The Indian government hadannounced a countrywide lockdown in March 2020 during which all private andpublic educational institutions including the best schools of Noida got closed for an indefinite period of time.Even as banks, businesses and government organisations opened in stages duringthe successive unlock phases, the schools had to remain shut for the safety ofyoung children.
From the last week ofFebruary 2021, some of the top international schools in Delhi and NCR have started reviving their campusactivities. The students of Grades 9 to 12 are slowly coming back to theirclasses in small batches.
Some of IBDP schools in Noida haveadopted a hybrid model of teaching that requires some students to be present inthe actual class while others can simultaneously attend the lessons from theirhomes by connecting digitally. The idea is to enable direct interaction withteachers and close any learning gaps that were affecting the academic progressof senior students.
Nolaxity in safety measures
While the vaccination drives havestarted against COVID-19, the number of active and new cases continues to behigh and schools are taking necessary precautions for the safety of students,teachers and administrative staff.
For the students coming toschool, the furniture has been spaced apart for adequate social distancing. Noone is allowed to visit the campus or sit for classes without a mask coveringtheir mouth and nose. Any student or staff member with symptoms of fever, cold,runny nose, sore throat, cough, fatigue, muscle pain or other illnesses will bestaying at home.
Most of these schoolsincluding Cambridge school in Noida are also getting ready to hold thefinal examinations for different grades. Whether these will be conducted onlineor in regular mode will be decided by individual school bodies. By evaluatingthe learning of students in time the schools want to ensure that the year2020-2021 was not washed out as a zero academic year.
Advantagefor the active learners of IB schools
Under the International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes, the students areencouraged to participate in tasks that help them become active learners. Whileorganising its online classes, the best IB school in Noida assigned myriad activities that enabled deep understandingof different subjects.
Some of the techniques used foractive teaching and learning include:
- Impromptuquestion and answer technique
- In-classdemonstrations
- Brainstorming
- One-minutepapers
- Shortcase studies
- Groupdiscussions
- Think-pair–share
With such methodologies in theironline classes the students got ample opportunities to understand their studymaterial and analyse it critically instead of just memorising certain facts.
This is a key advantage for learnersreturning to their campus after a long break – these students did not just readout content from a certain number of books but comprehended what matters in thesyllabus. They developed creative projects, generated their own ideas ondifferent topics, demonstrated applications of concepts, wrote their reviews onhow they understood lessons, and compared their unique answers with others.Therefore, even if they were away from their classmates, they kept theiracademic journey engaging and valuable for the year.
If you too want your children toleverage such IB teaching and learning strategies, apply for their admission inthe best senior secondary school in Noida. IB schools in NCR are inviting online applications for the newacademic session 2021-2022.
Author bio - TheNoida based campus of Amity Global School was established in the 2010 and hasbeen helping young scholars imbibe the virtues of holistic education year afteryear. A disciplined approach to academics, sports and extra-curricularactivities is the hallmark of the institution.
