The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : All government schools to take `playway' route

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 06, 2005

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

All government schools to take `playway' route

Ramya Kannan

The first and second standard students will stand to benefit

CATCHing THEM YOUNG: In a unique role reversal, teachers learn from students who have experienced activity-based learning at a camp in Chennai. — Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

CHENNAI: The success of Chennai Corporation's experiment with activity-based learning or the `playway' method for primary classes has encouraged the Government to extend the programme to all Corporation schools.

Initially, 10 government schools will be chosen in every block to implement the method, to be introduced as part of the Sarva Shiksha Abiyan scheme. The students of the first and second standards will stand to benefit from the programme, which will promote "child-centric" teaching, a senior Corporation official said.

The decision to extend the project to all districts was taken at an executive committee meeting of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, after a joint assessment by the State and Central representatives of the SSA and the World Bank found the method "most scientific" and recommended that it be considered for replication. "The study materials were prepared by the Corporation staff after a brief training at Rishi Valley school in Andhra Pradesh. They will now be used in schools all over the State," he said.

A five-day, centralised training programme for teachers, block resource persons and members of the DIET has been organised in the city. Training and resource materials, including flash cards, will be provided to teachers who will go back to their districts to train other teachers. The resource persons for the training programme are teachers of Corporation schools who have been implementing the playway method for about a year. Training is provided in Tamil, English, Mathematics, Environmental Science, Self Learning and English.

M. Shanmugam, the co-ordinator of the project in charge of a training unit in Model School Road, off Mount Road, said the new system had great advantages over the traditional methods.

It improved attention and attendance and cut down dropout rates drastically in Corporation schools where it was introduced. Each student could learn at his or her own pace and move on to the next level only after acquiring the requisite skills.

"No child is forced to move ahead if he/she cannot. Unlike the conventional pedagogy, it is not like a ladder they have to climb," Mr. Shanmugam added, explaining that the pace of learning was dictated by the student.

A trainer and teacher at the Corporation School in Narayanasamy Thottam, Mylapore, Jamuna Bai, said: "The children are so enthusiastic and everyone wants to participate. It has not only improved attendance among students, but also among teachers."

With teachers breaking into impromptu songs and merry little jigs and producing flash cards to explain concepts and languages, children are attracted to school, thereby increasing retention in schools.

With no examination system in place, the fear of students vanishes and the periodic evaluation reports show good progress, teachers said.

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