Shanti Krishnamurthy holds a Master’s Degree in Science and Bachelor’s Degree in Education. She has three decades of experience in teaching. She was drawn towards school administration where she has made a mark for herself. She is known for creating a supportive ecosystem including all the stake holders.
Math has been a challenge for a lot of children and Shanti Krishnamurthy has witnessed how it causes anxiety among them. She introduced a project titled “Math can be fun”. It aimed at removing the anxiety among the students and develops mathematical curiosity, abstract, logical and critical thinking and the ability to reflect critically. She planned three different activities during a year.
Activity 1 – Math Run:
Eight stations with different activities were set up for students to solve a problem or a riddle or guess the number or think out of the box to score points in a time bound manner. After 10 minutes, the groups were asked to move to the next station. The groups with maximum score were presented with awards.
Activity 2 – Mega Math Expo:
All the 580 students of Chinmaya International Residential School (CIRS) participated in the Mathematics exhibition which included 126 stalls with a variety of exhibits showcasing mathematical concepts, puzzles, games, facts, mathematicians and vedic mathematics. The event was a grand success. It boosted the confidence level in children.
Activity 3 – Math Challenge Board:
The Math challenge board is an initiative taken to enhance and nurture higher order critical thinking and problem-solving skills among young students. Every month a challenging question (according to the grade level) is put up on the Math Challenge Board. Students have to answer the questions individually in a chit and drop it in a box meant for their grade. They have to answer within a stipulated time. The Math challenge board winners are recognized in the assembly and their name is posted as winners of the month, on the school’s website.
Customized Assessments
When children come from different states and few from other countries, it is unfair to conduct a uniform assessment. She introduced a system to make the language teachers prepare customized question papers addressing the needs of individual students for the exams and tests. With this, a child could take the question paper which is exclusively prepared for his/her level. This initiative is attempted till class 7 and we found students catching up and are able to attain the expected level by the time they reach class 9.
Subashi Award:
To stop students using inappropriate language she introduced Subashi award. Students take a vow to refrain from using foul words for three months. It is then followed by a personal interview and the students who clear all the screenings are given a beautiful Subashi badge in
an event.
The Math challenge board is an initiative taken to enhance and nurture higher order critical thinking and problem-solving skills among young students
