Assignment III

Samar J. Singh, Developing world - E4A

Part I.

Section 1
K-12 - Failing to build Higher order thinking skills at this link.

1. Proposed solution
The author has correctly identied the symptoms of the disease that Indian K12 education suffers from almost across the board. I would summarize these as follows: Impaired development of inferential ability Impaired development of decision making ability Impaired ability to work in collaboration as opposed to competition

2. Learning topics and objectives

2.1. Objectives
Our objective to to develop the following abilities in Indian school children Inculcate the following abilities in the adolescent child Critical thinking Creative thinking Model solutions, acquire data, select data and analyse it, generate outcomes, and present persuasive arguments, incorporate balanced review and present conclusions. Effective leadership and effective membership of a team, and for the ability to transit between these states without trauma Collaborate within teams and to compete between teams. Implement ethical conduct, honesty and transparency as an effective strategy in daily life. Self learning Essential numeracy Essential IT Literacy Time Management Resource Management Comprehend systemic phenomena and understand ows within systems

2.2. Time and scope

It is unlikely that the educational system will bend over backward to adopt these objectives for the simple reason that it requires schools to make a quantum jump in skills and behaviors. As the Author of Assignment II indicates there is a culture of rote learning which lies at the opposite end of the spectrum from these objectives. Hence, it may need to be done in three phases:
Phase 1: Grades 6 to 12. Here relatively short term gains can be used to sustain long term objectives through the

adoption of supplementary curricula and the deployment of appropriate technologies.

Phase 2: Grades 3 to 5: Here technology has a lesser role to play and the success of Phase 1 will help schools dene

new directions for Grades 3 to 5.

Phase 3: Pre-school and Grades 1-2: This is the most difcult part and the most valuable element in developing

children to achieve their latent potential. Today neuroscience, PET scans and FMRIs are yielding valuable insights into how infants learn. Setting this to Phase 3 means we will have more time to learn and prepare teachers for these arduous tasks.

2.3. Learning topics

We have three learning topics Mathematical thinking, mathematical expression and use of computational tools for computation, error analysis and for understanding the sensitivity of the solution to uncertainty in the data. Written and oral English comprehension, expression, style, and communication. Systems thinking for helping children recognize the complexity of situations and to respond in increasingly exible, sophisticated, and creative ways.
1

2.4. Process
Our process centers around the synergy created by the following elements: 1. Well researched curriculum 2. Topic plans that can be run across multiple class sessions with the following characteristics: a) Graphically rich b) Proceeding by small steps to permit differentiated learning c) Embedded questions to create engagement and provide feedback on understanding 3. One per child electronic systems for feedback with alpha numeric capability 4. Immediate graphical feedback after each question of the class response without identing individual students. 5. Central gateway for despatching topic plans to classrooms, receiving and archiving data, analysing data, reporting recommendations for remediation, providing audit trail for post school streaming 6. Facilitator to conduct the class and managing discussions following the graphical feedback after each question.

1 Immordino-Yang

MH and Damasio A. We feel, therefore we learn: the relevance of affective and social neuroscience to education. Mind, Brain, and Education, 1: p7, 2007

2.5. Students/trainees/audience
Content has to be appropriate to the type of student. The major demarcation is between urban and rural schools and private and government schools. Content will need to be ne tuned for these audiences. We do not wish to interfere with the remaining topics of study. Our research and our experience indicates that both students and teachers improve across subjects when exposed to materials that emphasize learning over memory in the three areas targeted. A major challenge is discipline in Indian classrooms. Over the 12 years we have had few or no instances of unruly behavior in our classrooms. A secondary challenge has been needed infrastructure i.e. a projector, power supply, adequate desk space, absence of noise and heat. However, these are characteristics of our schools and we have seen that this bothers instructors more than students. We have designed our systems to work without mains power so the ow of the topic can be maintained.

2.6. Environmental context/learning conditions

Our system has been designed to be complementary to the existing system with a gradual scope for conversion from supplementary activity to mainstream activity. We require little infrastructure from schools and indeed have contemplated a bus that moves from school to school preserving thereby an ambience that is difcult to get with a deprived classroom environment.