Teaching & Learning

In her book, How Art Works, psychologist Ellen Winner describes a prison program, aptly named, Shakespeare Behind Bars, where inmates, convicted of serious crimes, spent many months rehearsing for a Shakespeare play. Apparently, the recidivism rate of those who took part in…

Last month, I delineated the skills and dispositions that children acquire when they engage in the visual arts. In this, the second of a four-part series on creative pursuits, I discuss the benefits of music on developing minds. Before diving…

While children are engaged with online classes for a few hours every day, many of them have ample amounts of free time. As their usual routines have been disrupted by the pandemic, their once harried schedules of school, tuition, and…

In the conventional mode of education, still prevalent in our digital age, teachers elucidate a concept and then pose questions to students. Pupils are expected to answer queries after listening to the teacher’s explanation. At times, teachers stop f…  

In an earlier article titled “Online classes and the four pillars of learning”, I had spelled out how teachers may use the four pillars of learning, put forth by neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene in his book How We Learn, to make learning more…

Is this a fish market?” teachers yell as they enter classrooms filled with animated chatter. Though teachers may frown upon students chit-chatting during a free period, students talking to each other is an essential feature of language development. La…  

When revising, is it better to re-read your notes or answer a set of questions? In an earlier article, I had elaborated on the benefits of testing as an effective learning strategy. Questioning yourself after reading a chapter is more…

Whether it’s appreciating Shakespeare’s double entendres, solving polynomial equations, deciphering the electronic configuration of metals or analysing supply curves, all learning involves four essential functions.

Quantity and quality aren’t diametrically opposed but rather complement each other. Creative work, in any domain, are pieces that stand out based on parameters laid down by the field in question. When it comes to creative endeavours, most people believe…