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CHAPTER: 2
THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF THE STUDY
2.1 Introduction
2.2 Activity Based Learning (ABL)
2.2.1 Meaning of Activity Based Learning (ABL)
2.2.2 History of Activity Based Learning in India
2.2.3 States and organization initiative an Activity Based Learning
2.2.4 Philosophy of Activity Based Learning
2.3 Introduction to Pragna Approach
2.3.1 The term 'Pragna'
2.3.2 Need of Pragna Approach
2.3.3 Bringing Pragna Approach to Gujarat
2.4 Objectives of Pragna Approach
2.5 Principles of Pragna Approach
2.6 Pragna classroom
2.6.1 Seating arrangement
2.6.2 Grouping of children
2.6.3 Teaching-learning process
2.7 Pragna material & kit
2.8 Pragna coverage & scaling
2.9 Trainings & workshops on Pragna
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CHAPTER: 2
THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF THE STUDY
2.1 INTRODUCION
Activity-Based Learning (ABL) is now a very familiar term among the people
concerned about educational reform in India. The present literature review will
address the key issues that relate to understanding and implementation of ABL at
elementary level in India. First, the meaning and history of Activity Based
Learning in India will be discussed. Then the methodology of Activity Based
Learning known as Pragna approach in Gujarat will be reviewed with reference to
concept of Pragna approach, need of Pragna approach in Gujarat, Objectives and
Principles of Pragna approach, Process of Pragna classroom, Pragna material and
kit, coverage and scaling up of Pragna approach in Gujarat and Training and
workshop on Pragna approach.
2.2 ACTIVITY BASED LEARNING (ABL)
2.2.1 MEANING OF ACTIVITY-BASED LEARNING
Activity is a very broad term. In a classroom, if a child is to be considered doing
activity, if is found doing something with an external instrument, playing with
some educational toys, and engaging with some making something. However, the
questions that are needed to be asked what are the characters of the activity in
education. Are they to be conceptualised purely in terms of bodily act which
include physical movements of the children in educational space or their
engagement with external objects? Do activities involve only those acts of
children which are observable, and to be performed in accordance with pre-
planned design? British philosopher, R. F. Deardern (1970) says that 'an activity is
not just a bodily act it necessarily involves mental act".1 Even the most obvious
physical activities are mental in their essence. What is important to note is that an
activity necessarily involves consciousness of what one is doing, further it also
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involves consciousness of one's situations. An activity can't be conceived in the
absence of some abstract meaning making.
Activity-based learning (ABL) theory is a cognitive-learning theory which is
considered a “constructivist” learning theory. Essentially, a learner “constructs”
his own microcosms of knowledge from past knowledge and/or current
experiences and interacting with data. He or she actively seeks new information,
and is actively engaged in the process in the way s(he) gains, assimilates, and
utilizes knowledge, explains Hein. G.E (1991)2
According to Pica (2008), “Activity based learning, is the process of exploration
and discovery, of acquiring knowledge; of knowing how to acquire it”3
As explained in wikipeadia, Activity-based learning or ABL describes a range of
pedagogical approaches to teaching. Its core premises include the requirement that
learning should be based on doing some hands-on experiments and activities. The
idea of activity-based learning is rooted in the common notion that children are
active learners rather than passive recipients of information. If child is provided
the opportunity to explore by their own and provided an optimum learning
environment then the learning becomes joyful and long-lasting”.4
2.2.2 HISTORY OF ACTIVITY-BASED LEARNING
Activity-based learning started sometime in 1944 around World War II when a
British man David Horsburgh came to India and finally decided to settle down
there. He was an innovative thinker and charismatic leader. He started teaching in
Rishi Valley School. He joined the British Council and worked in Chennai and
Bangalore for many years. After his voluntary retirement, he located a 7-acre
(28,000 m2) site in Kolar District and opened his school, Neel Bagh. Neel Bagh
was based on an innovative idea of Horsburgh and known for its creative methods
in teaching well-planned learning materials. With his wife Doreen and his son
Nicholas, Horsburgh developed a diverse curriculum, which included music,
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carpentry, sewing, masonry, gardening, as well as the usual school subjects,
English, mathematics, Sanskrit, and Telugu. These pedagogic materials were
systematically planned, with sketches and drawings and an occasional touch of
humour. Later Horsburgh created a magnificent library in Neel Baugh that was
accessible to teachers and students. This initiative of Horsburgh was later proved
to be one of the pioneer and milestones in ABL. In modern time ABL is the
method of education followed in the Corporation schools of Chennai, from 2003,
as an effort to provide special schools for children who had been freed from
bonded labour.
2.2.3 STATES AND ORGANIZATION INITIATIVE AN ACTIVITY BASED
LEARNING
The ABL in its contemporary form was first undertaken by the Chennai
Corporation in 13 schools on a trial basis in 2003, has been adopted by all the 270
primary schools in the district. First designed and tested by the Rishi Valley
School in Andhra Pradesh in the '90s, the Activity-Based Learning system has
been successfully implemented in several Indian states, including Karnataka,
Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. In Tamil Nadu, UNICEF
supported the Chennai Corporation to introduce the ABL methods in the
Government schools. There are many organizations which cultivate and follow the
principles of activity-based learning. Digantar Siksha evam Khelkud Samiti in
Rajasthan, Sumavanam Village School in Andhra Pradesh and Vikasana School in
Karnataka are the places which were established on the principles of activity-
based learning.
2.2.4 PHILOSOPHY OF ACTIVITY BASED LEARNING
The philosophy of ABL finds its antecedents in the common notion that learning
should be best when it is initiated by the surrounding environment and motivated
by providing optimum opportunities to learn. A fearless and freedom to express
environment always adds to best learning outcomes.
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2.3 INTRODUCTION TO PRAGNA APPROACH
2.3.1 THE TERM 'PRAGNA'
Based on the understanding developed through various exposure visits and
meetings, the state found the activity based approach meaningful for the
children. Brainstorming was done to get an interesting name for this approach
and its emergence started in Gujarat as Pragna- Pravruti Dwara Gyan.
2.3.2 NEED OF PRAGNA APPROACH
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) has achieved its goals by focusing on quality education
and addressing the issues of enrolment, retention and overall development of children
in the age group of six to 14 years. SSA has supported schools to improve the quality
of education they deliver by way of infrastructure development, teachers' capacity
enhancement, curriculum/ text book renewal and overall pedagogical improvement.
However, in spite of the dedicated efforts to improve the quality of education which is
delivered, the classrooms of primary schools are often found to be teacher-centric
where:
The teacher dominates the classroom all the time and hardly allows the
children the freedom to learn or develop on their own
It is assumed that all children will learn the same thing at the same time in the
same manner
The problems of multi-grade and multi-level nature of the classrooms are not
addressed
TIMs are rarely used by children
Most of the materials do not encourage self learning
There is little or no opportunity for a child to catch up with his/her lessons if
he/ she has been absent from the class
Evaluation is mostly summative and tests the ability of the children to rote
learn
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In order to address these issues, Pragna, an Activity-Based Learning (ABL) approach,
was initiated in Gujarat in June 2010. Its objective was to overcome these difficulties
and to open the classroom to a more holistic and learner-based way of working with
children.
This would:
Ensure that each child was learning
Ensure that each child was viewed as a unique individual
Focus on the holistic development of children
2.3.3 BRINGING PRAGNA APPROACH TO GUJARAT
A team comprising Secretary of Primary Education, State Project Director -SSA,
Convener of the Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC), SSA and District Primary
Education Officers (DPEOs) visited Chennai to understand the ABL model which
had been developed and implemented by the Government of Tamil Nadu in all the
39000 government schools in the state. The core team members also visited schools
in Chhattisgarh to understand classroom processes, materials, training and
monitoring strategies. The learning from pilots conducted by UNICEF and Gujarat
Council of Education, Research and Training (GCERT) in 2004-05 in Valsad and
Kutch on multi-level, multi-graded learning was also assimilated and workshops to
understand pedagogical strategies for Pragna in Gujarat were organized.
2.4 OBJECTIVES OF PRAGNA APPROACH
Allow each child to learn at his/her pace
Allow children to learn through experience
Provide activity based, stress-free, fun-filled education to children
Give children a chance to learn from teachers and peers
Expose children to different kinds of project and field work
Develop competency in every child
Continuous and comprehensive stress-free evaluation of the children
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Develop teachers' competencies by self evaluation of one's work,
Teaching Learning Materials (TLMs) and teaching strategies
Bring about a change in traditional classroom practices
Initiate capacity building of teachers
Cater to the learning requirements of children with special needs
Provide equal and adequate opportunity for learning
Share a child's progress through the year with his/her parents
2.5 PRINCIPLES OF PRAGNA APPROACH
Each child's development and learning is unique
All children are different
All programs for children have to be contextual
Programs for children have to be flexible to cater to their diversity
Reinforcement and assessment should be an integral part of child's
learning process
A program should focus on the holistic development of children
Children should feel confident and have a positive self-esteem and self-
worth
Children learn by actively doing, experiencing, experimenting and
reflecting on their interactions with objects and people
2.6 PRAGNA CLASSROOM
The classroom and the classroom processes were designed based on the Pragna
approach. There were two separate classes, one for Gujarati and Environmental
Science (EVS), and another for Maths and Rainbow activities. In Pragna schools there
were two regular government teachers for each class. While the subject teachers
remained the same, children changed their classrooms on alternate days.
2.6.1 SEATING ARRANGEMENT
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Children, along with the teachers, sat on carpets or rugs on the floor rather than use
tables, chairs, benches or any kind of fixed furniture.
2.6.2 GROUPING OF CHILDREN
The children were divided and seated in each of the classroom in six groups
according to their learning pace.
Figure 2.1 : Grouping of children
In the first two groups, the teacher would introduce the concept of the activities to the
children. In the third and fourth groups, the children would have to do the activities for
practice with the help of their peer’s. Then in the fifth group, the children were asked
to perform the task individually, without the support of his/her peers, to inculcate the
habit of self-learning.
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After the child would go through each group, he/she was deemed to be thorough with
the concept and was thus assessed by the teacher in group six.
In Pragna classes, children work together and learn from their peers. Researches also
suggest that, in the primary grades, co-operative learning can emerge as an important
and powerful tool for academic, social and emotional success”5
2.6.3 TEACHING-LEARNING PROCESS
The curriculum for each subject for Standard I and II was differentiated into
milestones. The milestones comprised of a sequence of different activities ranging
from simple to complex, which were represented on the cards. All cards were
organized in a sequence called Ladder. Ladder helped the children to select the card
according to their learning pace. For the learning of any concept there was a specific
sequence called learning cycle:
The children learnt from the cards
Children distributed themselves into groups according to the symbols on
their cards
The child status was recorded on progress chart by the teacher at the
completion of every card. The progress chart was displayed in the
classroom.
The teaching-learning process of the Pragna classroom rightly match the
famous saying of Confucious,
“Tell me, and I will forget,
Show me, and I may remember,
Involve me, and I will understand.”3
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2.7 PRAGNA MATERIAL & KIT
The foremost strategy underlying the development of the material was that the children
would be taught through teaching learning materials rather than by using textbooks.
The material for Pragna was prepared by the core team members. The materials had to
be: re-usable or be useful for many purposes, user-friendly for children (who would be
using them the most), cost-effective, innovative but simple, able to trigger the child to
think and encourage the teacher to design more and such materials.
Development ladders and graded activity cards were developed for children in
Standard I and II. There were separate sets of cards for Gujarati, Environmental
Science, Maths and Rainbow activities. The cards included large group, small group
and individual activities. They also promoted teacher-child, child-child and child-
material interaction. UNICEF framed the quality standards for evaluating the material.
The Pragna kit contains:
a) Racks and trays: Specially-designed racks are provided where trays for
specific subjects are kept. The trays contain cards which are arranged as per the
symbols they bear.
b) Ladders: A ladder is a path along which the children are expected to progress.
A ladder helps a child to pick up a card in accordance with his/her pace of
learning. The concepts/ milestones are represented in the form of symbols that
are similar to ones painted on the cards. There are three ladders that are defined
according to the colors and subjects -a yellow Ladder for language, green for
EVS and blue for maths. The child assesses his/her performance (the concept
that he/she has learnt and the next concept he/she has to learn) with the help of
the ladder.
c) Learning/Activity Cards: Cards help children to know what he/ she is expected
to do in which group out of the six groups in the classroom. After selecting a
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card, the child sees a symbol printed on the card and then joins the group,
where a chart is displayed with the same symbol. The card also helps children to
know what material should be taken from the TIM box for a given activity and
whether there is a need for an exercise in the workbook.
d) Group charts for all three subjects (six charts for three subjects): Displayed on
the walls of the classroom, group charts help a child to select and sit in a group
appropriate to his/her stage of learning.
e) Rainbow activities: Rainbow activities are considered as a separate subject. These
activities have been developed for the comprehensive development of
children, by honing their multiple intelligence I psycho-motor skills. To develop
such skills, the child is exposed to various co-curricular activities such as,
painting, drawing, clay moulding etc. The term rainbow is used because there were
seven main categories of activities. Each category is further divided into 10
sub activities. Each sub-activity comprises five activities. Thus the children are
exposed to 350 rainbow activities during the course. The activities are typically not
conducted in a serial order.
f) 19 Early Readers: Nineteen Early Readers have been developed in the form of
story books. The stories have been developed with special focus on a few letters
of the alphabet as part of the ladder. A child will listen to a story the teacher will
narrate and then will read out the words of that same story from the book.
g) Pictorial dictionary: The pictorial dictionary helps children with word
recognition in a sentence. For example; picture of a bat, spelling of the bat and
description/ features of a bat are listed in four to five sentences.
h) Barakshari: Flash cards displaying letters of the alphabet, Barakshari, are used
by children to construct different words.
i) Students' workbooks: Workbooks are given to the children for practice,
evaluation and reinforcement. The teacher checks the workbook after the child
finishes an activity.
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j) Teachers’ handbooks: All the teachers are provided with subject-wise
handbooks, which are used by the teachers in the classrooms. The handbooks
describe the concepts, methodology, materials, stories, songs, manual of cards,
ladders, etc.
k) Students' progress charts: After completing each milestone, a child picks the
last card that is the evaluation card. It carries a number, symbol (cow, bear,
hippopotamus, etc.), workbook symbol and the student's assessment. The child
uses his/her workbook to perform the activity/task which is then assessed by
the teacher. The teacher records every child's performance on the progress
chart for each of the three subjects.
l) Student portfolio: The students' writing and drawing works and creations are
compiled into a portfolio. The teacher maintains a separate portfolio for each
child and shares them with parents.
m) Students' profiles: A student's profile includes the child's demographic
information, photograph, attendance, hobbies, strengths and weakness and
progress report.
n) Teaching Learning Material (TLM) box: Teachers are encouraged to acquire
the TLMs required for the subjects. All the TLMs kept in the box are related
to the cuds. The TLM symbol on the cards, suggests to a child the particular
activity tools he/she had to pick from the TLM box to perform a task.
o) Flags: Whenever a child .needs the teacher's help for an activity he/she raises
a flag to catch the teacher's attention instead of disturbing the peers.
p) Cards: Children use the cards when they move from one milestone to
another.
q) Student slate: In each class, there are 10 slates for the children. The slates are
very child· friendly and easy to use. Children use the slates only when they are
expected to use them during the course of an activity.
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r) Teacher slate: Specially designed slates are provided to all the teachers who
are covered under Pragna. Teachers use slates to explain concepts and to give
children more practice during their sessions.
s) Display boards: Children are encouraged to display their work on the
display boards, which are provided in all classrooms. Each classroom has
five display boards. The total display area for children in a classroom is 20
square feet.
t) Game boards: Game boards in the form of cards are also provided.
u) EVS project sheets: Children have to do various projects at school and at
home. They are given project sheets to plan and write about the projects.
v) Mathematics practice book: In addition to workbooks used at school, the
children are given practice books for mathematics.
w) Gujarati vachanmala: Gujarati Vachanmala has been provided to children to
be read at home and facilitates their interaction with their parents and peers.
The Vachanmala offers grammar, vocabulary, comprehension and oral work.
x) EVS manan: The EVS book called Manan helps children to understand
the concepts of EVS are taught in school.
y) Training module and Training CD: Teachers are given a training module in
which the Pragna approach is explained in detail. It covers topics such as child
psychology, pedagogy, child friendliness, group rotation, Comprehensive and
Continuous Evaluation (CCE), student portfolio and community mobilization, etc.
A CD has been developed for the training of the teachers. It demonstrates the
Pragna approach as well as group rotation, teachers' role, parents' feedback
and children's feedback. It helps teachers to deal with classroom management
and group rotation.
z) Advocacy CD, Advertisement CD and Jingle: The Advocacy CD has been
developed to explain Pragna, in brief, to a target group of representatives of
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the public, government officials, parents and other stakeholders. The
Pragna jingle has been developed for the electronic media.
Pragna core team member Bhavesh Pandya, CRCC, Ranpur cluster, Banaskantha
composed a Pragna theme song which was written by Prakash Parmar, CRCC,
Kim cluster, Surat. Children sing this song during the morning assembly in
Pragna Schools. While initially, the core team comprised 18 members, in 2012, the
number had increased to 38 members.
Additional materials
In various schools the walls have been whitewashed and carpets have been
purchased by the headmaster with the help of CRCC's and technical resource
persons have developed racks for keeping the trays of materials.
Reviewing of material
GCERT is the apex body which sanctions the material for primary education.
Selected GCERT and SRG members along with the core team members jointly
reviewed the Pragna materials on August 4, 2010. They checked the
appropriateness of the materials in line with the existing curriculum and
competencies determined for children in Standards I and II.
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2.8 PRAGNA COVERAGE & SCALING
Pragna Approach was introduced in Std.-I to Std.-IV of Government Primary
Schools of Gujarat in phase manner. The detail about coverage of Pragna
Schools is given in table below:
Table 2.1
Pragna Coverage & Scaling
Cumulative
Coverage
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Phase I Phase II Phase III Phase IV Phase V
School 258 2,586 3,756 7,504 16,000
Unit 306 3,412 7,823 13,698 27,725
Teacher 516 6,247 14,634 25,742 46,339
Student 18,484 2,07,763 4,77,881 7,92,816 14,68,619
Graph 2.1
No. of Schools covered under Pragna Approach
258
2,586
3,756
7,504
16,000
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
14000
16000
18000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
No
. o
f S
cho
ols
Year
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Graph 2.2
No. of Teachers covered under Pragna Approach
Graph 2.3
No. of Students covered under Pragna Approach
516
6,247
14,634
25,742
46,339
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
30000
35000
40000
45000
50000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
No
. o
f T
each
ers
Year
18,484
207,763
477,881
792,816
1,468,619
0
200,000
400,000
600,000
800,000
1,000,000
1,200,000
1,400,000
1,600,000
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
No
. o
f S
tud
ents
Year
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2.9 TRAININGS & WORKSHOPS ON PRAGNA
For designing the material, a series of workshops was organized by SSA,
Gujarat. The workshops were designed to encourage child-centered activity,
peer-learning and finally developing child-friendly materials. It focused on
knowledge, attitude and practice building, and making teachers comfortable so
that they would conduct the activities efficiently.
Along with the workshops various training sessions were organized by the
SSA, Gujarat. Teachers, who had piloted the project in 258 schools in the state,
were given hands-on training experience. UNICEF provided technical support
to the teachers' training and monitored their progress.
[37]
End Notes
1. Rabi Prakash and Vishwambhar, A philosophical exploration of Learning and
Knowledge assumption in Activity Based Learning Digantar, Jaipur p.8.
2. Hein G. E., Constructivist Learning Theory, 1991.
http://www.exploratorium.edu/ IFI/resources/constructivistlearning.html.
3. Kristtine L. Slentz & Suzaanne L.Krogh, “Teaching Young Children” Western
Washingten University. London: Lawrence Erlbaun associates publishers, 1981,
p.63.
4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Activity-based_learning_in_India.
5. Pica, R., In defence of activity learning. Beyond the journal. 2008.
www.journal.naeyc.org/btj.
6. Dr. Martin Stößlein, Activity-based Learning Experiences in Quantitative
Research Methodology for (Time-Constrained) Young Scholars -Course Design
and Effectiveness, Florida, U.S.A.: Jilin University, 2009.
7. UNICEF, PRAGNA-Activity Based Learning in Gujarat-A Snapshot, SSA,
Gujarat. 2012, pp.1&6.
8. GCEE, Annual Report, RTE-SSA; NPEGEL; KGBV 2013, pp.18-20.
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