Preparation of Curricular Material

During our fourth semester, we were to design and prepare a curricular material using the digital platforms. As the pandemic situation drastically changed the course of works to be completed, the preparation of the curricular material was shifted to the third semester. We were to create a unit of an English textbook for high school students comprising of one prose lesson and poetry lesson and its associated activities.

I chose to prepare a curricular material for the 9th graders. The theme I had in mind was the transition from traditions to modernity. I titled the unit as Of Traditions and lore's. The chapters I included in it are the short story  The Missing Mail by R. K. Narayan and the poem Freedom by Rabindranath Tagore.

English Course book Grade 9 

E-Content on Letter Writing

One of the most frequent discourse assignments given to students are of letter writing; both formal and informal. As students are quite familiar with the formats of letter writing by now, I thought of creating a content that would detail them on the components of a complete letter. 

Letter Writing

E-Content on The Scholarship Jacket

On creating the e-content on a poetry lesson I was enthusiastic in creating one for a prose lesson as well. But then I was confronted with a number of challenges. Primarily, the duration of each slide was a bare minimum and the reading of the text was not possible in such a short duration. So I resorted to our oldest pal, Google Slides. 

E-Content on A Prayer in Spring

As our teaching practice was online, we had done a considerable number of experiments on creating presentations both in MS PowerPoint  and Google Slides. After venturing into the possibilities of whiteboard animations, I had begun thinking on creating one for teaching a poetry lesson. It was quite tricky to limit the explanation part of the stanza within the time limit permitted in the application. I certainly have to improve quite a lot in improving the functionality of y content creation. However, I'm happy with my maiden attempt. 

A Prayer in Spring

Quelle Nouille!

On December 7th while we were all submerged and drained by our record works, our college gave us a session by Nestle. It was a delectable experience for our minds. The session was coordinated by Mr Arun Kumar, PRO, Nestle and Mr. Abhijit and demonstrated by Ms Sera Paul Thengungal, Culinary Consultant, Nestle. 

 Ms. Sera Paul treating our eyes with her amazing recipes... 

Coconut rice... 

Chocolate cake!

Our classmate Nanda delivering the vote of thanks...

E-content on Synonyms and Antonyms

I have always thought about creating content that will be useful in enriching the vocabulary in students. The challenge in doing so is that unless they are introduced words associated with their previous knowledge, retention of the same would be less. So here I have attempted in creating a short content that would familiarize students on certain words and their probable synonyms and antonyms. 

Synonyms and Antonyms

E- Content on Gender in Nouns

Gender in nouns is a concept that most of the students get wrong. They often confuse in the ways in which they are derived. So I decided to create a short e-content on gender in nouns so that students could understand it better in an amusing way.

Gender in Nouns

Teaching Practice (Online) - Week 4

The first week of online teaching practice had made us quite confident and by the second week (30 November to 4 December) online teaching had become our new normal. As I had gone to the school to take classes, network issues were not much of an issue for me. However, on the second day, I had some issues as the data cable got disconnected for a while. 

In the second week along with our routine classes we had to take session to conduct School-based activity, Achievement test and Diagnostic test. For a change, to relive they students of the regular boredom of test papers, I had set the same questions in the form of a game using the educational gaming platform Kahoot. I was overwhelmed on learning that the students enjoyed it. 

World AIDS Day 2020

On December 1st our college organized a resource class on the significance of having AIDS awareness in student teachers. The resource person of the program was Dr Sobha Mathew, Branch Manager, Family Planning Association of India. Ms Mathew held a very engaging and interactive session on the history and development of the AIDS prohibition and its containment in India.

A few screenshots of the session..

Teaching Practice (Online)- Week 3

After a long wait, we had our teaching practice with students scheduled from 23rd November to 4th December. I had received the opportunity to carryout my teaching practice at Christ Nagar Senior Secondary School, Thiruvallam. It was indeed that much awaited opportunity to take class for students. Though we had it online, we were happy at the fact that we could take live classes. 

I was assigned to the classes 8H, 7G and 6G. The principal of the school was very kind enough to provide us with the schools G-suite login so that we could feel one with the institution and take classes in a hassle free manner. 

In the first week I had 5 classes, two each for the 8th and 7th graders and one for the 6th graders. For the 8th graders we were given the lesson Princess September , for 7th graders Quality and for the 6th graders, Fair Play.

Innovative techniques for marking attendance.. by asking them to smile for a picture!

Teaching Practice (Peer Teaching) Week 2

After having completed one week of teaching practice, all of us had become aware of our shortcomings and were working hard on overcoming them. For the second week our teacher Ms Prabhitha had shuffled our groups and made us work with another set of students. My peer group consisted of Athira Sreekumar, Awani, Annie and Feba.

Day 6 (9/11/20)

I continued with the prose lesson. As instructed by my teachers, I had resorted to occasional code-switching. I had looked up the Malayalam terms of the glossary section and used them while explanation so that the students could relate better.

Day 7 (10/11/20)

I was extremely happy after todays session. I had incorporated a lot of inputs of my teachers. I feel that my class is getting honed everyday. I still have to work on my pace of speaking and slow down a bit. 

Day 8 (11/11/20)

The activity I took today was enjoyed greatly by my peers. They reflected that they were able to recall the lesson well through it. With all the positives being said, I still have to reduce my pace of delivery. 

Day 9 (12/11/20)

As I was unwell yesterday, I wasn't able to prepare a solid lesson plan. I was quite nervous on how I would take the class. But as I was very thorough with the story, I could manage it without much difficulty.

Day 10 (13/11/20)

I was contended at the end of todays class. Throughout the course of the two week I had received several suggestions from teachers on how to improve various aspects of my teaching practice and was able to rectify them as much as possible. 

Teaching Practice (Peer Teaching) Week 1

Our teaching practice was destined to have its beginning via online platforms. We were all anxious about our teaching practice as the pandemic had brought considerable delay to the academics. However, though online we got the opportunity to have our teaching practice by November 2.

Day 1 (2/11/20)

The first practice of the session had to be a shared one, so myself, Keerthi and Reshma took the lesson Song of a Dream by Sarojini Naidu. We only got 10 mins each to complete our portions. I had taken the first two stanzas of the poem. First day of our practice went well. 

Day 2 (3/11/20)

On the second day we began our individual practice. I began with the poem A Prayer in Spring by Robert Frost. I was quite relaxed today when compared to the first day. I had made a mistake while displaying the picture of the stanza. Thankfully I was able to spot it quickly and rectify it. I felt sad about making the mistake. 

Day 3 (4/11/20)

By today the teaching practice had become the new normal. Todays session was the most difficult session I had taken. Due to technical issues I could not hear the responses of my pupils (peers). Teaching seemed very difficult as a one-man speaking process. 

Day 4 (5/11/20)

I felt quite confident in todays class. It was perhaps the emergency management practice of the previous day that made me less anxious today. I had listed a couple of plans in case my initial procedures wouldn't work smoothly. I was able to complete the session well and I felt quite accomplished. 

Day 5 (6/11/20)

Today I began with a new prose lesson The Scholarship Jacket by Marta Salinas. When compared to the poetry lesson, the amount of preparation required for the prose lesson was quite immense. I am working on improving my volume and voice modulation as suggested by my peers and teachers. 

Peer Teaching Day 1!

On November 2, 2020 we began our very first session of online teaching practice. We began with peer teaching first. As we are 20 in number, our teacher Ms Prabhitha divided us into four groups of 5 members each wherein we would do our peer teaching. We began with a shared practice, with me, Reshma and Keerthi taking the first session on Sarojini Naidu's Song of a Dream. 

Then our friend Mary Jaya took a session on The Village Blacksmith. 

Self Reflection

I felt a bit anxious in the beginning as I worried of network issues. As we were to take class amongst our peers I felt quite relaxed and motivated. I was very conscious about sticking on to the 10mins allotted to me that many at times I just paused to check if I've exceeded. I found it very difficult to restrict myself to 10 mins as poems require quite sometime to be explained well and discussed. Over all, the day one experience was indeed good.  

Teaching Diaries!

The University of Kerala hinted that the teacher trainee students can begin the their teaching practice sessions in feasible ways. In the 3rd semester the student teachers are supposed to complete 40 days of teaching practice. As the reopening of schools seem uncertain, the university gave us the alternative of having the teaching practice among our peer, among a small group of school children etc in a virtual setting.  

Our college decided to begin our peer teaching from the 2nd of November.

E-Content for Conscientization

In semester III, we were to have our first phase of teaching practice during which we were to conduct an awareness class or a conscientization program on a topic related to health and nutrition or environment. As we were inconvenienced by the pandemic situation our teaching practice procedure was significantly altered and we had to have it online. Since the platform was changed, we resorted on creating an e-content for the purpose of conscientization. 

I chose a topic that I thought was very much relatable to the students and one that should be dealt with immediate effect i.e, Plastic Refill Pollution and Environmental Hazards.

Plastic Refill Pollution and Environmental Hazards

E-Content on Sentences

At the very beginning of the third semester we were hinted that we should be preparing an e-content. It was a very stifling assignment as we were all confused on what to do. We were all quite proficient in creating presentations and all but the thought that we had to do something different than those done earlier made things complicated. I had searched for a number of applications. Almost everyone was in a hunt for an application that would help them to create basic animations without any knowledge on coding. But the main problem that came to my mind was that as we were to create content for the high school students they must not get bored by it. Finally, the best option that I could think of was whiteboard animations. It is indeed a good platform in which teachers can render concept in an interesting way. The option of voice-recording almost gives the content the quality of a real-time class. 

My maiden attempt on e-content development, on the topic Sentences

Sentences

Eureka 2020!

On the 9th of October, the Peet Memorial Training College, Mavelikkara for the first time ever, organized an all- Kerala quiz competition Eureka 2020. It was conducted through the online quiz platform Kahoot. The initial round was conducted through kahoot and those students who would qualify in it would be chosen for the live online rounds. 

A few snaps from the event...

The kahoot ranklist...

Participation certificate...

To Emotopia on World Mental Health Day!

In association to the World Mental Health Day, the research wing of MTTC organized a talk on the importance of emotional intelligence among teachers, The Journey towards Emotopia: Emotional Intelligence for Teachers. The resource person for the day was Dr. Velayudhan Nair, Assoicate Professor, Peet Memorial Training College, Mavelikkara. 

Velayudhan sir literally took us to emotopia with his mesmerizing voice and picturesque presentation. 

He began by stating the requisites of an ideal teacher...

Sir briefed on the Daniel Goleman classification of EI skills...

Sir elaborated on the broad classification of emotions....

Sir then spoke on the particular importance of the current generation teachers in being well equipped with EI skills as we are going to be interacting with the Gen Y learners...

Velayudhan sir gracefully concluded the session by stating that the best of teachers, teach from heart and not from the book alone.

Certificate of participation...

Gandhi Jayanthi Celebration 2020

Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated on October 2 every year to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. It is observed across states and territories in India, and is one of the officially declared national holidays. 

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi or Mahatma Gandhi was born on October 2, 1869, in Porbandar, Gujarat. This year will mark Gandhi’s 151st birth anniversary. On this day, people celebrate with prayer services, commemorative ceremonies and cultural events that are held in colleges, local government institutions and socio-political institutions.

Last year we had observed a cleaning day on Gandhi jayanthi. This year as the pandemic scenario forbade us from gathering together, our teachers decided to give us a theme presentation on the important themes on Gandhian studies.

Ms Preetha presenting on the theme Gandhiji and Cleanliness...

Ms Sushama presenting on the theme Gandhiji and Basic Education...

Ms Uma Jyothi presenting on the theme Gandhiji and Swadeshi Movement...

Ms Chinju presenting on the theme Gandhiji and Fasting...

Ms Soumya shared with us several interesting facts on Gandhiji's life and experiences... 

Ms Prabhitha presenting on the topic Relevance of Gandhiji in the present day...

Ms Sreekutty presenting on the topic Gandhiji and Sarvodaya...

Towards the end of the session, our Principal, Ms Geetha spoke to us on the need for commemorating Gandhi and his thoughts, in the present day life. She also spoke on the grounds on which Gandhi and his thoughts were criticized on several instances and concluded by saying that the criticisms after all can never nullify the good, Gandhi had gifted to mankind. 

Red Ribbon Club Awareness

Red Ribbon Club is a movement started by the Government of India in schools and colleges through which, students will spread awareness over HIV / AIDS. It envisages to instill charity mind among all the students to extend their able help towards developing healthy life styles, donating blood to all the needy by promotion of Regular voluntary blood donation.

In collaboration with the officials of the Red Ribbon Club, our college management conducted a session for us on the importance of voluntary blood donation. The class was taken by our teacher Ms Sreekutty Aravind. She gave us the basic idea of blood donation and the practices involved in it and most importantly its significance. 

Ms Sreekutty delivering the session..

Ms Sreekutty reinstated the mandates that ought to be followed while considering blood donation..

She repeatedly informed us on these facts...