The curriculum based on guidelines by CISCE aims to enable children to become successful learners who enjoy learning; successfully apply core concepts learnt from various subjects; articulate thoughts and ideas effectively using oral, written and nonverbal communication skills in a variety of forms and contexts; use technology to access and provide information and communicate to others; understand and apply knowledge to real life experiences; function successfully in the local and world community; respect diversity; exhibit sensitivity towards environmental issues and learn to manage and utilize resources judiciously.
Play-based Approach
Children learn best through play. Children should engage in play activities which are neither too challenging nor too easy for their developmental level. In a play- based approach stimulating materials and activities are made available by the teacher and children self select activities according to their interest at each point of time and learn at their own pace. The teacher’s role is that of a facilitator and she does not carry out any specific structured activities. In order to enable children to benefit from this approach, teachers need to observe and identify learning opportunities and make play materials available accordingly. If a teacher is unskilled and ineffective, it may lead to loss of learning opportunities and learning by doing. Any pleasure-giving activity is play for them and is central to a child’s well-being. Play stimulates curiosity and exploration and leads to mastery of body controls, encourages creativity and social skills and develops emotional balance and language skills.
Activity-based Approach
The primary belief of activity-based approach is that children learn through participation in activities, which provides opportunities for exploration and experimentation with different teaching- learning material. The sensory experience and action make the learning better and more impactful. This leads to an exciting journey of discovery and enhanced understanding. A preschool teacher embeds the learning goals in various types of activities, such as outdoor and indoor play, storytelling, art and music activities, organised in a preschool class.
Projects or Inquiry-based Approach
A project is inquiry-based, investigation or in-depth study of a topic or theme, usually done by small groups within a class, an entire class or sometimes by the individual children. The teachers offers some open-ended triggers and then observe the children, listen to their stories, their questions, see how they navigate the activity, take note of their interest levels and talk with the children. Children decide what they want to know more about and investigate further.
Then, with the variety of materials on offer to the children, the teachers encourage children’s engagement in activities, to go deeper and deeper to findtheanswerstotheirquestionsand, in turn, ask new questions to help them to make their learning visible through modelling or building, collage or drawing, dramatic play or music; any means at all. These activities are not pre-planned/ designed. They are subtly suggested to the children and the discoveries from one experience lead onto the next. A project may not constitute the whole day’s schedule. Teachers may allocate half-a- day for the project and plan activities for the remaining half.
Apprenticeship Learning
Apprenticeship learning is a method used by teachers to teach students about a specific task. It is utilized in a problematic situation so students know how to react when faced with a similar situation. Students work very closely with an expert at learning a specific skill. Information the student acquires is then applied through practical applications in the field of study.Students are not learning skills at a basic level but rather at a level that is accepted in the specific industry.
Mind Mapping
Mind mapping is a visual form of note taking that offers an overview of a topic and its complex information, allowing students to comprehend, create new ideas and build connections. Through the use of colours, images and words, mind mapping encourages students to begin with a central idea and expand outward to more in-depth sub-topics.
Graphic organizers improve reading comprehension benefit student’s achievement levels, enhance thinking and learning skills and increase retention.