The Project - Best practices to engage Indian math classrooms

At three JNV schools, and a regional gathering of students, I had the opportunity to teach demo lessons. My best practices have evolved over my career; currently, my big question is how to balance content knowledge with conceptual understanding. In addition to teaching content, like formulas, I look for activities for students to engage in NCTM's Strategies for Mathematical Thinking. These have included strategies like 3-Act Tasks, Which One Doesn't Belong, Open Middle, Estimation180, and the powerful Desmos Activities.

I demoed some of these strategies for students, and not surprisingly they went well. In talking to mathematics teachers, they also were impressed with the level of engagement, and strategic thinking required of students. I ran a short workshop with a few JNV-Mahe teachers on these strategies; many of them were excited to learn more.

So, the project that I have been working to develop includes a training of teachers on these types of practices within the JNV network of 600+ boarding schools. Rathnakaran K.O., principal of JNV-Mahe has already dones some trainings on Desmos, and is excited to be doing more. I also connected with Dr. Usha Kamari, principal of JNV-Jaffapur outside of Dehli, whose teachers were also eager to learn more.

The challenges for Indian teachers to adopt these practices are surprisingly similar to what American teachers face. There is a lot of content to "cover," and sometimes these activities can feel less important. Indian teachers have to prepare their students for high stakes tests at the end of each year, with Grade 10 and 12 being exams that can have significant impact on their futures. Resources can also be variable, with some schools having great tech resources, and others having none. However, I am optimistic about this program through the JNV network for two reasons: first, these are boarding schools, students and teachers already regularly have extended classes in the afternoon. Essentially, JNV schools are ready for flipped classrooms. Secondly, each of the 600+ JNV schools have at least one Samsung Smart Classroom. Even two years ago, they were working well enough for Gurpreet and I to have a cross-cultural exchange between his school, and mine.

Our next steps are for me and Rathnankaran to work out the details of how this training of teachers, or training of trainers will work logistically. We're thinking about starting it as a pilot project within the schools that we've made connections, and, then approach the broader JNV network to expand. As Fulbright Alumnus, we have access to grant funding which should help to more the project forward. Stay tuned to find out how it all works!