvement of the learner

Learning at school requires students to pay attention, to observe, to memorize, to understand,

to set goals and to assume responsibility for their own learning. These cognitive activities are
not possible without the active involvement and engagement of the learner. At the primary
stage, children should be engaged in activities that would help them in promoting an
understanding about natural and social environment. Illustrations need to be drawn from the
children’s physical, biological, social and cultural aspects of life.

The following are some suggestions for the teachers to help students learn these skills:

• Avoid situations where the students are passive listeners for long period of time.
• Provide students with hands-on activities, e.g. experiments, observations projects etc.
• Encourage participation in classroom discussions and other collaborative activities.
• Organize school visits to museums, zoo, and technological parks.

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 • Allow students to make some decisions about what to learn and how.
• Assist students in creating learning goals.
Social Participation: Learning is primarily a social activity and participation in the social
life of school is central for learning process

Social participation is the main activity through which learning occurs. Social activity and
participation begin early as the parents interact with their children. Through these interactions
children acquire the behaviours that enable them to become effective members of society.
The establishment of a fruitful collaborative and cooperative environment is an essential part
of school learning.

Here are some suggestions for teachers to make teaching-learning process participatory:

• Assign students to work in groups and assume the role of a coach / coordinator.

• Create a classroom environment that includes group workspaces.

• Teach students how to cooperate with each other.

• Create circumstances for students to interact with each other.

• Link the school to the community at large, e.g. engage students to collect data from
village about food habits or electricity use etc.

• Arrange debate/dialogue/discussions on emerging social issues, e.g. dowry,

population growth, child marriage.

• Arrange discussions of students with local resource persons and public

functionaries, e.g. artisans, artists, postman, bank officials, police officers, farmers.

Child Reporters of Odisha

The project of child reporters was initiated in the year 2005 by the district Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan, Koraput (Odisha) in partnership with UNICEF and People’s Group for Children’s
Development (PGCD)- a civil society group working with children and related issues. The
project began with training of one hundred children from 10 primary schools of Koraput
district, has involved six thousand children from six hundred schools across the district by
the end of 2010. The child reporters interact with people around and observe the issues
concerning environment, education, health and development etc. They note these issues and
communicate them through the medium of their newspaper “Ankurodgam”, which is
published and distributed across the State by an Odia daily, namely Anupam Bharat. They
are found to observe, question, relate, draw inferences and report on issues affecting them,
their parents, their communities and their village. Field observation, overtime, revealed that
they practice healthy behaviour; and have turned into effective communicators and agents of
change in their community.

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Meaningful Activities: Children learn best when they participate in activities that are
perceived to be useful in real life and are culturally relevant.

Many school activities are not meaningful since students understand neither why they are
doing them nor what their purpose and usefulness is. Sometimes school activities are not
meaningful because they are not culturally appropriate. In many schools of our country
children from diverse cultures learn together. Sometimes meaningful activities for students
coming from one cultural group are not meaningful to students who are coming from another
cultural group.

Individuals learn in context. The child’s community and local environment form the primary
context in which learning takes place. The trees, the birds, the fruit, the festivals, the rituals
etc., the children observe/experience in the world around them; and the knowledge they
already have and that they bring into the classroom, provide basis for their learning. We can
make teaching learning activities more meaningful by situating them in an authentic context.
An example of authentic context is we can invite local artists/artisans to demonstrate their
works before students or allow them to visit their workshops.

Relating New Information to Prior Knowledge: New knowledge is constructed on the basis
of what is already understood and believed

Recent research findings have shown that the ability to relate new information to prior
knowledge is critical for learning. Learners actively construct their own knowledge by
connecting new ideas to existing ideas on the basis of materials and/or activities presented to
them. It is not possible for someone to understand or learn something that is completely
unfamiliar. Some prior knowledge is necessary to understand the task at hand. For example,
we can use known stories or take students to observe Palli Sabha/Gram Sabha, coupled with
discussion, to help students to understand the topic “Democracy”.

Here are some suggestions to help students activate prior knowledge and use it for the task at
hand:

• Discuss the content of a lesson before starting in order to ensure that the students
have the necessary prior knowledge.

• Investigate students’ prior knowledge in detail so that false beliefs and

misconceptions can be identified.

• Ask the kind of questions that help students see relationships between the topic to
be taught and what they already know.

• Bring out the interrelatedness of knowledge across disciplines.

• Encourage dialogue, debate, arguments, and questions on social issues.

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What is Pedagogy?

The etymology of the word "pedagogy" refers to the instruction of a child, although it
historically has been used to refer to the education of someone of any age. Some point out
that the word should only be applicable to children and suggest that the practice of, methods
for, and theories about teaching adults should be called andragogy. In English, the word
receives numerous definitions, most related to education. It is the art of teaching, its theory,
its practice, and its methods. In other words it is the art and science of how something is
taught and how students learn it. It is a deliberate attempt of improving learning process by
considering their nature, contents, methods, media, and other aspects of the environment.
Essentially, the idea of pedagogy concerns several related concepts. Exactly what should be
taught and how it should be taught are deep pedagogical concerns, and the ongoing history of
education shows that this question is never fully answered. Pedagogy includes how the
teaching occurs, the approach to teaching and learning, the way content is delivered and what
the students learn as a result of the process. It is created from theories on learning, which then
influences practice and/or subject. A teacher always has pedagogy, even if it is not clearly
defined. A pedagogue must know the children, the content and must know how to put these
two for quality learning. It is expected that a pedagogue must have knowledge of learners and
their characteristics; knowledge of educational contexts: groups, classes, school and wider
community; knowledge of educational ends, purpose and values and their philosophical and
historical grounds.

Core Principles of Pedagogy

The core Principles upon which the pedagogy is based are summarized as follows:

• Commitment to students and learning

• Teacher’s knowledge base on subject
• Teacher’s knowledge of how to teach those subjects
• Teacher’s responsibility for managing and monitoring student learning
• Thinking systematically about his practices
• Learning from experiences
• Teachers are members of learning communities

What is Innovation?

We know that our students’ world is ever-changing, so we can’t stand still. Today’s students
want an education that meets their individual needs, and opportunities that connect them to
what is happening around the globe. They expect us to be innovative and to make learning
environments more exciting, challenging and rewarding. We need to involve families and
communities in the learning of young people, because learning forums are more open,
transparent and collaborative. We can use technology more creatively so as to move beyond
classroom walls and to transform education with completely new ways to learn new skills.

The term innovation does not simply mean a moment of invention: it is a cycle that includes
several stages and the work of many stakeholders. Innovation is about doing things in new or

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different ways. The term innovation has been defined and understood in a number of ways.
There is no widely accepted standard definition. However, we are not concerned with
innovation in education merely for the sake of novelty. We are concerned with innovation as
a necessary ingredient to enhance the performance in the system of education. Educational
innovation refers to an idea or practice new to a specific educational context that meets
unsatisfied needs. It is the introduction or promotion of new ideas and methods that are
devised in education and/or school practices which have a substantial effect on changing the
existing patterns. They usually occur in response to particular problems that exist in the
education system. Being innovative is about looking beyond what we currently do well,
identifying the great ideas of tomorrow and putting them into practice.

Although there is some disagreement among writers on the subject, specific characteristics of
an innovation can include the following:

• It introduces a new or novel element which deviates from existing structures

• Its objective is relevant to the needs of the community and to national development
• It is renewable from time to time based on appropriate feedback
• It involves a scientific approach before being either accepted or discarded
• During the experimental stage, an innovation should permit flexibility
• It should be both cost and time effective
• It should be communicable to and able to be implemented in other parallel situations.
There are some myths about innovation such as: only innovators innovate; innovation should
replace the old with the new; and innovations are technical, not social or cultural.

The old adage that “necessity is the mother of invention” reminds us that the innovation cycle
begins with a problem that needs to be solved. Often, the most innovative solutions come
from those who are seeing the facts from a new angle or with new insight. Innovation
generally does not emerge from an individual holed up in a laboratory. A wide variety of
stakeholders need to play a role in an innovation. They may include: policymakers who set
goals and conditions; practitioners and users who help define what kinds of solutions can
work; researchers who help test and refine ideas and assess effectiveness; states and districts
who implement innovations; investors who give people and organizations the runway they
need to pursue innovative activity; and the entrepreneurs who translate innovative approaches
into sustainable and scalable organizations. In public education today, there are plenty of
innovations taking place across the globe. What we must do now is to accelerate that process.

Difference between Invention and Innovation

Invention can be defined as the creation or discovery of something new to the world.
Inventions are often producer driven, following an inventor’s curiosity or area of expertise.
While they are new, inventions in scientific institutes or corporate labs may or may not have
any use in the world. Innovation, on the other hand, is customer-driven, providing a new

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product or process that adds value to somebody’s life. Innovations can improve economic,
health, or social well being. Innovations are often built from inventions. The internet, for
example, became widespread after invention of fibre optic technology. But we should not just
assume that inventions naturally lead to innovation. And even if they do, that often takes a
long time.

Invention and innovation: What’s the difference?

Invention Innovation

A new-to-the-world discovery/creation I A product, service, or process that creates net

new value for customers

Driven primarily by inventor curiosity Driven primarily by desire to add customer value
or research interest

Merit defined by uniqueness Merit defined by profitable deployment

Based primarily on scientific skills Based on a broad set of strategic, marketing,

operational and technical skills

Creativity as a Source for Innovation

Creativity plays an important role as the prime source for innovation. It is seen as a process of
generating ideas, expressions and forms, which can amplify knowledge and lead to new ways
of using the knowledge. Enhancing creativity and innovation at all levels of education and
training has been considered as one of the objectives of Indian education system. Our recent
education policies, frameworks and Acts suggest that curricula, teaching and examination, at
all levels of education, should incorporate and foster creativity, innovation and
entrepreneurship.

Pedagogical Innovations

Researchers’ and academics’ conceptualization of pedagogy has changed with recent

developments in ICT and models of learning (Watkins and Mortimore, 1999). Many writers
have suggested the need to design a new integrated pedagogy (Cornu, 1995) and the changing
pedagogical roles of teachers, e.g. setting joint tasks, promoting student self-management,
supporting meta-cognition, fostering multiple perspectives, and scaffolding learning
(McLoughlin and Oliver, 1999).

Learning Designs

Many learning designs based on constructivist assumptions are available in the literature on
constructivism. Some worth mentioning designs, which have drawn attention of educators in

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the past several years are: 5E model, Bruner’s Constructivist Instructional Strategy, Inquiry-
oriented Constructivist Model, and Interpretation Construction (ICON) Design Model.

A. The 5 E’s Model

This model follows five steps to plan lesson enabling students to construct new ideas or
concepts based on their current or past knowledge. These steps are as follows:

• Engage – Students encounter the material, define their questions, lay the groundwork
for their tasks, make connections from new to known, and identify relevance.

• Explore – Students directly involved with material, inquiry drives the process,
teamwork is used to share and build knowledge base.

• Explain – Learners explain the discoveries, processes, and concepts that have been
learned through written, verbal or creative projects. Instructor supplies resources,
feedback, vocabulary, and clarifies misconceptions.

• Elaborate – Learners expand their knowledge, connect it to similar concepts, apply it

to other situations can lead to new inquiry.

• Evaluate – It is an on-going process by both instructor and learner to check for

understanding. Rubrics, checklists, teacher interviews, portfolios, problem-based
learning out-puts, and embedded assessments results are used to evaluate and modify
further instructional needs.

B. Bruner’s Constructivist Instructional Strategy

This strategy is based on the principles of readiness, spiral organization and going beyond the
information given. Instruction must be concerned with the experiences and contexts that
make the student willing and able to learn (readiness). Instruction must be structured so that
it can be easily grasped by the student (spiral organization). Instruction should be designed to
facilitate extrapolation and/or fill in the gaps (going beyond the information given). It
follows four steps such as Invitation, Exploration, Explanation and Taking Action.

• Invitation – The Invitation stage is the element in the lesson plan where students’
prior knowledge, ideas and beliefs about the concepts in the lesson sequence are
brought into play. The teacher might use a provocative question or a demonstration or
an interesting challenge for the purpose.

• Exploration – The purpose of the Exploration stage is to assist students in exploring

the concepts, phenomena, and ideas of the lesson.

• Explanation – The Explanation stage should help the students discuss and reflect on
their findings, data, and analysis. They should have the opportunity to see what
others found, to compare their ideas to other students and experts on the topic.

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 • Taking Action – In the Taking Action stage, students should be involved in an activity
that will assist them in taking personal and/or social responsibility for the concepts
and ideas they researched. This stage provokes the student to ask, “What did I learn,
and how can I use this knowledge to solve a problem?”

C. Inquiry-Oriented Constructivist Model

This model assumes that a well-planned lesson engages student’s interest and activates prior
knowledge right away allowing immediate exploration. The outline of the instructional
procedures of such lesson plan is as follows:

• Introduction phase

• Puzzling situation

• Data generating/Experimentation by students

• Hypothesizing and explaining

• Analyzing the inquiry process

D. The Interpretation Construction (ICON) Design Model

The ICON Design model is one of the best models that provide opportunity to learners to
reflect, analyze, infer and interpret in the process of knowledge construction. The underlying
principles and assumptions of constructivism such as active engagement of learners in
learning situation, collaborative learning, real life situation, problem oriented learning,
situating learning, and learner centered education are well blended in this model. Realizing
its importance in learning all over the world, the National Curriculum Framework (NCERT,
2005) has recommended for its wide application in school pedagogy in India. Teacher in the
constructivist learning, does not transmit knowledge like a sage on the stage, rather he plays
the role of a facilitator, negotiator and mediator in providing rich learning environment to
learners for knowledge construction. The learning process of the ICON design model
involves the following seven steps:

• Observation – Students make observations of authentic artifacts anchored in authentic

situations.

• Contextualization – Students access background and contextual materials of various

sorts to aid interpretation and argumentation.

• Cognitive Apprenticeship – Students serve as apprentices to teachers to master

observation, interpretation and contextualization.

• Collaboration – Students collaborate in observation, interpretation and

contextualization.

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 • Interpretation Construction – Students construct interpretations of observations and
construct arguments for the validity of their interpretations.

• Multiple Interpretations – Students gain cognitive flexibility by being exposed to

multiple interpretations.

• Multiple Manifestations – Students gain transferability by seeing multiple

manifestations of the same interpretations.

Models of Pedagogy

In education, teachers facilitate student learning through the use of appropriate pedagogy.
The different ways to teach are often referred to as the teacher's pedagogy. A good teacher
helps students to understand the material and to understand what it means. This can be
achieved by finding innovative and creative ways to make complicated ideas understandable
to the students. There is a saying, "Give me a fish and I eat for a day, teach me to fish and I
eat for a lifetime." This is the philosophy of a good teacher. Give your students an answer and
they can solve one problem, but show students the techniques needed to find the answer for
themselves and they can become self-sufficient in the field. In this section, a range of
techniques, which would help all categories of students to participate in the teaching learning
process and to become their own teachers, have been discussed.

Problem Posing

Problem posing lies at the heart of the survey method developed by Paulo Friere while
working in adult literacy programmes in Brazil. It is a systematic approach to empowering
learners to control their own learning. To problematise a term, a text, an opinion, or personal
perspective is to construct them as challenges that encourage learners to attempt to transform
their circumstances or views. Problematisation is based on a dialogue or process that takes
the common knowledge about a situation and transforms that knowledge into a problem. This
allows the learners to adopt new points of view, to reflect and to move towards action. Rather
than staying with the accepted ‘wisdom’ about what is going on, the learner evolves an
alternative viewpoint on the issue. One way to problematise a statement is to get the learner
to ask some simple questions about the statements. For example, with regard to the statement:
‘Industrialization helps in economic growth of nation’, it is possible to ask: Who is making
this statement? Why is the statement being made and why now? Who gets to benefit from the
statement? Who is harmed? This approach helps learners question and challenge their beliefs
and achieve critical consciousness.

Problem Solving

The problem solving method has several advantages over expository methods. It assumes that
students are active participants in the construction of new knowledge rather than passive
receivers of knowledge. The problem solving strategies give students opportunities to think
rationally. The higher levels of learning, e.g. reasoning, critical reflection, imagination, which
involve transfer and application of knowledge and understanding to new situations, can be

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achieved through problem solving. Learning through problem solving is more meaningful,
permanent and transferable compared to learning through traditional expository methods. The
process of problem solving includes the major steps of scientific method such as: (i)
Recognizing the problem; (ii) Interpreting, defining and delimiting the problem; (iii)
Formulating hypothesis; (iv) Collecting relevant data/conducting experiments; (v) Organizing
and evaluating the data; (vi) Arriving at conclusions; and (vii) Verifying conclusions and
generalization

Team Teaching / Co-teaching

Team Teaching/Co-teaching is defined as the collaboration between teachers in teaching. In a

co-taught classroom, two teachers work together to develop a differentiated curriculum that
meets the needs of a diverse population of students. In a co-taught classroom, teachers share
the planning, presentation, evaluation, and classroom management in an effort to enhance the
learning environment for all students.

Peer Supported Learning

Peer supported learning is based on the idea that ‘two, three, or more, heads are better than
one’. Using peers as a resource can be useful in many different situations. It is possible to
learn from others in many different situations including: tutorials/seminars; web-based
discussion forums; e-mail groups; in-class discussions/debates; working as a group on an
assignment; meeting up for a chat over coffee.

Critical Pedagogy

“Critical Pedagogy”, mentioned in India’s National Curriculum Framework, 2005 brought

out by NCERT is based on the assumption that students are not just young people for whom
teachers should devise solutions. They are critical observers of their own condition and
needs, and should be participants in discussion and problem solving relating to their
education and future opportunities. They should be made aware that their perceptions and
experiences are important; and should be encouraged to think independently and to have
courage to dissent. Critical pedagogy provides an opportunity to reflect critically on issues in
terms of their political, social, economic and moral aspects. It entails the acceptance of
multiple views on social issues and a commitment to democratic forms of interaction. Thus,
critical pedagogy facilitates collective decision making through open discussion and by
encouraging and recognizing multiple views (NCERT, 2005, pp.22-23).

Culturally-Situated/Relevant/Responsive Pedagogy

Culturally-situated pedagogy highlights the centrality of culture in students’ understandings

of the world. It addresses the need for teachers to acknowledge students’ diversity and
incorporate their backgrounds and experiences into the learning experiences and classroom
environment. In “culturally relevant pedagogy” (Ladson-Billings, 2001), “culturally
responsive teaching” (Gay, 2000), “culturally-situated pedagogy” (and other similar terms)
teachers develop the knowledge and skills to teach children from diverse racial, ethnic,
language, and social class backgrounds (Weinstein, Curran, & Tomlinson-Clarke, 2003, p.

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270). Culturally relevant pedagogy aims to ensure that educators acknowledge and honor the
diverse viewpoints of their student population and refrain them from promoting
homogeneous perspectives. Dingus (2003) further emphasized the importance of this
perspective: “No student should have to sacrifice cultural heritage, ethnic identity, and social
networks in order to obtain an education” (p. 99).

Experiential Learning

The authors of experiential learning such as Mezirow, Freire, Kolb and others believed that
the way we process experience are central to any conception of learning. They spoke of
learning as a cycle that begins with experience, continues with reflection and later leads to
action (Sharma, 2006). Experiential learning is not just ‘field work’ which means connecting
learning to real life situation. On the contrary, it is a theory that defines the cognitive
processes of learning and asserts the importance of critical reflection in learning. Kolb, one
of the exponents of experiential learning, developed a cyclic model of experiential learning
involving four steps, viz. concrete experience, observation and reflection, formation of
abstract concepts, and testing in new situations.

Fig 1: Kolb’s Model of Experiential Learning Cycle

Concrete Experience (1)

Teaching in new Observation and

Forming Abstract Concepts

According to Kolb and Fry (1975) the learning cycle can begin at any one of the four points
mentioned in the model of experiential learning cycle. In reality, however, the process of
learning begins with a person carrying out a particular action and then seeing the effect of
that action in the situation.

Concept Mapping

Concept mapping is a technique of graphically representing concepts and their hierarchical

interrelationships in a meaningful network. The use of concept maps as a teaching strategy
was first developed by J.D.Novak of Cornell University in the early 1980s. It was derived
from Ausubel’s learning theory which places central emphasis on the students’ prior
knowledge in subsequent meaningful learning. Concept mapping can be used both as an
instructional tool and as an evaluation tool. As an instructional tool it: helps to organize and

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represent knowledge in a subject; facilitates information processing, deep thinking and
making thinking process explicit; visualizes the cognitive structures of knowledge, links and
determines the relationships between textual and visual information; enhances mastery and
retention of facts; and facilitates meaningful learning.

Generally, the concept mapping is a state of knowledge representation and consists of

extracting concepts and their relationships from a text or other content, plotting these
concepts on paper or a computer screen, and finally, naming the relationships.

Fig -1: Concept Map on States of Matter

Matter

Exists as

Heat Heat
Solid Liquid Gas
Pressure Pressure

Example Example Example

Heat Heat
Ice Water Vapour
Pressure Pressure

What Pedagogical Innovation Looks Like: Selected Case Studies

This section contains case studies of pedagogical innovations at elementary school level
(Pradhan & Mishra, 2006). Each study constitutes a good practice in which the contribution
of students, teachers, headmasters and community members are visible. To some, this work
may appear relatively unremarkable at first glance. For example, a practising teacher might
respond, ‘Oh, I have used that technique’; ‘My colleague has implemented that strategy’; or
‘Our school introduced a program like that years ago’. It is a fact that many of the ideas and
the strategies recorded here are not necessarily new or revolutionary, nor should they be
viewed as panaceas for poor student performance or other deep-rooted issues in schools.
However, there are three points worthy of note regarding these case studies. First, those who
have been profiled can be described as ordinary teachers doing extraordinary things in
creative ways. Second, they have managed to sustain their level of innovativeness over an
extended period - either at some personal cost or with limited out-side support. Third, they
make innovative teaching look easy. Individually and collectively, these practices highlight
the fact that quality teaching is an interactive process. While there is a common perception in

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the community that ‘anyone can teach’, the reality is that not everyone can teach well. The
pedagogical practices listed below should be seen as illustrative rather than representative.
The examples of good practice are as follows:

A. Teachers’ Commitment: Sharing and Shouldering Learners

School: Kunduli Hatapada U.P. School – Pottangi Block

The five women teachers of Hatapada U P School, Kunduli, headed by Smt. Rambha Guntha
have enthusiastically been trying to fill the gaps in the SSA programmes, e.g. supply of
reading writing materials, mid-day meals, TLMs. They share to purchase reading writing
materials for learners out of their own fund when such materials supplied by the UNICEF/
District SSA authorities are inadequate. They also contribute out of their own fund to
improve the quality of mid-day meal. About 30 children of a Gurukula Ashram (A residential
seat of learning based on India’s ancient Vedic civilization), situated at a distance of about
seven kilometers away from the school, have been enrolled in this school. A discussion with
these children and their Acharya at their residence revealed that the head teachers of
Hatapada U.P. School Kunduli provides
Rs. 2000/- to Rs. 3000/- per year towards
the travel cost of these learners from their
residence to school and back. Besides, the
teachers also provide food to these children
at the time of their need. The assistant
teachers of the school: Smt. Swarnalata
Beura, Smt. Sandhyarani Rout and Ms.
Sanjukta Das are unanimous about the
generosity of their head teacher Smt.
Rambha Guntha. Interview with the other
stakeholders, including the parents, a
member of VEC and the cook, revealed that the teachers of the school posses strong
commitment not only to meet the personal needs of the learners, but also to their professional
responsibilities.

B. School Cabinet: Building Leaders for Future

School: Gangarajpur U.P. School - Pottangi Block

Gangarajpur U.P. School of Pottangi block has achieved appreciable level of success in the
practice of school cabinet under the leadership of its headmaster Sri Bhagaban Sisa. The
cabinet meets every Saturday during the school hours to have discussion on the issues that
different ministers face and on future course of action; and to review the activities performed
by each ministry. Meena Ministry headed by its minister Kumari Sunita Guntha of class- VI
have achieved success in bringing three dropout girls back to school: Kumari Banka, class-
IV, Manjula Khora, class-VII, and Lata Labud Banka, class-VII. It was learnt that the
members of Meena ministry have made a series of visits to the families of these girls (now in
school) to convince their parents to send them to school and could achieve success ultimately.
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Further, the members of Meena
Ministry have made it a practice to
visit the houses of absentees,
ascertain the causes of their absence
and report the same to the teacher in-
charge. This practice of Meena
Ministry reported to have checked
irregular attendance of learners,
particularly among the girls.

The performance of Education

Ministry also needs appreciation. The
education minister, who possesses
good academic ability, not only looks Members of School Cabinet: Gangarajpur U.P. School
into maintenance of discipline in the
school, but also manages classes in the absence of teachers. The other ministries, viz. Food
and Discipline, Health, Sanitation and Hygiene, Environment and plantation and Sports and
Culture, have also reported to been doing their best. It can been seen that the leadership role
played by the members of cabinet; and child reporters, namely Upendra Banka (Class-V), in
the management of various activities of the school has resulted in an atmosphere of
democracy in the school.

C. Shared Vision: Stakeholders’ Journey towards Quality

School: Angar Primary School - Dasamnatapur Block

Anagar Primary School, Dasamantapur Block (Koraput) has very close link with the
community. The community, particularly the VEC, monitors the regular functioning of the
school. It was learnt that three members of VEC, namely Mali Jani, Khuda Muduli, and
Bhagaban Bisoi visit the school almost regularly and participate in all activities of the school,
e.g. helping teachers in the preparation of Teaching Learning Materials, decorating
classrooms, distributing mid-day meals, motivating parents to send their children to school,
assisting cook in the preparation of mid-day meals, cleaning school campus. The common
vision of the major stakeholders like headmaster, teachers, members of school Education
Committee, Parents, BRC Coordinator, CRC Coordinator are reflected in the daily life and
functioning of the school. The teaching learning activities of the school is not affected,
despite dearth of teachers, due to sharing of responsibilities by the members of VEC and
CRC Coordinator.

D. Use of LCR: Teaching with Fun

School: Ex. Board Primary School, Pottangi – Pottangi Block

Two women teachers of Ex-Board UP School, Pottangi, namely Smt. N. Kalyani Chodhury
and Smt. Bilasini Das brought certain viable changes in the approaches of teaching
mathematics, language and environmental science, with the use of Learning Continum

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Resource (LCR), including Learning Ladder and mathematics kit, provided by UNICEF,
Odisha under quality package plus programme. They could convince the parents, their
colleagues as well as the educational authorities that the small children of classes I & II can
learn at their own pace and with interest if LCR is used appropriately.

E. Child Reporters : Students’ Involvement in the Change Process

School: Banuaguda U. P. School - Dasamantapur Block

It is fascinating to learn that some children in a remote school like Banuaguda U.P. School of
Dasamantapur block do report things that go on in their school as well as community. Such
children are known as “child reporters”. These children have been brought up through a
programme run by UNICEF to precisely report issues pertaining to education, e.g. dropout,
teacher absenteeism, attendance of children, examination; community sanitation; natural
calamity; agriculture etc. Their reports are published in a news magazine, namely
“Ankurodgam” published bi-monthly by UNICEF. These child reporters have been doing
their job sincerely under the guidance of a teacher and a district level news reporter. These
reporters have received deliberate and systematic training on the process of reporting and
have appropriately realized that they are supposed to follow developmental approach in
reporting things. In their opinion, they are expected to report things that would bring societal
reform as well as development rather than finding systemic faults.

Conclusion

The current pedagogy, particularly at school level, is following up the trend of a "shift from
teaching to learning". The process of students’ learning assumes centrality in the whole
process of education. Thus, it is not sufficient just to present the learning material before the
students or to put them into the internet. Pedagogy, as it is understood here, mainly focuses
on the activities of the learners and the teachings primarily from the point of view of support.
This is known as student-centered pedagogy. In this context, the construction of learning
environments is evolving as one central task of the teachers. This task is not as simple as it
appears to be. It requires teacher to get rid of his traditional role as ‘a sage in the stage’ and to
collaborate with the other stakeholders of education. There is no universal or readymade
approach to do this. S/he must find her/his ways to support students for optimum learning.
Over the last two hundred years some of the most exciting and innovative thinking have
come from such free-thinking pioneers. Some were not even originally educators. For
example, Frederick Froebel was studying architecture when he was persuaded by a friend to
take a post in a school. And Maria Montessori was a scientist and medical doctor until her
work led her to explore the development of young children. Other pioneers such as Steiner
and Malaguzzi were already working as educators and only came to focus on the early years
as a result of unexpected opportunities that were presented to them. Hence, the teachers need
to seek not only support but also ideas from parents and other members of community in
bringing out pedagogical innovations.

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