Today we completed the five day state level training program in Bhubaneswar. The last two days of the workshop were very successful and we were able to see our participants in action.
Day four was devoted to presentations. Groups of participants were to present a strategy to the group, explain how the strategy works and demonstrate how they might use it in their class. We spent a great deal of time at the end of day three on what preparations they needed to make and the criteria for their presentations. Happily, our efforts paid off and we were treated to very good presentations from every group. Everyone had chosen a strategy and many had detailed descriptions of how they would use the strategy in their classroom. The fun part of the day was the introduction of a feedback model that focused on encouragement rather than telling the presenters what they should have done. After the first presentation was over I asked the participants what they thought they had done well and when I asked the audience to tell them what the presenters had done well I felt like I was playing whack-a-mole as I stopped person after person who popped up with their opinion of how the presentation might be improved or what they would have done differently. Soon they caught on and once they were in the groove of giving feedback on success it became more frequent and detailed. It’s amazing what happens when you shift a group of people from searching for deficits to searching for positives. This is not just an Indian thing – a deficit focus and mindset is alive and well in North America as well.
Our presentations finished early so we had time to teach a few more strategies. We successfully pulled off an inside outside circle (Murray feels vindicated – you can ask him when you see him) and the participants really enjoyed the strategy. We ended our day with a 3-2-1 exit pass and took the participants questions back to the hotel for answering the following day. It is interesting to note that their questions are the same as those being asked by Saskatchewan teachers – do these strategies work for all ages? Are these strategies the latest and best? How do I ask better questions? How can I best help students that struggle? What classroom management strategies are required for these strategies? How can I use these strategies with a multi-grade classroom? Many of their questions were about differentiated instruction as they have students of all ability levels in their classroom. These teachers believe that all students can learn and like all teachers are looking for ways to ensure that all students can grow.
Today we answered the questions from day four and then taught the group synectics, carousel brainstorm and did some future planning. The group did great with the synectics activities! They came up with wonderfully creative and funny comparisons and seemed to really enjoy the strategy. After a few tries, they also created some examples they would use in their classes. After that we used a carousel brainstorm to consolidate the week’s learning. It was a tad chaotic and Murray lost an entire group for a period of time, but in the end they did a great job of recalling the important points of what they had learned over the course of the week. The last activity was to have participants reflect on what they had learned and how they might take leadership roles in taking this information forward to their colleagues. It was heartening to see that almost all of them had detailed plans for how they were going to take this information forward. One fellow had written he was going to go back and run a five day program. I encouraged him to start with a half day. Five days for a beginning facilitator would be a disaster! Below, Dr. Singh and Murray are listening to a participant share his plan for how he will take this training back to his colleagues:
Just in case you wondering, I was working as well:
After the session was done the closing ceremonies began. We gave each participant a card and a postcard of Saskatoon in the winter. Then the speeches began – we all had to sit at the front and the Kumlau (general secretary), Dr. Singh, Murray, Tish, Deb, me, the president of the local, a teacher just back from an Education International conference, and Ram Pal Singh all spoke. Gifts were exchanged and certificates were distributed to the participants. The national news sent a camera to film us – I’ve never done a workshop that was worthy of national news! The closing ceremonies lasted about two hours, as they always do. It all just unfolds organically once the event is set in motion.
After the ceremonies we learned that the commissioner (minister) of education would like to meet with us, which we will do Thursday morning. She is very supportive of the work AIPTF is doing and seemed quite interested in the materials we had brought to share. It is good to know that we work we are doing is helping to raise the status of teachers in Orissa.
Lastly, here is a photo of a motorcycle repair shop that is directly behind the hotel where we were working. Basically, if you can secure about 100 square feet, you’re in business. There are little shops everywhere. The next photo is of a set of huts attached to the side of the motorcycle shop. If you look carefully, you can see people in the courtyard. These are people’s homes. In our terms, this would be like living in a hut in the alley behind one of our downtown hotels. We’ve seen at least three shanty villages in Bhubaneswar, where the poor are living in huts covered in corrugated steel. Thankfully, it does not get cold here.
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