Students should move beyond rote memorisation to “higher-order thinking”. This is a concept recognised by most school boards. Most Indian boards make it a point to include “higher-order thinking” questions in exams, while the IGCSE schools tend to fo…
The scramble for a Kindergarten seat is only the beginning of an almost lifelong quest of bagging limited resources so our kids are not left wanting. From getting admission into an elite school to a prestigious college to landing a…
Like other negative emotions, regret too can serve a useful purpose if it is used judiciously “I wish I had pursued Bharatanatyam in my teens instead of rebelling against my mom’s wishes.” “If I had studied harder in college, I…
Does your professor like you? Does he/she think you’re capable? Or, treat you as if you are incompetent? Does your lecturer appreciate your diligence or disapprove of your lackadaisical attitude? Does he/she believe that your tardiness is a personal character…
During our scholastic years, our responsibilities and goals are clearly delineated. While we progress from one class to the next, we also receive feedback in terms of grades that indicate whether we are on track and meeting expectations.
When Classes 9 and 10 enacted The Merchant of Venice, Tarun received a standing ovation. His authentic and nuanced portrayal of Shylock stunned the audience, who believed the kid was indeed gifted. But a week later, Tarun’s academic report told…
Though we generally believe that teachers teach and students learn, the two fundamental processes that constitute education — teaching and learning — are actually deeply interwoven. The best teachers are those who keep learning and stretching themselves by engaging and…
Does it make sense to ask students questions about a concept they haven’t yet been introduced to? Does it matter if questions are posed at the beginning, middle or end of a unit? In his book, Small Teaching, English professor…
One of the more robust findings of psychology, to have withstood the tests of time, is the theory of infant attachment, first put forth by psychologist, John Bowlby and subsequently furthered by Mary Ainsworth. According to this theory, infants primarily exhibit three…
When students read a piece of text, silently, on their own, teachers hope that their pupils understand the content. To assess their comprehension, teachers usually ask students to answer a variety of questions, which include multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks, short and…
Aruna Sankaranarayanan is the author of Zero Limits: Things Every 20 Something Should Know. She was the Founder & Director of PRAYATNA, a centre for children with learning difficulties in Bengaluru & Chennai for 22 years.