In India, most teachers use traditional tests to assess students’ progress. These exams are given at the end of each unit or term to measure how well students have retained the knowledge they’ve gained. However, modern educational requirements demand assessment methods that foster student growth and improved teaching methodologies. This is where formative assessment plays an essential role in improving student learning outcomes.

Formative assessments are learning strategies to provide immediate feedback on student progress, and can help teachers determine exactly where each student stands. This helps teachers understand their students are up to speed before moving forward with new concepts or skills.

According to a Unicef report, using formative evaluations can help students understand their learning processes and identify areas in which they may need guidance. Since formative assessments are ongoing throughout the course, teachers can identify problems early on before they become too difficult for the student to overcome later on in the course or even during class. Teachers can offer more examples or practice opportunities when they notice a student is having trouble with a particular topic.

🖊️ Formative vs. Summative Assessment

Summative assessments are tests that are taken once after all of the learning has been completed. They measure how much information has been learned or retained by students. These types of assessments help determine whether or not a lesson was successful or if it needs to be revised. However, they cannot evaluate if there are still gaps in the learning process that need to be filled before moving forward with new material.

Formative assessment is a process that allows teachers to evaluate student learning and provide feedback to students before they move on to the next lesson. As a result, teachers can change their approach, modify their instruction or adjust materials based on what they learn from assessment results. Formative assessments are usually ongoing throughout the semester and are not designed to be used once at the end of a course like summative assessments. 

🖊️ Formative assessment strategies include:

• Pre-assessments are assessments administered before instruction begins and are used to provide an overview of student learning so teachers can plan accordingly.
• Assessments during instruction allow teachers to gauge student understanding of concepts and ideas as they are presented.
• After the instruction has been completed, post-assessments allow teachers to determine if students learned what was expected of them.

🖊️ The Need of Formative Assessments

In addition to a negative impact on the academic year, the abrupt closure of schools due to Covid19 pandemic resulted in children missing out on core-teacher interaction, learning opportunities provided by classroom instruction, and peer interaction. Remote learning also had its own limitations in the Indian context. In order to restore learning after the pandemic, schools need to be able to identify gaps in students’ understanding and be able to provide them with the necessary support.
As a result, post-pandemic, formative assessment has become an increasingly important means to assess learning loss due to Covid19 school closures.

Formative assessments can be administered in many ways: by having students complete quizzes, answer multiple-choice questions or write short responses to open-ended questions. For example, think about a quiz that asks students to recall key points from a lecture or read silently while listening to an audio recording of the studied material. Here are some ways formative assessments foster student growth:

🖊️ Provide Guidance to Students

Formative assessments allow teachers to pinpoint where students are having trouble so that they can provide additional instruction in that area. In addition to identifying specific areas for improvement, formative assessments allow teachers to provide constructive feedback so students can see what they’re doing right and wrong. This helps them learn from their mistakes and become better at solving problems in the future.

🖊️ Promote Self-reflection 

Students who receive formative assessments often have the opportunity to reflect on their work and ask themselves questions like “What did I do well?” or “What could I have done better?” This process can help them develop a deeper understanding of concepts.

🖊️ Help Students Practice Skills without Stress

Students don’t always perform as well when they feel under pressure, so formative assessments allow them to experiment with new strategies and get feedback before the stakes are too high such as during a quiz or test. This gives them a safe space where they can learn from their mistakes and try again until they succeed — which can boost confidence and improve test scores later on.

Square Panda India’s comprehensive programs utilize formative assessments to motivate and inspire students. This helps them realize their full potential while keeping them actively engaged and motivated to continue learning in a joyful manner. To know more visit, https://ecce.squarepanda.in/

A teacher’s day is far from easy. There are endless meetings, a blizzard of emails, and piles of paperwork that need to be filled out just for their classroom. They’re expected to plan engaging lessons and lead classrooms full of students with vastly different needs. Teachers are expected to remain calm in the face of complex student behaviors, deal with parents who are sometimes unreasonable, and try not to lose their cool when they open up an assignment only to find it has been filled with senseless answers or drawings. A teacher’s job would be a tall order even if they had enough time and resources, but the reality is that many teachers work in school environments that are underfunded and overburdened.

As our society increasingly values standardized test scores, schools focus more on test prep than learning. As a result, some teachers find themselves forced to spend most of their time teaching for the test instead of engaging students in interactive learning. The ultimate goal of teaching should inspire learning something new everyday and preparing students to pursue aspiring careers. 

Teachers are expected to educate students from all walks of life, which may vary in intellect levels, emotional problems, and attitude. This can really throw a wrench into the system. According to the UNESCO report on the State of Education in India, about 16% of pre-primary, 8% of primary, and 13% of upper-primary teachers in Bihar are underqualified. About 3% of secondary school teachers and 1% of higher-secondary level instructors also lack proper credentials. The report recommends integrating ICT (Information and Communication Technology) into the curriculum and reforming teacher training, so teachers have career pathways.

To improve student learning outcomes, teacher empowerment is imperative. Teachers need to feel confident and comfortable with their role in the classroom to effectively engage with students and provide them with the best possible learning experiences. Here are some ways that we can empower teachers:

🖊️Reduce the Workload

Schools expect teachers to complete a lot of paperwork, give students constant assignments, and narrow down the education process to things that are usually related to standardized tests. Teachers have to keep up with timelines, remain constantly aware of the latest trends in education, and keep track of every new development regarding their student’s academic achievement. To empower teachers, schools must reduce their workloads by eliminating unnecessary paperwork, such as weekly lesson plans, reducing class sizes, and should hire more administrative staff to handle repetitive tasks. They can also help teachers manage their time better by providing support such as online lesson plans or hiring coaches to design curriculums and provide assistance with student behavior management.

🖊️ Collaboration with Other Teachers

Teachers need time to collaborate on best practices, share ideas about curriculum and technology integration strategies, observe one another’s classrooms, and learn new techniques for engaging students through hands-on activities. The most effective teachers use these types of practices every day to refine their craft and enhance the learning environment for their students.

By collaborating with colleagues, teachers can gain insight into how to improve their teaching practices, resulting in improved classroom learning. Teachers can also learn new techniques of engaging students that help keep kids focussed. It is also advised for teachers to meet regularly and discuss students’ progress, and what they could do differently for a better outcome.   

To facilitate collaboration among teachers, management must make it a point to have their teachers build a rapport with colleagues through special teacher conferences. Management also needs to support teachers willing to take on leadership roles by delegating responsibilities and providing necessary training.

🖊️ Continuous Professional Development

During the Pandemic, the education sector experienced one of the greatest transformations of shifting from conventional classrooms to online classes and virtual schools. Along with the students, the teachers across the country were also finding their way around virtual schooling. Let’s be honest, the teachers, parents, and students took some time to get accustomed to the online scheduled classes and meetings. That said, it is imperative for teachers to keep up with technology and trends to effectively conduct a class full of students. Continuous Professional Development helps educators stay updated with the latest technologies & skills to effectively offer engaging lessons relevant to today’s classrooms. Providing an opportunity for continued education during work hours encourages teachers to pursue professional development. 

Square Panda India’s Anganwadi Workers Upskilling Program aims to empower Anganwadi workers, transforming these centers to their fullest potential for children’s holistic development. Learn more about our programs here

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system, including the brain, the senses and related behaviors. Neural Education is a unique self-directed learning method that works with your brain to develop a deeper understanding of how it processes information. It emphasizes a positive mood and promotes long-term learning to ensure learners retain all new knowledge for life.

Neural education uses neuroscience to help people learn better and think more clearly through learning strategies that take advantage of what we know about how our brains work. 

Understanding Your Brain to Help You Learn Better

The brain is made up of neurons, cells that transmit information throughout our bodies through electrical signals. When neurons fire together in a certain sequence, we form memories and learn new skills. The more connections you make between neurons, the stronger those connections become. This is why repetition is so important in learning — if you’re trying to learn something new, try repeating it over and over again until you get it right. This way, more connections are made between neurons each time you repeat something, making it easier for you to remember in the future.

The more senses that are involved in learning something new, the better the chance that information will be remembered later. For example, reading about something isn’t as effective as hearing or seeing someone demonstrate what they’re talking about; likewise, hearing something isn’t as effective as seeing or doing it yourself.

Learning Strategies That Are More Compatible With Your Brain

✍️ Repetitive Activation of Neurons

One way to stimulate our brain is through repetition. Familiar sights, sounds, and situations produce a wave of activity across the brain’s cortex. This repeated activation reinforces the neural pathway and makes it easier for us to process future information associated with these experiences. 

When we’re trying to memorize something like a math problem or a poem, repeating it several times will help build synaptic trails between the neurons involved in learning this material. The repetition of these connections between neurons will leave the child with a more efficient way to process information.

✍️ Spaced Practice

Research has shown that spaced learning is a technique that involves different spaced-out study sessions for learning material across time. Essentially, this is a way of spacing out your studying over one to two weeks. Spaced learning has been shown to improve long-term retention.

When you study the same material in one sitting, you activate neurons associated with that information in your brain. This repeated activation can lead to a reduced ability to recall the information later on in time. However, by taking breaks between study sessions, you allow yourself to take advantage of what’s known as “interference theory.” 

Interference theory states that new memories compete with old ones and will eventually replace them unless they are continually reinforced by additional study or practice sessions. If you go too long without studying something, it becomes easier for new information to replace it in your mind because you haven’t reinforced those old memories enough times yet. Students must try breaking up their study schedule into smaller chunks throughout the week or month to take advantage of interference theory while implementing spaced learning techniques.

Here’s how neural education can make learning more effective:

👉 Understand Childhood Development

The first few years of life are the most critical development stage, and it is during this time that neural connections are formed. These connections form the basis for how we learn, behave, and interact with others throughout our lives. As a result, children who do not receive proper care in their early years can suffer developmental delays affecting their entire life later on. Neural Education can help teachers & educators understand how neural connections are formed during this critical stage to provide children with personalized education plans.

👉 Self-Monitoring

Learners are encouraged to evaluate their own performance on tasks to see how well they are doing and adjust their strategy accordingly. Learners discover what works best for them personally by engaging in this kind of self-monitoring. They also start getting feedback from their instructors about what strategies work well for them in specific subject areas or situations.

👉 Cognitive Tutoring

Neural Education uses cognitive tutoring, a specialized form of computer-based teaching that allows students to learn at their own pace. It also provides students with feedback based on their individual learning styles — something many teachers are not equipped to do effectively. The cognitive tutor adapts its lessons based on how well each student performs, so students can learn without getting frustrated or bored with repetitive exercises they already understand. 

The Bottom Line

Teachers can use neural education as a supplementary teaching aid in classroom environments. Incorporating strategies and techniques inspired by the principles of neural education will allow teachers to make their lessons more experiential and interactive while addressing students’ diverse learning styles.

Square Panda India helps educators build their capacity for neural education by providing them with resources to inspire classroom practice and professional development opportunities that will equip them with the knowledge and skills required for improving student learning outcomes. To know more, visit ecce.squarepanda.in 

Restorative practices in Schools are a set of strategies that help foster safe, supportive, and inclusive learning environments. They can be used to address a wide range of issues, from conflict to bullying to mental health problems. 

As the name suggests, they focus on repairing harm where it has occurred and preventing it from taking root. Such practices have been implemented in classrooms worldwide, showing positive results across various issues. If implemented correctly, the use of restorative practices is likely to lead to improved classroom management, greater levels of civility and respect between students and staff, and more trust and predictability throughout the school.  Here’s how they can help in school settings:

• Reduce suspensions and expulsions: Restorative practices often involve more than just one person at a time. This helps reduce the number of suspensions, expulsions, and arrests in schools by helping students feel more connected to their peers and teachers.
• Reduce bullying and other behavioral problems: Restorative practices help students learn how to resolve conflicts peacefully, reducing bullying among students and different types of misbehavior (such as vandalism or theft).
• Increase academic performance: Students who engage in restorative practices report less stress about schoolwork because they can resolve problems with teachers instead of getting into trouble with them. Students also tend to do better academically when they learn how to solve conflicts themselves instead of being punished for them.

Restorative practices are a positive and proactive approach to discipline that focuses on repairing harm and strengthening relationships. They can help create a more effective school climate by building trust, cooperation, and mutual respect among students, parents, educators, and administrators. Here’s how restorative practices can be used in the classroom setting:

• Peer Mediation: Students work together to solve conflicts rather than turning them over to adults. This can be done through peer juries or mediating circles, where students have a voice in deciding how to resolve conflicts among their peers. This form of mediation encourages leadership skills and helps create relationships where students feel more comfortable discussing their issues without fear of being judged by anyone but their peers.
• Family Conferencing: Parents are invited into the classroom to discuss how best to support their child’s learning process and how they can help keep their child on a track towards reaching academic goals. This allows teachers and parents to clarify strategies for supporting a student’s learning at home and school to improve academic performance.
• Restorative Circles: These are often used after an incident has occurred in which students have been hurt or offended by another student’s behavior (e.g., name-calling). The group gathers together with the teacher present but not leading or directing the discussion. Instead, each student tells their story about what happened and how it made them feel, followed by listening from other members of the group who were involved or affected by what happened. This helps create opportunities for healing while preventing future problems from arising between those involved.

A survey of schools showed that 97% of schools found whole-school restorative approaches to be effective in preventing bullying. Here are some ideas for building restorative practices in your school:

👉 Identify the Problem 

If a student is misbehaving or being disruptive, ask yourself if you know why. Is there an underlying issue? For example, did something happen at home or at lunch? Did someone push their buttons? You should always ask these questions when dealing with students who exhibit problematic behaviors. In addition, you may need to investigate what happened prior to the incident to understand why your student acted out.

👉 Let go of Perfectionism

It’s vital that you don’t mistake restorative practice for perfectionism. Restorative practice doesn’t mean that everything is perfect all the time. In fact, restorative practice acknowledges that there will always be conflict in our schools and classrooms — but it also means that you can use strategies to address those conflicts so they don’t escalate into bigger problems (like school violence).

👉 Ensure Students Understand Why They’re Participating

Students will be more likely to participate if they understand why they participate in these activities. It can be helpful for teachers to give students an explanation of why they are taking part in a restorative practice, such as, “Today we’re going to talk about what happened between you two yesterday at recess.” This helps students understand that they’re not being punished, but rather that this is a chance to solve their problems together as equals.

Create opportunities for students to get involved in community-building activities like volunteering at a local food bank or helping out at an animal shelter during lunchtime or after school. This allows students to work together on a project that benefits others. It also helps them develop empathy for others who may be struggling more than they are by allowing them to see how their actions impact others around them.

👉 Allow Students Time for Reflection

Restorative practices work best when there’s time for reflection afterward. Teachers should give students time to talk about what happened during each activity and how it made them feel so that everyone feels comfortable moving forward without any lingering issues.

When implemented well, these strategies can lead to peaceful school communities where students feel safe and valued for who they are and what they do.

Restorative practices will revolutionise the education sector. It will change how children view their mistakes and teachers as facilitators instead of severe punishments. As a result, the focus will shift to improving the behavior and not on one’s talent. As such, restorative practices are indeed one of the best ways to solve mischievous activities among children.

Square Panda India uses diverse approaches to ensure children progress in a joyful and holistic manner. To know more, visit ecce.squarepanda.in 

Pre-kindergarten is the first significant milestone in your child’s education. Yet, it’s also challenging because you and your child are separated for most of the day. Your child will be learning many new things, so it’s vital that they feel comfortable and secure in their new surroundings. Knowing exactly what to expect during their first day of school can make the separation anxiety a little bit easier on both of you and ensure that they are making the best possible transition into their new classroom.

The following activities will help you and your child be fully prepared for kindergarten.

👉 Talk about the classroom

Talk about what you know about the classroom, like where it is located, what it looks like, who goes there, and why. Then, ask your child questions about their thoughts and feelings on going to pre-k. Are they excited? Nervous? What do they think might happen? What do you think will happen? Tell them about how their day will go, what activities they will do, and who they will have as teachers or other staff members at the school.

The best preparation for this transition is knowing that this is just one more step in the growing-up process. Maintain a sense of excitement for this new experience with your child, but also make sure to ease any worries they might have about leaving you for the first time. Leaving for a few hours doesn’t mean your parent/child relationship will change, it is just another step toward independence!

Here are some ways to help your tot experience the class environment:

• Sing songs together that promote good behavior and positive interactions with friends and family members.
• Read books together that focus on getting ready for school or starting a new adventure in life, such as going to the dentist, or visiting grandma’s house for the first time!
• Have pretend playtime with toys that represent items found in a classroom setting like desks, chairs and pencils etc.

👉 Teach your child how to follow directions

You know that your child will enter a classroom full of new challenges, but you probably haven’t given much thought to how they will learn to handle those challenges. Your child is used to playing freely in the house and doesn’t have much experience following directions. If your child is not used to listening, this is the time to start practicing. You can start with simple commands like “Put your shoes on”, or “Pick up the Toys”. 

If they don’t listen the first time around, don’t give up! Keep repeating the command until they comply. This will help them learn to follow directions when teachers ask them to sit still, listen and behave appropriately in a group of other children. Practice at home will make all these things easier for your child.

👉 Help them learn how to share

Many kids struggle with sharing even though they want something or someone else has something they want! Teaching them how to share early on will help them be more willing to do so in pre-K. How you approach the issue of sharing will depend a lot on your child’s age, developmental level, and ability to communicate with them effectively.

Younger children may not understand the concept of ownership and therefore have difficulty grasping why they can’t just take something another child has. To explain why it’s important to share with others, you can start by teaching them about fair play and fairness—that if one person is playing with a specific toy, then everyone who wants to use it should take turns.

These lessons can also be reinforced at home through routines where you’re all using the same item at the same time, like when one sibling is drawing at the table while another is playing with blocks nearby. Show your child by example that sharing space is essential for everyone to get along.

👉 Establish a Routine

A new routine can be challenging for tots, and it will take some time to get them used to it. This is why you should start weeks before school starts. You want to ensure that your child’s sleep schedule is in order, their eating habits are correct, and they know what their day will be like when they return to school. 

Begin by creating a schedule for the day with specific times for meals, snacks, playtime, and quiet time. Be sure to include special events like going on walks and trips to the library in your schedule. Ensure your child is well rested and fed before beginning your daily routine. Tired children are much more likely to have trouble adapting to a new schedule.

The first week of school is always filled with tears, but it doesn’t have to be this way. By setting up a routine for your child that follows their natural daily rhythm, you can avoid many pitfalls of adjusting to the demands of school life. 

At Square Panda India, we are committed to building the future of education. We bring together educators, parents and children, using cutting-edge technology to directly improve learning outcomes. To know more, visit ecce.squarepanda.in

Self-paced learning is any learning activity where the learner controls the pace at which they progress through material, often by selecting their content and using it at their own convenience. This can take the form of flipping through chapters of a textbook or watching videos at a slower pace than normal or faster. It can also include activities like reading and taking notes on chapters that interest them most, or answering practice questions before moving on.

Self-paced learning is not entirely new, but its prevalence today made it the norm for educational institutions. After all, their core mission includes ensuring continuous learning happens regardless of where and when students do it. According to Global News Wire, the global self-paced e-learning market is anticipated to reach USD 10960 Million by 2027, with a CAGR of 8.2%.

Students who choose self-paced learning have many reasons for making this choice. Some of these reasons include:

• A busy schedule, which hinders their ability to handle their coursework at their own pace without being held back by other students or having to compete with other students for resources.

• Being motivated by knowing they are in control of their learning process, and can move forward as fast as they want.

• Possibly being more motivated when they feel they are in control of their own progress and the material is not being spoon-fed.

• Knowing they can get help from an instructor or tutor when needed, because they do not have to wait until class starts or until there is an office hour available before getting help with something difficult for them to understand on their own.

Learning at your own pace has many benefits, one of which is that it enables you to go through the material as often as necessary until you fully understand it. Here’s why it is highly effective among students:

🖊️ Combats Short Attention Spans

Some students cannot concentrate on anything for long periods because they have short attention spans. With this type of learner, it makes sense that they would want to learn something quickly to move on to something more interesting than what they are currently doing!  Self-paced learning does just that – it allows these learners to move from one thing to another in a matter of minutes. It also helps students improve their concentration levels because they are not forced into studying while they are tired or exhausted from other activities, such as work or schoolwork.

🖊️ Increase Memory Retention

Self-paced learning allows students to be in control of their own learning processes. They’re able to choose which topics they want to focus on, how much time they want to spend on each one, which types of assignments they want to do, and whether or not they want to repeat specific lessons or go over something again before moving on. By giving themselves this freedom, students have more control over their memory retention, which means that when it comes time for a test or exam, everything that’s been learnt will be fresh in their minds.

🖊️ Improved Learning

Students who have difficulties with a particular concept or topic don’t feel pressured to keep going until they get it right. Instead, they can take a break and return later when you feel more ready!  When students are forced to work through an assignment quickly, and before they fully grasp the concepts, they will often need to reread the lesson or ask their teacher for help. Students can ensure their comprehension level is high before moving forward with new material by taking a self-paced approach and pausing when necessary.

Are Schools Accepting Self-Paced Learning?

While traditional schooling is still very much in use, an increasing number of students are turning to self-paced learning methods for their education. This trend is likely due to the increase in online resources and how many school districts are switching to more self-paced curriculums. If students enjoy a class or subject matter, they can spend as much time on it as needed to master it. If they feel like they’re struggling in a particular subject, they can move on without waiting for a teacher to be available or not feeling like they’ve left something important behind. 

In fact, many classes now have instructors that use videos to teach instead of simply lecturing in person—they record themselves going through the material and then allow students to watch the videos at their own pace at home, in their own time. 

While blended learning has been gaining popularity as a way to deliver instruction and assessments, it’s not the only way. A blended approach allows students to learn at their own pace in an environment that supports self-directed learning. It also gives teachers more flexibility in how they deliver content and interact with students.

The Bottom Line

Self-paced learning is a method of teaching that allows students to learn at their own pace. It offers flexibility and freedom to students, which is why it has become one of the most sought-after teaching methods. At Square Panda, we use a mix of experiential, play-based, sensorial, and blended learning to help everyone reach their educational goals. To know more, visit ecce.squarepanda.in

In mainstream schools, every student must learn certain things before proceeding to the next class. However, not all students learn at the same pace. Some are quick learners while others aren’t, and therefore need a little push and additional attention to attain maximum potential. 

Nothing can be more challenging than having a child struggling at school. No one likes being left behind, and who wants to put in extra effort when you already feel that you have exhausted every available option? As parents & educators, you want your children to do better in school, and when they fall behind, it becomes your job to get them back on track. 

Remedial education is the solution to giving kids an extra push. It has been designed to help students who have not been successful in traditional academic settings, and provides instruction and practice in skills that will enables learners to progress in the general education curriculum.

Remedial education is a holistic way of addressing learning difficulties, an umbrella term for special education or supportive learning programs which provide instruction in basic skills like reading or arithmetic. The curriculum varies from state to state but usually addresses several disciplines like literacy, social studies, math, science, and sometimes physical education.

Why is Remedial Education Important?

Remedial education is essential for students to receive instruction in basic math, reading, and writing skills that they have not yet acquired. In addition, these students find learning difficult in a classroom due to earlier struggles with language development and basic learning skills. Remedial classes can accommodate students’ needs by being able to provide one-on-one or small group classrooms for students. There are many reasons why there is a need for remedial education, including:

• Students may have had trouble learning in the past and need more time to develop the skills they need to succeed academically. Remedial education provides a chance for students who have struggled with basic skills to build confidence in themselves and improve self-esteem—something significant for high school students looking ahead to college or career training programs.
• Students may not have been exposed to the same level of academic rigour as others when they were younger. Remedial education provides an opportunity for students who are likely to become disengaged from school or drop out early to get the support they need to succeed in postsecondary education programs or careers.
• Students may come from an environment where they do not have access to quality instruction or resources. Remedial education provides an opportunity for students facing academic challenges due to learning disabilities or other factors to receive additional support from qualified teachers and counsellors to achieve their goals.
• Students may have been dealing with issues at home that made it difficult to focus on academics. They may have had trouble adjusting socially and felt isolated or alone. Or they may have struggled with an undiagnosed learning disability that was never addressed or treated appropriately within the public school system. Remedial education can give a push to such children, positively affecting a student’s ability to learn and be successful in school. 

Methods of Remedial Education

Remedial education can be provided in many ways depending on the individual needs of the student as well as their desired learning style. For example, some students are more comfortable learning through reading, while others prefer auditory methods such as listening to lectures or watching videos. Below are some of them:

• Supplemental Instruction: A teacher or other professional works with a student individually to help them understand a concept or skill they have not mastered. This can be done in person, via video conferencing, or online. 

• Compensatory Education: Students are provided with extra time and resources to make up for deficits identified through testing or assessment. This approach is sometimes used for students who have previously learned at an accelerated rate.

• Small-Group Tutoring: Students work together in groups of three to six people with one instructor at a time. The instructor gives corrective feedback while they work together on specific assignments or projects related to the course material being taught. This method may be more effective than tutoring alone because students can learn from each other’s mistakes and instructor feedback.

• Computer-Assisted Instruction (CAI): CAI uses computers to deliver instruction and practice materials tailored to the needs of individual students. The computer’s feedback mechanism provides immediate assessment and feedback so that students can learn at their own pace. 

At Square Panda, our focus is on getting ECCE right to ensure that the need for remedial education is minimised down the line for students. To know more about our work, visit ecce.squarepanda.in

The first day of school is full of excitement, nerves, and uncertainty. But it’s also the start of a new year and a fresh beginning. To ensure that each student in their class feels welcome and safe, teachers must be aware of how they interact with children, both in and out of the classroom. A teacher’s interactions with students can have a lasting positive effect on how their students view themselves and others. 

A teacher’s job is not just to teach the students, but also to give them a sense of self-esteem and confidence, which can be achieved only if they have the right mix of soft skills and hard skills. In addition, teachers can use soft skills to help students develop a positive relationship with learning, improve their behaviour and motivation, increase academic achievement, and enhance their lives.

Below are some of the soft skills that can help teachers make their students feel comfortable:

✏️ Strong Communication Skills

In the age of social media, it is easy to forget that a large part of school involves personal interaction between teachers and students. That’s why effective communication is so vital in the classroom. Effective communication means that teachers can effectively convey their thoughts and ideas while keeping the flow of information open and accessible.

Communicating well with parents, students, and administrators is the foundation of trust in the classroom, which allows for open dialogue about what’s going well and what needs to be improved. Moreover, teachers need to communicate with each other daily to collaborate on lesson plans, discuss student performance, and clear up any conflicts that may arise between students.

Assertive communication can also help teachers give feedback to students in a non-threatening way, allowing them to improve their performance without feeling threatened or belittled. When talking with parents about a child’s progress or difficulties with classroom material, it helps teachers gain their trust if they approach the conversation in a sensitive manner to show they care about the student as an individual while remaining professional.

✏️ Emotional Intelligence

Empathy is one of the most important qualities a teacher can possess because it helps them understand where each child is coming from and what they need from them at that moment. In addition, a student who feels understood will be less likely to react negatively to things, whether they are solving a difficult homework assignment or leading a stressful home life. 

Too often, teachers are so focused on what they want to accomplish with the lesson that they forget to consider the needs of their students. They may assume they know what’s best for everyone in their class and neglect listening to anyone else’s suggestions. Without empathy, it’s easy for teachers to become disconnected from the people they’re teaching, leading to an environment where children feel unwelcome and insecure.

✏️ Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving Skills

A teacher must be able to deal with problems that are unrelated to the classroom but could directly impact learning outcomes. For example, teachers must know how to handle a disruptive student, make an informed decision about curriculum changes, or what to do when students are dealing with social problems at home. 

To solve these types of problems, teachers must organize their thoughts effectively and be able to apply their knowledge effectively. They must be able to assess the situation before them and then ask questions that will lead them to the best course of action for the given situation. Teachers need to be able to recognize which problems require their attention and which ones can wait until later.

Critical thinking is essential because it helps teachers make meaningful lesson plans that engage students and keep them interested in the material being presented. By thinking critically about their lesson plans, teachers can discover what works best for them and their classrooms, allowing them to create lessons that will help their students thrive.

✏️ Show Patience

Patience is an important attribute for teachers to learn because it helps them deal with the personalities and behaviours of problematic students. For example, there may be a student with a daily temper tantrum or another student who will not follow the classroom rules. Patience helps teachers deal with these students’ issues and lets them control their frustration when dealing with them. It also keeps them from appearing rude or disrespectful in the eyes of their students and co-workers.

And since teachers deal with kids, frustrations will likely arise on both sides of the teacher-student relationship. But moving past those frustrations quickly can keep a bad situation from escalating into something much worse.

By learning soft skills, teachers not only assist their students in building essential discipline, guidance and management of the classroom, but they also extend their careers by furthering their knowledge. Square Panda India empowers teachers by helping them develop soft skills and essential 21st century skills to build stronger relationships with students, leading to better learning outcomes. To know more, visit ecce.squarepanda.com

Our learning ability is becoming increasingly agile as technologies and methodologies improve. This agility gives us the flexibility to customize lessons, assignments and assessments in ways teachers have never before been able to. Adaptive learning is a method of delivering instruction that adapts to each student’s needs. Educators often use it to personalize learning for students and can be used in multiple settings, from K-12 classrooms to corporate training programs.

Adaptive learning is different from other teaching methods because it dynamically changes the content being presented based on how well a student masters it. This allows instructors to deliver content at an appropriate difficulty level for each student, rather than presenting material at one level for all learners.

The process of adaptive learning involves four significant components: analysis and modeling, machine learning and artificial intelligence, content optimization, and personalization. It’s based on the principle that every student has a unique set of needs and abilities, and it aims to help them reach their potential by providing instruction tailored to their specific needs. Research has shown that adaptive learning tools improve outcomes for students of all ages and subject areas. 

Advantages of Adaptive Learning

As the education landscape has changed over the past decade, so have the expectations for innovation in classrooms. Educators now have access to digital tools, from interactive whiteboards and online resources, that allow them to customize lessons and provide individualized instruction. This is especially true for early education programs, where students are often grouped by age with slight variation in ability levels or interests among classmates.

Adaptive learning can be used in any subject or grade level, but it is most commonly applied to reading and math because these subjects are taught through multiple grade levels. Adaptive learning allows teachers to tailor instruction to meet the needs of individual learners by adjusting the speed, difficulty and type of questions presented based on a student’s responses. 

The benefits of adaptive learning go beyond just increasing efficiency in the classroom. It also gives teachers more time to focus on individual students’ needs while improving student engagement through personalized learning experiences. Here are some of the advantages of adaptive learning in school:

👉 Teachers Can Personalize Learning for Each Student

Teachers can use adaptive technology to provide frequent formative assessments throughout a lesson to identify where each student needs more support or challenge. Teachers can then use this information to adjust instruction accordingly during the lesson so that each student is challenged appropriately. This ensures that no student is falling behind in class or missing out on essential concepts because they’re too far ahead of other students in their class.

👉 Students Learn at Their Own Pace

Adaptive learning allows students to move through lessons at their own pace. Students may be able to complete lessons quickly or take more time on certain concepts if they need it. This allows students to learn at an appropriate rate, rather than being required to move through material quickly or slowly based on the class average. These systems are especially effective for students who find that their understanding of the material is different from what was expected—for instance, if they don’t remember certain vocabulary or concepts from class or need extra practice on specific skills. 

👉 Increased Engagement

Students can learn at their own pace and get immediate feedback on their progress, which helps them stay engaged in the lesson. This means that students who struggle with a concept or skill will be less likely to become frustrated and disengage from the class altogether. In addition, because adaptive learning systems are based on data collection and analysis, they can tailor lesson plans differently. Likewise, if a lesson or topic interests a student, the system will expand on it to keep that student engaged.

👉 Improved Test Scores

Students who receive individualized instruction tend to score higher on standardized tests than students who receive traditional instruction. This is because they can focus on topics they need more help with instead of being forced to move through the material at a specific pace regardless of their ability level.

👉 Better Understanding of Concepts and Skills

When students receive individualized instruction, they can take time with each concept or skill until they fully understand it before moving on to the next. This means they have a better grasp of the material and can apply it more effectively in future situations outside school. There are many types of adaptive learning software programs available today. Many of these programs allow teachers to create content, assign quizzes and exams, and track student progress through the coursework. Some programs even offer analytics reports that show educators how well their students are doing in each subject area to make adjustments if needed.

Adaptive learning is not a one-size-fits-all solution. While it can support some forms of learning, it is vital that teachers avoid quickly jumping on the bandwagon without appropriately considering the pedagogical or strategic benefits and repercussions.

Square Panda’s comprehensive programs use an adaptive learning model to provide personalized learning experiences. Our programs incorporate multisensory elements, storytelling, music, and games to encourage lively, interactive lessons and develop solid foundations for lifelong learning. To know more, visit ecce.squarepanda.in

Education plays a vital role in shaping the future of our country, as it helps develop a young student’s personality in a holistic manner and even significantly influences their career. 

With the development of learning technologies and the advent of e-learning, today’s teachers are responsible for not just presenting classroom content but also adapting curriculum, providing feedback, and guiding real-time discussions in their classrooms. Teachers must produce much more material than they used to, while also keeping in touch with individual students who learn outside the classroom or through remote collaboration. This is where teacher training comes in. It provides opportunities to learn new skills and improve upon existing ones through professional development activities that are aligned with the school’s instructional goals.

If a teacher feels prepared for the challenge at hand and has the resources necessary to do their job well, they are more likely to perform at their peak capacity and positively impact student performance. As such, it’s essential that teachers receive effective training during their early years in the classroom. 

Teachers who are not fully prepared to meet the needs of their students may fail to deliver quality instruction or provide support for struggling students. For example, a teacher who lacks content knowledge or teaching skills may struggle to engage all students in lessons or provide appropriate support for struggling learners. As a result, these students may lack progress towards achieving their academic goals and disengage from school altogether. In addition, schools with poorly trained teachers tend to have higher dropout rates, lower student achievement levels, and behavioural problems among students.

Why is Training Important for Teachers?

Teachers are the most valuable resources within a school system. They are responsible for developing young minds and helping children achieve their full academic potential. Teachers must be equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to teach effectively. Teachers’ responsibilities extend beyond the classroom, too. They must counsel troubled students on professional and personal matters, enforce school rules, discipline unruly students, and participate in school events with pupils. Many issues affect children’s learning habits, such as poverty, abuse, or neglect. They should also understand how these issues can affect a child’s behaviour in school. Teachers should learn how to identify signs of emotional problems in students and how best to address them.

Teachers also play an essential role in helping students develop the social skills needed to succeed. Students learn to interact with others and share ideas and opinions with other people. Teachers must nurture these skills in their students to become good citizens who contribute to society.

To teach effectively, teachers must have a thorough knowledge of the subject they are teaching and good communication skills. They should be able to explain complex concepts clearly so that their students understand them easily. In addition, teachers must also have excellent interpersonal skills to motivate students who may find certain subjects difficult or tedious. Training teachers is an excellent way to ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills and improves their effectiveness to give every child a better chance at a good education. 

Embracing Technological Advancements

The increasing demand for online courses combined with the technologically-savvy student population means that teachers must be adequately trained to use new technology in the classroom. From interacting with technology and its nuances to the criticality of a positive mindset, there is no denying the importance of teacher training in understanding online resources and methodologies that help them create a more compelling online teaching environment.

With more complicated subjects and demanding students, teachers need to be more knowledgeable about their subjects than ever. Teachers in all subjects need to reevaluate their teaching practices and skills initially to respond to changes within the classroom and new teaching methods. This means that they need Continuous Professional Development throughout their careers and during their training.

Although an online program may seem like an easy way out of a physical classroom setting, it requires just as much dedication as attending classes at a brick-and-mortar college campus does — if not more! It takes hard work and determination, just like any other type of education does! Teachers trained in an online environment tend to be more confident and knowledgeable about using technology in their teaching. In addition, they can create appropriate learning environments for students who may require extra support because of the physical or emotional challenges they face.

By working together and empowering our teachers, we can help spread the joy of the pursuit of knowledge to classrooms everywhere. 

Square Panda India’s teacher training programs enable educators to teach students effectively and engage them on a personal level. We empower them to transform their classrooms into a space where students learn through personalization and collaboration. To know more, visit ecce.squarepanda.in