Remember postponing your assignment until the last minute before submission? While many children are familiar with the concept that procrastination is bad, fewer know why. As technology advances, the opportunities to put off work increases at a rapid pace – this often results in countless hours spent on smartphones, tablets, and video games. It’s not uncommon for a student who has no idea how to get started on an assignment to meander and while away time checking YouTube videos and Instagram posts before diving into the assignment. 

Most students have experienced the four D’s at least once during their academic life: Dread, Delay, Doziness, and Dawdling. Procrastination is a habit that feeds off fear and prevents students from using the time allocated to study effectively. The following are the top three reasons why students tend to get into procrastination.

👉🏻 Fear of Failure – The fear of failure may come from not wanting to do something if you will not succeed at it. This can also cause stress and overwhelm a student, making it harder for them to concentrate on the task at hand and make an effort to finish it.

👉🏻 Lack of Motivation – Motivation is the key to sticking to and finishing any task or project, be it at work or home. When children are motivated and keen on a particular task or project, they give themselves the power to move forward and do what they need to do. When children lack motivation, they feel there is no sense in doing something unless someone forces you or entices you somehow. In such moments, even the most minor tasks seem like a personal Everest.

👉🏻 Waiting for a Better Time – This reason is closely connected with a lack of motivation. Often, people think that they will be more successful or motivated if they put off their work until a better time comes along. This can exacerbate the problem, as a “better time” might not come along until tomorrow or next week. 

Even today, student procrastination remains a widely discussed and observed phenomenon. However, there is little agreement regarding its causes or the best way to combat it. There is quite a bit of variance between how different students procrastinate, and since no one solution fits all, it can be challenging to find the right solution for a specific student. Considering these points, here are ways to encourage children. 

⚈ Multiple Deadlines
A series of smaller deadlines lead to improved performance and better results than if there was only one deadline for all work to be handed in. This is because working towards that deadline helps us better focus and act upon the task at hand. When you break a large project up into smaller bite-sized chunks and spread these across smaller deadlines, it can reduce your stress, improve concentration, and increase your confidence while also making the project more manageable. 
Have students turn in drafts of their work instead of waiting until the last minute to write the whole thing. This makes it easier for busy students to manage their time and show their professors what they know. In other words, having separate deadlines — such as weekly milestones — is more helpful than having students hand in all of their work at the end of the deadline.

⚈ Supportive Feedback
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to providing feedback to students. You and your students are unique, so it’s essential to consider several factors when choosing a method to ensure the best results. Get in the habit of telling your students what you loved about their piece, especially if it’s something that you don’t usually compliment. This positive feedback can help build confidence and improve performance in the future. The purpose of your feedback, the types of assignments you’re giving your students, and the makeup of your classroom all affect how you interact with them.

⚈ Teach Time Management
With an ever-increasing workload and an almost unending list of assignments and projects, it becomes easy for students to get overwhelmed quickly. But there are simple strategies you can teach them to help make a stressful situation more manageable. Students who employ time management effectively are better able to be productive, which is vital to achieving good grades.

In the face of high competition in the sphere of education, it is imperative that students are equipped with appropriate tools and resources to make learning an effective and seamless process. Square Panda India offers a comprehensive studying solution for children, thanks to our Personalised Adaptive Learning platform that adapts to the needs of individual learners. Our programs promote adaptive learning that allows students to engage in their assignments and avoid procrastination actively.

The Assam government has taken progressive steps towards implementing the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020) that aims to bring out holistic qualitative improvements in academic education. By 2022, the state hopes to implement 75 percent of the guidelines outlined NEP 2020, with total compliance to be achieved by 2023.

The government has already directed schools and colleges to merge the State Education Board of Assam (SEBA) and the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council by next year. More than 1000 high schools will be converted into higher secondary schools under the first phase of reforms announced by the government, which has also decided to merge lower primary and middle levels of education to prevent students from dropping out.

The policy aims primarily to bridge the gap between enrollment, attendance, and quality of education in formal schooling. It also aims to improve basic literacy, enhance uptake of non-formal education, and promote both equivalence and equity in learning outcomes for all children regardless of the types of schools they are enrolled in. 

Square Panda’s foundational learning programs and educator empowerment programs perfectly align with the NEP 2020’s vision, and the efforts of the Assam government to improve education outcomes. Let’s have a look at some of them:

Formative Assessment

Currently, no conclusive data is available in India for elementary and middle schools to assess learning levels at crucial transition points, such as those from primary to middle school and then to senior grades. Without such information, teachers cannot identify students who fall behind, leading to learning gaps later in life.

NEP 2020 focuses on regular formative assessment rather than summative assessment and how it is essential as a foundational principle of the curriculum. Additionally, the policy mentions assessments as one of its foundational principles that encourage practical learning strategies.

Square Panda India offers programs that provide a formative assessment of student comprehension, learning needs, and academic progress using various methods, including quizzes, conversations, and activities. Our programs have integrated assessment tools that allow educators and parents insight into each child’s learning process. It tracks progress with detailed graphs, task completion logs, real-time assessments, and sophisticated personalization algorithms based on the individual student’s profile. It also gives a complete report on each skill in an easy-to-read format.

Developing New-Age Methodologies Of Teaching

NEP 2020 describes a whole new way of teaching beyond rote learning. Instead, it emphasises experiential learning via gamification and apps. It’s more than just memorizing textbooks – it encourages holistic learning using the web to discover new things every day. 

We believe that education should be an experience that goes beyond the classroom. By incorporating new-age skills into our existing teaching framework, we provide young learners with a fun and exciting environment to explore their cognitive, social, and emotional potential. Our mission is to create future innovators ready for the globalized world through holistic learning, and we aim for them to realize their potential by equipping them with the requisite skill sets. Our programs are made to suit practically any demographic and have been carefully curated based on years of research, client feedback, interactions with kids & parents, and formal training.

Inclusivity and equality

NEP 2020 aims to provide equitable access to education for all types of learners, across social strata, demographics, and geographies. It is primarily focusing on delivering early education for all in order to tackle the learning crisis. 

We believe that inclusive classrooms where students with diverse learning needs and backgrounds interact can help eradicate systemic inequalities. At Square Panda, we focus on delivering multisensory and inclusive foundational learning programs to meet teachers’ diverse teaching needs. Our adaptive platform uses AI to personalize lesson plans to individual learners based on the requirements of each student, thus delivering curricula tailored to their specific needs or knowledge state.

Placing an emphasis on world-class technology, modern teaching pedagogies, and future-ready curriculum is the need of the hour. Our programs are designed to help educators understand how children learn, thus giving them the necessary insights needed to teach children effectively. In addition to this unique curriculum, educators will also have access to professional development courses, which will provide them with a complete understanding of English pronunciation, grammar, reading comprehension, filing skills, and writing proficiency. 

With NEP 2020’s policy principles and Square Panda India’s array of programs founded in scientific principles of the 21^st century, we believe its implementation can equip educators with vital skills and concepts, and help them effectively share their wisdom with eager young minds. In doing so, we can leverage strong curriculum and state-of-the-art resources to reimagine education across all levels, and in doing so create a brighter future for the nation.

To know more about our programs, please visit https://ecce.squarepanda.in/ or email us at marketing@squarepanda.in