With the vast proliferation of digital tools and the growth of online learning platforms, blended learning has gained traction as the go-to instructional strategy for teachers and students in early classrooms. Today’s digital-age learners have grown up amidst technology that would have been almost unimaginable a decade ago, which is why they have found it much easier to transition to a blended learning class as opposed to a classroom in which they do not use any form of technology. 

A study has suggested that when blended with face-to-face instruction, online learning can help preschoolers develop a deeper understanding of course material, promote creativity and collaboration, and result in a greater sense of student engagement.

Blended Learning: A Modern Imperative

Although most early childhood professionals would agree that blended learning is the ideal teaching method for pre-K, it can also be one of the hardest to implement. Finding ways to foster creativity in your classroom will help you build a thriving blended learning environment that will be better than ever before.

Connecting with your students is a vital part of the blended learning framework. By getting to know each student one-on-one, you better understand their personal needs and interests. When you know your students, you can then decide how to bring that learning into the classroom. Creating a dynamic classroom where individual learners are challenged according to their strengths and weaknesses is the foundation for blended learning. As preschool teachers, you can introduce a few concepts of blended learning throughout the year. It’s crucial to constantly break new material down into smaller bits before teaching 4-year-olds who learn new material faster.

Blended learning integrates various learning styles and strategies—such as digital learning, independent study, and project-based instruction. The use of technology enables teachers to assess each student’s skill level and align lessons around their specific interests, needs, and abilities. A teacher can use these methods to determine how well a student is progressing throughout the course, then offer further lessons that target differing needs for each student.

One of the most popular blended learning models, the station rotation model, requires teachers to split their classes into smaller subgroups. Students are given a schedule that prioritizes learning activities, including an online or digital component, which are rotated through on a timed schedule. Another way to implement blended learning in a preschool setting is by a flipped classroom. It is educational training that allows students to go home and review the coursework online. Teachers then meet with individual students to further develop an understanding of the course content. The class time is spent applying material by working through simulations or other hands-on activities. Research has shown that using these modes provide better opportunities for individual instruction and more frequent feedback to the student.

The Impact of Student Engagement in Early Childhood Classrooms

With the pressure to meet academic standards implemented in early grades, such as preschool, teachers need to help their students focus on the tasks at hand. One strategy to help promote engagement is blended learning. This type of learning combines face-to-face instruction with digital tools to provide personalization and differentiated instruction based on student needs, encourage technology integration, and motivate students toward desired ends. It combines the individualized attention of traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms with the adaptability and flexibility of digital tools to facilitate lively, engaging learning sessions. Through blended learning, teachers will meet each student wherever they might be, students will be able to learn what they need outside the classroom setting, and students will have more opportunities to collaborate with their peers.

Screen time in the form of technology and interactive media has provided opportunities for our students to grow in ways we could never have imagined. This, however, raises concerns due to the ever-growing concern of overuse and misuse. This has brought on the need to switch up teaching style in an effort to understand how to use blended learning effectively and what dangers might arise from its use. 

However, when students and teachers embrace technology in the classroom, everyone wins. Students gain access to a more diverse curriculum, and teachers are able to reach more students. With a comprehensive learning platform, teachers can help students bridge educational gaps and set individualized learning goals. Blended learning provides educators with the tools they need to engage students so they are empowered to create an inclusive learning experience, and through it, begin a hopefully lifelong love for learning that stands one in good stead.

Square Panda encourages the use of blended learning in classrooms and beyond, giving students access to the personalized learning they need to succeed. Children learn at their own pace using interactive programs, giving them the self-confidence to realize their full potential. 

To know more, visit ecce.squarepanda.in 

An understanding of language is the foundation of literacy, with vocabulary development impacting all aspects of communication. Building a stronger vocabulary in preschool will improve reading comprehension and prepare a child to learn and grow. A child’s vocabulary can have a profound effect on their future success in school, so the child must be surrounded with reading material that is varied, interesting, and stimulating. By expanding their vocabularies before entering school, young children are better prepared to understand the classroom literature they are about to read.

Research suggests that for young children, language does not just talk. It is a primary vehicle for formulating new concept. A child’s language abilities are directly correlated with their cognitive growth, with words representing increasingly sophisticated ideas. And the more words children use, the more new words are available to them, and the better they can make sense of the world around them. They can talk with their parents about new topics, follow along with stories on television, and follow directions from teachers. 

Why does vocabulary instruction need to be in preschool?

The preschool years are crucial for laying a good foundation for language development. Children grow and learn about words through experiences with their environment. In addition to gaining knowledge of meaning from everyday interactions, preschoolers can enjoy building their vocabulary by learning new words from books and rhyming with silly songs. The failure to develop a rich vocabulary in the preschool years has a cascading effect on later reading skills that often hampers academic progress in school. 

Comprehension is a critical component of reading, but comprehension can be nearly impossible for a child without a solid vocabulary base. A study shows that vocabulary instruction should begin in preschool. This will benefit students by building a professionally prepared vocabulary and tone with teachers and peers in an organized setting. The ideal preschool setting provides various opportunities to explore and play with new objects and materials not commonly available in a home. It also allows children to learn from one another as they build relationships and facilitate communication skills. 

Ways to build a child’s vocabulary in preschool

Good teachers have a specific style in which they unleash their knowledge on students in a way that they can grasp. Teachers who have a good understanding of how to use words, especially when discussing themes or subjects, ensure that their students receive a more cultural understanding of the world and its meanings. While there is no one way to teach vocabulary to preschool-age learners directly, there are several methods teachers can use to encourage their students to learn new words and practice them outside the classroom.

📍 Verbal Storytelling

Verbal storytelling provides children with a way to think about the language that is far removed from the formal written word. It enhances children’s sense of audience and their ability to edit what they say, focus on the point they wish to convey, and respond to feedback from others. Children can improve their actual speech abilities using this approach.

Good storytelling begins with an engaging opening. Young listeners are more apt to be drawn into a story if you grab their interest early. Children are also more attuned to your voice, the pitch, the pattern of stress, and even your breathing pattern as you tell them a story. By recounting real-life incidents or telling familiar fairy tales, you can weave information about the world around little ones by using familiar vocabulary.

📍 Share Rhymes and Songs

Songs, rhymes, and poems are familiar features of the classroom in every preschool. Songs help children remember things. They can also help children express feelings and ideas. Rhymes and humorous poems encourage children to talk in sentence patterns that are more complex than they might use when speaking informally or in single words or short phrases. You can use songs, rhymes, and poems to stimulate language growth in young children and help them become increasingly confident using language for their own purposes.

Children can reap tremendous benefits when they hear, say, and learn nursery rhymes. These catchy rhymes can build literary language skills and enhance sound-symbol relationships that lay the foundation for later reading success. As early as one-year-old, children benefit by hearing classroom songs and nursery rhymes. These joyous tunes teach basic language skills and general animal sounds, which lay the foundation for reading. Include at least one nursery rhyme daily in your classroom instruction.

📍 Use Synonyms

Another way to help your children better their vocabulary is to model the appropriate use of new words in daily conversation. The most powerful tool in this regard is a simple substitution of synonyms in place of common words. For example, when referring to a large living space, avoid using the word “big” and try calling it spacious or enormous instead. A child’s mind absorbs and retains more detailed and descriptive information, and they are more likely to remember words, such as spacious and enormous.

Each child is unique and has their own potential, which should be identified and channelized at the right time. Preschoolers are at a unique place where they can readily learn previously encountered concepts, thus creating opportunities to open learning horizons. At Square Panda India, we create research-based programs that aim at making children ready for school. 

To know more, visit https://ecce.squarepanda.in/

Nowadays, most parents are keen to give their children the best they can, especially regarding education. The challenge lies in the fact that most of us are taught by someone with a performance mindset, which believes students learn best when motivated by punishment and reward. Now, this may work for some, but more than likely will result in extrinsic motivation that will create stress, anxiety, and fear. However, just understanding what a growth mindset is and how it can help your child could bring about noticeable transformations at home and school.

What Does a Growth Mindset Mean?

A growth mindset is a psychological concept born from developmental psychology. It was primarily developed by Carol Dweck, and is mainly inspired by work on cognitive development and self-perception in the 1960s and 1970s. A growth mindset hypothesizes that you can develop your intelligence and abilities through hard work and dedication. 

A person with a growth mindset believes that with effort and determination, you can continuously transform your capacities. It views abilities as malleable rather than static. Research suggests that people can change their capabilities through learning and effort, which will positively impact classroom behaviour and academic achievement. 

Fixed Mindset vs. Growth Mindset 

Students believe their basic qualities, like their intelligence or talent, are simply fixed traits in the fixed mindset. They spend their time documenting their intelligence or talent instead of developing them. They also believe that talent alone creates success — without effort. But the effort is where the growth mindset of students really shines.

In a growth mindset, students understand that intellect and talent are just the starting point. This allows them to follow a healthy mix of passion and perseverance to achieve more than they thought possible. A student with a growth mindset will know that mistakes are typical and there is always room for improvement. The key to success lies in learning from such errors and using them as a platform to grow.

How Do You Foster A Growth Mindset In Your Child?

It’s no secret that today’s educational environment is more focused on students meeting grade-level proficiency on standardized tests than embracing a passion for lifelong learning. In fact, the current emphasis on testing has negative implications for children’s development and subsequent achievements. Here’s how you can change this and develop a growth mindset for your child. 

📌 Reward the Process

Rewarding the effort and strategies they put forth during their assignments rather than praising the outcome or final grade will teach them to focus on getting better at tackling different kinds of problems, not just trying harder. Encourage your child to celebrate their ability to persist and improve. Rewarding even small steps toward a significant achievement helps develop the mindset needed to reach any goal. It’s essential to be clear about your expectations, so your child knows how to achieve success. This way, if they struggle with a concept or aren’t quite there yet, you can identify the issue, and find the solution together.

📌 Mind Your Language

The way we talk about children’s accomplishments and challenges can impact how they view themselves. Schools tend to employ language that makes children feel like failures when it comes to the grade system. For example, teachers use terms like “see me” or “remedial reading.” These phrases can sound scary to kids, even though the assignments are not particularly difficult. The language schools use tells students that they are failing instead of needing some extra focus or skills work. This creates an impossible standard for kids to live up to. It reinforces negative thoughts that can lead to further issues down the road.

Language and the words we choose to use in talking about intelligence and ability can significantly impact how children view themselves and their future life opportunities. If you talk to kids in this way, they’ll feel more self-confident about themselves. You can ask them, “What strategies are you using when you study?” Also, discuss current events your child is passionate about. They’ll be glad that someone is interested in their hobbies and interests. Showing that you care will encourage kids to stay connected to the ones they love.

📌 Show Them What a Growth Mindset Is

The best way to teach a child a growth mindset is by example. Children learn visually, and they also learn from the behaviour of their parents. Parents who practice fixed mindset behaviour can inadvertently teach their children fixed mindset thinking.

If you want to raise a child who believes they can master challenging tasks and reach their goals, you need to model the right kind of thinking and behaviour. Hard work and perseverance are crucial. If you’re able to develop a growth mindset along with your child, he or she will be more likely to maintain it throughout her life, regardless of the challenges faced.

Generate opportunities to model behaviours related to a growth mindset in both learning and non-learning situations. As you model a growth mindset, be specific about working through mistakes to approach challenges with a growth mindset. This helps children learn how they can use their own thinking in similar ways.

At Square Panda India, we provide education and interactive learning programs that instill a growth mindset. Our learning programs are humanized and dynamic. Unlike a traditional school, we design lessons based on each student’s unique pace and requirements and monitor their progress through these metrics instead of giving them grades. To know more, visit https://ecce.squarepanda.in/

Diwali brings with it a lot of fun, frolic, and loads of festivities. It is a time when you get to enjoy your favourite dishes, buy new clothes and gifts, and celebrate with friends and family. Children enjoy this festival more than anyone else, lured by the bright colours and lights, bursting of crackers, and Diwali-inspired artifacts. But with online learning and proliferation of technology, kids are so hooked to their gadgets, they have a hard time making out the colours and the feel of the festival. So how do you make your child’s Diwali special? And how can you make sure they enjoy the festivities to the fullest?

To make your little one’s experience of Diwali more meaningful, we bring you five simple activities that will ensure everyone has a heart-warming celebration.

Rangoli Sketching and Painting

With the colourful festival of Diwali around the corner, there’s a natural tendency to think of it as a celebratory time. However, this Diwali, you may want to go a step further and focus on at least one aspect where you can help your kids tap into their creative instincts. And what better way could there be than going over the age-old tradition of rangoli pictorial art, which has been seeing increased interest in recent times. 

Rangoli is a quintessential and essential part of almost every Diwali festival celebration in India. It’s, in fact, just as important as the diyas and crackers you to mark the occasion. The trend of rangoli art is becoming popular even among young kids, thanks to the internet and other avenues amplifying their popularity.

Glitter Diwali Cards

Holidays are always exhilarating for children, and a special day like Diwali seems all the more remarkable for kids. Therefore, it is essential to be creative when you decide to celebrate this festival through the eyes of your kids. A project that will help them have fun and develop some creative ideas would be to get them some Diwali greeting cards. Let them add a bit of sparkle and colour to the cards they design on their own. In this way, they can exercise their creativity and learn a lot about Indian customs and celebrations. 

Storytelling

One of the best activities to engage kids in Diwali celebrations is to tell them stories associated with the festival. The different versions of why Diwali is celebrated will ignite their interest in the significance of the festival. There is a different story about why we celebrate Diwali in each part of the country, so your child will be aware that people from different ethnicities commemorate this holiday. Provide them context behind the reasons we celebrate Diwali and answer any questions they might have. This helps engage them and may get them to ask more, which encourages them to participate further in festivities.

Diwali-inspired Artifacts and Origami

Adding origami to a child’s craft repertoire provides them with a fun method of art-making. And what better way to introduce them than Diwali-inspired origami? Origami creates a significant impact on children’s brain development, fostering their creativity & imagination. By teaching them origami, they can make colorful earrings, flower garlands, greeting cards, and more. All you need is origami paper along with glue or double-sided tape to create lovely designs they’ll love to wear, give as gifts, or display at home.

Green Diwali

Climate change is a cause for concern, and we must understand the environmental impact of our actions. Educate your children about the importance of eco-friendly Diwali celebrations. Allow them to use their creativity to create alternatives to traditional firecrackers. This will teach them about caring for the environment in a fun and engaging way. You could try cutting thin pieces of paper into animal-shaped rhombus, playing with the shape to create an aesthetic appeal for your papier mâché firecrackers.

At Square Panda India, we believe in the importance of playful discovery and learning during early childhood. Incorporating joyful learning about Diwali helps children develop skills that contribute to their creative and intellectual development. Let your child be fascinated about this festival of lights!

Happy Diwali! ✨

With schools closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the government advocated for online learning to ensure the continuity of academic work. The integration of online learning platforms and digital technology in education has revolutionized how modern kids learn. Online platforms like Zoom, Google classrooms, and Microsoft Teams made it easy for teachers and students to stay connected, collaborate, and get things done. However, the shift from conventional learning to online education has been challenging for some traditional institutions, especially in rural India, which have found the transition to be challenging. They are still devoid of all the online learning advantages.

Even almost after 1.5 years of lockdown, providing digital classrooms to remote areas is one of the challenges. While it is possible, in many villages and rural areas, there is a vast digital divide in education in India. Although many basic infrastructure requirements have been developed, rural India still struggles to transition to an entirely online or digital education model.

Below are some challenges faced during this transformational period.

⚈ Limited Access to Technological Devices

Available digital content does not reach a sizable population due to the limited availability of technologically advanced devices, such as personal computers and mobile phones. Most families from underprivileged areas do not have access to these devices, limiting the accessibility of the learning materials. In addition, the cost and availability of data plans and devices can restrict teacher and student interaction. Since students cannot participate in live sessions, they cannot learn the material independently, which may be difficult due to the absence of appropriate teaching aids. 

⚈ Unfamiliarity with Digital Technology

While urban schools may thrive with modern methods and easy access to technology, rural schools in developing countries often lack the same advancements. Remote regions often lack internet access and simple digital devices. This transition from traditional techniques to digital ones is a slow-moving process that cannot be rushed. If you observe the level of digital literacy in classrooms, teachers and students alike are still lagging. The challenge here is to train them to get comfortable using Smart Classrooms and Digital Learning facilities.

⚈ Shortage of Teachers

The shortage of teachers in rural areas is another challenge in achieving complete digitization of education. To overcome this barrier, teachers need to be equipped with the latest skills and pedagogy to enable them to teach online. Moreover, online classroom solutions are only effective when teachers are present to guide students in an interactive learning environment. This is one of the areas where Square Panda is making efforts to upskill teachers in rural India. 

We started by understanding the landscape and then developed a deeper understanding of the problems. With this knowledge, we developed our programs to fit the needs of learners and educators who want to bring about a positive change for the next generation of students. Through these workshops, teachers from different language schools will be able to refine their pedagogy and better impart learning to their students.

The Way Forward – A New Normal

The changing school paradigm requires new strategies for engaging students in their education and the development of interpersonal skills. However, existing non-availability of equipment, lack of trained teachers, and network connectivity issues prevent learning on a wide scale in India’s rural areas. We need to ensure that teachers are able to return to work so that the learning journey continues uninterrupted. Square Panda India’s programs are designed to help teachers transition into the digital age easily, and supports their continuous professional development. 

When schools reopen, children cannot return to school immediately. School leaders and government will have to have a staggered plan to assimilate students back into normal classes without stretching resources too thin. One of the most significant drawbacks to returning to school is that students will be unprepared for traditional standardized tests. We should take this time to allow students to reinforce the learning they already know, and mould them into well-rounded people. Additional time should be spent on skill-building, career development, and emotional growth.

In the past couple of years, India has made great strides toward advancing rural education. While some see online learning as an ephemeral trend that offers little value to students, others believe that the hybrid learning models will be the future of education. Advancements in government policy, technological innovations, and asynchronous learning programs can make online learning more equitable and accessible for communities across India’s hinterland.

The advent of digitisation in education is helping create new education possibilities for a generation of Indians all across the nation. Know more about our work, and how Square Panda has been making significant strides towards growing India’s education ecosystem. Click here: Our ECCE Empowerment Programs

The last two years have been all about adapting to change, with schools closed across the globe and students staying at home as health and safety concerns took centerstage and learning was being conducted remotely. Teachers use digital tools to communicate with students and impart education. But with messy remote learning, parents are looking for ways to help their kids stay on track. At the elementary level, there is a strong correlation between parental involvement and student achievement. Research has shown that when parents are involved in their child’s education, children tend to feel better about school and perform better in class. Both at home and school, there are many things parents can do to help their children’s learning. Here are some ideas to get you started!

Demonstrate a Positive Attitude

One of the advantages parents have over teachers is that they spend a lot of time with their kids, and they get very good at reading the nuances in their words and actions. Parents can help support their children’s learning outside of school by offering them positive, relaxed, and fun learning environments at home. Although children naturally want to learn new things, they are often most successful when they are allowed to discover new concepts at their own pace, in their own time. 

Parents can demonstrate how to think about things (such as solving problems) rather than tell them what to think (or how to do something). Rather than instructing children with directives like ‘Don’t forget your homework,’ you might remind them that they will need their workbook for class tomorrow morning. A study has shown that parents and families can play a crucial role in boosting student achievement and sustaining the momentum needed to reinforce positive attitudes toward school.

Monitor the Screen Time

Remote learning has become a widely accepted trend across the globe.  While the internet has proven to be a valuable educational tool, several studies highlight just how dangerous it can be for young children. Students who spend an excessive amount of time surfing the web are less likely to perform well in the classroom.

Today’s children are immersed in the media. With remote learning, children are already spending a lot of time on their computers. And it’s not simply the TV shows, videogames, or internet they watch or play with—it’s all of them. One hour of television uses the same word-retrieval skills as two hours of homework. Media without parental guidance can become a detriment to learning by taking away time usually spent studying and completing schoolwork. 

Monitoring a child’s screen time is a way to help them develop their time management skills and avoid getting distracted. The first thing you should do as a parent is to inventory how much time your kids spend on screens. In particular, take note of what they’re doing on those screens. While there is no set rule on how much screen time is allowed, you can try to limit it, especially when your child does facetime and gives up physical activity and face-to-face communication with people.

Promote Active Learning

Active learning is significant for young children, who are still building their understanding of the world. It helps them learn not just new things but also how to learn. When children are constantly told what to do or simply left alone with an assignment or a book, they are not challenged to think for themselves. As a result, they miss opportunities to develop the skills required for higher-order thought, including critical thinking and problem-solving. 

Active learning involves guiding your child’s exploration and helping her develop her interests to acquire social skills. You can help build your child’s active learning by providing opportunities for him to play freely with other children. Also, teach functional problem-solving skills by asking your child questions about his activities and explaining your problems at work. With the use of technology in today’s classrooms, it’s no surprise that nowadays, there are many real-life applications for this theory. 

Active learning can be anything that encourages the brain to think, test ideas and take action. It can include doing art or playing musical instruments, reading nonfiction or opinion pieces in the newspaper, making models, building things with blocks and Legos, taking photos, watching videos, and playing with your smartphone.

Encourage Reading

Reading is an important skill, not just for schoolwork but for life. Having used digital tools for studying for the last 1.5 years, we have already moved from the printed word to the screen. Reading isn’t just about getting good grades or passing some tests. Having a reading habit is an essential element for children to enrich their knowledge, whether from newspapers or storybooks. In addition to practicing reading skills, it can enhance their imagination, widen their perspective and improve their language skills. 

You can’t rush a child’s reading development — but you can help your child along the way by establishing a love for reading from an early age. By being aware of your child’s readiness for learning how to read, you will be able to nurture a strong foundation of literacy that will serve your students well for decades.

The Bottom Line

Children learn better when their parents are involved. As a parent, you can reinforce your child’s learning through routine activities at home. We believe that a child’s development is a direct product of home life and that an early childhood educator’s responsibility begins before the school day. 

At Square Panda India, we acknowledge the importance of parental involvement in early childhood education. We take special measures to create awareness amongst teachers about how important it is to share ideas and resources with families. This awareness helps our educators develop effective strategies to integrate family participation in learning activities.

We all know that teachers have the most significant impact on student learning. For this reason, it is crucial to recruit and retain qualified teachers as we seek to build up the proficiencies of the next generation. However, the staggering shortage of teachers has created an imbalance, leaving schools with thousands of vacancies each year. Data has shown that this ongoing shortage is adversely affecting the education system in India.

Teacher Shortage in Rural India

Teacher shortages are defined as a diminished teacher-to-student ratio that affects access to education for many children. In other words, though positions are open, there aren’t enough candidates applying for them. But the shortage of teachers in government schools has reached alarming levels. Even some reputed private schools are struggling to fill their vacancies each year. In public schools, as teachers retire, they’re not being replaced fast enough by younger applicants. Because of this multi-generational gap in the workforce, students may not get the quality education they deserve. Many schools lack the infrastructure, resources and the required number of teachers. Studies show that this has resulted in more than 500,000 elementary schools nationwide lacking teachers, and 14% of high schools employed non-state certified teachers or contractual teachers. These are pre-pandemic numbers, with a recent study showing that a total of 19% or 11.16 lakh teaching positions in schools lie vacant in the country, 69% of them in rural areas.

Key factors contributing to the teacher shortage

Salaries and compensation

Teacher compensation impacts the supply and quality of teachers. Salary levels affect the distribution of teachers, which affects the level of schooling and the quality and quantity of individuals pursuing a teacher-training program and becoming teachers. Higher wages may also influence teacher attrition; teachers are more likely to leave low-paying positions than high-paying positions. Teachers who work in districts with low salaries may be less experienced or qualified than those who work in districts with a higher salary schedule.

Lack of Preparation

School districts and private schools alike have tried homogenising and easing standards for teachers because of surging demand for well-trained instructors. As a result, some school districts have had to hire graduates without the requisite certification or classroom experience. Complete preparation for teachers means more than just solid pedagogical knowledge. Increased confidence, support, and collaboration improves the likelihood that a teacher will remain in the profession.

Working Conditions

The different norms and rules of the school and treating teachers as professionals can play an essential part in decision-making for leaving teaching in a particular school or district. In particular, teachers’ feelings of being treated as professionals are strongly associated with the administrative support, resources, and influence over policy within schools. Education systems must pay attention to the fact that teachers are not held accountable for how they spend their time at school and have a sense of being heard.

Impact of Teacher Shortage

A shortage of teachers hurts everyone involved in our educational system. Not just students, but also teachers and the public education infrastructure itself. It is important to remember that this isn’t just about getting more teachers in classrooms or just improving teacher pay. It’s really about improving teacher quality, so the learning experience matches the rising expectations for student achievement in today’s world. The quality of teachers has a direct impact on academic achievement. Low retention rates delivered to the teaching profession reduce teacher effectiveness and morale, diminishing student learning outcomes. 

The teacher shortage makes it difficult to build a solid reputation for teaching and increase the profession’s prestige, both of which hinder the goal of professionalizing teaching. Moreover, the uneven distribution of teachers means that specific parts of the population are not receiving the same educational opportunities as others. The teacher shortage hinders sustainability and challenges the vision of providing a quality education for all students from a diverse range.

Ways to Redress the Teacher Shortage

A strong public education system is key to fostering economic growth and innovation in any state. Raising teacher pay is one way to cultivate a talented workforce to support it. When teachers feel a sense of belonging, they become more engaged and feel empowered to share their voice. On the other hand, teachers who feel uncared for and whose voices aren’t heard often “burn out” by leaving the profession.

In light of the widespread effects on public education and society at large, it is imperative to understand this crisis and address it immediately. To design policy interventions or plan institutional action, we must first understand the factors contributing to the growing shortage of high-quality teachers. Only then can we help the next generation of students across India realise their full human potential, and the entirety of their aspirations.

Square Panda aims to tackle this problem by leveraging technology and world-class training to transform under-resourced schools and Anganwadi centres into learning spaces. Know more about our work. Visit ecce.squarepanda.in

Look around. What do you see? 

Nine times out of ten, your eyes will land on a piece of technology, a device, or a machine that is changing the way we live.

Technology, and thus screens, are now an integral part of the world we inhabit. This is making its way into children’s lives to the extent that schools have begun to adopt technology-led teaching aids. Research into screen time usage shows that it boosts the development of young children in many critical areas. Data even suggests that children who spend an hour or two every day interacting with digital devices have higher social and emotional well-being levels than others.

There is tremendous value to ensuring children are digitally literate. But how do you use the educational and imaginative power of screens to engage kids? How can you turn screen time into positive learning time?

Here are four ways you can use screen time to your advantage.

Make Screen Time Interactive

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends adults co-view, co-play, and co-engage with children when they are using screens. Screen time doesn’t have to be bad, just as long as you help them engage with what’s on the screen. And for this to happen, you have to be active yourself. You can increase the interactive nature of screen time by:

• Watching videos and asking related questions (Did you like this character? Why do you think he looks like that?)
• Introducing them to learning games with highly interactive apps

Encourage Educational Entertainment Or Edutainment

A study by health scientist Taren Sanders has linked educational screen time to doing better in school. Balancing screen time so that children can enjoy it from an educational or playful perspective is a prudent choice. Also, such apps and games are often based on research and are very intuitive to young children’s needs. There is a bevy of carefully designed instruments that offer crucial skill development; pick toys, games, and apps that are labeled edutainment or educational.

Weave Positive Habits Into Screen Time

Introduce positive habits while children are using screens. Teach them how to handle devices responsibly and safely, including starting, charging, and shutting down the devices. Encourage them to self-regulate the time they spend in front of screens, too. This way, you show children how to develop good online etiquette that keeps them safer when they begin using personal devices. At the same time, you are helping them become more independent as they play and learn.

Join In The Fun Yourself

One of the best ways to make screen time memorable and beneficial is to join in and play with your young learners. Teach them how to use devices, watch YouTube videos with them, and play edutainment games alongside them. Of course, you don’t necessarily have to oversee every single moment of their screen time. Children need the freedom to explore on their own as well. However, letting them know you are available to play with them goes a long way towards keeping kids happy and making sure their screen time is positive.

What are your views about positive screen time? How can edtech help support teachers in the classroom? Comment below.

Student-centric, playful learning experiences are an essential component of learning. At Square Panda, we are committed to innovatively impacting education. Know more about our work: ecce.squarepanda.in

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Although English is accepted as a global language, in most Indian schools, English is not the language of instruction. Because of this, students in rural India face difficulty learning it at school. Moreover, using incorrect English remains a problem for students, even in urban areas. While they try their best to grasp the subject, they often fail at sounding correct, mainly when speaking. Moreover, there is a general trend of students losing interest in English by the time they finish class XII because of excessive rote memorization of rules. Storytelling helps develop English proficiency – a basic understanding of how language works, acquire new w ords, phrases, and aptitudes as they build their communication skills.

Importance of storytelling

Throughout history, stories have been a way to pass on traditions and beliefs across generations. From Ramayana, Puranas, Panchatantra, and Jataka tales to Mahabharata, stories from Indian epics have helped children learn the nuances of a language. And since stories have been the most effective way of propagating a linguistic tradition, learning English through stories can help children learn the language in a fun and engaging way. 

Telling stories is more than just writing out what happened in chronological order. It requires children to use their imagination and convey emotions through words alone. This helps develop their communication skills, especially when writing essays or giving presentations where they need to convey information interestingly.

Storytelling allows students to express themselves freely by discussing things that interest them or make them happy or sad. It is an effective way to build empathy and understanding between people. With the right encouragement, children can speak out and express themselves clearly. Telling a story in English helps children develop their vocabulary and grammar skills as they use new words while communicating with others through stories and anecdotes.

English Storytelling in Classroom & Home

Stories are full of new words. From character names to locations, from verbs and adjectives to nouns and adverbs — all serving a specific purpose within the narrative. And because there are so many different words in a single story, it provides lots of opportunities for students to practice their reading and listening skills. Thus, stories can be used in many ways in the classroom – read aloud, acted out, dramatized or used as models for writing activities. Educators should consider several factors when selecting stories for the classroom. The stories chosen should appeal to their students, be appropriate for their purpose, and provide opportunities to practice the language.

Here’s how storytelling helps develop English proficiency:

The purpose of storytelling is to enable children to enjoy hearing English in a dynamic and often stylistic way. It is very participatory and immersive, giving the children an awareness of rhythm and structure. In addition, storytelling can be a very effective method for introducing new vocabulary and phrases.

• Accustomed to short bursts of language in the classroom, students are hungry for more stories. As they listen to you include some details about characters or setting or give some background information on context, they become motivated to do the same thing when speaking in English. 

• When children tell stories in English, they learn to describe intonation patterns, natural expressions, phrasing, and interactions between indigenous speakers. For older young learners, the activity gives them practice retelling stories or paraphrasing or rewording them.

• The use of stories also allows young learners to link their reading experiences in the classroom to those at home. For example, students have books at home, which can be read with a parent or other family member. In addition, the child can identify household vocabulary, which will ease the understanding of the English language within their household.

• Storytelling is one way that teachers can inspire language learning through discussion and activities. Moreover, parents can help their children at home by reading stories in English, especially ones with interesting characters who do unexpected things or someone who solves a problem.

The following are ways that teachers can use Storytelling helps develop English proficiency:

Use storytelling in conversation class.

Ask your students to share personal experiences or discuss their favorite books, movies, or TV shows. This will help them become more comfortable speaking in English and allow them to use the vocabulary they already know.

Have students tell a story in pairs or small groups.

You can do this as part of a warm-up activity before class starts or after class ends as a way to review everything children have learned during the lesson. This can be especially helpful if you teach elementary school students who often struggle to speak in front of others!

Tell stories that involve your students.

This allows students to see how the story is told, which helps them understand the context of the sentences and phrases. You can also ask them questions about the story after reading or listening together so they can think about their answers before speaking out loud.

The Bottom Line

Adding storytelling tactics to a teacher’s established array of teaching skills can boost student engagement and retention of their material. Square Panda India’s programs focus on the art and strategy of using exciting stories to help students understand new concepts at a deeper level. Our programs give teachers a solid foundation in delivering joyful education that engages and connects with students and inspiring change that impacts communities. To know more, visit ecce.squarepanda.in

School closures were a bittersweet solution to battle COVID-19. While the intention of this was to stem the spread of the pandemic, recent studies show that it has had alarming consequences for students, who have made little progress after schools closed. In addition, remote learning has significant limitations in the Indian context as students missed out on school resources, social interactions with peers, and learning in a classroom environment, leading to children experiencing learning loss.

Delving into the data reveals that students performed poorly while studying from home, and it was little surprise to see that children in rural areas were most affected. Nearly half of grade school children in India’s rural areas were unable to read more than a few words, and the gap between digital natives and those who live in rural areas continues to widen. It is a matter of concern to see that only 8% of students in rural India regularly accessed online education mediums, while 37% gave up studying entirely.

For many of these children and communities, education is an enabler that gives them the opportunity to improve their life circumstances, and school closures have stymied learning. Given that about half of the households in rural areas have no smartphones, the lack of online learning starts to add up. But even among households that have some kind of digital connectivity, only 15 percent of rural children are studying online regularly, as opposed to 31 percent of urban children.

Although state governments have made considerable efforts to improve internet connectivity, the lack of digital devices and digital literacy have adversely affected remote learning. Moreover, poor governance within government bodies, pre-existing capacity deficits in schools, and lengthy lockdowns have compounded India’s learning lacunae.

Impact of Learning Loss in India

The impact of learning loss in rural areas is more significant as opposed to the loss felt by students in urban areas, where resources are readily available. Moreover, as literacy rates are low and schools remain understaffed, the effects of learning loss in students extend beyond academic outcomes to psychological well-being and social-emotional adjustment.

Almost 1.5 years have elapsed since students learned in proper classrooms. Up to this point, the students in the current class only had minimal learning from the previous grades, and there have been learning regressions, to the extent that they’ve forgotten most of what they learned from the previous grade. Some reports have also shown a decrease in their ability to read with understanding and perform mathematical tasks. These abilities are foundational. Therefore, their absence will impact not only other skills, but also a child’s conceptual understanding beyond the subject area where the deficit occurred. 

Surveys have also revealed that over 48% of children in rural India are unable to read even a few words — an indication of the extent of unmet needs of children. These children have lacked necessary learning opportunities due to a growing number of schools that are either shuttered, too far away, or curriculum that doe not match their learning needs.

The prolonged lockout has hurt the education of many children. A significant challenge for children has been attending school and interacting with other students outside their immediate social circle. Given how much parents have been affected by difficult economic conditions, education is often their only hope for their child to have a better life in the future. Parents are eagerly waiting for their children to go back to school. Reopening schools with preventive measures have been all the more imperative to mitigate learning loss due to covid. 

To bridge the learning gap caused by school closures, the parliamentary panel has suggested reopening schools with the following measures:

• Conduct vaccination programs for students and school staff
• Conducting classes in two shifts or alternate days to control crowds
• Stepping up preventive measures of maintaining physical distance 
• Mandatory wearing a mask and frequent hand sanitization
• Thermal screening to test infected individuals

Along with this, schools should be subjected to frequent inspections by COVID administrators to ensure strict adherence to hygiene, COVID protocols, and facility maintenance. The good news is that many schools are now reopening or planning to reopen, which will help redress educational setbacks. 

Mitigating Learning Loss

To help improve the quality of education delivered, it is essential to open schools and invest in tomorrow’s educational standards. We believe that a holistic approach is needed to help alleviate learning loss among students.

• Embracing Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)
  
  PPPs in education can play a critical role in the Indian context, serving as innovation centres for deepening access to and improving the quality of education. More critically, as they are run in government infrastructure with tightly monitored processes, pre-defined and measurable outcomes, and stringent performance metrics, they are replicable across the board. A Public-Private Partnership offers specific knowledge, expertise, and technological innovations that draws on the best of both worlds to make education affordable, increase accessibility, improve efficiency, and deliver speedy execution for better outcomes.
  
  At Square Panda India, we strategically collaborate with government and impact organizations to create a holistic impact across the education ecosystem by building learning programs, opening learning centres, and creating access to advanced learning tools. 

• Upskilling Teachers
  
  The pandemic has caused a pivot to a digital or blended model of education, which neither teachers nor infrastructure is wholly prepared for. Simply put, educators across the nation are at different levels when it comes to technological literacy and competency, and so we need to coach educators on the use and role of technology in driving optimal learning outcomes. 
  Empowering our teachers, Anganwadi workers, and other educators on the optimal use of technology to deliver an effective education is a must, since they hold the key to unlocking our student’s potential. Only then will it be possible for each student to receive a similar quality of education wherever they are. It is also essential that we focus on improving the digital and human capital infrastructure of government schools, if we are to achieve 100% literacy in India.
   
  
• Innovative Solutions
  
  The pandemic has been a double-edged sword for education. Even as it cut short learning years and eroded knowledge bases for students, it caused educators and administrators to move existing classes to a digital medium in order for it to be accessible. This fully remote or blended learning model can maximize student learning, but in order to do so, we will require a research-based understanding of the optimal amount and mix of learning activities for diverse sets of learners. 
  Blended learning is the right segue for this, allowing students to re-enter classrooms, explore learning material remotely, and ask their queries through a virtual medium, such as websites, email, video, or chatbots. As students get more comfortable in this new normal, the degree of self-paced, asynchronous learning will rise. Connecting the virtual and physical worlds can achieve remarkable outcomes if paired with inclusive, research-derived, and technology-enabled learning models. This is aligned with the objectives of NEP 2020, which looks to embed technology across the education ecosystem through platforms such as DIKSHA/SWAYAM.
  
  
• Tailored Learning Experiences
  
  Each of us understand that each child is unique, but we don’t often tailor their education to reflect this. By embracing the latest technological advances, such as AI and Machine Learning, to provide personalised learning paths, students can be fully engaged in the learning journey. 
  Founding education experiences in a data-driven approach has other benefits too. Educators will find that they can tailor curriculum to match a student’s pace of learning; policymakers too can leverage this approach to pursue an evidence based approach to policymaking as well. Doing so can drive improved learning outcomes at scale. 

Technology too can be a key lever. For instance, AI allows for the identification and tracking of “knowledge points” that accurately reflect an individual’s “knowledge state” for any given subject. This allows for a world of personalised learning experiences and content formats that deliver essential knowledge as per each student’s unique requirements. Embracing innovations such as these, and more, could be key to building a better, more literate India where everyone reaps the rewards of a world-class education.

Our multifaceted programs help each stakeholder of the Indian Education System – educators, students, Anganwadi workers, and the Government – reach their learning and developmental goals, leveraging technology and data to create replicable and scalable models of intervention. Click here to better understand how we’re creating long-term change centred around the most pressing challenges across India’s education landscape.