Impact of Technology:

Rapid advances in technology in the recent past mean that we have to bring about significant changes in the way we teach our children. These changes will be deep and far reaching: in the way we educate our children, provide them with the understanding and experiences that prepare them for their life in the real world,in the way we teach them values and balance, in the way that they are assessed, and finally, in the way that teachers have to be trained to meet these emerging challenges.

Education delivery mechanisms will undergo significant change.Content (knowledge) is no longer as important, as more and more of it is available freely online. The ability to use that content to solve real world problems in a group with other persons is becoming far more important. Students will need to move away from rote learning to learning how to solve real world problems with that knowledge – “application”. Content will need to be re-packaged to meet these emerging needs. Education will become much more multi-media based, instead of being only textbook based.

Schools will need to focus much more on teaching critical thinking, collaboration, innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership, values and problem solving skills rather than just teaching knowledge.

Learning methodology:

Learning in school will have to be supplemented by other forms of learning – experiential, entrepreneurial, project etc. Personalized learning offerings will become the norm to adjust for individual student needs. Students may opt to learn some things from school, and others from home, others in a project or office setting etc. More and more children may choose to be home schooled, through the NIOS system of open school education, for example.

Values in Education:

There will be far greater emphasis on morals and ethics education, since more and more bad information will be more openly accessible, and so assessment as to the nature of the information will become a major issue. Responsible use of this information will become a greater challenge.

Teaching:

Teaching and learning will be more in circles, groups and teams, rather than the old teacher in the front and students at the back of the class method. As teaching becomes more and more individual driven, teachers may have to evolve into mentors, like in the old ‘guru – sishya’ parampara.

Teacher Training:

Greater emphasis on skills teaching also has important implications for teacher training. Advocates of skills teaching favour student-centred methods, for example, problem-based learning and project-based learning, methods that allow students to collaborate and work on authentic problems.

These methods demand that teachers be knowledgeable about a broad range of topics and are prepared to make in-the-moment decisions as the lesson plan progresses.  Teachers need more robust training and support than they receive today, given the high cognitive demands and potential classroom management problems of using student-centred methods.

How is Omega addressing these issues?

At Omega, we are constantly reviewing the way in which we teach children. To keep abreast of the changes that are taking place around us, we are making the following changes:

Content delivery and teaching methods:

• From this year on, UKG will be regarded as the first formal year of schooling. A method of assessing children’s skill levels before they enter Class I will be developed.

• We will concentrate on teaching English language skills to children till Class III, and teach subjects through the language, so that children have a good grounding in English. We will also mandate testing of English comprehension at Class III through recognized tests such as YLE.

• We are moving to a concept of “mother teachers” for classes from UKG to III. This is based on the realization that children in their formative years are most comfortable with the teacher they are first introduced to and have become fond of.

• A class teacher will therefore move along with the children from UKG to Class III and then rotate back to UKG, giving children the comfort of learning from the same person during these formative years.

• At Class I, we will now start with a curriculum and teaching methodology that is the best blend of CBSE, IGCSE and ICSE methodologies. The effort will be to make them understand a topic fully, before moving on to another topic. At the end of each major topic, children will be assessed for their understanding through appropriate quizzes and tests. The policy will be one of “No child left behind”.

• At the end of Class III, children should have excellent literacy and numeracy skills.

• As the children progress through the Middle School, so too their curriculum will undergo change, adopting the best content and methods available, through the method mentioned before.

• We propose to do away with formal end of term examinations till Class V, only assessing children through a system of rolling assessments, followed by one summative assessment at the end of the school year.

• As a result of the above, children will have an excellent grounding in the fundamental principles of each subject, and this will stand them in good stead as they progress to High School.

• Also, and as an added benefit, there will hopefully be no need detain any child during their progress from Class I to V.

• At Class VI, students will once again be benchmarked on their English language skills through recognized tests such as KET/PET. In our experience, it is not only lack of content knowledge that produces poor performers. More often than not, it is also poor English comprehension.

• From Class VI onwards, we will not admit new students into the class unless there are extraordinary reasons to do so.

• Class size will be held at a maximum of 33. The total size of each class in CBSE will be held at 297, made up of 7 normal sections, 1 Honours section and 1 NIOS section.

• Class size in IGCSE is limited to 24 per section. IN IB diploma, it is smaller.

• This year, we will survey children from classes VI to XI, asking them which of the topics in each of their core subjects (Maths and science) they found difficult to understand and apply.

• For these difficult topics, lab experiments and other multi-media content will be developed. This will enable all the children in each one of those classes in the next year to understand these topics clearly.

• We will also encourage students to engage in group learning through accessing materials online to research and understand these topics better. Students can then present their understanding to their classmates.

• The Honours Section that we started a couple of years ago, and where the students are given a wider and deeper understanding of the topics they learn, and which also prepare them for competitive exams such as the IIT entrance etc., will be extended down to class VI.

 

Children with learning disabilities:

• Starting from Class I, children with recognizable learning disabilities such as ADD, ADHD and Dyslexia will be placed, with parental consent, in the “Indigo Sections”, where they will receive specialized attention using the “Davis Learning System” from California.

• Omega is the only school worldwide that normalizes children with such challenges and places them back into the mainstream, through the Davis learning system

• The Indigo sections operate from Class I to VII. At the end of class VII, children are assessed and those who are able will then go back into the mainstream with the other children.

• Children who still have difficulties will be encouraged, with parental consent, to opt for NIOs, which is a wonderful system, since it allows children to:

• Take 5 plus one optional subject, of their choice

• Be home schooled if they so desire

• Be tested when they choose

• Choose the best score

• Graduate when they are ready with a High school diploma that is equivalent to and recognized by the Govt. of India.

• Omega is already a full-fledged centre for NIOS, so children need look no further for their NIOS needs.

 

Children with sport talent:

• For children with sport talent, who want to progress through school and develop their talent side by side with their curricular knowledge and skills, we will offer a range of sports such as cricket, football, tennis, volleyball, basketball and table tennis.

• We have requested our sports partner, Edusports, to benchmark children on their sports abilities at Class III, VI and VIII.

• At Class III, children with innate sport ability will be spotted for development of that talent.

• At Class VI, these children will be separated into groups based on the sport they have talent for, and in which they will now receive coaching.

• At Class VIII, if their talent shows real promise, we will discuss their future with their parents, transfer them to NIOS and enrol them in the hostel.

• These children will now receive specialized and intensive training from coaches who are trained at the national level.

• They will then play at the league, district or state level, depending on their skill level.

• The NIOS stream will permit them to pursue their learning goals without any compromise.

• The aim is to assist children to develop their skills at the minimum to playing at a district or state level, so that, when they graduate from High School, they can get into a College or course of their choice through a sport quota.

• We are in the process of setting up a separate vertical for sports development where children will be able to realize their sporting aspirations alongside their scholastic abilities.

• We have made a beginning by starting to make fully-fledged facilities for cricket and football. Both these facilities should be available for use by the next school year. Facilities for the other sports will follow. These facilities will include the following:

• Special coaches who are certified at the national level.

• Football and cricket fields that are of professional grade, and where children can play throughout the year.

• A professional gym where they can develop their abilities.

• Other facilities such as Physiotherapists, Nutritionists, Sports Psychologists and Doctors on call.

• A league team/s where they can showcase their talent on a stage, and be seen by talent scouts for the state and national arena.

 

Teacher Training:

 We will develop a detailed induction program for new teachers, focussing on the following areas:

• Culture and Values

• Teaching Methodology (Omega’s approach to teaching and learning)

• Culture and Values

• Teaching Methodology (Omega’s approach to teaching and learning)

• Subject handling

• Classroom Management

• Merit & Demerit System

• School Policy

• Student Safety

• All teachers at Class I will now be encouraged to acquire certification under the IGCSE system, so that they may prepare to handle the new curriculum better.

• Over a four-year period, class teachers of classes from UKG to III will have to acquire the competency and associated certification to teach students through all these four years. At the end of this process, these teachers will be some of the best qualified teachers in the entire school.

• The class coordinator for each class will hold meetings over the summer with their colleagues, class teachers of the same class, to discuss and evolve lesson plans for the next year, based on the number of topics to be covered, the level of difficulty of each and the guiding principle of “No child left behind”.

• Teachers will have to collaborate with the class coordinator to develop lesson plans, deliver content, assess the performance by the students, and adjust these plans based on student performance.

• Teachers will also have to constantly upgrade the content offering to make it more appealing to the children and easier to understand.

• Teachers of higher classes from VI to XII will need to be trained to handle difficult topics and to augment existing teaching practises through innovative new methods so that the children in their charge are able to understand and apply these topics with ease.

• The various HoD’s will have to have meetings side by side with the subject teachers in their departments to ensure that they are up to speed in the subject and topics for the year they are teaching.

 

How are we teaching critical thinking, collaboration, innovation, entrepreneurship and leadership, values and problem solving skills?

Omega was founded for the purpose of developing balanced children who are capable of being successful in the real world, but yet have a sense of values, ethics and morals that are so sadly lacking in today’s world.

This we do through the Value Based Spiritual Education Program, which is the foundation of all education in the school. Side by side with this program is the Life Skills Activities Program, which gives children the skills that they need to survive in their day-to-day lives.

These two programs give the children the learning and experience that makes them imbibe and make these values and skills a part of their lives.

Apart from this, we have a whole host of other programs, which give the children the other skills they need:

• Cubs and Bulbuls

• Scouts and Guides

• National Cadet Corps

• International School Award school

• International Award for Young People (Duke of Edinburgh Award)

• Participation in the UN Student Leadership Conference on development, six years in a row. This year we have been honoured with the responsibility of selecting the topic.

• Also, we are inviting neighbouring schools to send students to participate as team members in our team. Next year, we will host the live video conference.

• Participation in Mock UN and hosting of mock UN on campus

• Interact club on campus

• Un Academic Impact for projects on environmental sustainability issues

• Music training in collaboration with Rhapsody

• Annual “Kalanjali” program organized and conducted by students