An interesting education system - Part1: Transform classrooms into Centers of Excellence

[Santhoshkumar Sambamoorthy]

Even 5 years after completing my schooling, there are certain things in my day-to-day activity, that remind me of my school days. This is not just a recollection of some distant memory, but a grateful remembrance of how useful my schooling was. The main reason for this is a very unique educational system, that I was exposed to, during my schooling, at a private school in Coimbatore. The system was really effective, in terms of both value and cost. I would like to elaborate on this in parts. Please feel free to comment/suggest/criticize on any aspect of the discussion.

Required Items: chart paper, color paper, sketch pens, cotton, glue, color powders, table salt or any other creative uses of ordinary items

No classrooms, but subject centers instead..
Each subject like english, tamil, science, maths, social science is given a class room. These class rooms are called subject centers. Instead of the students sitting in the same class from 9am to 4pm, they move to these different centers for each period. Based on the availability of class rooms, teachers and space, these subject centers may be accommodated.

How is a subject center different from a class room?
Each subject center has special teaching aids like maps, globes, etc.(for social center), specialized and customized learning materials for each subject center, etc. This helps in making use of the available resources very effectively.

How are the students involved?
Students, as a team, can be assigned tasks to prepare charts for the subject centers every year. The topic on which a chart is to be prepared, is directly taken from the text books. The chart work preparation shall be assigned just before the topic is to be dealt in the class. The chart work shall contain only a gist(hints) of the actual topic in the text book. it should be reasonably visible from every place in the class.

Some examples of such chart work...
English class --> a poem shall be written on a chart with some drawings of what the student thinks, grammar topics like parts of speech, types of nouns, types of verbs, etc. can be written on charts and displayed.

Tamil Class --> 10 thirukkural, Goddess Tamil prayer, tamil grammar topics, etc. can be written and displayed.

Maths Class --> Important formulae, important theorems, shapes, etc. can be written, drawn and illustrated creatively and displayed.

Science Class --> the solar system, different types of living things(viz., herbi, carni, omnivorous animals) & their characteristics, etc. shall be written, drawn or illustrated by any other creative manner and displayed.

Social Class --> states of India, various agricultural products of India(for eg., on the India map, stick rice, wheat, cotton, jute, coconut fibres, sugar, dhal, turmeric, etc. on the region that produce these products), location of industries in India, Rights and Duties of Indian citizens, etc.

Uses of these charts..
1. The students see these important information everyday. So, they tend to remember them without any effort. (this memorizing takes place even without their own awareness)
2. Students prepare these charts. So, they may do some extra work towards these topics, which enhances their learning experience. The students who prepare the chart benefits actively, the others benefit passively.
3. Since students work on teams, important social skills like team work, leadership, etc. are also inculcated.
4. We give a lot of room for the students to be creative in studies (which is totally absent in our education system). This enhances the creativity and innovative ability of the students.
4. We make use of easily available stuff like chart paper, glue, colors, etc. so this is very much cost effective.