DAV Public School Launches Pilot to equip students with 21st Century Skills

Amritsar, Nov. 5, 2014 (Punjab Post Bureau) – DAV Public School,a leading educational institution in the city is holding a 5-day pilot on creative thinking and 21^st Century Skills for over 80 students of their 5^th grade. The pilot is being held at the school premises between 3^rd and 8^th November in partnership with Experiential Education pioneer Creya Learning & Research.

The Principal of the school, Ms. Neera Sharma talked about it as culmination of her desire to effect a change in the way children are learning, keeping in mind the needs of future workplaces and society in the 21^st Century. DAV Public School has a long history of providing holistic, forward-looking education to students. In their quest to update the skills and attitudes of their children for thinking “out of the box”, the school initiated the pilot.

The pilot – a joint endeavour between DAV and Hyderabad-based Creya– saw over 80 students from the school’s 5^th grade classes participate in hands-on activities, experiments and model-building that would help them make real-world connections to concepts they were already exposed to in their regular classrooms, such as simple machines and wheel-and-axle. Students were given the opportunity to create their solutions to problems that typically confronts everyone in real life. For instance, children as groups were asked to visualize everyday problems that visually challenged students might face in the regular classroom and figure out technological solutions that will help overcome them.

Management, teachers and students alike felt that the pilot was a huge success. Children were able to unleash their creative abilities and make working models of their solutions. Everyone at the school was exposed to the latest pedagogies in learning and the necessity of learning 21^st Century Skills. Talking about the results of the initiative, Ms. Sharma said that, “I am impressed with the ideas the students came up with. They have thought of things we could not imagine. The amount of empathy and creativity shown while solving the problems of visually challenged people is amazing.”

The coaches from Creya Learning who led the pilot at the school remarked on the enthusiasm of the children for the effort and their ability to quickly grasp the concept very fast. Creya Learning & Research is an innovative education company focused on equipping children with the skills, literacies, competencies and attitude needed to thrive in the dynamic world of the 21st Century. They partner with schools across the country to deliver in-school programs based on concepts such as STEM education, 21st century skills, experiential education and design thinking to students in K-12 grades.

 Regional Director Amritsar Zone Dr.(Mrs.) Neelam Kamra Principal BBK DAV College for Women, Lawrence Road , Amritsar and the the Manager of the school Dr.K.N. Kaul appreciated the efforts of the school and Creya Learning for taking up this project keeping in mind the current educational needs. They congratulated the participating students for their overwhelming response and enthusiasm.