No room for stick in 'Joyful Learning'

By Ramya Kannan

CHENNAI, DEC. 5. If the attendance rate is any measure of success, then the `Joyful Learning' method introduced by the Chennai Corporation in its schools six months ago, has made good progress.

Bordering on the 60-75 per cent range, attendance and drop-out rates have for long troubled the civic body's education department. However, since the introduction of the new pattern of teaching in schools, attendance rates have gone up to above 85 per cent, peaking at around 95 per cent in some schools.

This method of teaching aims at re-organising the very concept of the classroom and overhauling the mode of teaching in Corporation schools. ``Both learners and teachers have adapted well to the `Joyful Learning' method, introduced in over 200 schools since the beginning of this academic year,'' says Mr. S. Vijayakumar, Corporation Deputy Commissioner, Education.

The first casualty with the new method has been the linear seating arrangement in classrooms. Realising the importance of an informal setting in the new scheme of things, teachers introduced the circular seating pattern. Children gather in concentric circles around the teacher who demonstrates the lesson in song- dance-story form. ``The idea is to enable interaction between the teacher and the student and among students too,'' Ms. N. Jayalakshmi, principal in charge at the Corporation Middle School, Trustpuram, said.

Group activities are encouraged, primarily to help slow learners catch up with the rest of the class. Children tend to help each other move forward in that atmosphere, according to Ms. E. Vasantha, Headmistress, Corporation Middle School, Gokulam, Perambur. For instance, as one child fumbles trying to explain the population model that the teacher has made for them at the CMS, Thiruvengadasami Street, Puliyanthope, her classmate prompts helpfully.

The real time audio visual format that teachers are using in classrooms - scientifically evolved to make comprehension easier across different IQ ranges - has also come up trumps. According to teachers, children now pick up their lessons faster and an encouraging sign is that they have begun to ask questions. Every lesson is demonstrated in the form of a song-dance sequence, with the help of charts and models, made by the teachers, sometimes with help from students. Low cost teaching aids made from cardboard, stones, peacock feathers, shells and the like, add charm to the learning process.

What this method has managed to do most effectively is to banish the notorious stick from all classrooms. The teacher's singing and dancing manage to establish a rapport that never existed. ``The teacher has neither the time nor the inclination to wield the stick,'' says Ms. M. Kannammal, headmistress, Corporation Primary School, Sankarapuram.

Instead, to show appreciation of a child's progress, the teacher gives him/her a `star' rating. After periodical evaluation of the skills, a child has learned in class, the stars are drawn up on a chart pasted in the class.

To provide an opportunity for the students to exhibit their new found skills, a `Matric Mela' is organised in schools on a monthly basis in each zone. Apart from giving Corporation school students a large stage to showcase their talents, it also helps exchange of bright ideas between schools. In addition, the teachers from different schools meet every Saturday to evaluate progress, discuss problems and come up with solutions.

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