Are you a teacher/educator who’s always looking for fun and innovative teaching strategies?
At Mantra4Change, we continuously engage with helping teachers develop best practices for their classrooms. Through our Teacher Professional Development Training, we introduce teachers to an array of resources.
A few months ago, we had the opportunity to collaborate with the University of Melbourne in bringing the 3H Strategy to English teachers in Andhra Pradesh.
What is the 3H Strategy?
We’ve all struggled to captivate students’ attention while taking them through comprehension lessons in their English textbooks. If you’re a teacher, you would have considered the idea of bringing structure to what may seem like a drab exercise.
3H is a mnemonic strategy that students can use to answer comprehension questions. The goal is to activate the students’ more extensive networks of established knowledge and identify any deficits by encouraging them to process the material.
How did we introduce the 3H Strategy to our teachers?
Mantra4Change, in collaboration with the University of Melbourne’s Graduate School of Education, put together a course on the 3H Strategy. The pilot course was offered to the English teachers of Grades 5-8 from the Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society (APSWREIS). Over 44 teachers signed up for the course and engaged with us for two hours across ten days.
As part of the training, teachers engaged through various modalities, including virtual expert sessions, self-learning modules (on Mantra’s technology partner, ShikshaLokam’s platform), and virtual learning circles. With the support of ShikshaLokam, they were provided access to the tools and resources required to implement the Strategy in the classroom and assess student engagement.
Now, let’s hear from our teachers-
“Before the course with UoM, I never really followed any strategy to teach comprehension. I would find keywords in paragraphs and use that technique to answer questions. I am grateful for the opportunity to engage with this content.
The students I teach have a fundamental understanding of grammar and vocabulary, and I would rely on quick-fix methods to make them comprehend more complex paragraphs in their textbooks. The interaction with the University of Melbourne faculty was indeed an enriching experience for me. It was the first such exposure to people whose ideas of learning and teaching methods were different and valuable.
The lesson planning sessions introduced through the course have helped me reimagine how it can be utilized in the classroom. I am looking forward to similar sessions with Mantra in the future.”
– Kanne Manogna, TGT APSWRS/JC,PEDAPAVANI
“I am super excited to implement all the new strategies in the classroom. I even tried the 3H Strategy in one of my online sessions. The students were eager to learn and responded well. I was thrilled to see them engaging with passages in a different way.
Earlier, a lot of time was spent reading paragraphs and then translating them into Telugu. Most of our students transition to the Society’s schools from Telugu-Medium schools, and they often struggle with English comprehension. In just one class, I would see the difference, and that was very exciting for me!
The course has changed my style of teaching. Before joining the Society, we used to strategize and plan lessons very differently. Through such sessions, we are reminded of how our methods should be more child-centric.”
– Sarvani Tonangi, TGT APSWRS/JC,NAKKAPALLI
“The whole process was fascinating. The approach to teaching comprehension was new and engaging for me. It’s a wholesome approach to teaching comprehension that dilutes the complexity of helping students with understanding and teaching passages from our English textbooks.
The learning circles were also enriching for the teachers to discuss the resources they explored and share their opinions on applying the Strategy in the classroom. I am eager to delve deeper into these topics and expand my understanding of such strategies.”
– Chepuri Sreedevi, APSWRS/JC, CHELLAPALLI
For us at Team Mantra4Change, the experience has been enlightening and exciting. It was a first of its kind engagement for us as an organization in our journey of ensuring Teacher Professional Development. The teachers’ participation with the faculty at UoM, the excitement to reflect and share during learning circles, and the inquisitive nature of questions proposed were all encouraging for us.
Like many new projects this year, the journey was filled with challenges, especially using technology and online tools. However, despite these, the teachers surprised us with their incredible spirits and sense of possibility, as we collectively work towards improving the quality of education and providing enriching learning experiences for every child.
If you’d like to learn more about the 3H Strategy and the course by UoM, connect with us at info@mantra4change.com.