Introduction of new textbooks for Classes 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 as part of the revised curriculum and changes in student assessment planned in the new academic year will set apart this year’s vacation training for schoolteachers from that held in the previous years.
The training schedule is ready and the sessions nearly finalised. Training for the core State resource group (SRG), which prepares modules for the training, and the SRG members is under way.
Officials say the new textbooks will bring in an element of freshness in the training and elicit a better response from teachers. There were concerns that teachers were not taking much interest in the annual exercise since textbooks had not changed in the past decade and their experiences too were largely unchanged.
Transmission loss
Another challenge that the vacation teacher training faces is lack of quality resource persons at the grassroots level. In each subject, the core SRG provides training to the SRG. The SRG, in turn, trains the district resource group (DRG), which further trains the teachers at the grassroots level. However, it has been found that the transmission loss by the time the DRG trains teachers at the grassroots level is substantial. To prevent this cascading loss, the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT) has called for participation of core SRG and SRG members in the grassroots level training wherever possible so that the training can be imparted in its true sense, say officials.
Digital content
The SCERT will also introduce digital content to teachers during the training and how it should be used. Along with the text introduction to teachers, digital resources such as audio and video will be provided, animations that children can use interactively, and assessments too. Officials point out that the inclusion of digital content is not complete as yet.
The new textbooks, say officials, are being viewed as evolving texts. The idea is to try and change 20-30% of a textbook before it goes for printing next year on the basis of teachers’ feedback to it this year in the field. Additions or deletions can be made, and teachers will be introduced to this concept too.
Training constituents
Child rights, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act will also be introduced to the teachers during the training. The training will cover curriculum – philosophy, approach, and aims; inclusive education; assessment practices; work integrated education; art education; physical and health education; Young Innovators Programme (YIP); new textbooks, syllabus grid; and teacher text.
