Writing on Education

Mamata Pandya

I have spent my entire professional life as an educator. I did not consciously set out to be a Teacher, and in some ways I have never been a certified “teacher” as it were, but all the work that I have done has revolved around education at different levels. From post-graduation to a lecturer-ship in college was a relatively easy transition and did not involve much conscious thinking about pedagogy. But it did help me discover that I enjoyed communicating with and interacting with ‘students’ (who were at the time just three or four years younger than I was!)

It was when I started a new phase as an environmental educator that I started my own ‘education’ from the scratch. While my work did not involve me in regular classroom teaching in a school, the tasks of creating teaching-learning material meant that I had to read extensively about the theories and practises in pedagogy, many of these developed in the west. The first learning was that these could not be outright applied in the Indian classroom contexts. The challenge was how to make these suitable in our curricular and co-curricular contexts, lending a locale-specific flavour while still retaining the key pedagogic principles. It was also a challenge to weave in the promotion of values, attitudes and behaviour without being pedantic or preachy.

Over the years I found that creative ‘adaptation’ was the key. Just as Gijubhai did with Montessori, so have I found it challenging and stimulating to adapt flavours while retaining the base. All these have evolved during the process of interaction with teachers in workshops, and with children in learning-by-doing situations.

My work in instructional design, has provided opportunities for a lot of thinking and writing about education for diverse audiences. I have worked intensively at the national and regional levels in curriculum development and textbook writing—an exercise that involves engaging teachers as well as students within an academic context. I have developed a variety of Explore and Discover materials for children that engage them in inquiry and action, even as they enjoy the stories. I have shared my concerns with parents though essays and articles. I have attempted to reflect upon my experiences and place them in a broader theoretical context in papers and articles.

My concern about educational systems and my quest to contribute in a small way to better understanding and practice continues.

Books

Papers

More to Come...