2018 November

मी कविता रणजीत कागले आपल्या संस्थेत २०२३-२४ यावर्षी रुजू झाले. सर्व प्रथम तुम्ही मला माझे मत मांडण्याची संधी दिली त्याबद्दल मी तुमची आभारी आहे. आता पर्यंत जिथे जिथे शिकवले तिथे लेसन प्लान (पाठ टाचण ) काढून त्याद्वारे वेगवेगळी उदाहरणे देवून शिकवणे एवढेच माहीत होते. पण शांतीनिकेतन शाळेत आल्यानंतर UBD हा प्रकार पहिला. UBD म्हणजे (Understanding by design) डिझाईन द्वारा समजून घेणे. पाठ शिकवताना त्या पाठाची UBD तयार करणे माझ्यासाठी नवीन होते. UBD बद्दल काहीच माहिती नव्हती. सुरवातीला भीती वाटली माझ्याकडून हे होईल का? अशी शंका वाटली. UBD तयार करताना सुरवातीला काही सुचत नव्हते. पण जसजसे मी ३-४ UBD तयार केल्या आणि त्याप्रमाणे पाठ शिकवला त्यानंतर मला UBD चे महत्व समजले. वेगळ्या पध्दतीने पाठाची तयारी करणे आणि तो मुलांना शिकवणे, वेगळ्या पद्धतीने मुलांना ज्ञान देणे यामुळे शिक्षकांच्या बरोबर मुलांच्याही विचारशक्तीला चालना मिळाली. मुलांना फक्त पुस्तकी ज्ञान देण्यापेक्षा त्यांना व्यवहार ज्ञान देणे त्यांच्यातील कालगुणांना वाव देणे हे UBD च्या माध्यमातून आम्ही मुलांच्याकडून करवून घेऊ शकलो. मी आता UBD तयार करताना माझ्याकडून अधिक परिणामकारक शिक्षण मुलांना कसे दिले जाईल यादृष्टीने विचार करू लागले. UBD मुळे माझ्यातील विविध कालगुणांना सुद्धा चालना मिळाली.

धन्यवाद

Respected Madam,

The parent orientation held last Saturday was a relief to all parents regarding syllabus changes during the term. We got many answers to the problems we had. We are happy with the management of the school. You all work very hard. We request you to keep such programs that help us. Thank you Yours sincerely, Samta Hirani

Dear Ma’am, I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to express my sincere appreciation for the enriching parent orientation program organized by the school. The resource person was exceptionally knowledgeable and adept at addressing all aspects raised by parents. The practical and actionable advice provided resonated well with me, emphasizing that students are natural learners who thrive through observation, interaction, and individualized understanding. The session not only provided valuable insights but also seemed to resonate with other parents facing similar considerations. I am genuinely impressed with the school’s ideology and principles. Witnessing the positive transformation in my daughter from a timid girl to a confident young individual within a year is truly remarkable. She now embraces open-minded questions, eagerly attends school, and actively shares her joyful experiences at home. I am grateful to the resource person for incorporating such an enriching curriculum, and I eagerly look forward to more insightful sessions in the future. My heartfelt thanks to Sunita Ma’am and the entire school fraternity for their dedication and positive impact on our children’s growth.

Thank you.

The observation method of the Vidyasampath team was in three parts pre-observation, observation and post-observation, which proved very beneficial for teachers to improve in their academic career.

In the pre-observation session suggestions were given to the teachers about how to deliver the concept, few changes were also suggested which gave insight to the teachers and clarity on teaching in-depth.

During class observation:

The classroom environment was observed by the observant, where the sitting arrangements of students, blackboard writing, charts etc were observed.

Post observation:

The Observant provided clear examples of what was observed. Suggestions were given where we can improvise ourselves. Observants were vigilant while observing the class. Minute details of the observant/teacher and students were done. Every sentence said by the teacher and students was noted down. Involvement and participation of students were observed and appropriate suggestions were given.

Appreciation and suggestions given in the post observations helped teachers to upgrade themselves.

Rashmi Misal
Manjusha Kudturkar

Perspective from teachers and students about flourishingly working of UBD: 

Learning helps students create their own pace of understanding which makes them a step ahead of time and gives them the confidence to achieve their goals. It is why students have a brighter future and accomplish their goals, focusing on only learning and not competing with others.

• This is what we have achieved successfully this year since following a new teaching-learning process i.e. Understanding by design (UBD).

Understanding by design (UBD) helps students apply what they learned in a course to the real world, which depends on and enriches their learning experiences. UBD is based on the principle of backward design and its three stages.

We educators have learned how to design UBD and went through different workshops to make this process run effectively and successfully.

• Before we used to follow the ‘Drill’, and ‘Rote Memorization’. Here, children learn through repetition, which serves to firmly establish knowledge in their minds.
• Ubd planning has made our educators think from students’ points of view.
• Students have learned different graphic organizers where children can put their thoughts and feelings to know any particular topic in a better way.
• Students have also learned to make interactive notebooks on their own, solving worksheets in different ways.
• Introvert students, slow learners and shy students have also opened up when they are conducting different activities in the class.
• Initially we educators were tensed and had fear in us whether it would work or not. We made mistakes, learned from our mistakes and finally got the sweet fruits from our evergreen trees i.e. our students.
• Now we educators can firmly and confidently say that ‘yes, we can do it!!!!’

Respected ma’am I am Sanjana Nitesh Katiyar (parent of Samaira Nitesh Katiyar) I am thankful to the entire team of Shantiniketan School for arranging an excellent Parent orientation programme The way Sunita Ma’am explained was eye-opening for us. We never thought of the things that our kids are But Shantiniketan has put all the effort into initiating the skills of our kids It was a very helpful session and truly inspiring. I Hope for more sessions.
Thank you

Your creative approach to education has made a lasting impression on our students. It has ignited a sense of curiosity, excitement as well as love for learning within them. The processes you have created have given the teachers great motivation and a more focused direction to work. Your healthy perspective, your objectivity and your empathy make Vidyasampath an asset to our school, and we appreciate your visionary contributions.

Overall support and guidance by Vidyasampath

Your mentorship and guidance have been incredibly helpful in developing my skills, intellectually and professionally. Your leadership and guidance are instrumental in helping us reach our goal. Your insights are invaluable and contribute to the student’s and teacher’s success as well as progress. Your motivation has elevated our team and inspired us to reach new heights.

Impact of Vidyasampath Team:
To run any massive institute we require an inspiring team. The team makes their resources feel safe to take risks, express their emotions freely, innovate and garner credibility among trainees. We being there surely experienced this journey and encountered this productive change among us having the help of the members of the Vidyasampath Team.

A few key tenets in respect of teachers and students to share are as follows:

• Teachers got an opportunity to get upgraded and be resilient in the phase of extreme adversity. This automatically made many facilitators run flexibly & perform multitasking.
• Teachers had been provided with the training to focus on creating a conducive environment for success which led us to perform collaborative work.
• This helped teachers to understand the goals of an instructional module. Also, the significance of teaching using the UBD framework to focus curriculum and teaching on the development and deepening of students’ understanding and transfer of learning.
• Educators using the UBD teaching method seek to engage students in deeper learning experiences and promote critical thinking.
• Initially it was difficult to work on the setting of the plans because some of us had a thought of not having a clear idea of what we want to achieve, or whether feel overwhelmed by the process of achieving it. Other times, fear of failure or uncertainty about the future made it challenging to commit to a specific goal but now at this point of stage, we proudly say that we successfully met or exceeded our goals. We are now pretty confident in our abilities of going through this innovative experience and understanding the worth of doing it, through the changes seen in our students.

With NEP coming up the Curriculum development program including the new method of Lesson planning – ‘Understanding by Design’ this year, started with the incorporation of new methods of teaching and learning process.

Vidyasampath team has been providing support with introducing the ‘Understanding by Design’ – lesson planning of teachers with many active learning strategies, use of graphic organisers, interactive worksheets and interactive notebooks has geared our student’s learning process and their interest in writing it in form of organisers.

Swanubhav program including design thinking and Socio-emotional learning programs which is the need of the hour in the students is helping them to foster their social and emotional skills within the school curriculum.

I could deliberately be happy to share the difference I could see in the process of lesson planning as more student-centred. The use of active learning strategies, and graphic organizers effectively in my classroom teaching has helped me to grow along with students.

The team has been frequently guiding us through different workshops for all the teachers, HODs and the Core team conducting and giving us help as and when required. Leadership training has enhanced and helped us in adapting to the changes in growing as leaders.