INQ’RA inq’ra: An AKESI Publication
Foreword
31 December 2020
Farhad Merchant, CEO, Aga Khan Education Service, India (AKESI) “In a fast-paced and rapidly-changing world, the ability to adapt and continue learning is an essential skill to develop in order to take advantage of emerging opportunities.” - His Highness the Aga Khan This quote from His Highness is an apt reminder to each of us, especially at the current time. The world has certainly changed very quickly in the last few months. We have also adapted to this change in our own way, learning new ways of doing things, of balancing our personal lives, engaging with others around us, and supporting each other, while seeking out the opportunities in these situations. In some ways, we are “learning to learn”! This is a defining moment in time for many of us – it is an incredible opportunity to learn about ourselves and tap into our innate skills. We are getting reconnected with our families and supporting each other more. We are in this together, regardless of race, religion, language or gender!
In this fast-changing world, it is time for us to introspect what is important to us. Time must be used wisely! One of the easiest ways for us to squander this valuable resource, is our lack of control, especially when it comes to the digital world that we are in today. We must learn to balance this, to be in control – sometimes, if we are not careful, the very devices that are a helpful tool for learning, can take over control of our lives. Let’s use this time to reflect and to work on being better versions of ourselves.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE Learning During the Pandemic …………………… 2
Remote Learning Pedagogy ………………………... 2 Parent Engagement .............................…………. 3 Student Engagement ...........................…………. 3 Reaching out to the community .…….…............ 4 Professional Development ………...….……………. 4 Academic performance & results ..…..…………… 4
We must hold on to our ethics and values of honesty and integrity, respect for others and helping others! We have found that education, among other things, has found new meaning and a fresh perspective.
Online Trainings ……..………………….……………..4
Our unity during these times give us greater hope for our future!
Awards and accolades ……………..…………………. 7
Staff Engagement ……..…….………….….………….. 5 Social Initiatives ……………….…..………………...… 6
Dr. Natasha Mehta, Head of Academics, AKESI Dear children and parents, You have always been our biggest strength and inspiration to work hard & do our best to continue your journey of learning. The British naturalist, Charles Darwin suggested that when the environment changes, ‘organisms best adjusted to their environment are the most successful in surviving’. In a way, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, our environment changed. Homes became schools and offices. Schools became quarantine centres. From having the freedom to roam around, play and travel anywhere, we were now ensconced in our homes. In order for us to ‘survive’ we had to adapt to these changes. As your teachers burnt the mid-night oil to learn new ways of teaching driven by technology, I know that you all too strove hard to learn the new ways of learning. Parents have gone the extra mile to support ‘learning at home’. It has not been easy but all of us have done a commendable job of persevering and persisting in moving along the path to our goals. Be proud of yourself dear children, because you showed extraordinary resilience and strength. This beautifully put together magazine is evidence of the amazing achievements of the AKESI family over the last year. No storm lasts forever. These difficult days will soon be gone. We will soon be back in school again with you, to play together, laugh together, celebrate our successes and take on bigger challenges.
www.agakhanschools.org
INQ’RA: Keeping with the spirit of pluralism, the name inq’ra is a blend of the English word “ink” (used to write) and the Arabic word “iqra” (the akesi symbol, which means: to read). inq’ra is also inspired from the word “inquiry”. If you flip this over, you can see akesi, indicating that this is a reflection of our work.
The COVID-19 pandemic struck the world, forcing several countries to follow a nationwide lockdown. Almost immediately, the schools shut, leaving the students and parents confused and anxious. Under these challenging circumstances, AKESI ensured learning continuity to support the dreams and aspirations of its students. Thus, began the journey to identify and systematically address the numerous challenges that spanned various functions - teaching-learning at schools, human resource practices, professional development initiatives as well as finance and operation.
LEARNING DURING THE PANDEMIC In the Aga Khan Schools, no stone was left unturned to optimize student learning outcomes. Technology savvy teachers were appointed as Technology Mentors, to support their colleagues in using online learning tools, like EdPuzzle, Padlet, Zoom, Microsoft and Google Forms, to name a few. Teachers hosted online Parent-Teacher Meetings for parents, checked the well-being of students & parents over phone calls, and curated the online teaching-learning resource repository to deliver quality lessons. From early on, teachers recognized the importance of balance between curricular & co-curricular experiences. Considering this, yoga, art, dance and physical education were included in the student’s timetable to ensure a wholesome learning experience. To know more about how AKESI engaged the students and staff while maintaining learning continuity virtually, click here.
REMOTE LEARNING PEDAGOGY The Remote Learning Pedagogy consisted of video conferencing, discussion boards, and online assignment/assessments. In all the schools managed by AKESI, a Synchronous and an Asynchronous model of learning was designed. This included weekly virtual lectures by teachers, self-study resources for the students, worksheets for home assignments and home activities involving parents for preschool students. The pedagogical approaches adopted by AKESI to ensure online learning were - Blended Learning, Flipped Classroom, Inquiry-Based Learning, Activity Based Learning and Project-Based Learning.
Instructional plans adapted to the new learning model The teaching-learning process included appropriate instructional strategies, curricula and resources to address the diverse needs of students for life-long learning. The instructional plan adopted in the AKESI schools is best suited for the new learning model and is primarily based on the 5E model of instruction. It encompasses the different phases of teaching and learning – Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. To know more about how Aga Khan Preschools adapted to the new normal, click here.
Learning Resources In some cases, ‘voice notes’ have been shared with students and parents to ensure that words have been pronounced accurately. Audiobooks have also been created to help children listen and read the chapters from the literature books at their convenience. This helps build vocabulary. It also improves the child’s pronunciation and expression. Additional resources in the form of PowerPoint presentations and flipbooks have also been provided to students for easy access to concise content. Also, a digital library program was initiated to enable uninterrupted access to reading material, so that students could continue to read during this period.
Bridge Programme A 12-week literacy development programme was designed for the Grade 1 students with a focus to develop Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing, skills through authentic texts and experiences. The programme aimed to improve the reading fluency and comprehension skills of the students. Also, it provided students with the opportunity to explore purposeful tasks in a scaffolded manner with appropriate writing templates to enhance their written expression. Aside from this, rhymes, stories and consistent interaction during class have been embedded into the programme to develop their oral language skills.
www.agakhanschools.org
PARENT ENGAGEMENT The Aga Khan Schools have strengthened their relationship with the parent community by consciously creating multiple avenues virtually, during these unprecedented times. Initially, parents were given a thorough induction to use tools like Zoom to ensure an uninterrupted learning experience for the child. Life-saving trainings like the Shakeout Drill were also conducted to enhance their response time in times of emergencies. Further, teachers scheduled regular parent-teacher meetings to apprise the parents about the child’s progress. Notwithstanding the pandemic, various festivals like Navratri, Diwali, Dussehra were celebrated virtually with much fanfare. The students and fathers came together to celebrate International Yoga Day and Fathers’ Day. Read the full story here.
Parent Orientation Programmes Parent Orientation Programmes were conducted to introduce the parents to the systems and structures that exist in the school. These served as a platform to acquaint the parents to the content and unique pedagogy adopted by the school for the key subjects of English, Math and Science, for delivering the curriculum. The parents were explained the significance of the Bridge Program and the reasons for students learning letters and sounds before engaging with more complex text and vocabulary in the prescribed board textbooks. An orientation to the different skills in the English Language Program, along with the sequential manner in which students will eventually read, comprehend and write grade-appropriate content was shared. In addition to this, the School Counsellor facilitated sessions to equip the parents with the relevant know-how regarding the socio-emotional needs of the child during this period. Considering that parents are our partners, the school shared various channels of communication to stay connected with the School Leadership, teachers and administrative staff.
“Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.”
- Zig Ziglar
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT Multiple Events and competitions were organized to engage students and provide opportunities for them to hone their skills and showcase their talents. An Elocution competition commemorating Nelson Mandela, was organized in which students across AKESI schools participated with enthusiasm. To read the full story, click here. Other competitions like Storytelling & Monologues, Math Quest - Math Quiz and Math Model Making were conducted for the Primary and Secondary school students. The Pre-primary section also had multiple events and celebrations virtually including Independence Day, Diwali, Eid, Children’s day, Fancy dress and a Fitness Week to encourage the children and parents to be fit at home. World Read Aloud Day was celebrated with multiple initiatives across Aga Khan Schools, read the full story here.
www.agakhanschools.org
REACHING OUT TO THE COMMUNITY AKESI works with various institutions to support teachers and schools. It has been working closely with other schools and institutions to support teachers across Rajkot, Maliya Hatina, Mumbai, Panchgani and Delhi. Guidance on various remote learning approaches and specific trainings have been conducted in lesson planning & execution, Blooms Taxonomy and Ed-Puzzle to name a few. Further, these trainings have been supplemented with the provisions of useful resources, such as preschool lesson plans, worksheets and activities. AKESI has also worked with the Education Board to help improve the quality of education, through improved teachinglearning strategies and resources. To enhance the quality of the intervention, regular feedback has been shared with the teachers.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AKESI has a robust professional development program for teachers and leaders to equip them with the knowledge and skills to apply the best educational practices and provide students with the 21st-century learning skills.
“I am building a fire, and every day I train, I add more fuel.”
- Mia Hamm
The lockdown brought new challenges and required a change in approach. AKESI was able to adapt the professional development program to reach teachers at home and provide them with the relevant support for online teaching. Training was tailor-made to meet teacher needs and included topics such as ‘Lesson planning for an Online Class’, ‘Using Technology to Teach from Home’, ‘Phonics Training’, ‘Application of Online Platforms to teach Math effectively’ and many more. The Aga Khan Schools also shared their knowledge about various educational tools such as Edpuzzle, Kahoot etc. with other schools through webinars. Our schools were provided with links to relevant online trainings by experts, which allowed teachers to gain insights into current global trends. The ‘Flipped Classroom’ approach was used to engage with the teachers during these sessions. New content was assigned as pre-work and showcased to peers with feedback given both during and after the presentation. One to one teacher PD: After observing the teacher’s lesson, a detailed e-mail, outlining the Areas of Strengths and Areas of Development, were shared with the teachers. Specific teachers also had a one-to-one debrief sessions about the lesson. Here, the teacher would demonstrate the ‘best practice’, in connection with the lesson (with School Leadership in attendance). Spell Bee Competition: A Spell Bee competition was organised to help teachers Sharpen their Saw. The competition saw excellent participation from teachers across subjects. It provided teachers with a fun and engaging learning opportunity. Read the story here, to know about how teachers at Aga Khan Preschools adapted to technology during the lockdown.
ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE & BOARD RESULTS AKESI has been working to improve the student’s academic performance at the board exams yearon-year. It supports each student throughout the academic year by facilitating learning through customized learning strategies. AKESI also works closely with the parents to enhance outcomes. 91% students scored minimum first class (79% got distinction). 63% students got more than 90% in at least one subject. The 2020 results have been the best in the last 5+ years.
ONLINE TRAININGS Financial and Tax Planning webinars were held for employees to understand and manage finance, investments and tax planning. Multilingual webinars on Mindfulness were conducted with all staff to manage emotional wellbeing, deal with stress and stay positive. Online courses were shared with non-teaching staff for their professional development. Online training for teachers and section heads were shortlisted and shared with academic staff to stay abreast with the latest methodologies and techniques.
www.agakhanschools.org
STAFF ENGAGEMENT The onset of the lockdown brought the realization that in order to support the students and parents, the staff would have to maintain a positive state of mind and learn to quickly adapt to the situation. Thus, various initiatives were undertaken to engage with all the staff across AKESI. Town hall Meetings were conducted by the Senior Management to apprise staff on the current organizational state and the way forward. As soon as the lockdown started, a cross functional team was setup to check on individual staff wellbeing, work-life balance and identify any challenges in this unique virtual office environment. Chai pe Charcha (Casual Conversations), a unique concept was introduced to interact with staff across the units. This helped Employees take a break from work and connect with fellow colleagues for some fun and games. One of the session’s theme was ‘Mad Hatters Party’, where everyone had to wear creative head-gear. The Staff actively engaged in virtual activities around the theme of Women’s Day, Father’s Day, Mother’s Day, Parents’ Day, Teachers’ Day, Yoga Day, International Girl Child Day, International Men’s Day and Navaratri. To know more about the Women’s Day celebrations, click here. Social distancing can also be of fun when it’s Social disDANCEing and distanSING – The concept helped the employees showcase their talent. The staff whole-heartedly participated in the show ‘AKESI’s Got Talent’ and showcased their inherent skills of art, décor, music, and many more. Since the start of the lockdown, regular positive messaging and awareness mailers have been shared with all employees. Some of the themes of the positive messaging have been - How to Manage Stress, Effective usage of WIFI, Emotional Wellbeing, How to Boost Immunity, Cyber Security, Pandemic Protocols in Our Spaces and Monday Motivation messages. Weeklong celebrations were done with messages and activities around Mental Health Awareness, Immunity, “Self-care & Stress Management, Benefits of Mindfulness & Mediation, Emotional Wellbeing, Gratitude, Environment, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Yoga, and many more. Fun contests like the Work from Home Selfie Contest were conducted to make ‘work from home’ exciting. Employees were given an opportunity to click a selfie and share them. On World Photography Day, all photography enthusiasts among staff were given an opportunity to take photographs around a specific theme. The budding photographers captured beautiful images. Winners were announced in a virtual ceremony organized by the AKESI team. To know more, click here. With the introduction of WFH, all staff were confined to their homes and couldn’t meet each other. But this did not stop us from sharing beautiful moments with each other. Birthdays of Staff were celebrated by sharing a photo collage of fellow colleagues wishing the staff member on their special day. Employees shared their ‘work from home’ and ‘work for home’ stories, which captured glimpses of their personal life during lockdown period. To know more, click here. To recognize the efforts of colleagues during the crisis and appreciate their support, Thank You Cards were rolled out.
“This is a time that will call for the very best of truly
educated minds: your skills and specialised knowledge, but also your patience and tolerance. Above all, it will call for your understanding. May you bring reason, and hope to all whom you touch in your professional and personal lives, and may you find your work deeply rewarding.”
- His Highness the Aga Khan
www.agakhanschools.org
SOCIAL INITIATIVES Walkathon In order to increase awareness about climate change, the Aga Khan Education Service, India (AKESI), a part of the Aga Khan Development Network, organized the Walkathon 2020 (prior to lockdown), in association with the Diamond Jubilee High School (ICSE) and Diamond Jubilee High School (Girls) in Mumbai. To know more about this initiative, click here.
Climate Emergency - Wake Up Call! The students, of Aga Khan School, Chitravad in India, took the initiative and organized an exhibition to showcase the projects around the theme of Climate Change (prior to lockdown). To sensitize the community members, street plays were performed prior to the event by the students of Grades VI to XI in Chitravad and the neighbouring towns of Talala and Sasan. To know more about this initiative, click here.
Aga Khan Schools in India pledge to save Mother Earth AKESI celebrated Environment Week (8-12 June) to enlighten the staff, students and parents about the importance of safeguarding the planet. Staff were encouraged to make a “Save my Mother Nature Pledge”, which saw the AKESI staff vowing to take action to conserve natural resources, follow the Three R’s (reduce, reuse and recycle) and stop using plastic and toxic materials. To know more about this initiative, click here.
Best out of Waste Students have been their resourceful best and created numerous ‘Best Out of Waste’ projects. The most recent being the handwash dispenser model made by Master Rudraksh Goswami of Grade 6 at Aga Khan School, Mundra, using material available at home. To apply the concept of reduce-reuse-recycle in everyday life, AKSM staff created a hand-wash station from waste/discarded water tank, filtered water jars and waste construction materials like iron rods. At Aga Khan School, Sidhpur, a trolley was created out of a discarded barricade. This is now used to collect garbage in the school.
Face Masks for Humanity – An Initiative of Aga Khan Preschools As the lockdown is being relaxed across India, it has become essential to wear face masks when we venture out. Hence the demand for face masks have increased. With the surge in COVID cases, doctors, nurses and the community’s frontline workers are experiencing a severe shortfall of affordable facemasks. Considering the need, Aga Khan Preschools (AKP) made 5000 facemasks in less than 2 weeks for the underprivileged population in their neighbourhoods. To know more about this initiative, click here.
www.agakhanschools.org
AWARDS AND ACCOLADES
Aga Khan School, Chitravad ranked #1 in Gir-Somnath district by Education World school ranking survey 2019-20
Aga Khan School, Mundra ranked #2 in the Kutch district by Education World school ranking survey 2019-20
Aga Khan School, Mundra awarded for its ‘Exemplary Initiative Towards Faculty Development Programs’ and ranked #1 in the category by The India Didactics Association (IDA) 2019-20
Platinum Jubilee High School, Warangal ranked #1 in Warangal district by Education World school ranking survey 2019-20
Aga Khan Preschool, Ranavav qualified in the top 10 preschools and ranked #9 across India, for Campus Design Excellence by the Preschool Grand Jury Awards 2020
Aga Khan Preschool, Botad qualified in the top 10 preschools and ranked #7 across India, for Best Teaching Learning Resources by the Preschool Grand Jury Awards 2020
Little Star High School, Adilabad ranked #1 in Adilabad district by Education World school ranking survey 2020-21
Aga Khan School, Chitravad conferred with a Special Merits Award for Ecology and Environment Awareness by Education World Jury Awards 2020 from schools across India
Aga Khan School, Mundra ranked #2 in the Kutch district by Education World school ranking survey 2020-21
Aga Khan School, Chitravad ranked #1 in Gir-Somnath district by Education World school ranking survey 2020-21
Platinum Jubilee High School, Warangal Selected as ‘ATL-School of the Month’ (5 times in the first 10 months of its launch)
Aga Khan School, Sidhpur conferred with a Special Merit Award, as an Emerging HighPotential School 2020 from schools across India
Platinum Jubilee High School, Warangal ranked #3 in Warangal district by Education World school ranking survey 2020-21
Aga Khan School, Sidhpur ranked #1 in Sidhpur by Education World school ranking survey 2020-21
Diamond Jubilee High School for Girls, Mumbai was selected in the top State board schools of Mumbai and ranked #12 (from 2500+ schools) by the Times School Survey 2020
“The spirit of the Knowledge Society is the spirit of Pluralism- a readiness to accept the other, indeed to learn from him, to see difference as an opportunity rather than a threat.”
- His Highness the Aga Khan
www.agakhanschools.org