Knowledge
Preeti Kaher – Atal Tinkering Lab’s ‘Exemplary Teacher of Change’ 2020
“I believe in the do-it-yourself teaching approach.”
Preeti Kaher may be a teacher of one year but her ability to work with young students and understand their comprehensive power is quite appreciable.
Working in St Teresa Convent School, Panchkula, Haryana, the reason she was selected as one of the winners is because of her way of providing hands-on experience to her students. “ATL provides young minds with a platform to enable their creativity and innovate using the do-it-yourself approach. Following this, the kids in our school have been able to come up with many science models that are approved by the AIM team,” she tells ScooNews.
Her passion to make innovative projects is backed with her education in the field of Computer Science (M.Tech). “I found the subjects easy to teach from day 1, thanks to my background. I take 1 class per week and in our school, we’ve got 1500 student who’re a part of Atal Tinkering Labs. I teach from grade 6 onwards,” she informs.
To teach the younger ones complicated and technical words, Preeti takes the help of interesting games to develop their interest in the concerned subject. “I start with easy games like Drag & Drop, Match the Similar Ones, etc. so they can enjoy a little play-time in their classes while getting accustomed to the technology, and come here with enthusiasm the next day. Also, because they don’t have to worry about writing any ATL exam papers, their performance tends to improve with better knowledge and no fear,” Preeti explains.
When asked why she thinks she’s been chosen as a ‘Teacher of Change’, she says, “We, the teachers, submit monthly reports on the allotted projects, I suppose the ATL team liked the projects I completed with my students. This includes Dancing Robot, Remote-Controlled Car, Sensor-Motor Trucks, etc.”
Her message to fellow educators is that it doesn’t matter if one hasn’t taught these subjects before, a basic knowledge of science/math and learning on the internet will go a long way. She strongly feels that teachers must not limit their learning to book, neither should students. “The internet is a huge vat of knowledge, it should be used in the right way as well, even educators must learn via valid internet sources,” she signs off.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) of NITI Aayog targets to create scientific temper and cultivates the spirit of curiosity and innovation among young minds. AIM proposes to support the establishment of a network of Atal Tinkering Laboratories (ATL) in Indian schools.
Atal Tinkering Labs is the flagship initiative of Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog. It aims at fostering innovation and entrepreneurship among school students. To learn more, visit www.aim.gov.in.
Refer to https://aim.gov.in/pdf/ATL_Teacher_Book_high_res.pdf to read more about the ATL ‘Teachers of Change.’