A unique educational pedagogy developed by Rishi Valley Institute for Educational Resources (RIVER) and Tide Learning Systems is reaching out to some 1,342 schools across 13 districts of AP with its multi-grade multi-level (MGML) teaching methodology.
The initiative was started on a pilot basis from the ongoing academic year of 2017-18 in the State for students of classes 1 and 2.
“This method of learning follows a ‘ladder system’ with movements corresponding to each concept. The child is assisted by a variety of learning resources in four subjects of mathematics, environmental studies, Telugu and English,” said B.S. Ram, zonal project coordinator of RIVER.
The innovative learning methodology was showcased at one of the stalls at National Girl Child Day celebrations held at AU Convocation Hall. A part of Rishi Valley Rural Education Centre, RIVER’s MGML pedagogy has been around for 40 years.
This programme has been adopted by government primary schools across several States, including Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.
In Andhra Pradesh, the programme is named Ananda Lahari Bodhana Vidhanam. As part of this initiative, primary school teachers were given orientation in the methodology.
“We are in talks with the State government to introduce the methodology in classes 3 to 5 in the next academic year,” Anupama Gummaraju, Development Head, Tide Learning Systems, told The Hindu .
The MGML learning pedagogy follows a completely different classroom environment, in which children sit and work in circles rather than in the traditional rows facing a single teacher.
“At the heart of it, this pedagogy emphasises that children must fully understand a concept before they move on to the next one,” said Ms. Gummaraju. This model is considered to be particularly effective in rural areas, where students are often absent from school for many days. “This has significantly reduced the dropout rate,” she added.
RIVER has been approached by agencies in Thailand, Israel, Turkey, Spain, Brazil, Maldives, Mexico, Kenya and South Africa among others.
Collaborative Education Projects modelled on the RIVER approach have already been initiated for primary school children in southern Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Germany and Nepal.
