MODULE 1
Describe your challenge #1
Lack of academic growth in lower order students and stagnation in higher and middle order students.
Briefly describe a problem where there is a gap between your aspiration and the current reality. A current challenge is ideal, but one from the past can be used as long as unresolved issues remain. Presumably you will describe something from your work life, but it could be from your personal, civic or community life as well. This exercise will be most useful to you if you choose the challenge that is most pressing to you, something getting in the way of you realizing your purpose.
Lack of academic growth in lower order students and stagnation in higher and middle order students. Difficulty in giving attention to develop EVERY student in the classroom.
2. Tell us what’s been done to address this challenge to date :
What actions have you already taken to address this challenge?
Student Leadership - Students taking responsibility of group performance (academics).
Learning resources - Creating and using differentiated content worksheets to cater to ALL children in the classroom.
Extra classes to support the lower order students.
Home Visits to invest the parents to further motivate the kids.
What are the perspectives of other stakeholders involved in this issue?
Student:
Lower Order: Fear of not being able to meet expectations (of all stakeholders)
Higher Order: “I know everything, I don’t need this.” Attitude
Parents: Students not being “model children” at home. Not doing work at home.
School staff (Principal and teachers): Boggled down by admin work in school so sometimes cannot pay attention to all students.
Fellow: All kids in my class are engaged and happy in learning.
Teach For India: One Day All Children will attain an excellent education.
What could they potentially gain or lose if progress is made?
Student: Gain - Confidence, Pride, Knowledge, Skills, Positive attitude Loss - Freedom of working as per their own will, lack of stress
Parents: Gain - Gratification, Pride
School staff (Principal and teachers): Higher result in school
Fellow: Better performance.
Teach For India: One step closer to their vision.
3. Why is this challenge important to you?
As a fellow, the main goal for us is to improve our classroom on a student vision scale that comprises of Culture of Achievement, Rigor, Values and Mindsets and Exposure & Access. It’s important to not leave any student behind and maximize our impact.
4. What benefits would it bring to you and/or your organization or community if progress was made?
As an organization it brings us closer to our vision that “One day all children will attain an excellent education.”
Describe your challenge #2
Briefly describe a problem where there is a gap between your aspiration and the current reality. A current challenge is ideal, but one from the past can be used as long as unresolved issues remain. Presumably you will describe something from your work life, but it could be from your personal, civic or community life as well. This exercise will be most useful to you if you choose the challenge that is most pressing to you, something getting in the way of you realizing your purpose.
An attrition rate of 30% at Teach For India, which could possibly be caused by:
Lack of contextual training
Lack of Fellow engagement and support
Lack of communication around linking personal vision and goals to the collecting vision and goals
2. Tell us what’s been done to address this challenge to date :
a. What actions have you already taken to address this challenge?
What actions have you already taken to address this challenge?
Constantly evolving training and development structures at Institute
Improved Fellow support through structures like PM Observations and Feedback, Learning Circles, Content Circles, FA Support et al
Opportunities for exposure to different career options – Policy, Curriculum, School Management, BTCP et al
b. What are the perspectives of other stakeholders involved in this issue?
1. Students: Discontinuity in learning
2. School: Reputational damage and shortage of staff
3. TFI: Waste of investment in terms of time and training efforts and strain on existing resources
c. What could they potentially gain or lose if progress is made?
1. Students: Continuous and potentially enhanced learning
2. School: Additional resources; improved results
3. TFI: Brings it closer to its collective vision of reaching out to all children with an excellent education
3. Why is this challenge important to you?
I feel quite strongly for the TFI movement and I feel the Fellows are the center of this movement. If we manage to hang on to our talent and develop them in a way that they find themselves contributing to the movement constructively not only in their existent capacities as fellows but also in their future roles as alumni we will not only be able to deepen our impact but also enhance our bandwidth.
4. What benefits would it bring to you and/or your organization or community if progress was made?
This will incrementally and directly help my organization inch closer to its vision of “One day all children will have an excellent education.
Describe your challenge #3
1. Briefly describe a problem where there is a gap between your aspiration and the current reality. A current challenge is ideal, but one from the past can be used as long as unresolved issues remain. Presumably you will describe something from your work life, but it could be from your personal, civic or community life as well. This exercise will be most useful to you if you choose the challenge that is most pressing to you, something getting in the way of you realizing your purpose.
Having a strong school team with common vision with current major challenge being team members having different priorities.
2. Tell us what’s been done to address this challenge to date:
a. What actions have you already taken to address this challenge?
As this is an ongoing challenge, so few steps have been taken towards it-
Created a communication portal wherein all members of the team can stay connected and updated.
Figured out a common free time within school hours for school team meeting/discussion which suits all the members of the school team.
b. What are the perspectives of other stakeholders involved in this issue?
Different stakeholders involved in this are-
Fellows
Kids
School Staff: Principal/Teachers.
It is yet to be discussed with the stakeholders involved as it is in the first level of issues of getting people to start to discuss about the school team and its vision.
c. What could they potentially gain or lose if progress is made?
Gains-
Fellows will have a larger impact through the support of a strong school team and will be able to divide work amongst each other on the basis of individual strengths that they have.
Kids (Non TFI) will be able to leverage the presence of TFI fellows in school.
School Staff (teachers) will be able to observe best practices in different TFI classrooms in the school and take the learnings back to their classes.
Principal will be able to see a change in non TFI classrooms as well, thus increasing the overall results of the school.
3. Why is this challenge important to you?
- This challenge of building a strong school team is really important to me as it will help me in multiplying the impact I can create through 2 years of my fellowship. It will give me an opportunity to move out of my classroom and bring a sustainable change at school level.
4. What benefits would it bring to you and/or your organization or community if progress was made?
As a fellow, this will help me in working on the collective action strand of Fellow Commitment Scale at Teach For India.(3 strands of FCS used to measure a Fellow’s journey through the fellowship- Personal transformation, Education Equity, Collective Action).
As an organisation, it will help us in moving close to our mission which says “One day all children will have an excellent
education” as this will help us in reaching more and more kids!
MODULE 2
Lack of academic growth in lower order students and stagnation in higher and middle order students. Difficulty in giving attention to develop EVERY student in the classroom.
Version 1: Describe the challenge as you normally talk about it with a colleague/friend/community member
We are still struggling to improve the level of our lower order kids. They still struggle with basic numeracy and literacy.
Version 2: Describe the challenge as it looks from the perspective of another person involved. If you have a hard time thinking of someone, choose the person who is most resistant to your idea of progress.
Differentiated practice
More academic intervention time
Personalized teaching (Extra classes)
Building personal relations and understanding context.
Version 3: Describe the challenge in a way that shows how you yourself may be contributing to the problem. If you’re like most people, you may not show up in versions 1 or 2.
Not managing time to plan in a customized way
Not planning for relevant academic intervention and resources.
Not enough emphasis on community visits.
An attrition rate of 30% at Teach For India, which could possibly be caused by:
Lack of contextual training
Lack of Fellow engagement and support
Lack of communication around linking personal vision and goals to the collective vision and goals
Version 1: Describe the challenge as you normally talk about it with a colleague/friend/community member
Lack of an concerted effort to push people towards professionalism.
Fellows sometimes find it difficult to relate the movement to their personal ambitions.
Inadequate support from the management and a gap in relationship building (placing processes over fellows)
Version 2: Describe the challenge as it looks from the perspective of another person involved. If you have a hard time thinking of someone, choose the person who is most resistant to your idea of progress.
School Principal-
Unprofessionalism on part of the organization.
Trust Issues
Children at risk
Strain on existing resources.
Version 3: Describe the challenge in a way that shows how you yourself may be contributing to the problem. If you’re like most people, you may not show up in versions 1 or 2.
Consistent display of unprofessionalism on part of existing fellows.
flagging mechanism to support management with gap analysis.
Lack of ownership wrt viewing it as a collective challenge.
Having a strong school team with common vision with current major challenge being team members having different priorities.
Version 1: Describe the challenge as you normally talk about it with a colleague/friend/community member
Difficulty in holding team meetings.
Communication gap between team members
Different work priorities of different team members.
lack of a shared vision as it has never been discussed.
Version 2: Describe the challenge as it looks from the perspective of another person involved. If you have a hard time thinking of someone, choose the person who is most resistant to your idea of progress.
Understanding the perspective and purpose of having a School Team.
Misalignment with personal goals.
Version 3: Describe the challenge in a way that shows how you yourself may be contributing to the problem. If you’re like most people, you may not show up in versions 1 or 2.
Moral dilemma with respect to being prescriptive and being proactive.
Trying to understand other person’s context.
Being presumptuous about what the other person wants.
