Sanjoy Bhattacharjee
WHAT MAKES ME A PROGRESSIVE PRINCIPAL
Being a good educational leader I consider myself having a solid understanding of my children and having self confidence in me. When a person believes in himself or herself, he or she can do and accomplish many things. I believe that I have that quality. I generally don’t get scared of taking decisions which are good for my institution and for my children. I know how to start each day and lead my school, my fellow team members, my children in the right direction and help to accomplish the goals of the classroom and the school. I am confident about my communication skills and I know that I can interact with my children and all the stakeholders of my institution positively. I am resourceful and am always out about the development of my children and my institution. I am a person who believes to lead by example. My institution is my home and my students are my children. I am a combination of heritage and technology.
MY MISSION AS A PROGRESSIVE PRINCIPAL
My mission of education as a school leader is to empower students to take ownership and responsibility for their present and future learning by developing their academic, interpersonal, interpersonal, and technological skills. We are now approaching towards the ‘first world country’ tag and to secure that parameter our children must aware of technologies and at the same time their rich heritage. In IRIS world school we are committed to transfer our mission into reality. My personal vision of education is to prepare each child of my institution to succeed in our rapid changing world where their mind will be without fear and the head will be held high..where knowledge will be free..where the sense of family will be secured.
LEARNING BY DOING
IRIS WORLD School has developed several new initiatives in school education. Parts of these new initiatives are Innovation and Project Based Learning planned and designed by me. Last year I visited Mahatma Gandhi International School in Ahmedabad. During my visit, I experienced that children are learning better while doing by their own initiative. This year we are focusing more on ‘learning by doing’. We believe, through the innovation initiative, students across grades will be addressing the application skills that will help them succeed in the 21st century. These skills have been identified as critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration, agility and adaptability, initiative and entrepreneurship, analysis of information, effective communication both oral and written, curiosity and imagination, perseverance, grit and toleration of failure, confidence to take risks and passion and drive.
Project Based Learning (PBL) is a student-centered teaching method in which students learn about a subject through the experience of solving an open-ended problem. The projects vary based on grade level, teacher, and curriculum area. However, each PBL experience contains these common elements:
- A challenging problem or question
- In-depth and sustained research
- A real-work context, process, or application
- Student voice and choice
- A component of reflection
- Critique and revision
- A public product that may take many forms (i.e. presentations, written products, media and technology.
We are committed to offer better learning to our children and to prove that we are starting PBL in our school as the pioneer in PBL in Telangana state. All projects are being connected to every subject in deeper level understanding and real life application. Teachers take care of the projects in class. We are excited to support teachers in their initial efforts with PBL and Innovation. We are certain that PBL will help students succeed in the future, both in school and in today’s work world.
INTEGRATED CURRICULUM
I personally believe that integrated curriculum can give the best result if practiced properly. Integration is described as one that connects different areas of study by cutting across subject-matter lines and emphasizing unifying concepts. Integration focuses on making connections for students, allowing them to engage in relevant, meaningful activities that can be connected to real life. Teaching faculty of IRIS WORLD SCHOOL does have an expertise in integrating the subjects. In the beginning of the academic year we conducted workshop based on INTEGRATED CURRICULUM practice. We can see the changes in our students. Our students are searching for meanings instead of memorizing the facts. They are gaining a sense of accomplishment.
INTEGRATION OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP INTO EDUCATION THROUGH FACULTY
In emerging economies around the world, interest in entrepreneurship is currently higher than ever amid burgeoning youth populations and a desire to move up value chains. The empowered citizen of the 21st century not only knows how to use technology, she\he knows how to use technology to turn innovation into services, goods, or efficiencies that contribute to the local and regional economies, and perhaps most importantly the economy of her\his own home.
At IRIS, we are aiming to create a next generation of children who will be expert in innovation and technology. For an example, last year we asked our 5th grade children to prepare an yearly project to promote a product. All teachers of 5th grade and parents supported the students and the result was astonishing. They prepared their own jewellery collection and they sold each piece during the annual day program in our campus. They did the market survey, they designed the jewellery, they put the cost after calculating the cost of the product and the profit. Our teachers were behind them in every step of this project.
PROBLEM SOLVING & CRITICAL THINKING AMIDST THE FACULTY
Critical Thinking is not just a “nice to have” skill in the 21st century, it is essential. We live in an age where we have more information at our fingertips than ever before and more opportunity to communicate with people across the globe. But how do we know when to accept what someone is saying, and when to question it?
As a leader, I personally believe that students need to develop better critical thinking skills. Modern-day access to instant answers means many of us are falling behind in our ability to ask the right questions or analyse the answers we get. A common misconception is in the understanding of the term Critical Thinking. Many people think that critical thinking is simply about being critical of ideas and proposals. The first step to creating a critical thinking culture is to introduce the concept with a good definition. Our teachers are focused on creating a culture of critical thinking in our school where questioning is not only accepted but also encouraged at all levels including teachers and students. We provide opportunities for deeper learning (reflection, application, guided discussion). We concentrate on developing HIGHER ORDER THINKING SKILLS (HOTS), we connect concepts, we teach problem solving strategies, we encourage creative thinking.
GROUP WORK AND DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL SKILLS AMIDST THE FACULTY
The effective educator must be ever mindful of the simple fact that children go to school for a living. School is their job, their livelihood, their identity. Therefore, the critical role that school plays in the child’s social development and self-concept must be recognized. As a principal I try to foster and promote social development in the students. Children tend to fall into four basic social categories in the school setting- Rejected, Isolated, Controversial and Popular. Many students with learning disabilities find themselves in the rejected or isolated subgroups which is not good for a healthy growing up situation. I experienced this type of situation while I was working in London.
I believe that a principal must become a “talent scout” to identify specific interests, hobbies or strengths of the rejected child. This can be accomplished via discussions, interviews or surveys. It is important that a principal recognizes the crucial role that the child’s parents and siblings can play in the development of social competence. I promote the positive behavior in school; physical punishment is strictly prohibited in my campus. I invite parents to visit school for a conference to discuss the child’s social status and needs. School and home must work in concert to ensure that target skills are reinforced and monitored. I can clearly see the changes in students’ behavior and in confidence after I came to this institution. We have house system and students council to promote the multicultural nature of our institution.
UNDERSTANDING & ACTION BASED LEARNING
“Student engagement is the product of motivation and active learning. It is a product rather than a sum because it will not occur if either element is missing.” I believe in this statement. We practice action based learning in our school. I never believed in Chalk and Talk method when I was a child. I studied in Visva-Bharati university where learning was always active involvement from both teachers and students side. I encourage the teachers to prepare the lesson plan based on students’ activity. For an example, we dedicate 15 minutes for students’ activity if the lesson is for 45 minutes. We have FUNTOOT on board as our maths activity. Even during the transition from one period to another we have activity planned.
COLLABORATIVE & COOPERATIVE LEARNING PROJECTS FOR FACULTY DEVELOPMENT
At IRIS we have a ‘Teaching Partnership Program’ where teachers consult, design and execute their lesson with each other’s help. They exchange the class visits, exchange reports based on their experience and consider curricular and pedagogical intersections between themselves. I can give an example of collaborative learning from my school. We have a clock tower in our town which was built long back. We asked the children to prepare a replica of that tower by using the skills they learned in geometry class (3D shapes) and also by using the measuring unit from maths. They also were asked to write the history of that tower from the resources available in town library. They were asked to write in journal writing format where they could develop their English writing skills. By doing one year-long project, teachers developed their skills in other subjects which they were not aware of and children learned about teamwork, collaboration and finally integration of subjects.
EDUCATION ACCENTUATING SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND SAFEGUARDING DEMOCRACY
I believe in sharing thoughts and ideas can do the magic in every educational institution. Empowerment is the key word which can secure the structure of an educational institution. If strategic planning in education is designed carefully, it creates a space for collaborative implementation and becomes the glue that holds the internationalisation process together. In other words, it can act to strengthen the culture and enable the institution to become the institution it wants to be.
DESIGN & DELIVERY OF A LEARNING ECOSYSTEM WHEREBY HIGHLY PERSONALIZED LEARNING ACCOUNTING IS DONE FOR EACH INDIVIDUAL’S PERSONAL GOALS
How strongly I believe in personalized learning but unfortunately till date I am unable to implement in my institution. We have individual student record in our database; we share every single detail with the parents. Hopefully in future we will be able to plan individual learning to hold our children’s hands tightly
INTEGRATION OF COMMUNITY SERVICE AND SERVICE LEARNING PROJECTS INTO THE DAILY CURRICULUM
IRIS World School students engage in a wide variety of community service and service learning activities throughout their school experience. Learning through service makes service relevant to each child’s life and reinforces the connection of values to his/her everyday experiences. I personally believe ‘Learning beyond the classroom’ is actually a better learning process where children can get emotionally connected to the bigger and real world. This year our 9th class children are doing a project based on child labor issue in our society.
FUTURISTIC SELECTION OF SUBJECT CONTENT
Teachers know their students’ needs better than others involved in the curriculum process. I strongly believe that teachers should have input in curriculum creation. As a principal, I can gauge whether an activity will fit into a specified time frame and whether it will engage students. Unfortunately I am not much involved in curriculum creation but I have the freedom to select the text books which I take very seriously. We have extended study hours and advanced classes which are not bound by any curriculum. We take a huge interest preparing curriculum for this advance classes. This allows us to gain ownership in the final product and feel more confident that the curriculum is effective to the needs of our particular students.
LIFELONG LEARNING AND SOCIAL SKILLS OF FACULTY MEMBERS
Being competent and well-performing teacher is one of the most important resources in any educational institution. The teacher is considered the professional agent and the most directly responsible person in the process of learning. We have periodic teachers’ training program and teachers’ development program at our school. While working in UK, I went through ‘Behaviour Management Training’, ‘Classroom Management Training’, ‘NLP Workshop’, ‘Health & Safety Training’, ‘Fire Drill Training’, ‘First Aid Training’ etc. I am now implementing few of these training in my school. These training and workshops are claimed to have a deep implication in education reflecting the fact that teachers should be in constant contact with research for possible future teaching innovations and incorporating new research findings in their teaching practices to improve learning and assure high-quality teaching. The Professional Training and Development of teachers is a necessary ingredient to support innovative and beneficial teaching.
FACULTY ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION OF THEIR INNOVATIVE PROJECTS & PRODUCTIONS
The assessment of learning and teaching can be viewed as two complementary and overlapping activities that aim to benefit both the quality of student learning and the professional development of the teacher. We have performance management system in practice which evaluates the performance of a teacher for a certain period. The parameters which I am more keen on are:
- Planned instruction
- Effective Lesson Plans
- Students’ Motivation
- Effective Communication
- Demonstrate knowledge of the curriculum
- Creating PBL and HOTS
- Subject Integration
- Planning of learning activities and field trips
- Managing the Classroom
- Feedback Mechanism
- Leaves
PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY TO FACULTY EMPOWERMENT
I believe that teachers have to really own what they are in charge and they have to be invested in what they are doing. Otherwise the whole idea of teaching will collapse. Empowerment is the key word of any form of development but it is more significant in teaching. Teachers invest their time and knowledge into teaching. To get that investment, teachers have to know that support from leadership won’t be pulled away at the first bump or disagreement. There has to be space for different perspectives. As a leader, I strongly believe that teachers should be empowered in their own domain of teaching and I am up for it.