Dr Manisha Mehta is an alumni of IIT Roorkee and Panjab University. An M.Sc, Ph.D, she has over 25 years of experience in the field of education and research. She also Co-Chairs the Diploma Programme Coordinator (DPC) Network for a group of 40 IB schools in Delhi NCR and Nepal region, under the ambit of the Singapore Office. She has worked as a Head of School, an IB DPC, and Cambridge Coordinator and as an educator for the IB Diploma and Cambridge program. She is also an IB Diploma Programme Examiner for Chemistry for many years.
Project based learning strategy helps recognise real world issues and find solutions. One such example is the Fabric Tie and Dye project that the 8th grade students engaged in the summer of 2022. They brainstormed along with their art and science teachers and organised the necessary material, conducted research to understand the “tie and dye” process. They not only learnt the art and the science of colouring fabrics from topics like chromatography to aesthetics of shapes and skill to colour.
To sell different clothes created by them, they created a marketing strategy that clearly defined the target market and how to connect with them. Parents and teachers embraced and loved the project. This project definitely challenged conventional thinking and unleashed student creativity, invited them to bring their real-world knowledge and experiences to their studies. Design strategies pushed students outside of their comfort zone while also offering support and engaging them in the process of jointly creating something better. We are waiting for these young entrepreneurs to venture into their business soon.
The second aspect is Student Agency which is strongly supported at GD Goenka World School. It encourages students to take charge of their own education. While being led by the instructor, students are given freedom in the classroom to look into opportunities to participate in such learning process and take commensurate action. This year students of grade 5 showcased their trans-disciplinary learning, through performing arts, visual art and theatre in the PYP exhibition while they worked on five Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs considered were Zero Hunger (SDG 1), Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6), Good Health and Well-being (SDG 3), Life Below Water (SDG 14) and Sustainable Cities and Communities (SDG11 ).
They not only learnt the causes behind global issues but attempted to create awareness on possible actions. They did this by presenting before their parents, teachers and students of other schools, a dance drama, and musical performance – Nukkad Natak, depicting the areas of global concern. The students were given complete freedom while composing their own song for this activity. The students collaborated and wrote the lyrics, composed music and took pride in producing their first own song. Students of grade 5 gave mesmerizing performances to support the chosen SDGs. They confidently shared their research work and explained the solutions for the challenges of their respective SDGs through working models too.
We were pleasantly surprised to see the global issues that these young ones tried to address bringing us closer to achieving the SDG. I am sure the learning that they imbibed in the process will be for life.
This year students of grade 5 showcased their trans-disciplinary learning, through performing arts, visual art and theatre in the PYP exhibition while they worked on five sustainable development goals
