I am a teacher-educator and I use to write on different topics of interest. The topics can be on education, culture, youth development, ICT in Education and so on. You may visit frequently and give your feedback on my write-ups. As a teacher-educator, I have a passion for empowering teachers to make a positive impact on their students. I have extensive experience in designing and delivering professional development workshops for educators, aimed at improving their teaching practices. Thanks
Provision of sanitary systems in Sultanabad, Gilgit is vital
for the health and well-being of the people. Sanitation refers to the
infrastructure and activities that prevent human contact with trash and promote
hygiene. A lack of sufficient sanitation may lead to a range of health
difficulties, including the development of illnesses such as diarrhoea,
cholera, and typhoid fever.
One of the key benefits of having a working sanitation
system is that it can assist to minimise the spread of illness. When garbage is
properly collected and disposed of, it decreases the likelihood of human
contact with germs that might cause sickness. This is especially crucial in
heavily populated regions like Sultanabad, where the danger of disease
transmission is increased.
Another benefit of having a working sanitation system is
that it can enhance overall living conditions. When trash is correctly
collected and disposed of, it minimises the quantity of rubbish and sewage in
the streets, which may enhance the beauty of the neighbourhood and make it a
more pleasant place to live. It also decreases the risk of floods and water
contamination, which can cause damage to houses and property.
Additionally, a working sanitation system might also offer
economic benefits. When individuals are healthier, they are more productive,
which can contribute to economic growth. Furthermore, the provision of sanitary
infrastructure can produce jobs for the local population.
In summary, the development of sanitation systems in
Sultanabad, Gilgit is crucial for boosting public health, improving living
circumstances, and supporting economic growth. It is crucial for the local
government and community to prioritise the construction and maintenance of such
systems to ensure the well-being of its citizens.
Sultanabad
is a small village located in Gilgit, Pakistan. The village is facing a number
of issues such as poor infrastructure, lack of basic facilities, and low
socio-economic status of the residents. However, with the right approach and
resources, Sultanabad has the potential to become a model village that serves
as a shining example for other rural communities in the region.
Objectives:
To improve the infrastructure and basic facilities in
Sultanabad, including the construction of new roads, water supply systems, and
sanitation facilities.
To increase the socio-economic status of the residents of
Sultanabad through the promotion of small businesses and income-generating
activities.
To create a community-driven development model that empowers
the residents of Sultanabad to take ownership of their village's development
and to sustain the progress made over time.
Methodology:
Conduct a comprehensive community assessment to identify the
specific needs and priorities of the residents of Sultanabad.
Establish a Village Development Committee (VDC) that will be
responsible for the planning and implementation of the development projects in
the village. The VDC will be composed of elected representatives from the
community, government officials, and representatives from non-governmental
organizations (NGOs).
Implement infrastructure and basic facilities projects, such
as the construction of new roads, water supply systems, and sanitation
facilities, in coordination with the VDC and the relevant government departments.
Promote small businesses and income-generating activities in
the village through training and capacity building programs, and by providing
access to microfinance and other financial resources.
Regularly evaluate the progress of the development projects
and make adjustments as necessary to ensure that they are meeting the needs of
the community.
Expected Outcomes:
Improved infrastructure and basic facilities in Sultanabad,
leading to a better quality of life for the residents.
Increased socio-economic status of the residents through the
promotion of small businesses and income-generating activities.
Empowered and engaged community that takes ownership of
their village's development and is able to sustain the progress made over time.
This proposal aims to transform Sultanabad into a model
village that serves as an example for other rural communities in the region. It
is based on a community-driven development approach that prioritizes the needs
and priorities of the residents, and empowers them to take ownership of their
village's development. Through a combination of infrastructure and basic
facilities projects, small business promotion, and community engagement,
Sultanabad has the potential to become a shining example of rural development
in the region.
International Education Day is a day that is celebrated
annually on November 17th to promote the benefits of international education
and exchange programs. The day was established by the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1972 to recognize
the vital role that education plays in fostering mutual understanding and peace
among nations.
International education is essential for the development of
a globalized world, where people of different cultures and backgrounds can
learn, grow and collaborate together. It allows individuals to gain a broader
perspective on the world, and to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to
succeed in an increasingly interconnected society.
International education also promotes cultural exchange and
understanding, which is vital for building bridges between different
communities and nations. Through study abroad programs, students can learn
about different cultures, customs and languages, which can help to break down
barriers of misunderstanding and mistrust. This is especially important in
today's world where cultural differences are often seen as a source of
conflict.
In addition to these benefits, international education also
plays a vital role in economic development. It helps students to develop the
skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in the global marketplace, and it
also allows countries to attract talent and investment from around the world.
In conclusion, International Education Day serves as a
reminder of the importance of international education and exchange programs. It
is a day to celebrate the benefits of these programs, and to promote the value
of mutual understanding and peace among nations. As we continue to face global
challenges, we must recognize the power of education to bring people together
and to promote a more peaceful, prosperous and just world.
There are many ways to earn money online, some of the most
popular include:
Freelancing: Offer your skills and
services, such as writing, graphic design, programming, or virtual assistance,
to clients online. Websites like Upwork and Fiverr can connect you with
potential clients.
Selling products: Set up an online store or use a
marketplace like Amazon or Etsy to sell your own products or items you source
from elsewhere.
Affiliate marketing: Promote other people's products
and earn a commission for any sales made through your unique referral link.
Online tutoring: Use video conferencing software to
teach people in your area of expertise, such as language, math, or music.
Online surveys: Sign up with survey companies and get
paid for answering questions.
Creating content: Build a following on platforms like
YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, or Twitch and monetize your content through
advertising or sponsorships.
Online trading: Trade stocks, forex, or
cryptocurrency online.
Dropshipping: Set up an online store and use a
supplier to fulfill orders, without having to keep inventory.
It's important to note that earning money online may require
time, effort and patience. It's also important to do your research to make sure
any opportunity or method you choose is legitimate and aligns with your skills
and interests.
Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are statements that
describe the knowledge, skills, or abilities that students should possess upon
completion of a course or program. They are used to measure student learning
and to assess the effectiveness of educational programs. SLOs are often aligned
with the goals and objectives of the institution, department, or program.
SLOs are typically developed by faculty members and are
based on the course or program content and objectives. They are often written
in measurable terms and are used to guide instruction and assessment. For
example, an SLO for a mathematics course may state that upon completion,
students will be able to solve complex mathematical problems using algebraic
equations.
SLOs are used to measure student learning in a variety of
ways, including through exams, quizzes, essays, projects, and other forms of
assessment. They are also used to evaluate the effectiveness of educational
programs by comparing student performance on SLOs to national or institutional
standards.
The process of creating SLOs begins with identifying the
desired outcomes for a course or program, then creating measurable statements
that describe those outcomes. These statements are then used to guide
instruction and assessment, and to evaluate the effectiveness of the course or
program. The assessment of SLOs is an ongoing process, and the results are used
to improve instruction and student learning.
In summary, Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) are statements
that describe the knowledge, skills, or abilities that students should possess
upon completion of a course or program. They are used to measure student
learning and to assess the effectiveness of educational programs. They are
developed by faculty members, based on the course or program content and
objectives, and are written in measurable terms. They are used to guide
instruction and assessment, and to evaluate the effectiveness of educational
programs.
A database is a collection of organized
data that can be easily accessed, managed, and updated. It is a crucial tool
for businesses, organizations, and individuals to store and retrieve
information.
One of the most important advantages of using a database is
the ability to store a large amount of data in a structured and organized
manner. This allows for easy retrieval and manipulation of information, making
it a valuable tool for data analysis and decision-making. Databases also
provide a level of security, as they can be configured to control access to sensitive
information and prevent unauthorized access.
Databases are also used to ensure data consistency and
integrity. This means that the data stored in a database is accurate, complete,
and consistent. This is important for businesses, as inaccurate data can lead
to poor decision-making and financial loss.
Databases also play a critical role in the functioning of
modern business and organizations. They are used to store and retrieve customer
information, track sales and inventory, manage payroll and employee records,
and much more. They are also used to support online transactions and
e-commerce, as well as to power websites and mobile apps.
In addition, databases are used in many scientific and
research fields, including medicine, genetics, and environmental science. They
are also used to store and analyse data for weather forecasting and climate modelling.
In conclusion, databases are essential tools for storing and
managing information. They are used in a wide range of industries and
applications, from business and finance to science and research. They provide a
structured and organized way to store and retrieve data and ensure the
consistency and integrity of that data. Databases are also crucial for the
functioning of modern businesses and organizations and are essential for making
data-driven decisions.
With reference to my last article published on Pamir Times about “A practical model to enhance Community Involvement in Schools” which is one of the dimensions of school improvement initiatives framed by AKU-IED/PDCN through its flagship program Whole School Improvement Program (WSIP) in the context of Gilgit-Baltistan. This improvement model ensures progress in all the aspects of the schools to enhance students’ learning outcomes by focusing six dimensions i.e., Community Participation; Quality of Teaching and Learning; Leadership, Management and Administration; Curriculum Enrichment and Staff Development; Building, Accommodation and Resources; Social, Moral and Spiritual Development of Students and Health Education. The aforesaid article has already explained the dimension of ‘Community Participation’, while this article explains the Quality of Teaching and Learning in the following lines.
Improvement in quality of teaching and learning has always been the focus of whole school improvement model. Quality teaching is fundamental in the process of school improvement especially for students’ learning outcomes. It uses to be a major pillar of WSIP and during the intervention phase, it needs a major chunk of time to mould the teaching learning processes towards the desired curve. It is needed to give more time and value to improve quality of teaching and learning so that it could enhance students’ learning outcomes at present and in the years to come.
After a thorough academic audit, if a school has the following areas to improve, then it is strongly recommended to opt the suggested hereinafter activities to improve this dimension:
Keeping the above areas of improvements in mind, following ten activities and interventions are recommended to overcome the existing difficulties in school.
A lesson plan uses to be a teacher’s detailed description of the course of instruction for an individual lesson. A daily lesson plan is developed by a teacher to guide his/her class instruction. The detail of the plan varies depending on the preference of the teacher and subject being covered. If teachers are assuming lesson plan as a formality not as an intellectual process or integral part of teaching and learning, then the academic leads may arrange an in-service training session, then frequently checking the lesson plans, and giving feedback may improve this situation.
A consistent classroom observation, special sessions for teachers, on the spot support in classes, face to face interactions with individual teachers and feedback, schools may achieve the objectives effectively. Following success indicators will be sufficient to verify the achievement of the set objectives:
Each teacher prepares at least two lesson plans every day, while all the plans have been checked and feedback given by the Academic Lead (Principal, Section In charge, Academic coordinator etc.).
Teachers are leading their classes in an orderly manner and finish lessons on time.
Teachers design SMART objectives and specific activities.
Teachers ask questions related to the objectives at the end and during the lesson.
Teachers not only provide students low cost and no cost resources but also encourage students to prepare these resources and help them conceptualize their learning.
Reflection is the process of self-examination and self-evaluation that effective educators regularly engage in to improve their professional practices. Essentially, effective educators think carefully about what is taking place in each situation; identify the options available; consider their own values as professionals and their comfort level in acting on those values and finally make conscious choices about how to act to make a difference. In short, effective educators are reflective. They carefully examine their own and others’ practices to strengthen the quality and the effectiveness of their work.
Keeping the importance and significance of self-examination through reflective practices in education, the art of reflection to be taught and introduced to the teachers through a specially designed inhouse-session. Following should be the objectives in mind while introducing the reflective practices among teachers:
Personal and professional growth of teachers.
Improve the teaching and learning practice in school.
Do right things and be able to justify actions.
Be creative and innovative.
Have better relationship with colleagues as well as with students.
Enable teachers to analyse, discuss, evaluate, and change their practice
After the consistent observations, events, and providing opportunities to reflect on, teachers would be much developed which can be verified through observation as they can define reflection, what reflection is; can identify the purpose of reflection and discuss the importance of reflection for professional development; can discuss the steps involve in reflective process and guiding question for writing reflection. Likewise, teachers should maintain a reflective journal on daily bases to reflect on any critical incident happens in their daily life.
Timetable
A school timetable is an essential document for coordinating four elements of the school: students, teachers, available classrooms, and the time slots/periods. With the consensus of school management and teachers, re-formulation of timetable by keeping a sharp eye to allocate subjects to teachers by their capacity and willingness. While formulating the timetable following objectives should be focused:
Equal and relevant distribution of periods among teachers.
Provision of sufficient time for students’ learning in classroom
Vocabulary development is the process whereby speakers of a specific language enhance their working vocabularies with new words. This can be improved by exposure to new language information through different strategies. Exposure through writing and competitions is especially effective, for it offers a greater context by which new words may become understood. To cater this need in school for teachers as well as for students, different strategies like a special session for teachers and spelling competitions for students can be initiated. Following objectives would be the targets to achieve, while initiating different strategies for vocabulary development:
Develop Teachers’ vocabulary teaching techniques such as writing all contextual meanings, clues, inferring, definitions, antonyms, showing pictures etc.
Improve students’ reading comprehension
After such interventions, it can be evidently observed that teachers write all contextual meanings of new words on the board, give clues, and allow students to guess the meanings, teachers share definitions, antonyms of new words, show pictures and share all possible connected words to the new words. Teachers give tasks to the students to develop vocabulary through suffixes and prefixes while students have developed the vocabulary to a greater level as teachers may conduct subject wise spelling competitions, which enable students to learn new words from their textbooks.
Effective presentation and communication is a process of transferring information from one individual to another. Communication is commonly defined as imparting or interchanging of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or discussion. In a school perspective it is very much essential to have a very clear plan to enhance the communication and presentation skills of teachers as well as students. For this purpose, a full involvement of all the teaching staff to participate in the weekly inhouse sessions is essential. Likewise, encourage teachers to involve students in their teaching and allow students to ask questions, group work then presentations and individual work presentation. While planning for this element of professional development following objectives should be kept in mind to achieve:
Enable students to express knowledge confidently in their own words
Describe any topic of their observation in simple sentences
Ask and respond WH questions
Improve students’ and teachers’ language fluency
This component of professional development should be effectively implemented in school by the teachers by their selves and by the students. The success in this element can be verified by observing that students confidently taking part in presentations and explain learning in-front of the class, students are fluent in asking questions and making arguments, students listen to questions and explain their understanding and teachers are also ready to respond and explain any topic.
Competitions and specially quiz competitions use to be a contest between individuals or groups. It arises whenever two or more parties strive to achieve a goal. Competition has been a major factor in education. On a global scale, national education systems, intending to bring out the best students out comes and encourage competitiveness among students. Competitions also make up a large proportion of extracurricular activities in which students participate.
If it is the situation in a school that students are provided less opportunities to ask questions in pairs/groups and for presentations, and there is a lack of productive discussions, debates and competitions on critical points or concepts, then it is obvious that students are lacking clarity in concepts and speaking skills. To overcome this issue, manage subject wise Quiz Competitions on regular basis. While formulating and initiating these activities following should be the focused objectives:
To improve students’ content and general knowledge.
To improve collective competitive environment at class and school levels.
To improve grades.
At the end of an academic year with such initiatives, it can be confidently observed that all the set objectives are achieved and all the students as well as the teachers’ involvement in these activities are on peak. During such an intervention in a private school of Gilgit-Baltistan, a female teacher reflected that, “The competitions helped us and students to prepare for exam and most of the students attempted multiple choice questions and answered very easily. It was a great success in the exam this year”. These initiatives would enable schools to confidently say that students have the sound content and general knowledge of various concepts. School regularly arranges quiz competitions on subject and general knowledge basis, a healthy competitive environment has been created, students easily attempt multiple choice questions etc.
Reading skill is the ability of acquiring the basic skills necessary for learning to read; that is, the ability to acquire meaning from print. As it has been the most common problem of all the schools that language skills are not that much focused in schools. To overcome this issue and to improve the reading skill among students as well as teachers, allocating a weekly library period and providing different books may be fruitful. Students are asked to write/brief colleagues on the book they read. After some time, it would be evident, that students developed reading habits. To verify it we can observe that students borrow books from Library on a regular basis, students predict, visualize, and interpret different events in the story, students restate the stories they have read.
Mental maths uses to be a guide to effective mental calculation. Calculating things in our head can be a difficult task. If we can’t remember what we’ve worked out or simply don’t know how to solve a problem, then it can be very challenging and frustrating. To enhance this skill among students as well as teachers, the introduction of Mental Math activities to achieve the objective which are to develop students’ calculation skills through mental maths will be fruitful.
Cooperative learning is a successful teaching strategy in which small teams, each with students of different levels of ability, use a variety of learning activities to improve their understanding of a particular subject or topic. Each member of a team is responsible not only for learning what is taught but also for helping team-mates to learn, thus creating an atmosphere of achievement. Teachers and students work through the assignment until all group members successfully understand and complete it. Cooperative efforts result in participants striving for mutual benefit so that all group members gain from each other’s efforts; recognize that all group members share a common fate (sink or swim together); know that one’s performance is mutually caused by oneself and one’s team members (we cannot do it without you); feel proud and jointly celebrate when a group member is recognized for achievement (We all congratulate you on your accomplishment!)
The introduction of different strategies among students like group work and house wise tasks keeping the following objectives in mind may be useful:
Develop social skills, sense of teamwork and collective success amongst students.
Peer tutoring and constructive learning
After a successful intervention in this segment of school improvement, we can easily verify the outcomes of cooperative learning among students that they sit and work in groups, teachers assign group tasks with complementary roles to individual students, students demonstrate the social skills, and teachers critically observe students’ social skills, group processes and give feedback
Creative writing is considered to be any writing, fiction, poetry, or non-fiction that goes outside the bounds of professional and technical forms of writing. Creative writing is believed to focus on students’ self-expression. Such initiatives can be introduced on every level, however secondary level should be focused with following objectives to achieve:
To develop students’ creative writing skills
To develop students’ motivation for creative writing.
After a certain time, it can be confidently observed that not all the students but mostly the students will show a positive response in terms of creative writing in the focused classes. The achievements such as students generate ideas through brainstorming on any topic; they write a short paragraph on a given topic according to their level; students develop a story of their own by using their own imagination; students have their notebooks, files and displays in classroom with their creative work they have done can be visible. With an intentional intervention along with appropriate activities and modifications in daily schooling process, we can achieve better outcomes.
Expected Impact after an Academic Year’s deliberate intervention
All the above initiatives to improve the quality of teaching and learning will prove to be effective in terms of teachers’ attitude towards students and their profession as well. Students will play main role for their learning through asking questions from teachers, responding to teachers’ questions, sharing understanding with the whole class after reading the text, presentations and providing support to peers in learning. More importantly, teachers will also show love and care towards students and students’ self-esteem will be boosted up.
Sultanabad
is a small village located in Gilgit, Pakistan. The village is facing a number
of issues such as poor infrastructure, lack of basic facilities, and low
socio-economic status of the residents. However, with the right approach and
resources, Sultanabad has the potential to become a model village that serves
as a shining example for other rural communities in the region.
Freelancing: Offer your skills and
services, such as writing, graphic design, programming, or virtual assistance,
to clients online. Websites like Upwork and Fiverr can connect you with
potential clients.