A Voyagers’ Journey

Journey of “Class Voyagers” in a year

Academic year 2010-2011

A Quick PreambleI, a TEACHFORINDIA 2010 fellow was given this great opportunity, last year to teach 29 adorable 2nd Graders in Savitri Bai Phule, at Pune, India.

A short not about my kids ; They all come from a underprivileged community for whom we try to give the highest quality education possible to bridge the educational inequity between our folks and the privileged kids in the elite schools.

When I entered my class, to my surprise the speaking & listening skills of the kids were at par to normal 2nd grade class. However the Writing & Reading skills were at Pre-Kg level. Means they could hardly read or write anything other than alphabets, and in some case not even that.

So, we set a goal for the class, pulled our sleeves and started working on developing the math and language skills.

At the end of the year everyone grew from their levels, but not at the expected levels. There were lots of gaps from their grade level even after a year of hard-work.

In this PPT I tried to explain what kind of work we did past one year and what support from you, we are looking for, in the future to bridge this gap

Methodology We measure the level of the kids at the very beginning of the year and

accordingly we set the target/goal, which is ambitious, feasible, measurable and student friendly for the kids.

These Beginning of the Year (BOY) tests are based on – Language - Speaking & listening– Language - Grammar– Language - Reading Comprehension– Language - Writing– Language - Reading Fluency– Mathematics

At the End Of the Year (EOY) we give a set of test which will test the mastery level of the kids at the end of the year on the above ground.

The data is plotted in graphs and the growth is measured in a Continuous Evaluation Method through out the year.

Beginning Of the Year (BOY) & End Of the Year (EOY) Data Analysis

BOY - Beginning of the Year ScoreEOY - End of the Year TargetYTD - Year till date ( what we scored at the End)

RC – Reading Comprehension represented in

Percentage %S&L – Speaking & Listening - Represented in

Grade level Kids moved from Grade 2 to Grade 2.5

Beginning Of the Year (BOY) & End Of the Year (EOY) Data Analysis

RF – Reading Fluency represented in Grade Level

Kids moved from Kg to Grade 1

Writing - Represented in Grade level

Kids moved from Pre-Kg to Grade 1

The Gap

The Gap as you can see it is very huge. The kids who are supposed to be in beginning of the 3rd grade level are now in grade mid 1st grade. There is a gap of 1.5 years.

And this year I`m taking over the same class and trying to bridge this 1.5 years achievement gap in one year. So at the end of Grade 3 , we should`ve improved by 2.5 years growth in a year, which is very ambitious. But we don’t want to give up.

For this I need to use innovative teaching methods. What I`m planning is to introduce More Audio Visual Learning with projector in the class

With this projector I can teach

Math Skills - Visually showing them all the critical mathematical concepts such as Place values , mental math, Number sense, operations, measurement & geometry.

Language skills - in a much more efficient manner, catching every kid’s attention(which is the key to bridge the gap) teaching them through Movies & videos. I strongly believe through Movies & Videos , we can teach language to a greater practical extent.

The Adorable Voyagers !

How can you support

Right now I`m trying to raise funds too Buy a used projector for the class. (Rs. 10,000 / $230)

Or If you can lend your old one from your conference room, if you got any

o Buy some classroom supplies for this year – Story Books & Worksheets to practice the skills ( Math & Language)(Rs.5,000-10,000 / $100-$200)

Also if possible, Please spread the word and forward us to the right people who can support us. Your small support mean a lot to us.

Please contact me at pradeep.rajendran2010@teachforindia.org Phone : +91 96654 74332For more details on TEACHFORINDIA, visit www.teachforindia.org

Note : I will keep you posted with the regular updates in the class & necessary bills for the purchase

Please support us with any amount of fund you can!

Below you can find the Bank account details where you can transfer the cash online or of any sort.

Hdfc Bank... & its details

Account Number : 07941140082912

Account Registration Name : Pradeep R

Branch : Hdfc , HINJAWADI Branch

Branch Code ( If needed, Just in case )

Micr Code 411240018 IFSC Code: HDFC0000794

Note: This contribution goes directly to my classroom and hence my bank account.

How to contribute