“India’s participation in PISA 2021 is an attempt to move away from rote learning and move towards competency based education. The assessment will help us set global benchmarks for Indian institutes,” says Maneesh Garg, Joint Secretary, MHRD Endow learners Endow learners Endow learners
Expectations are lined up as India declares to participate in PISA. Unless there’s a paradigm shift in the teaching learning model, the scenario will stay the same
India’s decision to re-join the PISA though welcome, should not be participation for participation’s sake. It should be an endeavour to improve its 2009 ranking of being 72 out of 74. If India has to change and improve its entire model of teaching learning, there should be a paradigm shift from the attitude of the teacher being a know-all, ‘sage on stage’ to a facilitator, ‘guide by the side’. The classrooms should transform from teacher-centric to more of student-centric with sometimes a blend of both.
Re-joining PISA should be an endeavour to improve its 2009 ranking of being 72 out of 74
Student-Centric Learning has become a buzz word in education circles. Any school that gives the students a minuscule role in the classroom prides itself on being a student-centric school. For a school to become student-centric varied strategies should be implemented: As the Nellie Mae Education Foundation describes, student-centred learning “engages students in their own success—and incorporates their interests and skills into the learning process.” Student-centred classrooms include students in planning, implementation, and assessments. Involving the learners in these decisions will place more work on them, which can be a good thing. Teachers must become comfortable with changing their leadership style from directive to consultative – from “Do as I say” to “Based on your needs, let’s co-develop and implement a plan of action.”
Shifting the focus from mark or grades to learning outcomes is not a child’s play. A stringent effort from the Government and the National Board to overcome India’s tenacity and tendency to keep up rote learning and shift the stress on learning outcomes has to be done on a war footing. Unless the Government gives up looking at marks; proudly displaying its pass percentage and assists the teachers to look at student learning at the respective grade levels, the PISA ranking will not change. Once a class becomes student-centred there will be a high degree of student engagement; challenge, enthusiasm and joy. The focus will now turn to learning outcomes and this style of instruction will gradually develop independent thinkers, endowed with the tools necessary for lifelong learning. This will in turn help India score high in the PISA Ranking.
The following table has some activities for a teacher to use to make his/her class student-centric:
Learning Activities to Incorporate into a Lecture |
|
| Student activity | Explanation or example |
| Think-pair-share | Students individually think for a moment about a question posed on the lecture, then pair up with a classmate beside them to share/discuss their thoughts |
| Generating examples | Students individually (or in pairs) think up a new example of a concept presented |
| Developing scenarios | Students work in pairs to develop a specific scenario of how and where a particular concept or principle could be applied |
| Concept mapping | Students draw a concept map (a graphic representation such as a web) depicting the relationships among aspects of a concept or principle |
| Flowcharting | Students sketch a flowchart showing how a procedure or process works |
| Predicting | Given certain principles or concepts, students write down their own predictions about what might happen in a specific situation |
| Developing rebuttals | Students individually develop rebuttals for arguments presented in the lecture and then pair up with another student to argue for and against |
| Constructing tables/graphs | Students develop a table or draw a graph representing information presented |
| Analogical thinking | Students propose a metaphor or analogy for a principle or procedure |
| Problem posing | Individual students make up a real-world problem regarding a particular concept or principle, then exchange problems with a classmate for solving |
| Developing critiques | Students develop a critique of a common practice |
| Pair Summarizing/checking | Students work in pairs – one summarizes what’s been presented and the other listens and checks for errors, correcting errors when noted |
