Learning through information technology

   By Sadia Wali

      Innovations in teaching and learning have changed the perspective of learning across the world. Educators have adapted new educational technologies which have enhanced the scope of collaborative online learning for students. E-learning is an educational technology that technically supports learning and teaching. Bernard Luskin, a pioneer of e-learning, advocates that the "e" is interpreted to mean "electronic." This interpretation focuses on new applications and developments. E-learning encompasses multimedia learning, computer-based training, internet-based training (IBT), web-based training (WBT) and online education.

E- Learning has rapidly increased in developed countries. However, developing countries like Pakistan are facing challenges in implementing E-learning programs. Since E- learning has been introduced recently in Pakistan, this online education system is developing slowly. Consequently, this system of education is expensive and the educational institutions lack professional instructors that could provide complete guidelines to students about their studies. The institutions are also deprived of all the essential facilities such as computers and laptops. Most of the students and working professional are interested in broadening their horizon and knowledge through e- learning however domestic responsibilities, limited choices and financial problems constraints them to arrange time for an E-learning course.

Another challenge is related to course, its development, and delivery. Concerns have been raised regarding designing an innovative curriculum suitable for E-learning environment. The tradition of attending school is still prevailing among people, therefore mostly students are trained to show honor for teachers who are considered as the experts. Students being spoon fed by teachers and too much dependency of students on teachers are taken as obstacles in E-learning settings.
However some parents do not agree. They believe that e-learning cannot be attained without proper guidance and help as some students find hard to study online course.”

“There is a need to create awareness how E-learning is different from conventional classroom based learning   said a teacher. While comparing e- learning with traditional face-to-face classroom learning, she believed that that traditional classroom environment following instructors dictating content and rote learning has become uninteresting for the students. E-learning environment is a more learner-friendly as the role of a teacher is different in an e-learning environment.’’

“E-Learning foster students interaction and collaboration and assists them to choose content and tools appropriate to their interests, needs, and skill levels. It motivates students to be much more engaged and to take more responsibility for what they’re learning’’ stated another teacher.

  “E-learning is good for education uttered a mother. As it gives more knowledge, practical approach and provide global knowledge to students.”

Similarly, another mother declares, “E-learning can definitely be useful but then the overall development of a student is hindered. I suggest that there should be a facility of both classroom learning environment and E-learning facility too. So child should have an experience of going to school and also gets acquainted with technological world.’’

What do students really think about online learning? Can E-learning be a substitute for the class room learning?

A survey conducted by some Pakistani students in the year 2009-10 revealed that the majority of students (over 90%) found learning over the Internet and via satellite TV beneficial. Students who have opted for e-learning think that the flexibility of online learning is a positive factor.

“It is an efficient alternative to taking the class physically. To study the topic in depth, students can select some important websites such as Coursera's online classes which are designed to help students to achieve mastery over course material. The website Coursera is offering massive open online courses since 2012. Lectures, talks and discussions of the teacher are also accessible on the website. The option of video conferencing technologies and online demonstrations of concepts are helpful in imparting valuable knowledge.’ opined a group of students.

However, some students do not find E-learning interactive as they say “We love the personal classroom feeling of attending the lectures and getting involved in group discussions, assignments, and projects. Students are more engaged in learning and retain knowledge better than online study. By analyzing the students learning styles and interests, the teachers can adjust their teaching methods and strategies.’’

A group of students hold similar opinions, “In classroom learning, we get to know many important things which we cannot get from E- learning. We get to know how to behave, how to interact and maintain relations within group or friend circle. These etiquettes can be learnt in a classroom environment.’’ 

Students in far-flung areas of Pakistan are eager to acquire on-line education. Accessing E-learning education in remote areas of the country is not easy since the survey conducted by students notified that mostly small cities and towns do not have specialized educational institutes which provide e-learning education. Students also complain of lack of computer and internet facilities; well-organized libraries and efficient mentors who could guide them about e- learning education. Government need to provide modern education facilities  in less privileged areas  so that people living in these areas also get opportunity to acquire modern education. Learning through information technology has evolved a new era of education all over the world. It is hoped that e- learning in Pakistan will refine the cognitive skills of young individuals and it will assist them to contribute towards the development of global knowledge.

 Today, many educational institutions in Pakistan have greatly emphasized the need for the development of internet based information technologies which will help to enhance standard of education and training systems. However it is essential that the government should provide facilities to those institutions that are providing online education and assure that e- learning should be easily accessible by all groups of society.

The Writer is a freelance writer. She can be contacted at sadiawali@hotmail.com

The Peanut Solution research article

The Peanut Solution

At the beginning, the problem was devilishly simple: malnutrition was killing millions in poor countries — it’s thought to be responsible for a third of all deaths of children under 5. And yet the global medical community was expending little effort to develop improved treatments. In the early 1990s, the accepted regimen for severe acute malnutrition — a watery mixture fed through a tube was unable to prevent the deaths of 20 to 60 percent of patients in hospitals. Frustrated, a small group of doctors began searching for a better way to get nutrients into starving children.

According to legend, Briend hit upon the inspiration for Plumpy’nut one morning at the breakfast table, when, after years of vainly mixing nutrients into cookies, pancakes and yogurt, he opened a jar of Nutella, and the idea came to him: a paste! Like most such stories, this one is not completely true — or rather, it elides many years of false starts, research, scientific collaboration and infighting. Inspired by the popular Nutella spread, Plumpy'nut was formulated by André Briend, a French paediatric nutritionist, and Michel Lescanne, a food-processing engineer in 1996.

    The first advance came in the form of F100, dried high-energy milk that was fortified with a mix of vitamins and minerals that were designed to counter the specific biochemical effects of malnutrition in children. F100 had to be mixed with water, though, which in poor countries was apt to be rife with bacteria. It also tasted unpleasant. As a childhood-nutrition expert attached to a French government institute, Briend came up with the idea of mixing F100 together with peanuts, milk, sugar and oil. The concoction was full of protein and fat, which insulated its nutrients from oxygen and humidity and masked their unappetizing flavor.

Earlier this treatment could not be administered in a hospital setting which meant a long, expensive stay away from home for both mother and patient. What Briend and a few other specialists envisioned was a treatment that could be administered at home, by families instead of doctors. Patients were sent home with Plumpy’nut.  Many malnutrition experts were horrified. “It seemed dangerous to them, and it made them afraid’’ However, when the results were analyzed, it was found that 95 percent of the subjects who received Plumpy’nut at home made a full recovery.

Everyone it seemed wanted to own a bit of Plumpy’nut. So let’s read about this paste

Today,  Plumpy'nut is  widely consumed product in America and around the world. It is a peanut-based paste in a plastic wrapper for treatment of severe acute malnutrition manufactured by a French company, Nutriset. Removing the need for hospitalization, the 92 gram packets of this paste can be administered at home and allow larger numbers to be treated.Plumpy’nut is frequently used as a treatment for emergency malnutrition cases. It supports rapid weight gain, which can make the difference between life and death for a young child. The product is also easy for children to eat since they can feed themselves the soft paste. The fortified peanut butter-like paste contains a balance of fats, carbohydrates and proteins (macronutrients), and vitamins and minerals (micronutrients). Peanuts contain easily-digested monounsaturated fats. They are also relatively high in calories, which mean that a patient receives a lot of nutrition from small amounts, important because malnutrition shrinks the stomach. They are rich in zinc and protein — both supportive for the immune system.

In the world of humanitarian aid, where progress is usually measured in subtle increments of misery, the new product offers a rare satisfaction: swift, visible, fantastic efficacy.The World Bank, in a recent report, recommended that aid agencies scale up their spending on such programs, which currently stands at $300 million annually, to $6 billion a year. The U.S. Agency for International Development, which administers the $2.2 billion Food for Peace program, has been examining the usefulness of Plumpy’nut and encourages using for malnutrition prevention.

Extracted from

Letter: The Peanut Solution by Maggie Steber

September 19, 2010)

 The New York Times

 

Prevailing anarchy in our society

      By Sadia Wali

‘Where there is no vision, the people perish’

(Reference ‘The King James Version translation of Proverbs 29:18’)

In developed societies, family and community with their collaborative efforts, motivation and commitment accomplish their higher goals. Dedicated individuals committed to bring social change in society create an invigorating and inspiring impact on young people to be responsible, develop a positive vision and sense of direction. These are the profound leadership qualities which actually pave the way towards a successful and meaningful existence. 

We as a society have become victim of anarchy and disorder. Civic sense as an ethic has less significance since our youth do not show any concern regarding fulfilling their civic responsibility. As I quote an example.  We are the first to complain about public facilities but at the same time, we neglect our responsibility to maintain it. Roads are not dirty because nobody cleaned it, but because we think that somebody dirtied it in the first place and it is his responsibility to clean .Thus, we continue to throw dirt on the road side. The most common violation which people do are spitting and smoking in public places. In spite of the red signal on the road mostly young people ignore the traffic rules and break the signals.

Ethics is a code of values which guide our choices and actions and determine the purpose and course of our lives. 
— Ayn Rand, Russian-American novelist and philosopher (1905-1982) 

 It is an irony that we do not have proactive individuals who realize the significance of collective and individual potential to bring change in society.  How many times we have heard any dedicated person speaking, ‘I can initiate a change! Even If we talk about change, it is merely the change we want for ourselves and not for the community or society.

It is a sad reality that today our youth is completely lost, their blurred vision, lack of sense of obligation, core values and moral principles is drifting them towards anarchism. To become sound practicing Muslims, our youth needs to realize the purpose and vision of life and this has been clearly defined in the holy Quran and Sunnah. The Islamic paradigm is Tazkiya - Nafs which means purification of our heart and minds.

 As stanch Muslims, it is our belief that we are accountable to Allah for every acts and deeds. As Quran says, “And as such on the final Day of Judgment each Nafs or human will have to reply for his conduct of this earthly sojourn. (al-Infitar: 05) and that will be a very tough day of this meeting (al-Inshiqaq: 6).”

Realizing our priorities and responsibilities, we need to develop inspirations of a Khalifa who served the people selflessly, honestly and sincerely. Our young fellows who are torch bearers of Islamic values and traditions need proper guidelines, role models   and leadership that broaden the vision of young fellows, make them positive thinkers, realize the importance of moral values and understand the purpose of shared vision. Motivated young individuals can utilize their potentials in the best way by positive involvement in fulfilling the tasks such as taking small initiatives, determining the objectives for the task and provoking civic sense and sense of responsibility in others.

To foster tolerance, moderation ethics, morality and self reliance is indeed a big challenge for us. It is the cultural norms and values which lead us to a well-balanced and successful society. Social bonding, goodwill and respect towards each other serve a lot of purpose, helps to manage our social life and develop good relationship with the people around us. The spirit of empowerment, self- awareness, individual competence, personal growth, collaboration and team work will help to transform our thinking and thus bring revolutionary changes in the society.

Does school really prepare students  for a job

By Sadia Wali

“Education in Pakistan cannot be acquired, it is something taken as a purchasable thing says Hassan, a student of a private medical university. Today, goal of education is simply to prepare young students to attain materialistic purposes in life. The spiritual and moral education which is essential for character building and nurturing minds is not given significance in our education.”

Therefore, the question arises in our minds what are actually the goal and objectives of an educational institutions? What they aim at? Nowadays, the phenomenon of teaching has been changed? Instead of fostering knowledge and learning in young people, today education is merely motivating young people towards accomplishing academic goals.  Teachers are demoralized and lack spirit of professionalism and commitment. Consequently their capacity for learning is also passive and this has negatively affected individual competencies and personal growth.   

A teacher, who had taken fifteen years out from the profession of teaching to raise her kids returned to teaching six months ago. Being a teacher she observed various changes in the attitude of teachers and students. ‘What really struck me is that kids have become more cynical, impatient and intolerant and less receptive for learning. They use vulgar language.

Parents think that young individuals are less motivated, less responsible and more confused about life. They believe that it is not worth paying thousands of fees in an institution which are not providing purposeful education. Their children seem to have completed the whole course yet they could not prove what they learnt. The question comes to our minds what they learn at the institutions? It is imperative for parents to know whether their son or daughter is acquiring quality education or finding an easy way out to get fake degrees to get desired job.    

Due to uninspiring teachers, young people lack vision and objectivity of acquiring authentic learning, core values and morality. The learning capacity of young people has been influenced by consumer culture. Hence they opt to study those subjects which offer more market value and have better chances of money making. For money minded individuals, it does not matter as to which of the subjects can be more useful for improving their academic learning and knowledge or helpful in character building. They are solely engaged in pursuing fulfilled careers.

However some young intellectuals say that a degree is just a certificate that tells to the world that we have studied some facts from a text book, but the actual thing is that the knowledge and learning which we gain from our education institution should bring a positive change in our thinking and attitude thus, playing a pivotal role in developing a wholesome personality. It is a harsh reality that we have fewer intellectuals and more money minded individuals.

To regain leadership qualities and intellectual stimulation it is essential that our youth must understand the real purpose of education. The most important aspect of education is to develop realization in an individual to know about the purpose of his existence, truth, reality and wisdom. Learning is as natural as breathing, so the aim of Education should be to develop Self initiated learning in young people which boost up their creativity and imaginative thinking and enhances their quest for continual learning and knowledge.

Imam ghazali says, "knowledge exists potentially in the human soul like the seed in the soil; by learning the potential becomes actual." 

To make young people innovative thinkers, teachers who are also mentors; need to reform the mind of young individual by being optimistic, passionate and visionary. Vigorous and energetic teachers motivate their students to work with passion and enthusiasm and engage them in real-life learning activities.

 As Khalil Gibran says about an inspiring teacher, “The teacher who is indeed wise, does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind.”

To lead an inspiring life, teachers have to rethink about educational beliefs. Committed and enthusiastic teachers should think about the aim of education and enhance their own teaching practices and try to bring about a positive change in students’ lives who could then contribute to bring a change at societal level. 

An enthusiastic student appreciated the efforts of his mentors who played an eminent part in building up his successful career.  He says, ‘My experiences make me feel that life changes if you have a mentor who is enthusiastic, understand you well and encourage you to face the challenges of life with persistence  and strength of mind.  I still remember my mentor words that life is not determined by the grades. Secondly, possibilities are infinite we have to be ambitious and eager to find a way to accomplish them’.

Consumer driven society and distracting mass media continues to influence the minds of our youth. The prevailing anarchy in young people indicates that they lack the spirit of empowerment, self- awareness and individual competence. To foster tolerance, moderation ethics, morality and self reliance in young individual, educational institutions have to play a pivotal role. Teachers have to become more innovative and apply modern teaching methods in classrooms which develop "thinking" students.

Education system can become more powerful if it is integrated with Islamic tarbiyah. Islamic Tarbiyah endeavor to establish a school setting for children who provide them with the learning and education necessary to effectively establish and maintain their character, norms, values, and ideals and combined with outstanding academic achievement.

Muhammad Abid Ali says in his article “Islamizing the taleem part 10, Education and perception development’’

‘‘An education system developed on the wrong assumptions and sprouting from the wrong roots will be full of misleading and hidden traps for us as Muslims. Present dilemma is we ourselves are more or less the product of this alien western education and cannot see these traps unless we go to some depth of educational processes and compare it with the requirement of education from Islamic perspective.’’

Cheating: The real face of evil in examination centres

By Sadia Wali

Published Jul 01, 2012 01:01am  in Sunday Images

 One in four teenagers think it quite acceptable to use dodging ways to get by in their exams. It is heartbreaking that cheating has become an ever present issue in our educational institutions nowadays. It is so difficult to judge the ability of the students as the examiner is not sure whether the student has passed the exams by learning or used illegal means to get good grades.

The trend of cheating has increased thanks to our flawed examination system. Some books are selected in our obsolete syllabus and the questions in the exams are asked from those books only. As a result many students are unaware of the actual purpose of these books. They only study a few selected portions from them as they believe that education means to get good degrees and excellent jobs.

Students use technically unauthorised material and other unfair means to gain advantage in examinations. Pre-planned cheating also takes place in most examination centres. Students are provided open book guides, solved papers and other kinds of aid from the authorities.

They also use clever techniques such as scribbling with a pencil on the desk, on their fingernails and make strange markings on pieces of paper to make keys for important questions. They also use mobile phones for this purpose.

According to the available facts obtained from the Board of Secondary Education in Karachi, 75 to 98 per cent of college students adopt different ways of cheating. In a government boys’ secondary school in Sharfabad, 32 students were caught using unfair means in examination halls. The Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Sukkur, reported 400 cases of cheating. Some 178 to 300 candidates were involved in cheating in Khairpur, Ghotki, Hyderabad and other cities of Sindh.

The menace of cheating is increasing day by day since no strict action has ever been taken against the culprits. The cheaters threaten the teachers who try to stop them from cheating on the spot. Beating and using vulgar language has also been reported. A teacher said that when once he spotted a candidate cheating in his exams, he weighed his options of what would happen if he took any action or if he kept silent. When he reported the cheating incident to the superintendent of the examination centre, he turned a deaf ear while refusing to take any action.

Jaffar, who runs a bookshop in Sukkur says that 90 per cent of students buy guidebooks to solve papers, 40 per cent of boys and 10 per cent of girls purchase these books some 10 days ahead of the exams or one day before the exams with most of the sales taking place just one hour before the exams in order to make preparations for cheating.

A frustrated student said no matter how they completed their education, at least they get good degrees and good jobs. Many lower and middle class parents themselves provide cheating material to their children. Due to pressures from the family and severe economic crisis in their homes, the children feel forced to carry out evil acts solely for getting good grades. Children of highly-educated and affluent families also cheat as they don’t want to be bothered with studying hard … cheating is seen as a shortcut to getting good ranks.

It is the responsibility of the parents, teachers and society in general to boost the self-confidence of students and make them realise the importance of gaining quality education. A morally, dedicated and enthusiastic student would not resort to evil means in order to pass the exams but try to understand the true meaning of the book, aim to gain knowledge and learn general awareness to lead a useful life.

Lastly, cheating in the examinations can be controlled through strict action. The superintendent of the examination centre should vigilantly observe suspicious students. If any unauthorised material is found, the culprits should be immediately kicked out of the centre so that they miss the entire year. Fines and a range of other penalties should be imposed. Suspension from the school or college will also help in reducing the rate of cheating. Law enforcing agencies must deploy their personnel at the centres to keep a strict eye on the negative activities taking place there.

It has also been suggested that the boards should immediately change the examination style by introducing concept-based questions. The questions must be set in a manner that puzzle even an intelligent student, hence involving greater concentration. This change in examination pattern will play a vital role in overcoming the problem of cheating, making the examination system higher in quality.

Thus a clean and fair examination system will arouse interest in the students regarding their subject to study with concentration and gain knowledge and ensure a secure future. The students this way will not get involved in anti-social activities which merely destroy their future, lower their self-esteem and deteriorate their behaviour and character.

Education for All: Need for quality-enhanced free education

By Sadia Wali

With half of Pakistan’s population living below the poverty line, the poor here take no interest in sending their children to school. Instead they let them take up low-paid menial jobs.

The Pakistan Social and Living standards Measurement (Pslm) Survey shows that at present 7.3 million children aged between five to nine years are out of school. The overall number of Pakistani children missing schools hovers around 20 million.

Children aged between five and 14 years hardly complete their education, while children aged 16 to 20 lose interest in acquiring professional education due to lack of resources to meet their education expenses. Furthermore, the mushroom growth of private schools has created problems for poor families since such education is too expensive for them.

To enhance the literacy rate in the country, the NGOs have suggested that the government should enforce article 25-A under the 18th Amendment in the country. This article obligates the state to provide free and compulsory quality education to the children in the age group of five to 16 years. The free education is to be provided by the federal and provincial governments.

The inclusion of this article in the constitution was a historical step. It opened the door for making elementary education completely free and compulsory and ensured that every child be provided with the fundamental right of acquiring good quality education. But as this constitutional provision is yet to be enforced (despite being part of the constitution), many poor families are deprived of free education.

Though the federal government has declared ‘Education for All’ its top priority, yet free education is still inaccessible to the common man because there is no action being taken on their plans.

It has been observed that the education budget has been increased manifold so that the provinces can meet the challenges effectively. Special federal grants have also been provided to the provinces, particularly for under-developed regions. A Basic Education Trust Fund has been established by the government and local philanthropists also contribute to the fund. The financial operations of this fund shall be properly audited to ensure that all donations are put to the right use. Other initiatives of the federal government include the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP). According to the BISP chairperson, three million non school going children of beneficiary families will be provided free education under the Waseela-e-Taleem programme this year.

But even with all the available funding mentioned, the bottom line results are still not satisfactory due of lack of effective planning.

Let’s now take a look at the initiatives taken at the provincial government level with respect to free education.

The provinces have the major responsibility of providing good quality free education. The Punjab Government has made some relentless efforts in providing modern education to deserving children without considering their economic status. The Danish Schools, established in the backward areas of the province are providing quality education to the children of farmers, cab drivers, cart pushers and poor families, free of cost. The Punjab Government ensures free distribution of course books and other necessary stationary items to the schools. Separate schools for boys and girls are established where highly-qualified local and foreign teachers are teaching very effectively. The provincial government is also providing vocational training to the poor and needy people. This training is being launched at the provincial level so that the youth can gain technical skills for getting employment.

The Government of Sindh has launched a major initiative called the Benazir Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Programme (BBSYDP). The project under this development programme (BBSYDP Technical Education Wing Sindh TEVTA phase 1V-2012) is offering unemployed youth with skill-development training and job-oriented certification to qualify for the local and international markets. Low-income families facing severe economic problems are benefitting since poor unemployed youth get both technical education and training from the same institution.

The Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) has been facilitating new approaches to learning and education and development opportunities to underprivileged people at the grassroots level. With financial support from the Department of Education and Literacy, Government of Sindh, the foundation has expanded its network to around 3,000 schools in the underserved areas of Sindh where quality education is provided free of cost.

The present government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has put its plan to provide free compulsory education up to the secondary level. The government at least needs 40 billion over the next four to five years to execute its plans. The required funds will be spent on the construction of new schools and distribution of free books among the students. The government aims to provide best educational facilities despite having limited resources.

Meanwhile, Balochistan today presents a dismal picture with hardly any province-wide literacy project. No one is guiding the government to make up for the lost time and start opening literacy centres. There is hardly any activity to spread literacy in the province, mainly due to the fact that there has been a net decrease in the financial allocation for education there. Out of these meagre allocations, not even 0.5 per cent is being spent on literacy programmes in the province.

In view of the above, the government should provide more funds for rapidly upgrading literacy programmes in the provinces, to meet the target of enhancing literacy rate in the country.

The NGOs are playing a pivotal role in providing free education in Pakistan. These organisations have motivated the poor families to enroll their children in schools. They have opened new schools and also renovated the old depleted ones in katchi abadis to accommodate a large number of children in the community. The World Bank, Unicef and other NGOs have an arrangement with the government to provide funds for the provision of uniforms, books and other stationary items to the needy students. Scholarships and loans are also given to these students to encourage them to acquire education.

To create awareness regarding the importance of education among people, a motivational campaign has been launched by political and religious leaders and social workers throughout the country. The role of the media cannot be undermined as a powerful medium which could help influence the government and society to pay due attention to this neglect.

Still despite the all the mentioned efforts, the literacy rate in our country is very low. The reasons for this have to be investigated and rectified. Consequently, the whole society and the concerned departments of the state are responsible for the provision of free and compulsory elementary education for all children. Furthermore, the Article 25-A of the Constitution needs to be enforced without discrimination. Neither the federal nor the provincial government has taken the required steps for its implementation so far, although the deadline set for it was June 2011.

An Article by Sadia Wali

Published by Daily Dawn on Aug 5, 2012

Teaching: Dearth of subject specialists in schools

By Sadia Wali

Published Oct 06, 2013 in Sunday Images

Teaching and learning determine the effectiveness of a teacher. Teaching is generally valued with academic research, behavioural analysis and judgment of students to involve them in authentic learning. The present vision of effective teaching is defined by analysing the behavioural patterns of the class and innovative teaching methodologies, which ensure delivering a vast knowledge of the subjects being taught to young students and is generally reflected by their improved grades.

The student’s learning mainly depends upon a teacher’s education, knowledge about the subject and way of teaching that subject. Over the past few years, it has been observed that the number of teachers with relevant subject qualification has declined in the schools. The shortages of subject specialists in Pakistani schools have led to an incompetent academic performance of the schools and non-professional teaching environment in classrooms.

In most schools, both primary and secondary level teachers are assigned to teach at least two subjects. The combination of subjects varies differently in schools, for instance English and History, Science and Computer, Urdu and Geography, Islamiat and Mathematics may be combined. The school management does not even bother to consider whether the concerned teacher has the knowledge and capability to teach the subject. Therefore it is most probable that the children are not being properly taught by the teacher who is not a subject specialist.

The blame goes to the school management, who at the time of selection, hire under-qualified and incompetent individuals on low salaries. Due to severe unemployment in the country most people opt to enter the profession of teaching. As a result, a majority of teachers in schools lack the teaching skills and motivational techniques to help students learn in a creative way.

According to the principal of a private school, their budget does not permit to have subject specialists at every level in the school.

During my visit to a private school, I was informed by the students of grade seven and eight that the subject of History was being taught to them by an Urdu teacher. They found their History period too boring and unexciting. The teacher came to the class unprepared, without lesson planning, and was unable to deliver the lecture clearly. Therefore, the students instead of attending the class found some other alternative to pass the time and engaged themselves in playing games.

I also observed that during the lecture the teachers do not captivate and stimulate pupils with exciting ideas. They ask them to read the topic while no introduction and discussion of the topic is done. The teacher writes question and answers on the blackboard. Students copy down the work having no understanding of what is been taught. Moreover, students are also assigned homework and written assignments but no teacher’s guidance and assistance is provided which could make their work interesting.

Parents agree that ineffective teaching affects the learning of the children. Students can not enhance their knowledge and learning from incompetent teachers. Thus, there is a risk of losing interest in their studies. Similarly, other parents said, “Someone who is a teacher of Mathematics might not feel comfortable with teaching the rules of grammar and punctuation in English language. This can only be done by an efficient and dedicated English teacher.”

A teacher while sharing her views said that during her 10-year teaching career, she taught different subjects at both primary and secondary levels. She believed that it really does not matter if the teacher is not subject qualified to teach certain topics. What matters is that the teacher can engage, entertain and inspire children to learn more. Only an outstanding teacher can engage children most effectively in any subject.

I believe that students at the primary level are more in need of subject-specialist teachers since early education is a particularly formative time for young children when they get inspired by the positive experiences and behaviour of the teachers, gain knowledge and develop interest in the subject. The basic skill of a child is groomed by someone who by applying innovative teaching methodologies increases a student’s love for the subject which they could take up for higher studies. Children who were taught by under-qualified teachers at the primary level faced great problems when they went on to secondary school. Inadequate conceptual understanding of the subject created more trouble since the teacher never emphasised to study the subject in depth. Due to ineffective teaching their learning remains stagnant.

As we see that education becomes more challenging for students at the secondary level, it is essential that the subject teachers have sound academic backgrounds and vast knowledge of their subjects. The teacher also plays a pivotal role by providing clear guidelines to the students regarding choosing the subject for their future education.

I still remember my English teacher in Grade VIII, the best teacher I have ever seen. Her teaching capabilities revolve around choosing creative techniques, which arouse thinking creatively in students and sorting their opinions. These strategies build up the learning skills of the children. While teaching English novels and plays and English Grammar, she made the environment of the classroom more exciting and interesting, the students filled with curiosity, and enthusiasm enjoyed and enhanced their speaking and writing skills. The boring novels or plays appear to be so attractive as we students began to feel that we had become a part of the dramatic scene.

Our schools desperately need outstanding subject specialists, possessing a sense of motivation and passion and quest of knowledge of not only improving their teaching expertise but also assist the students to explore new ways to enhance their learning process. The school management at the time of selection must conduct a teachers’ certification test. The multiple subject tests are designed to assess teaching capabilities of a teacher .These tests will assist in selecting those individuals who are eligible for the teaching profession and could teach the subject well. I also suggest that after selection of the teachers, teachers’ training courses must be conducted in the schools for assisting the teachers to use modern methodologies and motivational techniques to make their teaching more interactive.

The writer is a teacher.

sadiawali@hotmail.com

Neuro-linguistic programming: In sync with the world

By Sadia Wali

Published in Sunday Images Sept 2013

Created by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in California, USA, in the 1970s, Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is an approach to communication, personal development and psychotherapy. Its creators claim a connection between neurological processes (neuro) and language (linguistic).

The neurological system controls our body functions, while how we interact and communicate with other people is determined by language. To support this work, they developed a methodology that has come to be known as ‘modelling’. NLP modelling is unique in that way as it focuses on language patterns and how the interplay of mind and language affects body and behaviour.

NLP techniques specialise in working with children, as well as adults, who have specific learning difficulties or emotional or cognitive problems that interfere with their ability to learn in the traditional manner. These techniques help to find out how an individual thinks or how past experiences affect his beliefs, capabilities and hence learning. Through NPL training, successful learners are able to strengthen their visual processing abilities and develop confidence in their progress. NLP helps people to change their beliefs and give them strategies that create a positive personality.

A basic knowledge and understanding of the NLP approach helps teachers and mentors to understand the learning style of children in the classroom. Usually in schools, students are engaged in a fairly passive process of absorbing information either from the teacher or from books and then proving their ability to retain this information. Today, many schools and colleges have found that some of the strategies regarding managing behaviour of children and maintaining discipline in the classroom that worked well in the past are now ineffective.

Teaching today requires a new set of strategies to ensure effective learning for students and for teachers. NLP has now emerged as a valuable source of tools, techniques and skills that equip educational professionals with a wide range of strategies which they could use to discover their art of teaching, learn how to command, gain respect and attention from students, and communicate effectively with them. NLP studies recognise the importance of skills development of a teacher, particularly interpersonal and intrapersonal skills, positive classroom atmosphere and teacher’s expectations and challenge.

NLP’s practical applications include, developing strategies for both students and teachers, using the five senses as well as using the mind, emotions and body in order to communicate effectively in the classroom. The teacher should understand the child’s visual, auditory or kinaesthetic sense (an ability to be aware of muscular movement and position). The teacher’s response helps to enhance a child’s learning process and is also effectively helpful in reducing anxiety, stress and fear in children.

Children who continue to receive negative feedback from parents or teachers sooner or later begin to doubt their own capabilities. They perceive themselves as being ‘different’ or ‘weird’ and start to devalue school and learning.

Suffering from anxiety they have frightening thoughts leading to depression. Some children are terrified about going to school on the first day, or fear that their parents will not return to pick them up. A concerned mother says, “My daughter really gets nervous about starting secondary school. She doesn’t think she’ll make any friends.” Another child, just seven years of age, fears mathematics. She developed this idea that she couldn’t do maths and then found all her maths sums to be really hard to solve. Some children have exam stress or lack of confidence or low self-esteem caused by natural shyness or life experiences or phobias from mild fears to sheer terror.

There are several useful strategies that can be adopted in classrooms to bring improvement in the behaviour and cognitive skills of children. Teachers must understand the learning styles of children which is one of the keys to successful behaviour management. After comprehending the learning styles of all of the pupils in the classroom, the teacher should engage the students in interactive activities. She must use mind-mapping to teach them note-taking skills, essay-writing and other tasks. She should create strategies which boost children’s interest in learning spellings.

The kinaesthetic learning approaches assist teachers in teaching children how to control their emotions by using effective behaviour management strategies. These methodologies help develop wonderfully creative minds and teach children to enjoy learning, since a student’s emotional and mental state has a huge impact on his or her ability to learn.

A teacher says, “We would like the children to know these useful strategies early in life. Some learn quickly and easily as they have been encouraged by their teachers and parents at home while others need support from teachers to overcome their psychological problems and enhance their learning capabilities.

“Learning NLP is different because it is about what you can do rather than what you know. The strategies are helpful for teachers in various aspects — self-management, presentation skills, use of language for precise communication, study skills, classroom management and learning about child behaviour.”

Similarly, an NLP trainer says, “Empowerment, flexibility, and sense of worth are key concepts. We need to empower students for them to be able to learn and adapt within a rapidly-changing world, and to appreciate his or her valuable contribution to society.”

Another teacher adds, “I also coach students on motivation, methodology and handling personal issues when needed. In that respect, NLP is also very useful for active listening since it helps to focus on verbal and non-verbal signs.”

Meanwhile, one teacher shares her experience of how she used to teach under stress and how it affected her own behaviour. “When under stress or pressure myself, I have noticed that I used to get so confused that I couldn’t communicate well with my students and effectively deliver the lecture. This led to disciplinary problems in the classroom as well.” But after taking help from NLP teaching methods, she felt a positive change in herself. “It has helped me to become a competent teacher and develop a clearer vision of values in life.”

NLP is a field of practice and innovation with a wide range of tools and techniques that learners and professional educators can apply within both formal and informal educational settings, boost their learning and develop a positive personality.

The writer is a research fellow at Educational Resource Development Centre.

sadiawali@hotmail.com

Bring life to learning and learning to life

 written by Sadia Wali

Children are naturally inventive so they do not have to be taught to be creative. Perhaps they need guidance; motivation and inspiration to boost up their creativity .Hence Research, design, and evaluation provide the opportunity to young children to enhance their intellectual learning. The concept of research development as fundamental to educational change is not yet accepted by our educational institutions as many schools still believe in traditional teaching methodologies. Let us first understand what educational research is? Education research is a field of inquiry, the systematic generation of new knowledge, development of new ideas and experiment with new techniques. Clear open-minded questions calls for real research and thinking and gives way of evaluating answers. It aims at advancing knowledge of education and learning processes and development to others.

 Teachers’ learning and professional development is not valued very highly in Pakistan. They are merely trained as classroom teachers. The research- based teacher training culture is hardly seen in Pakistani schools.  Research culture has made its way into higher educational institutes, but not in schools. School heads and Principals just expect teachers to teach their students not to lead them. Teachers are required to teach the syllabus prescribed by school. They are not encouraged to experiment with new innovative approaches of teaching. If anyone who shares a new idea from a book or design creative activities for students he is criticized. In such schools, positive views of professional learning are countercultural. Due to negative and unsupportive attitude of the school management, teachers do not bother to take interest in research and are compelled to use traditional teaching methods.  Thus, negative teaching culture has seriously impaired learning skills of teachers.

To respond to these challenges, many educationists have confusion and constraints in their minds how can they make school research oriented?  What goals and strategies to be adopted to create research learning environment in the schools?

Today, mostly schools are using research culture in their schools however they are not aware that their teaching methodologies are based on research. The teaching strategy used in classrooms is action research strategy. Action research involves three forms of research, Exploratory research, Evaluative and Experimental research. The teacher uses research element in developing the curriculum, content and activities. To make the classroom climate interactive, teacher uses teaching methods include group discussion, individual presentation, searching information from library and internet and creative writing tasks. The research projects introduced in classroom helps to explore student learning strategy and also strengthen student-teacher relationship.

 To promote teacher as a researcher and a proactive learner, work place learning i.e. school is considered as essential element in enhancing the professional development of teachers. The work place must create continuous learning opportunities for teachers and encourage them to reflect and experiment with the new ideas or new skills in classroom practice. Many teachers believe that they learn most effectively from the judgment and perception of their students in the classroom. The important source of learning for teachers is co-operative learning in which teachers collaborate their new ideas and modern teaching methods with their colleagues.

 Some schools are following Observation and assessment approach which is also beneficial for enhancing teacher professional development. This includes peer coaching and teacher evaluation which encourage teachers to improve their professional competencies. The teacher as a person and learner has to develop skills, qualities and attitudes such as commitment, confidence and flexibility, passion for learning, analytic and conceptual thinking to enhance his professional skills.

The unifying purpose of stimulating education research in children is to give them an inspiring vision. The curriculum, modes of instruction, assessments and learning opportunities should be clearly linked with natural environment, and developed to cater the needs and interests of the students. The first hand experience in a child’s education comes from nature. Dienes (1969) suggests that children need to build or construct their own concepts from within rather than having those concepts imposed upon them. This means that children at very young age are inquisitive about their surroundings and have a desire to explore them. It is the responsibility of teachers to let children explore, think and question. The questions formed in mind enhance learning and intellectual capabilities of young children.

 The present scenario implies that change of culture in schools empowers teachers, students and communities to collectively work for a change. Research and development has great significance in shaping learning communities. The first step to raise awareness among teachers and parents regarding bringing a meaningful change in our education system is the collective acceptance of rethinking schooling. Workshops, seminar and other training sessions provide a platform to teachers and educationists to collectively think about redefining their goals and objectives. Having same vision in mind, an educational institution organized   a seminar which focused on enhancing research culture in schools. The guest speakers in the seminar talked about the significance of research in teaching and learning and ponder over various reasons which are causing hindrance in increasing research skills among teachers and students.

 The focal point of the seminar was to emphasize a radical change in education system. The change has been centered on the need for schools to create an environment which is conducive to promoting research skills in teachers and students. We need to provide the learners with a fundamental precept of Islamic education integrated with Islamic tarbiyah. An eminent Muslim political thinker Al-Mauwardi in his book entitled “ The leadership and Politics” writes that the essential characteristic  for a Muslim educator is to have knowledge, Perception, Intellect, Intuition and Revelation which enhances research skills in teachers and students. Ibn Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah  said: "To gain knowledge and research in children an educator should encourage children to be creative and inquisitive and ask questions. Children should remain quiet and listen attentively and understand well. And lastly act upon the knowledge being gained.

The seminar outlined the fact there is a general consensus that schools need to adopt research teaching approaches but this process of change is still a big challenge for various schools who still believe in unreflective and conventional teaching methods. Radical change in education is impossible unless education leaders critically analyses and understand the goals and objectives of research in educational development. Research element reveals that transmission-of-knowledge, values and beliefs into classroom practices offers multiple opportunities for students and teachers to improve their effectiveness and efficiency.

The writer is a research fellow at ERDC.