Quarterly ReportJuly to September 2015
Contents
2
Sr. Chapter Page
1. Overview 3
2. Executive Summary 6
3. Updates from the Last Quarter 7
4. Schools and Teachers 12
5. The Team: Capacity Development 22
6. Innovations 23
7. Successes and Challenges 25
8. The Way Forward–July to September Review 26
9. The Way Forward 28
10. A Story from the Field 30
Overview
3
One of the largest non-governmental organizations in the
country
Established in 1995 to provide education to children in the
slums of Mumbai
An innovative learning organization created to improve the
quality of education in India
Focuses on high-quality, low-cost, and replicable interventions
to address gaps in the education system
About Pratham
4
Teacher-centric educational intervention implemented by the Pratham EducationFoundation, in partnership with the Vodafone Foundation India
The programme aims to enhance teaching and learning in low-income schools through theintroduction of technology as a teaching tool
LOTB provides schools with:
Educational technology with curriculum aligned content
Holistic teacher training
On-going teacher guidance including lesson-planning support
Technical support
1,000
Schools
147,000+
UniqueBeneficiaries
1,900+
Teachers we work with
About Learn, Out of the Box
Overview
5
Monitoring the progress of the Learn, Out of the Box programme for a
given 3-month period.
Provide insights into factors such as:
Initiatives undertaken by the team
Operational updates
Programme Utilization
Trends seen in programme usage
Teacher practices in their classrooms
Innovations in the field
The Quarterly Report
047
048
049
About the Quarterly Report
Overview
July
August
September
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September
Executive Summary
6
The second quarter of 2015-16 has been a phase
of transition for the programme.
Preparations are on for the way forward starting
with a comprehensive review of 980 schools
through a standardized tool. This scale of review
was a first for the programme and the RPAs were
trained through de-centralized trainings. The
review was successfully completed on the basis
of which the schools have been categorized.
Based on the review, the programme intends to
drop some existing schools and induct new
schools both in need of the intervention and
academically oriented to implement it. A
comprehensive school induction process has
been designed to engage and observe the
decision maker of the schools.
For the schools, this quarter is an academically
intensive period when productivity of the
programme peaks before the schools close for
festivities. The national average login has been 11
for this quarter and there has been a steady rise
in the first two months leading to a minor dip in
the last month of the quarter due to the
examinations.
Math & science content for Class 8 is being
worked on for inclusion in the programme’s
content framework.
A quite farewell was also given to the programme
in Karnataka & Tripura as support was withdrawn
by the end of this quarter. Karnataka logged in
equivalent to the national average one last time!
The next quarter shall again be operationally
intensive as field-testing for the new technology
shall be completed. The programme also aims to
upgrade technology for the first phase of schools
and orient the new schools being inducted in all
states.
Updates from this Quarter
7
High level updates
The school review process was completed for 980 schoolsthrough a standardized tool which had more than 50 questionsacross categories such as infrastructure, usage, managementinterest, profile of the school etc.
The programme also instituted a induction process for newschools. Emphasis has been laid on extensive engagement andphysical survey of the school.
The transition from the old SIM card was completed and theschools have now switched to the new SIM card.
Two new entrepreneurship centers were launched after drop-outsin the last quarter. The usage of the programme has been lowerin the last two months of the quarter due to competitive exams ofmany entrepreneurs around this time.
Jharkhand & Uttar Pradesh were new states achieving higherlogins than the national average.
Classroom in the lap of nature
A group activity underway in a
classroom
Updates from this Quarter
8
Entrepreneurship pilot
18 of the 20 pilot centers were active in this quarter
A pilot center in Jharkhand has been inactive as there was an accidental hardware damage. The
entrepreneur has agreed to get the hardware repaired but needs time to organise funds.
Successfully launched the programme with two new entrepreneurs after drop outs because of
personal commitments.
Catalyst Management Services (CMS) conducted a round of qualitative surveys at the pilot centers
in Jharkhand
Improvement in interest, comprehension, curiosity, and class participation was reported.
According to CMS, an assessment on learning levels of students was not possible because of
limited time of exposure at the time of the assessment.
Updates from this Quarter
9
Way Forward Activities
School review and categorization of schools
A two step review process was undertaken to assess the school’s level of engagement with the
programme. The schools were categorised into Cat-A, B and C according to the following
criterion
Usage Data
School infrastructure
Management Co-operation
School Profile
The RPAs rated all of their schools using a standardized tool and they were verified by the
respective RPMs.
Schools in category C were issued warning letters. The monitoring of these schools has been
completed and the drop out process has been initiated.
The number of Cat-C schools were evenly distributed among Urban-Rural and Government-
Private schools. Since, no category of schools were more likely to be in Cat-C the current ratio
of Urban-Rural and Government-Private schools will be maintained.
10
School Induction Process Background: One learning from previous inductions of schools
has been the essential need for the decision maker to beinterested and willing to engage with the programme. Theschool review also indicates that schools with interested andacademically inclined principals are performing consistentlywell.
Engagement of Decision Makers: The process lays emphasis ofthe engagement of the decision makers (Principal/Manager) ofthe school and aims to observe their interest, acumen andacademic foresight in management of their school.
The Induction Process: The chart below represents the start-to-finish induction process.
A group discussion in progress during one of
inductions in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
ADVERTISEMENT
Poster/Pamphlet/ Reference/Network/
State Specific Mechanism
FIRST CONTACT
SMS
Phone Survey
(ELIMINATION 1)
PROFILING
Physical Survey
by
RPA
(ELIMINATION 2)
SEMINAR*
Attended by Manager/Principal
Observance of academic, administrative &
entrepreneurial outlook
(ELIMINATION 3)
SELECTED SCHOOL VERIFICATION VISIT
by RPM/ARPM
(ELIMINATION 4-IF REQ.)
FINAL SELECTION
&
SIGNING OF MOU Participants during the Case Study session in
Lucknow
Updates from this Quarter
11
A pamphlet inviting schools for the
induction process
*ICT: Information & Communication
Technology
Seminar: An important component of the process, theSeminar was an opportunity to engage with the schooldecision makers first hand. The complete process was initiallypiloted in Uttar Pradesh and results have been largelypositive.
Session Design: The seminar comprised of three sessions asdetailed below:
Problem-Solution of School
The participants were asked to identify any two-three predicamentsin the areas of ‘Teaching & Learning, Infrastructure or HumanResource’ being faced in their schools and detail a possible solutionfor the same within a structured format.
Case Study
The case study focuses on resources available within the school andprioritization in its utilization. The participants were asked to identifypossible ways of utilizing resources and present any innovative ideasto tackle these problems.
Group Discussion
In the final session, the participants were divided in three groups forgeneral discussion on education & ICT* related topics.
Observation: The LOTB team through the sessions recordsobservations and rates the participants as per theirinterest, contribution and quality of inputs etc.
Updates from this Quarter
Active Schools
Schools which have
logged in at least once a
month
Operational but inactive
Schools
Schools which have
working hardware but
have not been able to
login
In-operational Schools
Schools which do not
have working hardware
Schools and Teachers
12
Schools The schools section examines the behavior of schools at the State level, providing information on programme
activity, and utilization.
Quarterly Activity Status of Schools
85%
5%
9%
AugustJuly September
77%
5%17%
81%
7%
12%
The Cat-C dropout process started in September 2015. Significant number of the Cat-C schools
were dropped out in this month.
September is an exam month which saw a decrease in absolute number of active schools.
However, the percentage of active schools has increased because the dropped out schools were
not included in the number of total schools.
Schools and Teachers
13
11
Himachal Pradesh
Rajasthan Uttar
Pradesh Bihar
Jharkhand
Assam
Maharashtra
Karnataka
Andhra
Pradesh
Delhi
Tripura
Uttarakhand
1 20
All Saint School in Nalanda, Bihar was
the highest user in the month of
August, 2015.
98
Jharkhand
The increase in average login per
school was the highest in Jharkhand.
After the warning letters were
given, many schools increased
utilization of the programme.
The average login per school
increased compared to the last
quarter. This quarter has the most
number of working days in schools.
Telangana
Utilization
14
20
8
20
1412 12 11
10 10 98
76 6
0
11
15
Comparison of Average Monthly Usage Per School Across States
National Average Expected Average Pilot Average
Entrepreneurship pilot
LOTB schools LOTB winter closing schools
The average login for the last quarter
across schools stands at 11 logins per
school.
This quarter has the most number of
working days. And hence, saw higher
utilization of the program.
The states which had login above the
national average are:
• Jharkhand
• Uttarakhand
• Uttar Pradesh
• Karnataka
The winter closing schools which were
among the highest login schools in last
quarter has remained almost constant in
comparison to other school logins, which
has essentially picked up.
Utilization
15
6
4
3
11
13
9
16 1615
19
16
13
Login analysis
Schools Entrepreneur center
In the current quarter, we have varied
pattern of school logins. As we can
observe that the number of logins have
doubled in comparison to last quarter for
each month.
Among the months in current quarter
beginning from July till September, we
can observe rise then fall in logins due
to the sessions starting after summer
vacation, leaves and examinations.
Further, the logins at entrepreneur
centers have constantly decreased in the
current quarter though started with a
marginal good login number from the
last quarter.
But as we compare logins in schools and
entrepreneur centers, we can definitely
observe that the logins at entrepreneur
centers have been consistently higher
than that of schools in any given month.
Avera
ge lo
gin
per
sch
oo
l
Schools and Teachers
TeachersIn our Teachers section we examine teacher preferences and teaching patterns observed through the
classroom observations conducted by our team, and any other relevant data. In this quarter, a total of 275
classroom observations were carried across all LOTB schools.
16
Subjects
Math utilization has constantly been lower than
the science utilization. The Science content
helps the student to understand concepts with
better and efficient resources.
Further, the Science utilization makes it easy as
well as comprehensive for teacher and students
to learn through the usage of internet and
experiments.
Math being a practice oriented approach apart
from the clarity on concepts. Thus, this largely
makes the utilization less than science subject.
43% 45% 45%
57% 55% 55%
July August September
Math Science
Subject preferences as per the teacher login
Schools and Teachers
17
53%: See
34%: Do
32%: Think
Content Used
The ‘See’ section dominates usage in the classrooms and has become a credible
introductory tool for teachers to initiate discussions on a particular topic or
chapter.
‘Think’ and ‘Do’ sections are also being used in considerable number of classes.
However, prior preparation and syllabus becomes a reason for lower priority
since by September the schools are expected to complete syllabus in time for
the examinations.
Web Search : Using Internet Resources
The word-cloud shows the most common words being searched
for, the larger the word, the more popular it is as a search term
A common theme among the searched content is teacher tend to
look for content which the students might find more entertaining
The search string song, animation were used with other searches
Teachers also searched for visual content. Words like map and
images frequently appear in the search strings.
30%
26%
44%
Lecture basedSlightly less than half of the classes observed this quarter were
lecture based. This is almost equal to what it was in the previous
quarter (43%)
30%Activity based30% of the classes were activity based – an increase over the past
quarter.
44%
Primary methods of teaching in
the classroom
Classroom and Teaching Practices
Teaching Methods
Based on classroom observations by our field staff, we have categorized classrooms into the following three
categories, based on the primary teaching method used during the observed class:
Schools and Teachers
18
26%Discussion based26% of the classes were discussion based – a decrease over the
past quarter.
Schools and Teachers
19
67%
38%
74%
83%
Teachers reviewed the
concepts from the last
class
Teacher used an opening activity to gain the students' attention
Teacher made
connections to previous lessons and
classes
Teacher connected
the classroom concepts to examples
from the "real world"
Occurrence in % of classes observed
Teaching Methods (contd.)
Teaching methods have largely focused on the
interactive & diverse teaching approaches as we
can observe large percentage of teachers
reviewed the concepts from last class and
connected with the lessons from previous
classes.
To make a class interactive about 38% teachers
started with an activity for students to be more
confident and gain their attention.
The classroom sessions were mixed of using the
‘WebBox’ and traditional lecture based teaching
methods.
Further, practical examples which are connect
to ‘real word’ had been the centric approach for
teachers in terms of teaching methodology used
in the classes observed.
Schools and Teachers
20
53%
78%
45%
Teacher had planned and
discussed the class beforehand
with the RPA
Teacher has viewed the
WebBox content and prepared
relevant questions prior to class
Students were aware about the preparation they were expected to
do before the class
Occurrence in % of classes observed
Lesson Planning
Large number of teachers about 53% had
planned and discussed the lessons with RPA
beforehand in the classes observed.
78% of teachers felt that the WebBox
content help them in preparing for the class
before the actual session takes place.
The interaction of teachers and students in
terms of preparing for the class has been an
important aspects of learning. In 45% of
cases, students were aware of the
preparation they were expected to do
before the class. This helps students to be
more attentive in class and helps them in
understanding the concepts better.
Overall, a learning environment is being
created for a student to learn in more
exciting approach about new concepts
Schools and Teachers
Impact of RPA School Visits on Program UsageThis distribution shows the effect thatclassroom visits have on number of logins:
An average of 3 visits per school permonth was done in this quarter
The number of school visits were high dueto operational reasons like SIMtransition, warning letters and so on.
Also, the number of school visits hasdoubled from the last quarter due tocommencement of regular classes inschool.
21
0
50
100
150
200
250
0 3 6 9 12 15
Visits Vs Logins
Lo
gin
s
Total Visits
22
State-Level Initiatives
The Team–Capacity Development
40%
30%
10%
10%
10%
Topical Areas Covered in State-level RPA Training
Planning and Time Management
Pedagogy
Computer skills
Content Development
Reporting and writing skills
For the school induction process. A
representative RPA from each state attended
a 2 day training in Lucknow. These RPAs took
a leading role in conducting the seminars in
their state. Through such focused
trainings, the programme aims to further
build confidence and leadership skills in
RPAs.
Assistant Regional Programme Managers are
being mentored in states and will take up
more leadership responsibilities in the future.
State level initiatives have been limited since
the teams are engaged in operational
activities.
23
Teaching and Learning Innovations
Teacher-Led
Community library in Rajasthan : With the initiative of an
RPA, two schools have set-up a Book Bank. Students donate the
textbook from their previous standard and can exchange them
for their new class.
A teacher in Mumbai is giving students rotational responsibility
to use the Web-Box content for revision. These students use the
Web-Box for revision without the supervision of the teacher.
Innovations
True to its name, the Learn, Out of the Box team strongly believes in
creativity – both in the classroom and in the workspace. Thus we
encourage innovation at various levels. Innovations undertaken by our
team, or by teachers have been highlighted in the sections below.
The school library being set-up
24
InnovationsTeam-Led Science Projects : RPAs in Giridih and Jamshedpur, Jharkhand made science projects based on
open source content available on the internet. RPAs worked on the projects and then
demonstrated it in the schools. Later on, students were encouraged to make similar projects on
their own.
Buddy Teachers : A challenge in large teacher whatsapp/facebook groups was that the
participation was dominated to a few teachers. In Mumbai this model was tweaked. Some teachers
were assigned a buddy teacher. They supported each other with ideas on class management and
utilizing digital content in the class.
Additional content : Additional teacher development content was shared with some highly
motivated teachers. The content can work as a self development tool for the teachers. It helps in
understanding how a strategically planned classroom can be more effective than a lecture based
classroom. The content also had demo classes which showed an IDTM classroom which includes
dialogue, questioning, activity, narration and project related methods.
Process-LedDivision of responsibilities: In Jharkhand responsibilities have been shared among team members.
For example, one of the RPA has been made the single point of contact for hardware issues in his
district. The person will be responsible for informing the RPM about need for repair and will co-
ordinate with the RPM and the repair agency.
25
Successes
The scale and detail in the school review process was a first for the programme which
was successfully completed
School Induction process was successfully completed in Uttar Pradesh
The schools were transitioned to the new SIM cards relatively seamlessly
Community Centers were piloted in Rajasthan which was a success and may be scaled
up in the next academic year
Successes and Challenges
Challenges
Hiring of team members at state and central teams has been challenge
The schools with accidental damage of hardware have been unwilling to pay for repair
costs which leads to high turnaround time
Teacher trainings & RPA Capacity development programmes were de-prioritized since
the programme has been in transition
In the previous quarter the team had planned a set of focuses for current quarter. In this section we reflect to
see where we stand with respect to our planned targets for the quarter.
.
26
The Way Forward: July to September Review
1. Implementing the LOTB Way forward strategy
Sub-Area Projected Activities Status at End of Quarter
Review of
engagement of
existing schools
i. Review all the schools based on
program utilization, school
infrastructure and management
support
i. All the schools went through a 2 step review
process and they were categorized into three
categories
Phasing out the
non-performing
schools
i. Giving warning letters to Cat-C
schools
ii. Dropping out of Cat-C schools
i. Warning letters were given to all schools
ii. Dropping out process started for Cat-C schools
Induction of new
schools replacing
the non-
performing
schools
i. Inviting schools to the induction
seminars
ii. Selecting schools based on our
criteria and interest shown by the
management
i. The induction process was piloted in Uttar
Pradesh
ii. An expression of interest was invited by schools
iii. Schools meeting our criteria were invited to the
induction seminars
Introduction of
new-technology
in Cat-A & new
schools
i. Selecting new technology which
would replace the Web-Box
ii. Testing out the new LWV app
i. Technology procurement only after finalization of
the agreement for the Way Forward
27
The Way Forward: July to September Review
2. RPA capacity development
Sub-Area Projected Activities Status at End of Quarter
RPA Fellowship i. Initiate process of fellow selection
ii. Finalize the course structure for
the fellowship
i. RPA Fellowship was de-prioritized since the
operational engagements of the programme for
the Way Forward had intensified.
Capacity
Building Courses
i. Pilot the Capacity Building Courses
ii. Initiate delivery of these courses to
field staff
i. Capacity Building Courses were de-prioritized
since the operational engagements of the
programme for the Way Forward had intensified.
3. SIM card transition
Sub-Area Projected Activities Status at End of Quarter
Get Phone
numbers from all
the schools
i. Get new phone numbers from the
schools
i. Facilitated purchase of SIM cards
Finalize the
phone recharge
process
i. Identifying a vendor to recharge
SIMs centrally
i. Doing a central prepaid recharge was proving to
be challenge because the pack’s amount varies by
circles
ii. 8 out of 10 states have been able to identify state
specific vendors
28
The Way Forward
Finalization of the specific technology & preparation of delivery mechanism to states
Field testing of the new technology for preparation of training modules
Orienting the programme team on the technology
Creating a tech-upgradation calendar & orienting teams accordingly
1. Way Forward: Technology
Although we did manage to meet several of our targets for this quarter, some remain to be completed. Thus
these elements, including new priorities for the coming quarter have been detailed in the section below.
Completion of the school induction process & selection of schools in non-induction districts
Completion of Agreement with Cat-A & new schools for extension of the programme
Initiating discussion with district officials for replacement of government schools
2. Way Forward: Induction
Deactivation of all remaining SIM Cards after completion of outstanding payments by schools
Physical tracking of SIM Card by generation of unique code
3. Way Forward: SIM Transition
29
The Way Forward
Compilation of Math & Science content for Class 8 received from Tata ClassEdge as per the LOTB content
framework
Completing creation of content for ‘Think’ & ‘Do’ section for Class 8 Math & Science
Finalizing other content related applications to be placed in the Tablet
4. Way Forward: Content
Close hiring for all the open positions in State and Central Team
5. Hiring & Orientation
A Story from the Field
30
Not waiting for electricity to come back…
This story comes from the district of Giridih in the state of Jharkhand. Giridih is the centre for
prestigious Indian Statistical Institute (ISI). For LOTB, Giridih is home to 30 schools and 13
entrepreneurship pilot centers.
Being one of the backward districts in Jharkhand, Giridih has had perennial electricity problems
which has become acute these days. Most schools have an environment which supports quality
learning, adequate infrastructure and resources. But still, there are numerous challenges due to
irregular power supply and sometimes black-outs.
Inspite of these challenges, Giridih has been a well performing district as the both the LOTB team
and the enthusiastic teachers have innovated a way around the absence of electricity – a critical
prerequisite for LOTB. The RPAs have been actively introducing the programme’s methodology of
diverse teaching methods, which frees the teacher from dependency on external factors like
electricity, content etc.
The teacher plans their classroom lessons in advance referring resources from WebBox & textbook
and integrate diverse teaching methods like discussions, role-play and many other methods. This
has reduced direct dependency on content and enhanced the teacher’s interaction with the class.
Empowering such teachers with ideas to teach and innovate and making them free of external
dependencies like electricity or even notebooks or blackboards shall be the true legacy of this
programme .
The meaning of education
31
I learn what I do and I do what I have learnt. True education is when the person can differentiate between right and wrong.
-From a school in Giridih, Jharkhand
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