Learning through experience: Shreejita provides hands-on education for children in rural Odisha
'For example, in the mock bank and shop, children learn to interact with one another in English or Odia, learn to write their names, do basic calculations, plan expenditures, etc. There are no school books involved here but it is all about strengthening their foundational skills which will make it easier for them to integrate the knowledge into their school curriculum,' said Shreejita, who has done her Masters in Chemistry and BEd. She worked in the Azim Premji Foundation for two years from 2017 and was a teaching fellow before deciding to come to Sundargarh to teach students of remote villages for Koru Foundation.
That is not all. Shreejita encourages the children to think, write and publish their stories, comics, poems in a monthly wall magazine - Rangeen Patrika. The name of the magazine has been collectively decided by the children. 'The children, who have a lot of indigenous knowledge, are encouraged to think about their own day-to-day experiences and pen them down in the form of stories, poems and comics for the magazine,' she said.
But the learning is not confined to the four walls of the community learning centre. Forests around the village also become their classrooms. 'For a long time, many of the children did not wish to come to the centre after a long day at school. Girls, particularly, because they had to also help their mothers with the household chores. Most of them visit the forest to bring forest products,' Shreejita said. This is when she decided to join them in the forests to teach them about plant parts, different types of plants, the forest ecosystem and the environment in general.
Shreejita has also created a rubric following the learning outcomes recommended by NCERT, to assess children's progress every six months. 'Every session, there has been a considerable improvement in the learning outcome of these children which is visible in our assessment and their school results. It is a continuous process,' said Shreejita, who is now planning to approach the local government school authorities to implement the practical learning model for better understanding of children.
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