By Asha Sharath | Coordinator, Donor Relations
Maths is a subject that is dreaded and revered at the same time in primary schools. It is widely believed to be a ‘foundational’ discipline upon which a lot of future learning in school depends. Less than 20% of children in class 5 can do simple division (ASER 2014). Moreover, ASER also shows that over the time the number of children who are proficient in elementary Math is declining. We need to be able to reverse this declining trend and improve on its significantly in a short period of time so as to be able to support our children in becoming productive members of a society that is increasingly becoming knowledge based. The Ganitha Kalika Andolana (GKA) programme makes mathematics a fun subject rather than the rote-learning based boring subject that it is as taught now.
The objectives of GKA are:
The first phase of the project is being implemented in the current academic year – 2015-16. In this phase, the programme will be implemented in six districts of Hyderabad Karnataka region namely, Gulbarga, Koppal, Bellary, Raichur, Bidar and Yadgir. The beneficiaries will be around 300,000 children from 7515 schools. Around 8000 teachers, 682 Government Resource Persons and 718 Cluster Resource Persons have been trained on the methodology.
Below is an update on the GKA activities for the period June – October 2015:
Teaching Learning Materials: The GKA Math kit consists of about 20 concrete materials, which introduces all the concepts prescribed for grades 4 and 5 in the Karnataka state syllabus. The kit has been designed after consulting specialists so that each item can be used for multiple concepts. Additionally, every concept can be explained by using multiple items in the kit. The items are made of attractive materials, are easy to manipulate, and are robust as such to withstand handling by multiple students. One GKA kit has been provided to each of the 7515 schools. Each GKA kit also contains a teacher manual which provides detailed guideline for teachers on the methodology of using the kit.
Teacher Training: The teacher training was conducted in a cascade model. Akshara identified 35 Master Resource Trainers were initially trained by Akshara’s Math Resource team, who in turn trained 682 Government’s Resource Persons (RPs). The RPs then trained around 8000 teachers. The training included understanding of pedagogic principles behind the Akshara Ganitha Kit and hands on experience of Teaching Learning Materials of the concepts covered in class 4 and 5.
Assessments: An independent third party evaluation must be conducted to understand the impact of GKA. Two independent organisations Hyderabad Karnataka Centre for Advanced Learning (HKCAL) and Centre for Symbiosis of Technology, Environment and Management (STEM) are selected to conduct assessments. Assessment will be conducted to 15% of the schools selected through stratified random sampling of the schools. All the children of class 4 and 5 in the selected schools will be subjected for assessment. Baseline assessment has been conducted in October 2015 while the end line assessment will be conducted in February, 2016. Perspective and awareness on the kit will be collected from selected stakeholders such as teachers. Apart from the evaluation through third party, learning levels of the children in the project area will be continuously assessed by Akshara Foundation through a technology platform.
Monitoring from the Akshara team: Implementation of the program is monitored by Field Co-ordinators appointed by Akshara Foundation. A total of 32 Block Coordinators and 5 District Coordinators have been appointed to monitor the programme in the six districts. Field Co-ordinators have started making IVRS calls to provide live updates on the programme implementation. They have to answer the following questions after each visit:
i. Was the school open?
ii. Did you observed Math Class on the day of your visit?
iii. Did you see GKA kit being used in math class?
iv. Are all the toilets in the school functional?
v. Does the school have a separate functional toilet for girls?
vi. Does the school have drinking water?
vii. Is a Mid Day Meal served in the school?
Usage of the kits: Trained teachers have started using kits in different locations. Watch how the GKA kits are making Math a lot more fun and easy to learn in this video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nJ8CJTfIxv8&feature=youtu.be
Media: The media has shown great interest in GKA and is showcasing it as an example of government and civil society partnership. A few press mentions can be found in the below links:
Social Media: Inorder to create awareness of GKA amongst the larger audience, Akshara Foundation has taken to the medium of social media. Akshara has launched a campaign called #GKAMathMovement and is running it on popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. To create awareness about GKA, Akshara participated in the Global Giving Photo contest and ran a social-media campaign to get supporters to vote for Akshara’s shortlisted photos that highlighted Math as a subject. Akshara’s entry came 2nd in the “Support” category with over 400 votes and came 13th out of 75, overall. Look at the entries here.
GKA jingle: Grammy winner Ricky Kej composed a foot-tapping jingle for GKA in Kannada and English. This jingle is currently creating excitement amongst children in schools. The jingle can be downloaded from: https://soundcloud.com/akshara-foundation/sets/math-magic-songs
With the programme implementation in full swing, the next few months looks very promising. We will keep you updated on all the excitement!
Links:
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