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1.0
Background
1.1. The
project conceived by the Ministry of Education to prepare educational material
for rural adults of Delhi and Haryana States was entrusted to the Department of
Teaching Aids, NCERT, New Delhi. The work was started with a team drawn from various
organizations in Feb. 1978 and finished by the end of May 1978. The material prepared
by the Delhi administration.
1.2. The project was carried out through workshops held at Khori, a village in
Harayana and completed in Delhi. It was financed by D. T. A. (NCERT). THE team
consisted of Field workers, Literary experts, Linguists, Writers, Artists, Photographer
and Educational technologies drawn from organisations such as Social Works Research
Centre, Khori and Tilonia; Literacy House, Lucknow; National Adult Education Directorate;
Department of Social Science and Humanities and Department of Teaching Aids of
NCERT.
1.3. This paper
deals with objectives, formation of the team, the assumptions made by the team
about the Adult Education Programme in this area, the methodology of the workshop
or the System Design, the materials prepared and their usage, teacher' role and
finally some comments on his training.
2.0
Objectives
To understand
motiational factors of adults which might contribute to learning.
To perceive the possible channel of communication for establishing rapport with
adults in the region to conduct the programme.
To get hints for development of material which might be acceptable to community
(or learners).
3.0.
Methodology of the workshop
3. 1. Preliminary Survey of the village Khori where the workshop were to be held.
3. 2. First workshop-assembling the team to share views on village, the rural
adult, the nonformal system and on Adult Education programme. The team arrived
at a concensus on AEP and the approach towards the project.
3.3. Relating
philosophy of AEP with educational material for widest possible utilization.
3.4. Interaction with villagers and environment to identify problems interests
and develop themes/stories related to them.
3.5. Relating themes connected with problems to key words of spoken language and
visuals.
3.6. Developing
sample material in the primer. Workbook, charts, game etc.
3.7. Presenting sample material
3.8. Second workshop - Revising and preparing more material to nearly reach the
expected level of literacy skills prescribed by NAEP as prototype.
3.9. Third workshop - Testing the material prepared as prototype.
3.10. Stock taking of the workshops and reporting.
4.0
Viewpoints of team members
There were diverse views amongst team members on the development of educational
material as well as the methodology of teaching. Some of these were as follows
:
4.1 Conscientisation
of people about their problems or making them aware of their rights in the framework
of the government rules and regulations. In such a case the teaching should be
open ended and not based on a particular primer. It was not considered to be practical
because the average teacher may not be able to handle the literacy developments
in this case.
4.2 Group
and Community action based. This was generally accepted in principle but there
was a great deal of scepticism on development aspects which were percolate down
to reach the poorest in the village.
4.3. The AEP should be purely literacy based essentially depending on language
skills. This was rejected out-right because of the history of literacy porgrammes
in the country.
4.4.
These diverse views resulted in a compromise that the educational programme of
the adults should compromise of
Conscientisation
Alphabetisation
and take into account the motivational factors of the adults.
4.5. The spoken language was found to differ from place to place or one district
to another. Hence broadly speaking, the standard form of Hindi was accepted to
prepare the educational material.
5.0
Assumptions about AEP
5.1 The rural adult within the age group of 15 and 35 yrs, is poor, landless or
at best a marginal farmer. Though his needs may differ from region to region,
his day to day problems may pertain to work, wages, food, clothing, housing, medication.
Farming, child's education, etc. He has little or no motivation for his own education.
5.2 Even though the adult may have little motivation for his own education, there
are certain motivational factors which may be common. These are.
direct and immediate economic gains
awareness of problems
entertainment
the adults' involvement in the learning process
5.3 Based on the above a realistic approach to the adult education programme would
be to have an extremely informal method where literacy is built around motivational
factors. Another involving process would be the preparation of educational material
from local resources by the learners themselves.
6.0
System Design
TEAM ? ANALYSIS ? THEMES ?
Rural Workers Philosophy
of AEP. Wages
Linguists Problems and Motiva- Rights
Writer's tional factors
of Food
Villagers Adults. Health
Communicators Interests/Concerns Farming
Ed.
Technologies Election
?FIRST PROTOTYPE ?VISUAL ?KEY WORDS ?
COLLECTION
1. Primer Photographs alphabets words
2. Workbook Drawings sentences.
3.
Flipchart Sketches
4. Cutouts Art work by villagers
5. Flash Cards
6.
Game
7. Teachers' Guide
?TESTING ?SECOND PROTOTYPE ?BEING PRINTED
Themes
All seven materials
Words
Visuals
REVISED ?FINAL EVALUATION ?FOR
MATERIALS
TO BE DONE APPLICATION?
7.0
Material
The material
to be used in the field situation has to be only in the printed form. It also
has to be based on average teacher's necessities and it is hoped that good teacher
would create more educational material with the adults.
PRIMER It has
-teacher's hints
-stories for teacher
-lessons
-pictures related to
stories and key
key words
7.2 WORK BOOK -teacher's hints
-lessons
to write and read
-pictures related to words
7.3 CHARTS -key words
-large size picturesrelated to story
7.4 CUTOUTS -120 drawings of people,
places,
animals and objects for narration
of stories by teacher and
by adults.
7.5 FLASH CARDS -dealing with key and other words
Of the
first 10 chapters.
7.6 GAME -An interesting game similar to
trade
or monopoly which makes
the players identify and reongize
numbers ; see
their own relation-
ship with the market. Money lender
and bank, and make
them realize
the importance of various options in
agricultural life.
7.7 TEACHER'S GUIDE -It tells the teacher about the
philosophy of AEP
adopted by team
members was made. It describes each
material by which
learners could be
involved to make more material relevant to their environment.
8.0
Use of Material :
The use of all this material requires the teacher to be trained (about this later)
specially in several areas. He has to understand that the use of these material
cannot be done merely by a class room approach. It requires three distinct processes
with the adults.
8.1
Conscientisation Process : Here the story given in the primer has to be narrated
in a dramatic sort of way. The narration of problems by adults from their own
experiences could be done by using cutouts. If the teacher is more resourceful
it could even be staged and the adults could role-play the situation. The spoken
words could be their own.
8.2
Language skills
This process would consist of imparting the literacy skills through the use of
primer, workbook in which adults write, chart and flashcards.
8.3 Activities : The last segment in the evenings programme would consist of adults
working individually or in groups to prepare educational materials form their
own resources and environment. They could revise the same chart, flashcards to
suit their own dielect or they could prepare wall newspaper everyday (later in
the course), items such as sun dial to know time. signs in the village etc. An
ideal situation would be when a teacher with the help of the lears could bring
out their own primers and other supplementary materials.
8.4 Lastly, the activity of the class is not visualised as a school but as a club
or a community centre where people come to be together to share thoughts, work,
and learn.
8.5 Can one
achieve this ideal sort of situation ?
9.0
Role of the Teacher and his Training
9.1 This is one very vital factor on which depends the entire programme. The other
things such as educational and the administrative machinery to support the programme
is secondary but considered very necessary. It is the teacher who has to assume
the role of a dynamic leader of the community. It is realized that this may not
be easy at all.
9.2
This assumption is very likely to be considered far feteched but is administrative
machinery does not treat him as 50/- peon of teacher then he could be trained
to become a useful component of the programme.
9.3 It is, therefore, that his training becomes curcial. His traing must not be
of formal nature. He is very likely to be a product of the formal system and hence
he must for through an exercise which is informal, discussion based, which seeks
for information and identification of problems, etc. His training must take place
in the village situation.
9.4 The monitoring or evaluation of the adult classes is an extremely tricky process.
The names and numbers are often misleading. Hence the only evaluation criterion
can be the material prepared by the class which may need recognition at the district
district or state level through exhibition and the teacher adequately rewarded
for that.
10.0 This
entire material was prepared in four months and it is accepted that there may
be several shortcomings and omissions. It is only after a prior evaluation and
revision through field applications that one can hope to arrive at material which
may be close to reality.