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Schools Ready for the Community Children:
GSS schools are ready for the community children from age 4 to 11. They are safe with spacious and well-lit classrooms, 30 students class size, and one qualified and trained, preferably woman teacher in every classroom |
Curriculum:
GSS follows the National Curriculum but builds on it in four ways, by -
first, making the curriculum more relevant and competency based rather than content based. In other words, by setting clearly defined expected levels of skills and competencies in areas where the government curriculum is silent or ambiguous.
 Second, producing and making available inside each classroom wide selection of resources and attractive and developmentally appropriate supplementary reading materials so that children can grow up an environment of books.
Third, developing carefully designed lesson plans based on a scheme of work flexible enough to allow each child the opportunity to proceed according to her/his ability and pace;
Fourth, Schemes of Work are flexible enough to allow each child the opportunity to proceed according to her/his ability and pace; and
Lastly continuously assessing acquisition of competencies based on what children are able to do and what they know, rather than assessing on the basis of children's ability to recall. Thus, GSS builds on the government curriculum. |
Learner-Teacher ratio:
30 : 1 |
Teacher:
There is a common belief amongst the primary education stakeholders in the subcontinent that the relationship inside the classroom is one of the teacher and the taught. In other words, the teacher teaches what the learners learn. This perception has led to reinforcement of the teacher-centred approach. Many strategies are followed aimed at 'empowering' the teacher.
 In GSS the teacher's primary role is to facilitate learning. S/he ensures that the learning environment inside the classroom is rich with a choice of activities.
The vast majority of the teachers in GSS are young with HSC, 89% of them women and 100% are trained able to create active learning environment inside the classroom and implement active teaching learning. |
Learning Environment:
 Active Learning environment inside the classroom allowing children to sit face to face so that they can interact among themselves as well as with the teacher;
Activity tables and Corners allowing learners the opportunity to choose from a range of activities and to work individually as well as in small and large groups;
Availability of a selection of resources that make competency linked activities possible inside the classroom;
Wide range of developmentally appropriate books inside the classroom;
Displays of learning as well as learner generated materials and works on the walls that would be rotated periodically; and
A teacher, preferably a woman, trained with hands-on experience in active teaching learning.
However, there is no furniture for the teacher except a stool encouraging her to move from learner to learner and focus on the individual learning; |
Books and Other Learning Materials:
Large number and wide selection of developmentally appropriate, attractive, interesting and colourful books and other learning materials available inside each classroom. |
Teaching Learning:
Time Management and active Teaching Learning through effective time management both for the teacher and the learner so that each child is actively engaged in a purposeful activity every minute inside the classroom;
Continuous Assessment & Lesson Planning: Individual Lesson Planning based on continuous assessment allowing each learner to proceed according to her/his ability and pace;
Group Teaching: Creating opportunity for learners to work independently as well as in small and large groups as they do in real life situation.
Assessment: Assessment is made continuously and is designed to capture what learners know and are able to do in terms of both national curriculum and life skills.The examination system of assessment that assesses mainly learners' ability to recall from memory is avoided. |
Teacher Education and Training:
The curriculum focuses on a clear understanding of the pedagogy integrating hands-on experience in child-centred active learning classroom environment. This enables the teacher to transform her/his own classroom and create the desired learning environment without much difficulty and undertake effective classroom transactions. |
Supervision:
Ensuring that an effective and accountable system of Supervision aimed at ensuring acquisition of the defined competencies is in place.
Supervision in Active teaching learning means mainly teacher support aimed at building her/his capacity to follow through all the transactions inside the classroom, to ensure that the key elements of teaching learning are in place, and finally, to guarantee expected learner outcome in each area of competency. Understandably, academic supervision takes up 80% of the supervision time while administrative supervision takes up about 20% of the time. |
Monitoring:
Monitoring individual learner performance towards building an EMIS decentralised at the local level creating space for appropriate intervention both at the central and local levels; |
Community Participation:
 In each working area communities are engaged in the initial discussions leading to setting up a school. The community provides the land on which GSS constructs the school. The community participates in the potential learner survey and ensures that every child over the age of 5 attends school. Parents are also engaged in the Parent-Teacher Association which oversees overall school management. Teachers undertake home visits if children miss school for two successive days. More recently parents have started paying a small fees every month and contributing towards cost of supplementary reading materials and stationery. No incentive is provided either to the parents or the learner for enrolling or attending school except high quality education. |
