Project स्वावलम्बन: Reflections

'Project Swavlamban' was initiated as a 'Gesture of Gratefulness' to all 'Didis' (housekeeping staff)
for their sincere work and dedicated efforts.

Project स्वावलम्बन: Reflections

The one of many highlights of 'Project Swavlamban' was the wrap-up event when our women trainees showed a lot of confidence and had big smiles on their faces to display and sell their homemade products of different kinds.

'Project Swavlamban' was initiated as a 'Gesture of Gratefulness' to all 'Didis' (housekeeping staff) for their sincere work and dedicated efforts. As a matter of fact, Project Swavlamban would have not been possible with such preciseness and professionalism if we had not secured the grant support. 

We were able to successfully execute 72 hour long capacity building training only because we had all the essential resources in place. Whether it was about back-to-back skill training sessions or it was about helping them organize the wrap-up exhibition in order to sell their handmade art and craft products; it all turned out to be an accomplished project as we had financial support to provide these energetic and ready-to-learn groups of women with all the necessary mentoring and materials. 

The one of many highlights of 'Project Swavlamban' was the wrap-up event.

The one of many highlights of 'Project Swavlamban' was the wrap-up event when our women trainees showed a lot of confidence and had big smiles on their faces to display and sell their homemade products of different kinds. Also, the certificate distribution ceremony was the testinominal of the grand success of 'Project Swavlamban' that enabled these women to realize their true potential and all the credit goes to the support we received through the grant.

For all of us, 'Project Swavlamban' has been a great learning experience in various ways and means. Working with the housekeeping women staff has made us realize and learn the following important takeaways, 

1. These women are very much aspiring and have passion to make their mark, irrespective of their backgrounds and professions. 
2. They are keen to become self-dependent and want to support their families to the best of their abilities. 
3. What they needed was a bit of inspiration and a detailed set of guidance in order to make their aspirations come true. 
4. Some of these women showed extraordinary entrepreneurial skills and executed the assigned tasks and activities very well. 
5. Most of the women worked really well when they performed in a team setting. 
6. Many of these women took active part in the wrap-up exhibition and produced their best work. 
7. When encouraged and motivated, they willingly participated in opening their saving accounts and exhibited interest in various money saving banking schemes too. 
8. Almost all of them came from humble backgrounds and working full time as a housekeeping staff required them to dedicate more than 8 to 10 hours a day; yet they managed to attend more than 75% of training programs overall. 
9. Initially, they were a little shy and hesitant but overtime, they started showcasing their openness and readiness to learn and become confident with each passing day. 
10. Last but not the least, their attitude towards themselves changed for the better and they all were appreciated and acknowledged by the higher management of the university, by the end of the project.
    
    

    

    'Project Swavlamban' has been a great learning experience in various ways and means.

Keeping these takeaways in mind, the entire team of organizers and facilitators have felt fulfilled and satisfied with their contributions and have become determined to keep this spark of change and betterment alive, even during their informal interactions with these women. 

With working closely, we have developed more respect and a sense of belongingness to these groups of super-women and we hope to continue this chain of change in future as well.

The entire team of organizers and facilitators felt fulfilled and satisfied with their contributions to Project स्वावलम्बन.

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Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in Classroom and Beyond

Teachers should find a variety of stories that challenge stereotypes and preconceptions.

Equity, Diversity and Inclusion 

in Classroom and Beyond

A teacher's own actions and characteristics serve as the foundation for the magic of encouraging fairness, diversity, and inclusion in the classroom.

So, it was a 'dream-come-true-moment' for me when I received the news that 'Living Conversations' project has won Blackboard Catalyst Award, 2022 for being a highly innovative skill development course with adaption of new delivery, pedagogical models, and tools for positively influencing the educational experience of students. 

Eventually, my experiences as a course leader and course designer have taught me the following most crucial lessons as a teacher, 

• An excellent teacher is one who enhances the learning environment via amazing enthusiasm, a genuine interest in students, and excellent abilities in both (i) Course content and (ii) Pedagogy.
  
  
• Teachers should shift roles from lecturers to inspiring facilitators who provide tools, track student growth, and motivate them to solve challenges.
  
  
• Teachers should actively seek feedback and collaborate with others in an effort to improve student outcomes.
  
  
• Teachers ought to establish classroom standards that encourage inclusivity and openness among the students. Students should believe that their voices matter and are taken seriously.
  
  
• It is important to promote understanding of and appreciation for individual differences in the classroom. Group activities support inclusion in the learning process and encourage involvement from all students.
  
  
• Guest talks and masterclasses should be explored as forums for students to openly discuss issues related to equity and diversity.
  
  
• Teachers should find a variety of stories that challenge stereotypes and preconceptions.
  
  
• In order to ensure that classroom materials are available to all students and never discriminate against anybody, teachers should employ a range of instructional formats, even if this involves modifying materials for audio, big print, or video.
  
  
• Last but not least, a teacher's own actions and characteristics serve as the foundation for the magic of encouraging fairness, diversity, and inclusion in the classroom.

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Boot Camp for Life Skills: Learning By Choice

"When students get to make decisions about their learning, it can be powerfully motivating."

Boot Camp for Life Skills:
Learning By Choice

Student choice builds ownership in the learning and it leads to increased engagement and empowerment. Student choice creates an environment where students discover what they want to learn.

"When students get to make decisions about their learning, it can be powerfully motivating." - Stephen Merrill

Student choice builds ownership in the learning and it leads to increased engagement and empowerment. Student choice creates an environment where students discover what they want to learn.

And this is exactly what we experienced in the first boot camp of our award-winning life skills course 'Living Conversations'.

We witnessed almost a houseful show today. We had students from various MBA branches and batches to learn significant life skills like public speaking, interpersonal skills and so on.

What makes this entire event extremely remarkable is because of the following facts, 

1. Students showed up entirely 'by choice', not by any compulsion. 
   
   
2. Students already knew their participation would NOT earn them any 'credits', 'marks', or even 'attendance'. 
   
   
3. Students also knew they would be assigned various tasks and activities to perform, post their participation in the boot camp.

That is why we say “Learning happens the best when it's 'Learning By Choice' and that's what true educators believe in the most."

Employability & Education

The youth of India are facing a roadblock both in achieving the degrees on paper that
they want and the vocationalskills that they need.

Employability & Education

There is a need to ensure that India's youth is supported in completing higher education and also gaining the right skills to secure employment.

Do you know India needs 2.7 million skilled professionals by 2023?

The youth of India are facing a roadblock both in achieving the degrees on paper that they want and the vocationalskills that they need.

According to the World Economic Forum, of the 13 million people who join India’s workforce each year, only 1 in 4 MBAs, 1 in 5 engineers, and 1 in 10 graduates are employable.

The employability crisis of graduates in India is a strange conundrum because India is a powerhouse when it comes to the available workforce, 50% of the country’s population is below the age of 25.

The skillgap has been taken into account by the National Education Policy (NEP) released in 2020 which recommends training students in vocational skills right from school.

There is a need to ensure that India's youth is supported in completing higher education and also gaining the right skills to secure employment.

As per experts, we need more,
- Skill Training
- Internships
- Industry Projects
- Shop Floor Experiences
- Industry Mentoring
- Career Sessions
- Incubators

Fixing India’s employability crisis needs a multipronged approach that brings together adequate skill development measures right from the school-level, a booming industry-academic partnership that equips the youth with employability skills.

Gamification As A Training Tool

Gamification works because it triggers real, powerful human emotions such as happiness, intrigue, and accomplishment.

Gamification As A Training Tool

Educators and training & development professionals should not underestimate the potential of gamification in skill training. For professionals seeking to introduce or expand the use of gamification in their sessions, here are some simple approaches as a starting point to gamify the teaching and learning process.

Albert Einstein himself indicated that games are the most elevated form of investigation. Games promote situated learning and higher-order thinking skills.

Gamification uses positive reinforcement techniques to make learning an enjoyable experience and I have been practicing 'gamification' since the pandemic, to make my online classes more engaging and effective.

I continued with 'gamification' even in my hybrid as well as offline classes for facilitating life skills courses to university students.

On the top, you can see the leaderboard with stars (= points) earned by students for performing assigned tasks and activities during an entire semester.

It was quite exciting to notice how my students experienced an exponential growth in their leadership and teamskills.

Here you can see the feedback by one of my student cohorts post completion of a life skills course 'Leadership and Teamwork'.

It was quite exciting to notice how my students experienced an exponential growth in their leadership and teamskills.

Simply put, gamification is the use of game-design elements and game principals in non-game contexts.

Educators and traininganddevelopment professionals should not underestimate the potential of gamification in skilltraining.

For professionals seeking to introduce or expand the use of gamification in their sessions, here are some simple approaches as a starting point to gamify the teaching and learning process,

🎁 Award points or badges to students for meeting academic objectives.

🥊 Create missions for students using a fun theme.

⛳ Use levels, checkpoints, and other methods of progression.

✨ Maintain a progress bar to record students' advancement in learning.

🎳 Let students set their own goals, then track their own progress in a fun/visual/personal way.

🏆 Create leaderboards to gauge classroom progress and instill a sense of competition.

Remember, gamification works because it triggers real, powerful human emotions such as happiness, intrigue, excitement and accomplishment. 

Play on!

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Gaurav Misra 'Fulbright's gamification based framework 'Star Count System' won him Blackboard Award, 2021 at the Asia Pacific level, for being one of the most innovative teaching methdologies for studentengagement.

Student-feedback says it all.

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Project स्वावलम्बन: Success Story II

Recently, सविता दीदी has cracked a business deal with Naayra Farms for her product 'homemade ghee'.

Project स्वावलम्बन: Success Story II

She has been making 'homemade ghee' since ages but never felt confident enough to convert it into a business idea.

Meet सविता दीदी!

Just a few weeks ago, she was attending sessions on entrepreneurship under 'Project स्वावलम्बन' where she and other didis were learning 'financial empowerment' and 'small business'.

She has been making 'homemade ghee' since ages but never felt confident enough to convert it into a business idea.

We are glad that recently, सविता दीदी has cracked a business deal with Naayra Farms for her product 'homemade ghee'.

Her smiling face with her first small business income is pure joy for us. Please join us in congratulating her. Many more smiles to come :)

*'Project स्वावलम्बन' is a grant winning skill development project for socio-economic upliftment, financial empowerment and media literacy of the women housekeeping staff of UPES, supported by the U.S. Embassy India and Swechha India.

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Project स्वावलम्बन: Success Story

I requested Pinki didi for a picture and she confidently posed along with her
'self-earned' chocolate ice cream with a big winning smile :)

Project स्वावलम्बन: Success Story

Just a few weeks ago, she was attending sessions on digital literacy under 'Project स्वावलम्बन' where she and other didis were trying to play with their cell phones and learn a few tricks including how to use their cell phones for digital payments as well.

"भैया! आपको मैं Paytm पर पैसे भेज दूँ?"

 ...asked a familiar voice close behind me.

I turned and saw Pinki didi from our housekeeping staff.

It was quite impressive to see her getting ready to pay online with such confidence. Just a few weeks ago, she was attending sessions on digital literacy under 'Project स्वावलम्बन' where she and other didis were trying to play with their cell phones and learn a few tricks including how to use their cell phones for digital payments as well.

Even I sensed a 'surprised look' on Ashwani Baiya's face, behind the counter, who was perhaps not expecting an online transaction from her.

Though I could see Pinki didi struggling over her phone screen a little bit in the beginning, and my colleague guiding her with a few initial steps; in the meanwhile, Ashwani Baiya offered full discount on her purchase (one chocolate ice cream). 

Maybe he wanted to offer her a reward for her upgraded digital skills.

In a few seconds, we all heard Paytm machine announcing, "Payment received." ...and this announcement brought smiles to everyone's face as if we all witnessed something amazing.

I requested Pinki didi for a picture and she confidently posed along with her 'self-earned' chocolate ice cream with a big winning smile :) 

*'Project स्वावलम्बन' is a grant winning skill development project for socio-economic upliftment, financial empowerment and media literacy of the women housekeeping staff of UPES, supported by the U.S. Embassy India and Swechha India.

#ProjectSwavalamban #womenempowerment #digitalliteracy #digitalindia

Living Conversations: Blackboard Catalyst Award Winner, 2022

Today 'Living Conversations' stands as the only life skills course globally,that has received
Blackboard Catalyst Award in the 'Teaching & Learning' category.

Living Conversations: 
Blackboard Catalyst Award Winner, 2022

It was a 'dream-come-true-moment' when I received the news that 'Living Conversations' has won this year's Blackboard Catalyst Award for being a highly innovative lifeskills course with adaption of new delivery, pedagogical models, and tools for positively influencing the educational experience of learners.

I truly know how much this international recognition means to me, and to all the efforts I made to make 'Living Conversations' really a remarkable life skills course.

Needless to say, 'Living Conversations' did bring positive changes in the UPES student community in terms of their communication, confidence, and attitude. 

What makes this award more than an award is because of the following factors,

(i) Today 'Living Conversations' stands as the only life skills course globally, that has received Blackboard Catalyst Award in the 'Teaching & Learning' category.

(ii) 'Living Conversations' competed against 27 best universities globally including Johns Hopkins University, Texas Tech University, University of Illinois Chicago, King Faisal University (Saudi Arabia), Seneca College (Canada), Torrens University (Australia) to name a few. Full list is here.

(iii) And most importantly, this brings School for Life's 2nd Blackboard Award (Asia Pacific) in a row, and School of Liberal Studies' 1st Blackboard Award (Worldwide).

It was a 'dream-come-true-moment' when I received the news that 'Living Conversations' has won this year's Blackboard Catalyst Award for being a highly innovative #lifeskills course with adaption of new delivery, pedagogical models, and tools for positively influencing the educational experience of learners. 

2 years ago, as a course leader, I shouldered the responsibility of designing and developing a life skills course that could help students learn 21st century skills (like communication, collaboration, and confidence) and help them become the best versions of themselves. 

Please remember, this journey had started during the covid times when it was quite challenging to deliver life skills sessions physically due to the lockdown. Everything was to be offered in online mode. 

'Living Conversations' was supposed to be extremely engaging, interactive, and a youth-friendly course and it took me a considerable amount of time experimenting with, and fine-tuning the course content, course delivery plan, and course evaluation strategy. 

Today when I look back, I believe it was all worth it. On record, more than 90% of student community experienced a paradigm shift in their KSA (Knowledge, Skills, and Attitude). Almost all of them recommended this distinguishing life skills course to other learners. 

Several student success stories (national as well as international) based on their exceptional project-work (as performed under 'Living Conversations' course requirement) are the testimonials to the fact that 'Living Conversations' favorably impacted student experience and engagement. 

Best part is that the legacy of 'Living Conversations' continued even after the lockdown was over, and when classes started in f2f mode. Eventually, my experiences as a course leader and the brilliant success of 'Living Conversations' have taught me 3 most important academic lessons,

(1) One should plan and design a high quality, pedagogically sound, student-centered curriculum, based on the achievement of learning outcomes. 

(2) One should keep following up with the other course instructors to make sure that teaching is consistent and of high quality.

(3) And above all, one should maintain an oversight of students' growth with measurable results, to foster academic excellence.

Thank you Sharmila Katre for being an amazing guide, mentor, and 'teacher' and helping me build 'Living Conversations'.

Thank you Manisha Mohan for your trust and positive leadership that proved to be a game changer. 

Thanks a million Ritam Dutta, Pooja Khanna, Bitopi Dutta, Dr. Annapurna Parige Nippani, Rekha Verma, Dr Sakshi Chanana for being extraordinary course instructors and offering your best. You definitely made a difference! 

P.S. This year's Blackboard catalyst team award has given me a thousand times more 'sense of accomplishment' than my last year's blackboard 'solo' award.

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Power of Praise

I gifted my artwork to my British students in praise of their outstanding participation in the 'Generation UK-India programme'

Power of Praise

Do you know praise can have a powerful impact on your students? Research in psychology and neuroscience reveals praise can promote attention, performance, learning, and retention. 

Receiving praise releases dopamine - the neurotransmitter that drives our brain’s reward system. Dopamine releases feelings of enjoyment and reinforcement which motivates us to complete and continue doing certain tasks.

Teacher praise is one tool that can be a powerful motivator for students. As per Institute of Education Sciences, 'praise' as one of the top five most effective teaching practices. Surprisingly, research suggests that praise is underused.

To paraphrase, Daniel T Willingham, professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Virginia, “To motivate students – especially older students who are better able to appreciate the differences between what is said and what is meant – teachers need to praise that has been earned.” 

From the research on praise, a classroom rich in praise prepares brains for optimal performance and learning. Knowing what to praise your students for and when to give that praise is just as important as the praise itself. 

According to renowned cognitive psychologist Daniel Willingham, praise should be:

- Perceived as sincere, earned, and truthful

- Specific

- Personalized

- Focused on process

- Immediate

- Unexpected

How do you acknowledge a student for a good job he/she has done?

Praise can promote attention, performance, learning, and retention.

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Gaurav Misra: Brief Bio

Gaurav Misra: Brief Bio

Gaurav Misra is India’s 1st CTAUN recognized life skills educator. He is a Fulbright fellow, ‘Global Leader for Innovation and Knowledge’ scholar, and Blackboard Award winner.

Currently, he is associated with India’s one of the most groundbreaking educational initiatives, ‘School for Life’. He together with his team, teaches life skills to university students to help them become employable and economically developed.

He teaches leadership, team building, and the ability to communicate, along with volunteerism and community building. With a career span of more than a decade, dealing with youngsters from around 30 countries, he has taught, trained, and mentored about 15,000 youth globally and has conducted more than 100 ‘Train the Teacher’ programs.

In 2015, he was awarded Fulbright fellowship to teach and study at the University of Montana, USA; and was selected for the ‘Distinguished Service and Outreach Award’ for his outstanding service to the university campus and the Missoula community.

In 2016, he represented India as a youth leader at the UN Headquarters, New York. In 2019, he accomplished the multinational leadership program GLIK (Global Leader for Innovation and Knowledge) and worked on his award-winning skill development Capstone Project in 4 countries (Japan, USA, Singapore, and Thailand).

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My Journey So Far...

My Journey So Far...

To start with, I must acknowledge that I truly love my profession. I am following my heart and my profession is my calling. It is always exciting to see my students proceed towards betterment and their progress in life is the definition of my success. There is nothing more rewarding than to see them becoming confident with each passing day. There is nothing more pleasing than to receive those lovely words right from the bottom of their heart on some special days (be it my birthday or Teacher’s day). And, there is nothing more satisfying than to see their winning smiles with a job offer letter in their hands on their ‘Campus Placement Day’. Yes, I am a trainer cum coach cum teacher (I train, coach, and teach graduates and postgraduate students). I am always happy being surrounded with these young minds bubbling with energy and enthusiasm. As a matter of fact, my journey to the place where I am today has not been that easy.

I belong to a very humble background. My father worked as a clerk and his earnings were not sufficient enough to bear the cost of education of his three children (No doubt, those were tough times and they ended only after three of us started doing well in our respective careers). Being the eldest one, I had already decided to bear my educational expenses all by myself. I carried forward my education sometimes through school scholarships (as being a bright student since my childhood) and sometimes by doing some part-time jobs (like tutoring students very junior to me and even going door to door selling books as a salesman in later years). These early experiences of mine taught me not to give up in tough circumstances and helped me boost my confidence. And above all, my early days of struggle gave me a significant insight into the value of education since it came to me as a reward through sheer hard work.

I still remember how my father used to tell three of us the importance of English in one’s life. He used to see our report cards starting with our scores in English subject first. It was a ritual for all three of us to learn at least 5-7 new English words every day. He used to feel glad whenever any one of us would try speaking up in English even if it was incorrect. Today when I look back, I realize that my early brushes with English played a huge role for me to fall in love with this fascinating language. And for that I owe a lot to my visionary father. I was so much in awe of this language that I decided to do my post graduation in English and I managed to accomplish that. I think there was always a hunger in me to learn more and more. It was my zeal to become better that I never let any opportunity available get vanished. (Be it my online certifications from Coursera or my regular certifications from Infosys and Pearson; or be it my Training & Development diploma from Indian Society of Training & Development that I completed in the recent past).

I know that I put a great deal of hard work and took considerable amount of time to become a confident English speaker from a shy student with a Hindi medium background (and it took me years of efforts to learn and I am still learning). My bond with English language was so strong (which I felt later on) that even after completing my MBA in Human Recourse and starting a decent job as a Recruitment Manager in an IT firm for a year, I came back to ‘my first love’ once again. (And that was the best career decision ever for me so far. It seemed as if I discovered myself again.) I commenced afresh my career as a Communication Skills Trainer. Being a trainer, I felt fulfilled and enjoyed every bit of it. A major part of my profession was to assist my learners with their language skills. Most importantly, these students were would-be professionals in the corporate world. In fact, their ability to speak and write in flawless English is one of the most important parameters used by the employers in India and worldwide. Surprisingly, only a little over half of the five million odd graduates that India produces annually, are employable in any sector of the knowledge economy. Inadequate English is one of the key factors holding back students, especially those from smaller towns.

I know firsthand how it feels in a classroom of fifty-sixty students who can speak and write in English much better than you. My students too found English language a little frightening initially. This is why I went a step ahead and started conducting their extra ‘evening sessions’ to learn English without fear. I had to don many hats in my additional sessions. I acted as a motivator, facilitator, counselor, mentor and sometimes even as an entertainer too. I added interactive activities, communication games, student presentations, group discussions, role plays and other fun exercises to my regular teaching. And all this resulted in their active participation with great learning experiences both for them and for me. I have also been active through my professional blog to connect with my students and create awareness on the issue of employability for last several years. According to the reports, only 20% of the Indian population can speak in English, and only 4% would be considered fluent. I am also associated with a social service initiative (which is presently in its nascent stage) Project Utthan through which we give special emphasis on issues related to education and employability. 

Besides personal enrichment and professional growth, I aspire to take our social service initiative to the next level by reaching out to the maximum number of teachers and students in India and spread out the message loud, 

"Life skills are necessary for success in the twenty-first century, both for healthy communities and for prosperous employable entrepreneurs."

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Thank you, Blackboard!

It was an honor to receive 'Blackboard Award, 2021'.

 Thank you, Blackboard!

I remember when I started using Blackboard during lockdown; I had my own share of apprehensions if it would be effective enough to teach through this medium or not. Today, when I look back I can say this with all my confidence that Blackboard not only proved to be an effective teaching tool, but it also helped my students gain life skills tremendously well. Here are some significant student benefits, and Blackboard made them happen,   

1. All Course Content in One Place: Through Blackboard, it became quite easier to compile, collect and collate all my course-related material in one place. It was much easier for my students to access it anytime. This easy accessibility of the course content in Blackboard made my job quite a bit relaxed.

2.Discussion Forums and Mutual Learning: I have found ‘Discussion Forums’ quite fascinating as they not only allow students to post their reflections, but also offer them an opportunity to learn from one another. This feature truly inspires a sense of ‘learning community’.

3.Submissions and Grading: Blackboard has also served as an amazing platform for receiving students’ assignments and do the grading as per the instructor’s convenience. Additionally, any online quiz can be rescheduled for those students who have joined the course later.  

4.Student Success Stories: Off late, I have also been using ‘Gamification’ with my Blackboard classes. As a result, my students got so involved in the course curriculum, that they accomplished accolades at the international level too.

5.International Achievements: One student team got highlighted in the local and national newspapers all over the country, for taking an interview of Jacinda Ardern. Another student got selected by AIESEC, Indonesia as a leadership facilitator.

6.Blackboard Award, 2021: 'Blackboard Analytics' showed me some remarkable results in terms of student participation as well as student engagement. I could see my students attending these virtual classes with much zeal and excitement.  It was an honor to receive 'Blackboard Award, 2021'.

7.Training Workshops through Blackboard: Additionally, Blackboard has also been quite instrumental in conducting Entrepreneurship Development Program (TEDP) in association with NSTEDB (National Science and Technology Entrepreneurship Development Board), DST (Department of Science & Technology), and University of Petroleum and Energy Studies.

Long story short, Blackboard has not only been an outstanding tool to facilitate teaching and learning process quite effectively during the lockdown, but it has also added incredible value to students’ growth and development. Thank you, Blackboard! 

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