DESCRIPTIVE QUESTIONS
Answer all questions:Â
1. Mention the five guiding principles proposed by NCF 2005?
¢ connecting knowledge to life outside the school,
• ensuring that learning is shifted away from rote methods,
• enriching the curriculum to provide for overall development of children rather than remain
textbook centric,
• making examinations more flexible and integrated into classroom life and,
• nurturing an over-riding identity informed by caring concerns within the democratic polity of
the country.
2. Write the common source of physical discomfort to students as per NCF2005?
Common sources of physical discomfort
• Long walks to school.
• Heavy school bags.
• Lack of basic infrastructure, including support books for reading and writing.
• Badly designed furniture that gives children inadequate back support and cramps their legs and knees.
• Time tables that do not give young children enough breaks to stretch, move and play, and that deprive olderchildrenofplay/sportstime, and encourage girls to opt out.
• Especially for girls, the absence of toilets and sanitary requirements.
• Corporal punishment—beating, awkward physical postures.
 3. Explain briefly Critical Pedagogy?
  Critical pedagogy provides an opportunity to reflect critically on issues in terms of their political, social, economic and moral aspects. It entails the acceptance of multiple views on social issues and a commitment to democratic forms of interaction. This is important in view of the multiple contexts in which our schools function. A critical framework helps children to see social issues from different perspectives and understand how such issues are connected to their lives. For instance, understanding of democracy as a way of life can be chartered through a path where children reflect on how they regard others (e.g. friends, neighbours, the opposite sex, elders, etc.), how they make choices (e.g. activities, play, friends, career, etc.), and how they cultivate the ability to make decisions. Likewise, issues related to human rights, caste, religion and gender can be critically reflected on by children in order to see how these issues are connected to their everyday experiences, and also how different forms of inequalities become compounded and are perpetuated. Critical pedagogy facilitates collective decision making through open discussion and by encouraging and recognizing multiple views.Â
4. Mention the recommendations of NCF2005 on language education?
 • Language teaching needs to be multilingual not only in terms of the number of languages offered to children but also in terms of evolving strategies that would use the multilingual classroom as a resource.
• Home language(s) of children, as defined above in 3.1, should be the medium of learning in schools.
• If a school does not have provisions for teaching in the child’s home language(s) at the higherlevels, primary school education must still be covered through the home language(s). It is imperative that we honour the child’s home language(s). According to Article 350A of our Constitution, ‘It shall be the endeavour of every State and of every local authority within the State to provide adequate facilities for instruction in the mother-tongue at the primary stage of education to children belonging to linguistic minority groups’.
• Children will receive multilingual education from the outset. The three-language formula needs to be implemented in its spirit, promoting multilingual communicative abilities for a multilingual country.
• In the non-Hindi-speaking states, children learn Hindi. In the case of Hindi speaking states, children learn a language not spoken in their area. Sanskrit may also be studied as a Modern Indian Language (MIL) in addition to these languages.
• At later stages, study of classical and foreign languages may be introduced.Â
5. Write the vision for curriculum for school mathematics / Science/ Art education / Social science / Physical education?
 Vision for School Mathematics
• Children learn to enjoy mathematics rather than fear it.
• Children learn important mathematics:
Mathematics is more than formulas and mechanical procedures.
• Children see mathematics as something to talk about, to communicate through, to discuss among
themselves, to work together on.
• Children pose and solve meaningful problems. Children use abstractions to perceive relation-ships, to see structures, to reason out things, to argue the truth or falsity of statements.
• Children understand the basic structure of Mathematics: Arithmetic, algebra, geometry and trigonometry, the basic content areas of school Mathematics, all offer a methodology for abstraction, structuration and generalisation.
• Teachers engage every child in class with the conviction that everyone can learn mathematics.
 3.6 HEALTH AND PHYSICAL EDUCATION
It is widely acknowledged that health is influenced by biological, social, economic, cultural and political forces. Access to basic needs like food, safe drinking water supply, housing, sanitation and health services influences the health status of a population, and these are reflected through mortality and nutritional indicators. Health is a critical input for the overall development of the child, and it influences enrolment, retention and school completion rates significantly. This curriculum area adopts a holistic definition of health within which physical education and yoga contribute to the physical, social, emotional and mental development of a child Â
Science
• Content, process and language of science teaching must be commensurate with the learner’s age-range and cognitive reach.
• Science teaching should engage the learners in acquiring methods and processes that will nurture their curiosity and creativity, particularly in relation to the environment.
• Science teaching should be placed in the wider context of children;s environment to equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills to enter the world of work.
• Awareness of environmental concerns must permeate the entire school curriculum.
Social Sciences
• Social science content needs to focus on conceptual understanding rather than lining up facts to be memorised for examination, and should equip children with the ability to think independently and reflect critically on social issues.
• Interdisciplinary approaches, promoting key national concerns such as gender, justice, human rights, and sensitivity to marginalised groups and minorities.
• Civics should be recast as political science, and the significance of history as a shaping influence on the children’s conception of the past and civic identity should be recognised.
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Art
• Arts (folk and classical forms of music and dance, visual arts, puppetry, clay work, theatre, etc.) and heritage crafts should be recognised as integral components of the school curriculum.
• Awareness of their relevance to personal, social, economic and aesthetic needs should be built among parents, school authorities and administrators.
• The arts should comprise a subject at every stage of school education.Â
6. Explain Peace education as proposed by NCF2005 and its suggestions?
  11.62 page
Suggestions for Peace Activities
√ Set up special clubs and reading rooms in schools that concentrate on peace news and events that violate the norms of social justice and equality.
√ Compile a list of films — documentaries and feature films— that promote the values of justice and peace. Screen them from time to time in schools.
√ Co-opt the media as a stakeholder in education for peace. Invite influential journalists and editors to address children. Ask for space in news papers and journals for children’s views to be published at least once a month.
√ Celebrate the cultural and religious diversity of India in schools.
√ Organise programmes to promote an attitude of respect and responsibility towards women.
 7. Explain the principles of CRC? (Convention on the Right of Children)
India has signed the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The three most important principles of this Convention are the rights to participation, to √ Inclusive education is about embracing all.
√ Disability is a social responsibility — accept it.
√ No selection procedures to be adopted for denying admission to learners with disabilities.
√ Children do not fail, they only indicate failure of the school.
√ Accept difference… celebrate diversity.
√ Inclusion is not confined to the disabled. It also means non-exclusion.
√ Learn human rights … conquer human wrongs.
√ Handicap is a social construct, deconstruct handicap.
√ Make provisions — not restrictions; adjust to the needs of the child.
√ Remove physical, social and attitudinal barriers.
√ Partnership is our strength such as school – community; school – teachers; teachers – teachers; teachers – children; children – children; teachers – parents; school systems and outside systems.
√ All good practices of teaching are practices of inclusion.
√ Learning together is beneficial for every child.
√ Support services are essential services.
√ If you want to teach, learn from the child. Identify strengths not limitations.
√ Inculcate mutual respect and inter-dependence
 8. Mention the Vision of NCF on teacher education?
5.2.2 Vision for Teacher Education . Teacher education must become more sensitive to the emerging demands from the school system. For this it must prepare the teacher for the roles of being an:
• encouraging, supportive and humane facilitator in teaching-learning situations to enable learners (students) to discover their talents, realise their physical and intellectual potentialities to the fullest, and to develop character and desirable social and human values to function as responsible citizens; and
• active member of a group of persons who makes a conscious effort for curricular renewal so that it is relevant to changing societal needs and the personal needs of learners.
108 To be able to realise this vision, teacher education must comprise the following features to enable student-teachers to :
• understand the way learning occurs and to create plausible situations conducive to learning.
• view knowledge as personal experiences constructed in the shared context of teaching learning, rather than embedded in the external reality of textbooks.
• be sensitive to the social, professional and administrative contexts in which they need to operate.
• develop appropriate competencies to be able to not only seek the above-mentioned understanding in actual situations, but also be able to create them.
• attain a sound knowledge base and proficiency in language.
• identify their own personal expectations, perceptions of self, capacities and inclinations.
• consciously attempt to formulate one’s own professional orientation as a teacher in situation-specific contexts.
• view appraisal as a continuous educative process.
• develop an artistic and aesthetic sense in children through art education.
• address the learning needs of all children, including those who are marginalised and disabled.
• In the context of change perspective, it is imperative to pursue an integrated model of teacher education for strengthening the professionalisation of teachers.
• develop the needed counselling skills and competencies to be a ‘facilitator’ for and
 9. How NCF recommends in reducing Stress and enhancing success in X an XII public examinations?
Reducing Stress and Enhancing Success in the X and XII Public Examinations Shift from content based testing to problem solving and competency based testing, content based testing induces bad pedagogy and rote learning, both of which cause stress during examinations. Basic tables and formulae could be provided to reduce emphasis on memory and focus on analysis, evaluation and application. Shift towards examinations of shorter duration with flexible time in which 25 to 40 per cent is for short answer type questions and the remaining for well designed multiple choice questions. 90 per cent of all students taking the examination should be able to complete the paper and review/revise the same.
√ Better conduct examinations in student’s own school or near by school. Malpractices could be minimized by having invigilation teams from others schools.
√ Postponement of examination should be avoided under all circumstances.
√ Permit students to appear in as many subjects as they are prepared for and complete the board certification requirements within a three-year window. The boards could work towards ‘ondemand’examinations, in which students can take as and when they feel prepared.
√ Eliminate the terminology of ‘pass’-‘fail’; indicate lack of adequate ÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂproficiency through re-examination or reappear or retake recommended’ √ Board should conduct re-examination immediately after announcement of results to enable students needing retake in one or two subjects to move to the next stage without losing a year.
√ Subjects such as Mathematics and English could be examined at two levels; standard and higher level. In the long term all subjects could be offered at two levels with students doing at least three/two of the six at standard level and the remaining three/ four at higher level.
√ Examination with a ‘flexible time limit’ can be an effective way to reduce stress among children.
√ Guidance and Counselling be made available in schools to deal with stress related problems and to guide students, parents and teachers to lessen thestudents stress. Helplines in boards can also help students and parents.
 10.Explain the ideas of NCF in the use of technology?
 5.5.3 The Use of Technology
The judicious use of technology can increase the reach of educational programmes, facilitate management of the system, as well as help address specific learning needs and requirements. For instance, mass media can be used to support teacher training, facilitate classroom learning, and be used for advocacy. Possibilities of teaching and learning at varied paces, self-learning, dual modes of study, etc. could all benefit from the use of technology, particularly ICT. The increasing use of the Internet has enabled the sharing of information and provided space for debate and dialogue on diverse issues hitherto unavailable on such a scale. Technological innovations are also necessary for appropriate equipment and aids for meeting the learning requirements of children with special needs. What needs to be underscored is that technology could be integrated with the larger goals and processes of educational programmes rather than viewed in isolation or as an add-on. In this context, technological use that turns teachers and children into mere consumers and technology operators needs to be reviewed and discouraged. Interaction and intimacy are key to quality education, and this cannot be compromised as a principle in any curricular intervention.
Ramasamy's - NCF 2005 Blog 