Kolkata :
Scared of Maths? Try synchronized dance and ludo, or even origami. Thanks to the idea, Hira Prasad, a city teacher, is in the fray for a mind-boggling $1 million global education award for marrying art and craft with mathematics.
Prasad, the assistant headmistress at Birla School for Boys junior section, is the only one from Kolkata and among three teachers in India to be shortlisted in the top 50 contenders for the big-ticket Varkey GEMS Foundation Global Teacher Prize. The final list was drawn from 5000-odd applicants from 120+ countries.
“Whenever I introduce a new concept, I’m tapping a weak part of the brain. Creative elements are of paramount importance when facing something that might seem difficult at first. So in Class IV, while learning factors and multiples, students — a group of six — are asked to dance to peppy music. They have to dance but maintain one line. So they learn that one is a factor of six and six is a multiple of one,” Prasad explained. Next, the students are asked to form two rows, then three, and they understand two and three too are factors of six.
Principal Mukta Nain said it’s not only a motivation for students but also for teachers. “She is a wonderful teacher, tech-savvy and full of innovation,” she said. “With the innovative methods, students are learning even while making a fruit salad,” added Loveleen Saigal, the headmistress of the junior section.
Prasad’s former students give full credit to her efforts. CA aspirant Nami Patni, 22, told TOI: “Initially, I wasn’t strong in Maths. But the novel method of teaching in our school was a turning point. In the CBSE Boards, I got 95 in Maths.”
Class VII student Naman Bhutoria said: “I used to be confused about addition-subtraction but when Ma’am used her unique teaching methods, it became clear. We were first introduced to lines and angles through yoga asanas. In my Class-VI annual exams I got 90%.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Kolkata / by Shounak Ghosal, TNN / December 10th, 2014