Professional Development

Empowering Teachers: Workshop on Children with Special Needs at TISVV

At TISVV, our commitment extends to creating a safe, inclusive environment for every student, including those with special needs. Each teacher endeavors to understand every child and provide necessary support. On March 27, 2024, teachers attended a workshop focused on children with special needs and effective classroom management techniques. Ms. Komal Malik, the school counselor, served as the resource person, providing insights into various behavioral issues and neurological developmental disorders. Additionally, Ms. Neeti Khullar, a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, shared her journey and struggles, thus enhancing teachers’ empathy and understanding.

Quiz Time With Arindam Bhattacharya – Teachers Workshop

General awareness is the mark of an educated, curious mind with a broader understanding of the world around us. Students enjoy quizzing at all stages and this can be a useful tool for educators to address the knowledge vacuum and create better informed individuals. Mr. Arindam Bhattacharya, a quiz enthusiast who has had a long association with the Quiz and Debate Club of TISVV, held an informative yet enjoyable session with the teachers of the Primary and Middle wing on 12 March 2024. Demonstrating various games and listing some of the areas where students should be encouraged to know basic facts, he proved that quizzing could also be an enjoyable mood-enhancer in the classroom. Clearly, quizzing is a valuable educational tool, promoting active learning, and increasing the students’ awareness of the world around us.

Ms Archna Vashistha Conducts Workshop For Math Teachers of Delhi Government Schools

As part of the Capacity Building Program organised by SCERT(State council of Educational Research and Training)  Ms Archna  Vashistha of Tagore International School, Vasant Vihar was nominated to conduct a one day workshop for PGT Mathematics of Delhi government schools at DIET(District Institute of Education and Training) Keshav Puram, Delhi on 18 October 2023.

Through PPTs and hands-on activities, Ms Archana demonstrated techniques to aid  learning and dispel the fear factor associated with the subject amongst senior secondary students. This was followed by discussion on various Teaching- Learning strategies to throw light on multiple concepts and bridge the learning gaps. Practice papers of various schools were shared with the educators to create a question pool for helping the young learners.

The workshop concluded with an interesting question answer round where certain remedial steps were suggested to assist the low achievers.

 Ms Archna said that it was an enriching experience for her and she looks forward to sharing her learning with students of our school.

Taking a Fresh Look at Inclusivity – Workshop for Teachers

While we at TIS,VV pride ourselves on being  extremely open-minded and inclusive, there is always space for improvement and introspection.  To create safe and inclusive spaces for our students is an area of utmost concern for all teachers here. To aid us in this endeavour, the teachers were guided by Sahil and Kiran, both working with the Naz Foundation which has been instrumental in the campaign for LGBTQIA+  rights and has also been an active support for our unique campaign Breaking Barriers which was initiated exactly 10 years ago.  This workshop on 21 September 2023 threw up a number of issues which started with the concept of what contributes bullying to ways of creating safe and inclusive spaces where each student feels respected and accepted. Bravely sharing their own experiences of bullying while in school, Kiran and Sahil encouraged teachers to rethink their strategies and reach out to students  in need of an empathetic listener.

Teachers Take a Fresh Look at Values in Education

A workshop for all teachers held in two batches on  16  and 18 September 2023, focused on the very essential topic of values in education. Guided by Ms Neera Chopra  ( Academic Consultant) and Ms Mallika Preman (Principal , TIS, EOK) the teachers took a fresh look at the features and concept of values. The Central Board of Secondary education has designed an innovative Values EducationCurriculum, which is a conscious effort to develop in young people the core values which are affirmed across all cultures. Teachers looked at strategies to nurture ethical reflection, understanding of values and behavior modification among their students in a variety of ways. The students of TIS have always been guided to become compassionate, honest,  empathetic  and respectful to both environment and other people around.  The teachers will continue to mentor and help them in all possible ways.

Financial Literacy for Teachers

The importance of saving, investing wisely and knowing how to maximize returns was the focus of a very interesting workshop on Financial Literacy held in the school on 12 September 2023 for the teachers.  Mr Ramkumar Gupta of Kotak Mutual Funds guided the teachers through the various processes of investment in mutual funds, SIPs and diversified investments.  He spoke about retirement plans and systematic withdrawal plans. It was a highly informative and eye-opening session for most of the participants who learnt about effective tools for saving and investment. 

Festival of Libraries 2023

Ms Aliza Zaidi and Ms Madhuri, attended the two-day Delhi Festival of Libraries 2023 at Pragati Maidan on 5 and 6 August and it was an event like no other. Organized by the Ministry of Culture, this unique festival aimed to promote conversations on the development and digitization of public libraries in India while nurturing a love for reading through community engagement. It celebrated various allied crafts and aspects of cultural heritage that contribute to the world of literature. There were exhibitions on cartography, calligraphy, and cursive writing, focus on 22 vernacular languages including tribal fonts and scripts, promoting linguistic diversity and inclusivity.

Libraries that have demonstrated exemplary work at national, state, district, village, institutional, and individual levels were also felicitated.

Capacity Building Programme for Teachers on Gender Sensitivity

The vision of TIS,VV includes provision of inclusive education with equal opportunities for all students. UNESCO too calls for attention to gender equality throughout the education system and as educators we understand that gender-sensitive pedagogy holds the key to ensuring equitable quality education for all learners.
With this in mind, all teachers attended a CBSE capacity building workshop on gender sensitivity and gender equality on 22 July and 24 July 2023, with Ms Neera Chopra (Academic Consultant) and Ms Mallika Preman (Principal, TIS, EOK)  as the resource persons.  This intensive day-long workshop encouraged every teacher to reflect and introspect on ways to make both our classroom transactions and informal interactions with students even more unbiased.  While we pride ourselves on being completely fair and unbiased in all ways, there is always room for us to hone our skills. Relevant and thought provoking videos and activities, plus a lot of meaningful discussions, sharing of real life incidents and different perspectives from all the participants made the workshop an excellent learning experience
Such workshops will definitely help teachers to reflect on and overcome their biases if any, even down to use of gender-neutral language during class discussions. Such initiatives in teacher education with a focus on gender equality, equity and justice will help us mould students into open minded and liberal citizens, free of bias or stereotypes.

Reading 5.0 - Dr Ameeta Mulla Wattal Speaks on Ken Robinson

Reading is an integral part of the growth of every educator, and when a renowned educationist like Dr Ameeta Mulla Wattal spoke about the importance of reading while focusing on the work of the well known author, speaker and educationist Ken Robinson : no doubts about it, this was a treat for every teacher. Time just flew and before one knew it the one hour Zoom webinar on 24 November 2022 was over, but it left the listeners with a lot of thought provoking insights and a keen desire to read Ken Robinson’s books with greater attention. Dr Wattal spoke eloquently and with great understanding of the benefits of reading – which not only affects all our sensibilities for the better, but also increases white matter in the brain. She drew attention to Ken Robinson’s thoughts on the needs of the 21 st century learner to be encouraged by educators who are able to find and bring out the talent of every child. Certainly there are going to be many more teachers buying or borrowing ‘The Element’, ‘Finding Your Element’ or ‘You, Your Child and Your School. ’ Ms Sarmistha Ganguli, Ms Antima Kishore, Ms Yachana Villaitrani and Ms Rita Ronita Sen from the TIS faculty attended this absorbing session.

Cyber Security Workshop for Teachers

Understanding the significance and procedures of protecting data from unauthorized access or loss and preventing financial fraud and embezzlement are the need of the hour. Keeping this requirement in mind, a ‘Cyber Security Workshop’ was organized for the school faculty on 19 November 2022. The resource persons, Ms Seema Mongia, PGT Computer Science and Ms Manisha Gusain, PRT Computer Science talked about Cyber Crimes, Cyber Security and Cyber Safety. Security measures. Cyber Laws and Digital Wellbeing were also covered, giving examples and discussing case studies. Actions required to be taken to protect personal and official information and the need to apprise students about the same was also discussed.

Subject Integration Workshop for Teachers by Ratnasagar

Integrated curriculums allow students to have a deeper understanding of the subject matter and how to apply matter that they have learned in the classroom to real life situations. This ultimately helps to prepare them for their future studies, career and life in general.  With this principle in mind, a workshop was organised on 19 November 2022, with Ms Monisha Gupta and Mr Sandeep of Ratnasagar  as resource persons for all the teachers of the school. Tagore International has always advocated and practiced integration of subjects as a mode of encouraging higher level thinking skills and bringing out the connections between the different subjects. However, a reinforcement of what one knows is always valuable.  Energizing activities, serious discussion and brainstorming left the teachers enriched with new ideas to pursue subject integration in varied ways in their classrooms.

Capacity Building Program on Learning Objectives and Pedagogies on 5 November 2022

As part of our constant efforts to improve ourselves and move to the next level, workshops on various topics are regularly organised for the teachers. This CBSE workshop on 5 November 2022, was an intensive  day long one where teachers from both the Primary and the Senior wing explored all aspects of Learning Outcomes and the different approaches to various pedagogies. Learning outcomes help faculty and students come to a common understanding about the purpose and goals of a course or academic program. When the Learning outcomes are clear and comprehensive teachers will find it easier to provide an easier pathway for student success. Students too should understand learning outcomes so that they may regulate their own learning and assess how far they have understood the concepts being taught. Ms Neera Chopra ( Academic Consultant) and Ms Mallika Preman (Principal TIS,EOK) guided the teachers through a series of group activities and discussions to provide insights into the various aspects of the topic.

Capacity Building Program on National Education Policy on 30 July 2022

Managing Difficult Behaviour in the Classroom

The student is not difficult, their behavior is. With this in mind, Counselling Psychologist Ms. Ashrita Mahajan from Fortis Hospital held an interactive session with our teachers on 7th May 2022 on how to identify and manage behavioral issues in classrooms. All young children can be naughty or impulsive from time to time. However, some children have extremely difficult and challenging  behaviours that are outside the norm for their age and understanding the cause can help in better management. Ms. Mahajan shared a variety of strategies for either an individual or a whole group, emphasizing positive reinforcement and encouragement to modify such issues.

Capacity Building Program on Physical Education was held for primary teachers on 23 March 2022

A physical Education Card workshop was held for primary teachers on 23rd March, 2022. The session was a refreshing as well as energizing for the teachers. It was ably led by Mr. Mukesh Kohli from PEC, India. With a career spanning more than three decades in various schools and Delhi University, he exhorted the teachers to awaken their inner child by engaging in various fun yet resourceful activities. These involved kinaesthetic activities that paved the way for teaching various academic concepts. Presumed as tough, the concepts of mathematics and languages were broken down into smaller chunks that were engaging and delightful. Amidst laughter, engrossed in group activities, teachers shared their new found ideas of how conventional teaching methods can be transformed into joyful learning. The workshop was an eye-opener that the journey of learning can be adorned with laughter, new ideas and unlimited possibilities and at the same time lead to physically fit youngsters  

Workshop on Pedagames

A workshop on ‘Pedagames’ was conducted by Ms. Uma Chopra and Ms. Puja Singh on 30 March 2022 in TIS, Vasant Vihar, for teachers of both the branches of the school. The workshop emphasized on the importance of learning and teaching through fun-filled games that can be conducted in classrooms.Various energizers like brain gym activities, Kriya yoga, tapping exercises and group bonding activities were conducted along with the participants creating various card games using metacognitive skills.The workshop was a step forward towards learning to create happy classrooms.