Pedagogy with a goal
We at Meridian believe what Jean Piaget says, “The principal goal of education is not to increase knowledge but to create the possibilities for a child to invent and discover, to create men & women who are capable of doing new things.”
It has always been our endeavour to engage children in experiential and inquiry based learning. We focus on developing true understanding of concepts and embolden student’s role in the learning process, involving them in individual and group activities. Instead of Rote Learning, students learn by doing. They explore, experiment and experience. We draw inspiration from Kath Murdoch’s Inquiry Cycle, Bloom’s Taxonomy, 5 E’s Instructional Model and it is clearly visible in our lessons.
This allows the students to reflect on personal understanding and also indicate that inquiry is the base of the lesson. Diving in a little deeper, how does the cycle takes its course?
It begins by connecting the given topic with prior knowledge, opening a doorway to research and exploration on the resources to be used. Streamlining the gathered information, processing it and drawing meaningful conclusion leads children to constructive learning. Taking a pause at each stage, asking the right questions and connecting the dots is surely the roadmap to enhanced Knowledge, Skills and Abilities. This approach makes Meridian School Madhapur as the Best CBSE School in Hyderabad.
Standing tall to our mission statement “To synthesize old world values with a futuristic approach, creating a perfect alignment of the body, mind and soul, producing thinkers and balanced achievers, who are sensitive to various social, ethical and environmental issues.”
We don’t tell our students what to think, We teach them how to think!
Student Agency – A pathway to active learning
Learners at Meridian School, Madhapur enjoy being engaged in paving a pathway for their own learning. For any project or a concept, they begin with planning a schedule, writing SMART goals, further breaking them into doable tasks and eventually executing them. Even if mistakes happen, they are encouraged to embrace them with grace. Mistakes are expected, they must be respected, inspected and corrected.
Teacher is no longer the executive planner or the decision maker; she is more of a motivator and a navigator. All through the journey of accomplishment, learners have a choice of organising their thoughts, voicing their concerns and taking ownership of their decisions. They participate in active learning by conducting methodological research, collecting data, analysing outcomes and finally sharing their viewpoint. Here, ‘Reflections’ is a key area of learning. It teaches them to act responsibly and use the power to take action.
As a team player, they learn to collaborate, respect other’s perspective and politely disagree if need be. It’s imperative; they understand that real success lies in partnerships and teamwork. Just as Vince Lombardi says, “Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
Learner centric environment is not something that we need to construct; it is created when we allow students to partner with teachers and the learning community. Building school culture of inquiry and creativity is our objective so that learners can be motivated to take initiative, develop abilities and enhance their cognitive skills leading to a growth mind-set. This equips our students to face challenges, look for alternative solutions, foster the power of ‘yet’ and not give up!