BHUBANESWAR: Though ASER-2010 has revealed that the State’s kids are critically weak, education planners here are yet to ‘square up’ with the problem. However, the EZ Vidya education planners - a leader in contemporary education - advocate the ‘Triangle Model’.
The Chennai-based EZ Vidya held a conference on ‘creating a 21st century learning environment in schools’ at SAI International School here on Tuesday. Delving into the problem in Orissa, Ganesh Subramanian, director, EZ Vidya Private Ltd, wondered how can one expect an evolution of ‘thinking ability’ if one is compelled to mug up the 20th century textbook while living in the 21st century environment.
“There is a need to introduce a paradigm shift in our approach to teaching - from textbook to the work book,” said Sunder Raj, Head of Corporate and Communication, EZ Vidya. The ‘Triangle Model’ is the password for striving for excellence in creativity.
In the ‘Triangle Model’, the centroid (midpoint) of the Triangle is the child and the three vertices are: 21st century curriculum, 21st century teacher and 21st century technology. The basic objective of the ‘model’ is to design a curriculum support for the children that would evolve creativity by imbibing the right skills coupled with the prudent usage of information, communication and technology(ICT) in proportion to the age of the end user (children).
“As we live in digital age, yesteryears appear like a decade today, thanks to the rapid change in technology. In the fast evolving world, when the textbooks take a decade to get updated, creativity would be the casualty. Here schools have a major role in bridging the gap between the theoretical textbooks and the practically changing world. And the effective tool to achieve this is the prudent use of ICT in learning,” explained Ganesh.
“Our Founder Chitra Ravi has developed a multiple intelligence module with as many as eight best teaching practices including learning through verbally, music, games, groups or solo. The significance of the module is it helps the child in honing the interpersonal, intrapersonal and collaborative skills. These skills help them in evolving a societal thinking - the root of all creativity,” said Raj.