Teacher

Training and Learning-through-Play:

Professional Development for Teachers


Report Title
A successful teacher training session and incorporation of a Learn Through Play program in primary
classrooms.

Objective
Working toward the development of schools and teachers in primary education.

Summary
The month of January brought a major focus of developing the local teachers in to of the schools
that we work with. We were able to provide RAKSHA school support for changing their primary
classrooms from being teacher lead to student lead and developing their sensory play. We also had
the opportunity to spend time observing Thamaraparambu School in order to prepare and deliver a
teacher training session to some of the teachers.


Report

Because of the school holidays during the first half of the month of January, the Health and
Education programs were able to work together in order to bring about a large change in the Prima-
ry classrooms of RAKSHA Special School. Juliette, an experienced teacher, and Kim, an occupational
therapists, spent time in the school working with the students and observing. The first step in this
process was to have all of the students assessed for both movement abilities and educational abili-
ties. With this information, the students were then paired up and placed into two groups: those who
needed physical/sensory development and those who needed educational development. With this
in mind, the observation on the classrooms routines began. The two rooms were mixed in abilities
and learning needs. The team suggested to the teachers that the two classrooms be divided into
those students that needed educational development and those that needed sensory development.
The teachers agreed to try the system. Because the students were not used to the new routines, the
first few days were hard work for the teachers and volunteers. After a week of hard work, things
were starting to fall into place. With the help of an adapted syllabus and collaboration between the
teachers and volunteers for games and activities that would engage the students, the classrooms
were becoming a great learning environment. Because of the knowledge of both the Education and
Health team and the classroom teachers, the Primary Classrooms have changed from being a place
of stationary one level learning to a place of movement, play and multi-level learning and sensory
play. There is always room for improvement, and we look forward to seeing how the classrooms
change and develop.



Because of the great success at the RAKSHA School, Juliettes experience as a teacher was
again put to use to deliver a training course to the teachers of Thamaraparambu School. Similar to
the process at RAKSHA School, classes were observed for a few weeks and information was gath-
ered. After some discussion with the team, it was decided that the training session would focus on
thee main things: student records, student learning styles and utilizing the first few minutes of a les-
son. The session covered the importance of having student record files and some suggestions of
what would be included in the files. It also included an explanation of the three major learning styles
and examples of activities to do in each one. Lastly, several brain-teasers and short assignments in
both English and Maths were shown to the teachers to demonstrate the learning that can take place

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in the first few minutes of preparation time at the beginning of a lesson. Several teachers attended
the session and they left the session with many ideas and resources to use in their classrooms.

New Years Day, and the entire New Years week, brought in many festivities including the burning of
Santa - a Fort Kochi specialty -, a carnival or three, and many festive lights. The staff and volunteers
alike have spent may a evening enjoying the wonders of the amazing cultural activities around the
town. With the start of the new Womans Empowerment Coordinator, the return of high numbers
on the base, and summer in the air, the month has been productive as well as promising of a good
February.

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