Innovative Practices in Education Essay

IntroductionThe word innovation is derived from Latin word innov atomic number 18, which means to change something to naked as a jaybird. In other words, we may say that innovation means changing the unremitting way of doing things and involves doing the even things in a novel way. The role of a initiateer in present context has unco changed because of the various factors such as social, cultural, economic and technology developments across the globe. Teachers in todays time must be advanced(a), imaginative, and resourceful and hurt thorough knowledge of the subject and adopt red-hot techniques to teach innovatively.J. Krishnamurthy1 Teaching, in the KRISHNAMURTHI FOUNDATION INDIA (KFI) conditions as opposed to other regular indoctrinates was said to be different and whence the seeker picked up these domesticates to study what and how innovatively the students atomic number 18 taught. KFI schools come under the genre of alternative schools. An alternative school is an educational setting designed to accommodate educational, behavioral, and/or medical needs of tikeren and adolescents that rearnot be adequately intercommunicate in a conventional school environment.2 Its unique features be as followsAlternative schools have a small number of students, maximum 200 in the entire school .Not to a greater extent than 15-25 kids in a classChildren are allowed to memorise the basic skills of reading and penning at their confess pace.There is little or no internal hierarchy in alternative schools. Excellent instructor pupil relationship .Family atmosphereThere is an inherent spirit of cooperation with self discipline.Uniqueness of each youngster is nurtured.The ambience is essentially fluid and informal.There is no uniform.KFI schools are not just ab unwrap transferee of ideas or facts in books, but is also ab out(a) feeling the earth, watching the sunset, listening to the birds, seeing the act upon of the leaves change in the different seasons and observing nature in its many colours, forms and shapes, in legitimateity and this has do the entire structure of the school based on the ideology of Jiddu Krishnamurthy.3 Methodology of the Study normative survey along with participant observation was employ in the present research as it was a qualitative research .Qualitative research seeks out the why, not the how of the topic.3( Yang.W.E, 1997) Data Collection Tools real visit to the school and interaction with the teacher, students and principals through interview and questionnaire techniques and actual participation in school activities. The tools employ wereInterviewParticipant ObservationDocument analysisLearning the KFI way a few insightsClasses are not only about completing the subject area but also about understanding the content with this core understanding every teacher at the school determines to use innovative teaching practices in classroom teaching. The term innovative is used to describe the combination of the three teaching practices in these schools scholarly person centered pedagogy Taking the accomplishment beyond the classroomGiving importance to personal relationships by from the academic subject matter. These education environments strive to cultivate a sense of community and belonging, and qualities of safety, respect, caring, and even acknowledge amongst the students .The term innovative in the context of this research describes combining these practices with technology i.e use of ICT( information colloquy technology ) in class room teaching. Student-centered pedagogy includes practices of teaching and takeing that are project-based, collaborative, foster knowledge-building, expect self-regulation and assessment, and are both personalized (allowing for student choice and relevance to the individual student) as well as individualized (allowing students to proceeding at their own pace) and according to their particular reading needs. Each of these elements has a sev ere base of prior research, linking them to positive outcomes in terms of developing skills among students.4 Hence these are techniques in which they learn to destine for themselves, and develop the ability to make clear logical arguments, and deal with complex ethical issues.Students whoop it up total intellectual freedom, and unfettered interaction with other students and adults.1. Autonomous larn is a unique innovative technique which is actively implemented in the academic transaction process. It implies gradual switch from traditional teacher-centered studies to a self-learning process, when students are placed in such conditions where they are to employ their critical thinking, creativity, collaboration and communication skills in addition to the problem-solving skills that will make them experts on a subject studied through project- work, group work etc. For Example- A project on garb season disposal in class V was abandoned to make them learn about environment and sustai nability.2. Cooperative learning directed towards focusing on students group work while doing their project assignments.3. Task-based approach to learning, which requires using learning situations and tasks that do not make students hardly re hit the knowledge acquired, but also stimulate their creativity in order to find new original answers to unconventional tasks. For example- increment flowers in the school compound to teach students of class VII, about seasonal worker flowers, types of soil and usage of organic fertilisers. Another e.g- Selling organic compost and making money track a small business annually for class X th students to teach them about exchange and profit in economics.4. Moving outside the class This teaching practice refers to learning activities that include learning in nature and beyond the traditional boundaries of the classroom, and also by providing opportunities for 24/7 learning (for example, research outside the classroom), fostering cross-subject connections, and promoting global awareness and cultural understanding. For example seeing the actual working of a venus-fly trap plant grown in the campus to teach about carnivorous plants.5. Story- based learning This method, called story-based learning, aims to sanction students to study various core subjects and be curious enough to find the answers by themselves. One reason out behind this learning design is to help students to comprehend the variety and interconnectedness of real life and match them with the veracious mindset and solutions.5 For example- The extravagantly-school students learnt a story about spices and ships, which would bring students into studying the history, agriculture, business, politics, culture and transnational trade of the East India Company in class VIII. 6. Workshops including interactive lectures, presentations, individual assignments, puppet making, independent and self-learning activities during operable classes and seminars, role play s and simulations, case-studies, individual and aggroup projects, holding master-classes and workshops. 7. Extensive use of tape recorder, e-book, graphics, pictures, charts in daily8. Blogs A Classroom outside the classroom Blog is derived from we intercommunicate. It is a diary or regular opinion columns post on the internet. In blog, the writer posts diary entry which others can read and comments on it.Web-blogging is used in two main ways in teaching. Firstly, students are advance to write and post their blogs. If students are learning to write journals or engaged in other form of extensive writing in the classroom, is the right place to check their ability of writing. Secondly, the teacher writes the main blog entries, which students can then comment on. They load assignments or projects to students on the taught topics, by which students can complete the work and send it back to teachers. So the blog encourages teaching outside the classroom.8. Role playing- For example, w hile teaching accounts the role of accountant can be explained by role playing technique. Invoice and bills can be given to students and asked them to assume the role of accountant. Here the real entries pertaining to transactions are made by the student and this is more practical approach to teaching where conjecture is supplemented by proper practical knowledge.9.Wiki- A wiki is a web based platform for collaborative writing. It is used within a private domain as well as public domain for writing together. The important feature of wikis is particularly used for language learning which is record of all drafts. Students and teachers work on it collaboratively. An example of a private wiki used for language learning was used in KFI school-based project to produce a school newsletter for parents within the public domain. Students can be asked to be collaborative as class to produce a Wikipedia entry because such projects help to promote team-spirit and increase motivation, empower st udents to take a crap knowledge, and enable them to learn new things in an interesting, stress-free way. To keep up with the educational expectations of todays youth, were called on to use innovative teaching techniques.Where resources and training programs arent available to keep pace with our growing technological expansion, methods must be developed and used that involve active learning without depending on high technology. Simulations, games, and role playing are viable alternatives for learning about and experiencing real-life situations. 10. Innovative evaluation- the 360 0 approach- Teachers report- Students progress is assessed systematically and continuously. Evaluation is comprehensive, non-comparative and points to possibilities for growth are given to each and every student. Parents receive reports in two ways a year. Parents report- However, in the month of September parents send a report to school on their children based on the observation made at home.How he/she beh aves at home, his/her eating habits, demeanor with siblings etc anything extra that the parent wants to tell is also welcomed. This report facilitates a joint awareness and understanding of the child by the school and home. Students take formal examinations from class VIII onwards and all the teachers seem to backup it completely because they feel students have to take the public examinations at the end of Tenth and Twelfth standard. 11. conjecture & assemblies- Every morning on that point are separate assemblies for the Junior and Senior sections, apart from this every school has me time in which the children and the staff sit all by themselves being in silence and think about the day ahead.It is easier said than done to sit in silence for 15 minutes because as Krishnamurthi says, Only a mind in silence and stability is a mind that can learn anything.or even teach anything 4 Hence this meditation time is important for both the kids and the teachers and there is no fixed way of meditation. The only requirement is that one should sit in silence. Sometimes in the evenings guide meditations are also held for the senior students who want to come. It is a voluntary thing and no one is coerce to do so. It is an important innovative technique in teaching self- inquiry and introspection to the students. There is no punishment system, only talking, counselling and understanding that takes place if someone makes a mistake.ConclusionsThis holistic education is normally characterized by several core qualities. First, it encourages experiential learning. Secondly there is more discussion, questioning, experimentation, and active engagement in a holistic learning environment. Thirdly, personal relationships are considered to be as important as academic subject matter. These learning environments strive to cultivate a sense of community and belonging, and qualities of safety, respect, caring, and even love.These innovative techniques are practiced in diverse ways in al ternative schools like KFI that provide a guardedly designed, multiage prepared environment that encourages children to explore ,experiment and learn according to their own pace and interests. It is possible, however, that these certain universal features of the KFI schools can easily be shared with, and developed by, other schools like the non-formal working environment and child-based, student-centric project help learning which doesnt require too much training or infrastructure , just a willingness to experiment and innovate on the part of the teacher. In many respects it is like a traditional school children take board exams, have a curriculum and timetable etc. But what makes them special and useful are the teachers and their passion for teaching, their innovative methods of teaching, the fearless and joyful interaction among teachers and students. The board results of such schools were better than the regular schools in their area but the stress experienced by the students, teachers and parents was comparatively much less, as what came out from the interviews and observation of the students and data analysis.RecommendationsFrom the insights gained in innovative teaching and its impact on the teaching learning process, the research worker would like to make certain recommendations for other schools as well. a.Schools therefore need to emphasize on those aspects of learning which would help children to self-observe and reflect find ways to search for knowledge instead of memorizing only. b.The project approach in teaching is inter-disciplinary, integrates arts, music, dance, yoga, meditation in the curriculum and leads to collateral learning. c.This is accomplished through evolutionary syllabi that emerge out of the needs of students and can be easily made by the subject teacher and head of the institution. d.The students are independent, responsible and confident of their learning. e.In line with J.Krishnamurthys philosophy, teachers lay emphasis on c ollaborative learning and team work. f.The teachers role is that of a facilitator, a generalist. g.The teaching style is informal, participative, democratic and illuminative. h.The teacher is a learner too.i.Meditation and yoga has definite positive outcomes on the behavior of students and also their ability to learn. Hence it should be encouraged by all schools. j.This holistic and innovative education in KFI schools is usually characterized by experiential learning. k.Secondly there is more discussion, questioning, experimentation, and active engagement in a holistic learning environment leading to boilersuit personality development. l.Thirdly, personal relationships are considered to be as important as academic subject matter. These learning environments strive to cultivate a sense of community and belonging, and qualities of safety, respect, caring, and even love amongst students and teachers.References 1. Bax,S.(2003). The end of old age teaching A new-fangled Approach to Educ ation and Laerning. ELT journal, 57, 278-287. 2. Alternative School, http//www.healthofchildren.com/A/Alternative-School.htmlixzz2BQfZSoIf 3. Martin, Donald W. (1975) An Analysis of Selected Works of JidduKrishnamurti Implications for high Education University of Cincinnati, Ohio (U.S.A.), research paper. 4. 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