The Professional Development Programme was held on 1st and 2nd June 2018 and was aimed at influencing the teacher’s perspective towards oneself and the students. The session on 1st June started off with circle time, wherein the teachers were asked to mention their growth as an educator in the previous academic year. It was followed by a group activity, the objective of which was to bring out the achievements and struggles of the teachers during the previous academic year. This session proved to be very helpful to all the teachers.
The following session helped the teachers develop a deeper insight and understanding of their students and their academic and emotional needs. The teachers were guided in understanding and responding to the different behavior patterns of their students.
An Action plan was worked out in detail that addressed the academic, emotional and social needs of the students. On 2nd June, the session started again with a circle time. Key emphasis was laid on how circle time is a helpful activity for connecting with each other. Mrs. Jessy Vaz and Dr. Yolande Pereira stressed the need for the teachers to recognize that students have different learning abilities and encouraged them to plan their teaching methods and to evaluate and assess the students according to their abilities.
The second day session ended with the teachers being made aware of the learning difficulties that children face and all the possible strategies that could be adopted to find solutions for the same.
The overall aim of the seminar was to increase the awareness and understanding of the students’ needs rather than treating education as a mandatory process. The seminar focused on the need to appreciate, applaud and affirm children and be their bucket fillers rather than criticize, compare and condemn them and be a bucket emptier.