The course helped me to improve myself more than what I was expecting” – Hear from teachers at our partner Calcutta Rescue

We’re spotlighting our education partner in India, Calcutta Rescue, focusing on the impact that our progamme Teach2030 is having on their teachers. Ananya Chatterjee, the School Administrator, collated a range of feedback and statements. We are thrilled to work together to achieve a common goal of striving for children to get the support they need to make the most of educational opportunities.

Meet Shubhangi Arya, a German language teacher. She is proactively promoting Teach2030 on social media and is attending many of the free, interactive workshops that we hold bi-weekly. She lists the benefits of teachers taking Teach2030 courses.

Easy to login. Teach2030 courses are very easy to login and low data consuming.

Useful content. You will get useful and easy to understand contents to improve your teaching.

All the contents will be step-by-step, along with the videos and written contents. You will also get download materials such as lesson plans and action plan templates.

Teacher’s Portfolio. Teacher’s Portfolio is one of the very useful content for all teachers. It will help you to document all your progress in one folder. Personally, I found Teacher’s Portfolio very useful tool to document all my progress and education updates documentation.

Self-Paced Courses. All the courses are self-paced, which means you can start and complete your courses according to your time and schedule, which is very helpful because as a professional we have so many responsibilities, so sometimes it is difficult to find enough time.

Certified Courses. Teach 2030 has all certified courses, which means after successfully completing and passing with minimum 70% of score, you will get a Digital Certificate, which you can download and add to your CV and Teacher’s Portfolio.

Subhajit Sana, a Teach2030 Coach: ‘I have been teaching for years and now I head the Calcutta Rescue Talapark Education project. Before starting Teach 2030 course modules, I was under the impression that I know many methods and techniques that are enough for children to learn, but now my thoughts have changed totally, as I am getting exposed to many new ideas. The course has helped me, and our teachers, to be aware of the changes that have already taken place and to upgrade ourselves accordingly. Many phrases were frequently used before quite unknowingly, which indicate towards a fixed mindset. We have been able to stop using those in the classroom and adapted with the new phrases, which symbolises growth mindset. The content of the courses are completely engaging and encouraging to help us to learn new things and move forward. I feel lucky to have this opportunity to pursue the modules.’

Subhasini Hassan, a teacher: ‘I got the opportunity to enrol in Teach 2030 teacher training while working as a teacher in Calcutta Rescue. The course helped me to improve myself more than what I was expecting. Secondly, the course gave me a new exposure to the modern education system. I am learning a lot of new things which I can apply in my classroom to improve the standard of my students. I have learned about good teaching qualities, difference between fixed and growth mindsets, importance of good lesson planning through these courses. Our facilitators have explained about various class activities, games and digital resources. I am very much thankful to Teach 2030 for giving me this opportunity. I want to continue with this course and learn a lot more so that I can utilise it in my career as well as in my career.’

Sougata Chakraborty, a teacher: ‘I have learnt how to make my classes more interesting for my students. Previously, I was limited to books, board and chalk. Now, I incorporate many other modes of learning. Digital, live objects, life experiences or through story-telling/painting. Sometimes a simple motivational advertisement can also do wonders. I have learnt to utilise various methods, modes and teaching aids to the fullest and my students are also engrossed in the class as it is no longer one-sided. They also share their views which are valued. My class attendance has also improved.‘

Priyanka Karmakar, a Teach2030 Coach: ‘Teach2030 courses are engaging, helpful and very interesting. I have learned a lot of things from this course. Already we have completed our two modules, ‘Fresh Thinking for Your Classroom‘ and ‘Growth Mindset for Teachers and Learners.‘ I have been able to find out the qualities of a good teacher and not so good teacher and identified the areas that I wish to develop and improve. Generally, we give good feedback always. But now, I have understood true feedback is very important for all. Feedback is incredibly helpful and positive criticism is a way to get better at things. Meaningful and effective feedback – maximum times we say the students ‘well done’, ‘clever girl’, ‘very good’ but it is difficult to understand for other learners in the class what she did well. I have been able to find out the characteristics which one indicates my fixed mindset and which one is growth mindset and now I always try to express my mind according to growth mindset. I have learned a lot of teaching techniques from this course about how to make our classes more interesting and interactive. Overall, the Teach2030 course is very effective for all of us. It is a great opportunity in my teaching career.

Our thanks to Calcutta Rescue for being such a supportive and proactive Education partner.

Thank you to Ananya for organising the contributions to this blog. All words are the teachers own and have remained unchanged.