CHHATTISGARH: A government middle school teacher, K Sharda has never allowed her physical disability to become a hurdle in life. In fact, she has brightened a way forward for her students. Based in Durg district of Chhattisgarh, Sharda nurtured an idea of creating a ‘happy classroom’, where a mechanism of cumulative activities are evolved. As a teacher, she has encouraged students both online and offline to remain engaged with their studies through a productive learning environment.
She is a resident of a Bhilai town, about 30 km from Raipur, and is a math teacher. When hardly one year old, she was paralysed waist down after being stricken with polio. “Ever since I joined the government school as a teacher in 2009, I listed a few issues that usually affect the students,” says Sharda. One of the key roles of a teacher should be to develop an environment that binds students’ attention to the subjects under study,” she says.
The Covid pandemic was the litmus test. “We must overcome the learning crisis that our education system faced during the pandemic. After all, we effectively responded to the pandemic,” she says. She has experimented with various ideas, with some innovations, by taking the help of tools for creative sessions. The state government has honoured her for her zeal.
“She kept her optimism high during the pandemic. While coping with so many challenges, she found innovative ways to communicate with her students,” said M Sudhish, assistant director (Samagra Shiksha). “Before beginning the lessons, she structured the subject matter to guide us. She encourages doing things to seek knowledge. Our teacher incorporated real-life situations and examples while studying mathematics, making it simple and interesting,” said Tunisia Thakur, a student of Class 9.
Sharda believes that every student learns at one’s own pace. “Let them be involved in ways that are complementary with the help of teachers. Students shouldn’t be afraid of making mistakes or facing setbacks,” she says. For this the students need to understand what they share in common with others in the classroom. The Assistant Programme Coordinator in Durg district Vivek Sharma said the new learning environment has had a positive impact on students as well as her colleagues.
Sharda believes the traditional classrooms are not outdated. They can be re-designed and the newer concepts executed to stimulate thinking to push the learning capacity of students, she says. Sharda has developed a cartoon video, anchored podcast and created a YouTube channel which thousands of students subscribe to. She has prepared various Teaching Learning Materials (TLM). She often introduces interesting stories to develop moral values in the learning environment.
“The instructional material for my online and offline classes helped in developing an understanding among the learners. I try using humour, technology and supporting activities to get to the level of the students so that they can remain active throughout the learning process,” she said.
Regular assessment and feedback from parents also assumes significance. “I am proud of the performance of my two children. She has assisted her students to adopt new modes of learning, both online and offline,” says Lokeshwar Thakur, whose two children are Sharda’s students.