Learning with Jiya

Pinesh Jadhav, works as a teacher at Z.P. School, Musarne, Palghar since the past 13 years. Students in his school come from the Katkari and Warli scheduled tribe communities. They struggle with difficulties in reading and writing even basic words. The socio-economic conditions are also not supportive of learning.

Pinesh enrolled for the Fellowship with the key motivation to improve his skills in teaching in order to provide equal opportunities for students in his community.

Of particular interest was a student named Jiya. Though she could read, she was unable to articulate her thoughts coherently.

Pinesh began to see a remarkable change in Jiya once he started implementing the Fellowship's 12-week plan on non-fiction reading and writing, in his classroom.

As a part of program, Pinesh's lesson idea was selected for a video. He says that the most challenging but interesting learning during the process for him was developing the lesson in a way that children's learning could be brought out clearly.

His lesson idea involved using an object as a hook to generate discussion to help children write a biography. For this he invited the children to bring their favourite objects to class. Children brought a variety of material from clothes to favorite foods to toys. Fostering a structured discussion, he led them to write a short biography of their friend. Understanding and writing of a non-fiction text, was the particular focus of the language fellowship and the learning outcome that Pinesh worked on for 12 weeks. The enthusiasm that the children showed during the final shoot was an eye-opener for Pinesh. To put it in his words:

"Even the most shy children are now feeling more confident. They are speaking much more than before.

Today, Jiya is able to read and comprehend fluently, and is a confident speaker.

Pinesh's final lesson idea was filmed. The idea focused on writing a biography through interviewing as a method for gathering information. 27 Teachers completed the fellowship that focused on the topics of reading and writing of non-fiction text in language and fractions in math. As a next step, these teachers will be supported over the next 6 months to sustain their learning.