900 teachers undergo training to integrate tech in classroom
Panaji:
With around 65,000 students in 430 schools being taught coding and robotics in Goa under the chief minister's
coding and robotics education
in schools scheme, or CM-CARES, and another 8,000 students studying the advanced curriculum, efforts are on to ensure that school teachers remain updated with the latest tech.
The project management unit (PMU) at the directorate of technical education recently trained around 900 school teachers across Goa, calling it 'Summanacho Melavo'. A unique feature of the training was on-the-spot evaluation and continued training till teachers attained proficiency.
'The model followed a cascading approach. Resource persons trained master trainers, who in turn mentored more than 900 school teachers. Training sessions included self-study modules, hands-on workshops, project-based learning and regular fortnightly hand-holding sessions — ensuring continuous upskilling rather than one-time orientation,' said Vijay
Borges
, project director of the special cell of PMU.
These fortnightly sessions were conducted in schools from 8.30am to 1.30pm.
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'The PMU shared the learning module in the morning, after which teachers engaged in peer learning and were required to attempt an assessment by 1.30pm. In the backend, the PMU evaluated the submissions and shared results. If any teacher scored below 85%, they were given an additional 3-4 days to revise concepts or clarify doubts with peers,' Borges said.
Subsequently, they had to reattempt the next set of tests until they achieved the required 85% proficiency.
'From the academic year 2021-22 to 2024-25, over 12,000 hours of training have been invested statewide. Teachers from varying educational backgrounds were introduced to cutting-edge tools like Linux Mint OS, Scratch, KOJO, Blender and Sonic Pi and were empowered to integrate computational thinking and design-based learning into their classrooms with the edutech support of PRERNA and PMU-developed
educational management system
(EMS),' Borges said.
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