... Non-Conventional Teaching in India

This article is written jointly with Pooja Bora, and Sidhima Choudhary

Technology has had an immense impact on education. Image Credits: Sidhima Choudhary

Education in India is riddled with misconceptions. The one that is glaringly problematic to us is the resistance to breaking out of traditional methods of teaching. The perception is that non-conventional methods are almost a pipe dream in a system like India’s. Either they are too expensive, or they don’t work for larger populations.

Is such a conception false or does it actually reflect our reality? Are non-conventional methods truly too expensive to become more pervasive? Are the teachers even willing to incorporate such methods? 

Traditional teaching methods are the linchpin of the educational system. A teacher-centric approach rooted in established practices and pedagogic principles is considered a ‘time-tested’ best practice. This traditional approach to teaching has been adopted in classrooms worldwide.

What are these traditional teaching methods? 

As students, all of us have had those classes in our school where lectures seemed endless, and the material just did not click. You might also recall the exams where you did not understand the material, but your memorization skills came in handy. Be it in learning facts, formulae, vocabulary or historical dates. We are all programmed to learn by rote rather than grasping the information to get through our exams.

The schools in India have been predominantly applying the traditional methods of teaching where the students are grappling with a growing sense of discomfort. 

The ceaseless pen-and-paper homework assignments, and endless drills through various quizzes and exams have a negative impact on the performance of the students by convoluting learning into a pressure cooker of competition. 

The rat race for academic excellence has placed an immense burden on students, which gets passed down from generation to generation. This vicious cycle not only affects the performance of the students but also their, and their teachers’, mental health.

During a conversation with Jessica Kulkarni, a parent and an ex-preschool teacher from Pune, she highlighted the intense pressure imposed on the teachers to complete their teaching syllabi. She further explained that if the curriculum is not finished on schedule, it wreaks havoc on the entire teaching plan, placing additional pressure and stress on the child. 

The Journal of the Indian Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health reports that anxiety, social withdrawal and dysphoria collectively affect an astounding 51% of school-aged children and adolescents. Clearly, a restructuring of the existing methods is crucial at this juncture.

So, what is the alternative?

In India, we can find examples of such restructuring where the focus shifts to students. Non-traditional teaching moves away from the monotonous, teacher-centric approach of traditional teaching. With the onset of digital technology, most classrooms today have incorporated movies or videos to help students learn concepts.

However, non-traditional teaching methods go beyond simply digitizing classrooms. Kamaljit Sidhu, the principal of a Pune-based CBSE preschool, has incorporated immersive learning to teach fundamental concepts in subjects like science and math. 

There are a lot of intersections when it comes to subjects being taught to preschoolers. In her school, mathematics is taught by incorporating colors, shapes and interactive activities. Science-based topics like germination are taught through interactive experiments where students bring their own germinated seeds to class and watch how the seeds sprout. 

“When you do practical activities, they understand the topic so well that there’s a smile on their face, there’s a twinkling in their eyes that they’ve understood. This is what motivates me to do something new with my children” - Kamaljit Sidhu

An 11th and 12th grade IB school teacher from Mumbai, Anu Misra, has incorporated novel methods like flip classrooms, wherein students take up teaching roles, and Socratic seminars, student-led open discussions that are conducted to reach a shared understanding of a text. Additionally, she also allows students to carry out independent research encouraging them to collaborate with their teachers.

Such teaching methods place an emphasis on experiential learning in the classroom. Debrupa Guha, a fifth-grade teacher in a Mumbai-based IB school, talked about this saying that her classes represent active learning where teachers “are more like guides and mentors.” 

She further added, “It's not just about information coming in; it’s also about perspectives. They bring a whole new perspective to learning. Students are exposed to twenty different perspectives at a time, which makes it a richer pedagogy.”

However, it does not end there. Non-traditional teaching is not as rigid as opposed to traditional teaching. This adaptability leaves a lot of room for flexibility to make the classrooms more dynamic and interactive. 

What does it take to adopt these methods in classrooms everywhere?

The general perception is that the adoption of more non-conventional methods of instruction is unfeasible due to the high cost that could potentially be incurred. However, this is not necessarily the case. The aforementioned examples clearly show that expensive infrastructure is not the sole means of experimentation within education. All it takes is a bit of research and a lot of initiative.

International Baccalaureate (IB) board schools are acclaimed for their unique approaches to education. However, there also lies the issue of accessibility as the fees of such schools tend to be rather high. Naturally, this gives the inaccurate impression that non-conventional methods truly are expensive after all. 

Debrupa Guha is of the opinion that adopting different approaches need not bore a hole in your pocket. She said, “Everything that you do outside the classroom makes the experience so much better. Things like these don’t cost much money, you can walk to the nearest garden or park. It just takes a little bit more thinking.” Teachers’ and educators’ initiatives are enough to mitigate high infrastructural costs. In this regard, the first step has to be a deeper attempt at understanding their student.

The pandemic was a major turning point in the way people looked at education. Firstly, technology came into the arena, becoming an irremovable aspect. Secondly, the teaching methods are gradually evolving to be more child-centric rather than teacher-centric. The “digital influx,” as Debrupa Guha calls it, has been a large driving factor of such a shift. 

Arpita Arora, a ninth and tenth-grade teacher in a Mumbai-based ICSE board school, talked about how activity-based learning helps create a bond with students which has become crucial as fear has proven to be unconducive to education. Such an approach also has a positive impact on students where they feel less stressed, more confident and develop a sense of ownership of their work, as Anu Misra also pointed out. 

In such a child-centered model, there also needs to be an effort to understand the child too. Anu Misra stressed the need to train teachers to identify different learning styles in students be it bodily-kinesthetic, visual, auditory, etc. 

“Everybody is treated like a fish, and they are being judged on their ability to - swim, (but) not everyone can swim.”- Arpita Arora

What are the problems with implementing these methods?  

While the non-traditional methods of teaching are widely appreciated for their innovation, they also present significant challenges. The constant need to adapt to evolving resources and digital resources can take a toll.

Debrupa Guha took note of the substantial strain placed on the teachers, giving the example of her school where the curriculum changes every two years. She added, “These relentless changes make it increasingly difficult for educators to adapt and develop new and creative teaching strategies.”

With quick access to information because of the internet, children can be exposed to misinformation that they don’t question, and it becomes the teachers’ responsibility to not only correct the students but also defend their credibility. Furthermore, when asked about technology Arpita Arora commented that “the excessive use of technology makes the human touch disappear” which is not ideal for the seven to eight-hour school day of a child.

It is only healthy for the whole education system to embrace the non-traditional approaches within the framework of traditional educational values, backed by technology which will inherently keep the essence of learning alive within students for life.