Singapore-India Teacher Training Project Benefits 60,000 Students and Educators in Bengaluru

Bengaluru, 27 June 2023:The five-year Mathematics and Science Curriculum Enhancement Project, a collaboration between the Singapore International Foundation (SIF) and Parikrma Humanity Foundation, had a major influence on training in Bengaluru.

Led by Singapore International Volunteers (SIVs) from the training sector, the mission aimed to reinforce the Mathematics and Science curriculum in Bengaluru. The SIVs educated about 160 Indian educators via workshops, equipping them with new abilities to create extra participating classes for his or her college students.

A core group of 46 Indian educators have been chosen as Master Trainers, who subsequently educated different lecturers in their communities. Collectively, about 58,700 educators and college students in Karnataka benefitted from this collaboration, guaranteeing improved entry to high quality training for kids in the group.

Earlier in June, the SIF carried out a mission analysis to measure and analyse the influence of the mission. Key findings included:

• Effective implementation of instruments and on a regular basis objects as educating aids

The educators at the moment are well-versed in utilizing academic instruments and on a regular basis objects to raised help their college students’ understanding of summary ideas. Examples included utilizing a tangram set to kind triangles in arithmetic classes and utilizing actual flowers to introduce plant components in science classes.

• Greater deal with course of abilities

The focus of educating in faculties has shifted to hone how college students arrive at their solutions as a substitute of the memorisation of information. This is supported by classes deliberate based mostly on the 5E Model (Engage, Explore, Explain, Extend, Evaluate), and complemented by science experiments and outside actions. These approaches engaged college students extra successfully and inspired better inquisitiveness in them.

• Improved growth of important pondering abilities

Beyond discovering the precise solutions, college students are guided to discover and analyse totally different options to every downside to develop important pondering abilities.

• Enhanced activity-based studying in teams

Where passive studying in silos was the norm beforehand, college students at the moment are engaged via studying in teams. Through group discussions, college students follow communication, collaboration and reasoning abilities, and collective decision-making, that are core 21^st-century competencies.

At the mission’s closing ceremony on 5 June, Mr Edgar Pang, Consul-General of the Republic of Singapore in Chennai, mentioned: “This mission between the SIF and Parikrma Humanity Foundation is a good instance of how lives could be improved when folks come collectively and be a part of palms. I sit up for extra of such collaborations between the peoples of Singapore and India throughout the varied sectors.”

Ms Shukla Bose, Founder-CEO, Parikrma Humanity Foundation mentioned: “We are happy to have labored with the SIF on this initiative. The training-of-trainers strategy has ensured that the advantages to our lecturers and college students will prolong nicely past the mission. The strategy has definitely moved the needle in elevating educating requirements right here.”

Dr Prem Mario, Principal at Parikrma Junior College mentioned: “We learnt to make use of objects discovered in on a regular basis life as interactive props to facilitate arithmetic classes, alongside different educating methods like mind-mapping and storytelling. After incorporating them in our courses, our college students have been in a position to perceive new ideas higher and are extra engaged throughout classes now.”

He added: “The Singapore volunteers have been very heat and approachable each time we met. Despite journey restrictions through the latest pandemic, we stored in contact nearly and picked up like outdated associates once we reconnected in particular person.”

SIV staff chief Ms Peggy Foo, a former lecturer at Singapore’s National Institute of Early Childhood Development, mentioned: “It was a humbling expertise and a privilege to share our insights with the lecturers in Bangalore. Their eagerness to be taught has been very inspiring. This mission has additionally challenged me to consider how we are able to higher carry the enjoyment of studying to our college students and encourage them to be extra inquisitive.”

The Mathematics and Science Curriculum Enhancement Project aligns with the Karnataka state authorities’s dedication to the UN Sustainable Development Goal of guaranteeing inclusive and high quality training for all, together with growing the availability of certified lecturers by 2030 via worldwide cooperation for trainer coaching.

The initiativeadditionally marks a major milestone for the SIF because it commemorates 28 years of their work in India. Over the years, the SIF has collaborated with varied companions from the federal government, company and non-government sectors, in states like Maharashtra, New Delhi, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Through their endeavours in training, healthcare, arts, atmosphere, and livelihood, the SIF fosters connections amongst folks and communities, facilitating collaborations that result in constructive change.