Academy teachers discuss differentiation

Academy faculty attended a workshop on effective teaching methods on Sunday 25th March at the Academy Building. The workshop was led by Dr. Sarah Richardson and Ms. Jennifer Star of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) India. The topic of the session was differentiation, or to adapt teaching methods to a student centric classroom.

ACER, a non-profit research organisation, provides professional learning seminars to educators helping them improve existing systems of learning. Their model of pedagogy focuses on students as individuals and trains teachers to adapt to children. “It is about attending to the learning needs of a particular student or group of students rather than teaching a class as though all individuals in it were basically alike,” said EAL teacher, Mrs. Vasanthi Thandlam.

Some talking points at the seminar that provoked passionate discussions were what the qualities are of a great teacher and principles of effective teaching. The seminar left a lasting impact on attendees. “My focus is going to be on encouraging student responsibility in learning and monitoring student progress and providing feedback to the students,” said Teacher Preparation Programme fellow, Ms. Afeera Maryam. Teachers also discussed ideas such as reflective teaching, classroom strategies, and drafted personal action plans for changes in their classrooms.

“We need to make a conscious effort to not only teach lessons but also to teach students,” said Ms. Vasanthi, “because all children can learn and no child should be left behind.”

ACER India provides education aids to practitioners all over the subcontinent including Bangladesh, Pakistan and Bhutan. This was the first in a series of ACER workshops planned for teachers at the Aga Khan Academy Hyderabad.