The School has well structured planning for the new academic session with activities included in the main course of study to focus on all round development of each student as per the CBSE guidelines.

GNANA VIDYA MANDIR follows  CBSE curriculum with special emphasis on child centric education where children will be

• ➤ Nurtured to think
• ➤ Allowed to question,
• ➤ Prepared to debate,
• ➤ Encouraged to analyze and
• ➤ Rejoice in their findings

 

 Support Classroom Teachers for implementing the curriculum

 LEARNING TARGETS

Each subject can be broken down into a number of modules. For example, perceptual training and motor co-ordination are essential modules in the subject of Perceptual Motor Training.

It will be more beneficial to the children if these learning targets are defined in terms of different types of outcome such as skills, behaviour, knowledge, attitudes, values and interests.

STEPS FOR PLANNING LEARNING TARGETS

The teacher should plan the learning targets that make up the modules in the following four basic steps:

Specifying Learning Targets in Behavioural Terms

All learning targets should be expressed in observable behaviour or skills. For example, when instructed, the children are to button up their shirts with six buttons for four times. Each learning target in its written form should contain the following elements :

1. Target Behaviour ─ This is the behaviour that the children are expected to achieve after learning or mastering the target.
2. Pre-requisite Skills ─ These are the basic skills that the children should have mastered before learning other more difficult
3. Instruction and Materials Required ─ This refers to the instruction and materials required for teaching. The conditions under which the instruction should be given may sometimes be
4. Criteria of Success ─ This refers to the number of successful performances of a target skill required out of a fixed number of attempts before the target skill is considered to have been mastered by the children.

Setting Teaching Priorities

A very important part of curriculum implementation is that the teacher should consider carefully the order in which learning targets should be learnt. It is logical to  put learning targets requiring lower level skills before those requiring higher level skills,  for example, teaching the children to draw lines before teaching them to write. In some cases, the targets themselves may form a definite sequence or hierarchy when the skills actually come in a continuous or chained sequence, for example, putting on a shirt and buttoning it up. Some higher level targets can be learnt more quickly after the pre- requisite skills have been mastered. For example, learning to write will become easier when eye-hand co-ordination skill has been acquired. It follows that unrelated targets can be learnt in any order.

 Specifying  Baseline Assessment Procedures

This is the specification of the procedures to identify the current skill level or the pre- requisite skills of the children. The assessment enables the teacher to know whether or not the children have acquired the pre-requisite skills required for learning the target.

Procedures for Writing Programmes to Teach Target Skills

With the pre-requisite skills of the children known, the teacher can then design learning materials to help them achieve the target skills. The learning materials should be designed in small steps and in order of difficulty. The teacher should choose the appropriate step for the children according to their pre-requisite skills, so as to bridge the gap between their pre-requisite skills and the target skills.

TEACHING APPROACHES 

To teach target skills effectively, the following teaching approaches are suggested :

Modelling

Children learn by imitating other people’s behaviour. Modelling therefore underlies most of the learning activities. The teacher can either demonstrate the behaviour to be learnt or point out the target behaviour performed by other children and encourage the children to imitate it.

Task Analysis

Task analysis is a way to break down target skills into smaller steps according to the children’s abilities and learning needs. The teacher can then teach the steps in a planned sequence. Task analysis should be used with flexibility to help the children with further difficulties in learning the planned steps. Once the difficulty is overcome, the original teaching steps can be resumed until the target skill is achieved.

Chaining

This means breaking down a target skill into a series of steps to describe the action to  be performed in sequence. The sequence can be written in a forward or backward order, depending on the nature of the target skill to be learnt. For example, most dressing and undressing skills can be taught by chaining. The more effective approach to teach dressing skills is backward chaining because this would ensure that the children will be able to complete the task. Forward chaining would be more appropriate in teaching target skills such as operating a washing machine or writing one’s own name.

Discrimination Learning

When the target skill to be learnt involves choosing the right answer, discrimination learning is a more effective approach. For example, a child is given several choices (including some distractors) from which to pick out the correct answer. In this approach, it is necessary to control both the characteristics and the number of the distractors used. At the initial stage, the difference between the distractors and the target choice  should be as great as possible and the number of distractors used should be as small as possible. That means the strength of the distractors should be low (e.g. a circle and a big square, then a circle and a square, and finally a circle and an eclipse). As the child begins to master the initial step, the number of distractors used can be increased gradually.

Information Gathering

Children may sometimes lack the information required to analyse the problems they encounter. The teacher should teach them to gather relevant information from various sources, e.g. teachers, parents, newspapers or the library and help them develop a more objective and systematic way to deal with problems. Activities, such as organizing a birthday party or a picnic, would help the children understand the procedures of information gathering and its importance.

Induction

This is an approach to help the children form a holistic concept from the characteristics of different things. The children are thus trained to observe the various characteristics  of things –their similarities, differences as well as relationships and then exercise induction.

Discussion

This approach is often used in group teaching. Through discussions, the children learn to look into problems and are thus motivated to think. Through discussions, they express their own views and at the same time listen to other children’s views, so that they can review their own. The teacher needs to ensure that each child is given equal opportunity to participate in discussions. Thus, discussions can promote greater interaction among the children. More important still, they help the children to realise  the importance of accepting other people’s views while expressing their own.

 

KINDER GARTEN:

The Children are taught spoken English and Numerals. Talents in the fields of Art, Craft, Music, Singing and Dramatics are developed. To improve the psychomotor domain, children are exposed to various activities such as plasticine moulding, paper folding, fitting block to insects etc. The foundation for good handwriting is laid here. The child is exposed to the experience of interacting in a peer group.

PRIMARY SECTION : I TO V                                                                                         

These sections help the children to develop their all-round personality. In the classroom, the child is encouraged to understand rather than to memorize, to enjoy learning, to think independently and logically and to develop good study habits. The subjects taught include English, Hindi, Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Science, Social Science, Computer Science, Moral Science, etc.

SENIOR SECTION : VI TO X

At this level, students are prepared for higher learning. Here the emphasis is laid on providing a strong foundation in subjects such as English, Hindi, Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Science, Social Science, Computer Science, Moral Science, etc. with strong focus for the competitive examinations with curriculum designed as per the guidelines from C.B.S.E. for Seconday School.

SENIOR SECONDARY SECTION:XI  & XII.

The syllabus is in accordance with CBSE guidelines. The school offers Science stream in classes XI from session 2018-19. Students will be prepared regularly for CBSE exams by concentrating on the prescribed CBSE syllabus, assignment booklets and monitoring programs. Opportunities are provided at every level to the students for the exercise of their reflective powers, artistic abilities and practical work.

Courses offered: Courses have been devised with the aim that students can take their secondary and Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination according to CBSE pattern of Education. Options available for students of XI and XII:-

(a) Engineering Group: – English, Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics, Computer Science, 6th Subject – Health and Physical Education.

(b) Medical Group Compulsory Subjects:- English, Physics, Chemistry and Biology, Mathematics or Computer Science. 6th Subject – Health and Physical Education.

Careers:

The School Library which provides latest information about the various competitive examinations and admission to Institutions of higher learning.