Teacher enrichment workshop -'Understanding students as humans, learners and achievers'.

Great teachers empathise with kids, respect them and believe that each one has something special that can be built upon. Ann Lieberman.

On March 22nd, 2017, The Indian School hosted a workshop for teachers of all levels, titled Understanding Students As Humans, Learners and Achievers in the School AV room. It was conducted by Dr. Suman Sharma and Dr. Mandeep Shergill. Issues pertaining to the various stages in the growth of children and their possible reasons and solutions were discussed at large.

The main objective of organising this enhancement workshop was to help teachers view their students not merely as achievers but primarily recognise them as human beings and learners.

The workshop began with an overview of the positive strokes that result in a positive mental attitude amongst teenagers. Enhanced study habits, effective communication skills and the development of self confidence were projected as key factors in helping a child achieve success in life. Various strategies like acquiring self- awareness, learning self- acceptance and practicing self-reward were recommended as solutions to enhance the self esteem of children.

It is important for teachers to understand the complexities of teenage relationships that sometime travels from mere friendship to infatuation. Adolescent behaviour patterns, the relationship with parents, sexual behaviour and ecocentrism were also explored during the workshop.

From her experience, Dr. Mandeep Shergill shared the Three Pillars of Achievers, self-esteem, keep doing good and developing a sense of ownership. Video clips showcasing the differentiated methods of teaching for diverse children made the workshop truly interesting. Dr. Shergill emphasised upon the use of the KWL chart in every lesson to engage students, activate prior knowledge, share unit objectives and monitor learning. A reference was made to the Blooms Taxonomy which identifies the three domains of learning: Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor. It hones the ability for thinking thinking, such as the skill to analyse and create rather than just rote learn. The speakers reiterated that teachers must strive for excellence by fostering understanding, exploring multiple strategies and developing a growth mindset. Positive mental attitudes definitely help reduce stress among students, boost their creativity, spark proactive actions and build healthy relationships with peers. Comprehending the root causes of divergent behaviour and tackling disruptive students were also discussed through the course of the workshop. Teachers were told to maximise student learning in order to minimise student misbehaviour.

On the whole, the workshop was a fruitful one. It helped a great deal for teachers to understand their students better. With appropriate video clips and interspersed with personal anecdotes shared by the speakers, the workshop was truly interesting and a thought- provoking one and was thus highly appreciated by the participants.

Ms. Priya Arun.