Name of the participants

1. Naresh Sarkar
2. Ruma Saha
3. Meena Brahma
4. Urmila Khaklary
5. Ansuli Brahma
6. Bhakta Biswas
7. Lakshmi Basuantri
8. Sabita Roy (S)
9. Bimal Kumar Burman
10. Hironi Narzari (S)
11. Bina Patgairy
12. Suruma Basumatare
13. Malati Brahma
14. Pramila Sengiary
15. Bipati Hajong
16. Malati Das
17. Pranati Dhar (S)
18. Himani Boro (S)
19. Sabita Basu Matary
20. Basanti Ram Chiary
21. Manjula Boro
22. Champabati Hajong
23. Gita Devi
24. Ruma Saha
25. Ms. Biju Barboruah, Managing Trustee

Background of the Training

The Asha Darshan organisation works in Assam. They were registered in 2002. Their focus area is education, health and women’s empowerment. They work in Tamulpur & Nagarjali Blocks of Nalbari district of Assam. Language was a problem, but there was a great deal of effort from both the trainers and the trainees to overcome this stumbling block. The presence of Biju and the 4 supervisors was a big help in terms of bridging this communication gap.

• They work mostly with tribal communities – specially Bodo and Hajong
• Agriculture is the main source of livelihood, and the target communities work mostly as labourers and are very poor.
• The group had participants speaking different languages - Assamese, Hajong & Boro. The problem was compounded by the fact that the Hajongs use Hindi as their script, whereas the Boros use Assamese.
• Teachers are local, appointed by the villagers.
• They have formed a village level education committee.
• The exposure level of teachers was very low and this was the first training.
• There was inequality within the group – regarding academic qualification, exposure, etc.

Day one

01.08.03

Ice breaking session

In the introductory session we conducted a series of specially designed "Ice Breaker’ exercises. The primary objective was to develop a rapport between trainees and trainers. It also helped the trainees to overcome their initial inhibition and enabled them to work as a group. Through the ice breaking games, we quickly did a profiling of the group – according to their age, language, educational qualification, etc. We wanted this so that we could plan out the group work for the next few days. Correct admixture is the key to facilitate positive group dynamics.

Introduction of Training

In this session the trainees were asked to tell their training expectations and according to that a brief introduction on training was given by the trainer.

After that we divided the group according to their centres. We gave a questionnaire to each group. They answered it accordingly. The questionnaire has the following questions:

• name of the centre
• time of the centre
• age of the children
• how many boys and girls
• what subjects are covered
• teaching learning process out of academic curriculum
• what other works have been done by the teachers

Expectations of the Participants

How to improve teacher student relationship

• Seating arrangement
• How to teach effectively through different activities
• Socialisation of students (context specific)
• To know about co-curricular activities like dancing, singing, action rhymes drawing and games.

Drawing from personal experience : What makes a good centre and who is a good teacher

This was one of the focal points of the training. The teachers were asked to share their views (from personal experience) on what they mean by a good teacher. They were asked to think about their childhood experiences – and from the collective sharing of the groups, there emerged the profile of a teacher who was a sort of ‘ideal’. We did this exercise so that this role model was something which emerged from their own context and not something which was imposed from outside.

After this followed a discussion on what makes a ‘good’ centre. Out of this participatory discussion, they compiled 20 indicators of a good teacher and a good centre and put them up in a chart. To make this activity more relevant, the teachers then made assessment of themselves and their centres, and tried to find out how many of those indicators were being fulfilled by their own centres.

We discussed about report writing and divided participants into two groups. Files were distributed and they were then explained about the process of preparing their individual files. In our trainings, we do not distribute photocopies, but encourage trainees to write down whatever they have learnt, after reflecting and discussing among themselves.

Day two

02.08.03

Learning through direct experience

We were aware of the utter lack of exposure of this group. Hence we made a departure from our usual course and planned a field visit right at the beginning of the training (usually, this is done towards the end). In fact, we scheduled two trips for them – one at the beginning, and one at the end. We anticipated that the group would have language problem – and would find it hard to relate to some of the terms used by us during the training, due to lack of exposure. Hence this idea of giving them a direct experience, so that we could draw on it during the actual training.

The trainees were taken to a centre for street children in Watgunge Police Station, which is run by us. All the trainees observed how the centre was run with a great deal of planning and organisation. The visit gave them a chance to see our methodology in action.

2^nd Session

The session started with prayer (the group was very serious about prayers and insisted on starting a day with a short meditation followed by singing – this was done alternately in Assamese, Moro and Hajong). This was followed by presentation of reports. Report presentation, as always forms a very important part of the training, as it not only helps to hone their communication and writing skills, but also to internalize the training. Since the writing is done in groups, it gives those trainees a chance to get their gaps and ideas clarified, who may have not been able to do so in the general classes.

Preliminary Activities

After that we discussed about the preliminary activities. Some activities were demonstrated, Though the primary aim of these activities is to help children settle down. These activities have the following objectives-

To develop eye-hand coordination

• Fine Motor control
• Encourage creativity
• Develop imagination power
• Inculcate positive work habits

Day three

03.08.03

The day started with Prayer and Report writing as usual.

The first half was spent on recapitulating the lessons taught on Preliminary activities. Trainees practiced in groups.

2^nd session

One of the most important areas of discussion of the day was related to various Sensorial Activities, which help children acquire basic concepts about the physical properties of matter, using the 5 senses as means of exploration. They were shown different activities which help children acquire concepts on dimension, shape, etc.

Circle Games : Discussed about games suitable for children of this age-group children and demonstrated a few

This was followed by a session on file writing.

Day four

04.08.03

The day started with prayer and presentation of reports of the previous day.

Sensorial Activities : (Continued)

In the first session the trainees were shown an activity with 'Noise boxes' - basically helping children to discriminate different kinds of sounds. The trainers also demonstrated activities with the help of concrete objects to give ideas of colour, types of smell, taste etc. The objective of all these activities is to help children explore their environment in a methodical way.

Practice Session

The trainees were divided into 4 groups and asked to handle the materials and explore the possibility of using them with the learners in their context.

Workshop

All the trainees were divided according to their centres. A lot of materials were prepared by trainees. Those materials were based on Preliminary, Sensorial and Language activities.

Day five

05.8.03

The day started with a prayer and the presentation of daily reports.

Math

Today's topic of discussion was Mathematics. The trainees were asked two questions:-

• How many of them liked math in school?
• How many of them had a mental block about Math?

Taking off from this discussion we tried to make them understand that the fear of Math stems from a poor foundation. If the basics are not clear, children try to get away with rote and this does not help beyond a point, which is when they begin to crumble. The trainees were told that the key concept of mathematics, that is number, depended on three fundamental principles - name (of the numbers), symbols and finally the quantity they represent. The trainees were made to do several activities on these concepts and how to use different materials for the same - the use of number rods for developing the concept of "quantity" the use of sand-papers to develop the concept of "symbols" etc.

The trainees were then shown different activities and materials to complement the teaching of mathematics. They were told how to use chit games, cards and counters, etc and different activities on developing the fundamental concepts of mathematics.

Art & Craft

The session started with activities on Arts and Crafts. The usefulness of the session was explained to the trainees. The trainer helped trainees to practice thumb printing, finger printing, crumpling & collage.

Day six

06.08.03

The second field trip

The first visit had given them a ‘gestalt’ – in this visit they were asked to observe everything minutely based on whatever they had been taught. They visited the street children’s centre which is run near the Lake Police Station.

2^nd half

This session started with a prayer and the presentation of daily reports.

After that we had discussion on the field visit. All the trainees participated in the discussion with enthusiasm. They said that the field visit had given them the impetus and confidence to apply the training in their own centres.

Story telling Session

We discussed about the importance of story telling. The content of the discussion was:

The need and impact of stories on children.

• Choosing the right story for the right age group/situation
• How to introduce a story
• How to deliver the story
• Stories as an appropriate educational tool for children

Objectives of story telling

• enrichment of the children
• to vocabulary develop imagination power of the children
• to develop speaking power of the children
• to develop creative thinking power of the children

Importance of rhymes

We discussed about the importance of the rhymes. The content of the discussion was:

• how to introduce rhymes
• demonstration of the rhymes
• practice session

Objectives of the session

• vocabulary enrichment of the children
• physical development of the children
• to develop listening power of the children
• to prepare children for group activities

Language : Introduction

In this session there was a discussion on what is language, its four components - speaking, listening, writing and reading. Some activities were held on speaking and listening.

Objectives of the session

• Increasing vocabulary
• Increasing conversation skills

Day seven

07.08.03

The day began, as usual, with a short prayer to the almighty and the presentation of the daily reports.

Language teaching (continued)

The content of the session was :

• activities on sound consciousness
• use of Pocket Board

Objectives of the session

• to develop sound consciousness of the children
• recognition of letters
• how to make word (without using vowels signs).

How to evaluate children

In this session we discussed about the evaluation strategy. Some processes were discussed:

• daily evaluation
• weekly evaluation
• quarterly evaluation

After that the trainees were shown how to set an evaluation sheet.

Evaluation sheet

Discussed about the marking of the sheet.

Training Evaluation

Trainees submitted written evaluation in group on the questionnaire given to them. The questionnaire was:

• What topics they enjoyed most and why
• What topics they did not understand
• His / her opinion on the trainers' behavior.
• Opinion of the management / logistics
• What percentage of the training can they implement at their centre

Feedback on the training

The topics most enjoyed by them:

• Math – for some, because it was a simple way to remove fear of math
• Sensorial activities – to explore the environment, an approach totally new to them
• Preliminary activities : the realisation that even simple activities have such larger objectives (e.g. developing concentration )
• Art & Craft – they had a natural knack, and picked up very fast
• Story Telling : because it revealed to them that there were so many aspects involved
• Games – because they did not know that there were games specially meant for young children

- Language - those who understood it

• Evaluation – very useful
• Planning – as this would help them to organise better

Activities which they had problems with

• Language : they found it hard to grasp, time given was not adequate, etc.

Feedback of trainers on the participants (name of teachers withheld)

Ms. Biju Barboruah was very helpful as she acted as a bridge between the trainers and participants. Hopefully she would help out those trainees who have had any problem in understanding the training.

• All the participants had admirable qualities. Most of them wore clothes woven by themselves. Since they have a taste for art and craft, they could do such activities very easily and enjoyed those classes very much.
• Language was a problem for most of them as well as for the trainers. But within two days, they tried to overcome it and also helped the trainers to do so. Language was no more a problem for the rest of the training.
• The trainees did all the activities (individual and group) sincerely. But the trainers felt helpless as the level of understanding of some trainees was low.
• Initially the participants used to get restless regarding winding up the training for the day. But as the training progressed, they got so involved with it that time was no more a matter of concern.