When it comes to the education sector, Kerala has always had a success story in its credit. Over the last 10 years, the government schools in Kerala witnessed a rise in student strength.
Government schools in the villages and in the suburbs of the cities have started developing the basic infrastructure by introducing smart classrooms along with other needed facilities like a library, sports & games facilities, toilets and more.
All of this was made possible because the state has explored and pioneered various good governance models in the past. Most of the government schools in the villages imparted free education and encouraged students to join.
Besides, many entrepreneurs from Kerala, pursuing their business activities outside the state have been keen on developing the infrastructure of various government educational institutions in Kerala, as they came to know about their poor conditions.
UAE based Indian couple; Faizal and Shabana Kottikolon have literally changed the destiny of a school, located in the suburbs of a city in Kerala. They renovated a 120-year-old government school to a flag bearer of excellence. The Nadakkavu Government Vocational Higher Secondary School (GVHSS) for girls at Calicut is now internationally famed for its unique stature among other schools.
The school has been ranked as the No. 2 government school in India in the Educational World (EW) India School Rankings in 2019-2020.
It was in 2015, that the Nadakkavu GVHSS underwent an infrastructural transformation, owing to its crumbling status. The couple found the school is lacking basic infrastructure.
The school housed classes for around 2,400 girls but had only eight toilets. Nutrition problems were another major issue. Such a dilapidated condition of the school even resulted in absenteeism and a high dropout rate.
Faizal and Shabana joined hands with Mr. Pradeep Kumar, local MLA and developed the school with international standards.
New classrooms along with sophisticated and well-stocked library were built. Old walls were pulled down and designed new ones.
Teacher’s training programs were introduced through IIM Calicut. All these improved the self-esteem of the students as well as teachers.
The major attraction of the school is an Astroturf stadium, considered to be the first in any school in the State.
The news has gone its rounds in social media and entrepreneurs across the world appreciated and started following the generous act initiated by Faizal and Shabana. Sharing with you a comment posted by one such person who has been inspired by the couple.
Similarly, a school in Malappuram district of Kerala also went through an infrastructure overhaul, interestingly with the aid from an IAS officer, management students from a premier institute, and the local community.
Established in 1918, the Government Lower Primary School, at Pookkottur in Kerala’s Malappuram district had less than 200 students in 2015-16.
With the combined effort taken by Muhammed Ali Shihab, a 2011 batch IAS officer of the Nagaland cadre along with PTA, a group of students and the local community, the school today houses 470 students.
Using local MP and MLA funds, they raised Rs 1.75 crore and the school now has smart classrooms, a library, restrooms, an air-conditioned auditorium, amphitheater, a children’s park and a botanical garden.
Nobel Prize is one of the most prestigious awards bestowed for excellence in academic and scientific achievements. It is actually a set of awards given in various categories including Literature, Peace, Physics, Chemistry, Economics, Physiology and Medicine. It is presented by Swedish and Norwegian institutions.
History of Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize obtained its name after Alfred Bernhard Nobel, a Swedish businessman. Born on October 21, 1833, Alfred Nobel has many credits with his name.
He was a scientist, inventor, chemist, engineer and moreover a philanthropist. He had about 355 patents including dynamite. Moreover the element nobelium was named after Alfred Nobel.
Finally, in his will, Nobel instructed that a huge part of his assets should be set aside for the establishment of an award. Since then the Nobel Prize is funded by his personal fortune.
The Legacy Continues
It was in 1901 when the first Nobel Prizes were awarded. Since then the legacy continues. The United States of America has won the most number of Nobel Prizes until now. Just below is the United Kingdom.
Nobel Prize in Economics 2019
Abhijit Banerjee, Esther Duflo, and Michael Kremer shares 2019 Nobel Prize in Economics
The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has recently announced the prestigious Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences; this time for an Indian- American Abhijit Banerjee, his wife Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer. While Banerjee and Duflo work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Michael Kremer pursues his research works at Harvard University.
The trio jointly won the accolade for its experimental approach to alleviate global poverty. Reportedly, more than five million children in Indian schools, all of them part of remedial tutoring programs, got benefitted from the experimental programs put forward by the trio.
As per the statement released by the Academy, the research conducted by the 2019 Economic Sciences Laureates has considerably improved the ability to fight global poverty. In just two decades, the new experiment-based approach has transformed development economics, which is now a flourishing field of research.
Abhijit Banerjee
“poverty is not just a lack of money; it is not having the capability to realize one’s full potential as a human being.” – Abhijit Banerjee (Click to Tweet)
Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee is an Indian-born American scientist. Born 21 February 1961, Abhijit Banerjee completed his studies at the University of Calcutta, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Harvard University. He received his Ph.D. in 1988.
At present, he is the Ford Foundation International Professor of Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the co-founder of Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab along with his wife who shared Nobel Prize and Sendhil Mullainathan.
Congratulations to Abhijit Banerjee on being conferred the 2019 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel. He has made notable contributions in the field of poverty alleviation.
A winner of Infosys prize, he also served as the president of the Bureau for the Research in the Economic Analysis of Development and a Research Associate of the NBER, CEPR and more. He is also a writer who has in credit four books and large number of articles.
Esther Duflo
“Awareness of our problems thus does not necessarily mean that they get solved. I t may just mean that we are able to perfectly anticipate where we will fall.” ― Esther Duflo (Click to Tweet)
A French-American Economist, Esther Duflo is the Professor of Poverty Alleviation and Development Economics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She shared the 2019 Nobel Prize for Economics with her husband Abhijit Banerjee and Michael Kremer. She is also a co-founder of Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab.
A research associate in the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), Duflo is also a board member of the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development (BREAD), and director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research’s development economics program. She is the one among two women to win the Nobel Prize in Economics.
Michael Kremer
Kremer is an American development economist and a Gates professor. He was graduated from Harvard University and was a postdoc at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He received the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship and was named Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum.
The Second Woman to win the Nobel Prize
With the announcement, Esther Duflo, a French Development Aid Economist has become the second woman to win the Nobel Prize after Elinor Ostrom from United States.
“Showing that it is possible for a woman to succeed and be recognized for success I hope is going to inspire many, many other women to continue working and many other men to give them the respect they deserve,” said Duflo after winning the prize.
Essay on Rabindranath Tagore: Rabindranath Tagore, a great Indian poet, novelist, song composer, playwright, and a great scholar was born in Calcutta on the 7th of May in 1861.His birthday is marked as Rabindranath Tagore Jayanthi. He was born in a rich and orthodox Brahmin family. His parents were Maharsi Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi.His mother died when he was just fourteen years old.Commonly known as Gurudev, he was also known by the name Rabindranath Thakur.
Among Tagore’s siblings, he was the youngest. From a small age, he lost his mother. His father was a traveler, so he was raised by his maids and servants at home.
Right from his childhood, he developed his interest in writing poetry and proved his excellence in the future.
He was a multi-talented person in every sense. He was a painter, story- writer, humanist, patriot, novelist, philosopher, and educationalist.
In his early days, he never attended schools and pursued his studies under the guidance of private teachers at home. However, he went to England for his higher studies.
Tagore and his family were interested in Bengal renaissance and took active participation in it.
At the age of sixteen, he started publishing his poetry work. Interestingly it was published under the pseudonym Bhanushingho (Sun Lion).
The great classical poet, Kalidasa has influenced Tagore and he started writing classical poems. His sister Swarnakumari was also a well – known novelist.
In 1873, he went for a tour with his father for several months and he acquired knowledge about various subjects. While staying at Amristar he learned about Sikhism and he pens down almost six poems and some articles on the religion.
Education
Tagore’s formal education was in Brighton, East Sussex, England.
In 1878 that he went to England to study law but he returned back to India before completing studies as he wanted to fulfill his passion to become a poet and a writer.
He began learning the works of Shakespeare on his own. He was interested to learn English, Scottish, and Irish literature and music.
Afterward, he returned to India and married his soul mate Mrinalini Devi.
Established Shantiniketan
It was Tagore’s father who put forward the idea of Shantiniketan.
The concept of “Ashram” was founded by Debendranath Tagore in 1863. Tagore founded an open-air school.
Image – PathaBhavana
It was a prayer hall, named as “Mandir’. It was also called “Patha Bhavana’ which included only five students at the beginning.
Guru-Shishya’s method of teaching was used. This trend of teaching was observed beneficial to the modern education system.
In the meantime he becomes very famous and also he was the first Asian to receive Nobel Laureate. Today, Shantiniketan is a famous University town in West Bengal.
Literary Works
Tagore made a great effort to introduce Indian culture to the West and vice versa.
Tagore’s most famous work, Geetanjali, was translated during his long ocean journey to European nation.
He was awarded the laurels for literature for the work Geetanjali.
His spiritual and mercurial poems are still remembered today.
In 1913 he became the first Indian to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. Thus he made a notable contribution to Indian literature.
His contributions are enormous and also unforgettable.
National anthems of India and Bangladesh are taken from his work Rabindrasangeet and are famous.
Even today, the creative writings of Tagore, whether in the form of poems or stories, are unquestionable. Through his sharp and brilliant writings he tried to bridge the gap between east and west. Perhaps he was the first Indian writer to come up such attempt.
He believed in the concept of brotherhood, power of love and peace
His main aim of writing was to bring people very closer.
He had delineated well concerning love and harmony through his poetry and stories.
The love and harmony towards one another are clearly reflected in his whole life and writings.
His commitment towards the country is clearly portrayed in the quoted statement,
“My country that is forever India, the country of my forefathers, the country of my children, my country has given me life and strength.”
And again, “I shall be born in India again.”
Tagore’s major contribution towards Indian English literature includes his most prominent works such as Chitra, Naivedya, Sonar Tari, Kalpana etc.
His spiritual and religious power helped him to withstand during the days of sufferings.
He was a good educationalist and hence supported associate residence of peace. And he founded the unique university named Santiniketan., an abode of art enthusiasts.
He passed away on 7th August in 1941 in Kolkata unfortunately before seeing India got independence.
There isn’t always time to help the students to sort their weaknesses and misunderstandings after the tests have been graded. For that, we can depend upon a few assessment strategies to help students.
Here is a list of simple assessment strategies to use every day for teaching, planning and curriculum designing.
1. Come up with Open-Ended Questions
For an effective and better assessment of the students, always remember to ask open-ended questions.
Avoid “yes/no” type questions and phrases like “Do you like to read?”. Because students always tend to reply “yes” to the questions you ask.
Instead of “yes/no” questions, ask open-ended questions that will help children to improve their imagination skills and to develop ideas.
2) Ask Students to Reflect
During the last session of the class, the teacher can ask the students to explain what they have learned. It is one of the finest assessment strategies teachers can rely on.
The students can apply the concepts or ideas in such practical situations.
3) Use Quizzes
At the end of the class, students can be given a few quizzes for better understanding and to check comprehension. This helps teachers to evaluate their students.
4) Ask Students to Summarize
The teacher can challenge students to summarize daily topics briefly.
It helps them to review what they have learned.
5) Hand Signals
Students can incorporate hand signals as a measure to indicate an understanding of the content. They can show five fingers to indicate full understanding, three fingers for mild confusion and one finger to show they need help. This strategy helps to engage all the students and teachers can check for understanding within the large group.
6) Response Cards
Students can use index cards, magnetic boards, whiteboards, and other items to indicate their feedback to the questions asked by the teacher. This method helps the teacher to quickly assess the students.
In this method, corners of the class can be used to indicate, “firmly agree”, “firmly disagree”, “agree somewhat” and “not sure”.
When the teacher asks a question, students can take any of the four corners to point out their opinion.
8) Think -Pair-Share
For the question asked by the teacher, the students can take a few minutes to think about the solution, then they can pair with a partner and share their ideas and present before the class.
9) Choral Reading
Students mark text for a particular theory or concept. They read the marked text in unison with the teacher. This method helps to improve reading and listening skills, differentiate between the reading of statements, dialogue, questions, etc.
10) One Question Quiz
As an assessment strategy, the teacher comes up with a single focused question allowing the students to answer within a few minutes either written or orally. The question should cover the main theme or concept of the daily lesson.
11) Socratic Seminar
A formal discussion based on the text, regarding a particular concept or idea. Students ask questions to each other and it continues with a series of discussions and responses. Within the context of discussions, the students share ideas and opinions.
12) 3-2-1
At the end of the class, the students consider and analyze what they have learned.
(3) What they understood,
(2) What they need to know more about and
(1) What are the questions or doubts they have?
13) Ticket Out the Door
Students note down the response for a specific prompt. The teacher collects the briefly written ideas at the end of the class and analyzes the responses of the students.
14) Journal Reflections
Reflections of each lesson can be summarized by the students. The places they need more help, the ideas conveyed, strategies they found helpful etc can be noted at the end of the class.
15)Formative Pencil–Paper Assessment
A short pencil- paper assessment is an easy way to monitor the things learned by the individuals. The teacher asks the students to self-correct. The teacher collects assessments and analyzes the results individually to examine student progress and also give instructions.
16) Misconception Check
Present before the students a common or predictable misconception relating to the topics they’ve covered. Ask to comment and explain the reason for agreeing or disagreeing.
17) Analogy Prompts
Making use of comparisons is a powerful tool. Periodically, give students an analogy prompt,” the idea being learned is like _____ because of _______”.
Always try to revise the topic or concept learned. It helps in better understanding least three times, minimum.
19) Use Variety
Teachers should make use of different individual and group techniques to check what students know. The same technique should not be repeated during a single class.
20) Peer Instruction
It is the most effective assessment strategies to analyze the understanding of individuals. Let the students explain to each other what they have learned. The method helps to improve leadership qualities, communication, etc.
A union territory is a form of administrative division, where the ruling power directly vests upon the hands of the Union government (Central government), and hence termed as “Union Territory”.
As we all know, India, the 7th largest country in the world, is distinct from the rest of Asia, with mountains and seas. The country has got a unique geographical entity of its own.
It is a democratic, sovereign, socialist and secular republic with a Parliamentary system of Government.
In a union territory, President is the constitutional head and these union territories are administered by the President through an Administrator appointed by him/her.
In India, each union territory of India has a unique democracy, culture, value, history, festival, language, dress etc.
These Union Territories of India have special rights and status due to their process of formation and development.
For the ease of governance, each union territory is divided and sub-divided into smaller administrative blocks, where the villages form the smallest blocks.
How many Union Territories are there in India?
There are 8 union territories in India, each of them with their unique identities
All these union territories are developing alarmingly in India for different sectors such as tourism, industry, infrastructure, etc.
Dadra and Nager Haveli and Daman and Diu are well known for its beautiful beaches, Portuguese forts and churches and on the other hand, Delhi is famous for the heritage sites and old monuments, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep for pristine beaches
In this blog, we will discuss the Union Territories of India (largest and smallest), their names, and their uniqueness.
Andaman and Nicobar Island is a beautiful piece of land with shimmering beaches and lagoons of turquoise blue waters blended with a bit of history. This place is tucked around 1,400km away from the east coast of India.
Andaman and Nicobar islands comprise of 572 islands, in which only 37 islands are inhabited and a few are open to the tourists.
This was the first union territory of India that was established in the year 1956.
The British used these islands to hold prisoners, mainly Indian freedom fighters. The local tribes of Jarwa and Great Andamanese maintain an aloof existence to this day.
The scenic beach of Havelock and Neil Islands and lagoons with crystal clear water invites tourists to have a peaceful, laid-back holiday. Scuba diving is the favorite sport of holidaymakers at Andaman
Chandigarh, though a Union territory, is the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.
It has the status of a city and union territory at the same time. It was constituted on November 1, 1966.
The state of Haryana lies to the east and the state of Punjab on all the other three sides. The city was designed by a French architect, Le Corbusier. The Secretariat, Legislative Assembly, and Capitol complex buildings were built by him.
Chandigarh is known as the green city of India. The famous rock garden featuring sculptures made of stone and recycled material by Nek Chand, the Sukhna Lake, the rose garden, and the terraced garden are major attractions of the city.
3. DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI and DAMAN & DIU (Will come into effect on 26th January 2020)
From 26th January 2020, Dadra and Nager Haveli and Daman and Diu are to be combined into a single union territory with reference to the legislation passed by the Government of India.
This merging came into force in order to reduce administrative costs and duplication of services. Daman is considered to be the new capital of this newly found union territory.
Dadra and Nagar Haveli, located on the west coast of India.
The regions were part of Portuguese India. They were merged with India as a union territory in 1961. Dadra, the smaller region, is in Gujarat. Nagar Haveli lies in between Maharashtra and Gujarat.
The Portuguese heritage, the greenery, and the scenic beauty of the land welcome tourists from around the world. The beautiful lake garden Vanganga is located at the entrance to the city.
Daman and Diu, located on the west coast of India.
They were part of Portuguese India even after independence. Daman and Diu became part of the Union Territory of Goa in 1961.
Later Goa was handed separate statehood in 1987, thus making Daman and Diu a separate Union Territory.
Daman and Diu have a mixed culture featuring Indian and Portuguese. The territory with its beaches, scenic beauty, forts, and Portuguese churches is a popular tourist destination.
Delhi is a union territory and also the national capital of India. Delhi is governed by its own legislature as like in other states of India.
It was awarded the status of union territory in 1956. The territory is bordered by Uttar Pradesh on the east and by Haryana on all other sides.
Old Delhi is synonymous with a history dating back to 1600. The monuments like Qutub Minar, Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Mughal era tombs, and Mughal Gardens, Rashtrapati Bhavan, India Gate are places where history comes alive.
Urdu, Dogri, Kashmiri, Pahari, Balti, Gojri and Dari
Official Language(s)
Urdu
State Bird
Black Necked Crane
State Tree
Chinar
State animal
Hangul
State flower
Lotus
The state of Jammu & Kashmir was divided into two union territories – Ladakh and J&K in August 2019. Jammu & Kashmir was denoted as a union territory with a legislature of its own similar to Delhi and Puducherry.
The special status provided to the Jammu and Kashmir on the basis of Article 370 of the Constitution of India was withdrawn.
It would re-constitute the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. The act will be effective from October 31, 2019.
The state’s terrain is mostly mountainous. Thorn scrub and grass form the vegetation.
Agriculture is done on terraced slopes. Rice is the chief crop. Corn, millet, pulses, barley, wheat, cotton, and tobacco are also cultivated in accordance with the seasons. The region is the sole producer of saffron in India.
Jammu & Kashmir, known as the Paradise on earth, is famous for the snow-capped mountains and glaciers.
The region abounds in nature’s splendor with lakes, meadows, valleys, and evergreen forests. The temples of Amarnath and Vaishno Devi are pilgrim centers. Gulmarg, Shalimar Bagh, Dal Lake, Khardung La pass are the most beautiful places to visit.
Ladakh was classified as a union territory in August 2019 administered by India. Prior to this, Ladakh was a part of the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
The region lies in the northern part of India. Ladakh consists of two districts, Leh and Kargil.
Ladakhi culture is similar to Tibetan culture. The principal language of Ladakhi is the Tibetan language. Ladakhi food is similar to Tibetan food.
Tourism forms a major part of the economy. The Pangong Lake, Magnetic Hill, Zanskar valley, monasteries and Leh Palace are sights to be seen in Ladakh. It is a land of high altitude mountain passes.
Lakshadweep is the smallest of all union territories of india in terms of size and population.
The islands were a part of Madras until it was separated in 1956 and made a union territory.
It was called Laccadive, Minicoy and Aminidvi prior to being renamed Lakshadweep in 1973. The island lies in the sea Laccadive southwest of the Indian mainland.
Coconut palms are the mainstay of the island. Fishing forms a major segment of the economy. Tourism is promoted though with caution to prevent environmental damage.
The archipelago of 36 islands and coral reefs are mostly uninhabited. The largest city is Andrott. The islands of Minicoy, Agatti and Bangaram are famous for their coral reefs, beaches and pristine blue waters.
Puducherry is located on the southeast coastline of India in the state of Tamil Nadu. Pondicherry was formed out of the former French colonies of Mahe, Pondicherry, Karaikal, and Yanam in the year 1954. These places are now districts under Puducherry.
Puducherry shares most of its culture and language with Tamil Nadu. Farming of rice, pulses, sugarcane, coconuts, and cotton is done. Tourism promotes the town’s quaint French legacy.
Puducherry is often referred to as the Riviera of the East due to the French influence. The Aurobindo Ashram, churches, beaches, and seaside promenades promise serenity and tranquility to all travelers.
Have a look at Video representation about States and Union Territories of India
Which is the largest Union Territory of India?
Andaman & Nicobar Islands (8,249 sq km)
Andaman and Nicobar Island is a beautiful piece of the island with shimmering beaches and lagoons of turquoise blue waters blended with a bit of history. This place is tucked around 1,400km away from the east coast of India.
Andaman and Nicobar Islands comprise of 572 islands, in which only 37 islands are inhabited and a few are open to the tourists.
Which is the smallest Union Territory of India?
Goa (3,702 sq km)
Goa is the smallest union territory of India which is situated on the west coast of the Arabian Sea. This place is the main spot of tourist attraction with beautiful beaches, churches etc. Other appealing features of Goa are its flora, fauna, world heritage- listed architectures etc.
During the time of Independence, union territories were not part of India and were too small to be made as a state. And it was decided by the States Reorganization Commission in 1956, to form these under a special category named as “Union Territory”.
At the time of formation, these union territories were economically unbalanced and financially weak, as it was not able for them to survive independently. And thus union territories were formed under the direct control of the Central government.
In this rapidly changing world, being creative and innovative is the key to make an impact and get along with the changes.
Some of you might be wondering about what actually is creativity and innovation and how it differs.
These terms are very familiar in our discussions and some people even use both these terms for the same contexts interchangeably.
Creativity is something related to imagination whereas innovation implies more about implementation.
Creativity is something that refers to conceiving or visualizing a fresh plan or idea whereas innovation is about introducing something new or the first time.
Both creativity and innovation are inevitable in today’s fast-paced modern workplace.
Definition of Creativity and Innovation
A person is creative when he comes up with fresh ideas, solutions, alternatives or possibilities in a different and unique way.
In most cases, it will be exciting, expressive and imaginative. The ideas should be original but unpredictable.
It is a mind-blogging and brainstorming activity which brings up thoughts beyond imagination.
Creativity is always subjective giving no way for measuring it. One can be creative in any context as a way of solving problems or as a form of expression.
A person is innovative if he can apply a fresh idea into the society, organization, government or business that can make an impact or create some value. Innovation is always about a smarter and better way of doing things.
One can define it as doing something fresh for the first time. When talking on a business perspective, it can be a change that can make a new edge to the productivity and performance.
While creativity is about being imaginative, innovation is about being productive.
Innovation is quantifiable in most cases; but creativity is not quantifiable.
Creativity is all about thinking something new whereas innovation is more about introducing something new.
Money consumption is not involved in creativity but innovation involves money consumption.
There is no risk involved creativity but innovation is always associated with a considerable risk.
Creativity is associated with terms like ideas, imagination, thoughts, and expression, concepts, brainstorming and creative process. Innovation is associated with terms like process, value, invention, doing, action, implementation, enable, useful, change, new and measurable.
In a business organization, creativity comes up with new plans so that they can give a competition and be more flexible in the market. On the other hand, innovation is about taking up these novel ideas and developing on it to create useful and practical solutions. In simple words, innovation is converting theory into action.
In modern competitive business conditions, the term creativity is often overlooked but they fail to understand that creativity alone doesn’t make a difference but innovation does.
Examples
In a workplace, there can be brainstorming meetings where employees come up with new ideas that is unique and original.
Then there is another team that considers these ideas to make positive changes to the company situation.
It need not be always about introduction of new products but about tweaks to existing products, processes, or interactions.
In another case, the electronics company LG released a novel screen type into the market which is known for its flexibility as it rolls up similar to a newspaper.
The thought of developing such a type of screen is creativity but its actual introduction to the market is innovation.
In fact, a device, process or product that never existed before is referred to as invention which is also an innovation. However, every innovation need not be an invention.
For instance, if your company went digital for the very first time and published a website, that is an innovation. But it is not an invention as several other companies already have a website.
Conclusion
To conclude, even when both these terms are different, innovation is very much tied to creativity.
In fact, pushing creative ideas into a productive action is innovation and the expectations are always positive.
Talking on a business perspective, both creativity and innovation is irreplaceable for the success of an organization.
One can be creative by asking questions, researching & exploring fresh ideas, drawing conclusions, and expanding the thinking arena. However, one can be innovative only by taking risks, asking questions, experimenting, and observing things.
On a run for trying to do things differently, companies are always in chase of creativity but what is lacking is innovation that puts ideas to work.
So encourage employees to be more creative by giving them flexible platforms to think aloud but at the same time develop a team to assess its risks and utilize its possibilities for better practical results.
All of us have grown up hearing the stories of “The Thirsty Crow” and “The Fox and the Grapes”. We may have forgotten the stories, but the values still remain in our minds.
From childhood itself, we have grown up hearing about moral values. And yes, they are so precious that they help us in becoming a good human being.
Moral values are a set of principles that guide us throughout our lives.
Moral values direct us to the right path to lead our lives. Imparting these from the early days helps one to distinguish between right and wrong. These values involve factors like loving others, helping others, respecting others, morality, honesty, etc.
Finally, it helps to build a high minded person and to follow the path of righteousness.
One can attain right and virtuous character only if he/she is able to follow moral values with complete honesty.
Moral education should include the mental and moral development of an individual. As we grow up we keep on learning and transforming ourselves, so do our morals.
We should keep in mind the fact that moral education can be effectively imparted to the younger ones mainly through examples and not by percepts.
As kids are good observers, they notice everything we do. They keep on watching us, so try to be an example for them to adopt. Parents should also be aware of the type of companions they make.
Teachers and parents should always monitor the behavior of kids. They should be able to apply moral values as it comes to practical life. The surrounding can also influence them, in building up moral values.
Elders should remember to encourage and appreciate them for the moral virtues they hold. It motivates them to hold on to these values always. In the course of time, it becomes a part of them.
The foundation should start from an early age itself, from home and is carried to the schools, colleges and also to the workplace.
The Benefits of Acquiring Moral Education are:
Moral education helps one to distinguish between right and wrong.
It gets reflected in one’s personality.
It helps in building a good personal and professional life.
It helps to eliminate problems like violence, dishonesty, jealousy etc from one’s life.
It can wipe out bad influences in the society like violence, crimes, agitations, child abuse, disregarding women, etc.
It also helps in building a positive approach to things, self-confidence, and motivation.
It helps in finding out the true purpose of life. These values help one to be dedicated, unselfish, loving and caring for others.
The method of teaching moral values to students is universal. Teachers and parents have a key role in this. If a child misbehaves, it’s common for people to blame their parents and teachers for this.
Children usually tell lies for personal gains. Teachers should give proper guidance and advice to them. They are the student’s greatest inspirations. The students always tend to look at their teachers as ideal ones. So teachers should be able to be a role model for them to imbibe moral values. Reading moral stories can also help in developing moral values.
Even students from refined and cultural families lose moral values if their companions and school environment are not proper.
Children should have a strong base of moral values. Our curriculum must include the biographies of great personalities who followed the right path in life.
If effectively implemented, Moral Education will help learners with tools of judgment making and leading them to make effective decisions and choices. Therefore, the importance of moral education is vital and also it should be an integral part of the school and college curriculum.
Finally, moral values give us happiness, immense satisfaction and confidence to face life as it is. These values help to mold gentle humans who are beautiful in values and nature.
Being a full-time teacher is a huge responsibility itself! And when you decide to balance it with your aspiration of acquiring a master’s degree, it can seem overwhelming.
But don’t worry! You can achieve your degree and balance your life and work at the same time.
Here, in this article, you will find 5 valuable ideas that expert teachers offer for teachers who want to lead a life like this:
1. You have Some Great Planning Skills. Use them!
As a teacher, you talk about planning and strategy making to conveniently study. You give tips to your students about how to divide the time of the day for every important task.
So, if you can preach, you should be able to apply the same tips in your life as well. Your strategy-making capabilities are required here. But, this time, you will be making a lesson plan for yourself.
You have your daily teaching job along with personal life. Now, pursuing your master’s degree will require you to invest time in completing assignments.
This is the life you live, so it would be better to make a diary of strategy to balance everything.
For a particular assignment, you can write down a completion strategy. This strategy is required to cover all time-gaps when you can complete a certain portion of the assignment.
You can also balance your daily responsibilities as a teacher. Plus, add time to relax and sleep. The idea should be to create a pattern of actions that lead to automated completion of an assignment.
This way, you won’t be putting too much pressure on your head.
It takes more than just planning to achieve a smooth lifestyle. You should be able to follow your plans bit by bit without missing anything. Choose to try a plan that seems suitable.
You might face some issues with a plan. Use those problems to modify your strategy for the future. You won’t be needing too much coffee if you follow this idea successfully.
2. Have a List of Favorite Topics.
When you get physically and mentally tired, your brain asks you to avoid activities that you can possibly avoid. But when you love an activity, your brain motivates you to do it no matter how exhausted you feel.
This is the whole idea of picking a topic you feel connected to. The selection of a study program can’t be about money or what seems the next step in your career.
Instead of all the complicated questions, simply ask yourself the topics you enjoy. Make a list of those topics. This list can include traveling, fashion, designing, language, drama, photography or any other topic.
These are the topics you need to choose from. Because your list of topics has only the topics you love.
This way, when you come back home after a hectic day, you would still want to learn. The excitement of learning something is the key force that helps you during tiring days and hectic schedules.
But that excitement is possible when you give yourself the freedom of choosing a master’s program you actually love.
An extra effort is definitely required to live such a busy lifestyle. You get the much-needed boost every day if the learning part is something you are fond of.
But teachers fail to see that many times in their careers. There is nothing wrong with choosing the education administration as your master’s program. However, it is important that you enjoy reading about education administration as a topic.
Otherwise, you will be putting your mind and body under too much stress. And stress kills productivity and restricts you from learning new stuff. So, it comes down to what you choose to study!
3. Make High-Tech Friends
When you read, you have to sit down in a calm environment and concentrate. Your eyes are required all the time, during which, you read.
This is a great practice and everyone should follow this. But there are other moments you can utilize to learn stuff. Those moments require modern-age technologies.
Every day, you take a ride to reach your work, take long walks and sit at parks. At home, you wash clothes, clean dishes and do other daily activities.
All these activities offer a chance to listen to things and understand them. All you need is the right kind of devices.
Thankfully, there are audiobooks available for almost every study material these days. Hearing a book saves a lot of time for you. It allows you to utilize every possible time when you can listen and focus without looking at a book constantly.
This makes your whole day productive without putting too much pressure on your head.
Then, there is Siri! Whenever you hear something new, you can ask it to Siri and get the answer. This turns into audio notes you prepare for yourself.
Time is everything when you have so much to do every day. Your responsibilities as a teacher take a big part of your life. Then, there are responsibilities associated with your personal life.
And after all that, you have to find time and concentrate on learning for your master’s program. Every second of every day can seem a precious treasure.
So, you should find every possible way to best utilize those precious moments. So, find the technologies and resources that can help you learn faster and easier.
This is another lesson you have learned over the years working as a teacher. Remember when students require positive reinforcement and you set unique rewards.
Well, those things can work in your lifestyle as well. You need to set some positive rewards to motivate yourself towards your daily and weekly goals.
It is important that your rewards don’t counteract with the goals you are trying to accomplish.
Sit down this Sunday and make a list of goals you want to accomplish. Divide your goals into daily tasks and set a reward for each day. So, you can treat yourself with a scoop of ice cream after successfully completing your daily tasks.
And if you attain all your goals in a week, go to your favorite restaurant. Of course, it will take away some time, but you will get the much-needed encouragement to find more time for the right stuff.
The reward system works when you have a lot to study. Topic chapters, assignments and big research projects, these are the common aspects of studying for a master’s degree. Which is why you do need every encouragement possible to keep doing what you are doing.
The idea is to become your own teacher when it comes to motivating yourself. Without a doubt, you will get positive results using the reward system on yourself.
5. You have Your Weekends. Use them Smartly!
Weekends are important for two reasons. One is that they offer you a time to relax and reboot yourself after a stressful week. The second is that they also give you some free time when you can only focus on your studies.
You have to understand how to balance both aspects of having weekends.
If you are not smart about this and spend your weekends only chilling and enjoying it, it will be a waste of some precious time.
At the same time, if you decide to keep studying every weekend, it will take you to the edge of stress.
What you need to do is find a balance between both the activities. For instance, you can choose to spend the 1st weekend of each month doing your studies.
Then, plan a relaxing weekend every 2nd weekend of each month. Follow this alternatively and you have a perfect balance of work and life.
If you have a lot of work to do, you can pick the first few weekends of a month to complete those tasks.
Then, pick one weekend to release all the stress and enjoy it. This will get you ready for the next week and the upcoming weekend of work, life and studies.
When you utilize your weekend wisely, it makes your weekdays more convenient to handle.
You can have fewer things to do during the weekends. Plus, the proper relaxation will allow you to feel mentally calm.
All in all, it is all about the balance that you achieve with your abilities. You need love for the topic and an ability to manage your time.
This is a delicate approach to working and studying at the same time. But a teacher can definitely do it if he or she decides with sheer determination.
Hopefully, you are feeling inspired and ready to start your master’s program without stopping your career as a teacher. Follow each and every idea to create a systematic life around your work, life, and studies.
Several students often suffer from limited reading capabilities. Students who find it challenging to grasp basic reading skills may find education very difficult later on in life.
It is absolutely necessary that every student be able to read proficiently by a certain age.
Primary and middle school teachers are crucial in this fight against reading handicaps, as it is at this age that students begin to read complex sentences. Students must be counseled and analyzed to get to the base of their reading difficulties.
A few things teachers can do to enhance reading skills in children are:
Encourage Them to Read Books with their Families
Reading abilities are greatly enhanced when practiced with family. It doesn’t have to be something difficult: Just an ordinary book can do.
If the kid’s parents read passages out loud during a reading session, the students will gain an idea about the right pronunciation styles.
Most people learn to speak and read with their families. If you are able to recreate that effect, even during middle and high school stages, where they huddle around with their families and read, it can be a tremendous boost to increase their reading skills.
Helping Kids with their Vocabulary
It can so happen that children are scared of reading because they can’t understand the words used in them. This is more prevalent among high school students when the language used in their textbooks starts including rich, high-grade vocabulary words.
Students can take this as a direct hit to their self-confidence and stop working on enhancing their vocabulary skills.
This eventually leads to a snowball effect, where the student is basically unable to comprehend and read properly as he moves to higher classes.
To solve this issue, you must ensure that a basic vocabulary test is administered to all students in your class.
Prepare a list of low performers and offer them sessions to improve their vocabulary. Regular usage of the dictionary must be encouraged.
Once students start to improve, begin administering vocabulary tests of a higher level to assess their performance levels.
Text Comprehension Checks
Often, it can be observed that low performing students are unsuccessful at understanding the content in a passage.
It is seen, for example, that students merely lip-read through essential points instead of paying proper attention.
This can have severe effects as they won’t be able to understand or convey what they have learned.
Trying to reproduce it during an exam turns out to be a disaster since they wind up having only partial knowledge about the topic.
Only able to use basic level language, their papers wouldn’t be rated as highly as their more talented peers.
It is suggested that while teaching, you should encourage students to rise at regular intervals and ask questions. Problematic parts could be explained over and over again.
It will also be helpful if, during class, students are made to summarize what they just learned. This could be made at regular intervals.
The benefit is that any student who did not understand it at first attempt gets multiple chances to learn it.
Divide Students to Work in Groups
It has been observed that students with reading issues also tend to be loners. They do not interact much with others. This lack of socialization skills can cause them to fall back on their grades.
They would not be able to study with friends, who are more accessible than teachers.
Any reading issues they may have gone unnoticed since not many interact with him or analyze his grades. Even teachers fail to observe this.
You can prevent this by taking steps to divide students into small teams. Allot them tasks to do, like group projects, dramas, plays, book clubs, etc.
This leads to a rise in the number of occasions he gets to interact with his peers. He would also have to read more diligently to keep up.
When he does get bogged down, there will be a support system to help him out.
Since students are more comfortable with their peers rather than teachers, to ask doubts, this would lead to an acceleration of his progress.
Assign Projects
Students can be assigned books or topics to be studied and analyzed. In the end, ask them to submit a report. A positive consequence is that students would go through the book diligently to make a book report.
Help out the student with any doubts he has. Give him the freedom to select any book of his choice, as long as it is challenging enough.
He can be asked to present his book report in public and read from it. Since it is his own language, he should have no difficulties in doing so. Regular projects can improve his reading abilities.
Regular Reading Sessions at Class
A helpful way to get students more comfortable with reading is by enabling them to read before the whole class.
Although stage fear might overcome them at first, they will slowly learn to shed their concerns and start speaking more freely in class.
The advantage is that now, you will be able to correct their errors as they speak.
If a student mispronounces a word, you can immediately fix it. If a student gets stuck at a particular sentence, gently nudge him to read, offering helpful hints when you can.
This will shower with a tremendously positive effect, not only on the student but on the entire class as well.
Once they begin to trust that the teacher is genuinely looking out for their good, they might show enthusiasm to participate in the reading sessions.
Token prizes could also be given to students who showed the most improvement, thus propelling them for more reading. Students, who were not successful, can be given helpful hints.
They can be prepared and coached for the next reading session, emphasizing on places where he failed previously.
Once a student starts being appreciated for his reading, it is likely to turn into a habit.
Encourage Students For Borrowing Books From The Library
The best way to improve reading abilities is to only read. Encourage students to read out loud, not just their academic textbooks, but also books from the library. A limit should be set for the minimum number of books to be read in a particular month; reward students who accomplish it.
Ask them questions about the books to ensure that they really comprehended every bit of it.
Students often do not read books due to a lack of relatable content. To solve this, teachers should assign students with books that are closer to their reading levels. They can slowly be given books with a higher vocabulary level as they progress.
Use Rich Vocabulary With Proper Pronunciation While Teaching.
Students look up to their teachers in a variety of aspects. If teachers begin to use rich, high-end words during their teaching session and also explaining its meaning, this will help students expand their vocabulary.
Reading becomes much more fun. Imitate voices that are funny while teaching. If students feel the lecture to be entertaining and not dull, they will pay more attention to class.
Later on, when they get back home and read, they would be immensely helped by this innovative style of teaching.
It is said that students find it easier to read when they’ve already heard the same line read to them by someone else. A diligent teacher who follows this policy would help many reading skill deficient students.
Provide Personalized Attention To Dyslexic Students
Reading can also be a significant block for students suffering from dyslexia. In such cases, it is advised that dyslexic students be handled by an expert teacher, who is well versed in such issues.
Dyslexia cannot be controlled by routine methods. Instead, it requires personalized attention from a teacher who is aware of various new teaching methods.
They can make use of a variety of techniques, like picture-word correlation, etc. to teach concepts to dyslexic students.
Slowly, with the right amount of coaching and preparation, even dyslexic students can top a batch of normal students in reading.
Audiobooks
Audiobooks can be combined with regular books. Using them side by side, a student can read a physical book, while also referring to the audiobook at any places he gets stuck at.
Proper pronunciations and diction can be learned in this way. Plus, an audiobook can be rewound and paused at any time for the student to play catch up. The student has the freedom to learn at his convenience.
Conclusion
Teachers are the ones who are truly capable of helping their students. Without their active cooperation, it would become challenging indeed to train students for greater heights and responsibilities.
Teachers should make use of these few points, which are invaluable for enhancing the reading skills of their students.
“With toddlers around, times are always interesting,” says Beth Ann Fennelly.
As a preschool teacher, it can be challenging for you to keep the attention of students unless you come up with interesting and creative preschool activity ideas.
To lend you a helping hand, we have compiled a list of “Preschool Activity Ideas for Teachers”. It features some activities including games kids can play at preschool or their houses with peer groups. These activities help to boost your students’ sensory inputs.
Indulge the little learners in a pool of activities, helping them to make learning enjoyable.
Here is the list of preschool activity ideas for teachers:-
1) Arts and crafts
Great leisure time activity for learners of all ages.
Method
It includes activities like painting, drawing, using glue, scissors, paper crafts, etc. The activities should be done under the proper guidance of teachers or parents.
Painting and coloring include coloring using crayons, sketch pens, using watercolors, etc.
Drawing helps in the growth of the imagination of the kids. They can draw their favorite cartoon characters, toys, etc.
Using glue, scissors include doing activities under the guidance of teachers. They can make flowers using color papers, kites, and other origami stuff.
Benefits
These preschool activities have an important role in developing fine motor skills, accelerating the development of muscles in the hands and fingers.
Creative activities are a great way to bond with kids and build lasting impressions.
Arts and crafts activities provide immediate and lasting cognitive benefits for the kids. It also helps in building up a unique bonding experience and creates life long memories in them.
2) Musical chairs / Trip to Jerusalem
Yet another preschool activity. It is a fun game to play with a group of friends.
Method
Musical chairs is a classic game, in which each one of the players is eliminated in each round.
The game needs some chairs, players, and music, the number of chairs should be one less than the players.
By the time, the music is stopped all should take the seats and the one who doesn’t take the seat is eliminated from the game, one of the chairs is removed and the game continues until only one player remains.
The remaining player becomes the winner of the game.
The leader or the teacher can play any type of music; they can also change the type of music in between.
Benefits
The traditional game of musical chairs helps kids to improve their listening skills and to improve self-regulation and reflexes.
3)Hopped up Hide and Seek
Method
In this preschool game, the teacher can hide an object and can give directions to kids like “move two steps forward”, “move three steps to the right”, or like “look for something in blue color” etc.
Benefits
It reinforces their listening skills and verbal instructions. It also teaches the little scholars positional words, shapes, colors, directions, etc.
4)Playing house
This activity is also known as “lay grown-up” is also a traditional game of children.
Method
In this activity, preschoolers can form groups to play nuclear family.
Children can pretend to be cooking, dressing up, going to the office, cleaning houses, etc.They can also use toys as family members.
Benefits
In order to make them social and also to teach life skills, teachers can make them playhouses
This is a fun game for preschoolers to improve their motor skills.
Method
The kids can make each one’s puppet unique under the guidance of teachers.
They can make puppets using socks which help them develop fine motor skills.
They can also make puppets talk with each other.
Benefits
The activities can assist them to improve listening and speaking skills and also to develop their imagination.
6) Simon says
This is a fun activity that helps in honing listening skills.
Method
In this game, one among the group can be “Simon”, who can give silly instructions like
“Simon says hop on one foot”
“Simon says dance around the room”
“Simon says to do some jumping jacks”
“Simon says to give yourself a hug”
“Simon says jump like frogs”
“Simon says clap your hands”
“Simon says touch your toes”
Simon’s target is to eliminate as many players as possible, the game continues until one of the listeners is left and he/she is the winner of the game. If a player incorrectly conforms or fails to obey Simon’s command, they are eliminated from the present the game round, and they should wait until the next round starts.
The game continues until there is only one player left. The player who remains till the end of the game is the winner of the game and is chosen as the next “Simon”.
This is an interesting game to grab the attention of toddlers. It also helps to develop leadership qualities among preschoolers.
7) Freeze Dance
A classic game loved by preschoolers,
Method
In this activity, the teacher needs to play music and all the kids will dance. They should stop dancing once the music is being stopped.
Teachers can use upbeat nursery rhymes, upbeat music like pop and rap, or could use any funny songs for preschoolers.
Encourage the kids to “freeze” in the funny faces and funny positions.
To make it more fun, the teachers can also dance with them.
Benefits
The advantage of the game is the children get more active while having fun.
8) Playing Outside
Outdoor games are always a time of mental relaxation for kids.
Method
Riding swings, playing on a jungle gym helps children gain strength, coordination, and dexterity.
Games like hopscotch help in developing balance. Outdoor games are also a time when they can enjoy freedom in their world.
Benefits
It allows them to seek the environment, gain self-confidence, develop muscle strength and coordination It also helps to increases flexibility; develop fine and gross motor skills.
9) String Games
Method
In this activity, preschoolers can hold strings between their thumbs and fingers and make simple things, patterns, animals, etc.
Benefits
These games will help to improve hand-eye coordination. These activities can provide hours of fun for the kids.
The teachers and parents have a vital role in the development of a child. These activities help to develop the cognitive and physical skills of individuals.
Walk with your kids and mold them as bright individuals.
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