State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT)
Government of NCT of Delhi

SCERT: INSERVICE TEACHER TRAINING

SCERT Delhi, an autonomous organization under the GNCT Delhi, is entrusted with the responsibility of providing academic resource support to the Directorate of Education and the Education Department of MCD, DCB and NDMC, so as to achieve the overall improvement in the quality of School Education.

Under the aegis of SCERT, nine DIETs approximately one in each district, are functioning to provide academic resource support and Pre-Service and In-Service Education for teachers at the primary level. SCERT has made significant contributions and has been performing pioneering roles in the area of school education in general and teacher education in particular in both Pre-Service and In Service Education of teachers and also by providing academic support to the Department of Education, GNCT of Delhi in formulation of policies and planning procedures.

INSET PROGRAMME

SCERT is entrusted with the responsibility of providing quality in-service training to Delhi Government school teachers. It has the mandate to train and build the capacity of teachers and support it with curriculum and training module development. The NEP also recommends continuous professional development of teachers for self improvement to learn the latest innovations and advances in the teaching profession. To fill this gap of moving from subject based training to new approach of training interventions, competency based modules have been recommended to SCERT Programme Advisory Committee (PAC) 2021/22. A needs analysis was carried out to gauge the needs of the teachers and arrive at the final competency based modules.

BACKGROUND

The main idea of needs based training modules for INSET training emerged from a pilot field visit carried out in a few Delhi government schools to understand the needs of teachers with respect to SCERT teacher training. This was followed by a rigorous process of needs analysis, encompassing focus group discussions (FGDs) and interviews with Mentor Teachers and google form responses from DOE teachers. The data triangulation of FGDs, interviews and google forms led to the development of a conclusive list embodying the needs for this year's INSET training program. Underpinning the needs analysis process was a competency framework developed through international research. The framework has been created based on three teacher competency frameworks namely: the Early Career Framework (ECF), Tripod 7Cs framework for effective teaching and the Skillful Teacher.

The needs arising from these two exercises saw a shift from previously organised subject centered training to competency based approach. In other words, there was a demand to build the teacher's professional capacity, strengthen their skill set to act as facilitators and enablers of learning. On the whole, provide training that will give them an expansive world-view towards new teaching practices and help gain new insights into classroom teaching.

To execute this plan of training Delhi Government teachers on competency based modules, specialists will be engaged to create and facilitate these modules. An expression of interest will be by SCERT to identify capable organizations and empanel them to conduct these trainings.

INSET TRAINING PROGRAMMES

Relationship Building in Online Classroom

25 champion trainers from SCERT and the 9 DIETS were selected and trained as the first level of the cascade model followed by 500 master trainers trained by the champion trainers who finally deliver the module to teachers. The instruments of thorough training, monitoring and feedback have been integrated into the INSET structure to ensure high quality learning outcomes for all educators.

Regular sessions with Champion trainers and programme partners are conducted for alignment towards INSET and to upgrade skills and competencies.

Overview of holistic and individualised Teacher support

To ensure all 80,000 educators receive a continuous source of holistic & individualized professional growth, a multi-support approach is used. Under this approach, each teacher experiences three interdependent components, i.e.Competency-based workshops, Self-Paced Learning Modules & Class room Coaching.

The Cascade model is a preferred model for teacher professional development as it reaches a large number of teachers while being time and cost-effective. To address the transmission loss reported in this model, the Udaan program has added layers of facilitation support, masterclass sessions and observation and feedback cycles for the 25 Champion Trainers & 435 Master Trainers, the core delivery agents of the program to 80,000 teachers. In doing so, the model builds capacity in trainers from all government institutions responsible for Delhi’s education system. This helps SEF ensure:

• Sustainability of such in-service training programs
• Agility to adapt training modules to reflect the ever changing contextual needs of teachers and realities of classrooms

The Deshbhakti Curriculum was launched in September 2021 to create an awareness in classrooms of what patriotism actually means. The curriculum follows a highly reflective and thought provoking approach such that students come up with their own idea of patriotism through chapters like ‘Who is a patriot?’, ‘My country is great but why is it not developed?’

Orientation and training for this program were conducted and it is currently being executed in classrooms.

The training for the dissemination of this curriculum follows a cascade model. The Champion trainers were oriented on the curriculum by the team that developed the curriculum. A Deshbhakti Coordinator was appointed from each school to train the teachers of each school and follow the progress in their respective schools. The focus during the orientation was on reflective practices in the classroom while keeping in mind the responsibilities of the students towards the nation.

MISSION BUNIYAAD

Mission Buniyaad, was launched by the Delhi government in April of 2018, as a scheme to help ensure that all children of Class 3 to Class 8 are able to at least read, write and do basic maths. The aim is to strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy with targeted intervention. The programme suggests different interventions in the classroom.The training will be for students from Grade 3-5 for Language and Mathematics.

• The programme aims to bridge the learning gap created during the pandemic for the students by focusing on foundational literacy and numeracy skills
• The program caters to the basic concepts/ competencies of Language and Maths.
• Before the training there will be a baseline assessment for both the subjects.
• On the basis of the assessment the students will be divided into two levels- Level 1 and 2.
• Every 15 days teachers will have to evaluate what level the students are at.

ENTREPRENEURSHIP MINDSET CURRICULUM

The Delhi government's Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum (EMC) aims to empower children to harness their talents and fulfil their dreams. The aim of Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum for children in 9th-12th grades to build an entrepreneurial acumen in children. One of the most important components under EMC is the Seed Money Project for students in 11th-12th grades.The Seed Money project will kick start the journey of our children, help in developing their business acumen and make them young entrepreneurs contributing to the nation. It aims to empower children to harness their talents and fulfil their dreams.

The Entrepreneurship Mindset curriculum has been revamped with respect to feedback. It considers breakdowns in class, alternate student responses and also has multiple ways of conducting mindfulness activities.The components of EMC are based on ‘inside classroom’ and ‘outside classroom’.

• ‘Inside classroom’ includes Mindfulness, Thematic Unit, Student Specials and Live Entrepreneurship Interactions (LEI)
• Mindfulness: Every EMC period begins with a mindfulness activity. Monday EMC periods are dedicated solely to mindfulness activities.
• Students Specials: These are student-led EMC sessions where they practice purposeful communication, constructive feedback,basic planning and timely execution.
• LEIs: An opportunity to listen to the ups and downs of the journey narrated by an entrepreneur, and interact with him/her by asking questions
• ‘Outside classroom’ includes Seed money projects (Business blaster) and Career Exploration.
• Seed money project (Business blaster): Students from 11th and 12th grade will get an immersive real world opportunity to practice and apply entrepreneurial abilities.
• Career Exploration/Interviews: Understanding various career paths by interviewing people about their experience

Looking Forward

The Delhi government has planned and implemented multiple programs in the last 5-6 years to bring about a change in the education system in Delhi. These include programmes such as the Happiness Curriculum, the Deshbhakti Curriculum, the Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum and Mission Buniyaad. While all of these initiatives are individually purposeful and heading towards their own separate objectives, the question becomes

‘How are these programmestogethermoving towards a unique vision of education transformation in Delhi?’

The aforementioned question leads to a deeper understanding of the onus of these initiatives on an individual teacher. All the programmes are to be either facilitated by the teachers in their classrooms or are aimed at upskilling the teachers themselves.

A possible way to align all programmes and structures is to align all teachers. That alignment is possible through training, policies and other support systems but the prior need is to tie everything together with one common framework: A Teacher Competency Framework.

The champion trainers have been assigned to different working groups that would help streamline the different aspects of the programme into one vision. These groups will work with the knowledge partners to disseminate all training in a holistic way.