CASW

22nd Aug 2009.
I took a piece of a student’s work for the CASW discussion meeting. Ms Raji, Ms Sumi, Archana, Aparajita, Bhagya, Deepthi and myself were present.
The material I took was a short printed question paper, and a loose sheet of paper with the student’s answers (calculations and rough work) on it. This was from class 9-C.
The background: Students were taught various concepts since the beginning of this year. Practice of solving problems was done in class as well as at home. The piece of work was a kind of review. It was to be done independently by them, in class during a single block. This was to be assessed as class work. The criteria were neat writing of steps/calculations leading to the correct answers, and a reasonable amount of work for the 40 minutes or so.
The key question was – was this strategy successful for assessing understanding of concepts taught over a period of time? And did it help students work in an uninterrupted fashion for about 40-45 minutes. The output from this particular student as well as from most of the class was positive. As this was not a ‘test’, the students worked without the fear factor. The sample work showed steps written out clearly with the correct answers. This particular student till now did not bother to write steps. Some calculations were shown in a haphazard way in his notebook; the answers had to be found out by the teacher.
After all the discussions were over, it was felt that one would need a considerable chunk of time to prepare such material. I too would have found it difficult if my day was too full of teaching classes. The practice of assessing class work this way was felt useful.

My CASW

My CASW

Last weekend’s CASW, my first, proved to be rather interesting and inspiring. It was interesting to note whether or not people perceived what you did, your notions behind a certain plan, a certain scheme of thought for a lesson, and it was inspiring to hear their views, encouraging thoughts about what you were doing.

The Collaborative analysis took part rather systematically. It helped that I kept the question aiding discussion ready and printed so that the CASW panel had a copy to refer too. Though I am a Drama teacher mainly, my CASW presentation and question concerned a process that I explored in a particular class. The main question was “Whether bringing children into a circle time process aided the development of a feeling of community among them.” I had a small note printed just below in a few bullet points stating the present context in which a process to aid community spirit was being pursued.

My theorist of choice and the process that I was presenting were connected in their intent of study. Do processes of circle time enable a sense of belonging in a classroom of children from various backgrounds? I approached the following question from the Abraham Maslow slant of the hierarchy of needs. The process I was perusing in the classroom was if addressing issues of wellness and well-being in fact helped children become self directed in their learning process. The present problem question addressed two processes in particular.

My presentation with pictures and a small talk running along helped present the concept of guided visualization and the process around a mandala in the classroom. I was able to talk about the guided visualization and what the process entailed while my computer sideshow displayed the images taken during the classroom session. I was able to talk a little more in detail about the mandala making process that brought together smaller groups of children. The time – 15 minutes not only provided me the space to talk about the process but also briefly the role of silence and the continued sharing process after the mandala making.

The clarification process that ensued basically brought in questions of the context in which the process was installed. Why was it important for me and the class to work on circle time activities ? What were the kind of situations in the classroom that I was trying to address? Other questions were of the guided visualization and the kinds of visualizations that we had been using in class. What also were the processes that were done post the guided visualization? What were the children’s reaction to the process. This discussion led to sharing of facts of some children in the class choosing to work in isolation or with smaller group of friends. My thoughts loomed around those children who left comments on the chat in our online community asking for, calling for someone to speak to because they did not have anyone to speak to. I shared that sometimes children did not have a space to just vent out, speak out without the fear of being judged about things that happened to them beyond the classroom, and also shared that sometimes what happened beyond there also affected the classroom processes. Just knowing that they could talk about it, after creting something in silence sometimes helps them feel belonged. While the process was not a way of penetrating into their family space, it allowed for some skills to deal with things that happened around them.

Post writing down their views about my presentation, the sharing process ensued and the later discussion which I was able to listen to. Most of the teachers on the panel felt that the processes of guided visualization and mandala which were followed by small group discussions were actually helping the process of building a feeling of community. They shared that the process of education can also help in creating the feeling of belonging ness – and that it was very heartening that the initiative was also taken. They agreed that the school system could not really penetrate into the house system of the children but skills of dealing with situations were crucial, Most of the teachers were able to see that the process I had presented was essentially still in its nascent stages and that it was a long term process that one was dealing with. Some even shared the desire to come and view these sessions.

They shared this information formally with me, with one teacher adding that such sessions could also be video documented.