The novel coronavirus pandemic has unleashed widespread disruption across the globe. When the entire country went into an abrupt lockdown, we at TGSB had several questions and anxieties about the future. However, our priority was to ensure the health and safety of the school community. Seeing an opportunity in the looming challenges, we adapted to new ways of collaborating and working to ensure continuous learning for our students and smooth sailing through these difficult times for all our stakeholders. – Usha Iyer, principal, The Green School Bangalore, Kotur.
In the wake of the novel coronavirus pandemic outbreak, the education ecosystem has been undergoing a radical overhaul to deal with the exigencies of the deadly pandemic.
The untimely and abrupt disruption in regular schooling has driven school managements and staff to introduce innovative online teaching-learning solutions that enable unhindered learning for students.
The Green School Bangalore (TGSB), Kotur — nominated among the top 10 ‘Most environment-friendly schools’ in the country by the EducationWorld Grand Jury in 2019 — was one of the first schools in the city to make a swift transition to online learning amid the extended nationwide lockdown.
The key focus areas of TGSB’s comprehensive interim strategy include:
Seamless Virtual Learning: Being at the forefront of digital technologies driven pedagogical innovations, the school leveraged its strong Learning Management System (LMS) platform to offer a seamless virtual learning experience for students through a combination of flipped and blended learning methodologies.
Teacher Development: As a part of TGSB’s continuous faculty development programme, teachers were trained using augmented reality and Microsoft tools which enabled them to make their online classes more engaging and improve student learning outcomes.
Community Engagement: To address the grim situation of daily wage earners srtuggling to make ends meet during the lockdown, TGSB mobilised the school community to ensure provision of proper meals and basic necessities for the most vulnerable families.
The school also conducts weekly webinars to share learnings and insights with all its stakeholders.
“The TGSB family stood together to deal with the crisis. The teachers and support staff put in extra efforts to complete the assessments. With their unparalleled commitment, results were declared on time. The parents have been extremely appreciative of our efforts and initiatives. Their support has further motivated us to push harder every single day. The classroom has been recreated, a community is being strengthened and teaching-learning will go on,” says Iyer.
