As there are subject-wise resource persons in the State, how should we use the data to arrive at what each subject needs to do and what needs to be done commonly by all?
To plan for the generic and subject specific training we look at student level indicators like student achievement scores or teacher level indicators like qualification and experience data. For example, questions like,
- Which subject teachers are scarce? Check the UDISE+ data on teacher qualification and subject taught. If data shows, for example, that social science teachers are allocated English, you would need to train them to do so.
- What learning gaps exist? Check NAS/SLAS data to find out learning gaps and see if the gaps are due to generic issues for example, due to lack in language for academic proficiency or subject specific for example, lack of incompatibility of concepts between whole numbers and decimals lead to problems in understanding decimals. This will tell you what needs to be done as common for all teachers, and what should be done separately for the concerned subjects.
- What is the level of experience of the teachers? Teachers with varying levels of experience will require appropriate training.
As you can see, we restrict ourselves to student achievement and teacher characteristic data. In such a situation, training programmes focus on ‘coverage of topics’ rather than what the teacher will do differently after the training. We need to define performance standards. To define what the teacher is expected to do, assess the gap between desired and existing performance of teachers and state resource groups and give generic and subject specific inputs. One example of performance standards for trainers and teachers for improving student learning is given below:
| Trainer | Teacher |
|---|---|
| Generates learning experiences for trainees Relates training to the classroom Plays the role of a facilitator Transacts and Interacts | Generates learning experiences for students Relates learning to the daily life of the student Plays the role of a facilitator Transacts and Interacts |
You can get to know more about performance standards in NPSTand ADEPTS.