Roles reversed: CBSE students teach learning system to parents

It was a day when students became teachers, and parents turned into students at RN Podar High School, Santa Cruz. In a bid to introduce parents to the new system of learning under the newly launched Continuous Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) of the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), the school let students take the lead.

In the CCE, students will be taught through experiential learning (practical projects, research work etc.) to increase their concept clarification process. “The new generation is going to be taught in a different manner. Since parents are familiar with the chalk and blackboard teaching, they can’t relate to their children and help them during exams, project works etc.,” said Avnita Bir, the school’s principal.

Through these sessions, students are provided with a specific topic by teachers. They have to research and come up with an experiment or project which uses the concepts taught. “This project is then demonstrated to parents by the children. For instance, class VIII students have built a telescope by applying the concepts they learnt in Physics in the Refraction of Light chapter. By practically implementing the theory, they were able to grasp the basics,” said Bir.

For Upasana Walia, the process was unfamiliar. “My son was spending more time on building the telescope than studying. I could not understand the significance of his project. After the session, I knew that he has applied his theoretical knowledge to develop the telescope,” she said.

Another parent who attended the demonstration of a fire-fighting robot by her son felt she was now better equipped to understand the method. “I remember reading about circuits and electricity in school. But now, I feel better prepared to help him with his project work,” said Shivani Madan, parent of a class VII student.