Teacher workshop on Classroom Management

A workshop on Classroom Management for all the teachers of The Indian School was conducted by Mr Parnab Mukherjee, noted trainer, in the School auditorium on 1 November, 2019. The workshop sought to visit the challenges faced by the teachers in the normal course of classroom transaction.

Mr Mukherjee commenced the session by listing the four challenges that every teacher has to face as he or she steps inside a classroom. The first challenge he talked about was the present generation of students being adept at everything digital. He suggested that every teacher should keep this fact in mind and make sure that he or she knows more than what is described in the textbook because students today are well informed and have access to unlimited information on the internet.

The second challenge named by Mr Mukherjee was the limited attention span of students. He said that according to a study by UNESCO, it has been proven that a child can concentrate best when the subject matter stretches up to only 14 pages. Therefore, he suggested that, where chapters in a textbook stretch beyond this, the teacher needs to condense the matter into a concise form restricted to a maximum of 14 page. A teacher can prepare a 14-page booklet of the particular chapter. The technique will ensure better attention and consequentially better retention.

The third challenge which Mr Mukherjee brought up in the workshop was understanding the relationship between nutrition and comprehension. He said that it is of paramount importance that school authorities pay attention to this important aspect which determines a childs growth. He added that every schools almanac must contain information on this important relationship and its benefits, so that parents and teachers become conscious of the same.

The final challenge named by Mr Mukherjee was hyperlinking texts. He explained this by asking the teachers to share their views on how much textual knowledge a child is able to use in practical life. He emphasised that the teacher must be able to relate the relevance of the topic taught, with occurrences in real life, for the clearer comprehension of the students. A child at no point of time should feel that whatever he or she is studying in class has little or no significance in his or her life.

The session was interactive and engaging. Mr Mukherjee concluded the workshop by insisting that every child should be encouraged to write a letter to an inanimate object. This would help the students broaden their horizons and enrich their imaginations. He added that a child should be encouraged to ask questions and that every question must be answered. If its not possible for a teacher to respond immediately then he or she can take time and revert to the child the next day.

The teachers appreciated the practical points made by Mr Mukherjee. He left with an important message- that teaching was a dynamic profession and hence required that the teacher constantly incorporates new strategies to face new challenges.