Wednesday, March 17, 2021
Tuesday, March 9, 2021
Yoga Practice - Badhakonasana
Badhakonasana is popularly known as the Butterfly Pose and sometimes also as the Cobbler Pose. The yoga pose works wonders for the lower body, especially the thighs, knees, and groin. The easy-to-do, yet highly effective yoga posture calms your body, opens your hips and stretches your lower muscles. While it is extremely simple, the butterfly pose has a whole lot of benefits to its credit.
How To Do The Badhakonasana?
1. With a firm and straight spine, sit down on your Yoga Mat.
2. Adjoin the soles of both your feet by bending your knees and
also bring them closer towards the pelvis.
3. Hold both your feet tightly with your hands. Also, you may place
your hands below the feet for support.
4. Doing so, make a gentle effort to bring the heels a little
closer to the genitals.
5. Now, take a deep breath in. Slowly, breathing out and press the
thighs and knees down towards the floor.
6. Continue with the gentle effort to keep pressing them
downwards.
7. Breathing normally, start flapping both the legs up and down
like the wings of a butterfly. Keep breathing normally throughout the
process.
8. Start slow and gradually increase speed. Fly higher and higher,
as fast as you comfortably can.
9. Gradually, slow down and then stop. Take a deep breath in and as
you exhale, bend forward, keeping the chin up and spine erect.
10.Press your elbows on the thighs or on the knees, pushing the
knees and thighs closer to the floor.
11.Feel the stretch in the inner thighs and take long, deep
breaths, be aware and relax the muscles more and more.
12. Take a deep breath in and bring the torso up.
13.As you exhale, gently release the posture. Then, slowly straighten the legs out in front of you and relax.
Benefits of Badhakonasana
1) A good stretch for the inner thighs, groins and knees,
improving flexibility in the groin and hip region.
2) Helps in intestine and bowel movement.
3) Removes fatigue from
long hours of standing and walking.
4) Offers relief from menstrual discomfort and menopause symptoms.
5) Helps in smooth delivery if practiced regularly until
late pregnancy.
Contraindications
of the Butterfly Pose
If you are suffering from groin or knee injury, make sure you keep a blanket under the outer thighs for support. Do not perform this pose without blanket support. Also, sciatica patients should either completely avoid the pose or sit on a cushion to raise the hips. If you have any lower-back disorders, do the posture only while keeping the spine erect. Avoid rounding up the spine by bending forward.
Friday, March 5, 2021
Camp Day 5
Workshop on Community Productive Work- Mask making and distribution
Our classmate Awani took a session for us on mask
making. She detailed us on the exact measurements to take for making a medium
sized mask. She even gave us tips to get the stitching right. We were supposed
to make five masks each and distribute it to neighborhood homes.
We were happy to have this session as we could
contribute to the society. Mask has become an indispensable part of our lives
now and to contribute in that aspect was indeed the best community productive
work we could have.
The five day camp gifted us with innumerable
experiences and learning. It almost seemed as the dynamic side of all the
theories and ideas we learnt through the course of these two years. Each and
every activity we had be it; news reading, to tea distribution, to organizing
of cultural events gave us the insights on collaborative work and the magnitude
of its success when compared to monotonous decision making.
We all had divergent opinions as natural as it can
be but through the camp we acquired the temperament to sit together and work
out things in common consensus. That was indeed the best of development we
could reap.
Thursday, March 4, 2021
Camp Day 4
Session 1
Know
Thy Self by Mr. Rahul M V, Assistant Professor in
Education, GUCTE, Thycaud
The session by Mr Rahul was a peaceful one. He had a
very pleasant way of taking class and he began it by narrating his childhood
experiences and his unfathomable gratitude to his mother for making him the
person he is today. Mr. Rahul also spoke immensely about his teacher and a lot
of his neighbors who instilled humility and compassion. By quoting instances
from his personal experiences he made us reminiscent our life and reinstated on
the significance of being grounded. He made us do a lot of mind training
activities and constantly reminded us that it is essential that teachers remain
mindful and reflective of their practices.
The session by Mr Rahul was much needed as it
boosted our confidence. Through various instances he made us realize what all
we have overcome in life and positive thinking will always keep our sail flying
high.
Session
2
Mock Parliament
By 1:45pm the afternoon session began with the teachers briefing the students on the procedure of Mock Parliament. Ms Keerthi Chandran (Sapphire house) was selected as the Chief Minister, Ms Aswathy (Emerald house) as the speaker and Mr.Nibin Sekhar (Ruby house) as the leader of the opposition party. Both the teams had 10 members each. The points of discussion included the pros and cons of the administration during the pandemic scenario 2019, effective distribution of the Covid vaccine and the Kerala gold scam. After having a heated argument the leader of the opposition party walked out and the session was dissolved.
Cultural Activities Session (Emerald
House)
The session for exhibiting the cultural
events began by 2:30 pm. The emcee for the event was Ms Parvathy JS. The
members of the emerald house performed a number of individual and group events
that enthralled the audience.
Session
3
Campus Cleaning
By 3:20 pm the student teachers had the afternoon
reces
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
Camp Day 3
On the third day we had our recreational trip to
Green Tsavorite Farm Resort located at Varkala. We started from college by
9:15AM and reached the destination by 11AM. The owner of the farm Mr. Sudeep
Aby John had a crew ready to lead us throughout the day. Initially they served
us some ginger lime and biscuits. Then we had team building activities followed
by a treasure hunt. The treasure hunt was indeed a walk back to nature, as we
were to identify several plant species through it. A hunt through the 7 acre
farm left us parched and the cordial staff treated us with buttermilk and
spiced star fruit. Next we had adventure sports like rope gliding. By 1:30PM we
had a scrumptious lunch.
Post lunch we had kayaking and mud volley ball. The
mud volley was the best part of the day as our teachers too joined us.
The day was well spent and we had a good time
relaxing with nature. We got to spend a lot of quality time with our friends
and teachers and it was a wonderful experience.
Monday, March 1, 2021
Camp Day 1
Session 1
Inaugural Session by
Dr. Malini P M (Principal, KNM B.Ed College, Kanjiramkulam)
The session by Ms Malini seemed like a forerunner to
the camp. She made a theme presentation on the aspects of creativity in the
field of education and it’s far reaching impacts. Ms Malini spoke about the
rigidity and conformity that has been existent in the field of education like
any other systems and the inhibitions they pose to advancement. Ms Malini
reinstated on the core life skills and asked us to gauge its level of
implementation in our daily lives. She concluded the session by reminding the
student teachers the significance of being more patient, more tolerant and most
importantly about being open to new ideas.
The session by Ms Malini was really refreshing.
Though all she did was to brush up all our leaning of the past two years, she
made us realize the significance of all those learning that we received.
Session
2
SCAMPER Your Thoughts and Actions
Dr. Pramod, Assistant Professor in Education, Chinmaya Vidhyapeet, Ernakulam
The session by Mr. Pramod was an activity oriented interactive session that we thoroughly enjoyed. He gave us a set of riddles to solve and made us aware of the conformities we were clinging on to. He indirectly brought us to the point that conventional thinking is not always necessary. He channeled us through a collaborative learning activity ‘SCAMPER’.
Session
3
Workshop on Resume
Preparation and Interview Skills by Mr. Vishnu Raj, Verbal Aptitude and
Recruitment Process Trainer, Career Launcher Ltd
The session on resume preparation and interview
skills was the best session we had during our camp. We were adept in pedagogy
and theoretical background but had no idea on how to prepare our resumes or
what to expect in interviews. Mr Vishnu had a very crisp and precise session.
He began by briefing us on the different types of resumes and the occasions in
which they are to be used. He gave us the entire structure of a resume and gave
detailed pointers on what to include in them and what to exclude. Even though
he made us to write down a lot, the class was interactive as well. He stated
few sections and picked students randomly and asked them what they would
include in those so that we know the general trend and he made necessary
corrections in them. Towards the end of the session he gave the commonly asked
interview questions and the most refined answers we could give for them.
The session of Mr. Vishnu was very informative and
the ultimate need of the hour. He gave us all the relevant information we
required and clarified all our doubts. We left the class skilled in preparing
resumes and confident to attend interviews.
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Community Living Camp
For nearly 10 months we were all locked up at our homes and were jam packed with our works and were totally drained. We longed to have our offline classes and earnestly hoped that our community living camp would not be cancelled. Though initially there were rumors that the camp would be cancelled, thankfully the university mandated that we have day camps.
Our college management decided to have the camp from March 1st-5th. Our camp titled MERAKI 2021 was themed on 'Education- it's creative and social aspects'. The coordinators of the camp were Ms Soumya Devi and Ms Chinju.
Online Peer Teaching - Week 3
16/2/21, Tuesday
Today we had the session at 7 PM. I was the first one to take class. I continued with the lesson 'Horegallu' written by Sudha Murthy. Keerthi had the second session of the day. She continued with the lesson 'Vanka'. MaryJaya had the last session of the day. She continued with the lesson 'Maternity'.
17/2/21, Wednesday
Today we had the session at 7 PM. I was the first one to take class. I continued with the lesson 'Horegallu'. MaryJaya had the second session of the day. She continued with the lesson 'Maternity'. Keerthi had the last session of the day. She continued with the lesson 'Vanka'.
19/2/21, Friday
Today we had the session at 3 PM. I had the first session. I took the lesson based on Advance Organizer Model. The pattern was quite different from those I followed previously. Keerthi had the second session. She took the lesson using Direct Instruction Model. Fathima was also there in our peer group. She took the lesson 'The Race'.
22/2/21, Monday
Today I took the lesson based on Concept Attainment Model. The topic I handled was Types of Sentences. I discussed the four types of sentences. I took the lesson using the e-content I had prepared earlier. Meera had the second session of the day.
23/2/21, Tuesday
Today was the last day of my online peer teaching. I took the lesson using the Direct Instruction Model. The topic I handled was Gender In Nouns. The students loved the session as they had a lot of guess work to do. I took the class using an e-content I had prepared earlier. My peer group consisted of Fathima and Keerthi.
Thursday, February 25, 2021
School Teaching Practice - Week 4
22/2/21, Monday
Today I administered a diagnostic test to the students. As we were six in number, we divided the children amongst us and each of us conducted out test in 10 students each. We conducted a 15 mark test and through it identified the major areas of difficulties our children faced.
23/2/21, Tuesday
The major finding of the test was that the students had difficulty with the spelling of words. I had opted for a few remedial techniques as the children were of different proficiency level. One technique I chose was incidental method. But the most effective technique was that of oral drilling. I asked the students to spell the word before writing it down and I asked them to practice persistently.
23/2/21, Wednesday
Today I conducted an achievement test to the students. I was happy to see that they all performed fairly well. As it was our last day of teaching practice we distributed sweets to them. We asked them to prepare well, wished them the very best for their future and parted with them.
A few snaps of the week
With our dear teachers Ms Sangeetha and Ms Ambily
Sunday, February 21, 2021
Online Peer Teaching - Week 2
10/2/21, Wednesday
Today we had the session at 7 PM. Awani was the first one to take class. She began the lesson 'The Trio'. Keerthi had the third session of the day. She began the lesson 'Vanka'. I had the third session of the day. I began with a new poem Mother to Son written by Langston Hughes. Meera had the last session for the day, she took the lesson 'The School for Sympathy'.
11/2/21, Thursday
Today we had the session at 7 PM. I was the first one to take class. I continued with the poem 'Mother to Son'. Reshma had the second session. She continued the lesson 'The Trio'. Awani had the third session of the day. Meera had the last session for the day, she took the lesson 'The School for Sympathy'.
12/2/21, Friday
Today we had the session at 7 PM. I was the first one to take class. I continued with the poem 'Mother to Son'. Reshma had the second session. She continued the lesson 'The Trio'. Meera had the third session for the day, she took the lesson 'The School for Sympathy'.Awani had the third last session of the day. She continued with the lesson 'The Trio'.
13/2/21, Saturday
Today we had the session at 11 AM. I was the first one to take class. I began a new lesson Horegallu written by Sudha Murthy. Keerthi had the second session of the day. She continued with the lesson 'Vanka'. MaryJaya had the last session of the day. She began with a new lesson 'Maternity'.
15/2/21, Monday
Today we had the session at 7 PM. I was the first one to take class. I continued with the lesson 'Horegallu'. Reshma had the second session. She continued the lesson 'The Trio'. Awani had the third session of the day. Adithya had the last session for the day, she took the lesson 'Crime and Punishment'.
Friday, February 19, 2021
School Teaching Practice - Week 3
15/2/21, Monday
I had made it a point to ask students the meanings of the previously learnt words so that they were familiar with their meanings and spellings. Most of the students had a difficulty with spellings. As I was continuing with the lesson, the children asked me to give them guidelines on how to write answers to score marks.
16/2/21, Tuesday
Today I concluded the lesson and discussed the question answers. The children were able to answer well when compared to the previous days. I made them answer a few questions from their model question and they were able to do it well.
17/2/21, Wednesday
Today I began a new poem Any Woman written by Katherine Tynan. The central theme of the poem was the selfless love and care of a mother and her efforts in keeping a family intact. I went on with explaining two stanzas of the poem and we discussed the question answers.
18/2/21, Thursday
The poem had a lot of metaphors of significance and I detailed them about its relevance in the poem. The students were quick to grasp the concepts and the class went on effortlessly.
19/2/21, Friday
By today I completed the lessons that were assigned to me and I made a quick recap of the lessons were dealt with and clarified all their doubts. Towards the end of the class I showed them several images of discourse activities so that they were thorough with their formats.
Sunday, February 14, 2021
Online Peer Teaching - Week 1
28/ 1/21, Thursday
I began the second phase of my peer teaching with the lessons from grade X. The first lesson I took was The Castaway by Rabindranath Tagore. When compared to the lessons taken so far, this lesson was a bit difficult for the students to comprehend and gradually it took me longer to go on with the lesson.
6/ 2/21, Saturday
Today we had the session at 7PM. Athira Sreekumar began the session with the lesson 'Song of a Flower'. The second session was taken by Reshma and she took the lesson 'The Trio'. I took the last session of the evening. I continued with the lesson 'The Castaway'.
7/ 2/21, Sunday
Today we had our session from 2PM. My peer group consisted of Feba, Annie and myself. Feba took the lesson 'The Race', Annie 'The Last Leaf' and I continued with the lesson 'The Castaway'.
8/ 2/21, Monday
Today we had the session at 3 PM. Fathima began the session with 'The Village Blacksmith', it was followed by Divya's session on 'The Last Leaf'. Feba had the third session of the day and she continued with the lesson 'The Race'. I was the last person of the day and I continued with my lesson.
9/ 2/21, Tuesday
Today we had the session at 2 PM. Fathima began the session with 'The Village Blacksmith', it was followed by Annie's session on 'The Last Leaf'. Feba had the third session of the day and she continued with the lesson 'The Race'. I was the last person of the day and I completed the chapter 'The Castaway'. The lesson was a bit complex when compared with the other lessons and I felt happy on completing it well.
Saturday, February 13, 2021
School Teaching Practice - Week 2
8/2/21 Monday
I could notice that the children were more frequent in the classes. The teacher had said that the children were not very keen on attending school and therefore the pass percent of the school was as low as 40%. In every class I spent sometime to speak to the kids about the significance of education in improving our quality of thinking that would in turn improve the quality of our life. Today I dealt with the significance of learning in empowerment.
9/2/21 Tuesday
Though the children were quite casual with their learning initially, by now they were a bit serious with their studies. They were able to recollect their previous class learnings and were quite familiar with the discourse activities.
10/2/21 Wednesday
Today I began with a new lesson Matchbox written by Ashapurna Debi. The children were all very eager to learn the story. A major change I could notice was that those folks who were disinterested to learn English were all now impatient with the delay in beginning a lesson. This lesson was one relevant with the happenings of the society, so I wanted it to be more of a discussion that a regular lecture and the students interacted well.
11/2/21 Thursday
The children were all very much involved in the lesson and I could notice that as I read, their expressions revealed their discontent with the unfair treatment to which the protagonist was being subjected to. When I asked the students whether they had something to add on, almost all the students spoke of the instances of injustice they had to face in life as women.
13/2/21 Friday
One of the discourse activities I gave them was character sketch. The children had an in-depth understanding of the text but their vocabulary in English was poor. The students asked me to give English words for certain Malayalam words. This was a difficulty faced by students of all batches so I decided to give them a few related terms of the themes they were learning so that it would be easier for them to prepare from the examination point of view.
A few snaps of the week
Saturday, February 6, 2021
School Teaching Practice Week 1
1/2/21, Monday
We reached the school by 9:15 AM as instructed by the Principal and were all ready to meet our kids. The coordinator Ms Dahlia Deepu informed us that the student who were of four batches: Science (2), Commerce and Humanities would be attending the classes in batches that too on alternate days. Ms Dahlia helped us in setting our personal timetables and was there with us on the first class.
Ms Dahlia briefed us on the focus areas (7 chapters) that was to be covered and asked us to prepare our lessons for the coming days. As it was our first class, we assisted Ms Dahlia for the day's class so that we were accustomed to the class climate and get an idea on how to go about with our lessons.
2/2/21, Tuesday
Today we went to our respective classes. We got students from the Science and Commerce batch. I began the lesson Rice written by Chemmanam Chacko. Within the first day's interaction I understood that the students were more comfortable with code-switching. To capture their attention, I played a lyrical video of the poem in Malayalam. Once the students got the theme of the poem in mother-tongue they all synced well with the rest of the teaching.
3/2/21, Wednesday
As I went on with the classes I could notice that the children had a very short attention span. It was indeed a herculean task to have them on the same page. The only way to that was to relate the instances of their text with famous movie scenes.. that always worked. While I took the lesson, I also gave them question answers based on their previous question paper pattern.
4/2/21, Thursday
Today I completed the poem and was consolidating its central themes. The discourse construction for these children were often based on the themes they learn throughout the year. So I made them practice writing a formal letter. I was shocked to learn that being 12th graders, they still had no clue on writing formal letters. I showed them a few examples and made the format clear to them.
5/2/21, Friday
Once I ensured that the children were thorough with the lesson, I moved on to the next one The 3L's of Empowerment, a speech by Christine Lagarde. The class was an all girls batch and they were all motivated to learn the lesson as it was exclusively applicable to them. The children gave a lot of thoughtful remarks on several social constructs and it was indeed a wonderful session.
A few snaps of the week
Monday, February 1, 2021
Teaching Practice Phase II
As per notified by the University of Kerala, the second phase of our teaching practice was to commence by the first week of February. As we had our first phase of teaching practice completely in the online mode I had earnestly hoped that I could get an opportunity of taking direct classes to students. Thankfully six of us got that much awaited opportunity. Me, Keerthi, Reshma, MaryJaya, Adithya and Athira Sreekumar of our class got the opportunity to take class for the 12th graders of Government Higher Secondary School, Kumarapuram, Medical College. We were to take classes for them from February 1-24.
We were quite nervous as it was the first time that we were going to be with the senior most students of the school. However, our teachers gave us immense support and made us confident enough for our roles.
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Cognitive Mapping (Grade XII)
Heights of Harmony
This
unit details on the nature of human relationships and its longevity. In this
unit the authors of the various texts presents a cross-section of the human
persona that gets shaped in accordance to the degree of relationship one shares
with oneself and with others. The storylines of the text represent divergent
setting and different races of people and their multi-faceted attitude towards
life. The learners get to see life in a nut-shell through this unit.
Cognitive Mapping 1 (Grade XI)
Harmony of Life
This
unit speaks of the multitudes of emotions and themes that arise throughout the
course of life. Each stage of life brings in tremendous changes in the
personality of individuals and the effects of the same may last for a lifetime.
All the three lessons of this unit speaks of the divergent themes that arise in
human life the reinstates on the reactions of people to them that determines
the direction of their life.