interview transcript - dr. geetika saluja / paryavaran mitra

CEE

Geetika Saluja,

St. Kabir School, Naranpura Branch,

Ahmedabad.

How did you integrate Environment Education in the subject that

you teach?

Being an Academic Co-ordinator for classes V to VIII, my job profile includes curriculum

f Std

me, Young Masters Programme (YMP) and Young Leader for Change (YLC) of

ic

aste

ors’ ‘Cleanliness Monitor’, ‘Germ Terminator’, ‘Germ

rusaders’ and ‘fIlth fIghters’

vities do you think worked best in explaining concepts of EE/ESD to

l

ly and have discontinued the

practice of switching on all tube lights on entering the class.

planning, development and its transaction. I was therefore looking to integrate

Environment/Sustainability to a large group of students and over many subjects like

Science, Maths, Social Sciences and Languages. I believe Learning to be a process and not

product hence in order to give project based learning experience to all 120 students o

VIII, I approached my principal with the proposal of integrating ‘Create to Inspire’

program

CEE.

I then designed EDTAS based Action Plans for each themes that complements our academ

curriculum requirement and also sets environment for life skills goals and work towards

achieving them. Through execution of these action plans, EE and ESD were integrated across

standards by giving responsibilities to students of all standards as ‘Energy Savers’, ‘E-w

Ambassadors’, ‘E-waste collect

K

Which acti

students?

• Through school assemblies and class interactions, students of std I to IX were made to

understand difference between ‘Need and Want’ and judicious use of tube lights. Our schoo

students are seen switching on tube lights as per their need on

Centre for Environment Education 1

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• Educating 7 steps of complete hand wash through actions, posters and song generated

interest to learn and retain it in their memory. I have feedback that while washing hands

everyone seems to be automatically following all 7 steps.

• Use of posters helped student to understand life cycle of malarial parasite and role of

mosquito in transmission cycle of malaria. Students used them well during the sanitation

drive in our school neighbourhood.

• Survey for understanding the outlook of the people residing in the neighbourhood towards

cleanliness, sanitation, use of cloth bag and knowledge of role of mosquito in transmission of

malaria helped students to understand why it is important to create awareness in

neighbourhood for these issues. It helped them to select the target areas for awareness and

interaction as well as prepare an action plan accordingly. As a result students showed no

hesitation in even picking up a broom and cleaning the area, setting an example for people in

the neighborhood to follow.

• Checking the quantity of water leakage per minute and then converting it to amount of

leakage per month made all of us involved in understanding the magnitude of amount of

water we waste in our laziness for prompt repair of the leaking taps and flush. This motivated

all concerned people to repair the leakages promptly.

• Creating understanding of E waste and its hazards through presentation, interactive dialogue,

skit, appointing E waste Ambassador ensure that our E waste collection drive was a success.

Contribution was received by students of all standards resulting in collection of 203.6 kg E

waste.

• Visit to Pirana solid waste management plant was an eye opener towards the amount of

waste generated and its accumulation threatening the health of people residing near it and

also of those involved in picking up and segregation of waste.

• Inviting SEWA representative to share their experience with students on life of rag pickers

inspired all classes to segregate waste in the classroom.

• Placing of bins in all classes and interaction with them to make them understand difference

between wet waste and dry waste was also useful in developing attitude towards segregation

of waste.

• Taking mass pledges for judicious use of energy and cleanliness repeatedly on regular

intervals helped in developing attitude for EE.


CEE

Can you tell us about the roles played by different people in the school in these projects

Teacher/s: They have been very open minded and coordinated all the projects whole

heartedly. They were open to reflection and improvisation during this journey of collective

learning.

Principal: She gave her consent for the projects. She has kept her trust in my abilities to

conduct these projects and has supported every endeavor. Whenever I have asked for she has

always given her valuable suggestions. She motivated by appreciating the execution of the

activity and learning involved in the school assemblies.

Non teaching staff of the school: Admin Supervisor and staff provided necessary information

on school infrastructure to students for their various action projects. Prompt action was taken

by them in getting all leakages repaired is much appreciated. Ayaas and maids helped in the

cleanliness drive to support enthusiastic students in their endeavor to clean the school. Their

understanding and support in waste management theme for collecting segregated waste is

appreciable

Other teachers: Art teachers played an important role in by guiding student with ideas and

creativity for poster making competitions.Computer teachers helped students wherever

required with their PPT presentations

Students: With their contagious enthusiasm and uninhibited attitude for learning

through these action projects always kept me on my toes to explain them the next stages. I am

sure in coming years my students will identify projects and make action plans on their own

and use my expertise only in an advisory role.

Parents: They gave consent for all activities conducted inside and also outside the school

premises. They allowed students to stay back in school whenever required and arranged to

pick up their children later. Some parents accompanied us to Ahmedabad Municipal

Corporation’s Pirana solid waste management site and even joined in the cleanliness drive.

Others: People living in the school neighbourhood gave interviews to our students when they

went out to collect data and their views. They also took Pledge to reduce use of plastic bags

and maintaining cleanliness and better sanitation. Kabadiwalla’s gave interviews to our

students when they went out to them to collect information on e-waste.

Invited Guest speakers shared their experiences with us. CEE Ahmedabad gave guidance and

co-ordinated for SWM plant visit.


CEE

What do you think is the benefit of project based learning approach? Can you give us

examples?

Incorporating EE through PBL in my school’s environment helped me to engage students and

my teachers (including myself) in the learning process empowering each and everyone with

focus on life skills, which is not possible in a lecture format.

During the planning and execution phase learning took place through dialogues among

students in a social setting. All designed activities involved a group of learners, who worked

together as a team to solve a problem, participated in group discussion and resolution,

creating an atmosphere of co-operation and mutual helpfulness to maximize their own and

each other’s learning. During execution of PBL my class was full of ‘voice’ and not ‘noise’

as if all forty were one. My students now use tube lights in the classroom judiciously and

depend more on use of natural light. During a special assembly when our guest speaker Ms.

Varsha of SEWA asked what is E waste, all Std V students answered in chorus and

impressed her with their understanding of the difference between electronic and electrical

waste. My school management is exploring the idea of using LEDs and Rain water

harvesting for our school’s premise. During checking of water leakage and its calculation we

realized that we are wasting around 3.6 kl of water through leakage of one flush and that

made us immediately alert to get all leaking taps and flush repaired. The confidence in

communication is evident on the face of my students in photographs. They developed

empathy for life of rag pickers during the visit to Pirana and interacting with Kabadiwalas in

waste management theme.

Planning of the action projects with EDTAS approach in mind helped me to guide my

teachers and educate my students to work together in a scientific and social setting.

What was your role in all of this?

In my responsibility of Academic Coordinator I took my teachers in confidence and gave

them guidance in form of material, skills required, understanding at every stage of the

execution. I initially prepared entire action plan with time line of all three themes and took up

Eco-conscious celebrations closer to coming of the festivals. These actions plans then were

shared with my teachers and students involved.

It is important for me that they understand the objectives and learning outcomes designed

of each activity planned under these four umbrella themes. For each theme project a group of

3 teachers were given responsibility of coordinating with students. I have introduced in my


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school to the practice of observing situation during pre interactive phase e.g. how many tube

lights and fans are switched on in classes, hand washing technique of people, habit of people

for flushing, cleanliness of classroom, water utilization habit. For first time in our school I

have guided students and teachers to conduct a formal survey for recording the

behaviour/opinion of people e.g. with respect to cleanliness of their surroundings,

understanding of sanitation/proper hand wash method, role of mosquito in transmission of

malaria, awareness of hazards of E waste. I have prepared the survey sheet and guided for

taking the survey.

I act as a facilitator, mentor during Interactive phase for execution of each activity. To plan

for assembly sharing, inviting guest speaker to share their knowledge and experience with my

students and teachers is important for me and it adds an outside perspective to our action

plans.

Following guest speakers were invited by me to interact with my students and teachers during

the journey of PBL

1. Mr. Raju Sir for his expertise in Rain Water Harvesting

2. Ms Manishaben Asst. Engineer for water in Naranpura ward to share about water

distribution in Ahmedabad

3. Mr. Anchit Agrawal Sales and Marketing Manager for Green and Goods producing

organic colour for Holi celebration

4. Ms. Varsha and Ms. Neelima for sharing their experience of life of rag pickers and hazards

of E waste

5. TATA Power Energy representative to educate on types of wastes and methods to save

Electricity.

6. Mr. Shahid Haidrie a medical student studying epidemiology to share his knowledge on

life cycle of Plasmodium vivax and transmission of malarial parasite

through mosquito.

7. Ms Annie Gregory and Ms. Ketki Gadre from CEE for interacting my students and

motivating them

A visit to Pirana – SWM plant was organised by me in coordination of CEE after getting

approval from my management and consent of parents of student. It was a novel learning

experience for all students. Asking parents to join us helped them to understand the PBL

approach for EE, thus they were taken into confidence to support students learning.


CEE

What were your learnings in this process?

There are three basic ways students can interact with each other as they learn. They can

compete to see who is ‘Best,’ they can work individualistically toward a goal without paying

attention to other students, or they can work co-operatively with vested interest in each

other's learning as well as their own. Of the three interaction patterns, co-operation dominates

our PBL based on co-operative group approach. It is important to interact more often with

students with focus on developing creative and critical thinking in students.

Students don’t open up so easily and share their ideas in a formal setting. It is important to

create informal environment wherein they share, speak and scaffold learning of their peers.

At times it is important to understand difference between ‘noise’ and ‘voice’ and allow

students to voice their opinion – for that at times a teacher has to take a back seat. It is

important that indirectly we motivate students to think beyond themselves by posing probing

questions and make them peek into life of others through survey, site visits, drives and

inviting outside experts.

Giving responsibility and keeping a checklist of work done as per the timeline also helps. By

working as part of a group, students become confident, responsible - critical thinkers, active

learners with a strong sense of self, empowered with life skills, whilst being totally prepared

for the world ahead.

As an Academic coordinator/Superviosr, I felt that it is important to keep patience during my

interactions with my colleague teachers and also to understand that each one of them are able

to work as per their own motivation level and understanding, In such case my priority is to

devise means and methods to involve everyone as per their strengths and along the way give

support and guide to build on individual’s capacity as a facilitator. Being optimist and

appreciating actions taken helps in building a team of facilitators who encourage exploration,

innovative problem solving, conflict resolution, group discussion, collective expression and

decision making.

The success of action projects on all four themes in my school has strengthened my faith in

my thought that people working together on a common goal can accomplish more than

people working alone.

While executing the PBL approach through the Paryavaran Mitra programme in the school I

can quote my learning by extending the quote of Mahatma Gandhi as


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“Be the change that one wants to see and along the way influence and inspire others.”

For selecting PBL approach I would like to quote Johnson and Johnson, from Learning

Together and Alone

“Whenever problem solving is desired, whenever divergent thinking or creativity is desired,

whenever quality of performance is expected, whenever the task is complex, when the

learning goals are highly important, and when the social development of learners is one of

the major instructional goals...

When an instructor wishes to promote positive interaction among learners, a facilitative

learning climate, a wide range of cognitive and affective outcomes, and positive relations

between themselves and the learners…”


Ms. Geetika Saluja – Create to Inspire Teacher�� Page 11� CEE Centre for Environment Education

CHECKING THE ELECTRIC METER IN SCHOOL GROUP DISCUSSION FOR MAKING STRATEGY FOR JUDICIOUS USE OF TUBE LIGHTS IN SCHOOL

READING OF ELECTRICITY BILL

CREATE TO INSPIRE PBL – ENERGY THEME


RECORDING OF MONTHLY UNIT CONSUMPTION OF

ELECTRICITY OF OUR BRANCH. THIS RECORD IS

KEPT BY OUR EDUCATIONAL ADVISOR AND SHE HAS SHARED THIS WITH US.

PLEASE NOTE 33.34% REDUCTION IN THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER’14 IN COMPARISON WITH NOVEMBER ‘13


CARBON FOOT PRINT CALCULATION

A SAMPLE SCAN OF CALCULATIONS OF APPROXIMATE UNIT CONSUMPTION PER MONTH OF A HOUSEHOLD AS PER ENERGY CALCULATOR GIVEN WITH TATA POWER

ENERGY KIT

A sample of pledge taken by 800+ people. “I PLEDGE TO SAVE ENERGY FOR A BETTER TOMORROW”


WRITTEN PLEDGE TAKEN BY ALL STUDENTS FOR JUDICIOUS USE OF TUBELIGNT


TAKING PLEDGE FOR JUDICIOUS USE OF ENERGY IN VARIOUS CLASSES


OATH TAKING IN ASSEMBLY AND IN THE CLASS ROOM

rgy ….


SKIT FOR CONSERVING ENERGY IN THE ASSEMBLY


SHARING OF LEARNING OF DIFFERENT SOURCES OF ELECTRICITY PRODUCTION THROUGH PPT IN THE CLASS


GROUP PHOTO OF ENERGY SAVERS OF ALL CLASSES

BADGES GIVEN TO STUDENTS IN ASSEMBLY ….

DISCUSS AND AWARENESS

ABOUT ENERGY SAVER


TATA POWER ENERGY ASSEMBLY AND POSTER MAKING COMPETITION

ON THEME SAVE ELECTRICITY

REPRESENTATIVE OF TATA ENERGY SHARING TIPS ON

CONSERVING ENERGY


RESEARCH ON STAR RATING OF APPLIANCES


VISIT TO PIRANA – solid waste management plant


WATER AND SANITAION THEME – CREATE TO INSPIRE WATER LOGGING SEEN DURING SANITATION DRIVE –

POTENTIAL SITE F R MOSQUITO BREEDING

Ms. Geetika Saluja – Create to Inspire Teacher� Page 36� CEE Centre of Environment Education


EXPLANING LIFE CYCLE OF MALARIAL PARASITE AND ROLE OF MOSQUITO IN TRANSMISSION OF MALARIA

SCANNED DOCUMENT OF SURVEY SHEET