Excellent education for 3800+ students in Chennai

Our Fellow Anna Liz Abraham narrates how the Blended Learning model had helped her use technology into the classroom to ensure the learning gap doesnt widen further:

"Being a Teach for India Fellow, I was looking forward to various experiences and learnings I could gather in and around my classroom. But it has been eight months since we stepped into our classrooms due to the pandemic. There are definitely pros and cons to this whole process but I, as a Fellow, take this as another learning opportunity. The challenges were the ones that excited me most about the Fellowship. With online classes they were no less.

The exposure I received towards the different technology that can be used for students was immense. Keeping in mind the different things to engage students in, my planning skills have improved to a great extent. My mindset has shifted from procrastinating to proactively completing tasks and deliverables. I believe in continuous learning, not only for students but as Fellows also and this time period has proved that learning doesn’t stop.

The students have showed immense growth during the past seven months. From using zoom and WhatsApp features to submitting google forms, students have received huge exposure to technology, which otherwise wouldn’t have been possible in a physical classroom. Learning at home, engaging with parents, learning from their own community are some achievements of blended learning. Students use apps to read stories and improve reading fluency. They have started to practice sustainability by making newspaper bags, growing plants, recycling paper and so on.

In the month of March, I got selected as the Content Advisor for Elementary Science in our cohort. The nature of my role is to create content for incoming Fellows to support and guide them during their 1st year of fellowship. Planning and creating resources paved the way for more holistic learning, not only for my students but for others as well.

With the completion of half academic year, I was able to provide learning to 60% of my students. Though I am happy about it, I am still worried about the other 40% who haven’t been able to access any sort of learning for the past eight months. Bridging the learning gap that has been created between these two sets of students is going to be the biggest challenge. I am still reaching out to all parents and trying to access devices for them and provide learning to at least 80% of my students by the end of this academic year.

The Fellowship promised a continuous learning experience and I believe no pandemic could ever stop it. Though learning was very different, it was very enriching and I have gained a lot of exposure through blended learning."