A lesson in fun

AK Shaji,Jodo Gyan Educational Services is taking the concept of learn-while-you-play to a new level.

The kendra run by Jodo Gyan is divided into groups and the students here are those who dropped out of government schools or never went to formal school. At the kendra,they learn concepts through interactions with their immediate environment. The classroom tables,for instance,becomes an exercise in measurement and decision making.

A self- funded organisation with 52 members,Jodo Gyan,develops educational curriculum as well as teaching learning material that allows students to learn mathematical and scientific concepts though games and toys. Many of the members are residents of Shakurpur and the students of the kendra are completely involved in the day-to-day decisions on studies in the school. The teaching learning material is manufactured at two production centres in Shakurpur.

“We wanted to design a system which could bridge the gap between education and socio-economic status,” says Menon. Using stories and toys such as a string of beads for counting,additions and subtraction,different shapes for learning colours,angles and fractions,straw toys and small microscopes,the focus is on letting children understand concepts instead of memorising them.

“The ultimate objective of education is democratic reasoning,” says AK Shaji. “We are training our students to understand and question as opposed to learn by rote” he adds.

The organisation provides material,training and support to several schools in the city. The Heritage school chain uses the curriculum and teaching methods developed by Jodo Gyan in their primary classes and St Mary’s School in Safdarjung also uses their products for their special needs students.

Jodo Gyan also runs a resource center at Jia Sarai,near IIT,where workshops for teachers are held.

For more information,go to http://www.jodogyan.org