CCE is an approach that aims at assessing the overall development of a student at regular intervals of his/her academic session. In case a student is facing some learning difficulties, this evaluation approach also employs proper remedial measures to enhance the performance of the student. CCE provides enough flexibility and scope for promoting and assessing the all-round development of a child on a continuous basis, which is not possible through the traditional system of yearly examination that is still in existence in our schools. The term CCE is a combination of three different words, i.e. continuous, comprehensive and evaluation. These words are described one by one below for the basic understanding of this education system:
• Continuous refers to regularity in assessment. The development of a child is a continuous process. Therefore; it should be evaluated continuously, which means that evaluation has to be completely integrated with the teaching-learning process so that the progress of a student can be evaluated regularly and frequently, and any shortcomings are identified timely.
• Comprehensive refers to both scholastic and non-scholastic areas of a student’s growth. According to the theory behind making the school-based evaluation process comprehensive, the function of a school is not only to build up the cognitive capacities of a student but also develop his/her non-cognitive abilities. This can be ensured when the overall evaluation procedure of the school is comprehensive.
• Evaluation is the process of finding out the extent to which the desired changes have taken place in students. It therefore requires the collection of evidences regarding the student’s growth or progress so that this information can be used for decision making. Thus, information gathering, judgement and decision making are the three phases of the evaluation process. We can say that a continuous comprehensive evaluation covers the whole range of a student’s experiences in the context of school environment, which includes the physical, intellectual, emotional and social aspects of the student’s growth. A teacher teaching in a class has an objective of helping students to achieve mastery in the learning of concepts. But other than this, students learn many other things that are not related to the knowledge expected out of the subject. Students also develop attitude, aptitude, awareness and interest, side by side. There is a constant change in their personality, vision and thinking style. These changing aspects of students can be measured. So, for the overall development of students, there is a need for comprehensive evaluation. Therefore, CCE has been introduced to evaluate the total personality of students throughout their academic session.
CCE In An EVS Classroom
As an EVS teacher at the primary level, the emphasis of teaching should be that your students enjoy the subject matter and also have the opportunity to share their experiences with the class. As an EVS teacher, you must keep in mind that students at the primary level relate any event, situation or learning experience in a holistic and thematic way in place of relating them in parts. For this type of development in the students, EVS has been considered an integrated core curricular area at the primary level. We can discuss this concept class-wise as follows:
• For classes I and II: At this level, a teacher should teach a topic or lesson by integrating the area with language and mathematics.
• For classes III, IV and V: At this level, a teacher should deal with the subject matter or content area in a core curricular form. Thus, in respect of ‘integrated core curricular area,’ we can say that this nature of EVS provides great support for a teacher to reduce the load of curriculum. In addition, the integrated nature of EVS helps students to learn concepts more effectively and meaningfully. This is the reason why the teaching-learning process is thematic in nature as well as child-centered at the primary level. While teaching EVS at the primary level, a teacher should emphasise that students take interest in the topic or content during a class session. Moreover, students should be made to share their own experiences in the class regarding the subject or topic. CCE also focuses on the enjoyment of students in EVS classes. According to NCF 2005, there are some points to commemorate by an EVS teacher for teaching in the class. These points are given in the new textbooks of EVS based on NCF 2005:
• The teacher should use layman language while teaching EVS.
• The teacher should relate students’ previous knowledge to the newly given knowledge.
• Peer learning and improvement of social interaction are promoted by group learning.
• EVS teaching demands active participation of students to acquire new knowledge.
• During EVS teaching, audio-visual aids play a very important role in the learning process.
• The teacher should use various types of teaching materials or aids to encourage students and motivate them.
• With the help of EVS teaching, a learner must find a suitable path to sensitise the wide differences that exist within his/her society.
Aims Of CCE In Teaching-Learning Process
The following are the main aims of CCE:
• To facilitate the whole teaching-learning process
• To provide diagnostic achievement data to teachers
• To provide proper guidance to students for their mistakes
• To provide students feedback relating to their performance
• To improve the achievement of students and assist them to achieve the desired level of learning
• To evaluate those objectives of learning that cannot be evaluated by hour-limited written tests or annual examinations
Role Of CCE In Students’ Life
The main role of CCE is to help in reducing the academic pressure on the students by:
• Involving learning activities in the teaching-learning process
• Desisting from giving negative comments on the learner’s performance
• Encouraging learning by making a variety of teaching aids and techniques
• Frequently checking the learning progress of students
• Employing a variety of remedial measures of teaching based upon learning needs and potential of different students
• Recognising and encouraging the special abilities of students, e.g. some students do not excel in academics but perform well in other co-curricular areas.
Expectations Of CCE From An EVS Class
On behalf of the RTE Act, CCE demands the overall development of a learner. This type of development of a child includes cognitive development, socio-emotional development and physical development. According to CCE, aspects or dimensions of overall development of a child can only be nurtured through a whole range of learning experiences that a child participates in and beyond school. CCE also expects to construct a comprehensive picture of a learner’s personality from an EVS class. CCE also emphasises gathering information with respect to the learner’s various skills, interest areas, knowledge, motivation, attitude, feelings, sensitivities and other learning situations and opportunities both in and out of school. List of Indicators for Assessment in an EVS Class A broad list of assessment indicators has been drawn up so that teachers can plan learning tasks in line with EVS learning expectations discussed in the above section. These indicators have been developed for Class III-V children. Through this, it is expected that skills, values, attitudes and views would be developed over a period of time. Broad indicators as identified for primary-stage EVS learning are given below (indicator-wise details appended):
• Observation and recording: Reporting, narrating drawing, picture reading, picture making, tables and maps, etc.
• Discussion: Listening, talking, expressing opinions, finding out from others, etc.
• Expression: Drawing, body movements, creative writing, sculpting, etc.
• Explanation: Reasoning, making logical connections, etc.
• Classification: Categorising, grouping, contrasting and comparing, etc.
• Questioning: Expressing curiosity, critical thinking, developing questions, etc.
• Analysis: Predicting, making hypotheses and inferences, etc.
• Experimentation: Improvising, making things and doing experiments, etc.
• Concern for justice and equality: Sensitivity towards the disadvantaged or differently abled, showing concern for environment, etc.
• Cooperation: Taking responsibility and initiative, sharing and working together, etc. (Source link: http://ncert.nic.in/ncerts/l/eeap1ps.pdf)
Formative Assessment (FA) And Summative Assessment (SA)
FA and SA both are the tools of evaluation. These tools help a teacher to evaluate his/her teaching. As evaluation is an important part of the teaching-learning process, let us understand its concept by categorising it as follows:
Formative Assessment (Fa)
Formative assessment (Assessment for learning) is the tool used for continuously monitoring the student’s progress, during the teaching-learning process in a nonthreatening and supportive environment. Formative assessment consists of immediate tests hence considers limited content and short-range objectives. It is a programme designed to monitor the instructional process to determine whether learning is taking place as planned. It provides continuous information in the form of feedback to both teachers as well as students that can be used to modify the programme to improve its effectiveness. It is done for identifying learning gaps among students and fixing them, not for giving marks/grades to them or declare them as having failed or passed. It is not meant for formal reporting. However, a teacher can record unstructured observations of students that emphasises the continuous evaluation of a learner.
Tools For FA
The primary tools for FA that are used by a teacher are as follows:
• Observation
• Projects
• Unit tests
• Classwork
• Homework
• Assignments
• Weekly tests
• Oral questions
• Quizzes and competitions at the end of lessons
Summative Assessment (Sa)
The term ‘summative’ means summing up of all the available information regarding a programme at its terminal point. In other words, summative assessment signifies all those tests that are taken at the end of a semester or year after the completion of all units and lessons. We can also say that SA is the final phase in the concerned evaluation programme. It is conducted usually at the end of a chapter, semester or course. Thus, SA is used for determining a student’s achievement and a teacher’s success. It is the final judgement about the exact progress of students. In SA, the grading system is used to evaluate students’ performance. Grades provide the school with a landmark for passing or failing students. SA also provides an account of a student’s performance. It is based on student’s test scores and written work. Tools for SA: The primary tools for SA that are used by a teacher are as follows:
• Classroom projects
• Final or annual examinations
• Rating of performance in experiments and viva test
• Standardised achievement tests or teacher-made achievement tests Core sticking to paper-pencil test should be avoided to assess children’s learning as it does not properly assess all the domains of their skills and abilities. There are different ways at primary level, suitable for summative assessment other than paperpencil test such as oral expression, surveying, discussion, working in groups or as individuals to perform activities, experiment, drawing and reading picture, composing a poem/song, referring to portfolios and anecdotal records to recollect the progress of each child, etc.
Portfolio
Portfolio is a systematic collection of all forms of a learner’s/child’s work done during a defined period or a term that describes a learner’s achievements in one or more subjects. It does not record only the ‘test scores’ but the actual work done over each quarter whether marked or not. It includes worksheet, observation reports, assignments, oral work report, etc. Uses of portfolio: It helps the teacher and parents to know about the weaknesses and strengths of their children. It also helps in assessing interest areas and personalsocial qualities of a child. Anecdotal record: Anecdotal record represents a short story (a report) of an observed incident of child’s work by an educator. Based on the above description and explanation, we can draw a conclusion that both FA and SA are essential in the teaching-learning process because both work as important tools of evaluation. In other words, we can say that FA and SA are complementary to each other.
Preparing Question Paper For The Test
Testing objectives and content coverage of a question paper should be focused while preparing it. This means the question paper should have good content coverage and satisfy the pre-determined objectives.
Other points to be considered while preparing a question paper are:
• Language used to write a question paper should be clear, precise and unambiguous
• Difficulty level of question paper should be according to the level of students
• Values/marks and limit of answering carried by each question and its sub-parts should be indicated in a question paper.
Types Of Questions
There are different types of questions based on the answer they require. The two types are:
• Objective questions
• Subjective questions Objective questions: Objective questions are closed-ended questions that are answered with definite knowledge. They can also be called the fixed-response type of questions. These include:
• Multiple choice questions
• Fill in the blanks
• True or false
• Naming
• Matching Subjective questions: Subjective questions are open-ended questions which are answered with some creativity. They can also be called the free-response type of questions. The students are allowed to write answers of such questions in their own way of understanding. These include:
• Essay type questions
• Short type questions
Problems of Classroom Teaching
A class is a group or collection of students who are gathered in a particular place for a specific reason that is studying or learning. In this class, each and every student has his/her unique personality traits and Intelligence Quotient (IQ), adjustment capacity, memorising ability and other individual differences too. On the basis of all such factors, every student behaves in a different manner with the other during the teaching-learning process. This type of variation in students creates problems for a teacher while teaching in the classroom. According to Valentine, the term ‘problem child’ is generally used to describe children whose behaviour or personality is, in some way, seriously abnormal. The major problems of classroom teaching are discussed in the next section.
Problems due to Complexities of Behaviours
In this category, complexities depend upon the child’s age, gender and ability. Let us know what some famous psychologists have to say through their studies in this area:
• Spark, in 1952, studied about the problems of primary classes and found these major problems in students like carelessness in schoolwork, interrupting while teaching, monotony, whispering, tattling, silliness, etc. All these activities affect the teaching-learning process.
• Stouffer and Owens, in 1955, studied the problems among studying students during classes. These problems included telling lies, laziness, immorality, deceiving, neglecting, truancy, damaging school property, etc. All these activities are examples of the relatively serious complexities of students’ behaviour.
• Brideen Sisters, in 1956, persuaded school teachers to classify classroom problems in the order of seriousness. In this study, both the sisters found out about ten most common problems in students or learners. These problems included stealing, truancy, refusal to study, defiance, wasting time, use of profane language, etc.
• Clark studied classroom problems from a teacher’s viewpoint. According to Clark, teachers are more annoyed with those students who use falsehoods to hide their misdeeds, keep on talking in the class, do not bring textbooks or other study materials from home, interrupt the teacher, damage library books, annoy or tease smaller children, etc.
Causes of Problematic Behaviour
The main causes of problematic behaviour in a student or learner are as follows:
• Physical defects: Children with physical deformities, such as blind, deaf, fat, thin, tall, short and handicapped
• Heredity causes: These include inherited factors, diseases, weaknesses, etc.
• Causes related to family and environment: These include poverty, domestic quarrels, neglects, lax discipline, etc.
Some Common Disorders
Some common disorders in a student are discussed as follows:
• Dyslexia: Difficulty to spell, write or read words
• Alexia: Inability to identify and read written words or letters
• Autism: Inability to communicate and interact with other people
• Phobia: An irrational fear of something or someone
• Agoraphobia: An irrational fear about being in open or public places
• Visual impairment: Inability to see or watch properly
• Hearing impairment: Inability to hear or listen properly
Teaching Material
As an EVS teacher, if you plan to teach your subject effectively and interestingly in the class, it takes a number of attributes such as your knowledge, teaching experience, teaching strategies, teaching principles, way of analysing content, and use of appropriate teaching technologies or methodologies. All these aspects will help you to produce both effect and interest in your teaching style. However, if there is an insufficiency of the right teaching material, which is also very important from students’ point of view, class teaching will get affected even with the inclusion of the aforesaid attributes. Presence/ absence or aptness/inaptness of teaching materials is equally responsible for the effectiveness of a topic taught to students. Teaching materials have the potential to affect a student’s cognitive, affective and psychomotor domains of learning process.
Meaning Of Teaching Material
In the teaching of EVS at primary level, teaching materials serve as facilitating means to help a teacher to introduce or explain a topic effectively. A well-planned and systematic teaching is possible with the help of appropriate teaching materials. Teaching materials aid in inspiring and motivating students towards the process or learning. They also help the teacher to break the monotony of daily classes. Teaching materials appeal to the three E’s of a student—ears, eyes and emotions. According to Devyer, Educational aids are the realism of education. They provide reality to the teaching-learning process.
Need And Importance Of Teaching Material
The following are the reasons that necessitate the usage of teaching materials in the teaching-learning process:
• It helps in the development of the mental faculties of a student.
• It helps a teacher with the lesson plan of a topic or subtopic.
• An effective and creative teaching material reinforces students’ learning.
• It comes as a handy substitute option in place of using real objects.
• It is helpful in driving the interest and attention of students towards the content.
Aims Of Using Teaching Material In EVS
The primary purposes of using teaching material during class teaching are as follows:
• To explain the properties of the associated objects
• To illustrate natural phenomena like volcano, rain, earthquake, etc.
• To help a teacher to present a topic in a brief and effective manner
• To aid students’ learning when it is impossible to create a real atmosphere or situation during the teaching process
• To define a thought, idea or concept in a better way; for example, to explain the directions in a map or on a globe
Characteristics Of Teaching Material
Teaching materials make class instructions easy to understand with the help of relevant details and examples. In terms of characteristics, a good teaching material should be able to:
• Realise positive transfer of knowledge through the presentation of concepts and facts from the related field
• Help to remember the learning material matter for a long time
• Provide reinforcement to the learning capacity of students
• Develop the perception and attention of students towards the content
• Stimulate as well as direct students to achieve the target knowledge or skills
Why A Teacher Uses Teaching Material During Class Teaching
The kind of teaching materials to be used depends upon the teacher, content or situation in which the learner or student is learning. Some of the most common reasons as to why a teacher uses teaching material during his/her class teaching are as follows:
• To supplement the teaching-learning process
• To provide information in accordance with the mental level of students
• To develop a lesson plan with specific objectives
• To arouse interest in students towards the topic being taught
Classification Of Teaching Material
Broadly, teaching materials are classified into three categories. These categories according to their usage in EVS are as follows:
• Audio teaching materials: This category of teaching materials aids the teaching that is imparted through the sense of hearing. Some of the examples of audio teaching materials are radio, cassette player, tape recorder, etc.
• Visual teaching materials: This category of teaching materials aids the teaching that is imparted through the sense of seeing. Some of the examples of visual teaching materials are books, blackboard/whiteboard, pictures, charts, models, etc.
• Audio-visual teaching materials: This category of teaching materials appeals to both hearing and seeing senses of students. Audio-visual teaching materials aim at obtaining the cognitive, affective and psychomotor objectives of teaching. Some of the examples of audio-visual teaching materials are television, computer, films, etc. Description of some of the most useful teaching aids in EVS that help the teacher through outclass teaching are as follows:
• OHP: OHP stands for overhead projector. It is a device used for projecting the data printed on top of the projector transparencies on the screen. A transparency is a transparent photographic slide that is placed on a horizontal stage on top of the light source to view the content on it by projection. In EVS teaching, a teacher can use OHP as a teaching aid to explain while displaying
content, such as flowcharts, hierarchies of a civilisations or cultures, content analyses, classifications, pictures, etc.
• Educational films: An audio-video teaching material is the best kind of teaching aid because it affects all the domains of learning of students, i.e. cognitive, affective and psychomotor. A film or movie is an audio-visual teaching aid. An EVS teacher makes use of this teaching aid as part of the teaching material by playing various educational films and videos for a faster and deeper understanding of the topic. These films may be related to wildlife, aquatic life, current environment issues, science, etc. These types of films make students creative and imaginative and motivate them towards learning.
• Map: A map is a two-dimensional representation of places, roads, rivers, forests, etc. A teacher can use a map for calculating the distance of various places. A teacher can also use a map to tell the students about locations of places and explain them directions from one place to another. On the other hand, he/she can use a map to discuss the diversity of forests, soils, climates, cultures, foods, agricultural patterns, etc.
• Globe: A globe is a three-dimensional model of planet Earth. A globe can help a teacher in the representation of different countries, continents, oceans, mountains, etc. of the world. It also helps a teacher in the explanation of Earth’s poles, axis, latitude lines, longitude lines, etc.
• Television: A television helps a teacher as an audio-visual teaching aid. Nowadays, there are so many informational TV channels that provide the knowledge of different and new kinds of concepts to students on EVS-related topics as well as many other subjects. Some of the most popular TV channels in this area are Discovery, Animal Planet, Discovery Science, National Geographic, Discovery Kids, etc. An EVS teacher can take the help of the programmes of these channels as an information source to his/her students. Besides, Doordarshan is also helpful to a teacher as an audio teaching aid as well as audio-visual teaching aid. Doordarshan started in Delhi on 15 September 1959. However, the regular transmission started in 1965 as a part of All India Radio (AIR). An EVS teacher can use Doordarshan as an audio-visual teaching aid by either making the arrangement of a television in his/her class or telling the students about the date and time of a particular educational programme that will be broadcast by Doordarshan. In the same way, AIR also plays a remarkable role as an audio teaching aid. It offers programmes that are related to migratory birds, agriculture, animal sanctuaries, festivals, bioscopes related to national heroes, etc.
• Flannel board: A flannel board is a rectangular ply board. Generally, the dimensions of a flannel board are 90cm X 60cm. An EVS teacher can use this board as a teaching aid by fixing a flannel board in his/her classroom and then putting up various objects such as cut-outs of newspapers, magazines or pictures related to EVS content matter. It will help students as well as the teacher to increase their general awareness with reference to EVS.
• Computer/laptop: A computer is considered to be an audio-visual teaching aid, which has its main source of information in the form of the Internet. A teacher can search and provide any sort of information from the Internet in an accurate and reliable way. An EVS teacher can use a computer or laptop as a teaching aid
in various ways: It helps a teacher to store information or data for future use. It provides the facility to prepare the content on a soft copy, which is an eco-green process and thus contributes to saving trees. Teaching with the help of the computer presentation tool, Power Point, is effective as well as attractive as it provides information through the use of well-designed slides