MUMBAI JUNE 4, 2010: The sweltering heat of summer… no school and the promise of a vacation… month long relaxation with families and friends… Twenty-four participants braved the heat and gave up their vacation to attend a month-long Teacher Training Program in Remedial Education conducted by Prafulta Psychological services, a Don Bosco Enterprise, in May 2010. The aim of the training was to empower teachers, counselors and parents with information and skills to effectively help children with varying disabilities in the mainstream school. They were oriented to understand and meet the emotional and psychological challenges children face in their developmental years. Emphasis was laid on the disparity between children’s developmental stages and societal expectations both in terms of curriculum and competition. While majority of the participants were from Mumbai, there were also some from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
Student-Teachers learned to identify children with varying disabilities like ADD, ADHD, Autism, Learning Disability, Slow Learners, Sensory Process Disorders, Speech Disorders, etc. Skills were taught in terms of the three R’s to manage children with learning disabilities within mainstream schools. Methods of teaching English as a second language to children of first generation learners was emphasized. Remedial Education to develop children’s Perception and Skills for Learning, Spelling, Reading, Writing, Arithmetic, as well as Mind Mapping for content mastery was also imparted.
Participants learned creative methods of teaching using games and audio-visual aids so as to make learning a multi-sensory experience. Concepts of multiple intelligence and learning styles were brought in to enhance this approach. Developing EQ vis-à-vis IQ in schools was stressed and participants were oriented in the basic skills of counseling.
At the end of the training program, everyone was extremely positive and felt that real change and growth had taken place during the course of the month. One said: “I have grown both as a teacher and a person.” Another said: “I can’t wait to use all that I have learned with my students. I will definitely be a different teacher now.” And yet another participant said: “I now understand the difference between a Slow Learner and a child with Learning Difficulty.”
Prafulta specializes in understanding children with Special Needs and supporting them in mainstream schools. Besides the month-long training program every May, we also conduct regular short-term Parent Learning Programs and Orientation Programs in Remedial Education during the academic year.