IB (International Baccalaureate)

The IB curriculum is a curriculum of continuum, and I picked up many new words along the way as this part of the PGCITE syllabus was analyzed in depth by Rekha Ma’am at Podar International, Santacruz. The following is a basic layout of the way an IB Diploma Programme (IBDP) school curriculum is divided into:

PYP	MYP	IBDP	CP
Homeroom Subjects (basic)	(extensive)	(extensive)	(milder)
(Basic)	Lots of Options available as per school	Lots of Options available	Lots of Options available

Rekha, ma’am, during this explanation, informed me that, as a GP (Global Perspectives) teacher, there is significant scope for unique opportunities in the IB curriculum worldwide. I was very excited about that idea because I really enjoy being a heavy-duty researcher and a teacher who always instills in her students an inquiring, inquisitive bent of mind towards their subjects. I love teaching them to think, not just to ace the Board Exams.

Rekha Ma’am analyzed the history behind the formation of the IB curriculum, right from the time after World War I, when, after peace was established once again, the League of Nations took it upon itself to establish the IB mode of Education. The International Board of Education was established in 1924 in Geneva, Switzerland. Rekha Bajaj Ma’am analyzed the history through a graduation video on the IB website, and the reader in me was extremely pleased to see my favorite Philosopher and internationally bestselling writer-historian, A.C. Grayling, who was the author of ‘The History of Philosophy’ and was at the event as a chief guest or chief speaker.

“To read is to fly: it is to soar to a point of vantage which gives a view over wide terrains of history, human variety, ideas, shared experience and the fruits of many inquiries.” -A. C. Grayling

The video correctly mentioned that the IB Board teaches students not what to study but HOW to study.

It realizes the fact that many different subject opportunities are awaiting an eager learner depending on the respective wants, needs, and best interests of students across the globe, especially those who are immigrants forced to flee their home countries due to war and other forms of displacement, or even refugees who flee their countries to seek sanctuary and a new safer life in another more developing country. This aspect of the IB curriculum, therefore, focuses on many ‘i’s like:

1. Inculcating

2. Innovating

3. Interconnecting

4. Interdependent etc.

I also noted that the League of Nations, post-World War I, established this form of education with an aim to accept diversity, honor different global perspectives, and, most importantly, to maintain that peace reigns in the world and that the inclusive education of the young will lead to a more pragmatic and all-inclusive global society of the future. Unfortunately, World War II took place nevertheless, and the League of Nations was dissolved in the bargain. However, even though the League of Nations is no longer with us, its IB curriculum outlasted all the horrors of the Second World War and continues to focus on inculcating an education within its wards that fosters individual self-efficacy and a sense of agency in the learning outcomes and process. All this is to make a positive difference in the world today, tomorrow, and for as long as the human race exists. But let us not get ahead of ourselves. First, let us merely tackle a subject that is taught globally but is currently the most controversial school and college subject of the AI Age or the Age of Data Science, Fake News, the Rise of Right-Wing Elements globally, et al.

I’m talking about the subject of History.

World History

‘The only thing new in the world is the History you don’t know.’ – Harry S. Truman

Rekha Bajaj Ma’am, before she came to the topic of the essence of agency in the learning outcome and process, spoke about the subject that I did in my undergraduate and graduate studies and my specialization subject in my B.Ed college apart from English. That was the varied and enlivening subject of history, not just the history of India, the USA, South-East Asia, etc. She stated that the IB curriculum focused upon globally relevant history, so a thorough knowledge of World History was required on the part of the teacher to aid her IB students in getting to know the world and its people better, to solve world issues, and to create an awareness about different varied situations and histories across the globe.

• Student’s voice, choice and ownership.
• This is the focus of a good, well-rounded IB education.

Rekha Ma’am stated that only if we, as teachers, are well-read and well-versed in our content and subject matter can we effectively teach World History and its relationship with other interconnected subjects such as Global Perspectives, World Literature, Humanities, Sociology, Religious Studies, etc.

I was pleased to know that the IB curriculum was focused on the ideas of the French thinker and revolutionary writer who influenced the French Revolution during the time of King Louis XVI, namely Jean Jacques Rousseau. I was also pleased to realize that he initiated the International Program of Education themes. Rousseau taught the French how to be human, and now, through the IB curriculum, he is teaching IB teachers, IB students, and IB teacher trainees how to treat themselves and others as human beings before all else. As my all-time favorite American author, Mark Twain once said,

‘The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice.’ – Mark Twain

So let us not judge first by those who wrote history because history is normally always written by the victors. Let us move from the center of the circle of history to the perimeter or outskirts, as Pope Francis said in relation to our deeds of Mercy in this Age of the Post-truth Era, to people who have been lying in the shadows for a long time, just waiting to be discovered and given some validation for their contribution to the betterment of the world. For that, we must not judge. For that, we, as IB teachers, need to know World History. For that, we need to look beyond what we have always seen, and our aim should always be to move toward peace, which was the reason the IB system of education was created in the first place.

This peace depends upon the following key attributes of a well-rounded IB framework:

1. Interdependency of Subjects

2. Child-Centered Approach

3. Collaborative Learning and Teaching Process

It was at this time that Rekha Bajaj Ma’am mentioned the pioneering work done by various research institutes all over the globe in relation to researching more about the new ways one can devise to teach, learn, and repeat in an IB framework about new methods of teaching found globally, games, interactive projects, etc., and that these institutes were waiting for more eager teachers in the form of researchers to join and collaborate with them in this field of experimentation and research. I look forward to a time and opportunity when I, too, can join any such institute, globally or in India, so that I can aid such inquiries and conduct engaging and stimulating research programs. This is because I am passionate about research and hope to enter the field of Research in Theology after my Doctorate in Theology. So why not do school research as well?

Rekha Bajaj Ma’am also mentioned that Gardner, the creator of the Multiple Intelligences theory, also endorsed the IB Curriculum. Why was this so? It facilitated making students agents in their own learning and partners in the learning process.

1	2
Agents	Partners
To own learning	In the Learning Process

This creates a strong learning community of future world leaders, entrepreneurs, creators, and innovators. This is because the IB student takes ownership of his learning to influence positively:

His Personal World – His Community – The Global World

Therefore, we arrived at the main central principle of IB Learning: ‘Agency’, which is about ownership in education, where students make their own choices and are aware of their own self-efficacy in the process of their education.

1. Learner

What Does Being Internationally Minded Mean to You

‘Falling down is not failure. Failure comes when you stay where you have fallen.’ – Socrates

We then came across a key concept or principle of the IB curriculum that, according to Rekha Bajaj Ma’am’s instructions, always came up in interviews during job placements. The key concept was put forward to us as a question. After downing a lot of caffeine throughout a long weekend, I studied this poignant question:

‘What Does Being Internationally Minded Mean to You as an IB Teacher?’

With my hot mugs of coffee down my gullet, I realized that the more you try to answer this question, the trickier the answer seems. Let us analyze some topics in the January PGCITE 2025 Batch at Podar IB, Santacruz.

1. Inclusivity and Open-Mindedness

Here, we focused on how an IB teacher must be open-minded to different cultures and belief systems. We had to be aware of where our students were from, or where they had come from, especially if they were immigrants, refugees, or participating in student exchanges. We as teachers needed to engage with their culture and live and share our students’ experiences through their eyes and perspectives. We needed to be inclusive to be IB-minded or Internationally-Minded.

2. Insatiable Curiosity

Being internationally minded meant having insatiable curiosity and an inquiring mind. Not only did our students have to keep asking the ‘why’ of a concept, but we, as teachers, also needed to do so constantly. We, like students, had to go one step further and ask the ‘what if’ question about a concept or institution, and try to come up with something more beneficial to the overall well-being of all and sundry.

3. Welcoming Various Languages

Unlike the past Westernized or Anglicized schools, the IB Curriculum welcomes all languages into the classroom. English may be the global language that ushered the world into globalization, per se, but that does not mean that it should be regarded as the permanent Lingua Franca of the world, which defines a student’s intelligence and overall conceptual understanding. It would be an offense to do so if the concept is clear; what is the need for it to be communicated only in one particular Westernized Lingua Franca? Besides, with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, events in contemporary global history have proved that the new Lingua Franca among nations is empathy, not English. Therefore, all languages are accepted in the IB classroom within the IB framework, as the IB curriculum promotes Unity in Diversity. This is very much in keeping with India’s understanding of the importance of the Mother Tongue Policy, as stated in its new NEP Education Policy introduced in 2025. It teaches teachers, as in the IB Curriculum, not to belittle the child based on his mother tongue, but to start from what the child knows to reach a full understanding of a concept or idea. Ms. Rekha Bajaj, my Professor, puts it beautifully when she states that in the IB Kindergarten Classes when we hold up a brinjal and ask the students in the class what we are holding up, some may answer correctly in English ‘brinjal’ but some may answer vāṅgī, or baingan or melanzana and we should not negate the child but applaud them for giving the right answer, though in their own language. In the above examples, vangi is Brinjal in Marathi, baingan in Hindi, and melanzana in Italian. Therefore, we should welcome all languages into the classrooms and be well-versed in the many languages of our students in the classroom or school.

4. Learning At One’s Own Pace

In the IB Curriculum, the student does not run a rat race against time to finish the syllabus or a portion set by the Board or the school. Instead, every child learns from the PYP to the IBDP level at their own pace. This makes learning more fun, interactive, and healthy, creating a special, nurturing bond between the teacher and student and fostering the child’s development into a well-rounded individual who loves to learn. Invariably, this makes the child happier and does not create a dislike of a demanding subject like mathematics, physics, or computer science. The IB Teacher must understand that she must start educating students from their level and basic conceptual understanding of a topic, then move on to a more complex idea. She should not be obstinate or adamant about starting everyone at the same level, because, as in a 100-meter Olympic race, not all athletes start at the same level. So also no student starts a subject, be it Mathematics or English literature, at the same level. Thus, we then have to focus on our IDEA learners.

5. To Be Creative and Resourceful

To be Internationally Minded as a teacher means to be creative, resourceful, and stimulating. This is seen immediately in how the IB teacher organizes her classroom, especially if she is a PYP teacher. However, even an MYP teacher, who I aspire to be, needs to also focus on this aspect of the way she presents the flannel boards in and outside her classroom and how she makes her classroom a place where ideas are generated. Knowledge is a collaborative effort to achieve an overall understanding of a concept for the betterment of the individual student and humanity. Whether she wants to create her classroom to look like an Art studio, a mix of an Art Studio and a History Laboratory, or a workshop look, it all depends on the IB teacher’s vibrant personality and resourcefulness. In my case, if I were a PYP or even an MYP teacher, my classroom would look like a mini-library cum Humanities Laboratory where everyone would be welcome to question preconceived concepts, read up on a particular topic by picking a book from the nearby shelf, researching at will on a concept and then presenting their findings, learning from each other through an Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) and then getting back to some quality leisure reading or a good game of vocabulary building or the history of basketball in a free corner of the classroom!

6. Open To Criticism

Just as an IB student must be open to criticism, an IB teacher should be equally open to constructive criticism from fellow teachers, management, parents, and even students. Just as the education of an IB student is a process, becoming the perfect internationally minded teacher is something we keep getting better at every day, every week, and every year of our time in a school. It would be horrendous if we never grew as teachers from where we started out as freshers, or if we used the same teaching computer modules and examples we were using 10 years ago, or even 5 years ago. We need to keep updating ourselves, our work, worksheets, projects, etc., so that our educational approach communicates more effectively with students each year. We need to allow both positive and negative feedback to make us better teachers, for the sake of the general, as Shakespeare would say, rather than for the sake of an individual ego. We must realize that it is not about how good we are but how good we can get for our students, the country, and the world. If we want to create ethically minded global citizens of the future, we need to be ethically global-minded, and the first step is to be open to criticism from anyone and everyone. For example, I am a huge fan of basketball, so most of my teaching tools I created or invented center on that particular game. This is because I am fascinated with the Looney Tunes Space Jam series, which came out with stellar Basketball Superstar Michael Jordan in the 1990s. But most of my students are not so fond of basketball and even criticize me for focusing too much on it and not on football, soccer, or cricket, which are the more ‘popularly played’ games here in India. I especially got this feedback from the 1st-grade and 2nd-grade PYP classes I observed at Podar International, Santacruz. Therefore, taking that constructive criticism positively, I decided to revamp my teaching tools to cater to the game of cricket by first learning more about this game through the personage of Indian cricketer cum all-rounder personality, namely M.S. Dhoni. Next up is Soccer and Rugby!

7. Inquire, Question, Wonder, Theorize

Finally, being Internationally Minded is to be a constant inquirer, a person who constantly asks questions, not to annoy, but to get a deeper understanding of a concept, to wonder about a concept learned or research undertaken on a particular topic, and then finally to theorize one’s findings. Thus, we initiate and nurture the innate potential of not only our students but also the innate potential of ourselves as teachers. There is an old saying that the child makes the mother; that also holds true for a teacher – the student makes the teacher, just like the teacher makes the student. When we say to uncover the hidden innate potential of the student, it means to use a student’s talents to reach an overall learning objective and make the student excel not only at that talent but in other spheres through a collaborative teaching-learning process. Example: One of my students in my previous ICSE tuition batches, Joshua Levi, who is now studying to be a surgeon, loved to study history and science through kinaesthetic learning by creating or engineering some wonderful machines to illustrate a concept. He preferred this technique to reading a book or a classic on the subject. I, therefore, would allow him to constantly create such tools for my tuition class before we studied a new History chapter. In this way, he used to excel at his studies and his engineering capabilities, teaching me a thing or two about Physics, my bête noire!

8. Foster Self-Efficacy

In this way, as Internationally-minded teachers, we foster a sense of individual self-efficacy in our students, which makes them want to do better in their field of study by allowing them the opportunity to have a degree of ownership in their learning. The onus is on them with the facilitatory efforts of the teacher to get better at what they learn and do, which creates in them a stronger sense of self and responsibility. It is not a laissez-faire attitude towards teaching, nor is it passive, but it is the international way of fostering self-efficacy in the student towards a better performance and for them being true partners in the learning process. As IB teachers, we then monitor their learning and provide constructive feedback to them in the process.

IB Subjects and Their Integration

To foster Individual Self-Efficacy in the students, the IB Curriculum and its subjects are divided first on a transdisciplinary basis, then to an interdisciplinary basis, then as the student progresses to the MYP level to a Multidisciplinary basis. Lastly, when the IB student is at the IBDP level, only one particular subject of focus is studied and researched, but without forgetting the integration of various subjects of the past when subjects were being taught in a transdisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and then multidisciplinary level.

Here are a few examples to illustrate the same.

Example 1:

On a transdisciplinary level of subjects being taught in the classroom, if one were to take the transdisciplinary subject of AI and Automation, which needed to be focused upon in the class while studying other different subjects, then, at the Lower Secondary MYP level in Robotics, one would learn the chapter Data Science Analyzing concerning AI and Automation. Also, one could study Global Perspectives in the category of Information Technology, a chapter solely on AI and Automation. Then, one could read a comprehension passage in English from the book ‘Ai 2041’ by internationally bestselling authors Kai-Fu Lee and Chen Qiufan, where AI and Automation could be discussed again. In an ICT class under the chapter on Data Labelling, one could again tackle the subject of AI and Automation in Coding. Finally, in the subject EVM or Environmental Management, in the chapter focusing on Information Technology, one could focus on Information Technology post the AI Boom and come to the topic that is arresting our attention.

Thus, on a transdisciplinary subject or subjects platform, the transcending subjects of AI and Automation are invariably studied in depth, at different levels, and in various ways. We see AI and automation as topics rising above and beyond the subject. They sometimes dissolve while transcending every other subject and its boundaries without boundaries between two or three subjects.

However, most transdisciplinary subjects are studied at the PYP level. So, let’s take Divorce, a PYP transdisciplinary topic, as our next example.

Example 2:

Suppose that at the PYP level, one studied the transdisciplinary subject of Divorce through all the PYP subjects studied in the classroom. Then, one could in the subject of Wellbeing research the topic of Family and Divorce separately. Then, on the subject of Global Perspectives, one could study Family and again be reminded about Divorce. Then, in Mathematics, under the topic of Statistics, one could study the different Divorce rates worldwide or in the city of Mumbai and study various charts. At the same time, in English, one could read a comprehension passage taken from Mark Haddon’s contemporary classic book ‘The Curious Case of the Dog in the Night-Time’, which speaks compassionately about Divorce and its impact on the protagonist’s mental health.

Thus, through various subjects, the transcending theme of Divorce is studied above and beyond every other subject, dissolving all the different subject boundaries. Such a transdisciplinary study method manages to cut across, between, and beyond a subject.

Example 3:

When studying a subject in an interdisciplinary format, usually, two subjects are studied in an interdisciplinary manner wherein the commonality of a subject is taught or seen through the boundaries. This is indicated through the meeting point or the common shaded portion of a Venn diagram. In this way, the student learns in an interdisciplinary manner and not in silos or compartments through the integration of multidisciplinary subjects and topics but not on such a basic level as would be done at the 1st and 2nd Grade PYP Level.

Let us take the example of Nitrogen Fixation as the overall interdisciplinary topic we wish the IB student to focus on during their studies. In that case, we can take two interdisciplinary subjects, Biology and Chemistry, to prove that such an interdisciplinary way of study can be done. In Biology, when the student studies the chapter about the Nitrogen Cycle, they can come across the topic of Nitrogen Fixation, which they can analyze at length with the help of the IB teacher. Also, in Chemistry, the IB student can study the chapter about Nitrogen and its Compounds, where Nitrogen Fixation can also be analyzed with a perspective on its EVM or Biological Element. In this way, through the Biology and Chemistry teacher or both, an integrated subject or common subject of Nitrogen Fixation is studied, which makes the student realize that there are no silos or compartments in the learning process of different subjects.

Example 4:

A similar example of the above diagram can be taken for the interdisciplinary topic of Water Shortages because of Poor Water Management. In this case, to study this particular topic in a multidisciplinary manner, the first subject of Global Perspectives can be taken wherein under the topic of Water Management, the topic of Water Shortages due to Poor Water Management can be analyzed. Also, in another subject, English Literature, the novel ‘Memory of Water’ by Finnish writer Emmi Itaranta can be examined, focusing on the theme of water shortages due to waste management.

Example 5:

At the Higher MYP and IBDP levels, we start learning subjects in a multidisciplinary format. That means they all are separate entities or subjects and are usually not studied according to their commonalities, or their commonalities are not highlighted because of the student’s specialization. However, the student has to recall that the subject can be studied on an interdisciplinary and a transdisciplinary basis as they go into the depths of every subject in the Higher Grades from the MYP level. They still have to see the connections among all these disciplines.

For example, a student could study in Global Perspectives a topic on Pollution at its subject base with Air Pollution as its overarching theme, then go onto EVM where the chapter Pollution and Pollutants can be studied with again the overriding theme of Air Pollution if that is what interests the IB student in question. Then, while they are studying Biology, they can do the chapter Types of Pollution, where again the student comes across the topic of Air Pollution that interests them and keeps the subject in mind as he goes on to his Chemistry class to study Microbes, Germs and Bacteria and invariably studies about Air Pollution there. Later, at the IBDP level, they may decide to focus their studies on respiratory illnesses and wish to graduate as respiratory surgeons later in life. Or they may want to become a biomedical engineer of specially crafted asthma pumps that can stop chronic asthmatic wheezing altogether without the need to be addicted to the pump, especially with the new forms of Air Pollution due to global warming present in the atmosphere.

All this is done to focus the IB student’s attention on prioritizing his majoring subject. This majoring subject will be his career focal point, which will take him further into a future University or Undergraduate School in India or abroad to study a particular subject in the inclusive way they did while at the IB Level of Schooling. A clear boundary or border is defined here for the discipline where no more transdisciplinary or interdisciplinary work can be done. This is especially seen in Examples 6 and 7.

Example 6:

Now, a student at the graduate level studies their particular chosen discipline in depth. The border around this discipline is clearly defined, as shown in the figure below by the yellow border or boundary around the circles or disciplines represented:

Example 7:

Here, we see that now the disciplines to be majored in are chosen by the IB students, and their focus is on learning everything related to that subject to perfection. They learn or perceive other disciplines by understanding and comprehending that subject. Thus, a well-rounded IB schooling comes a full circle. Example: In the case of a student who wishes to major in Computer Science Engineering, they will work with their machines, computer software, and other computer programming tools to not create a world of automation as predicted by the futuristic classics in English Literature like ‘1984’ by George Orwell or ‘Fahrenheit 451’ by Ray Bradbury or ‘Ready Player One’ by Ernest Cline or ‘Simulacron 3’ by Daniel F. Galouye.

They can also make sure to use positive and sustainable developing algorithms while coding their software and other online devices in hardware as per the pointers given in Biotechnology and Nanotechnology by experts like Yuval Noah Harari in his AI and Information Technology Sustainable Developmental themed book ‘Nexus’ and his earlier and present views on the current theories related to Environmental Management.

They could also research the history of information technology and realize that automation has been the elephant in the room with regard to giving more power to AI and robots throughout humanity’s history. They could have seen all this through the videos on YouTube by scholars in this ICT Historical Field such as Madhumita Murgia, author of Women’s Prize Winning ‘Code Dependent’ or Tom Fletcher, Diplomat who was the right-hand man of Gordan Brown and the author of ‘Ten Survival Skills For a World In Flux’ as well as the elusive Ray Kurzweil who authored the epic classic ‘The Singularity is Nearer: When We Merge with AI’. All this takes them back to the subjects they did not exactly ‘leave behind’ but graduated from to return to them embellished with the knowledge and wisdom of their field to enrich others, thus from transdisciplinary to disciplinary and then back to transdisciplinary again. The student thus has come a full circle.

2. Learning and Teaching

If you remember the earlier Agency flowchart, you must have realized that we’ve just covered briefly ‘The Learner’ portion in the IB curriculum, which would have also included other aspects like the IB Learner Profiles, etc., learned earlier in the PGCITE course at Podar International IB, Santacruz with Professor Dr. Rekha Bajaj but only in the PYP section. Now we have come to the second topic of Agency or of a sense or essence of Agency in the learning process here, which is Learning and Teaching in the PYP.

This is only a briefing on the vast topic of the IB Curriculum of Education. For a more in-depth understanding of this medium of education, you can check out their official website at ibo.org.

Please check it out and then let me know how you liked your visit in the comments section on my Profile Page or here on my Portfolio Page. I love receiving comments and messages about what I should be reading next or whether I can solve any queries about my subjects.

Now, with yet another warm mug of coffee at hand, I’m back to the topic of Agency in Teaching and Learning, which focuses on, among other things, Concept-Driven Inquiry, the 6 PYP Transdisciplinary Themes, POIs, ATL Skills, etc.

Concept Driven Inquiry

‘The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.’ – Albert Einstein

When we think of the term Agency in the Learning and Teaching Process, here are a few ideas that teacher-students gathered in our PGCITE classroom at Podar International IB, Santacruz, Mumbai:

• Global Knowledge
• Wholistic (Holistic) Learning
• Fostering the ability of the IB student to think rationally and ethically.
• A body of knowledge and teaching tools that are globally accessible.
• Concept Connections in the overall learning and teaching experience.
• Improved integration of a safe and supportive classroom environment for teaching and learning.
• Collaboration from other teachers through inquiry and depth teaching and learning, et al.

It was all the above, as related to us by Dr. Rekha Bajaj, our Professor and Guru, but also focused on something we would call an Inquiry-Based Learning or a Concept-Driven Inquiry. In this kind of learning, an inquiry begins with a direct question posed by the IB teacher or, more importantly, by the IB students themselves. But how could that be possible when the teacher has to teach and initiate the learning process? That is the wonder of the Concept Driven Inquiry Method; the IB teacher does not need to start a question per se. Instead, she should merely begin an inquiry as a stimulus to initiate the Agency of the students to ask searching questions about the topic to be studied or explored. That is where the Inquiry Process begins and then leads to a spark and momentum toward research.

Then, the IB student tries to find answers through research to their own questions or through a collaborative effort with their peers and, after a debate or discussion, comes to certain unbiased conclusions about the same to aid in the betterment of that aspect under study or for a solution to the problem.

In fact, one notices a snowball effect of questions coming out of the first stimulus initiated or created by the IB teacher. More questions emerge from more curious minds, and more learning and research are done in the process. An interaction then takes place, seeing another individual’s perspective and how, through one’s conclusion, one can affect one’s own concept of being, one’s community, and the global world.

This, indeed, is the core part of the IB framework. It is all about working together and focusing on integrated units of inquiry. It is engaging, flexible, and has a vast scope to enrich learning and teaching. Students then become model learners, and the teachers work for the students and their shared understanding to make the world a better place.

This evolves through a different transformative and transdisciplinary context. We will tackle that next, especially with regard to the IB PYP Module, which is the Six Transdisciplinary Themes studied over a five-year course with the help of IB School-created POIs or Points of Inquiry.

We have to focus further on more details related to a Concept-Driven Inquiry because that topic has not ended yet. But we move on to the themes first.

A visual example of a basic concept-driven inquiry:

PYP Transdisciplinary Themes

1. Who We Are

2. Where We Are In Place and Time

3. How We Express Ourselves

4. How the World Works

5. How We Organize Ourselves

6. Sharing the Planet

Through authentic learning experiences not confined to the boundaries of transdisciplinary subjects and to debate, discuss, and solve real-world problems and issues, these six themes for 5 years are planned as UOIs in the PYP Curriculum. The complete form of UOIs is Units of Inquiry through which a concept-driven inquiry methodology can be applied to solve real-world problems, as illustrated in the six transdisciplinary subjects. Therefore, there are Six Transdisciplinary Themes for 5 years and six UOIs or Units of Inquiry for that period. Even the IB PYP Library is divided based on these six transdisciplinary themes.

Who We Are

Where We Are In Place And Time

How We Express Ourselves

How We Organize Ourselves

How The World Works

Sharing The Planet

Special Note to My Reader Over A Cup of Warm or Cold Coffee or Tea

(Everyone is welcome to visit my bookishly ridiculously delicious place of residence.)

Before I would like to progress further with the Six PYP Transdisciplinary Subjects, I feel it is important for me, for the sake of clarity, to state that many aspects make up the Essential Elements of the PYP and which together amalgamate to make up the total development of the PYP Learner Profile and in turn develops International Mindedness. In this scenario, the Six Transdisciplinary Subjects only make up the Knowledge Element of all the Essential Elements of the PYP in an IB curriculum. There are four other Essential Elements in turn, making it 5 Essential Elements in total, as one can see in the illustration below:

I felt it was important to state this right in the beginning for clarity about where we are going with this topic and in what context since the PYP is a crucial transdisciplinary development curriculum in the IB.

Notice also in the illustration that Knowledge focuses on what significant or relevant subject matter we wish the student to learn and know. As we move along, we will focus on this illustration in the latter portion of this portfolio. Just take some more sips of your warm coffee or cold iced tea as we go along!

Who We Are

This theme focuses on a learner’s beliefs, values, and opinions, which the teacher has to respect and honor. It focuses on the learner’s rights and responsibilities for the family, school, country, and then the globe. It talks about the essence of what it means to be human, from one’s family to one’s community life to the human relationships we share, which actually makes us realize that we are truly human.

‘I think what makes us human – is our interconnectedness among people. It’s our ability to form and maintain relationships. It’s the barometer by which we call ourselves human.’ -Thomas Jane (American Actor)

Where We Are In Place And Time

Whether be it the learner’s own personal history, country of origin, family history, the history of his tribe or community down the ages, etc., this particular transdisciplinary theme explains the many discoveries of humankind, the migrations of man through the personality of the IB learner in the classroom, through explorations and the interconnectedness of shared histories both from local and global perspectives. This transdisciplinary theme is all about

Me – My Family – More Migrations – Becoming More connected day by day – Becoming more of an internationally ethical global citizen day by day

Therefore, a learner’s differences are not to be a reason based upon which we as IB teachers have to shun or set the child apart from the rest, but rather, they must cause us as teachers as well as their peers to start learning to tolerate first the differences they see in the other, then accept them, and then respect them until we can all come together on the same platform to celebrate our differences.

How We Express Ourselves

This focuses on a learner’s ideas, feelings, nature, culture, beliefs, values, etc., and how they express them through art, sculpture, music, writing, dance, journaling, or any other way of communication. It also focuses on how humankind has expressed itself through various forms of painting, metallurgy, mining, jewellery, folktales, legends, media, etc., throughout history and even in the contemporary era.

“Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton (American Trappist monk, writer, theologian and mystic)

How We Organize Ourselves

From a PYP IB learner’s family to their school, to national banks and companies, to the Government and the Railway Department, to Airports and Ration Shops – this transdisciplinary subject analyses how human beings have organized themselves throughout history. This invariably proves to the learner over 5 years when all the themes are covered according to the respective IB school POIs or Points of Inquiry that we are indeed interconnected as a species through our human-made systems and communities. These organized systems, in turn, have an impact on humans as well as on the environment in sometimes positive and negative ways. However, the way we organize ourselves indicates to the cosmos that we are human compared to other members of the animal kingdom.

“I would like to see anyone, prophet, king or God, convince a thousand cats to do the same thing at the same time.”– Neil Gaiman (English author of short fiction, novels, comic books and screenplays)

How The World Works

In this transdisciplinary theme, we focus the learner’s attention on the Natural World and its laws on the physical, natural, and biological levels. It educates the PYP IB learner about new concepts in science, changes in the environment, different types of materials, the transformation of energy over time, the evolution of different species, the sustaining power of air, water, soil, and light upon the Earth, robotics, ergonomics, etc. If the earlier transdisciplinary PYP theme analyzed how a human can be organized and so methodical, this theme teaches us how we can be superhuman and even many a time overpower nature and its physical laws of science with our intellect and engineering capabilities. Unfortunately, yet again, this can be seen in a positive, but most of the time in a negative light where the IB learner has to work out through their own research about how to solve such issues and create a better world where science, nature, and humankind can live more harmoniously with each other. That is the crux of the IB form of education: to make IB learners realize that living in harmony with the environment and the cosmos is the only way to thrive, survive, revive, and help those who have not yet arrived! Any human organization that teaches otherwise is not one to be followed by a true, ethical global citizen of the future.

“I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use.” -Galileo Galilei (Letter to the Grand Duchess Christina)

“We can judge our progress by the courage of our questions and the depth of our answers, our willingness to embrace what is true rather than what feels good.” – Carl Sagan [Scientist, international bestselling author and anchor and producer of the internally famous PBS Series ‘Cosmos’]

Sharing The Planet

Finally, the PYP IB learner gleans their own rights, responsibilities, and duties to look after everything on planet Earth and in the cosmos. This transdisciplinary theme focuses on the rights and responsibilities of humans in the struggle for the world’s finite resources in relation to that which is infinite. It teaches the learner how to share and aid in the sustainable developmental governance of the Earth’s resources.

However, our duty is not only to the environment but to each other as well. We need to treat our fellow brothers and sisters and others equally, irrespective of caste, creed, religion, region, gender, etc., and distribute the resources available on our planet equally among all. Thus, the IB teacher in this module focuses on topics such as the weather and climate change, conflict in society, choices made about resources, global warming, etc. We need to remember that we have only one home, planet Earth, period. Where else can we go if we destroy our only home?

“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.” -Carl Sagan (Cosmos PBS Series)

Essential Elements of IB

Thus, technically speaking, this concludes a short analysis of the Six Transdisciplinary Themes. Now, we come back again to the topic we discussed before our last cup of coffee: the Essential Elements of IB.

Points to Remember

• All the IB programmes include four foundational and interrelated elements.
• They are, firstly, International Mindedness
• The IB Learner Profile
• A broad, balanced, conceptual, and connected curriculum.
• Approaches to teaching and learning

The above focuses on the Key Concepts Causation Perspective or summarizes the POIs or Programme of Inquiry of various IB schools. They, in turn, are created after analyzing different lines of inquiry, different IB learner profiles, attitudes, and specialist integration with:

(i) Key Concepts

(ii) Related Concepts

They include a study of the various ATL skills or Transdisciplinary Skills or Approaches to Teaching and Learning Skills.

ATL Skills

[Approaches to Teaching and Learning Skills]

1. Thinking Skills

2. Social Skills

3. Communication Skills

4. Self-Management Skills

5. Research Skills

Now I want you to notice something.

It is elementary by now to realize what kind of ATL Skills or Transdisciplinary skills are required for an all-rounded IB learning and teaching process. However, notice that in the above diagrams of coloured cards given in my PGCITE class by Dr. Rekha Bajaj, Ma’am, I’ve maintained the backgrounds upon which the photographs of the cards were taken or clicked. I’ve done this to aid me in briefly analyzing the ATL skills under the Essential Elements of the IB Curriculum.

Notice that the backgrounds are of our classroom’s desks at Podar IB, Santacruz, or Podar International School. There are pens in the background and pencils, the PGCITE student’s notebooks, water bottles, erasers, etc. We were in the midst of an activity conducted by Dr. Rekha Bajaj, Ma’am, called the Jig Saw Puzzle Activity, through which we studied various ATL skills. The coloured cards contained details of the different ATL skills required for the all-round development of an IB student. But I’m coming back to the fact that I kept the backgrounds. I did not eliminate the backgrounds because that is essentially what the ATL skills are all about – all the foundational background skills required and honed by the IB teacher within the student to create the ideal IB learner. You don’t just get the finished product without much work or through the PYP, MYP, IBDP, and CP grades. IB students get the required skills and skilled details of each ATL skill to craft their own destinies for future success, and we IB teachers are supposed to help them hone their ATL skills to perfection.

So, never look only at the finished product; look at the years of excellent foundational reinforcements and work by various IB schools and teachers to nurture the 5 ATL skills in their students. We must learn to see beyond our limited horizons towards a new future where quality and quantity are not seen as the antithesis of each other. The future is in the hands of those IB students who can communicate well, are great orators, share great interpersonal relationships with their peers and gurus, are excellent young entrepreneurs, are dedicated researchers, etc., but most importantly – are those who look beyond what they see and what is shown to them, and who overcome every limitation for the greater good of all and sundry.

I think the ATL skills are well illustrated in Walt Whitman’s words below, an American poet and essayist and an LGBTQIA+ famous personality I respect, admire, and sometimes revere. May his ‘Leaves of Grass’ never dry up, and may they always remain evergreen:

“This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to everyone that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.” -Walt Whitman

As I muse over my hundredth cup of warm coffee today, I think that if he had been alive today, he would have definitely endorsed the IB method of teaching and learning.

Jigsaw Puzzle Classroom Activity

Dr. Rekha Bajaj, Ma’am, made us play an interactive game called the Jigsaw Method Activity or Jigsaw Puzzle Classroom Activity to analyze the various ATL skills. It is an activity that dates from the time of the USA of the 1970s, which I would consider the Golden Years of the World. It was created or devised by Elliot Aronson from the University of Texas and the University of California. It was a strategy he adopted to motivate Black and White Americans who were studying together in public schools to work together on group classroom assignments.

Till the early 1970s, Black and White Americans were taught in segregated schools, which changed once they were inducted into common public schools where they had to study together in the same environment. However, this was not a seamless transformation, and racial bullying, as well as other forms of harassment like playground bullying, corridor fights, etc., were suddenly and infamously in vogue.

Elliot Aronson stayed in the school under study for days to see why the students would not mingle with one another and how he could invent or devise a strategy to solve all these racial tensions. After careful study and ground research, he came up with the Jigsaw Classroom Method Activity to teach:

• Tolerance
• Strategies of co-operative learning
• For more interpersonal communication
• For inter-dependent collaboration
• To turn shirkers into workers, etc.

It had the following basic steps:

(i) There were to be two groups, the Home Group and then the Export Group.

(ii) The number of people per group depended upon the number of subtopics to be covered.

(iii) Divide the students into the appropriate groups, a maximum of 4 students per group.

(iv) Distribute the cards that were already kept ready and at hand, with the available information on them.

(v) Let the individual groups discuss the points on the cards together.

(vi) Then, let each group’s envoys be divided and cast into four new groups, each with one envoy from each group.

(vii) Allow the new group to discuss and hear the points from each envoy of a separate topic in a group to put their points forward and teach the rest in the new group about the material to be studied at hand.

(viii) Then, allow one or two spokespersons from each group to explain their points of view, write them all down, and submit their writings to the teacher for assessment.

In this way, because they were thrown together and because of the group assessment, it became necessary for the students to lay aside their differences and interact with each other. Thus, communication started, and learning was achieved.

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Theory of Knowledge at the IBDP Level (TOK)

“Bodily exercise, when compulsory, does no harm to the body; but knowledge which is acquired under compulsion obtains no hold on the mind.” -Plato (The Republic)

TOK or Theory of Knowledge was taught to the PGCITE Jan Batch 2025 students by IBDP French teacher and TOK lecturer, Rajni Ma’am, from our institute at Podar International School. Her class was based on a question and answer format in the form of a lively PowerPoint presentation which excited my curiosity about this core topic in the IBDP board curriculum.

TOK first of all as introduced to us earlier by Rekha Bajaj ma’am is part of the IBDP Core. Under the Core category comes TOK or Theory of Knowledge, CAS which stands for Creativity, Activity, and Service which is associated with the social work and community service put in by the IBDP students during their stay at the IB school, and lastly the Extended Research Essay. The other part of the IB curriculum is the 6 subject groups under the main streams of:

1. Studies in language and literature

• Language A: literature
• Language A: language and literature
• Literature and performance

2. Language acquisition

• Classical languages
• Language ab initio
• Language B

3. Individuals and societies

• Business Management
• Digital Society
• Economics
• Geography
• Global Politics
• History
• Philosophy
• Psychology
• Social and Cultural Anthropology
• World Religions

4. Sciences

• Biology
• Chemistry
• Computer Science
• Design Technology
• Environmental Systems and Societies
• Physics
• Sports, Exercise and Health Science

5. Mathematics

• Analysis and Approaches
• Applications and Interpretation

6. Arts

• Dance
• Film
• Music
• Theatre
• Visual Arts

TOK, as mentioned before, falls under the category of IBDP Core, and so is basically asking the students to reflect on the nature of knowledge, and how we know what we claim to know.

It is the very process of knowing how we know, what we know, and the breakdown of knowledge. It focuses on the questions, problems, and issues of knowledge. Further, it analyses the nature of knowledge stating that the provisional knowledge claim is not permanent and is always subject to change. Where experiential knowledge is concerned, it states that knowledge acquired can be open to experience and change. Thereby, it also analyses the limitations of knowledge, taking a critical look at all subject areas.

Let us take an example to illustrate the above many definitions with regards to TOK.

Example TOK Question:

(Q) Can art help us to understand individuals and societies?

My perspective where this question is concerned would have been related to maybe the statue of Moses sculpted by the Renaissance artist and master sculptor, Michelangelo.

If you observe this very fierce Moses carefully, you will notice that strangely enough there are two horns popping out of Moses’ head! Now Moses was the greatest Prophet of the Bible’s Old Testament. It was he who gave Israel the Law or the Torah and the Ten Commandments written by the very finger of God, among other spiritual and covenantal treasures.

Then how in the world could this Holy and highly revered Moses ever have two devil-like horns emerging from his head!? Was he a demon or a Satan worshipper?

Not at all!

We realize on further research and study, that those two pointy things on Moses head were not devilish horns, but represented an iconographic convention common in Latin Christianity whereby Moses was presented as having two horns on his head, later replaced by rays of light. The idea comes from a translation, or mistranslation rather, of a Hebrew term in Jerome’s Latin Vulgate Bible, and many later vernacular translations dependent on that. Moses is said to be ‘horned’, or radiant, or glorified, after he sees God, who presents him with the tablets of the law in the Book of Exodus. Horns tend to have positive associations in the Old Testament, and in ancient Middle Eastern culture more widely, but are associated with negative forces in the Book of Revelation in the New Testament. Observe some more paintings of Moses represented in the same manner:

So through a proper analyses of knowledge and why things were done the way they were done in the past, we got some clarity on the fact that the Moses having horns was an indication of his special connection with God rather than him being a demonic being as colloquial nomenclature would have had it. In this case, it indeed proved that Art can inform us about individuals and their society and cultural norms, values, and history. Because, where a person like the aforementioned St. Jerome was concerned, in his culture a set of horns on one’s head had a negative connotation but not so for those of the early Latin or Roman Church who still followed the correct translation of the word ‘horned’ indicating the halo emerging from Moses head after his communion with God.

Yet, many people till date do not know this fact about the ‘horns of Moses’ factor and so this leads to useless malicious speculation on the part of gossipers leading to disinformation about an otherwise very positive character in the Bible and Jewish History. But for this clarity to come to the fore, knowledge has to be analyzed and broken down and the researcher or IB student has to realize that knowledge or the theory of knowledge is subject to change and open to experience.

Here is another example:

Example 2:

(Q) Which is more important in advertising: reason, emotion, language, or perception?

We can analyze one perspective of this question through the example of the advertisement of sanitary pads since the 1990s until now.

Earlier, the ink that used to depict the menstrual flow of a woman would be colored in blue ink in TV advertisements in the 1990s so as not to draw the attention of the larger section of the vulnerable and ignorant population in India towards a women’s menstrual cycle. It all depended upon perception, a woman’s menstrual flow was treated as a taboo topic of discussion in the past and the patriarchal and exclusive society of the past wished that this topic not be over emphasized upon especially through the actual depiction of red ink or red blood- like looking liquid upon a sanitary pad to indicate the pad’s soaking or absorption capabilities.

However, today with the further emancipation of women and the rise of inclusivity with regards to women’s issues, advertisers have now totally dropped the idea of using blue ink to depict the menstrual flow of women and now show the color of blood as it should be, red and nothing else. The advertisements also are bolder, direct, to the point, and not over exaggerated. I remember there was a time when in the early 2000s, a sanitary pad’s effectiveness would be depicted on TV as a woman being able to ride on the shoulders of a boy while she was having her period and they would win a victory at a college tournament. That was a total exaggeration which sparked the need for further realism to be depicted in TV advertisements with regards to the effects of a heavy period. All this was due to change in perception rather than a change of emotions, rationality, or language. The world has become a more inclusive place where even young school going boys would find it ridiculous to depict a woman’s period through blue ink rather than red blood looking ink.

I’ve conversed with many of my own ICSE English tuition students at home over this topic, all male, and they keep on reiterating to me how funny it must have been in the 1990s to see blue ink on a pad instead of the realistic red. They keep wondering why we perceived red as an offensive color back then to be depicted on TV. It is a sense of perception that has therefore changed the nature of the TV ads on sanitary pads today in my opinion.

Further Analysis on TOK

TOK in the IBDP Core involves a lot of Lateral Thinking as its main focus or locus point. Lateral thinking is a problem-solving approach that encourages creative and innovative solutions by moving beyond conventional or logical thinking. It involves exploring new perspectives, challenging assumptions, and generating ideas that may not be readily apparent through direct reasoning.

In the subject of philosophy, it falls under the category of Epistemology which is the ‘how of knowledge’. To analyze and discuss TOK questions, an argumentative approach is adopted or to justify or support arguments with examples without presuming that one is right or that the other is incorrect in his opinion or estimate of the situation. There is a simple logic in TOK: we need to accept others with their differences and their different opinions as long as their points of view can be justified or substantiated by accurate data on the subject in question.

Different points of view exist, everyone has their own points of view and TOK in the IBDP curriculum respects and even is willing to view the stated claim through the analysis and eyes of the student.

Example 3:

(Q) Should the arts have an ethical function?

Take the example of the most controversial book of the 20^th century, Vladimir Nabokov’s ‘Lolita’ which has lately in the year 2012 even indirectly birthed the male ‘Lolita’ as it were through the excruciatingly disturbing internationally bestselling novel ‘Tampa’ by Alissa Nutting, author extraordinaire.

Many readers would comment that both these books, especially the latter would be termed as mere titillating fiction and should not have been made available in the main book buying market to regular readers of literary fiction and thrillers respectively. Such readers indicate, especially in the case of the latter, that the books are disturbing, should have been categorized in the exclusive category of erotica and should never have gained the popularity they did in the main book selling market as both glorified child sexual abuse in the most grotesque manner possible.

Readers even today on social networking sites like Goodreads, BookTok, Fable and The StoryGraph keep indicating that the books should now be put solely in the category of hardcore erotica so as to prevent vulnerable individuals from being harmed by the many disturbing triggers present in the book. Thus, they feel that Art has a moral and ethical obligation towards the community as well; you cannot show or depict something abusive in a book for its own sake. There should be some redeeming factor or element then introduced to ethically validate the reason why the heinous abuse was depicted in the book in the first place.

Thus, there should be a reason shown for the abuse and something to combat the situation for the sake of the community and their ethical standards with regards to such a disturbing topic as child sexual abuse. In this case, art does have an ethical role to play in society and education where this perspective is concerned.

Thus, a researcher of TOK questions should be ready to review their previously held beliefs, claims, prejudices, biases and earlier stereotypes. The ultimate fulfillment or outcome, hopefully always positive, of the TOK activity then depends solely on the personality of the TOK teacher and her style of presenting the TOK open ended question at hand.

My Take on TOK

After hearing about the details concerning this IBDP Core element from the dynamic and loving Rajni Ma’am, I was keen to become a TOK teacher myself and to take up this form of research and inquiry in the IBDP classroom in the near future if given the opportunity to do so. I will be taking up research projects on different TOK questions which I’ll add to my portfolio on my website, my blogs as well as in the hardcopy form for an IB school’s further perusal. Stay tuned!

Essential Elements of IB

Key Concepts

1. Form

2. Function

3. Causation

4. Change

5. Perspective

6. Connection

7. Responsibility

8. Reflection

1. Form:

This indicates what something looks like externally, what it is made up of and its external appearance or features. Such an element should be externally visible and we should be able to tell its feature or to describe its features.

Example Questions in form:

(Q1) What are the parts of a book? (English)

(Q2) What are the ways stories can be told? (English)

(Q3) What is defined as a shape in Mathematics? (Maths)

2. Function:

The key concept in the IB curriculum which describes how a thing or object or concept works. It is defined by the question: How does it work? It focuses on the working, purpose, mode or role of the behavior of a person, object, etc., which can be investigated accurately and thoroughly.

Example Questions in function:

(Q1) Who works in the school and what do they do? (PSE)

(Q2) How have people adapted to living in a particular place? (Social Studies)

(Q3) How does a scale work on a graph? (Maths)

3. Causation:

It is a key concept which is defined by the questions –

Why is something like what it is?

Why does it cause what it causes?

This key concept analyzes causal relationships at work and pertains to the dictum that actions have consequences. Things do not just happen, there is always a causal relationship at work and actions have consequences.

Example Questions in Causation:

(Q1) Why do you think this piece of art has been made? (Art)

(Q2) What different shapes can be made on the floor using your body? (PE)

(Q3) Why did the author write the story the way it is?  (English)

(Q4) What causes certain cultures to disappear?   (Social Studies)

 4.      Change:

It is a key concept defined by the question: How is it changing, or how has it changed? This concept emphasizes that change is a process that unfolds over time. It involves the transition from one state or condition to another. Change can be natural or driven by human intervention, and it can be observed, measured, and analyzed across contexts in all subject areas.

Example Questions in function:

(Q1) How has our way of communicating changed over time? (Social Studies)

(Q2) How do characters change throughout a story? (English)

(Q3) How does our body change as we grow? (Science)

5.  Perspective:

It is a key concept defined by the questions: What are the different points of view? How do different people see the same thing differently? This concept emphasizes that knowledge is interpreted and constructed by individuals and groups based on their experiences, beliefs, values, and cultures. Different people may view the same event, object, or concept in entirely different ways, and each perspective is valid in its own context.

Example Questions in Perspective:

(Q1) How might different characters in a story feel about the same event? (English)

(Q2) Why do people from different cultures celebrate differently? (Social Studies)

(Q3) How can the same piece of music make different people feel different emotions? (Music)

6.      Connection:

It is a key concept defined by the questions: How is it connected to other things? What is the relationship between one thing and another? This concept focuses on the understanding that we live in a world of interacting systems, where the actions of any individual element affect others. Connection helps students recognize the interdependence among individuals, societies, and the natural world, and it encourages them to see relationships and patterns across different subjects and disciplines.

Example Questions in Connection

(Q1) How are stories from different cultures connected? (English)

(Q2) How is the way we treat the environment connected to our health? (Social Studies)

(Q3) How is addition related to multiplication? (Maths)

7.      Responsibility

It is a key concept defined by the questions: What is our responsibility? How should we act based on what we know and understand? This concept focuses on the understanding that people make choices based on their understanding, and those choices affect themselves, others, and the world around them. Responsibility calls upon students to reflect on their role as informed and caring members of their communities, both local and global.

Example Questions in Responsibility

(Q1) How should we portray characters or people who are different from us in a story? (English)

(Q2) What is our responsibility when we work in a team during a game? (PE)

(Q3) How can we be responsible with the data we collect? (Mathematics)

8. Reflection.

It is a key concept defined by the question: How do we know what we know? How do we reflect on our own learning and thinking? This concept emphasizes that there are different ways of knowing and that it is important for students to reflect on their learning, their conclusions, and their reasoning methods. Reflection encourages students to consider how their thinking has evolved, what they have learned, and how they can apply their knowledge in new and meaningful ways.

Example Questions in Reflection:

(Q1) What did I learn from reading this book, and how has it changed my thinking? (English)

(Q2) Did I use the most effective strategy to solve this problem? (Math)

(Q3) How can I improve my performance after watching myself on video? (PE)

These six key concepts — Causation, Change, Connection, Perspective, Responsibility, and Reflection — together form the conceptual architecture of the IB curriculum. They are the lenses through which every lesson, every unit of inquiry, and every assessment is designed and delivered. They ensure that learning is never merely about accumulating facts but always about developing understanding — deep, transferable, conceptual understanding that students can carry with them from one subject to another, from one grade level to the next, and ultimately, from school into the fullness of their adult lives.

Within this conceptual framework, the Middle Years Programme (MYP) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) provide distinct yet complementary structures for student learning. The MYP, designed for students typically between the ages of eleven and sixteen, is organized around eight subject groups: Language Acquisition, Language and Literature, Individuals and Societies, Science, Mathematics, Arts, Physical and Health Education, and Design. The MYP is interdisciplinary — not transdisciplinary like the PYP, but rather a structure in which subjects are taught as separate disciplines and deliberately connected to the real world and to students’ lives. The MYP emphasizes the construction and acquisition of knowledge, cross-subject collaboration, holistic learning, and the development of both academic and life skills. There is no expectation of verbatim memorization — the MYP values understanding, application, and transfer over rote recall. At the tenth-grade level, there are no traditional examinations in the MYP; instead, students undergo dynamic assessments that evaluate their ability to think, create, and apply their knowledge in meaningful contexts. The MYP aims to produce students who are globally aware, prepared for the real world, capable of understanding and empathizing with others, and sensitively aware of their role in the world. A particularly compelling example of the MYP’s approach to knowledge construction came from a Grade 8 science lesson on binomial nomenclature. Rather than simply memorizing the names of organisms, students were given a list of genus names (surnames) and asked to write the meaning of each genus. They then constructed their own imaginary organisms, complete with five characteristics derived from the meaning of the genus name. In this way, students did not merely learn the content — they learned the process of constructing knowledge itself.

The IBDP, designed for students in their final two years of secondary education, builds on this foundation and advances to a higher level of intellectual rigor. The Diploma Programme is built around a core that includes three essential components: Theory of Knowledge (TOK), which asks students to reflect on the nature of knowledge and how we know what we claim to know; the Extended Essay, an independent, research-based piece of writing of up to four thousand words on a topic chosen by the student — a topic that should be worthy of investigation, neither too broad nor too narrow; and Creativity, Activity, Service (CAS), which requires students to engage in creative endeavors, physical activities, and service to the community as part of their holistic development. Surrounding this core are six subject groups from which students select their courses, with Mathematics compulsory and students typically choosing a combination of sciences, humanities, and languages. The IBDP places tremendous emphasis on research — students are encouraged to explore research topics, find connections between disciplines (for example, Mathematics with Biology), and develop research questions that are genuinely worthy of investigation. The Lib Guides of the International School of Stavanger were cited during our training as an excellent resource for this purpose. The video we PGCITE students watched on the IBDP emphasized that the programme puts students at the center of the process of knowing, that it is interested in how students learn rather than simply what they learn, that it provides a broader view of life than traditional schooling, and that it equips students with the flexibility, potential, and open-mindedness to be continuous learners throughout their lives — for, as the video noted, TOK is not merely a classroom subject but a lifelong experience.

At the methodological heart of the IB — across the PYP, MYP, and IBDP — lies Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL). IBL is, in many ways, the crux of the entire IB curriculum. It is founded on a simple but revolutionary premise: that human beings are born curious, that inquiry begins with questioning, and that the role of the teacher is not to provide answers but to create the conditions in which students can discover answers for themselves. Inquiry starts when something stimulates the student — something provokes curiosity, raises a question, or presents a problem that demands investigation. The teacher’s role is to provide what are called “provocations” or “tuning-in” activities — experiences, objects, images, questions, or situations that make students curious and compel them to ask, “What is this? Why is it like this? What does it mean?” During our PGCITE course, Rekha ma’am illustrated this beautifully by presenting us with the image of a blood mark of a hand — simply a mark on a surface — and asking us: Where? What? Why? The reference to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s “A Study in Scarlet” was invoked to remind us that the greatest inquirers — detectives, scientists, teachers, police investigators — share the same fundamental habit of mind: they do not come to assumptions. They initially just look and ask questions. Inquiry, we were taught, is evidence-based learning. It involves investigating a question or a problem, gathering data, finding connections, grouping the data, analyzing it, and arriving at a conclusion that can be defended or presented. It is open-ended, problem-solving in nature, and honors both the student’s and the teacher’s points of view. The teacher must go beyond merely generating curiosity — they must guide the student into depth, into the realms of critical thinking and understanding, and encourage the child to ask questions at every stage. The distance between the question and the answer — that fertile, generative space in between — is where IBL lives, and it is the teacher’s sacred responsibility to ensure that students are supported, challenged, and empowered as they traverse that distance.

Kath Murdoch Inquiry Cycle

The essential components of IBL, in their most general form, consist of five basic steps: Orientation or Observation, in which the student encounters the stimulus or phenomenon; Questioning or Conceptualization, in which the student formulates questions; Investigation, in which the student gathers evidence and data; Conclusion, in which the student synthesizes findings; and Discussion or Sharing, in which the student communicates their learning to others. All questions should funnel toward being answered by the students themselves — but as students go deeper, more questions inevitably arise, creating a spiraling, ever-deepening cycle of inquiry.

In the PYP specifically, this process is structured around the Kath Murdoch Inquiry Cycle, a six-stage model developed by the Australian educator Kath Murdoch. The six stages are: Tuning In, Finding Out, Sorting Out, Going Further, Making Conclusions, and Taking Action. Each stage serves a distinct purpose in the inquiry process, and together they form a complete cycle that begins with empathy and ends with action. Tuning In is the stage of empathy and feeling — it is the moment when the student’s curiosity is awakened and they connect emotionally and personally with the topic. It is the “provocation” stage, where the teacher uses flannel boards, visual stimuli, stories, images, or experiences to create a sense of wonder and engagement. Finding Out is the stage of investigation — students determine whether their resources are good, whether their evidence is useful, and whether their sources are reliable. Sorting Out is the stage of analysis — students examine whether their thought processes were appropriate, whether the data they have gathered makes sense, and how the pieces of the puzzle fit together. Going Further is the stage of deepening inquiry — students ask who their audience will be, whether they have found enough information, and whether they possess the skills and knowledge to proceed. At this stage, the classroom climate and the teacher’s support become critical as students push beyond their initial findings into more complex and challenging territory. Making Conclusions is the stage of synthesis — students draw together their findings, formulate their conclusions, and prepare to communicate what they have learned. Taking Action is the final and most transformative stage — students take what they have learned and apply it to the real world, making a difference, however small, in the world around them. Throughout this entire cycle, reflection on personal understanding is woven in — students are constantly encouraged to reflect on what they know, how they know it, and what they might do differently.

The role of the inquiry teacher, as Kath Murdoch herself has described it, is not that of a “sage on the stage” but rather a “guide on the side.” The inquiry teacher prepares to share a journey with students — not to dictate the destination but to walk alongside them, offering support, asking provocative questions, and creating conditions in which genuine learning can flourish. The inquiry teacher sees more in the child than the child may see in themselves. They recognize that every child is competent and capable, that every child has a positive relationship with learning, and that the teacher’s role is to find the entry point for each child and meet them there. The inquiry teacher moves from simple to complex, gradually releasing responsibility to the student. They are not a passive or “government” teacher who stands at the front doing nothing while students flounder; nor are they an authoritarian figure who controls every aspect of the learning experience. Instead, they sit with their students, draw on the curriculum, act as facilitators, and use a repertoire of strategies rather than relying on a single approach. They are designers of learning experiences, and their passion is the student’s growth. The Design Thinking approach — with its stages of Empathy, Ideation, Prototyping, and Implementation — was also discussed as a framework that complements the inquiry cycle, reminding us that the best teachers are also designers who approach every lesson with creativity, empathy, and a willingness to iterate and improve.

In the PYP classroom, the inquiry cycle is closely linked to the Units of Inquiry (UOI), the interdisciplinary investigations that structure the PYP curriculum. The theme note, central idea, and lines of inquiry are carefully designed to align with the key concepts and the Kath Murdoch cycle. Unlike traditional classrooms, where learning objectives are written on the board and handed to students — “By the end of this chapter, students will be able to…” — the PYP does not prescribe objectives in this way. Instead, students are invited to discover the objectives themselves through inquiry. The belief is that children are born curious, and that the teacher’s role is to honor and harness that curiosity, connecting it to the curriculum, the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and pressing real-world issues.

As I reflect on everything I have learned about conceptual understanding, the key concepts, the MYP, the IBDP, Inquiry-Based Learning, and the Kath Murdoch Inquiry Cycle, I am struck by the coherence and beauty of the IB’s vision. It is a vision that trusts the student, empowers the teacher, and honors the complexity of the world we live in. It is a vision that refuses to reduce education to the memorization of facts and the passing of examinations, insisting instead that true education is about understanding, connection, responsibility, and action. It is a vision I carry into every classroom, every lesson, and every interaction with my students — and I believe it has the power to change not only how we teach, but also how we live.

©2025 Fiza Pathan

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Learners Multiple Intelligences

Welcome to the three Multiple Intelligences Learning Patterns and the nine types of Multiple Intelligences:

Also, welcome to the land of coffee, my favorite beverage at work or leisure. Caffeine fuels my passion for teaching with more dopamine than I can thank it for. Caffeine helps me keep long hours at night to attend MTS theology classes, study for my MTS and PGCITE Content Exams, finish my PGCITE observation book, and blog about more bookishly delicious content online. You are, therefore, going to see my caffeinated perspective of the various Multiple Intelligences and their respective three categories into which they fall. Happy Reading! Cheers!

A) Analytical

These three intelligences are analytical because, although they can have a social or introspective component, they most fundamentally promote the process of analyzing and incorporating data into existing situations. The analytical intelligences are, by nature, heuristic (speculative formulation) processes.

I fall into all these categories here, so my Learning Pattern is totally that of an Analytical Learner. How about that? I am more logical and practical than I thought I was! This was great to know after filling out the Multiple Intelligence Inventory with the help of Dr. Rekha Bajaj, Ma’am, in class. Cheers with my warm cup of South-Indian-brewed milky coffee in hand!

1. Logical (Mathematical)

Children who display an aptitude for numbers, reasoning, and problem-solving are the other half of the children who typically do well in classrooms where teaching is logically sequenced and students are asked to conform. I got my second-highest score in this category’s top three learning styles, which was tied with Intrapersonal Intelligence. My MI multiplied score here was 90 on 100.  

2. Musical (Rhythmic)

Children who learn well through songs, patterns, rhythms, instruments, and musical expression. It is easy to overlook children with this intelligence in traditional education. I got a 60 out of 100, my second-highest score, which was tied with Naturalist Intelligences in this same category. I seem to have gotten a heck of a lot of tied-up scores on this test!

3) Naturalist

Children who love the outdoors, animals, and field trips. More than this, though, these students love to pick up on subtle differences in meanings. The traditional classroom has not been accommodating these children. I also got a 60 on 100 in this, which was my second-highest score, tied with Musical Intelligence.

Thus, I have all 3 Analytical Learning Tendencies as my own learning patterns, and it is a revelation to know this. It is shocking because I thought I would easily fall into the Introspective Category, but that was not so. Most people would have thought so because I am quite an introvert and love being a one-woman show 24/7, 365 days a year. I then get more work done that way. But Gardener’s test surprised me.

Can you imagine how this test could redefine the judgments and generalizations we make in connection with our IB students in the classroom? Every learner is truly gifted and unique in their way of learning, thus being intelligent in their own right.

B) Introspective

These three intelligences are introspective because they require the learner to look inward and make an emotive connection to their own experiences and beliefs to make sense of new learning. Introspective intelligences are, by nature, affective processes.

I fall into two intelligences: my first-highest Intrapersonal Intelligence and my second-highest Existential Intelligence. My spatial or visual intelligence was very low, just 50 on 100. Dr. Rekha Bajaj, Ma’am, seemed surprised when we presented our scores as a PGCITE class. This is because I’m extremely quick at seeing things, especially words, and remembering them for life, including reading charts, graphs, tables, and puzzles. But one cannot have everything now, even if one’s IQ level is 133 like mine is, fortunately, and most of the time, unfortunately!

4. Intrapersonal

Children, especially those who are in touch with their own feelings, values, and ideas, have an Intrapersonal kind of Intelligence. They may be more reserved, but they are quite intuitive about what they learn and how it relates to themselves.

This intelligence was in my top, 1st best list; my score was 90 out of 100. Well, that is no surprise to me; that is, after all, why I am popularly known as The Reclusive Writer & Reader of Bandra.

That may be why I became a multi-award-winning author of around 30 books. I have won over 70 international awards for my books, including one national one from The Examiner: A Catholic Newsweekly, which is the top and best national Catholic Newsweekly of India which awarded me the first ever Bronze Pen Award for my 16 years of dedicated Catholic Journalism work, my extraordinary literary achievements internationally at a very young age and because of my contribution to the field of letters through my educational how-to books and social issue fiction novels, novellas and short story collections.

But all this happened because I am a reserved person who thinks analytically and usually does not let my emotions overrule my equanimity of spirit. Earlier, I was not as emotionally balanced. I had a tough childhood after my father abandoned me at birth because I was born a girl child. But now, after years of work over myself through books, spiritual direction, and a lot of support and love from my maternal family and my professors in the various educational institutions where I am studying and have studied in the past, I have managed to conclude that being emotional and emoting is not a crime or a sin or even a weakness. After all, that is what makes us human and not a sociopath! But it does no one any good when one lets it overpower one’s equanimity of spirit and sense of direction toward one’s desired positive goals, dreams, and aspirations.

Therefore, I keep certain individuals in mind as my main locus (or focus even!) of attention 24/7 and react as they would have probably reacted to influences within and around them. These individuals currently are as follows:

1. My Maternal Uncle Blaise Martis

What even a father would not do, this man has done for me – took full responsibility for a fatherless girl and devoted his whole life to me. He is a lawyer and banker and has the mind and equanimity of spirit of an avatar. Nerves of steel personified.

2. Fr. Bento Cardozo

When everyone in the Catholic community condemned my mother and me when my Muslim father abandoned us, Fr. Bento Cardozo was there for us and is still there for us even today, 24/7, as our spiritual guide, elder brother, and family member. If I am becoming a Catholic Consecrated Virgin and Biblical Theologian today, it is mainly because of the Saintliness of this man, who has been a priest for 62 years and has been associated with our family for 61 years.

3. My Parsee Uncle Minoo Pantakhi (Minoo Uncle)

Because your family does not mean only those related to you by blood. The Pantakhi family has been by my family’s side through thick and thin, and the two Pantakhi power brothers, Ratan Uncle and Minoo Uncle, have raised me like one would raise their own blood niece. But Minoo Uncle would always say that they were not raising me like the daughter of the house, but the son of the house. He made me the comedian I am today – we are both hard-core Jim Carrey fans and impersonators.

4. M.S. Dhoni

5. Jesus Christ

Who is the most awesome husband in the whole Universe! Not the only man I have ever loved, but the only man I will ever love. No one can compare with His sense of composure, period.

6. Mother Mary

Who is the most awesome mother-in-law in the whole universe. Like Mother like Son, and also, in this case, like Son like Mother! My life’s work in Catholic Theology, post-ThD, will be focused on Her. She is more than just a woman to me.

7. Jim Carrey

8. Johnny Lever

9. Bobby Deol

10. Anil Kapoor

I’ve always been introverted, but not when I’m with children. I transform into a new person when I teach and interact with children, including high school students, whose age group is my specialty. Otherwise, I speak when spoken to most of the time and venture an opinion when asked or when I feel another perspective on a particular topic is required to clarify a concept. Otherwise, I tend to be a reserved learner because I like to see beyond what I perceive and what others perceive. So you will always find me observing people and their actions, and probably trying to see how well they would work as characters in my new book and short stories, or as babies born from my pen.

5. Existentialist

Children who learn in the context of where humankind stands in the ‘big picture’ of existence. They ask, ‘Why are we here?’ and ‘What is our role in the world?’ This intelligence is seen in the discipline of philosophy.

I scored a 70 out of 100 on this Intelligence, which was tied with Kinesthetic Intelligence. Because of my MTS Post-Graduate Catholic Theology college, where I did a lot of deep studies in Catholic and Western Philosophy, and because of my otherwise very introspective nature, I think I easily fall into this category, but I am not preoccupied with my thoughts. I prefer thoughts to be converted into useful action for the betterment of all, so I believe strongly in the dictum that actions speak louder than words. As to my opinion on meditation and contemplation as a Consecrated Virgin or Religious, my philosophy on that in this regard is that ‘there is a very thin line of separation between meditation and navel-gazing!

6. Visual (Spatial)

Children who learn best visually and organize things spatially. They like to see what you are talking about so they can understand. They enjoy charts, graphs, maps, tables, illustrations, art, puzzles, and costumes – anything eye-catching.

As I’ve mentioned, I scored only 50 out of 100 in this category, so I don’t fit into this learning intelligence. This puzzled my peers in the PGCITE Podar classroom and Dr. Rekha Bajaj Ma’am, as I’ve said before. This is because I am a writer, and I have also adapted 8 Rare Classics for younger readers, which were illustrated by my illustrator extraordinaire, Farzana Cooper of the Parsee Bol fame, under my direction.

I also am very particular about my book cover illustrations; they have to be artistically appealing and yet very pertinent as to the subject, etc., but as I said, I am more of a content person than a person who colors their presentations and works with animations and graphics to make it seem ‘appealing’. This is my ethics: for me, my content should be the prime focus, not its visual appeal or the space around it. For me, the latter is mainly a distraction from the main point of inference, so I am creative, but not overpowered by Art and visually appealing images.

In fact, I was very artistic when at school. I was highly influenced by my maternal cousin, Vijay D’Costa, or Vijay Bhai, a professional artist and painter who can deftly create any form of art, especially with watercolors, at the speed of lightning, without a mistake, which is extraordinary. His paintings and artwork always capture a viewer’s attention, and I wanted to emulate him when I was younger. So I took up Art a lot when I was younger, but unfortunately, I couldn’t paint well. I was great with painting with colored pencils and crayons, coloring and sketching on the computer, but not in reality; I struggled with watercolors, which was my bete noir, which then made me realize that I would have to imitate Vijay Bhai in another way just so that I could be considered his sister in a way. That meant a lot to me back then because I never had a sibling, and I just wanted that sibling bonding with someone, even if it was long-distance or indirect. So I then took to another artistic pursuit, which I thankfully mastered: writing, and now I can face Vijay Bhai with contentment. There are many writers in my maternal family as well. We are a very artistic family, the Martis family, and the Martis family line.

I love to analyze graphs, charts, maps, tables, etc., especially related to seeing patterns and solving problems or enigmas, and especially associated with Catholic Theology and Philosophy and their association with Secular Sociology, Psychology, Metaphysics, Logic, Ethics, Political Science, etc., but that for now is as far as it goes. It is not necessary that I remember something I see for life, especially pictorial images. Where written words are concerned, however, I do remember the material, even if it is decades old. If it was written and I read it, I will remember it for life unless I get dementia. I have this uncanny habit of remembering the contents of every book, fiction, and non-fiction, I have read.  I have a photographic memory most of the time and can absorb written material very fast.

Let me remind the reader of this portfolio that I have read an average of 50 books a year since the pandemic, only because of my MTS studies. Earlier, it used to be an average of 100 books a year because most of my time went into teaching, writing my books, and researching for the same, online and on the ground research. In school and undergraduate college, it was 200 books a year on average. You can take a look at my reading charts and graphs over the decades on the Amazon social networking site Goodreads. I’ve reviewed over 800+ books on Goodreads and am considered one of India’s Top 20 best reviewers on Goodreads.  

My blog, Insaneowl.com, is considered to be one of the most authentic and famous Indian Literary Websites in the field of Literature. Since 2024, my blog has been declared compulsory reading at many Universities across South India, including Madras University, the University of Mysore, Thiruvalluvar University, and others. I have reviewed and analyzed more than 200 short stories there, along with innumerable book reviews and book analyses.

Check out both my sites and let me know what you think in a message here on my portfolio: fizapathansportofolioforpgcite.com. I love getting in touch with the readers of both my books and my blogs, especially if they are my students or are helped in their studies by my content.

[Links to my blog, insaneowl.com, and my Goodreads page.]

C) Interactive

These three intelligences are termed interactive intelligences because, although they can be stimulated through passive activities, they typically invite and encourage interaction to achieve understanding. Even if a student completes a task individually, he or she must consider others in how he or she writes, creates, constructs, and draws conclusions. Interactive intelligence is, by nature, a social process.

My highest number 1 score came from here, and my 2nd highest score was in Verbal or Linguistic Intelligence and Kinesthetic Intelligence, respectively. My lowest score also came from the Interpersonal Section; I only got a miserable 20 out of 100. I’m not much of a social person; I like being alone and studying alone. I have never believed in group study, but I know that most studies among school and college students are done through group study. Fair enough, I can make my children’s group studies more focus-oriented in an IB setting. But that is just not for me personally. I find it to be personally tiresome and distracting.

In college, especially at the B.Ed level at St. Teresa’s Teacher’s Training College, Santacruz, you would always find me in the library studying in a cubicle for hours together – my maximum has been 9 hours straight. They used to call me the ‘Carthusian monk’ back then, which I took as a compliment. These days, I prefer taking small 10-minute breaks between subjects after about 2.5 hours. I can sit at a desk and study for hours. Nevertheless, I’ve gone for up to 12 hours once during my final Old Testament exam with Professor Dr. Fr. Sebastian Carnazzo, a superhero in Biblical Theology and a brilliant Catholic priest. I finally got up because I had to go to the loo!

7. Verbal (Linguistic…to do with Words)

Children who demonstrate strength in the language arts: speaking, writing, reading, and listening. These students have always been successful in traditional classrooms because their intelligence aligns with traditional teaching methods.

So, I guess I’m the old-fashioned ideal student of Western Society because this was my top score, a 90 out of 100. I agree. I like a traditional classroom setting, and I’ve been the ideal student since kindergarten. However, I struggled with Mathematics, not the algebra, probability, and Geometry parts; I used to score full marks in those. After all, the alphabet was there in those! The problem was with Arithmetic proper, like Banking, Profit and Loss, Discounts, Fractions, Decimals, Compound Interest, Ratio and Proportion, etc. Numbers are not my thing unless they are historical dates, those I can remember verbatim forever.

8. Kinesthetic (Bodily)

Children who learn best through activities such as games, movement, hands-on tasks, and building. These children were often labelled ‘overly active’ in traditional classrooms, where they were told to sit and be still.

I got my second-highest score here, a 70 out of 100, and it tied with Existential Intelligence. I am a heavy-duty power walker and can easily and comfortably run 4 miles in 20 minutes without a break, a sweat, or a stop for water. It would have been quicker but for the traffic and the many dug-up roads of Bandra West. I used to love playing basketball at school with my friends, male and female, as well as cricket, netball (girls only for this one), throwball, badminton, and volleyball. But I was obsessed with cycling, and especially racing cycles on tracks. I never got to race on a road; my mother wouldn’t allow that. She would have rather broken my legs! So I used to only run on tracks with my school and building friends. I liked doing stunts on my cycle because I was very influenced by the X-Games, which were telecast on ESPN on my TV when I was in school. But I gave that up as I got older, wiser, and more responsible. Now, unfortunately, because I am plus-size, I am not allowed to touch a cycle unless it is a gym cycle. I have never been able to run or jog in my whole life, but I can walk fast for some bizarre reason, even now when I am severely plus-sized due to my hormone imbalance and sleep apnea issues.

I would never have considered myself sporty or an outdoors person, and I don’t today. I never played for any team except for leisure, nor was I trained in any sport. My family did not have that kind of money. I trained myself in all these sports by observing my male peers. They were very patient and friendly with me, better than the girls for some odd reason. Thanks to these male friends, I learned to skate, rollerblade, and ride a skateboard very well, but now I think I’ve lost touch.

But I learned a lot while power walking or when I used to cycle. I can study and revise whole chapters in Church History, the Bible, Theology, Metaphysics, and Philosophy while power walking. I never walk with earbuds or earphones in my ears while I am on the road; I never have, and never will. I like making teaching tools and models with toys from toy shops and balls like a Cosco basketball. My history models won me an award in my B. Ed college, and I was the only student-teacher to make a model back then. I’m now exploring doing something with cricket at the suggestion of some of my student-friends from Podar IB, Santacruz, in the 1st and 2nd grades. Then I’ll try rugby and soccer again on their advice. I’m working on the various ball sports. I will load up the models on my portfolio and test them on my tuition students first when I am done working on them.

9. Interpersonal

Children who are noticeably people-oriented and outgoing, and who learn cooperatively in groups or with a partner, are considered to be in this category. These children may have typically been identified as ‘talkative’ or ‘too concerned about being social’ in a traditional setting.

As I’ve mentioned, I’ve got my lowest in this category – just a 20 on 100. People keep asking me why I listen more than I speak to adults, and I usually say that today’s so-called adults talk so much online and offline that it makes up for both of us! I don’t believe in filling up silence with my voice just for not listening to that silence. I speak the truth and sensible stuff that can aid others rather than tire or break them. I don’t believe in filling silences with my voice to hear myself speak. I don’t mind comedy and jokes at all. I, after all, was a stand-up comedian at my undergraduate college, and I have a very predominant comical sense of humour in any situation. As a trained public speaker, my specialty was stand-up comedy. But I prefer my humor to uplift people rather than take the part of character and community assassination. Small talk is not exactly my thing, as these days, small talk is taking on grotesque forms of character assassination and malicious gossip, which I will not be a part of, never have, and never will be.

I’m an excellent listener, and that is why I probably have the discernment when and what to speak, especially to my students, who are vulnerable individuals just trying to make sense of this really senseless world. I’ve not seen even mothers of four or five children with that kind of discernment, and it troubles me to see this. That is why I strongly feel that being a mother does not necessarily mean you will be a very good, discerning motherly teacher.

That may be why I get along well with my students as a friend more than as an adult; I try to come down to their level and see things their way, however difficult it may be for me. That is why most of my students ultimately become my friends for life and then have my back through the ups and downs of my life, which even my best adult friends never had. As I said earlier, I’m only talkative with students to help them better understand themselves and their goals. Otherwise, I’m a great listener and a speaker who encourages silence in my adult friends’ conversations. Not all voids are empty, and sometimes you can go on speaking for hours with a person with your words being more void and banal, if not harmful, than the much-hated still silence of this Post-Truth Era.

So, remember:

• Everyone has all the intelligence!
• You can strengthen your intelligence!
• This inventory is meant as a snapshot in time – it can change!
• MI is intended to empower and not to label people.
  

Learners’ Multiple Intelligences (Continuation)

Dr. Rekha Bajaj continued to analyze and explore the nine types of Multiple Intelligences with our PGCITE January 2025 batch for a specific purpose. The classes continued throughout the end of March and the whole of April, focusing our minds on the importance of catering to students’ various Multiple Intelligences (MIs) in the classroom, whether at the PYP, MYP, IGCSE, IBDP, CP, or AS and A Level. As I went through the class lecture notes and the photographs I had taken throughout the session, I sipped more coffee until the late hours of the night and still did not feel exhausted enough to call it a day. Dr. Rekha ma’am’s classes are so stimulating, and I can safely call myself her most enthusiastic PGCITE student. Even if you don’t want to believe me, you can ask any of my colleagues or any Podar IB, Santacruz teacher in the school – there is no keener student of Dr. Rekha ma’am’s words than me!

I was especially enthusiastic, and still am, about our March and April MI classes. Dr. Rekha continued our MI classes by showing us a PowerPoint slide featuring a collage of various famous personalities and celebrities.

As you can see, these personalities include Amitabh Bachchan, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Ramanujan, Lata Mangeshkar, Sachin Tendulkar, Rabindranath Tagore, M.F. Husain, and Medha Patkar. She then asked us, individually, to identify the names of these personalities and to share what we knew about them. Well, except for Medha Patkar, I knew all the individuals in the collage and even identified them for Rekha ma’am. I was familiar with many details about each of their lives, except for Medha Patkar, of course. For one thing, Amitabh Bachchan was the father of my mother’s two students, Shwetha Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, when she was teaching in the junior school at Bombay Scottish, Mahim. My mother taught Mr. Bachchan’s children in the 1st and 2nd grades and met both Mr. Bachchan and his wife, Mrs. Jaya Bachchan, on several occasions. My mother was in her twenties or early thirties back then and had this massive crush on Amitabh Bachchan that she tried to mask while dealing with the Bachchans. It was easier said than done. Mrs. Jaya Bachchan attempted to talk some sense into my young and idealistic mother about not marrying my future father. Jaya ma’am knew him, too, I remember, and did not like him one bit, and did not hide that fact from my mother. I am aware that these days, Mrs. Jaya Bachchan is too famous in the media for her strong aversion to having her and her family’s privacy intruded upon. Still, back then, before I was born, she offered a lot of sound advice to my young mother, which, if taken seriously, might have prevented my permanent estrangement from my father.

Maybe I would have landed up not being so introverted and reclusive, and especially such a radical feminist – but man proposes, God disposes, I guess! To date, my mother and I are huge fans of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bhaduri Bachchan, which not many people can imagine. In fact, because we are great English teachers, people think we only watch Hollywood films at home, but the opposite is true – we hate Hollywood films and have watched Bollywood films for our entire lives. My own colleagues in the PGCITE class, as well as Rekha ma’am, are really stunned when I start singing, or rather crooning, old 1960s and 1970s Bollywood songs in my falsetto voice, which could scare the hardiest crows from our windowsill on the 7th floor at Podar IB.

Who does not know Mother Teresa, now Saint Teresa? However, having said that, I must admit here that she is not my ideal of what a Catholic Nun should be. This is because she gave in a lot to the orthodox patriarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. That is something that does not sit well with me, nor the fact that she was a hardline supporter of one of the most patriarchal and narrow-minded Popes of the last century, namely Saint Pope John Paul II. Nevertheless, as a pioneering woman of stature, I do salute her, but I think in her position, she could have done a lot for the Catholic religious and consecrated virgins at that time; her silence about the way we are intentionally subjugated in the Roman Catholic Church is and was disturbing to behold and analyze, respectively. My ideal would rather be Dorothy Day, the famous American journalist, social activist, and anarchist who, after a bohemian youth, became a Catholic without abandoning her social activism. But of course, she is not yet a Catholic Saint.

If I had to choose from the women saints already listed, then Saint Catherine of Siena would be my only choice; that woman had some guts! And also, a firm stomach to guzzle down a whole tub full of black pus collected from a cancer patient’s deformed, cancerous breast back in the European Middle Ages! But she would be the person to bring Popes together, order them about, and bring peace to regions torn by anarchy single-handedly, not to mention fight her affluent family, who wanted to marry her off rather than to see her as a consecrated virgin. But if I had to pick someone who would be my ideal, it would still be a cigarette smoker and, not to mention, a caffeine addict like Dorothy Day, the author of one of my favorite Catholic books in the world, namely, ‘The Long Loneliness’.

In the PGCITE class, I had the most information on Rabindranath Tagore, whom I affectionately refer to as Gurudev on my literary blog, insaneowl.com. I don’t resonate with him at all, but all my batchmates and Rekha ma’am herself felt that I was very much like him. It was flattering to hear, but I don’t think I am worthy enough or that gifted a genius. Besides, he often tended to be a conformist. He never departed from a moderate point of view compared to other National Freedom fighters whom I admire, like Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, Bhagat Singh, Veer Savarkar, Subhas Chandra Bose, and Madam Cama.

Nevertheless, Tagore’s contribution to education and literature is par excellence, and no institution or personality needs to validate this fact; his output speaks for itself. Some modern-day Bengali historians even claim that Gurudev’s output was greater than the combined works of E.M. Forster, James Joyce, Joseph Conrad, and D.H. Lawrence! That is quite a lot of literary output for one man…or genius if you’d rather! I am proud to be quite an authority on Gurudev, as evidenced by my teaching over the past 17 years and my compulsive literary blogging on insaneowl.com, where I talk about all things bookish, including the writings of Rabindranath Tagore.

In this manner, my PGCITE colleagues and I continued analyzing these various personalities when Dr. Rekha asked us to think outside the box and envision these varied individuals in an IB or IGCSE classroom setting. She then asked us to consider what we, as IB or IGCSE teachers, would encounter while trying to educate them. We had to import our information on the various Multiple Intelligences in this analysis. It was a group project in which we mainly analyzed Sachin Tendulkar, Lata Mangeshkar, and M.F. Husain as IB students.

We realized that Tendulkar is a Kinesthetic Learner due to his heightened Kinesthetic or Bodily Intelligence, while M.F. Husain has more Spatial Intelligence. Lata Mangeshkar is a Musical Learner with heightened Musical Intelligence compared to the rest. We explored various ways to help such students in our classrooms, ensuring we did not misinterpret their actions and considered them in context and beyond. However, Rekha Bajaj ma’am indicated to us that most teachers in the regular school boards like the ICSE, CBSE, and SSC do not cater to these multiple intelligences and so lose out on supplying to their country many gifted and talented individuals; individuals who can make their country proud and who can easily try to solve global issues.

I especially remember that my colleagues and friends Sana Shafi, Barkha Athania, Harshada Kolte, and Gurpreet Kaur, along with me, suggested marvelous ways to leverage the MIs of these individuals to bring out the best in their school lives, whether in the academic or non-academic spheres. However, Rekha ma’am reiterated that what we usually follow at a regular school is the ‘herd mentality teaching style,’ where we teach a ‘type’ rather than students with their individual talents and personalities. We teach the same way all the time, catering only to traditional learners, ignoring the other gifted students in the classroom. Not to mention that in a regular SSC, CBSE, or ICSE classroom, there can be as many as 55 to 60 students.

I noticed that Rekha ma’am was placing a lot of emphasis on this particular point, and she definitely wanted us to take careful note of how we are usually taught in our B.Ed colleges or teacher training colleges to identify only three categories of students in our classrooms – Intelligent, Average, and Dull. We are not taught the IB IDEA student categorization, which includes recognizing multiple intelligences and learning styles. Dr. Rekha Bajaj then recommended us to read various books by Dr. Howard Gardner, such as ‘An Unschooled Mind’ and ‘Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences’, in this regard.

The former book explores merging cognitive science with the educational agenda, where Dr. Gardner makes an eloquent case for restructuring our schools by showing how ill-suited our minds and natural patterns of learning are to the prevailing modes of education. The latter book, on the other hand, addresses the revolutionary challenge to the widely held notion that intelligence is a single general capacity possessed by every individual to varying degrees. Gardner’s later trailblazing book revolutionized the world of education and psychology by positing that, rather than a single type of intelligence, we have several, most of which are neglected by standard testing and educational methods. More than 20,000 copies of this latter book have been sold worldwide since its publication in 1983.

Dr. Rekha ma’am implored us PGCITE students to check out his books, as trained IB and IGCSE teachers, because we need to engage all our students in classroom discussions; we need to engage our students in what they like, in the way they want, to get the best out of them for the future. In fact, Dr. Howard Gardner indicated in the book ‘An Unschooled Mind’ that it would be better if a student chose a school hobby or subject of interest as their area of future professional development or further study at the college and university levels. We need to nurture their interests rather than force-feed them facts, data, and subjects they aren’t interested in.

“ All children everywhere will become more skilled in those pursuits that engage their interests and their efforts and that are valued by adults and peers in their environment. Skill develops not only in areas of vocation and avocation but also in the simple activities of living—telling stories, estimating large numbers, handling disputes, instructing a younger person. Which areas show the most improvement, and how rapidly the improvement occurs, will reflect the accidents of culture and individual, but a steady improvement, at least for a while, can be counted upon.”

― Howard Gardner

(The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach)

I realized personally how true this was when I remembered that back when I was a student at my ICSE school, Bombay Scottish School, Mahim, I was constantly humiliated by my Science and Maths teachers because I could not wrap my head around Physics, Chemistry, and of course – Maths, my arch nemesis! As I have said a lot of times before, it increased my lack of self-esteem within myself and made me look down upon my own capabilities and innate strengths till I started writing and publishing my own books on Amazon back in 2012, when it was not the easiest thing to get a book published on this platform. In fact, when I realized I could manage to do something as complex as that, it prompted me to take up blogging, website design, and other related skills. People started figuring out that I was probably smart in some way, able to do all this, even though I was not great at Math or Science. However, the day I realized I had an IQ of 133 shook me to the core. As mentioned before, I realized that I had been betrayed by my school, Bombay Scottish, and especially by my teachers, who could not accommodate my learning style and wanted me to conform to their idea of what an ideal learner should be. That would basically be anyone who was an expert in Maths and the sciences. Other subjects did not matter at our school, so I was neglected and ignored for my phenomenal memory and ability to recall huge chunks of detail in seconds, especially in History, English Literature, Geography, Biology, and Hindi Literature. I was a traditional learner, per se, but I would have fared much better in Math, Physics, and Chemistry—especially in the numerical parts of the latter two — if I were taught in the innovative way students are taught at an IB or IGCSE school like Podar International.

By honing my Naturalistic and, most importantly, my kinesthetic skills, I would have gotten the best out of myself in these subjects. I recall all the various Physics, Math, and Chemistry classes I observed at Podar International, Santacruz, where I learned many concepts that I had found very difficult as a schoolchild. I especially applaud teachers like Mohit sir, Akshay sir, Kunal Patil sir, Vijayata ma’am, Krishna ma’am, Sneha ma’am, Amrin ma’am, and Christina ma’am from Podar IB, Santacruz, for getting some crucial Mathematical and science concepts into my thick head. If I had them as teachers, I would have fulfilled my dream of being a surgeon or a space engineer today. One teacher, or rather THE CORRECT ATTITUDE of a RESPONSIBLE teacher, can change not only the life of one student but of the whole world, per se.

I still remember having a lot of fun in Akshay sir’s Physics class with my MYP 6E class. It was my all-time favorite class to hang out in and observe, as he taught Types of Energy through a series of picture puzzles. We had a lot of laughs, and if I had been taught the same topic with these picture puzzles, Physics probably wouldn’t have been so difficult by the time I entered the 9th grade. Besides, we were enjoying ourselves so much, my little student pals and I, that probably poor Akshay sir must have been wondering from which angle I would ever become a high-school teacher!

I had a high IQ, but as Dr. Howard Gardner said in his 1983 publication ‘Frames of Mind’, a high IQ is an inadequate indicator of intelligence. If you looked at my school life from another perspective, my schoolteachers at Bombay Scottish thought that they needed to emotionally traumatize me more because they guessed that I was gifted in other aspects. Even if that is a hypothesis of sorts, it still does not mean that one should use punishment in any form to coax even the most gifted students to excel at a particular subject. One has to use the IDEA learners list and Multiple Intelligences together to get the results we need from students like me who find specific subjects like Maths and Physics difficult to comprehend.

I would even add that, using my Introspective Intelligence in the MI list, and looking back in hindsight, I am not as bad at Math and numbers as I thought. In fact, I aced tough topics that most kids found really difficult, like Trigonometry, Higher Trigonometry, Algebra, and Geometry. But when it came to banking sums, you had already lost me! If I had been taught my subject slowly and not been asked, or rather demanded, to give my answers quickly, I would have excelled in this subject. We reiterate to students that they must provide accurate answers to mathematical sums in the classroom immediately, sometimes in seconds or even milliseconds. If this does not happen, and the child, like me, takes more time to give the correct answer, they are demeaned beyond measure by the teacher, students, and especially the tuition students of the Math teacher in question.

We don’t realize that even if the student took more time to answer the sum, it was still the correct answer. So, the student should not have been shamed for answering the supposedly ‘very-easy sum’ in a minute instead of in milliseconds. This is a Math class, not an Internet Wi-Fi Speed Test. The goal is to ensure everyone learns the concept, not to discover who the next Usain Bolt of mental mathematics is. My understanding of the concept was achieved, regardless of how long it took.

I should not have been shamed for six years in a row at school for taking time to give my correct answer to a sum or a series of sums.

“Until now, most schools in most cultures have stressed a certain combination of linguistic and logical intelligences. Beyond question that combination is important for mastering the agenda of school, but we have gone too far in ignoring the other intelligences. By minimizing the importance of other intelligences within and outside of schools, we consign many students who fail to exhibit the “proper” blend to the belief that they are stupid, and we do not take advantage of ways in which multiple intelligences can be exploited to further the goals of school and the broader culture.”

― Howard Gardner

(The Unschooled Mind: How Children Think and How Schools Should Teach)

I was redeemed on that score at Podar IB, Santacruz, in the Math, Chemistry, and Physics classes of the teachers and masters I have mentioned above. When I saw them waiting respectfully for the student to answer a sum, I realized what I had lost in my own schooling. Kunal Patil, sir, really tried very hard to take my fears of the Chemistry Laboratory out of my system. I believe he noticed that my fear of heating and boiling liquids stemmed from school. The loving and understanding class of 8D MYP students supported me and tried to assuage my concerns when we studied the ‘Effect of Impurities on the Melting Point and Boiling Point of Water’ on April 15, 2025. You can check out my Podar IB classroom observations on my portfolio here.

I should have been allowed to take my time in answering my Math sums at Bombay Scottish School, Mahim. It was not fair that I, a quiet little Owl, was made to mimic a hyperactive toad all my high-school days. My teachers should have realized, as Dr. Rekha Bajaj ma’am herself stated, that owls may not be able to hob that well, but they can do something better – they can fly, and at times even eat toads for a late-night snack. The latter is my addition to the analogy.

Which brings me to the topic of Animals and an Animal Story narrated to us beautifully by Rekha ma’am where she would get my last aspect in the previous section about trying to make an owl act like a toad, or a frog to act like a baboon, or a cobra to act like a lion or a fish to act like a monkey and so on. This story really stumped and stunned all of us PGCITE January 2025 batch students, making us realize how important it is to integrate the IDEA learners list with the concept of Multiple Intelligences. In this age of AI and Data Science, the list of Multiple Intelligences may continue beyond the famous nine types.

“While we may continue to use the words smart and stupid, and while IQ tests may persist for certain purposes, the monopoly of those who believe in a single general intelligence has come to an end. Brain scientists and geneticists are documenting the incredible differentiation of human capacities, computer programmers are creating systems that are intelligent in different ways, and educators are freshly acknowledging that their students have distinctive strengths and weaknesses.”

― Howard Gardner

(Intelligence Reframed: Multiple Intelligences for the 21st century, 1999)

IDEA Learners and Multiple Intelligences Together

Animal Story – created by George Reavis in the year 1950 under the title ‘The Animal School.’

Dr. Rekha Bajaj then introduced us, the PGCITE January 2025 batch students, to the world of George Reavis, the internationally renowned Education Officer of the USA, especially during his tenure as superintendent of the Cincinnati Public Schools. She mentioned and narrated his famous story titled ‘Animal School’, which has now become synonymous with introducing International School teachers to the world of Multiple Intelligences or MIs.

Rekha ma’am began by narrating the facts of George Reavis and his story, which was published by Crystal Springs Books in 1999, into a 24-page book featuring colorful illustrations that tell the actual tale. She began by telling our class that once in a jungle, an election took place in which a lion was elected ruler or king of that jungle.

But before we look into that, let us briefly analyze the way we, as PGCITE students, were to conduct our observations for the Postgraduate Certificate Course in International Teacher Education as per the instructions of our teacher and guide, Dr. Rekha Bajaj, and in the light of the format followed by official B.Ed. and M.Ed. colleges in Mumbai, India.

Observations or Internship at Podar International IB, Santacruz

Please note that these observations were part of our internship, during which we, as PGCITE students from the January 2025 batch, attended as many classes as possible at Podar International School, Santacruz. We had to note down whatever we observed in the classes, from the PYP, MYP, IGCSE, AS & A Level to the IBDP, using a fixed format provided by the PGCITE team of educators. This was to help us better understand our curriculum and learn how to conduct ourselves and our students in an IGCSE or IB school.

So far, I have completed a total of 180 observations, ranging from the PYP, MYP, IGCSE, AS & A Level, to the IBDP. The breakup of my Podar class observations is as follows:

Section	Number of Lessons Observed
PYP	60
MYP	48
IGCSE	14
AS and A Level	5
IBDP	53

Subjects	Number of Lessons Observed
English	72
History	12

We were required to observe classes based on the pedagogy we were learning at the PGCITE classes and relate our observations to our own content development. For example, if I were interested in doing English literature and History on an in-depth level, then Dr. Rekha Bajaj advised me to observe the English SL and HL as well as the History classes of the IBDP section (IB Diploma Program) because I had more content to offer for that age group compared to a PYP English classroom. Similarly, since I was also interested in promoting reading and the love of the library as part of my resume, Rekha ma’am advised me to observe the PYP and MYP library and reading classes, respectively, to understand the pattern and unique style in which these classes were conducted at the IGCSE and IB levels.

Regarding the reading classes, it was clear that the IB (International Baccalaureate) had devised a unique and inclusive method for analyzing how a book had to be read. The book was analyzed at the analytical, literal, evaluative, reflective, and mobilization levels. This was a practical and comprehensive way to help a child understand what they were reading, and it was more than just simply reading a book and then writing a summary in a library notebook. I even appreciated the way the MYP librarian, Divya Mulchandani ma’am, who is also my dear friend, well-wisher, and constant guide throughout this PGCITE course, handles her Library classes at both the PYP and MYP levels to perfection, making sure that her pupils don’t only pick a book to read, but that they are also actually reading them and are then retelling their stories or chapters read to her, after which they can work on other book related assignments and research projects.

Divya Mulchandani, ma’am, effectively and without the knowledge of the students, divides them into the IDEA learners sections where the fast-independent readers are allowed to sit or relax alone and read, while those who are especially Developing Learners or Absolute Beginners from other schools sit right next to her and read their books while conversing about their reading experiences with her. Observing her classes, particularly the Reading classes at the PYP and MYP levels, significantly changed my perceptions of how such classes should be taught and conducted with IGCSE and IB students. Through these observations therefore, we PGCITE students were expected to condition ourselves towards the form and style of this inductive and deductive reasoning curriculum which evaluates students not only on explicit information gathered but also whether they had managed to achieve an all-round understanding of the implicit and subtle details related to a particular concept or concepts and whether they could put these into action for the betterment of society and the world.

During our observations, we, the student teachers, had to learn to condition ourselves to emulate the way an IB or IGCSE teacher would behave in such a situation. At the PYP level, no passive or aggressive stances were required to get work done. Through reasoning and wholesome dialogue, along with specific calming, nurturing, and self-reflective techniques, it was noticeably much easier to implement a sense of decorum in a student or students rather than the age-old method of corporal punishments or the banal teacher lecture cum nagging technique, which is absolutely redundant in this age of ‘less talk more action’.

Proactive action is also required from PGCITE students throughout their course year to ensure they make as many observations as possible, integrating themselves well and firmly into the curriculum and the system. Here is a basic sample of an observation sheet that is given or used by the PGCITE student, and which I used in all of my current 180 observations (and I am not done yet!):

The next sheet, given later to the PGCITE students, acts as an informative checklist about what to look for and evaluate or remark on in one’s classroom observations:

Regarding my observations, I began my internship at Podar International School on the 23rd of February, during the first month of our postgraduate course. I took Rekha ma’am’s advice and guidance very seriously because I wanted to really integrate myself into an IB and IGCSE school system and to observe the way teachers here conducted their classes using the touch screen ICT board, the techniques for discipline without being harsh or punitive in any sense, how the students at the PYP levels were taught using the transdisciplinary method and then of course to accustom myself to a regular school schedule.

Since I have been working independently as an indie-author, indie-publisher, Catholic journalist, obsessive content blogger, and private tutor in a reclusive environment for the past 13 years, I was out of touch with what we term as ‘a regular lifestyle’. As a top-notch literary content blogger whose short story analyses are used as compulsory or suggested reading materials in more than seven Indian universities and graduate colleges in South India, it is evident that to create my in-depth content, I used to burn the midnight oil and stay awake hours into the night, making my typed documents and study tools. Invariably, I would retire to bed once the building staff arrived to sweep the building compound at 6:30 am. If I were too high on Nescafé or Starbucks coffee, I wouldn’t stop there and would keep working, maybe typing the next chapter of my fiction book or another article for a Catholic Magazine.

There were times during the late April and May vacations when I would shut myself up for hours in my office-cum-writing hut near my home, typing on my Dell laptop for up to 36 hours at a stretch. Sometimes even more.

I am certainly not your average high school teacher.

However, the excessive caffeine and long hours of typing paid off. Now, after consistently creating content online for 13 years, I am a validated, free, and valued literary and educational content creator. My work is picked up globally by Google, Bing, Comet AI browser, and other search engines. Additionally, my content is available through AI search engines such as ChatGPT, Meta, Grok, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI, Gemini, Microsoft Co-Pilot, and more.

But that backfired regarding my body clock, so I aim to get up with the Podar kids by 6.30 am at the latest to train myself to attend school and run with the clock, not against it. Especially not against my body clock.

It is not a very difficult thing to do. Also the timings of Podar IB, Santacruz, are very child and even Millennial friendly – 8.00 am to 3.00 pm from Monday to Wednesday and from 8.00 am to 1.00 pm on Thursday’s and Friday’s with an off on Saturday and Sunday, unless like me you’d like to hang out with Divya Mulchandani ma’am at the MYP and PYP libraries and do an internship there with her, which I am doing this year whenever time permits. And we’ve still got a lot of work to do! It is challenging to manage two libraries in a bustling International School like Podar International IB. Yes, there is a facility where, if you obtain permission and sanction from the concerned authorities, you can start volunteering in various departments of the school. I chose the MYP and PYP Libraries because I am a great advocate and defender of reading, writing, and researching using the written word. I also love invigilating the Board Exams conducted on the Podar school premises.

I feel fulfilled when I invigilate for the IGCSE, AS and A Level, Primary Checkpoint Exam, Lower Secondary Checkpoint Exam, and the IB Diploma Program exams. Invigilating the Board Exams from February 2025 to the present, including the October 2025 IGCSE, AS & A Level Board Exams, has provided me with valuable insights into the differences between conducting an ICSE exam and an International Board Exam. The norms, decorum, and invigilating attributes required of such a teacher or PGCITE student at this level of intense supervision really honed my tenacity and my supervision capabilities. This is another way I became closely acquainted with the grades I really wished to teach, and I was particularly attracted to the IB Diploma Program level. With the guidance and constant encouragement from our teachers, HODs, and Supervisors here at Podar, I gained a lot of experience conducting these examinations and seeing firsthand what it takes to give such challenging exams.

Here is a sample of one of my observations written in my 1st observation book. It is a PYP Art class where the fantastic and mind-blowing Art teacher, Ms. Geetan ma’am, taught Art to one of my all-time favorite PYP classes.

This is how a lesson observation is conducted and documented using the prompts in the Observation Checklist shown above. Geetan ma’am’s classes are like a breath of fresh air or stress busters for me. If I had an Art teacher as creative, well-informed, erudite, lively, and loving as Geetan ma’am, I would have become an artist instead of a professional high school teacher. Or I would have become an Art teacher with my B.Ed. and a degree from the J.J. School of Arts, a place I longed to study when I was a student, simply because my older cousin, who is a professional artist and painter today, studied there. I wanted to emulate him because I really looked up to him. He is Vijay Bhai, about whom I have mentioned while analyzing the different MIs. If you wish to know more about him, check out the different MIs on my portfolio.

Constructing a classroom observation is straightforward yet engaging. It becomes simpler when you’re familiar with the B.Ed format for classroom observation. This was true for me, as I earned my B.Ed. in 2010-2011 with an overall A+ grade, specializing in History, English, and Computers as a special subject. During that time, I conducted 40 observations of various SSC Teacher-Students, along with my classmates pursuing their B.Ed These classes took place under the supervision of supervisors, class teachers, and our B.Ed. professors at schools like Auxilium Convent, Carmel Convent School, St. Stanislaus High School (now an IGCSE school), Sacred Heart High School (also now an IGCSE school), Durrello Convent High School, St. Theresa’s Convent High School, among others. I completed my B.Ed. at St. Teresa’s Institute of Education in Santacruz, Mumbai, one of the most respected B.Ed institutions in the city. Even then, at St. Teresa’s, I observed the highest number of classes compared to my batchmates, M.Ed colleagues, and friends.

Lesson observations are fascinating because they reveal everything about the curriculum, syllabus, number of papers in the subject, formats of various directed writing and comprehension questions, reading topic assignments, TOK-related material, and ILO essay styles and formats. The more observations one collects and does, the more one learns about the subject and craft, without interfering in the activities of the homeroom teacher, the subject teacher, or the lecturer, unless asked to do so. Being a sincere and keen observer, most of the Podar teachers, especially the students, took to me easily. So they gave me ample opportunities to conduct classes myself, supervise classroom activities, take on proxy classes, and most importantly, actively participate in classroom discussions, even doing notebook corrections.

I learned my craft very well by observing 180 (so far) Podar IB School lessons, including classes related to my subjects and those taught by other teachers. Starting in late January, I noticed that, as in the B.Ed format, every observation and classroom lecture began with a set induction, keeping the lesson’s aims and objectives in mind. A set induction or starter can serve as an icebreaker for a lesson or to introduce a particular topic, without initially specifying the exact topic to be discussed or taught throughout the week or days. The students had to discover this on their own through age-appropriate set inductions or starters.

The objectives of each lesson during a period vary depending on the day’s aim and the classroom or school situation. Although in an IGCSE and IB school, the lesson plans for a particular subject and grade are the same, with identical objectives, the way each teacher presents that specific topic can differ from the example provided in the lesson plan for all teachers. For instance, if there are three divisions at the IBDP level for English HL and SL and the topic to be covered is an introduction to the characters of Arundhati Roy’s ‘The God of Small Things,’ and three different teachers are teaching these divisions, they will all cover the same topic but do so in their own respective styles. For example, Teacher X may prefer using lecture notes, videos, and PowerPoint presentations. She might introduce characters like Baby Kochamma, Ammu, Mammachi, Pappachi, Father Mulligan, Larry McCaslin, Rahel Ipe, and Estha Ipe through a few videos from PEN America or the Booker Prize related to these characters, or she may create character intro videos on Canva herself.

However, if Teacher Y lacks the time, energy, or expertise to create such videos, she can introduce the characters using the typical live Sociogram or a PowerPoint-based Sociogram common in IB or IGCSE courses. This approach demonstrates the relationships among the characters to students in the IBDP classroom. For example, Baby Kochamma can be shown as being closer to Fr. Mulligan because she is infatuated with him, which later leads her to join a convent as a nun in an attempt to win his affection. Additionally, she could keep the servant Kochu Maria near her in the Sociogram to indicate that this person would join Baby Kochamma watching television after the Fr. Mulligan episode.

On the other hand, Teacher Z prefers to email her students the list of characters a day before or a week ahead as homework for them to read over the week. Then, she conducts a Jeopardy Quiz as classwork at school, using it as a starter to see how many characters and traits the students remember from their reading.

In the end, although the methods varied to accommodate different Multiple Intelligences and IDEA learners in the classroom, the main goal of introducing the characters of ‘The God of Small Things’ by Arundhati Roy was accomplished.

The main teaching and learning activities and procedures will then be analyzed. In my observation of Ms. Geetan’s class, I have detailed the use of the present tense and the past-perfect tense in all activities, not only by the teacher but also by the students. Two-way communication between teachers and students is analyzed here, along with the incentives and phrases of encouragement a teacher might use to motivate students to improve their work or to encourage them to try initially.

Daydreaming or inattention during this part of the observation can be critically harmful to the Teacher-Student observer, as it is here that most learning occurs. Close observation of the class teacher, the co-teacher, or even the shadow teacher is essential to understanding what it takes to serve students of the IB and IGCSE Board. During this time, one learns to evaluate the IQ and EQ of most students in the class and to understand what they need from their teachers to achieve the best possible results in their Board Examinations. We discover the capabilities that these students bring and recognize that peers are truly their own sources and resources of learning, while the subject teacher offers guidance and supports the overall learning process.

I personally made many student friends and Podar teacher friends during these sessions, and I believe they will last a lifetime. That’s just the kind of person I am, especially with children; they tend to warm up to me easily, and I am grateful to God for that. I especially enjoyed and immersed myself in rich, erudite IBDP classes I observed at Podar IB. Those experiences laid the foundation for my love of History, English, and TOK at this level. The TOK set inductions or starters led by Rajni ma’am, whom I affectionately call the G.O.A.T. of TOK or Theory of Knowledge, taught me how to run a respectful, discussion-based, and meaningful TOK debate. I never thought peaceful discussion would be possible among Gen-Alpha and Gen-Z students, but I was wrong. When used properly in content and style, TOK can truly facilitate quality debates, bringing diverse perspectives and opinions into focus. I formed some great student friendships from these classes, and I will remember them during my prayers at Mass.

If someone is a PYP teacher or a PGCITE student observer in the classroom, during this part of the observation, the homeroom teacher can request or assign us to different students or groups within the four IDEA sections to help them with various classroom activities. This could include assisting students in completing worksheets, motivating remedial students to finish their work, revising previously learned concepts, helping students fill in post-its for charts or posters, supporting students in art and craft activities, helping them use the smart desk, correcting their written work in notebooks, and more. I was always busy working during my 66 PYP classes, which included students from 1st to 5th grade. I am fortunate to have been given many responsibilities and proxy classes in this section of the school, which were very rewarding and allowed me to learn a lot. For the record, I hold a B.Ed degree and am professionally trained and qualified to teach secondary and higher secondary students, not primary students, who require a trained teacher with a D.Ed

However, that being said, I have spent the past 36 years living with my career-oriented, highly professional, and perfectionist mother, or Mama, as I love to call her. She has been a junior schoolteacher for over 50 years—35 of those at Bombay Scottish School, Mahim. During those 35 years, 16 years were spent as a Junior Academic Coordinator for grades 1 and 2. Before that, she taught primary students and was professionally trained as a teacher by St. Margaret’s Training Institute, Byculla, to teach students from kindergarten through fifth grade. St. Margaret’s training is tougher than army boot camps, and no one doubted that a PYP teacher trained there was not top-notch. Sadly, I believe the institute is temporarily closed due to the pandemic until they reopen for new teachers. The current ECCE training, or the D.Ed., is not as rigorous or professional as the training at St. Margaret’s.

Getting to the point, my mother, Mrs. Pathan, has been teaching and tutoring PYP students from ICSE and SSC backgrounds since I was a baby. I’ve spent a lifetime observing and helping my mother teach kindergarten and junior school students, so even if I don’t have a D.Ed, I understand how a PYP student should be trained and educated. As a result, my proxy classes in the PYP sections at Podar were very successful. I know how it should be conducted – St. Margaret’s Style. I recommend that all PGCITE students, after completing their course, either pursue a D.Ed or a B.Ed from a reputable institute like my St. Teresa’s (which now offers D.Ed, B.Ed, and M.Ed) or my mother’s St. Margaret’s Training. Don’t limit yourself to ECCE. ECCE only trains you to teach kindergarten children, not junior school students. For that, a D.Ed is essential, very useful, and valuable.

After noting down the main teaching and learning activities and procedures, the PGCITE student can then proceed to observation. Note that the sub-title can be misleading. It does not mean you have to assess the teacher being observed, but rather that you need to record any assessments given by the observed teacher or co-teacher in the classroom. Examples include formative assessments, worksheets, mock papers, checklists, wellbeing checklists, paper quizzes, and so on. Here, you should observe how the assessment progressed, whether all students understood the topic taught, and if they were able to communicate this to the teacher through their reflections at the end of class. For IGCSE and IB schools, especially at the PYP and MYP levels, students are also expected to state what skills they learned that day for that particular subject or period and describe what type of learners they were that day. For example, during a chapter on Descriptive Writing for the MYP 7th graders, did the students inquirers become more reflective or more communicative? At the end of the class, it cannot be considered effective or complete without this particular step.

One must also consider whether the worksheets provided matched the students’ abilities or if different worksheets with varied questions were used to facilitate better learning for the IDEA group learners in the classroom. Such an approach can be easily implemented at the PYP level, but as students grow older, it becomes more challenging to hide the fact that they are being assessed differently based on their individual capabilities. However, this method can easily categorize absolute beginners into the Developing Learners group. This is especially true when the so-called absolute beginner is simply a new student who comes from a different board, setup, or atmosphere.

A small section follows related to the resources used by the observed teacher during a specific class or period. As taught in our PGCITE classroom and during my B.Ed, all resources need to be listed. I am not mincing words when I say the word ‘all’ here; indeed, every novel or even common tool or object used for teaching a class must be documented by the observer. This helps the observer identify the various ways to easily find and use resources that can support teaching or learning in an IGCSE or IB classroom.

Here is a sample of resources I listed in my observation book, or in books, from various teachers who taught English from the MYP to the IBDP level.

As you can see, it is the same subject at the senior level, but each teacher used a different set of resources to support their teaching and facilitation process.

Resources can show how creative, innovative, hardworking, and enthusiastic a teacher is, or conversely, how lackadaisical, uninformative, laid-back, and unenthusiastic they are. However, paradoxically, or to play devil’s advocate, this doesn’t always mean that more resources lead to better teaching. For example, Sushma Ma’am, who teaches English to IGCSE students, can walk into a class with just a red pen and still teach effectively, with energy, innovation, and passion I’ve rarely seen in other teachers. Similarly, Ms. Ankana can enter the classroom armed only with the novel ‘A God of Small Things’ by Arundhati Roy and a black-and-blue whiteboard marker, yet she can make the chapter come alive visually not only in the students’ minds but also in the observer’s mind.

Having more resources doesn’t always make someone a better teacher. As I mentioned before in this portfolio for PGCITE at Podar IB, it also depends heavily on the teacher’s charisma, their mastery of content and delivery, voice modulation, and public speaking skills, rapport with students, energy and enthusiasm, and above all, their expertise in the field. We should also note that most IB and IGCSE information and teaching tools are already available on the ICT touchscreen boards installed in every classroom at Podar IB, making access to information and online learning materials much easier than the days of dull white chalk and even duller blackboards. However, I understand that not all IGCSE and IB schools are as well-equipped with such top-notch facilities as Podar IB, where I completed my PGCITE course.

Then comes the Plenary or Summary of the observer’s notes. It should include not only a brief summary of the lesson but also highlight the main effective details observed by the PGCITE observer during the class. Some B.Ed colleges prefer their Teacher-Students to write their plenaries in paragraph form, while others favor point form for easier and quicker reading. As a lifelong writer with 13 years of professional experience, I prefer writing my summaries in paragraph form, though I sometimes use points when I am in a hurry or studying for my MTS or PGCITE content exams and have to rely on quick notes.

The final part should describe the lesson’s overall impact, indicating whether the objectives listed earlier in the observation note were met, partially met, or not met. Demeaning comments and personal remarks should be avoided. The PGCITE observer should focus solely on whether the objectives were achieved, partially achieved, or not achieved, and briefly address each point clearly and precisely. It is important not to rant or complain about the teacher or lesson during this section. Instead, provide constructive feedback to the PGCITE coordinator through this observation, aimed at improving the school, its students, and the teacher in question. Ironically, this should be the shortest part of your observation, following the title or lesson subtitle and the resources section.

Dos and Don’ts for PGCITE Students While Observing Lessons

A few do’s and don’ts will be helpful when observing lessons at Podar IB, Santacruz, or any PGCITE institute affiliated with an IGCSE or IB school.

1. Flow Chart or Spider Chart

Use a flow chart or spider map to organize your observations first, then fill them out right after you get home. It’s almost impossible to finish a polished observation note or jot down in a formal or professional format while still in the classroom. This becomes even more challenging when you’re a PYP teacher helping out in the classroom along with the co-teacher and shadow teacher.

2. Don’t tape the class

It is a criminal offense to record any observation conducted in any IGCSE or IB school, or in any other school where a B.Ed or M.Ed student is present for observations. Use an observation book along with your pencil, ballpoint pen, or a notepad with a simple yellow HB pencil for quick notes. Taping or photographing any school student is also a criminal offense and can result in disciplinary action by management. The safety and security of students should always be your priority. If you need to take photographs of screens, do so after class or with the permission and help of the class teacher, subject teacher, or homeroom teacher. At the PYP level, it’s best to seek help from the co-teacher during breaks, after class, or when they are available and not busy with other duties.

3. Interruptions and Overbearing Behavior

It is the responsibility of every PGCITE student to ensure that no teacher being observed is interrupted or questioned inappropriately or unnecessarily during her class. Overbearing behavior will never be tolerated, even if a student believes or presumes they know more than the teacher being observed. It is not the duty of a Teacher-Student to condemn or judge, but simply to observe objectively and learn one’s craft along the way.

4. Assisting the PYP Homeroom or Subject Teacher

According to the procedures of colleges like D.Ed, St. Margaret’s Training College, or an ECCE college, a PYP or Primary Years Programme Teacher-Student must support the PYP homeroom teacher or co-teacher with main classroom activities related to teaching and learning, but not necessarily deliver a specific lesson. However, this does not mean that one should impose themselves on the homeroom PYP teacher or demand attention or classroom tasks from her. Work will be delegated to PYP PGCITE Teacher-Student observers as appropriate, but only if the homeroom teacher judges the observer capable of handling the responsibility. We should respect their decision and stay seated at our assigned desk until called upon. As PGCITE students, we must remember that we are not automatically entitled to take on classroom work, because working with PYP students is very delicate and requires sensitivity. It’s important to understand the ‘language of an IB or IGCSE’ PYP classroom before engaging with students to avoid confusion. For example, if a PYP 1st-grade student prevents a classmate from answering during a UOI class, instead of reprimanding or accusing the child directly, we should simply remind the child of the ‘essential agreements’ posted in the classroom. This approach is more effective than harsh verbal reprimands. I have used this method myself in all my PYP classes and during my proxy classes, and I’ve never experienced discipline issues at Podar IB. It’s a very effective procedure in IGCSE or IB settings! I especially want to thank PYP homeroom teachers Ms. Hea (Grade 1), Ms. Espy (Grade 1), Ms. Meher (Grade 2), Ms. Krishna (Grade 3), and Ms. Amrin (Grade 3) for their kind support and for giving me numerous opportunities at Podar IB to learn how to be a PYP teacher.

5. Do Not Assist an MYP, IGCSE, AS, A Level, or IBDP Teacher

A PGCITE student can help a PYP homeroom teacher with main teaching and classroom activities, but should not interfere or involve themselves during an MYP or higher grade class observation unless explicitly asked or called upon. Inter-disciplinary teaching, multi-disciplinary approaches, and especially specialization at a single disciplinary level are strictly followed in higher grades and must not be interfered with under any circumstances. That said, I have been fortunate and glad to have had plenty of opportunities at Podar IB, Santacruz, to take on several Proxy MYP and IBDP classes, as well as assist multiple times in various MYP, IBDP, and IGCSE classes from January 2025 to October 2025. Most of the higher-grade teachers here are very encouraging and open to allowing PGCITE students to develop their skills and understanding of the curriculum. I especially enjoyed working in the 6th and 7th-grade MYP classes taught by Ms. Zainab, a remarkable English and Individuals and Societies teacher who truly engaged me through her lessons in grades 6E, 6D, and 7A during my internship at Podar International School, Santacruz. I loved participating in online G.K. or IQ Trivia quizzes in classroom 7A and winning every time, which earned me the admiration of my student quiz group members. I enjoyed helping out with combined proxy classes of the 7th graders, maintaining order while important assignments or worksheets were completed. I especially loved relaxing most of the time in my favorite MYP classroom 6E, where I observed the most classes in the MYP. I also observed numerous classes in IBDP-1 HL and SL at Podar IB. Just last week, I conducted a proxy class in grade 6D, revising their collective nouns and having them write paragraphs using these nouns, along with additional, unique collective nouns to improve their writing skills, especially for the upcoming Lower Secondary Checkpoint or IGCSE exams. They appreciated and enjoyed this greatly. We had fun reading out the paragraphs and grading each other in a friendly competition. I really made some lifelong friends during this experience.

6. White Board Work

Whether it’s a blackboard, greenboard, whiteboard, or an ICT Touch Screen Board like the one in Podar IB, Santacruz, noting down the board work of a subject teacher is essential during observation. This was also clearly shown to us, PGCITE students, during our own classes. Always make sure to note everything the teacher writes on the BB, GB, WB, or ICTB. This can be called BBW or WBW, where the last ‘W’ stands for work, as in White Board Work, Black Board Work, Green Board Work, or ICT Board Work. Below are some examples from my observation book, showing notes taken from various classes and subjects.

This procedure helps the PGCITE observer learn how to write on the board and smoothly convey information through a natural, synchronized process that should not feel forced or disconnected from your personality. My B.Ed college, St. Teresa’s in Santacruz, emphasized that a teacher should sometimes affectionately touch the board she is using or writing on. This creates a subconscious connection to the board or its symbolic significance, making us more skilled at conveying lessons effectively on a blackboard, whiteboard, green board, etc. This ability cannot yet be fully achieved with an ICT touchscreen board because it requires maintaining a significant distance from the sensitive surface. However, practice makes perfect, and especially senior Science and Math teachers need to develop this skill regardless of where they teach, whether in an IGCSE or IB school. I prefer touching my board while teaching, and since I am quite tech-savvy, I keep an ICT board on one side of the large Podar whiteboard and, on the other side, disconnect the touchscreen to use the regular whiteboard for my lessons. This works for me, but everyone has their own preferences. I remember Ms. Christina, a stellar and dynamic IBDP and IGCSE Mathematics teacher at Podar, who uses the ICT German Touch Screen Whiteboard skillfully, while Ms. Anakana Ma’am, the G.O.A.T. of IBDP English, seems quite at home with a whiteboard marker and an ICT screen for PowerPoints. I also enjoy leaning on the board, which shows my ease and comfort with my subject—I treat the board as my buddy in teaching, learning, and facilitating. I tend to scribble a lot on white, green, or black boards, though I am biased toward the fickle-minded, highly touch-sensitive ICT German touchscreen board I used at Podar IB. Any screen I can’t touch tends to cause glare on my dry eyes, so I avoid excessive screen time at home, at work, and with my students at Podar IB or during my private tuitions. I turn off the ICT screen whenever possible to reduce glare and protect my students’ tear glands from moisture. I am aware of this because I have been a voracious reader all my life—I read about 50 books a year, according to Goodreads, though it used to be 100 before I became too busy with my tuitions, blogging, creating online literary and educational content, Catholic journalism, and publishing activities after 2019. So far in 2025, I’ve read 43 books as of October. Regarding WBW, I try to use a dark purple pen to note it down so it stands out from the other observation notes. You can choose any other color as long as it’s visible, long-lasting, and doesn’t wash out easily. You might dedicate a whole page or a side of a page to WBW, or write it in your chosen color whenever the teacher writes on the board or the ICT screen. Matching the color changes the teacher makes can help with accuracy. Here are some examples of the second method of noting WBW that I have used since my B.Ed. days in 2010-2011 because it was convenient for me.

7. Association With Students

Avoid physical contact with IB or IGCSE students, as most schools enforce strict no-touch policies for teachers and staff. This applies even at Podar IB, Santacruz. When interacting with PYP students or those with special needs, try to minimize contact, though this can be challenging with affectionate students, especially at the PYP level. I’ve experienced situations where students want to give me bear hugs, kiss my hand, touch my feet, sit on my lap, or hang from my neck. That said, I tend to be very fascinating to young children—a trait I’ve had since high school at Bombay Scottish School, Mahim. So, what should a PGCITE student do? As my B.Ed training college at St. Teresa’s, guided by my Principal at the time, Dr. Sr. Lilian Rozario, would advise: ‘There is a way to show affection to younger kids with words that feel like hugs rather than actual physical contact. We are living in difficult times, and it is safer to be cautious.’ Instead of shaking hands or hugging students, use affirmations, encouraging words, or motivational phrases to uplift them. As Sr. Lilian said, ‘make your words full of love and encouragement feel like a warm hug.’ I avoid physical contact with students and others because, as a Consecrated Virgin working for the Roman Catholic Church as a journalist, I have always been this way—non-tactile—and it has served me well over the years. Regarding MYP, IGCSE, IBDP, AS, and A Level students, they often gather around me, fascinated, because I taught 9th and 10th graders at Lilavati Bai Podar ICSE, Santacruz, around 2011–2012, right after completing my B.Ed However, I have always maintained a strict no-touch policy. I’ve never even shaken a student’s hand on their birthday, nor when they thank me, top their exams, get engaged, or married. I recall Sr. Lilian’s words and believe it’s always better to be safe than sorry—so I stick to a no-touch policy with all students, both old and young. Older students may be attracted to my personality or charisma, but I keep my distance and uphold my boundaries, as I generally don’t like touching or showing affection. I also avoid accepting friend requests from students or alumni on social media platforms such as Goodreads, X, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Fable, StoryGraph, and Instagram. I believe students should not be friends with their teachers on social media, as Gen-Alpha and Gen-Z often struggle to distinguish between guru and shishya, which I strongly endorse. I used to connect with students on Facebook until 2016, but now I avoid such online alliances because students tend to gossip and backbite about their schools, teachers, and parents more than engaging in useful or motivational conversations, which can harm those of us earning our livelihood online. During the pandemic, I observed how the careers of some of the best ICSE teachers were irreparably damaged by malicious gossip on Instagram. I believe Instagram should be banned for students and school staff to protect the mental health and integrity of hardworking teachers. As a PGCITE observer and teacher, keep your distance, maintain your boundaries, and things will work out at the IGCSE and IB levels.

8. No Social Media Contact

Regardless of what you do or what these Gen-Alpha or Gen-Z students say, never accept friend requests from them on any social media platform. Doing so opens the door to professional character attacks that can stay online forever, and authorities in India cannot intervene in such cases. Always keep your boundaries and distance clear; otherwise, it could damage your teaching career in the long term. Your role at the institute is to observe your subject lessons from your seniors, not to form connections with students for any reason. Making such connections in an IB and IGCSE school can even be considered a criminal offense, and you could be handed over to authorities—at least according to the rules outlined on paper or the Cambridge and International Baccalaureate Websites, which I studied carefully from February 2025 to April 2025 under Dr. Rekha Bajaj Ma’am.

9. Keep Your Observations Neat

Take time and effort to maintain your observation book or books, ensuring you fill in any pending observations as soon as possible before you forget the details of that particular class. Add relevant pictures, drawings, and stickers where needed, but don’t make the book look like a scrapbook, as it is a formal record of your hard work during the PGCITE internship at your school, especially if you’re studying at Podar IB, Santacruz. This document is always reviewed by the respective IB and IGCSE institutes during interviews when they are considering new teachers for their faculty or PGCITE training staff. If ICSE, CBSE, and SSC schools do this, why shouldn’t IB and IGCSE schools?

10. Appropriate Number of Observations

First, ensure that you observe the maximum number of lessons in the subjects you plan to teach in the future. Then, try to observe a few additional lessons outside your main portfolio to get a sense of how other teachers teach and how an IB or IGCSE school operates. At Podar IB, Santacruz, according to the instructions of Dr. Rekha Bajaj Ma’am, the PGCITE student must have a minimum of 50 observations to report that they have completed their internship at the school. Most of these observations should be in the subjects and grades they wish to teach after the course. There is no limit to the total number of observations a PGCITE student can complete. Dr. Rekha Bajaj Ma’am has also reported that, after the pandemic, some students in the afternoon batch used their extra time to conduct over 200 observations at Podar IB, which helped them secure top-tier jobs later. When officials or management reviewed their observation records over three days, they saw the students’ extensive experience. I am aware of a highly reputable ICSE school that is soon to adopt the Cambridge and IB curricula and only hires teachers based on their B.Ed, D.Ed, ECCE, St. Margaret’s, or PGCITE observations. They spend over a week reviewing these observation portfolios.

Personal Experience Regarding the Internship at Podar International School IB, Santacruz

I really enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, my internship sessions and observations at Podar International. I’ve gained a wealth of experience there through the observations and proxy classes I took or assisted in taking at Podar. I also helped the MYP librarian, Divya Mulchandani, ma’am, at the MYP Library, and really enjoyed myself there the most. Divya ma’am is a joy to be with!

The stay has been enriching, invigorating, and intellectually refreshing. The observations improved my understanding of classroom management and how subtle cues regarding both positive and negative behavior can significantly enhance the quality of education and the teacher-student relationship. For Millennials and Gen-X individuals, it is difficult for us to comprehend the defiance towards authority that our current Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha students exhibit in the classroom. However, we must realize that their defiance of authority is not a sign that they are not interested in their studies; it is apparently just the way they are.

This was a huge takeaway for me, because I have always been a meticulous and highly disciplined student, and the lackadaisical behavior of Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha students used to bother me before my internship at Podar IB. Now I will be aware that I need to adapt to changing times and align with new advances in classroom management and etiquette. I have religiously conducted my observations at Podar from January 2025 to October 2025 (for now), until we closed for the Diwali Vacations. During the first two months of my internship, I was taken aback by how I would need to conduct myself in the modern-day classroom. However, by March 2025, my teething problems were solved. I moved on to gelling well with the teachers and, of course, the students as well, helping with classwork in PYP, MYP, and IBDP classrooms.

I would recommend that all PGCITE students take full advantage of their time here at Podar IB and conduct their observations regularly, at least 3 days a week if they can’t make it for all 5 days in the school week. It will really give you many insights into how you should conduct yourself in an IB or IGCSE school, and you will learn your curriculum for your content exams better through your observations than just cramming alone at home.

I used to do my observations at Podar IB every day of the week, making sure I did not miss a single school period. I especially loved Mondays to Wednesdays because I noticed that my best classes with the best teachers and, of course, students were conducted on those days. The idea being that all complex topics and subjects were tackled when a student was fresh at the beginning of the week, obviously. So, my English and most of my History always happened during those three days. I used to mainly save my Thursdays and Fridays for my PYP classes or classes that were not related to my teaching subjects. Subjects like: MI (Musical Instruments), Art, Physics, Biology, Music (Singing), ICT, etc. I was especially keen on MI (Musical Instruments) because I used to play the piano and guitar. I was dedicated to my guitar, Yamaha Keyboard, and Casio Keyboard until I took up writing full-time. Music is in my blood, and though I cannot sing well at all, I can play my musical instruments well. Seeing this aspect catered to so well in an IB school really made me eager to pick up my keyboard again after more than a decade. I have a flair for the drums as well, but not the strength and lung capacity required, so I used to try to avoid those classes. I am aware, though, that the drum master is an excellent teacher and a lot of fun to be with.

I have a lot of Math observations in my many observation books, but those were totally unintentional. I usually ended up in Math classes by accident or by default because I didn’t have time to visit another class, so I would inevitably end up taking a lot of Math classes. The teachers in the PYP section of Podar IB were very keen to teach me Math rather than my specialization, English! Nevertheless, during those Math classes, I really saw the innovative ways teachers tried to reinforce previously learned concepts and reiterate old arithmetic norms in the classroom, which indirectly influenced my own teaching of English, History, Global Perspectives, Wellbeing, TOK, CAS, etc. It got me interested in investigating and reading more about the various facets of education in the modern context, using the Constructivist approach, which is how an IB or IGCSE education is delivered, unlike the familiar but less popular Authoritarian approach of old.

“The greatest sign of success for a teacher… is to be able to say, ‘The children are now working as if I did not exist.’”

– Maria Montessori

(Italian physician and educator; founder of the Montessori Method)

‘Radical constructivism, thus, is radical because it breaks with convention and develops a theory of knowledge in which knowledge does not reflect an ‘objective’ ontological reality.’

– Paul Watzlawick

(Austrian-American psychologist and philosopher of communication; extended constructivism into social theory)

The observations made me realize the importance of not conveying truths I felt were essential or impeccable, but of encouraging my students or future students to discover their own truths. Either they would reinforce the concept I wished to teach or work more on the topic thereby creating or finding something better in the process which could be used for the betterment of all, and yet would not be the ultimate truth, but could be further worked upon and reflected upon by another student in the future or the same student who thought up the earlier invention or idea.

I especially learnt this modus operandi from Rajnigandha ma’am, who taught not only French but also TOK (Theory of Knowledge) classes here at Podar IB, Santacruz. She kept on indicating to me, especially to realize that nothing is the ultimate. Everything can be further analyzed and worked upon at the IB and IGCSE levels, and nothing is the absolute truth.

“If you tell somebody something, you’ve forever robbed them of the opportunity to discover it for themselves.”

– Curt Gabrielson

(American science educator and author of Tinkering: Kids Learn by Making Stuff)

The more observations I made, the more I learnt about the ethos of an IB school from my teacher colleagues at Podar IB. Because I was encouraged to further educate myself in this field, I started reading more books on the Constructivist Technique, especially those on TOK and CAS. All the education books I am reading and will continue to read are publicly reviewed on the Amazon-run top bookish social media platform, Goodreads, where I am an influencer. Do join me there and check out some of the outstanding contemporary teaching-education books I am reading, as well as the conversations related to them among at least 2000+ readers at one shot!

I have made some great connections here during the course of the internship and have made some forever student friends as well. I will especially miss my PYP fans and friends, not to mention the excellent IBDP students with whom I had a lot of fun, especially during Ankana ma’am’s English HL and SL classes. I will remember Shruti ma’am from the IGCSE section fondly, as a loving sister who always made me feel so much at home in her IGCSE English classes. I will miss the fun-loving IGCSE students at Podar, especially 10A and 10AC, with whom I had some awesome times. They were a pleasure to work with and study.

I will end this section on observations with a short essay on Constructivism in the IB and IGCSE classroom, which can aid future PGCITE students and other B.ED or M.ED teachers who want to dive into this field of education and educational research. I will then get back to our discussion about MIs (Multiple Intelligences).

Constructivism in the IB and PGCITE Classroom: Learning by Doing, Reflecting, and Building Understanding

Constructivism lies at the heart of IB education philosophy and postgraduate teacher training. It shapes how students learn through inquiry, collaboration, reflection, and authentic engagement rather than rote instruction. Below is how the ideas of great constructivist thinkers connect to everyday IB, PYP, MYP, and TOK practice.

John Dewey — Learning through Reflection and Experience

Dewey’s belief that ‘we learn from reflecting on experience’ directly mirrors the IB learner profile attribute of being reflective. In a PYP or MYP classroom, teachers can encourage students to keep learning journals, conduct self-assessments, and engage in reflective dialogues after each inquiry unit. Dewey’s vision aligns with the TOK emphasis on metacognition — helping students examine how they know what they know.

Jean Piaget — Cognitive Growth through Active Construction

Piaget’s stages of cognitive development remind IB educators that students construct knowledge appropriate to their developmental stage. The PYP inquiry cycle — tuning in, finding out, sorting out, going further, making connections, and taking action — mirrors Piaget’s constructivist process. Teachers act as facilitators, designing tasks that let learners discover patterns, make schema connections, and build conceptual understanding progressively.

Lev Vygotsky — Learning through Social Interaction

Vygotsky’s idea of the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is visible in MYP collaborative projects and TOK discussions where peers scaffold each other’s thinking. Group inquiries, Socratic seminars, and peer feedback sessions help students operate just beyond their comfort zones, guided by teacher or peer scaffolding. This reflects the IB principle that learning is social, communicative, and inquiry-driven.

Jerome Bruner — Discovery and the Spiral Curriculum

Bruner’s advocacy of discovery learning is mirrored in the IB inquiry cycle and the TOK ‘knowledge frameworks’, where learners explore rather than memorize. Bruner’s ‘spiral curriculum’ underpins the IB’s vertical and horizontal alignment — key ideas are revisited at increasing levels of complexity as students mature. This ensures conceptual depth over superficial coverage.

Maria Montessori — The Self-Directed Learner

Montessori’s idea that ‘the children are now working as if I did not exist’ resonates with the IB’s emphasis on learner agency. Classrooms that allow choice, inquiry-based stations, and self-paced projects embody her philosophy. In a constructivist IB classroom, teachers guide rather than dominate, enabling learners to take ownership of their understanding and action.

Ernst von Glasersfeld — Knowledge as Personal Construction

Von Glasersfeld’s radical constructivism resonates with TOK’s epistemological inquiry: students explore multiple perspectives, understanding that knowledge is constructed rather than absolute. In practice, TOK teachers can use this to prompt debates on perception, language, and cultural context, encouraging students to question certainty and embrace ambiguity.

Paul Watzlawick — Meaning through Communication

Watzlawick’s focus on communication as meaning-making supports IB collaborative norms — such as group reflection in CAS and interdisciplinary MYP projects. He reminds educators that understanding is co-created, not transmitted. Teachers foster dialogic classrooms where communication shapes thought, and learning becomes a shared act.

Curt Gabrielson — The Joy of Discovery

Gabrielson’s insight that ‘if you tell somebody something, you’ve robbed them of discovery’ embodies inquiry-led science and TOK lessons. Hands-on experimentation, real-world simulations, and reflective questioning promote ownership of knowledge. Students don’t just learn facts — they construct truths through inquiry and imagination.

In Essence

Constructivist education transforms the classroom into a laboratory of thought — where curiosity, dialogue, and experimentation fuel growth. It turns teaching into a shared journey of meaning-making, where both teacher and student are lifelong learners.

Multiple Intelligences (continued)

The story goes on to state that, after observing how we humans educate our young, the Lion ruler decided to apply the same educational procedure in his jungle. Hence, he established a school where all the young ones of all the animals in the jungle were sent for an education. Of course, they did not learn subjects like Geography, Maths, Linguistics, Philosophy, Logic etc.; instead as Dr. Rekha Bajaj ma’am went on to narrate, they learnt and were taught subjects related to their lives in the jungle, like swimming, flying, swinging on jungle tree ropes, crushing bamboos, catching a fish, running, keeping a track of one’s territory, food preservation techniques, how to improve their instincts, how to work on their cleanliness and hygiene, etc..

However, it was soon realized that fish were tested on their ability to climb a tree, monkeys were tested on their ability to swim underwater, and tigers were taught to swing from jungle trees, hanging from roots like George of the Jungle, all day at school. In contrast, the poor parakeets were taught all day long to slither across the jungle floor for sports day, like snakes. Basically, the whole process was a disaster, because the Lion and his school in the jungle, as the moral went, did not refer to the Multiple Intelligences of the students while forming his curriculum and way of testing, where inclusion of all MIs would be the prerogative and not bizarre forms of exclusion.

Finally Dr. Rekha Bajaj ma’am indicated to us PGCITE students that through the analogy of this jungle story, she and George Reavis wished to indicate to us that we as educators commit the same mistake while trying to test or evaluate the performances of our students in the classroom, based on abilities that are alien to them as climbing a tree is alien to a fish or talking non-stop is alien to an Elephant.

‘Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.’

― Albert Einstein

(German-born American theoretical physicist)

Thus, we create doubts in the minds of several students who, in this case, ‘don’t really know how to swim or struggle at it’ and then they end up thinking or presuming all their lives that they were not geniuses. This is a disastrous way to test and evaluate students, let alone to teach them using only one or, at most, two sets of abilities. If it were Lata Mageshkar from the earlier MI discussion, before we spoke about Observations at Podar IB, we as International Teachers would have been able to educate her merely by using reading texts and giving her writing practice, and it would have also been great to get some jingles or music involved in her education to cater to her prominent MI.

What about Sahin Tendulkar? I hardly think he would have scored well if he had been tested on his ability to sing or recite a poem in class! He would be a Kinesthetic learner and would love to learn new topics or subjects through hands-on construction or sheer movement. Again, as Dr. Rekha Bajaj ma’am discussed this topic of MIs with us, I was reminded of the writings of the aforementioned Curt Gabrielson, a science educator for more than 20 years and the author of the bestselling ‘Tinkering: Kids Learn by Making Stuff’.

I remembered him because even I thought that compared to Ramanujan of the earlier MI discussion, who would have enjoyed learning the sciences and maths via the traditional chalk and board method, even if it were on the stone floor of various temples, yet a person like Sahin Tendulkar would not have really been keen on learning his Math and Sciences in that way. Instead, as a Kinesthetic learner, I think the ace cricketer Tendulkar would have appreciated Gabrielson’s book, which teaches students how to learn crucial scientific and mathematical concepts by tinkering with or using their hands to make everyday objects around them to achieve their intended objective. Here is an Amazon blurb to the bestselling book that is still useful in American Public School Classrooms even today.

Blurb of ‘Tinkering: Kids Learn by Making Stuff’

After-school and out-of-school programs – as well as home schooling – have been growing steadily for nearly a decade, but instructors are still searching for high-interest content that aligns with science standards without the rigidity of the current classroom canon. The author draws on more than 15 years of experience doing hands-on science to facilitate tinkering: learning science while fooling around with real things. In this book, you’ll learn: Tinkering techniques in key science areas: How to let kids learn science with hands-on tinkering; engaging techniques for science learning at home, in school, or at a makerspace or library; step-by-step instructions for activities that don’t end with a single project, but that provide many paths for “tinkering forward”.

Here is another blurb to the second book in this series, titled ‘More Tinkering: How Kids in the Tropics Learn by Making Stuff’

‘Tinkering is a way of learning through hands-on activity — experimenting with materials and devices to see how they work, taking things apart, making small changes and improvements, exploring, and inventing. Tinkering may seem like a form of play — and it is — but it is also a powerful way of discovering truths about science, engineering, and math. With this book, Curt Gabrielson follows up on his best-seller, ‘Tinkering: Kids Learn by Making Stuff’, with an all-new volume featuring more than three dozen fun and educational tinkering projects based on his years of working with kids in the tropical island nation of Timor-Leste. Step-by-step instructions accompanied by full-color photos take you through a range of enjoyable projects that explore life sciences, physics, chemistry, earth sciences, and mathematics. You’ll discover how math is used to make baskets, how fungi create fermentation, how electricity can make a magnet, how the greenhouse effect creates warming, and much more. The author also enlivens his latest batch of tinkering projects with colourful tales of his experiences in the tropics and the lives of the people he ‘s met there.

Inside you’ll find:

• Clear directions for making simple projects and doing activities that teach science, mathematics, and engineering
• Projects rooted in day-to-day life and experience in a small, developing nation in the Asian tropics
• Full-color photographs throughout
• Explicit connections to standard STEAM concepts, K-12
• Activities doable with less than $5 worth of common materials

This book is perfect for parents, teachers, and students with an interest in hands-on, tinkering-based science and mathematics education, whether in traditional schools or in home-schooling situations. It will also be of interest to anyone who wants to learn more about developing nations, the culture and unique history of Timor-Leste, tropical nations, or Asian cultures, with specific links to Indonesia, Portugal, or Australia.’

Here is what Curt Gabrielson had to say about education and how he educated himself:

‘My fellow Missourian Mark Twain reminded us not to let school get in the way of our education. I took this to heart early on, and learned quite a lot in the process…. While I did learn a good bit at MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), what I learned on the hog farm of my youth turned out to be much more applicable to life. Building multi-level tree houses, exploring the bottom of the pond with a garden-hose breathing system, and rigging up baby pig incubators near the wood stove were just what I needed to meet the challenge of making education real and relevant for kids.’ – Curt Gabrielson

I immediately thought about Gabrielson because Dr. Rekha Bajaj, ma’am, immediately mentioned to us, PGCITE students, about the way Mark Twain, the famous American classic writer, always mentioned to journalists that he had never allowed his schooling to interfere with his education, just the way Gabrielson mentioned in his author biographies on Amazon. It occurred to me then that indeed, at times, it is our educational system or institute that interferes in our true education rather than enhancing it. This is the reason why, even in a developed country like the USA, we have so many Americans who are only educated up to the 12th grade, while the rest, who are very well educated and placed, happen to be foreigners from developing countries like ours who recently got deported from there.

Reason? To eliminate the immigration and migration policy once and for all, and in the bargain, provide more jobs for the American people. But are Americans educationally fit enough to take on the responsibilities of the major jobs left behind by their Third World counterparts? If you ask me, I don’t think so, and I have been reading the news, especially the authentic American News, cover to cover, even before the pandemic. And the school front itself does not look good for the USA. The toppers for AS and A Level exams are coming from immigrants from developing countries. Most White Americans prefer blue-collar jobs to more skilled jobs that require more college time and investment. In fact, the Huffington Post constantly narrates the sad and sorry saga of the ruin of Mathematics as a subject in the USA among US school students, where the toppers in this subject are Asians who follow the Indian model of mathematics that does not rely on the calculator and the memorization of tables up to 20 times 15. Their Sciences are equally deplorable, and it is undeniable that by deporting immigrants from their country, they have literally driven all their major intellectual sources out of their country forever.

American citizens, sons of the MAGA soil, are not adequately equipped to take on the tasks or jobs left behind by their immigrant intellectual and highly skilled predecessors and creators of jobs. Indians deported back here to India have the skills but not the economic power or security needed for them to pick up the pieces and start a new life after having returned from America.

In such situations, it reminds me that, as educators, politicians, institutions, etc., we are focusing on everything else except making education and the process of learning more in tune with each and every child or student in the classroom, not just for a chosen few. I feel this action of ours, whether in a Developed Country or a Developing Country, is symbolized when a person like the President of the USA decides that he needs to deport a certain part of the population to give more benefits to the needs of a certain privileged few. Our type or system of education shows in the way we run our politics and governments worldwide, and this is disturbing.

I believe that the more we avoid inclusivity, even in our families and the education system, the more we will find megalomaniacs like President Donald Trump running at large in our midst, creating more havoc than peace. The more we avoid the inclusivity of MIs propounded by Dr. Howard Gardner, the more we will run into difficulties not only in our classrooms but also in our business firms, governments, churches, embassies – you name it!

Everyone is a genius, period.

Every child is a genius, period.

They are just gifted with different MIs and learn differently, that is all. Like I would learn easily through the traditional Linguistic Way, via a book and a chalkboard, with a lot of reading involved. Whereas my college friend Lata Parmar preferred to see what she was learning rather than merely hear a lecture about it, so she adored photographs, paintings, sculptures, murals, the cinema, etc., which taught her more than a book or a classroom lecture. In fact, the poor thing used to snore through any classroom lecture, but no one was offended because we knew her MIs were mainly Spatial and Musical Intelligence. My other college friend, Tanya D’Mello, was more of an extrovert and loved discussing, debating, and asking questions about the subject matter being learned. Therefore, she had more of an Interpersonal Intelligence and so liked studying in groups and discussing her content analysis loudly, which was fun and revelatory to hear back at St. Andrews College, Bandra West. However, I preferred locking myself in a really dark corner of the St. Andrew’s Library and studying by rote; it was just the way I was. By the time I was studying for my B.Ed at St. Teresa’s, Santacruz, we had numerous cubicles in the large library, which was shared by both the D.Ed,B.Ed, and Special Education Teacher-Students, and I would have this favourite dark cubicle all to myself and shut myself off from the rest of the world and study for hours together in there – monk style. Other Teacher-Students, including Catholic Nuns, some of whom were formerly Cloistered, found the whole cubicle idea claustrophobic and sickening and preferred (mostly the same nuns) to study outdoors, in the midst of nature, like under a banyan tree or next to the garden grotto. So, they were nature lovers and loved the outdoors, and so had more of a Naturalistic Intelligence or way of studying their matter.

It does not matter whether Tanya, Lata, my nun friends from my B.Ed college or myself; we were all the toppers and the ones who got an overall A+ at whatever we did. This includes the January 2025 Batch of PGCITE students as well. Dr. Rekha Bajaj, ma’am, called us all out one by one to ascertain our scores from our MI scorecards, as you can see below.

We were asked to solve this MI scorecard and then to check out where we stood. As mentioned in an earlier post about MIs here on this portfolio, I scored a whopping all-time high on Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence but really low on Interpersonal Intelligence. This would not be the case with one of the January Batch PGCITE students, Maitri, who was not only very keen on teaching English like me but also had an MA in English Literature. She, in fact, scored equally high in Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence and Inter-Personal Intelligence. However, another PGCITE colleague of mine, Gurpreet, who was a writer and MBA postgraduate, scored well in her Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence and did equally well in her Spatial Intelligence rather than in her Interpersonal Intelligence. I, on the other hand, very surprisingly scored my second-highest in Logical Intelligence, indicating that, in a way, I was more mathematically inclined than anything else.

And we are all ace teachers and great students, but all in our own way. Therefore, why should we not follow inclusivity in our other dealings, especially in our interactions with students and in how we test and evaluate the content they studied during their course year?

‘If we had only one intelligence – it would either mean that if we were smart, we would be smart in everything, and if we are not smart, then we’d be poor in everything.’

-Dr. Howard Gardner (American developmental psychologist and the John H. and Elisabeth A. Hobbs Research Professor of Cognition and Education at Harvard University)

Since this is not a possibility, it is a proven fact, according to Dr. Howard Gardner’s theory, that there are indeed MIs, or Multiple Intelligences.

‘If we all had the same kind of mind, we could teach everyone the same way. But we don’t.’ – Dr. Howard Gardner

‘It’s not how smart you are that matters — it’s how you are smart.’ – Dr. Howard Gardner

According to the last few quotes mentioned above, analyze the following diagram of the human brain according to the hemispheres where each MI is situated:

As Dr. Rekha Bajaj ma’am discussed the diagram above with us, she made us realize that we all have all the MIs; only some have certain MIs in greater proportions than others. This is obviously also true for our International Students. Some students, like Lata and Gurpreet, may have a much more developed Spatial Intelligence, while others, like Matri and Tanya, may have a much more developed Interpersonal Intelligence. Some individuals like me have a very developed Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence, which indicates a strong sense of vision and hearing; therefore, I would also have a well-developed Musical Intelligence. This would be true of my friend Lata Parmar, but only in her visual development, with only partial development in her Musical Intelligence. She leaned more towards the Intrapersonal type of Intelligence, like me, which made us the thickest of friends at college and for life, till death do us part. Lata Parmar, however, easily honed her musical skills at college and developed a great knack for singing Hindi ghazals and even certain English songs, but only when I was playing the Yamaha for her. Whereas, a January 2025 batchmate, PGCITE student, Rashmi, had a very strong Logical-Mathematical Intelligence as well as a strong Naturalistic Intelligence, but I also noticed during our PGCITE course that she could sing beautifully as well and had extremely sharp auditory and visual skills in the realm of languages, indicating that her Verbal-Linguistics Intelligence was also very high. She is therefore a very talented individual, which I also saw during our Micro-Teaching Sessions.

So, MIs develop differently—but it is still our same whole brain!

We, as teachers, therefore, must respect our students’ natural abilities and not categorize them into a single type or the ideal student we presume exists, based on our biases, stereotypes, and prejudices.

We must, in the words of Dr. Rekha Bajaj, allow the child to be what they want to be. We must not categorize; we must learn to hone natural MIs or capabilities as we see them, and therefore, we must be constant learners all our lives. We must learn different ways and means to teach our students, tailored to the different MIs and the techniques we can employ to ensure effective classroom management, healthy teacher-student relationships, constructive feedback, and regular, sustainable incentives, in accordance with the different interests and hobbies of our International students.

3 Idiots and the Fundamental Question Related To Multiple Intelligences

Dr. Rekha Bajaj, ma’am, to analyze MIs more in depth, showed us snippets from the movie ‘3 Idiots’ starring Aamir Khan, Kareena Kapoor, and others. She made us analyze the various aspects, which, later, while doing my Action Research, I realized were forms of With-It-Ness, or Withitness, a crucial classroom management term used at the M.Ed level. I shall analyze this idea and many other new classroom management concepts in depth in this portfolio when I reach the Action Research stage of my PGCITE portfolio. There will be many terms like Withitness, ADHD, Hyperactivity, Inattentiveness, ADHD Hyperactivity Impulsiveness, Dominance vis Cooperation, fundamental, etc., that many PGCITE or B.Ed students will not be familiar with, but can nevertheless update their knowledge through their own in-depth action research. Action Research is an essential part of the PGCITE course here at Podar International, Santacruz. The PGCITE student is either given the chance to write a short essay in the form of action research based on selective literary analysis or to conduct a meta-analysis of many literary or scholarly books, journals, and articles related to the topic under investigation. I have adopted the latter form of Action Research and have already finalized my findings.

Now back to ‘3 Idiots’.

Dr. Rekha Bajaj, ma’am, wished to convey the idea that it does not matter how much we know, or what we know, or how we measure it against another, as beautifully depicted in the Bollywood blockbuster ‘3 Idiots’. Instead, we had to learn ‘how we know what we know’ and try to realize that, just as we are different in how we understand our content and study material when exposed to different environmental circumstances, so also will our International Students be different and diverse. To take my personal example, it does not matter whether I really have the aptitude for Maths. What matters is that I have many other talents and MIs which most regular people, even those who are proficient in Maths, do not have. That is what makes me different, talented, and unique. I can retain information for a long time, going into decades or even more, which is something the ADHD Smartphone-prone generation of the Post-truth Era does not possess at all —boomers or Gen-Z.

This talent implies that I, as an IGCSE and IB teacher, need to analyze my educational superpower more closely and use it to hone this tendency or talent in my own students who find it next to impossible to memorize details for even a short period, let alone remember something word-for-word forever! In this age of Data Science and Data Analytics, let us not let our students lose the talents they were born with, and allow AI to store and organize our collected data for us. Remember, there was a time during the Vedic Age when our Aryan ancestors learned their content verbatim, without the need for books to store it, and they knew it orally and retained it for life.

In ancient times, we were capable of learning and storing vast amounts of data. This is an aspect I also touched on in my middle-grade fantasy fiction book ‘Someone Is Burning My Lord: Kumbaaya’, which I co-authored with my author colleague and close friend, Michaelangelo Zane, the award-winning writer and adaptor of Children’s Classics.

This was the reason why the video snippets of ‘3 Idiots’ were shown to us, because as Dr. Howard Gardner stated in my earlier quote, it is ‘how we learn’ that is more important to humans than what we already know, to be a better species to solve some of our most pressing global issues like Global Warming, the rising water levels, the population explosion, pollution, displacement, genocides, etc. Dr. Rekha Bajaj, ma’am, emphasized that the MI list of Dr. Gardner may continue, and that the MIs are merely eight ways in which human beings can be intelligent. In the new AI and Data Science Age, that list may evolve and continue to grow. This is because, as not only the movie ‘3 Idiots’, but also the other Aamir Khan’s Bollywood blockbuster ‘Taare Zameen Paar’ showcases, every child is a star and every one of them is a genius, but in their own way. This is because it is not IQ or the Intelligence Quotient that is important for our consideration, but the Aptitude of the student or the learner in question.

Then Rekha ma’am posed a significant question to all of us, which made us think and do a great deal of soul-searching. She asked us poignantly:

If given a choice, what would your job have been or what would you have liked your job to have been? You have to analyze this using your new MI inventory. If you did not have any constraints—marks, family pressure, financial issues, or societal norms, gender, caste, class, etc.— then what career would you have really chosen for yourself and why?

This we had to answer and then, through a discussion process, analyze how we ultimately decided on a career we ultimately chose for ourselves.

‘The most courageous act is still to think for yourself. Aloud.’

― Coco Chanel

(The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand)

‘‘Two roads diverged in a wood, and I –

I took the one less travelled by,

And that has made all the difference.’

― Robert Frost

(American Poet from his poem ‘The Road Not Taken’)

‘To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.’

― Ralph Waldo Emerson

(American Essayist and Poet)

We, as PGCITE students and International School teachers, took some time to search through our souls to answer Rekha ma’am. I could tell it was getting a bit tough on us, because most of us were Gen-X or Millennials and had already lived the best part of our lives, so it was a ‘now or never’ situation for us. Compared to the Gen-Z crowd among us, we had dedicated our lives to certain things, people, or groups. We had finally landed up here to do this course, because of various reasons, as myriad as the different particles on the beach we collectively call sand. I was the one thinking the longest, with the most painful expression visible to all. Everyone in the PGCITE classroom that day, or until that day, felt that I was probably going to be a teacher all my life, that that was my goal, and that I could be nothing else but a teacher. Even the Podar IB teachers and support staff, not to mention my amazing Podar students, felt that I was born to be a teacher, especially when I am put in my element.

However, that is not the case.

Sure, I teach well and have earned my accolades in teaching and home tutoring for more than 14 years. But I did not always want to be a teacher. Circumstances forced me to become a teacher.

So my answer to ma’am was that if there were no family constraints, financial issues, and especially the issue of gender, I think I would have been a Catholic priest by now.

But alas, because of my gender, I am only in the process of becoming a Consecrated Virgin for Christ and nothing else. Even though I am doing my MTS and later my ThD, like other Catholic Priests in Theology, and even though I am as talented, if not more, and intelligent in my faith as any Catholic Priest, only because of my gender, I cannot become one.

After I gave my answer, I started crying. Weeping, actually, and I rarely weep these days. Rekha ma’am came over to me, grasping the situation intuitively immediately, and put her hand lovingly around me to stall my tears. Most of the PGCITE January 2025 Batch students did not initially grasp the import of my message, but the Gen-X and Millennials present there immediately grasped what I was trying to convey. They lowered their heads in respectful acknowledgment of the sad fact that, though we women may now walk shoulder to shoulder with men on every front, there were some places where mindless patriarchy still paid lip service to the idea of ‘equality’.

Rekha ma’am managed to hold me back from probably losing my self-control and weeping my heart out. She then told all the students that this part of the PGCITE course is the hardest to get through, so someone will always end up weeping at this point. Because, as the movie ‘3 Idiots’ indicated, if you have a hidden talent, then the most important question to be asked is why the talent is hidden in the first place!

A talent should not be hidden. Why should what you love to do most in the world be denied to you, or kept away from doing? Why should you be made to do, in Dr. Rekha Bajaj ma’am’s words, the antithesis of what you love to do the best!? Instead, we need to nurture that talent, make it our own, and convert it not only into our vocation in life but also into something beautiful to be used in the service of the good of all, especially those in need and those who are oppressed.

Also, one must understand that nurture and nature work hand in hand to get us, as individuals, where we want to be in life. Even if we have the talent, if we do not nurture it enough, we will not succeed in our endeavors related to that talent. Also, if we don’t have a particular talent but use the appropriate nurturing to develop the talent and get us to where we want to be in life, that can be accomplished. Some people are born with certain talents, or are born into families that expose them to a number of influences that, in the bargain, hone their God-given or naturally gifted talents. But it depends upon their interaction with the environment, which will determine their ultimate success or ineptitude at a particular talent. This, in turn, again recalls to our minds Albert Einstein’s message about testing a fish on their ability to climb a tree – don’t make the student what they are not and do not take the student out of his element to mould him into something he does not want to be, without his consent.

So, heredity and environment, in myriad ways, play important roles in shaping who a student becomes. An IGCSE and IB teacher has to learn to use the right key for the right lock to unlock the potential of her students, not cage them into something they do not want to be.

This then brought our class to the next part about MIs (Multiple Intelligences), focusing on their application in the classroom and in lesson plans.

Back at home, as I sipped a fresh mug of Nescafé jaggery coffee, I gained some perspective and remained enthralled by the topic of Multiple Intelligence. I started reading up more Educational Management literature to figure out how to handle new talents of the new AI Boom generation and I am glad that I am really getting somewhere not only where they are concerned, but also by using AI effectively in my own life – I am making great strides in the various avenues I have of earning a living and creating free content online for my readers and fans alike.

So, maybe someday Pope Leo XIV’s heart will melt and realize that it can really hurt some people like me to sing that Offertory hymn ‘In This Sacred Mystery’ at Mass when you are aware that the Church technically does not mean it when we, the congregation, sing the words of the hymn:

‘In this sacred mystery,

We praise the Lord of history.

At this Eucharistic feast,

We are all priests.

O take this bread and take this wine,

And take our hearts and take our minds.

At this Eucharistic feast, we are all priests.‘

But at least we can facilitate the education of IGCSE and IB students and, who knows, make the IGCSE and IB boards available to all, so that a better, more inclusive society can emerge from the debris of the conservative, old, obstinate silence of inequality.

Because not all of us are yet priests….

‘The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe. If you try it, you will be lonely often, and sometimes frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself.’

― Friedrich Nietzsche

(German classical scholar, philosopher, and critic of culture)

‘But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.’

-1 Peter 2:9

(St. Peter’s words in the RSV Holy Bible)

‘If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.’

• John 15:18

(Jesus’ words in the Gospel of John to his disciples, among them a lot of females, including his Mother Mary and St. Mary Magdalene, in the RSV Holy Bible)

Multiple Intelligences (MI) In Lesson Plans

Dr. Rekha Bajaj, ma’am, then instructed us on integrating MIs into our lesson plans for future IGCSE and IB classrooms. She started by instructing some of us to come to the front of the class and describe their understanding of France to the class.

These PGCITE students were individuals who had visited France before or had more knowledge of France than the rest of us. The PGCITE students who were asked to come out were Gurpreet, Mehek, and, later, Barkha, all part of the January 2025 PGCITE Batch.

They, in turn, informed us informally about various aspects of France and answered all our queries, like tour guides, or even better than tour guides.

Some of the wonderful and yet bizarre things I heard about France that day could be summarized in point form as follows:

• The French eat raw or uncooked meat most of the time, if not all the time.
• Snails are a rare delicacy in France and are served in the most expensive restaurants there.
• A floral arrangement is very important in France before dinner time or before any meal.
• The French usually wear layers upon layers of clothing, which they then peel off as the day goes on.
• There are plenty of bookshops in France, but the books are in French.
• The sun happens to be a luxury in France.
• Food portions at meals are very small or insufficient in France, at least insufficient for an Indian!
• A lot of pickpocketing takes place in France, so one has to be careful about one’s belongings.
• It is the worst place to shop for plus-size women or girls because everyone in France is mostly size zero because of those insufficient meal portions mentioned earlier.
• Everything is solved in France through widespread protests and riots, but it is not something to get worried about!
• France is rich in its flora and fauna.
• France is covered with gardens-gardens and more gardens!
• There are no muddy roads in France; all roads are well paved. One could feel like going to sleep on those roads!
• You can go to the Eiffel Tower and other tourist destinations in France, but it is best to go in the Summer, though in the Winter, there are fewer people there.
• The cafes and restaurants are very expensive in France.
• There are not many, or rather, there are no vegetarian restaurants in France. The French are only now introducing new types of cuisine to their menu cards, like vegan and vegetarian options, but not Jain food yet!
• The food overall is very bland and raw, and so much else.

After hearing all that about France, I started picturing myself there – especially in a size-zero version of myself, eating snails in an expensive restaurant whose bill someone else would pay! Hopefully, the snails would not wander off my plate! I once had a snail as a pet for around six years. His name was Snailey-Wailey, and he lived in a specially made mini-garden inside my office cum writing hut! I am sure he would not have appreciated me having the following food fantasy:

The point of this travel agent session was to make us realize that students can learn about Geography or a new place better from their peers than from a boring Geography textbook, thereby imprinting in our minds that peers, even our peers, are our first resource while studying in an IGCSE or IB school. This prompted us to jump to the subtopic under this MI heading, namely ‘How to Cater to MI in the Classroom’.

How To Cater to MI In the Classroom

Here, we will focus on various Lesson Plans and styles for creating worksheets, games, simulations, songs, and jingles to stimulate the Multiple Intelligences present in our students in an IGCSE or IB classroom, such as at Podar International IB, Santacruz. We will address all the MIs we can on specific topics of study across various subjects. We will learn how to construct learning objective statements for these MI-stimulated activities and work on our previously learned concept of KYC (Knowing Your (Our) Child/Content/Class, etc.).

We conducted a number of activities over a week and a half in this regard. We had stopped on April 30, 2025, just before Podar IB closed for the Summer Vacations, with the topic I had discussed earlier about ‘3 Idiots’ and the Important Question about MIs. We then resumed our PGCITE classes on June 9, 2025, picking up where we left off with the Travel Agents scenario. We ended this topic on MIs in the Classroom and Lesson Plans only on June 25, 2025, after which, on June 27, 2025, we began our new topic, Micro-Teaching. Thus, on June 25, 2025, our extensive MIs would conclude, equipping us with sufficient Dr. Howard Gardner content and guidance to proceed with our next order of business, namely our two Micro-Teaching Lessons in the PGCITE classroom. But first, back to our many activities during the last part of the topic Multiple Intelligence or Multiple Intelligences.

We were part of many groups, both individual and pairs or duos, during this part of the course. Firstly, in a multi-layered group activity, we tried to create an innovative Lesson plan for France, our earlier topic of evaluation, with Gurpreet, Mehek, and Barkha as our travel agents and guides —learning resources, as it were —through France.

Dr. Rekha Bajaj, ma’am guided us to create the idea of individual stations like Station 1, Station 2, Station 3, et al., where we could create according to different subjects like Math, English, Global Perspectives, Geography etc., various activities, lesson plans, games, content worksheets, FAs, et al., for our students, technically at the Pre-Primary Level.

What caught my attention was when she paired us and asked us, based on a common letter in our names, to create a lesson plan to teach our international students about that letter. I was paired with my January 2025 PGCITE (Postgraduate Certificate in International Teacher Education) batchmate, Kashish. Since our common letter of the alphabet was I, we started discussing how to create lesson plans for various subjects to teach about the letter ‘I’!

Kashish and I really banged our heads to get some content for our common ‘I’ because to speak the truth, what could one think of when one thought of that particular letter of the alphabet! I have created a sketch in Canva of our thoughts on the same.

We integrated the ideas of Ice Cream, Inspectors, Iceland, Igloos, Ice, the Iris plant, the reptile, an Iguana, a fruit dessert called Ice Apple, etc., and created various activities and lesson plans on the same. We then, as a paired group, had to present our ideas to the PGCITE class.

Some of our mutual points were as follows:

• Asking our students to a class party where different types or flavors of ice creams would be created or eaten, thus learning about the different kinds of fruits and flavors in the market.
• Asking students to draw their idea of what the fruit dessert and an ice apple would look like, and then to discuss some other cool and not-so-common desserts.
• To ask our students whether they knew what an igloo was and what its purpose was, and then to create a chart on the same. Thus, a Geography topic would be covered with a bit of UOI for the younger graders, especially about the different types of homes.
• To use the think-pair-share strategy to share the different types of Inspectors that can be found in or for different occupations and present their findings or discussions to the class. Thus, the topic about various occupations would be covered for UOI.
• To ask our students to research the Iris flower, and to share with the class their findings on this flower and the differences or similarities with other flowers in the Plant Kingdom. Thus, a Science and UOI topic would be covered.
• To ask our students to represent our country, India, at the previously mentioned party in their traditional folk dresses or costumes, etc.

This paired-group activity was highly entertaining and well-received in our PGCITE (Postgraduate Certificate in International Teacher Education) class. Here are a few photographs with the appropriate content related to Kashish’s and my presentation:

The wonderful world of Kashish and Fiza’s ‘I’ cannot begin without the mention of the various flavored Ice creams that can invariably teach the various fruits of the world.

Like a Banana Ice Cream or a Banana Split!

Or a Kiwi-flavored ice cream to favor our health!

Like most Mumbaikars’ favorite Mango Ice Cream Masti, maybe!?

Like our classic favorite, Strawberry Ice Cream, it is always somebody’s favorite!

Or maybe someone prefers the fresh taste of juicy, sweet Blueberry Ice Cream!

Like a Chickoo Ice Cream Flavor, plenty of that in bustling Mumbai!

But my favorite would be a coffee-flavored ice cream in a cup, with a mug of Coffee on the side – that would keep me awake good and proper to finish this Website PGCITE Portfolio!

Or let us skip the dessert and move on to occupations. Who are the people you should be most proud of and with whom you can always feel safe? Also, with whom would you ensure the safety of your country? Let us look at our various Inspectors to find out.

‘I’ also spells Inspectors

Like a Police Inspector!

Like a Fire Inspector!

Like a Prison Inspector!

Like a Forest Inspector!

Or like an IB or IGCSE school’s most favorite inspector – An Education Inspector! Now don’t we love these chaps!

Or maybe we were better off with the desserts. But no coffee ice-cream for me (woe is me!), instead, how about a rare dessert specialty in the ‘I’ category.

Like Ice Apple Overripe!

Or like Ice Apple ‘Just Right’ – but still very cold!

I still want that Coffee Ice Cream.

The next Education Inspector who comes to Podar International School IB, Santacruz—please buy me one!

So, in this way, we managed a MI-rich lesson plan for the alphabet ‘I’. I am only posting a few of my favorite lesson plan ideas for reference purposes; for the rest, you’d better check out the PGCITE Podar course at Podar International IB, Santacruz, where the course co-ordinator is Dr. Rekha Bajaj ma’am.

Remember, we did several activities at the group and individual levels in this category. Sometimes we did more than 3 activities per day, so please contact Dr. Rekha Bajaj ma’am for further information on this aspect of the course, and if you wish to enroll in the PGCITE (Post Graduate Certificate in International Teacher Education) course as a Teacher-Student.

Remember, you don’t have to be a B.Ed., D.Ed., or ECCE graduate or a Diploma holder, nor is it actually required for you to have a Master’s in any particular subject to join this course. But you need a basic Bachelor’s Degree to join this course after an interview session with the coordinator and other course team members in charge, before you are selected to be a PGCITE Teacher-Student at Podar International School, Santacruz.

Come join Dr. Rekha Bajaj and the team at Podar International School, Santacruz, for a wonderful 10 months of intensive, yet fun, training on how to teach at the IGCSE and IB levels.

Now, back to our MI Lesson Plan-related activities.

Another of my favorite activities centered around one of my favorite pet peeves – different types of idioms. We were put into larger subject-based groups this time and were supposed to make a list of as many idioms as we could think of. I was put in Maitri’s group with some of the other PGCITE students of the January 2025 batch – like Arya, Yoshi, and Rashmi.

Two of us in the group were English experts, yet we were breaking our heads trying to come up with as many idioms as possible to beat the digital time clock on the ICT Touch Screen Board. Here are a few of the idioms we came up with, along with the additional idioms thought of by Rekha ma’am and the other two groups as well. This list also describes how we divided them into a few categories, thereby creating, as stated by Dr. Rekha Bajaj ma’am, various trans-disciplinary, multi-disciplinary, and even inter-disciplinary topics, but only at the PYP and early MYP levels.

List of Idioms:

According to Food Items:

• Apple of my eye
• Cool as a cucumber
• A piece of cake
• Going bananas
• Working for peanuts
• Icing on the cake
• To be in a pickle
• Don’t cry over spilled milk
• When life gives you lemons
• Spill the beans
• A hard nut to crack
• Wake up and smell the coffee

According to Colors:

• In the pink of health
• Green with envy
• Feeling blue
• Red as a tomato
• White as a sheet
• Purple in the face
• The golden hour
•  Paint the town red
•  Roll out the red carpet
• Monday blues
• Telling a white lie
• Black Friday
• The grass is always greener on the other side
• A Golden opportunity
• Once in a blue moon
• A red herring
• Blue in the face
• Blue-eyed boy
• The black sheep of the family
• Every cloud has a silver lining

The idea was to stimulate or churn our brains to bring out not only well-established idioms, but also to encourage our international students to create their own unique idioms based on those that have been created in the past.

That was very invigorating, but as I mentioned, idioms are my pet peeve. It is because I find them so hard to digest personally, especially from the point of view of an artist who breaks everything she sees and then picks holes in it to get it to work, or rather, to see how it started working in the first place.

So, when I imagine being the apple of one’s eye, like probably like my kid baby brother Carrick, whom I looked after for four years when I was a young adult, I think:

Or when I think of getting red like a tomato, like most men when they have a battle of words with me, and can obviously not get the better of me, period. Then I think:

Or being in the pink of health, which most people in Mumbai never are. But even if they are, why the color pink? Why not green, white, blue, or even maroon? Why pink?! A management head at Podar Schools once told me that whenever he thinks of the color pink, he thinks of cotton candy, but I replied that whenever I think of the color pink, I think of Gelusil. And it is basically because of that idiom – in the pink of health that I think of that, who can be in the pink of health these days without Gelusil, pray tell! I think I upset the poor gentleman’s lunch hour for good with that thought! So, when I think ‘in the pink of health’ I think:

We then discussed some ‘what-if’ questions, and Rekha ma’am took our answers individually. One of the major ‘what-if’ questions we focused on was ‘which historical character would we have liked to be and why?’

Guess who I chose….

No, he is not Hercules. Neither is he me on the days when I don’t cut off my midlife beard and mustache! He is supposed to be Marcus Brutus, the man who assassinated Julius Caesar in 44 B.C. We technically do not actually have any representative sculpture or bust from that period that accurately depicts the person of Brutus. There is no popular bust picture of Brutus, but who is going to tell that to the “ever so smart and intellectually refined” ICSE teachers! It is just the nearest we can archaeologically get to a “form” or image of Brutus. Remember, after Brutus’s suicide and the defeat of the Republican powers, Octavius Caesar rose to power as Augustus Caesar. Since he was among the few “powers that be” at the time, he managed to control the historical accounts of the assassination of his distant uncle, Julius Caesar. Then he recast Brutus as a traitor and a murderer, and he wiped any mention of Brutus from the annals of history.

But we now know that Brutus was not a bloodthirsty assassin or someone who killed Caesar out of personal grudge, but rather someone who wanted to maintain Rome’s democratic nature. Since Julius Caesar had dictatorial tendencies and was ruthless in his oppression of Rome’s republican nature, this convinced Brutus to join the conspirators to kill Julius Caesar, and, as William Shakespeare records, Brutus was his best friend. Thus, Brutus did not kill Caesar because he hated him, but because he loved Rome more.

I, too, am a person who can sacrifice personal gain or relationships for a greater, more noble cause, like Brutus. Like Brutus, I, too, am a very misunderstood person because of the same trait. So, when Rekha ma’am posed the above question to us, I answered in my lecture notes notebook, as mentioned—Marcus Brutus.

Here are the reasons I gave for wanting to become Brutus:

•       I would have loved to have stood for the democratic nature of Rome. Because of the arrival of all these Caesars, the condition of Ancient Rome stagnated rather than prospered, leading to its ultimate destruction by the Goths, Franks, Vandals, etc., and then the arrival of the Middle Ages of Europe, or the Dark Ages. And I know I am a Catholic theologian, and that Church history is my favorite subject, but I can’t lie and say I actually liked the arrival of this sullen Dark Age in Europe. To me, as an objective historian, it created more problems and solved none.

•       I would not have been as naive as Brutus; I would have bettered his understanding of the people who were manipulating him.

•       I would have involved another wonderful but very neglected historical figure in the conspiracy against Caesar, namely the great debater, senator, and author Cicero. What Cicero was to the Rome of 44 B.C. is what the free press is to the world of today in this right-wing, strong-macho-men-as-politicians age.

•       I would have wanted Brutus to not only kill Julius Caesar but also Mark Antony so that all opposition to my rule would be erased.

•       I would have loved to feel what it felt like to be the person who had such a noble lineage and ancestry, which thereby allowed him to live in the best of houses and gain the highest positions. Where my ancestry is concerned… er…I can confuse the Pope, too, I assure you!

•       I would have loved to have worked for the Republican Rome like Brutus did as a Praetor—BUT NOT IMPERIAL ROME! I’d have instead committed suicide, and I could have at that time because there was no Christianity and committing suicide was considered a virtue then by the Romans, who were Pagans, and Pagans adore suicide over mirthless living.

Needless to say, my answer was considered to be the most bizarre, as usual, amongst the rest of the PGCITE students of the January 2025 batch. Well, poor Rekha ma’am then thought to take something tamer and asked us to name one animal, bird, reptile, insect, or fish we would have liked to be, to represent who we were as individuals, and to give just one reason why.

When it came to my answer, I said I wish I were a cobra. Poor, stunned Rekha ma’am maintained a moment of sincere silence after my answer, among all the dolphins, puppies, peacocks, cats, cows, etc. She then asked me why I would ever want to be a cobra, to which I said,

“It would be wonderful to see human beings staring at me for the first time and immediately thinking of Moksha. Such holy thoughts did not even occur to the female disciples of my Lord Jesus when they first laid eyes on him! Though believe me, there is a very thin line of difference between a cobra and Jesus.”

–       Fiza Pathan

(PGCITE Teacher-Student at Podar International School, Santa Cruz)

Please remember that this entire portfolio and the above quote are my copyright. No one is capable of such skewed thoughts in an International School of Podar’s calibre, other than me.

I also mentioned on that note that I was offering according to the NEP Education Scheme or Policy—the Puranas, Bhagavad Gita, and the Upanishads as extra subjects which I can comfortably teach—and in the expansive Shiva Purana, I can easily dwell upon the nature and importance of a cobra in the attainment of Moksha, but Rekha ma’am was too stunned to want to go any further with the discussion. In fact, the whole class looked quite stung! But cobras bite, they do not sting—that is the job for scorpions and bees! And I am not a scorpion; I was not born in November. I am also not a bee; I do not make much noise before I sting anybody! My sting is always a surprise!

Any doubts that I have downed many mugs of coffee before and while typing all this on my website portfolio!?!?!

Among our other activities was the creation of two charts—the Phases of the Moon Chart with Oreo Biscuits and the Skeletal System Chart. I shall share the details of the above in my portfolio next. They were part of our innovative use of MIs in crafting lessons for our students.

Phases of the Moon and Oreo Biscuit Chart

We were told to bring some packets of Oreo Biscuits on June 18, 2025, as we were going to make a chart on the Phases of the Moon. We, the PGCITE (Post Graduate Certificate in International Teacher Education) students, were genuinely excited about this, and, where I was concerned, I bought enough Oreo packets for the whole class.

This would be part of our Simulation Activities or Games part of our PGCITE course, which would be further continued in our Games section of the course post the Story-Telling Session as Set Inductions. The other Simulation Activities or Games that were discussed were as follows:

1. Skeletal System

2. Soil Race

3. Economics: Bead Game

4. Germination Game

5. History-Army Siren

6. The Ecosystem Game, etc., and of course, the icing on the cake…

7. Design your own simulation game, especially for your lessons in the Podar classrooms with the students.

From these, we discussed and did only the Phases of the Moon and the Skeletal System. However, we discussed and analyzed the rest, especially my favorite, the Soil Race game, where we examined how different soils would have different growing periods for the plants within them—e.g., Black Soil, Sandy Soil, Loamy Soil, Clayey Soil, etc. I discussed and presented this particular Game Simulation with my colleague and partner, Sana Shafi. I would also do my Phases of the Moon chart with her help, and I needed it. I was at this point slowly developing Swine Flu, which would wreak havoc on my life by July 2025.

But back to the Phases of the Moon.

We were first asked by Dr. Rekha Bajaj, ma’am, to list a few songs, whether from Hollywood or Bollywood (they had to be popular), that featured the moon as a central theme. We, the PGCITE January 2025 Batch students, gave a list of song names, but not as many as I did. I was the one who mentioned the iconic Bollywood classic from the black-and-white era of cinema—”Chaudhvin Ka Chand.”

I sang the song in my absolutely falsetto voice that would make the moon also prematurely set below the horizon. However, everyone was impressed with my knowledge of classic Bollywood music and songs, especially my excellent Hindi diction and pronunciation. I once again thank my Hindi tuition masters, Mr. Sharma, Mr. Singh, and especially my St. Andrew’s College stalwart of a Hindi professor, Manish Sir, for all his guidance, love, and passion for Hindi grammar and literature that he drilled into my thick head, especially in the FYBA, a very crucial year in Hindi at the undergraduate college. I was, as mentioned before, a consistent Hindi college topper and have won several college awards and scholarships for it.

So, I can sing in a very British accent, Chaudhvin Ka Chand…..

We then listed some more songs to stimulate the International Students’ Musical Intelligence, like the ones I named:

1. Chand Mera Dil, Chandni Ho Tum (Hum Kisise Kum Naheen 1977)

2. Chaand Taare (Yes Boss 1997)

3. Chandini Kuch Kaha, Raat Ne Kuch Suna (Dil To Pagal Hai 1997)

4. Dekho Chand Aya, Chand Nazar Aya (Saawariya 2007)

5. Chanda Hai Tu Mera Suraj Hai Tu (Aradhana 1969)

6. Yeh Chand Sa Roshan Chehra (Kashmir Ki Kali 1964)

7. Chand Chupa Badal Mein (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam 1999)

Rekha ma’am and the PGCITE gang clapped as we went on singing each Bollywood number. She then insisted that this was the way International Education had to be done—from such activities one gets “stimulated” and “stimulates” the various Multiple Intelligences to learn the main topic or theme of the lesson in a subject or a list of subjects.

Where the moon is concerned, we could write a story or poem on the moon if we were Verbal/Linguistic Learners, or keep a Moon Sighting Diary if we were Intrapersonal Learners, we could also see videos of the phases of the moon on Discovery Channel if we were mainly Spatial or Visual Learners or share mythical and folk stories about the moon if we were Interpersonal Learners, etc.

Dr. Rekha Bajaj, ma’am, then asked us to take out our Oreo Packets and create the phases of the moon using them. As mentioned before, I was placed with Sana Shafi, a good friend and loving elder sister figure to me at Podar IB, and this is what we created that day.

Here are also some of the other charts and chart-making activities that went on as we were all trying to create the very elusive Phases of the Moon from our melting rather than “melting in the mouth” Oreo Biscuits. I was basically licking my gums off trying to get the vanilla to cooperate with me, and I am sure that MYP students at an International School would certainly enjoy such a simulation activity more than any other way or textbook way of learning the phases of the moon. Here are some of the photographs from that day:

We happily ate our Oreo biscuits during the snack break, so no one needed to buy an early lunch that day.

The Skeletal System Chart Making Contest

On June 25, 2025, we, the PGCITE January 2025 Batch students, were asked by Dr. Rekha Bajaj, ma’am, to study the parts of the Skeletal System uploaded on the ICT Touch Screen Board. After we did so, she assigned us the task of creating innovative charts to teach the parts of the Skeletal System using different MIs and school subjects other than basic Human Biology.

We were divided into three groups to carry out this project. I sat it out because, as I mentioned earlier in this portfolio, by this time my Swine Flu symptoms were acting up and causing me some heavy-duty brain fogging situations before the actual fever set in. So, I decided to observe and fulfill my sort of God-given role in this class—the photographer’s job! Here are some of my photographs from that day:

Everyone worked meticulously and artistically for almost the whole day to create these beautiful charts. Sana’s group, as you can see from the photographs, chose a Halloween Party Theme while Harshada’s team chose a Physics Laboratory Electric Shock theme. Lastly, Maitri’s team chose Literature as the subject to introduce the parts of the Skeleton to our future students, using the Greek Mythological Story of Pandora’s Box and its symbolism, presented in the form of a chart.

The presentations went well, and they were exciting to hear and evaluate. I appreciated all the charts, especially the Electric Shock Skeleton, because I have this “Frankenstein” or Mary Shelley fascination for novels about bringing creatures or human beings to life using electricity.

In English Literature, we would term this the Reanimation theme, which began historically with the legend of Prometheus creating man after stealing fire from heaven, and then developed into a literary Gothic theme of its own in the aforementioned Mary Shelley’s cult classic “Frankenstein.” The theme would go on being developed as Gothic Horror Literature would grow until we would get the classic author H.P. Lovecraft to change our whole perception of reanimation into something more pseudo-philosophical, not to mention philological, which was his penchant in his short novella titled “Reanimator,” which was a Herbert West character-themed story which would later become the inspiration for the Hollywood cult classic horror movie “Re-Animator.” From that point onwards, whether it would be Stephen King, Clive Barker, Dan Simmons, Peter Straub, Dean Koontz, or even the very late 19th-century M.R. James, we would see reanimation themes in horror literature coming into its own and being a crucial part of studies in English Literature, including at the IBDP level. This is why I was most taken with Harshada and her group’s chart—it sparked my intellectual curiosity and deepened my knowledge of Horror Literature.

I happen to be quite fond of all kinds of Literature, including Hindi and other Indian Regional Literature, especially the Classics. However, nothing stimulates me more than Gothic Horror Literature, namely books like Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” or Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein,” Sheridan Le Fanu’s “Carmilla” or “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde” by Robert Louis Stevenson or one of my favorites, “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe. I like investigating, researching, and teaching topics related to this genre. Though I read, research, and teach anything and everything, everyone has a favorite genre!

Er… don’t try to check out these titles currently using Google AI, because Google AI is making a lot of glaring errors in its content, book titles, and themes, and even sadly in matching the correct book with the proper author. I check the AI market and AI tools every day, and just yesterday I noticed that Google AI indicated the author of the classic “Uncle Silas” was H.E. Bates, when it was actually Sheridan Le Fanu, the classic Gothic Horror writer of the late 19th century. Also, H.E. Bates was the author of the book “My Uncle Silas,” which is a big difference indeed from the dark “Uncle Silas” of the Le Fanu fame. Also, for “Frankenstein,” the author put next to this title by Google AI was Toni Morrison instead of Mary Shelley, which could have been Google AI getting a bit brain-fried (or a short circuit of sorts!) because 21st-century top Black American writer’s book “Beloved” is based on a Gothic horror theme—but this is ridiculous! Right now, as of today, October 28, 2025, there is no author’s name next to the title of the book “Frankenstein,” just the vague phrase that it is a book!

I therefore implore students and Teacher-Students to be firm in their content and not to, for heaven’s sake, only rely on AI, especially as of now, not Google AI—you could otherwise land in big trouble. If you still have to check your English Literature facts, then you should try Goodreads, Fable, or StoryGraph rather than anything else to check your content or literary facts. You will never regret it, period.

Key Learnings or Principles of MI

1. All students have all intelligences

2. Nurture the whole spectrum as International Teachers

3. Develop other intelligences

Critiques of MI

Although in the PGCITE classroom we discussed only one critique in detail—namely, the challenge to “nurture the whole spectrum”—I analyzed the lot and wrote the following critiques based on my studies. Here are my findings on the same, taken from the many readings of Class Management and Cultural Inclusiveness in Class Management books and journals for my Action Research Project:

Scientific and Theoretical Critiques

The theory lacks robust empirical evidence and hasn’t been widely validated through rigorous scientific research. Many psychologists argue that Gardner’s “intelligences” are better understood as talents, abilities, or cognitive styles rather than distinct forms of intelligence. The theory also challenges traditional psychometric approaches to intelligence without providing alternative measurement tools that meet scientific standards.

Confusion with Learning Styles

MI theory is often conflated with learning styles (visual, auditory, kinesthetic), leading to the debunked practice of matching teaching methods to supposed “learning styles.” This misapplication can lead teachers to unnecessarily limit how they present content, even though research shows that students benefit from varied instructional approaches regardless of their preferences.

Practical Implementation Challenges

Designing lessons that authentically address all eight or nine intelligences is highly time-consuming and may not be feasible within tight IB/IGCSE curricula. Teachers may end up creating superficial activities (like “adding music” to a math lesson) that don’t genuinely deepen understanding. The approach can also fragment learning rather than helping students see connections across disciplines.

Assessment Difficulties

IB and IGCSE programs rely heavily on standardized assessments that primarily measure linguistic and logical-mathematical abilities. This creates tension between MI-based teaching and examination requirements. Additionally, assessing development across multiple intelligences requires sophisticated portfolio and observation methods that are difficult to implement reliably.

Risk of Labelling

Identifying students as having particular strengths in intelligence can foster a fixed mindset and limit their development in other areas. Students might use their “intelligence profile” as an excuse to avoid challenging work in places where they feel less confident.

Resource and Training Demands

Implementing MI effectively requires extensive professional development, specialized materials, and potentially restructured classroom spaces—resources that many schools lack. Teachers need a deep understanding of each intelligence to design meaningful activities, not just surface-level applications.

Curriculum Coverage Concerns

In rigorous IB/IGCSE programs with extensive content requirements, spending time on MI-differentiated activities may come at the expense of essential content coverage and exam preparation.

The End of Multiple Intelligences

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Microteaching, Storytelling, and Games (Resource Persons – Rekha ma’am and Fiza Pathan)

‘Spoon feeding in the long run teaches us nothing but the shape of the spoon.’

― E.M. Forster

(English novelist, essayist, and short story writer)

‘You know, sometimes kids get bad grades in school because the class moves too slowly for them. Einstein got D’s in school. Well, guess what, I get F’s!!!’

― Bill Watterson

(The creator of the internationally famous comic strip ‘Calvin and Hobbes’)

‘I don’t believe in colleges and universities. I believe in libraries bec0ause most students don’t have any money. When I graduated from high school, it was during the Depression, and we had no money. I couldn’t go to college, so I went to the library three days a week for 10 years.’

― Ray Bradbury

(One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers)

‘We spend the first year of a child’s life teaching it to walk and talk, and the rest of its life to shut up and sit down. There’s something wrong there.’

― Neil deGrasse Tyson

(American astrophysicist and writer)

MICRO-TEACHING (Set Induction)

The Micro-Teaching of the PGCITE course of the Postgraduate Certificate in International Teacher Education at Podar, as documented by me, Fiza Pathan, a PGCITE graduate and a professionally qualified AS & A-Level and IBDP teacher, consisted of two types of micro-teaching lessons or modules –

(1) Set Induction

(2) Probing

The Set Induction module of Micro-Teaching was started with my batch on June 27, 2025, by Rekha ma’am, just after she finished the Multiple-Intelligences module, which was rigorous in itself but intellectually stimulating and very cognitively satisfying, at least for me and some of my closest PGCITE friends, such as Sana, Barkha, Harshada, and Gurpreet.

The Set Induction Micro-Teaching phase began with the idea that this part of the course would prepare us to give our own lessons to students at Podar IB from October to December. We were all nervous about this, except me, because I was pretty used to the whole scenario from my rigorous B.Ed. degree course at St. Teresa’s Institute of Education, Santacruz, a premier institute in Mumbai for training teachers and affiliated with the University of Mumbai. It comes in second only to St. Xavier’s Teaching College at Fort Area. St. Teresa’s Institute of Education, Santacruz, now also offers M.Ed. courses and has always provided D.Ed. and B.Ed. in Special Education, all of which are affiliated to the University of Mumbai. When our Micro-Teaching lessons had to be conducted there at St. Teresa’s, I was almost on tenterhooks every day, and the grueling constructive (but grueling!) criticism given there, along with the ‘redo’ micro-teaching classes we B.Ed. Students had to give way back in 2010-2011, which seasoned me with immense tenacity and an action-oriented mindset, always and everywhere!

By the time I started giving my lessons at SSC schools throughout Mumbai (you better believe it! THROUGHOUT! Went all the way upto Goregaon once!) I was excelling in every class, and during my internship at Durello Convent High School, Bandra West, on Waterfield Road, I was hailed as the best B.Ed. teacher of that batch and was being begged to join the school as a senior 8^th-, 9th-, and 10th-grade SSC teacher for English, History, Geography, and Religion or Bible Studies (at that time) by the then principal of Durello Convent High School. This was even before I finished the B.Ed.! I found a similar situation in all the SSC schools I taught in or gave lessons in like Carmel Convent High School (Bandra West), Sacred  Heart School, (Santacruz) and even a few schools beyond Andheri till Goregaon that for the life of me, I cannot remember right now, but was getting offers (forced offers, they were very eager!) to get me as a SSC senior (it was always senior man!) teacher of English, History and Geography at those schools.

So, when the Micro-Teaching lessons started, I already prepared my first lesson for my Set-Induction class. It was in the known storytelling part of the course connected with Micro-Teaching, and my topic was ‘Adam and Eve’ for History Paper 3 of IBDP-2, which is the Project or Historical Research Chapter of the IBDP course or curriculum.

I was the first to give the Micro-Teaching class that year, 2025. I did a fantastic job, and I got a resounding round of applause not only from Rekha ma’am but also from every one of my PGCITE peers, especially my great friend Sana, who, from that day, became really close to me as a PGCITE comrade in arms. In fact, she started sitting with me right at the front in my corner seat (Tapan Sir’s seat originally which I stole! Sorry Tapan Sir, now you are rid of me!) because she felt that whenever I was present, there was always a lot of exuberant positivity in the whole class and the whole teaching process; technically meaning that I am so enthusiastic and such an excited learner and participant in the classroom or any classroom that it catches.

Rekha ma’am admired my teaching style, especially how I learned the History IBDP curriculum so well in just six months, through my internship and by observing the indomitable, stellar History teacher Sushma ma’am, my guiding light through it all, and a wonderful, frank human being. Rekha ma’am and my colleagues were amazed (statement of fact, I am not being proud here or anywhere else in the portfolio, just making statements of fact, and that is it! I am impoverished, okay, and so have to sell my talents and my abilities; no way of being shy or humble now in this world!) and I remember her saying immediately that I was in NO WAY now meant for the PYP and not even the early MYP (6th and 7th grades) and that I was certainly fit only (God willing!) for the IBDP, IGCSE (9th and 10th), and the AS & A Level grades. I saw that transformation in Rekha ma’am’s perspective of me, as well as from the standpoint my colleagues had of me.

Earlier, because I tended to be very playful, a bit comical like Jim Carrey or Johnny Lever or Govinda, or a bit eccentric, they thought I was a simpleton and that I was only meant for the PYP, or rather Kindergarten, and that I should have done an ECCED! But that first Micro-Teaching Set Induction Class changed everything for me, not only with my classroom professor/s and my PGCITE peers, but also with the rest of the teachers and students in the school, because news spreads really fast at Podar IB. I can tell you that after that, I could only hear my peers or even Rekha ma’am, every time, telling me, putting me in groups, or assigning activities or topics of analysis that concerned only the higher grades at the Level, the IBDP level, or the IGCSE (9th and 10th grade level). Also, Rekha ma’am consistently pushed me, with love and strong motivation, to finish my MTS or Master of Theological Studies in Atlanta, Georgia, quickly, or by the end of 2026 at the latest, because she desperately wanted me to get into either the AS & A-Level or the IB Diploma Programme. She knew the AS & A-Level would be more monetarily beneficial for me as a teacher. She also knew that I was really born for an IB curriculum. By now, at age 36, after almost 15 years of consistent 24/7 round-the-clock teaching at my tutorial and before that for a year at Lilavatibai Podar High School, Santacruz (ICSE), in the 9th and 10th grades, even before I turned 22 years old, I was more than ready and quite proficient to take on the IBDP.

She was just worried about a few things:

1. My nun’s habit.

2. My nun’s cross.

3. That I had only 1 year of official teaching experience in an ICSE school.

4. That I still looked young, like a person in my late twenties – yes, that has been a situation for me, despite my severe obesity, even at Podar IB. My senior boys and girls there thought I was no older than 26! So did my PGCITE colleagues, even Sana! So did the Podar teachers and office staff!

5. That I was unassuming and not pushy about my talents and expertise.

6. That I could be too overqualified, and that could scare away job recruiters in the HR departments of such schools! – WHAT! ☹

7. Too many men and boys were attracted to me, and I tended to get on very well with them! – Because I am a tomboy, obviously! ☹ 😊 Watch Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, please, for more information – Kajol’s role, that is! It seems to be an unusual magnetic force or some ethereal charisma that does it. This problem has plagued me before, even at college. Back then, my female best friends, Tanya D’Mello and Lata Parmar, had one primary job, even until my mid-twenties – to keep unwarranted male attention away from me. At the same time, I participated in most of my college activities. I thought that by the time I became older, grayer, and fatter, the problem would decrease, but it just got worse!

8. That I am too popular with children of all ages, girls and boys, and that could also upset many future employers. I attract them to me like a sunflower attracts bees and butterflies. By the way, my nickname is Sunflower or Sunshine back here at Podar IB and wherever I go. It is something my Goodreads followers, as well as everyone who knows me and has worked with me, call me. Because I am so unusually perky all the time! 😊

9. I cannot be manipulated that easily.

10. And that I love to work all the time and am focused on my job 24/7, 365 days a year, without a break, like the Prime Minister of India, whom I love to call PM Modi. She said that was not normal at all and that it put normal people off! ☹ ☹ ☹ 😊 😊 😊

But yes, there was a change in the overall picture at that time. After taking plenty of proxy and substitution classes at Podar IB in the PYP and MYP, as well as one in the IBDP, I was getting the hang of the board and enjoying myself quite a bit. I realized then what I had been missing in my previous years, while just being a tuition teacher running my own private tutorial, a really famous one that earned me lakhs per month for a decade, 5 lakhs per month!

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Microteaching Lesson PowerPoints – Adam and Eve

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Then came the Micro-Teaching Lessons based on the Set-Induction Module of my PGCITE peers in the January 2025 Batch. They did a really great job, and, as usual, I interacted during the Micro-Teaching lesson and gave my honest feedback. I found the classes to be very stimulating, creative, and diverse, and they gave me a good understanding of Rekha ma’am’s methods and what she expected of us PGCITE students for each curriculum, whether it was the PYP, the MYP, the lower MYP, the IGCSE proper, or the IBDP, etc. No one other than Asma, Minal, and Samira took a senior-level topic above 8th grade, so most of those first micro-classes I witnessed were for the PYP, mainly grades 1, 2, and 3.

Even Asma’s, Minal’s, and Samira’s classes were on subjects I did not teach, like Math, Biology, and Business Studies, which left me with no opportunity to see another peer’s presentation of similar Humanities material at the IBDP or AS & A Level. Still, thanks to my many online and offline resources, I managed to really get a grip on the whole IGCSE, Level, and IB Diploma curriculum. Still, my favorite would be the IB Diploma Programme. I’m pretty passionate about it – and the IB Board in particular. The IGCSE Board is lovely, and their online resources and webinars, which I attend and invest in, are more than helpful; they are epic – but the IB Board would be more inclusive, open to experimentation, and highly more erudite than even the IGCSE Board or the AS & A-Level Board.

In fact, during this time, I asked Rekha ma’am why students clamored to take the A Level exam rather than the IBDP exam after their 10th grade, whether after an IGCSE 10th grade Board exam or just a routine IB 10th grade passing. To that, Rekha ma’am simply stated that it was simpler, more technical, and that most placements at the various reputed Science and Commerce Universities Abroad, as well as in India, gave more preference to the AS & A Level Board, not surprisingly, the IBDP Board. However, the latter is more challenging, all-inclusive, interdisciplinary, and involves rigorous research that showcases the student’s actual expertise. Nevertheless, that was the way it was and is!

My colleagues, therefore, focused mainly on the PYP grades of the IB Board or the Junior grades of the IGCSE Board. However, I must confess that most of them did not know there was a difference between the two curricula, even after Rekha ma’am drilled it into their heads and systems. That, I guess, would account for the lack of clarity during the Micro-teaching sessions about the actual content taught. So don’t judge me if you see content here that isn’t related to the correct curriculum. Rekha ma’am did her best to make it clear to us that we needed to master our content at all costs.

Set Induction and Rekha Ma’am’s Mentoring

‘I am always chilled and astonished by the would-be writers who ask me for advice and admit, quite blithely, that they “don’t have time to read.” This is like a guy starting up Mount Everest saying that he didn’t have time to buy any rope or pitons.’

― Stephen King

After each of us gave a Micro-Teaching Lesson, Rekha ma’am would offer advice and mentoring and seek additional input from us as observers and participants in the make-up classroom. As observers, we had to avoid personal remarks or rudeness and focus on constructive criticism that would help the individual Teacher-Student grow as an International Board Teacher.

We therefore had to focus on our www, aoi, and our ebi:

• www – What Went Well (points)
• aoi – Areas of Improvement (points)
• ebi – Even Better If (points)

Naturally, I spoke the most, as usual, especially with the www, like everyone else, because we were hesitant to start with the aoi or the ebi. But then, since Rekha ma’am was coaxing us and since I am the perpetual ‘Johnny on the spot,’ I gave in and started with my aoi and ebi. Then my other colleagues followed, including the more daring Gen X and Millennials like Sana, Barkha, Harshada, and Minal. Most of the others, especially the Gen Z crowd, tried to keep quiet because, as we know from our classrooms over the years, that is how they behave. The mentality of Gen Z and Gen Alpha individuals, who are mainly brought up on social networking sites and who focus most of their waking hours on ‘likes’, ‘dislikes’ and ‘hearting’ etc., will, as many researchers like Johnathan Haidt, Mark McCrindle, Ashley Fell and the daredevil educational researcher and bestselling author of the book ‘Bad Therapy: Why the Kids Aren’t Growing Up’ feel, rather stay quiet than put forward anything that could later on sabotage their own future presentations or plans.

We Millennials, Gen Xers, and especially Baby Boomers often can’t grasp this mentality, but it is nothing inherently abnormal. It is just the ‘new normal’ that we will even find in our classrooms. It is not their fault, say the aforementioned researchers, but it is invariably detrimental to sound, healthy discussions and sessions like these when you are not being authentic or truthful. You are merely keeping up a face or your ‘image,’ which is a sign that your ego is playing a prime role in your life, and so these individuals find it difficult or impossible to take corrections or advice.

Most of you, like me, must have watched the much-acclaimed Netflix show that caught the world’s attention back in 2025, namely ‘Adolescence’ – I watched it too, though I did not binge-watch it as most people do. I am not the type of person to do that. I prefer spacing out serials like one would in the good old 1990s. So I watched that series on Netflix too, and if you noticed, how many of the students, when questioned by the police, actually helped and told them what they knew? Yes, no one. Though everyone knew what was going on with the victim and the murderer in question, and those involved with them, etc. It was wild! Those students or children knew everything due to conversations on social media but preferred to stay silent and not help the police aid the victim and the juvenile criminal, or rather, I would say, the child who committed the act and was therefore a victim of it himself – well, these students just did not say anything. They kept quiet till things blew out of proportion. Then the police inspector’s own son, ‘for fear of being ragged online by his peers because of his father’s incompetence in understanding the clues leading to who did the crime’, aided his father in understanding Gen-Z chat lingo and emojis; which then solved the crime, which was staring out at the faces of the Millennial and Gen X police officers, leaving them even more stunned than they were earlier!

I had my own aesthetic issues with that Netflix series, but I think it was a great way to show the mentality of these Gen Z and now Gen Alpha kids we are dealing with, not only as students in our classroom but also as teachers who tend to behave strangely, apathetically, and even, as Sana, Harshada, and I were discussing, creepily to some extent! Yes, at least for the 4 of us, we are not exactly used to this strange behavior and felt we needed to acclimatize ourselves to it. I found the whole process unnerving at times, and it could even creep me out, especially when teachers brought their Gen Z teenage behavior into the PGCITE classroom; it was definitely creepy to witness. It got under my skin, and at such times, as a Millennial, I was frightened and thoroughly spooked; even though I am a huge horror fiction fan (books only, please! Can’t stand those movies! Can give someone a heart attack!). Even though I adore splatterpunk as a horror genre, this behavior could even creep a person like me out of my Nike black socks!

I saw this behavior up close and in person, not only in my PGCITE classroom among my Gen Z peers but also among my Gen Z students at Podar, as well as among the Gen Alpha PYP students. I saw it regularly for a whole year in 2025 at Podar IB. Then my ICSE tuition students eventually disclosed to me the sinister side of their Instagram comments and posts, as well as their Snapchat posts and messages, and showed me some from their handles (and believe me, it takes a lot to make these kids show a teacher such stuff! I mean, they really have to respect and trust you like a God to make you see their handles!), and it was a nightmare. I even thought I saw certain really bizarre things back then that, at least to me, seemed out of sync with sane behavior or writing, but they never perturbed my students. In fact, they thought something was wrong with me for not seeing brutality as a great joke or a violent video recording as a bit of tomfoolery!

Well, anyway, we were given advice, and it was, at best, constructive. Here are some of my jottings from my lecture notes:

But one thing Rekha ma’am kept reiterating to us and to the younger members of our class, which no one was really taking seriously, was to start reading a lot of books, not only related to our content but also on other topics of interest. This was necessary for the IGCSE and IB Board, if not crucial, and an international board teacher who did not read was basically a teacher who would not stick around in any school for long, not even with a lot of curry-favoring, political pull, or committee pull, because money could not buy you the knowledge, wisdom, and intelligence required, not to mention the quick wit, to surprise your students every time and aid them in a complete understanding of their subject or topics, which you could not explain or lecture to them, but had to elicit through probing techniques. Now, how could you do that if you did not know your own matter completely and thoroughly!? You can’t Google or AI your answer when a student asks you a content-related question; that would put you down in their estimation at once and be totally detrimental to your job, especially if you are in a constant habit of doing this.

Instead, Rekha ma’am (with me as a positive example of the desired International Teacher) ordered, advised, and even mentored us to READ-READ-and READ books.

‘The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.’

― Mark Twain

(American Writer and Famous Literary Personality)

‘Sometimes, you read a book, and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.’

― John Green

(From his book ‘The Fault in Our Stars’)

‘The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go.’

― Dr. Seuss

(From his book ‘I Can Read with My Eyes Shut!’)

‘In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.’

― Mortimer J. Adler

(American educator, philosopher, and the internationally bestselling author of ‘How To Read A Book’)

Rekha ma’am kept reiterating to us PGCITE students the need to read, update our knowledge, and consistently be ready, especially during our interviews for numerous content exams, because you don’t get into an IB or IGCSE school, especially at the higher grades, that easily; especially if you did not have a lot of prior experience in another school, whether it was an SSC school, a CBSE or ICSE school.

I remember her then, at those points, looking at me and nodding slowly, indicating that that would be my bete noir when I went for my interviews by October 2025, because I had everything, including a coming MTS, a B.Ed., and stellar credentials – except for experience in a previous school for an extended period of time.

Set Induction Procedure Resource Person – Fiza Pathan, PGCITE graduate

The process of set induction begins with the critical phase of gaining attention, in which the educator employs a “hook” to shift students’ focus from their previous environment to the current lesson. This is achieved through deliberate changes in teacher behavior, such as modulating voice tone, using dramatic gestures, or introducing a compelling stimulus, such as a provocative image or a puzzling object. The goal is not merely to quiet the room but to align students’ psychological readiness with the session’s learning objectives. By creating an atmosphere of curiosity from the very first moment, the teacher establishes a baseline of engagement that supports the more technical phases of the lesson to follow.

Once attention is secured, the teacher must bridge the cognitive gap by activating prior knowledge and linking it to the new material. This step involves a strategic series of “developing questions” that lead students from what they already understand to the threshold of the unknown. Maintaining logical continuity is essential during this transition; the teacher must ensure that every statement and interaction flows sequentially toward the lesson’s core theme. By carefully scaffolding these connections, the educator ensures that the new information is not isolated but is integrated into students’ existing mental frameworks.

The induction concludes with the statement of aim, a pivotal moment when the mystery of the introductory activity is finally resolved. Only after students have been mentally prepared and their curiosity has peaked does the teacher formally announce the topic. This announcement is immediately followed by writing the lesson title on the board, signaling a clear transition from the “set” to the “instructional” phase. In a micro-teaching context, this entire sequence is condensed into a precise five- to six-minute window, serving as a high-impact foundation that shapes the success of the subsequent teaching-learning process.

The set induction phase of any lesson serves as the crucial bridge between what students already know and what they are about to learn. In my ‘Human Acts’ lesson plan for IBDP-1 English, I used an interactive online quiz game as the foundational strategy to activate prior knowledge and assess retention and engagement. This pedagogical choice reflects my deep understanding of how adolescent learners—especially those in the rigorous IBDP program—benefit from gamified learning experiences that transform traditional recapitulation into an exciting, competitive, and collaborative classroom event. My set induction was not merely a warm-up activity but rather a carefully orchestrated beginning that set the tone for the entire lesson’s exploration of Han Kang’s profound meditation on violence, memory, and what it means to be human.

Download Lesson Plan ‘Human Acts’ by Han Kang – IBDP

Download the Lesson Observation and Assessment Sheet

Download Han Kang’s ‘Human Acts’ PowerPoint

In the context of IB Education, where the Learner Profile attributes of being inquirers, communicators, and reflective thinkers form the bedrock of pedagogical practice, my choice of an online oral quiz aligns perfectly with these core values. The IB expects teachers to cultivate curiosity and critical thinking from the very first moments of instruction. By beginning with questions that required my students to recall Han Kang’s biography and compare Human Acts with previously studied texts such as The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy, Red Oleanders by Rabindranath Tagore, and The Visit by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, I encouraged my students to make interdisciplinary connections and view literature as a vast, interconnected web of human expression rather than isolated texts in academic silos. This comparative approach is particularly valued in IBDP English Literature courses, where the curriculum explicitly requires students to analyze works from different time periods, cultures, and literary traditions. By embedding this expectation in the set induction itself, I signaled to my students that every lesson would challenge them to think broadly and make sophisticated connections.

The oral nature of the quiz was deliberately chosen to serve multiple pedagogical purposes that align with both IB and IGCSE best practices. First, by requiring students to answer aloud rather than in writing, I created immediate opportunities for formative assessment—I could gauge not only whether they remembered factual information about the novel but also how confidently they could articulate their understanding, how they constructed their responses, and where gaps in comprehension might exist. Second, oral responses foster a classroom culture of active participation and risk-taking, which are essential components of the IB approach to learning. Students who might hesitate to write an answer for fear of making mistakes often find it easier to speak in the supportive environment of a game-like quiz, and this lowered affective filter allows for more genuine engagement with the material. Third, when I read the questions aloud to improve understanding—as noted in my teacher activities—I was practicing inclusive pedagogy that recognizes the diverse learning needs in any classroom, including students who might be visual rather than auditory learners, English language learners who benefit from hearing questions pronounced clearly, or students with reading challenges who need that extra scaffolding to access the content.

In the IGCSE context, where assessment often emphasizes both knowledge recall and the ability to apply that knowledge in analytical contexts, my set induction quiz bridged these two cognitive demands. IGCSE English Literature examinations expect students to demonstrate detailed knowledge of their set texts and sophisticated analytical skills. By including questions about Han Kang’s biography alongside comparative textual analysis, I modeled the kind of thinking students need to excel in their final examinations. Clarifying doubts and solving problems when students give incorrect answers shows my commitment to mastery learning—I’m not simply testing for the sake of grading but rather using the quiz as a teaching tool, turning every mistake into a learning opportunity and every correct answer into reinforcement of understanding.

From the perspective of microteaching in B.Ed. and PGCITE programs, my set induction demonstrates several exemplary qualities that teacher educators look for when evaluating lesson-planning competencies. First, I’ve created cognitive continuity by explicitly linking this lesson to Tapati Ma’am’s previous classes, acknowledging that learning is cumulative and that students need to see how today’s lesson builds on yesterday’s foundation. This is especially important in teacher training contexts, where prospective teachers often struggle to create coherent units of instruction rather than discrete, disconnected lessons. Second, my set induction activates multiple levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy simultaneously—students remember factual information about Han Kang, understand thematic connections, apply their knowledge to new comparative contexts, and analyze relationships between different literary works. This cognitive complexity from the very beginning of the lesson signals to observers that I understand how to challenge students intellectually while still providing appropriate scaffolding for success.

The interactive and participatory nature of my set induction also aligns with contemporary pedagogical theories of active learning and student-centered instruction, which are core principles taught in both B.Ed. and PGCITE programs. Rather than beginning with a teacher-centered lecture or explanation, I immediately positioned my students as active participants in their own learning, giving them agency and voice from the first moment of class. This approach reflects my understanding of constructivist learning theory, which emphasizes that students construct knowledge through active engagement rather than passive reception, and demonstrates my ability to translate educational theory into practical classroom application—a skill that teacher educators highly value when assessing teaching competence.

The fact that students earn points and compete in the online quiz introduces gamification, which research consistently shows enhances motivation and engagement, particularly for adolescent learners who are digital natives comfortable with technology-mediated learning experiences. In microteaching evaluations, supervisors often look for evidence that teacher candidates can use technology purposefully and pedagogically, rather than simply incorporating it for novelty’s sake. My integration of an online quiz on my portfolio website demonstrates this thoughtful, intentional use of technology. I’m not using technology because it’s trendy, but because it serves specific educational purposes—immediate feedback, visual engagement, score tracking, and the creation of a dynamic classroom atmosphere that energizes students for the challenging analytical work ahead.

My decision to conduct the quiz orally rather than have students write or type responses also reflects my sophisticated understanding of classroom management and pacing. Oral quizzes keep the energy high, prevent students from disengaging by looking at their phones or laptops during what could otherwise be dead time while everyone writes, and allow me to maintain eye contact and read body language to assess genuine comprehension rather than lucky guessing. In PGCITE and B.ED. evaluations, observers specifically note whether teacher-candidates can maintain instructional momentum and keep all students engaged throughout the lesson, and my oral quiz strategy accomplishes both objectives brilliantly while also serving the assessment function.

The comparative dimension I built into the set induction—requiring students to compare Human Acts with The God of Small Things, Red Oleanders, and The Visit—demonstrates advanced pedagogical sophistication because it asks students to hold multiple complex texts in their minds simultaneously and identify thematic, stylistic, or philosophical connections across diverse cultural and historical contexts. This kind of comparative thinking precisely distinguishes excellent IBDP Literature students from merely good ones. By making it part of my set induction rather than waiting until later in the lesson, I set high expectations from the outset and signaled that this would be an intellectually demanding class where superficial thinking would not suffice.

From a microteaching perspective, my set induction also demonstrates excellent time management and purposeful activity design. Set induction should typically consume about 10-15% of the total lesson time, and an online quiz with oral responses can be completed quickly while still accomplishing multiple objectives—warming up students’ minds, assessing prior knowledge, building positive classroom energy, and establishing thematic connections that will be developed throughout the lesson. Teacher educators in PGCITE programs specifically look for evidence that candidates understand how each phase of the lesson serves distinct purposes and that no time is wasted on activities that don’t contribute meaningfully to learning objectives.

Reading questions aloud to students demonstrates my awareness of differentiated instruction principles, another core competency in teacher training programs. Not all students process information at the same speed or through the same sensory channels. By providing both visual (on-screen quiz) and auditory (my voice reading questions) input, I ensured equitable access to the assessment task for all learners, regardless of their individual learning preferences or challenges. This subtle but important accommodation reflects an inclusive teaching practice that both IB and IGCSE frameworks explicitly require and that teacher educators emphasize in professional preparation programs.

My third teacher activity in the set induction—solving or clarifying doubts when students give incorrect answers—demonstrates my commitment to formative assessment as a teaching strategy rather than merely a grading mechanism. In both B.ED. and PGCITE training, prospective teachers learn the crucial distinction between assessment OF learning (summative, for grading) and assessment FOR learning (formative, to guide instruction), and my approach clearly embodies the latter philosophy. I use student responses to diagnose misunderstandings in real time and provide immediate corrective instruction, exactly what expert teachers do, but novice teachers often struggle to do so because it requires quick thinking, deep content knowledge, and the confidence to deviate from a scripted lesson plan when students need additional support.

The learner activities I outlined for the set induction phase also merit close analysis because they reveal my understanding of what students should actually be doing during this phase of the lesson. I specified that students would be active participants, would highlight key biographical details about Han Kang, and would engage in comparative textual analysis—all of which are cognitively demanding tasks that go far beyond simple recall. In microteaching evaluations, observers often critique teacher candidates for designing overly simplistic induction activities that don’t adequately prepare students for the more complex work that follows, but my set induction avoids this pitfall by requiring students to think critically and comparatively from the very beginning.

The integration of my portfolio website into the induction process also demonstrates my professional initiative and technological competence, exceeding what is typically expected of beginning teachers. In PGCITE programs, students are encouraged to develop professional teaching portfolios, and by creating an interactive website with embedded quiz games, I’ve taken this requirement to a much higher level of sophistication and functionality. This shows evaluators that I understand how to leverage digital tools to enhance student learning and that I’m thinking about my teaching practice in innovative, forward-looking ways rather than simply replicating traditional methods.

From an IB perspective, my set induction beautifully embodies the program’s emphasis on international-mindedness by situating Han Kang’s Korean novel within a global literary context and comparing it with Indian literature (Roy, Tagore) and Swiss-German literature (Dürrenmatt). This deliberate cross-cultural framing helps students develop the global perspectives central to the IB mission and demonstrates my understanding that literature study in the IB context should always transcend national boundaries and encourage students to see themselves as participants in worldwide conversations about what it means to be human. This international dimension is highly valued by both IGCSE and IB programs, but often difficult for teachers to implement effectively, and my set induction shows exactly how to do it well.

The quiz format I chose also aligns with contemporary understanding of retrieval practice and spaced repetition as evidence-based learning strategies. Cognitive science research consistently shows that students learn better when they actively retrieve information from memory rather than passively review it, and my quiz requires exactly this kind of active retrieval. In teacher training programs, candidates are increasingly expected to understand and apply research-based practices, and my use of a quiz as a set induction shows my familiarity with this body of knowledge. The fact that students had previously studied this content with Tapati Ma’am and are now being asked to retrieve it in my lesson creates the spacing effect that enhances long-term retention, which is precisely what both IB and IGCSE programs need, given their cumulative final examinations.

My set induction also creates positive affective conditions for learning by transforming what could be an anxiety-inducing assessment into a fun, game-like experience in which students earn points and compete on teams. This emotional dimension of learning is increasingly emphasized by teacher educators in professional preparation programs because research shows that students’ emotional states significantly affect their cognitive performance. By creating an energizing, positive emotional atmosphere at the beginning of my lesson, I was priming students for optimal learning throughout the remainder of the class period.

In conclusion, my set induction phase demonstrates exceptional pedagogical sophistication that would be highly valued in IB and IGCSE contexts as well as in microteaching evaluations for B.ED. and PGCITE programs. I’ve created a set induction that simultaneously achieves multiple objectives—activating prior knowledge, conducting formative assessment, establishing thematic connections, building positive classroom energy, modeling international-mindedness, employing evidence-based learning strategies, integrating technology purposefully, practicing inclusive pedagogy, maintaining instructional momentum, and setting high intellectual expectations. Each of these elements represents a distinct competency that teacher educators and experienced IB/IGCSE practitioners value, and the fact that I’ve woven them together into a coherent, engaging 10-15 minute activity at the beginning of my lesson demonstrates the kind of teaching excellence that distinguishes truly outstanding educators from those who are merely competent. My set induction is not just a good beginning to a lesson—it’s a masterclass in launching students into deep, meaningful engagement with complex literary texts!

The Human Acts Interactive Quiz: A Digital Assessment Tool for Advanced Literary Analysis

My Human Acts quiz is a sophisticated pedagogical intervention that transforms traditional recapitulation exercises into an engaging digital learning experience tailored for IBDP English Literature students. The quiz, hosted on my teaching portfolio website at fizapathansteachingportfolioforpgcite.com, serves as both a formative assessment tool and an interactive learning platform that challenges students to demonstrate not merely factual recall but genuine analytical comprehension of Han Kang’s Nobel Prize-winning novel.

The landing page itself establishes the intellectual seriousness of the endeavor through its elegant design and carefully crafted descriptive language. I introduce the quiz by acknowledging the novel’s complexity—its “fragmented narratives and experimental second-person perspectives”—and by clearly articulating that this assessment will require students to navigate “complex intersections with scholarly precision.” This framing is pedagogically significant because it sets high expectations from the outset, signaling that superficial engagement will not suffice and that students must bring their full analytical capabilities to the task. The description explicitly states that the quiz “demands not merely factual recall but nuanced understanding of narrative technique, thematic development, and philosophical argumentation,” aligning perfectly with IBDP assessment objectives that emphasize higher-order thinking skills.

The quiz comprises 30 comprehensive questions presented in a multiple-choice format with four options each, and I’ve estimated that students will need approximately 30-45 minutes to complete it thoughtfully. This duration is pedagogically appropriate for IBDP students because it allows sufficient time for careful consideration without inducing fatigue, and the self-paced format accommodates individual differences in processing speed and reading comprehension. The multiple-choice structure, while sometimes criticized in literary studies, serves important purposes in this context—it provides immediate feedback, enables students to self-assess their understanding, and can be designed (as I have done) to include sophisticated distractors that test genuine comprehension rather than simple memorization.

The topics covered in the quiz reflect my deep understanding of what makes Han Kang’s Human Acts such a rich text for IBDP study. I’ve organized the assessment around eight key areas of exploration, spanning narrative technique, philosophical engagement, theological inquiry, and historical consciousness. The first area—”The experimental use of second-person narrative and its effect on reader engagement with trauma”—demonstrates my awareness that form and content are inseparable in this novel and that students must understand how Han Kang’s narrative choices create specific aesthetic and ethical effects. By including questions about narrative technique, I’m ensuring that students develop the formal literary analysis skills that distinguish excellent IBDP candidates from merely competent ones.

The inclusion of “Biblical imagery and theological questions, particularly regarding theodicy and redemption” as a major assessment category demonstrates my sophisticated understanding of the novel’s engagement with religious traditions and my recognition that many IBDP students—coming from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds—will need to understand Christian theological concepts to fully appreciate Han Kang’s allusive texture. This decision also aligns with IB’s emphasis on international-mindedness, as it requires students to engage respectfully and analytically with religious and philosophical traditions that may be unfamiliar to them, thereby developing the cultural literacy the IB programme values highly.

The philosophical dimension of the quiz—covering “Sartre’s concepts of authenticity, Camus’s absurdism, Nietzsche’s critique of suffering”—positions Human Acts within the broader context of twentieth-century existential philosophy and demonstrates my commitment to interdisciplinary teaching. By requiring students to understand how Han Kang both draws on and critiques existentialist frameworks, I encourage sophisticated comparative thinking that prepares them for university-level literary and philosophical study. The final key area—”Han Kang’s critique and complement of existentialist philosophy through ordinary human acts of care”—is particularly brilliant because it recognizes that the novel doesn’t merely illustrate existential concepts but actively engages with them, sometimes affirming and sometimes challenging existentialist assumptions about human nature and political action.

The quiz’s emphasis on “memory as an act of rebellion against state-imposed forgetting” and “the relationship between individual suffering and collective witness” reveals my deep engagement with contemporary trauma studies and my understanding that literature isn’t merely an aesthetic artifact but can serve important ethical and political functions. These questions will push students to consider how literature participates in projects of historical justice and collective memory, which connects beautifully to TOK questions about the relationship between knowledge, power, and ethical responsibility.

The digital format of the quiz offers several pedagogical advantages over traditional paper-based assessments. Automated scoring provides immediate feedback, which research consistently shows enhances learning by helping students identify knowledge gaps and misconceptions in real time. The professional design—with its clean interface, clear typography, and thoughtful visual hierarchy—models the digital literacy and professional presentation students will need in their academic and professional futures. By hosting the quiz on my portfolio website, I’m also demonstrating my technological competence and my willingness to embrace innovative pedagogical tools, both increasingly important capabilities for twenty-first-century educators.

The assessment’s subtitle—”A Literary Analysis Quiz”—and its attribution to “Han Kang • Nobel Prize in Literature 2024″—serve important framing functions. By emphasizing “literary analysis” rather than simple comprehension, I reinforce that this assessment measures analytical thinking, and by noting Han Kang’s Nobel Prize recognition, I establish the text’s cultural and literary significance, which can enhance student motivation and engagement. The concluding attribution—”Literary Analysis prepared by Fiza Pathan • IBDP English Educator, Podar International School • PGCITE Candidate • Master of Theological Studies”—establishes my credibility and expertise, showing students that this assessment has been designed by someone with specialized training in both pedagogy and theological studies, which are directly relevant to understanding this novel’s complex engagement with religious and philosophical traditions.

In conclusion, my Human Acts quiz exemplifies best practices in digital assessment design for advanced literature study, combining rigorous intellectual content with an accessible format and immediate feedback mechanisms that support student learning!

Probing Procedure for Micro-Teaching Resource Person – Fiza Pathan, PGCITE Graduate

Probing, as a pedagogical technique, is among the most sophisticated and intellectually demanding skills teachers can develop, and it stands at the very heart of what distinguishes truly exceptional teaching from merely competent instruction. When I employ probing in my IBDP and IGCSE classrooms, I am not simply asking questions—I am engaging in a deliberate, systematic process of cognitive scaffolding that guides students from surface-level comprehension toward the deep, nuanced understanding that characterizes genuine intellectual mastery. Probing is the art of asking follow-up questions that push students beyond their initial responses, challenge their assumptions, encourage them to elaborate on incomplete thoughts, demand evidence for claims, explore alternative perspectives, and ultimately help them construct more sophisticated and well-defended understandings of complex concepts. This technique has its philosophical roots in Socratic dialogue, where the teacher serves not as a dispenser of knowledge but as a skilled questioner who helps students discover truth through their own reasoning processes, and it aligns beautifully with the constructivist learning theories that underpin both the International Baccalaureate and IGCSE frameworks.

In the IB context, probing is not merely a useful technique but an essential pedagogical necessity because the entire programme is built on the principle that students should develop as inquirers, thinkers, and communicators who can analyze complex problems from multiple perspectives and construct well-reasoned arguments supported by evidence. The IB Learner Profile explicitly values students who are ‘inquirers’ and ‘thinkers,’ and the Approaches to Learning skills framework emphasizes critical thinking, creative thinking, and transfer skills—all of which are directly activated and developed through systematic probing. When I teach my IBDP-1 English students about Han Kang’s Human Acts or my IBDP-1 History students about the Chinese Civil War, I use probing questions at every stage of the lesson because I understand that genuine learning happens not when students passively receive information but when they actively wrestle with ideas, make connections, defend interpretations, and refine their thinking through dialogue. The IB assessment rubrics across all subjects consistently reward depth of analysis, sophisticated argumentation, and the ability to evaluate multiple perspectives—all capacities that are developed through regular exposure to probing questions that demand increasingly complex thinking.

The IGCSE framework similarly values probing as a core instructional strategy because IGCSE examinations require students to demonstrate not only factual knowledge but also the ability to analyze, evaluate, and synthesize information in response to challenging questions. For instance, IGCSE English Literature requires students to write analytical essays that go far beyond plot summary to explore how authors use language, structure, and form to create meaning and effect. Students can develop this kind of sophisticated literary analysis only through repeated practice responding to probing questions that push them from ‘what happens’ to ‘how it’s written’ to ‘why it matters’ to ‘what assumptions does this challenge.’ In my IGCSE classroom, when a student offers a basic interpretation of a text, I immediately follow up with probing questions like ‘What specific textual evidence supports that reading?’ or ‘How does that interpretation account for the contradictory evidence in chapter three?’ or ‘What alternative interpretations might a reader from a different cultural background construct?’ These follow-up questions transform a simple comprehension exercise into a genuine analytical inquiry where students must think critically, marshal evidence, and defend their interpretations against scrutiny.

In microteaching contexts within B.Ed. and PGCITE programs, probing is among the most important yet challenging skills prospective teachers must master, and it is a key indicator of pedagogical sophistication when supervisors evaluate teaching demonstrations. In microteaching sessions, observers look for evidence that teacher-candidates can move beyond simple recall questions to ask probing questions that activate higher-order thinking, and they assess whether candidates can respond flexibly to student answers rather than rigidly following a predetermined script. The ability to probe effectively requires deep content knowledge: teachers must understand their subject well enough to recognize when student responses are incomplete, inaccurate, or superficial, and to formulate on-the-spot follow-up questions that guide students toward a more complete understanding. It also requires sophisticated pedagogical content knowledge—the understanding of how students typically think about particular concepts, what misconceptions are common, and which questions will most effectively challenge and extend student thinking.

The relationship between probing and Bloom’s Taxonomy provides a useful framework for understanding how this technique operates across different levels of cognitive complexity. At the lower levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy—remembering and understanding—probing questions might ask students to recall specific details or explain concepts in their own words. The real power of probing, however, emerges at the higher levels, where students must apply, analyze, evaluate, and create. When I probe at the application level, I’m asking students to use their knowledge in new contexts: ‘How would Sartre’s concept of bad faith apply to the protagonist in The Visit?’ At the analysis level, I’m asking students to break down complex ideas and examine relationships: ‘What are the key differences between Camus’s absurdism and Nietzsche’s nihilism, and how does Han Kang navigate between these philosophical positions in Human Acts?’ At the evaluation level, I’m asking students to make judgments based on criteria: ‘Is Han Kang’s critique of existentialism philosophically sound, and what evidence from the text supports your assessment?’ And at the creation level, I’m asking students to synthesize information in original ways: ‘If you were to write a seventh chapter for Human Acts from the perspective of a character we haven’t heard from, what existential and theological themes would you explore, and why?’

The probing technique also aligns closely with Vygotsky’s sociocultural learning theory and the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development, which holds that the most effective learning occurs when students work on tasks that are just beyond their current independent capabilities but are achievable with appropriate support. Probing questions provide precisely this kind of support—they offer cognitive scaffolding that helps students reach an understanding they couldn’t achieve alone, while still requiring them to do the intellectual work themselves rather than simply receiving answers from the teacher. When a student gives a partially correct or incomplete response, my probing questions serve as scaffolds that guide them toward fuller understanding: ‘That’s an interesting observation about the body imagery in Human Acts—can you connect that to the theological concept of incarnation we discussed last week?’ This question acknowledges what the student has already understood, suggests a productive direction for further thinking, and requires the student to make the connection themselves, which is far more pedagogically powerful than simply explaining the connection directly.

In micro-teaching contexts at B.Ed. and PGCITE colleges, prospective teachers often struggle with probing because it requires quick thinking, confidence, and the willingness to relinquish some control over the exact direction of classroom discussion. Novice teachers usually feel most comfortable when they can predict precisely what students will say and when the lesson proceeds according to a carefully scripted plan, but effective probing requires flexibility and responsiveness because you cannot know in advance what students will say or what misconceptions will emerge. During my PGCITE training, I learned that the most effective probing occurs when teachers cultivate what might be called ‘disciplined improvisation’—they have clear learning objectives and a deep understanding of the content, but they remain flexible about the exact pathway students will take to reach those objectives, and they’re skilled at formulating in-the-moment questions that respond to whatever students actually say rather than to what the teacher hoped they would say.

There are several distinct types of probing questions, each serving a distinct pedagogical purpose, and skilled teachers learn to deploy them strategically to activate the thinking they want. Clarification probes ask students to make their thinking more explicit or precise: ‘When you say the character is ‘conflicted,’ what exactly do you mean by that term?’ Elaboration probes ask students to provide more detail or develop incomplete thoughts: ‘You’ve identified that theme—can you trace how it develops across the chapters of the novel?’ Evidence probes ask students to support claims with textual or empirical evidence: ‘What specific passages from the text led you to that interpretation?’ Challenge probes ask students to consider alternative perspectives or defend their thinking against objections: ‘How would you respond to someone who argued the opposite position?’ Connection probes ask students to relate ideas to other concepts, contexts, or frameworks: ‘How does this connect to what we learned about Camus last month?’ Extension probes ask students to apply their thinking in new directions: ‘If that’s true about this text, what would it suggest about the other novel we’re studying?’

The skilled use of probing also requires careful attention to wait time—the pause between asking a question and accepting an answer, and between receiving a student’s response and asking a follow-up question. Research consistently shows that when teachers increase wait time from the typical one second to three to five seconds, the quality of student responses improves dramatically—responses become longer, more thoughtful, more complex, and more evidence-based. In microteaching evaluations, supervisors specifically look for whether teacher candidates provide adequate wait time, because insufficient wait time signals anxiety or a lack of confidence. In contrast, appropriate wait time demonstrates pedagogical sophistication and genuine commitment to student thinking. When I probe in my classroom, I deliberately pause after asking a challenging question and resist the temptation to fill the silence or rephrase the question too quickly, because I understand that students need time to formulate complex thoughts and that the discomfort of silence is productive rather than problematic.

Probing also plays a crucial role in formative assessment because the questions I ask and the responses I receive give me immediate insight into students’ current understanding, misconceptions, and knowledge gaps. Unlike summative assessments, which evaluate learning after instruction is complete, formative assessments occur during instruction and inform my pedagogical decisions in real time. When I probe and discover that several students conflate Sartre’s concept of bad faith with Camus’s concept of philosophical suicide, I immediately know I need to clarify the distinction before moving forward and can adjust my instruction accordingly. This responsive teaching—where instruction adapts based on ongoing evidence of student understanding—is widely recognized as one of the most potent factors influencing student achievement, and probing serves as the primary mechanism through which teachers gather formative assessment data during whole-class discussion.

In the IB context, probing aligns beautifully with the programme’s 0emphasis on conceptual understanding and transfer. The IB doesn’t want students to memorize facts about particular texts or historical events but rather to understand big conceptual ideas—such as identity, transformation, conflict, or perspective—that transfer across contexts and disciplines. When I probe, I’m constantly pushing students to move from specific examples to broader conceptual understanding and back again: ‘We’ve been discussing how Han Kang uses second-person narration in Human Acts—what does this suggest more generally about the relationship between narrative form and ethical engagement with trauma?’ This kind of question requires students to move from the particular to the general, which is precisely the kind of conceptual thinking the IB values and that prepares students for university-level study.

For IGCSE students, probing is equally valuable because it develops the analytical and evaluative skills that examinations explicitly assess. When IGCSE English Literature asks students to analyze how writers use language to create effects, or when IGCSE History asks students to evaluate the significance of historical events, these examination questions are themselves probing and require sophisticated responses. By regularly exposing students to probing questions in classroom instruction, I’m preparing them to respond effectively to the probing questions they’ll encounter in their examinations and helping them internalize the habit of asking themselves probing questions as they read, study, and write.

The probing technique also fosters intellectual humility and openness to revision, both crucial dispositions for lifelong learning. When students regularly have their initial thoughts challenged by probing questions, they learn that first responses are rarely final answers, that thinking is a process of refinement and revision, and that changing one’s mind in response to evidence or argument is a sign of intellectual strength rather than weakness. In my classroom, I explicitly cultivate this culture by praising students who revise their thinking in response to probing: ‘I really appreciate how you’re willing to reconsider your initial interpretation in light of this new textual evidence—that’s exactly the kind of intellectual flexibility that strong thinkers demonstrate.’

In micro-teaching sessions at PGCITE, I’ve learned that effective probing also requires cultivating a classroom culture where students feel safe taking intellectual risks, offering tentative ideas, and being wrong. If students fear that wrong answers will lead to embarrassment or ridicule, they’ll stop volunteering responses, and the entire probing process breaks down. Skilled teachers therefore combine rigorous intellectual challenge with emotional support, using language that honors student thinking even while pushing it further: ‘That’s an exciting starting point—let’s think together about how we might develop that idea further’ or ‘I can see why you’d think that based on this passage—what happens when we consider this contradictory evidence from chapter five?’

In conclusion, probing is far more than a simple questioning technique—it is a sophisticated pedagogical art that transforms classrooms into genuine communities of inquiry where students and teachers together pursue understanding through disciplined, systematic dialogue. For IB and IGCSE students, regular engagement with probing questions develops the analytical skills, conceptual understanding, and intellectual dispositions that these programs value and that examinations assess. For prospective teachers in B.ED. and PGCITE programs, mastering the art of probing is a crucial milestone in professional development, demonstrating the content knowledge, pedagogical sophistication, and classroom management skills that distinguish excellent teachers from novices. As I continue to refine my own practice, I remain committed to the Socratic ideal that teaching is not telling but asking, and that the most powerful learning occurs when students discover truth through their own reasoning, guided by a teacher who knows exactly which questions to ask and exactly when to ask them!

Probing as Pedagogical Artistry: An Analysis of Socratic Inquiry in my MYP Grade 6 Greek and Roman Civilization Lesson

At its most sophisticated pedagogical manifestation, probing transforms a classroom from a space of passive information reception into a vibrant intellectual arena where students actively construct understanding through guided questioning, critical thinking, and sustained dialogue with both teacher and content. In my MYP Grade 6 Individuals and Societies lesson on Greek and Roman civilization, I used probing not as an occasional instructional strategy but as the foundation on which the entire lesson was built—a continuous thread of inquiry that wove together storytelling, historical analysis, philosophical reflection, and game-based assessment into a cohesive learning experience that honored my young students’ intellectual capacities while scaffolding them toward increasingly sophisticated historical thinking. This lesson, which culminated in my handcrafted Empire Builder game featuring Athens versus Rome in a competitive quiz format with differentiated difficulty levels, demonstrates how probing can be integrated across every phase of instruction—from set induction through procedure to assessment and plenary—creating what I would call a “pedagogy of perpetual inquiry” where questions drive learning and student thinking remains continuously activated throughout the entire class period.

Download the Lesson Plan of MYP Greek and Roman Civilization

Download the Lesson Observation and Assessment Sheet

Download MYP Individuals & Societies Greek and Roman Civilization PowerPoints

The induction phase of my lesson immediately reveals that probing is more than a questioning technique—it serves as a cognitive activation method that prepares students’ minds for the complex historical thinking that follows. I began the lesson with a connected biographical narrative about Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, deliberately chosen not only for their historical significance but also because these three philosophers epitomize the Socratic method of learning through questioning. By opening with these figures, I made a meta-pedagogical statement: this would be a lesson in which questions matter, inquiry drives understanding, and students would be expected to think philosophically about historical events rather than simply memorizing dates and names. After presenting this narrative, I immediately shifted into probing mode, asking students questions about the story they had just heard. This transition from storytelling to probing is pedagogically crucial because it signals that passive listening will not suffice—students must actively process information, make connections, and articulate their understanding in response to my questions. When I probed the connections between Aristotle and Alexander the Great, I was not simply testing recall; I was instead activating students’ ability to see relationships between ideas, understand cause and effect, and recognize how intellectual mentorship shapes historical outcomes.

The probing questions I asked during the set induction operated at multiple levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy simultaneously. At the remembering level, I asked students to recall specific details about the three philosophers and their significant contributions. At the understanding level, I asked them to explain how the Romans borrowed from Greek culture, requiring them to demonstrate comprehension of cultural transmission and influence. At the analysis level, I asked students to compare Plato’s and Aristotle’s works, requiring them to identify similarities and differences between the two complex philosophical systems. At the evaluation level, I asked students to assess ‘what must have actually happened to Alexander the Great,’ which required them to weigh historical evidence, consider multiple interpretations, and judge historical probability. This multi-level questioning strategy ensures that all students—regardless of their current achievement level—can engage meaningfully with the content, while also challenging advanced students to think more deeply.

The procedure phase of the lesson demonstrates how probing can be sustained throughout an entire class period without becoming monotonous or losing instructional momentum. I structured the procedure around what I call ‘probing nodes’—specific moments when I paused the narrative to ask targeted questions that deepened understanding, challenged assumptions, or connected new information to previously learned concepts. For instance, when discussing the Feast of the Lupercal, I didn’t simply explain this Roman festival—I probed students about its origins, its connection to the myth of Romulus and Remus, nursed by the she-wolf Lupa, and its significance in Roman religious life. Similarly, when covering Emperor Nero and the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD, I employed what I call ‘historical skepticism probing’—asking students whether they believed Nero actually ‘fiddled while Rome burned’ and encouraging them to think critically about how historical narratives are constructed, transmitted, and sometimes distorted over centuries. This kind of probing teaches students that history is not simply a collection of facts but an interpretive discipline in which evidence must be weighed, sources evaluated, and competing narratives compared.

My probing questions throughout the procedure consistently required students to make connections across different domains of knowledge—religion, politics, architecture, military history, geography, and philosophy—thereby developing the kind of interdisciplinary thinking that the MYP framework explicitly values. When I asked students about the connection between the Roman practice of sons ruling alongside their mothers (rather than their wives) and the Catholic devotion to Mary as the Mother of Jesus, I was seeking a sophisticated cultural analysis that recognizes patterns across belief systems and historical periods. When I asked students to compare Mark Antony as a ruler with Augustus Caesar, I was probing for a leadership analysis that required them to understand personality, political strategy, military capability, and historical context. When I asked students why Emperor Constantine became the first Christian Roman Emperor, I was probing for causal reasoning that requires understanding of political calculation, religious conviction, and historical turning points. Each of these probing questions demands more than simple recall—they require synthesis, evaluation, and the construction of reasoned arguments supported by historical evidence.

The Empire Builder game I created specifically for this lesson is perhaps the most innovative integration of probing into game-based assessment I have developed in my teaching career. The game board, which I handcrafted from cardboard, colored paper, plastic bottle caps for the difficulty badges, and carefully designed question cards that resemble ancient parchment, transforms traditional quiz assessment into an engaging, competitive, tactile learning experience while maintaining the rigorous probing that characterizes the entire lesson. The game features a large spinning wheel divided into eight thematic categories—Mythology, Culture, Government, Warfare, Geography, Famous Battles, Greek, Roman, and Leaders—that correspond to the major topics covered during the lesson. When the wheel stops on a category, students select a difficulty level (Easy, Medium, or Hard) represented by pink, blue, and red badges, respectively, and then answer a question from one of the eight numbered question cards hidden behind parchment-style covers. This multi-layered game structure introduces several sophisticated pedagogical elements that elevate it far beyond simple quiz games.

First, the choice of difficulty level introduces student agency and metacognitive awareness into the assessment process. Students must evaluate their own confidence in each topic and make strategic decisions about which difficulty level to attempt—do they play it safe with Easy questions worth fewer points, or take risks with Hard questions that could earn their team more points but might also result in no points if answered incorrectly? This decision-making process itself becomes a form of self-assessment, as students reflect on their learning and make choices based on that reflection. Second, the competitive team structure (Team Athens versus Team Rome) introduces collaborative learning dynamics in which students must work together, discuss possible answers, and support each other’s thinking—all while maintaining the academic rigor of individual accountability, since ultimately someone must articulate the answer aloud. Third, the visual and tactile elements of the game—the spinning wheel, the numbered parchment cards, the scoring strips with incremental point values (5, 10, 15, 20)—create multisensory engagement that honors different learning styles and keeps students physically and mentally active throughout the assessment process.

Most importantly for my analysis here, the Empire Builder game maintains the probing pedagogy that characterized the entire lesson because each question I’ve embedded in the game requires students to demonstrate understanding, analysis, or evaluation rather than simple memorization. The Easy questions might ask students to identify basic facts—’ Who was the Roman emperor during the census that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem?’ (Augustus Caesar). The Medium questions require a more complex understanding—’ Explain how Roman burial practices differed from Christian burial practices and why this difference mattered during periods of persecution.’ The Hard questions demand sophisticated analysis and synthesis—’ Evaluate the claim that Nero was unfairly maligned by history, considering the evidence for and against his responsibility for the Great Fire of Rome and the persecution of Christians.’ By embedding these different levels of cognitive demand into the game structure, I ensure that probing continues even during what might otherwise be a purely assessment-focused activity. Students aren’t just answering questions—they’re thinking historically, making arguments, and demonstrating the kind of disciplinary reasoning that defines authentic historical inquiry.

The probing during the game session differs from that during the initial procedure phase because I’m now probing in response to students’ answers rather than introducing new information. When a student selects a question and provides an answer, I don’t simply mark it right or wrong—I probe further to deepen understanding, challenge incomplete thinking, or extend correct answers into new territory. If a student correctly identifies that Julius Caesar was assassinated on the Ides of March, I probe: ‘Why did the conspirators choose that particular date? What was the significance of the Ides in the Roman calendar? How does Shakespeare’s portrayal of this event in Julius Caesar compare to the historical record?’ If a student incorrectly states that Hannibal successfully conquered Rome, I don’t simply correct them—I probe: ‘Hannibal did cross the Alps with elephants and win several major battles against Rome, including the devastating Roman defeat at Cannae—so why didn’t he ultimately conquer the city of Rome itself? What factors prevented his complete victory?’ This responsive probing transforms every game answer—whether correct or incorrect—into a teaching moment that deepens everyone’s understanding while maintaining the fun, competitive energy that makes the game engaging.

The differentiation embedded in the game structure demonstrates my sophisticated understanding of how probing must be calibrated to students’ readiness levels to be effective. The three-tiered difficulty system ensures that all students can participate meaningfully, regardless of their current achievement level—students who are still developing confidence with the material can contribute to their team by successfully answering Easy questions. In contrast, students who have mastered the basics can challenge themselves with Hard questions that push their thinking into more sophisticated territory. This differentiation is crucial in MYP classrooms, where students may span wide ranges of prior knowledge, reading levels, and cognitive development stages. By building choice into the game structure, I ensure that probing questions reach every student at an appropriate level of challenge—what Vygotsky called the Zone of Proximal Development—where tasks are neither so easy as to be boring nor so complex as to be frustrating, but rather at that optimal level where success requires effort and learning actually occurs.

The images from my classroom during the game session reveal another crucial dimension of probing pedagogy, the social and affective dynamics that make probing feel supportive rather than threatening. In the photographs, you can see students’ hands reaching eagerly toward the question cards, their body language suggesting excitement and engagement rather than anxiety or reluctance. This positive emotional atmosphere doesn’t happen by accident but results from deliberately cultivating a classroom culture where questions are opportunities for learning rather than tests to be feared, where wrong answers are stepping stones toward understanding rather than sources of embarrassment, and where intellectual risk-taking is celebrated rather than punished.

Throughout my teaching career, I’ve worked intentionally to cultivate this culture by praising students who revise their thinking (‘I really appreciate how you’re reconsidering that answer—that’s exactly what good historians do!’), validating partial answers before probing further (‘That’s a good start—can you develop that idea a bit more?’), and modeling my own thinking process when answering difficult questions (‘Let me think through this step by step…’). This affective dimension of probing pedagogy is especially important at the Grade 6 level, where students are developmentally transitioning from concrete operational to formal operational thinking and need extensive emotional support as they tackle increasingly abstract and complex concepts.

The plenary phase of the lesson demonstrates how probing can serve as both assessment and consolidation, allowing me to gauge student learning while reinforcing key concepts through one final round of questioning. By administering an additional online quiz on my portfolio website after the physical Empire Builder game, I created multiple opportunities for students to demonstrate understanding and for me to identify any remaining gaps or misconceptions that need to be addressed.

The plenary probing operates differently from earlier probing because I’m now specifically targeting concepts that proved challenging during the game, using student responses to guide my question selection. If I noticed during the Empire Builder game that students struggled with questions about the Byzantine Empire versus the Western Roman Empire, I would ensure that the plenary quiz includes questions that revisit this topic from a different angle, providing students with additional opportunities to clarify their understanding before leaving class. This responsive use of probing, based on formative assessment data gathered during instruction, exemplifies the kind of adaptive teaching that research consistently identifies as one of the most potent factors influencing student achievement.

The international-mindedness dimensions of the lesson—love, inclusiveness, inter-religious harmony, and the empowerment of the voiceless—themselves became topics for probing throughout the class. I didn’t simply tell students that Romans discriminated against Christians or that various religious traditions coexisted (sometimes peacefully, sometimes violently) in the ancient Mediterranean world—I probed students to think critically about these dynamics and connect them to contemporary issues. ‘Why do you think powerful empires often discriminate against religious minorities?’ ‘What parallels can you see between ancient Roman attitudes toward Christians and modern instances of religious persecution?’ ‘How did early Christians maintain their faith and community despite facing severe discrimination?’ These probing questions prompt students to reflect ethically and consider contemporary relevance, transforming history from a study of the dead past into a living resource for understanding present challenges and opportunities.

In conclusion, my MYP Grade 6 Greek and Roman Civilization lesson exemplifies probing pedagogy at its most comprehensive and sophisticated—woven through every phase of instruction, from set induction through procedures to assessment and plenary, calibrated across multiple difficulty levels to ensure all students can engage meaningfully, embedded within engaging game-based structures that maintain academic rigor while celebrating learning as joyful discovery, and deliberately cultivated in a classroom culture where questions drive understanding and thinking is valued above all else. The Empire Builder game that I created represents the culmination of this probing approach, transforming assessment into an occasion for continued learning, collaborative thinking, and intellectual celebration. My handcrafted materials demonstrate my commitment to creating memorable, tactile, visually engaging learning experiences that honor my students’ intelligence and celebrate the fascinating complexity of human history!

Set Induction for Micro-Teaching Resource Person – Rekha ma’am

On June 27, 2025, as I have mentioned before, Rekha ma’am began with the Set Induction module of our Micro-Teaching. She compared it to a simulation game, like how a pilot, such as her husband, is trained under controlled conditions on a mock plane or a smaller one. Or a doctor is taught his technique through dissections first of corpses in the morgue. Here, the dead body is a simulation. Doctors or surgeons will not directly work on any living organism; they will at most attend an observation of a dissection or operation performed by a professional or a teacher. Only after many observations and simulations will this doctor in training be confident enough to dissect or operate on an actual living human being with an issue.

So, whether you are a:

• Pilot
• Doctor
• Surgeon
• Astronaut
• Swimmer
• Athlete

You are first simulated in your profession or occupation, and only then will you be trusted enough to enter the arena to perform the skills you learned during the aforementioned simulation.

Rekha ma’am indicated to us that, as a teacher herself and a PGCITE trainer, she had to simulate classroom conditions in our own PGCITE classroom, which is termed Micro-Teaching. It was an educator named D.W. Allen who first coined and defined the term ‘Micro-Teaching’.

Definitions of Micro-Teaching collected from Rekha ma’am’s lecture notes by Fiza Pathan and from the latter’s own research:

‘Micro-teaching is a scaled-down teaching encounter in class size and time.’

–D.W. Allen

‘Microteaching is real teaching reduced in time, number of students, and range of activities.’

–B.M. Shore

‘Microteaching is a scaled-down teaching encounter in which a teacher teaches a small unit to a group of five pupils for a small period of 5 to 20 minutes.’

–L.C. Singh

‘Micro teaching is a training setting for the student-teacher where complexities of the normal classroom teaching are reduced by:

• Practicing one component skill at a time,
• Limiting the content to a single concept,
• Reducing the size to 5-10 pupils, and
• Reducing the duration of the lesson to 5-10 minutes.
  
  -N.K. Jangira and Azil Singh

Rekha ma’am then went on to narrate to us the history of Micro-Teaching, which originated at Stanford University. By the time World War 2 ended, the world was in flux. Many Western nations, especially those concerned with the values of democracy, inclusion, equality, and secularism, then decided to teach, among other things, to:

1. Revamp the education system, especially how students and teachers are taught at their teaching institutes.

2. To educate students and student-teachers to promote the values of peace, secularism, liberty, and freedom.

Most experimental educational institutions and research centers emerged after 1950, and many foundations funded these diverse organizations worldwide, in both Western and Eastern Communist nations, primarily to revamp education and how it was presented to students by their teachers. A diversified approach to education was pursued through various research methods, papers, and scholarly articles produced during this period, integrating subjects to enhance the educational research under study. Examples include psychology, sociology, history, geography, political science, geopolitics, philosophy, ethics, and logic.

In 1963, the Ford Foundation funded research in this area, which would ultimately contribute to his own industrial development. Stanford University also opened a research facility, supported by Ford, and, through thorough research on the topic, identified 120 skills that:

1. Not only did a teacher need to learn for herself to aid her teaching.

2. There were 120 ways in which a topic could be taught through various media.

Ironically, this was before the era of computers, ICT, AI, and the internet. However, today, a teacher must possess or learn a number of skills to achieve mastery in her craft:

• Oratorial Skills
• WBW Skills (White Board Work Skills)
• Organizational Skills
• Lesson Planning Skills
• ICT Skills
• Time-Management Skills
• Creative Skills
• Computer Skills
• AI Skills, and more

Then, the educational researchers Bush, Allen, and McDonald Acheson (1963) even went so far as to record teachers teaching under simulated conditions in the form of Micro-Teaching lessons. It was Keith Acheson who, through those videos, estimated various behavioral strengths and issues among teachers in training. Here is some additional information I, Fiza Pathan, personally procured through my research in the year 2025 during this course about Acheson and the researchers mentioned above, and their importance in the conceptualization and practice of Micro-Teaching:

Often referred to as the ‘father of micro-teaching,’ Allen coined the term and defined the practice as a ‘scaled-down teaching encounter.’ He was instrumental in establishing the core structural components, including the Micro-teaching Cycle (Plan → Teach → Feedback → Re-plan → Re-teach → Re-feedback).

Along with Allen, Bush is credited as a primary founder of the method. His work focused on defining micro-teaching as a teacher education tool that allows trainees to practice specific, clearly defined teaching skills—such as questioning or reinforcement—with a small group of real students.

Working as part of the core Stanford team, McDonald contributed to the program’s scientific and research-based foundation. He helped identify and refine the teaching skills (originally a list of 14 specific skills) that are now standard in micro-teaching clinics.

A research worker on the team, Acheson, is credited with pioneering the use of videotape recording as a feedback tool. This revolutionary contribution enabled teacher trainees to observe their own performance more vividly and accurately, making the feedback process more objective and immediate.

Together, these four educators transformed teacher training from a vague ‘trial-and-error’ internship into a systematic, laboratory-based procedure focused on mastery learning.

The Stanford team, led by Allen and Ryan, identified 14 specific technical skills critical to effective teaching. These skills were designed to be practiced individually to reduce the complexity of teaching.

1. Stimulus Variation: Altering gestures, voice, or position to maintain student attention.
2. Set Induction: Introducing a lesson to establish a cognitive framework (preparing students to learn).
3. Closure: Summarizing and concluding a lesson effectively.
4. Teacher Silence and Nonverbal Cues: Using pauses and body language to encourage student response.
5. Reinforcement of Student Participation: Using praise or rewards to encourage learning behavior.
6. Fluency in Questioning: Asking questions smoothly and clearly.
7. Probing Questioning: Asking follow-up questions to help students delve deeper into their answers.
8. Use of Higher-Order Questions: Questions that require analysis or synthesis rather than mere memory.
9. Divergent Questions: Questions that have multiple correct answers to foster creativity.
10. Recognizing and Attending Behavior: Noticing and responding to student cues (interest, boredom, confusion).
11. Illustrating and Use of Examples: Using clear examples to explain concepts.
12. Lecturing: Effective delivery of content.
13. Planned Repetition: Repeating key points for emphasis and retention.
14. Completeness of Communication: Ensuring instructions and explanations are fully understood.

All this was taught to me during my B.Ed. degree course at St. Teresa’s Institute of Education, Santacruz, as mentioned before.

Today, in the 21st century, the Age of AI, and the post-Truth Era, the current educational landscape presents a paradoxical challenge for teachers. While the demand for high-quality teaching has never been higher, the conditions for teachers, both in B.Ed. training and in practice, have never been worse. colleges and in practice (schools)—have become increasingly rigid and unrewarding.

Teachers are often viewed less as autonomous professionals and more as ‘delivery mechanisms’ for a standardized curriculum. This has created an environment of intense scrutiny, particularly in private institutions run by corporations. Teachers face ‘overwhelming monitoring.’ This goes beyond standard evaluations; it includes frequent, unannounced classroom checks by autocratic principals or management, rigid inspections of student notes, and constant administrative oversight that leaves little room for creative autonomy.

A significant portion of a teacher’s time is now consumed by non-teaching duties—data entry, compliance reports, and “endless paperwork” (such as UDISE+ uploads in India, which someone on Goodreads was just discussing with me last night). This administrative burden is often prioritized over actual pedagogy, forcing teachers to work evenings and weekends just to keep up (don’t I know it!).

In B.Ed. colleges, the curriculum is often criticized for being outdated or disconnected from real classroom realities. Yet student teachers are evaluated strictly against these theoretical standards (e.g., rigid lesson-plan formats) rather than on their ability to genuinely connect with students.

Also, in many private schools, job insecurity creates a ‘fear psychosis.’ Teachers may face pay cuts for taking leave, immediate termination without due process, or public humiliation for minor lapses, creating a toxic work environment. I faced this at my previous employer in 2011-2012 (especially a toxic environment because the senior teachers feared I would ahem – ‘steal their tuitions from them’ and become a supervisor in my very second year of teaching, which, yes, I was going to! But I decided to focus on my writing career, which was booming, and on my tutoring, where I was earning triple what I was earning at the school where I was working in this toxic environment, so I took a hiatus from official employment.

And I must say, despite the rigorous demands, the tangible and intangible rewards for teachers remain disproportionately low. Globally and specifically in India, teaching is often one of the lowest-paid professions relative to the education required. In private B.Ed. colleges and schools, salaries can be irregular, deferred, or significantly lower than government norms. During my B.Ed. days, I was urgently called to teach at an SSC School in Bandra West and Goregaon, and I was offered only ₹3,000. Because of my talent, efficiency, and intellect, one school was willing to push it to ₹10,000, but nothing more! This was in 2010, but, pathetically, the salary remains the same even now, in 2026!

Unlike the corporate sector, which offers performance bonuses, health benefits, or paid retreats, teachers rarely receive ‘perks.’ Even essential resources (like adequate classroom supplies) are often missing, forcing teachers to spend their own money, even at international schools or so-called IGCSE schools, especially those that have sprung up all over the place!

Research indicates that nearly 75% of teachers feel they would receive no recognition for improving their teaching or for being innovative (my research, conducted in Western countries, shows that little of value is being done in India). Appraisal systems are viewed as administrative hurdles rather than opportunities for praise or growth. While teaching is historically called a ‘noble profession,’ modern societal respect has eroded. Teachers are often blamed by parents for student underperformance, while their successes go unnoticed. This lack of ‘professional prestige’ is a major driver of burnout.

Thus, the combination of high scrutiny and low reward leads to ‘emotional exhaustion’ and ‘depersonalization’—a state in which teachers detach emotionally from their work to survive. This is not because they dislike teaching; it is because the system drains their passion.

The modern teacher is caught in a cycle in which accountability is at its highest, but authority and appreciation are at their lowest. They are scrutinized like factory workers on an assembly line, yet expected to nurture minds with the dedication of a saint, often without the support, salary, or respect that such a vital role demands.

The Systematic ‘Corruption’ of Education – Coaching Classes and Tuitions

The rise of the ‘Tuition Republic’ in India has created a parallel education system that many experts argue has compromised the integrity of formal schooling. Once intended for remedial help, tuition and coaching have evolved into a multi-billion-dollar “shadow education” industry (LOL!).

Education is increasingly treated as a ‘paid service’ rather than a path to knowledge. Coaching centers often prioritize exam-cracking ‘short-cuts’ and pattern recognition over deep conceptual clarity or critical thinking. A major corruption of the system is the rise of dummy schools—tie-ups in which students attend only coaching classes, the school marks their attendance, and they are allowed to sit for board exams. This effectively renders school-level holistic development (sports, arts, social skills) obsolete.

The intense focus on a 1% success rate in exams like JEE or NEET fosters a ‘dog-eat-dog’ mentality. This discourages cooperation and shifts a student’s identity from ‘learner’ to ‘statistic.’ As students increasingly rely on coaching, some schoolteachers may reduce their classroom efforts, sometimes even moonlighting as private tutors, further degrading the quality of formal school instruction.

Centers in hubs like Kota have become notorious for “pressure-cooker” environments, leading to high rates of student anxiety, depression, and, tragically, suicides. High coaching fees (often exceeding ₹1 lakh per year) create an unfair playing field in which success is often bought by those who can afford it, marginalizing talented students from poorer backgrounds. The relentless cycle of school followed by 6–8 hours of coaching leaves students with no time for rest, play, or self-reflection, leading to a ‘prolonged period of lost childhood.’ The Indian coaching industry is projected to reach ₹1.34 lakh crore by 2028 (yes, I am not kidding!).

Therefore, State Governments have recently introduced Guidelines for the Regulation of Coaching Centers (2024) to curb exorbitant fees, ensure safety, and prohibit enrolling students under 16.

National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 plans to reform ‘coaching culture’ by changing the nature of entrance exams

The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 explicitly identifies ‘coaching culture’ as a harmful trend driven by the high-stakes nature of board and entrance exams. To dismantle this ‘Shadow Education’ industry, the policy introduces several radical changes to assessment practices.

The policy aims to make board exams ‘easier’ by moving away from rote memorization and toward testing core competencies. Starting in the 2025-26 academic session, students (beginning with Class 10) will be able to take board exams twice a year. This allows them to use the second attempt to improve, reducing the ‘one-shot’ pressure that drives students to coaching centers.

The rigid separation of Arts, Science, and Commerce is being removed. Students can now mix subjects (e.g., Physics with Fashion Design or History), allowing them to pursue their interests rather than being forced into a narrow ‘coaching-friendly’ stream. This works especially well for me now because, at long last, I can study Data Science and Data Analytics with Linear Algebra and Calculus, which were previously barred to me as an Arts or Humanities student.

Questions are being revamped to include both objective (MCQ) and descriptive questions that test conceptual understanding and real-life application. To reduce the burden on students taking multiple individual entrance exams for different universities, the NEP 2020 proposes a unified approach. The National Testing Agency (NTA) will offer high-quality common aptitude tests and specialized subject exams at least twice a year. Universities are encouraged to use these NTA scores for admissions rather than conducting their own exams, significantly reducing the ‘multiplicity’ of coaching required for various institutions.

While the NEP focuses on pedagogy, the government also introduced the Guidelines for Regulation of Coaching Centers (2024). These guidelines mandate ‘reasonable’ fees and prohibit batch segregation based on academic performance to protect student mental health. Experts remain divided on whether these changes will actually ‘kill’ the coaching industry. Some argue that as long as the number of seats in top-tier colleges (such as IITs or DU) remains low, the competition will simply shift from ‘rote-learning coaching’ to ‘competency-based coaching.’

Moonlighting Teaching Profile: School Teachers Who Buy Their Tuitions With Corrupt Practices

In India, the transition of education from a ‘mission’ to a ‘market’ has given rise to a disturbing phenomenon: the school-coaching nexus. This system is often fueled by ‘moonlighting’ teachers—educators who hold primary positions in schools while secretly (or sometimes openly) running private tutoring centers.

Based on current educational research and systemic observations, this section of the website portfolio analyzes how this practice corrupts the pedagogical process I use, Fiza Pathan. I call this business ‘the mechanics of engineered inefficiency’. Research indicates that moonlighting often leads to a ‘conscious effort to create a market’. In other words, teachers may deliberately under-teach in the classroom to ensure students feel ‘incomplete’ without extra help. This creates an artificial dependency on private tuition. One of the most severe forms of corruption is leaking internal or periodic assessment papers to tuition students. Teachers use these leaks as a ‘marketing tool’ to guarantee high scores for their tuition students, thereby attracting more ‘customers’ to them.

In some cases, teachers unfairly mark students who do not attend their private classes, using low grades as a coercive tactic to pressure them to enroll. My own otherwise stellar tuition students have faced the same backlash at their respective ICSE schools because of this very issue. However, at the Boards, my students top the Boards – but that does not mean anything because a student’s admission to any institution except a government institution is based on their prelim exams or exams taken in the school during the 9th, 10th, 11th, or 12th grade. This gives corrupt school teachers the upper hand to leak papers and to correct their own students’ papers leniently, with no one to call them to account. In fact, over the years, I have seen that principals and school management shield such teachers from public scrutiny, and these teachers continue to flourish in their ‘moonlighting adventures’.

This is one of the main reasons I personally wish not only to stop giving tuitions myself, even though I am not attached to any school, but also to work toward the long-term goal of eliminating such tuitions by schoolteachers.

Studies in regions like Kerala and Gujarat show that nearly 40% to 50% of private school teachers engage in moonlighting. We saw plenty of this through the videos, informative lessons on the topic, and incidents stated by Rekha ma’am herself about these two particular states in India, which we then discussed at length, especially Minal and me.

While low pay and financial instability are the primary drivers (often with monthly tuition income nearly matching their school salary), the practice is also sustained by a lack of institutional oversight. This has an adverse impact on the primary job, where moonlighting leads to significant fatigue, stress, and burnout, making teachers less available for school-wide collaborations or student mentoring during regular hours.

But since 2015, the corruption has extended beyond individual teachers to broader institutional ‘rackets’. Let me explain to you, dear reader, how this works before we get back to Rekha ma’am’s information regarding Set-Induction.

Systemic Corruption and ‘Shadow Education’

A growing trend of collaboration between schools and coaching centers. The school provides the ‘board affiliation’ and attendance records, while the coaching center handles the actual teaching, effectively outsourcing education. When students see their ‘gurus’ involved in cheating or paying for grades, it destroys their moral compass. Success becomes something to be ‘bought’ rather than ‘earned,’ leading to a generation of graduates who may be skilled at exams but lack integrity.

I have lost a number of tuitions since the pandemic because of a few of these notorious reasons:

1. I can’t leak a paper.

2. I don’t have the contacts who can give me a leaked paper for a school child I am teaching.

3. I make a child work hard and study to achieve good grades, which is exactly what kids and their indulgent, morally dead parents don’t want!

4. I explain my subject and demand excellence, while students prefer to be given the pattern for writing an answer and to take numerous tests to make themselves ‘feel’ that they are getting prepared for a Board Exam, while they are actually being satiated or making the same mistakes every time they take the mock-test or mock-exam run by professional moonlighting teachers and coaching classes.

5. Parents and students now view tuition teachers as a commodity, not a ‘guru’.

Recent trends show teachers using WhatsApp groups or YouTube ‘prediction’ channels to distribute leaked content, further expanding the reach of this malpractice. Governments are introducing laws to curb the ‘nexus’, as it were, between colleges and coaching classes, with some states, like Maharashtra, initiating criminal charges and barring teachers involved in leaks from exam duties. Thank you, Maharashtra! Jai Maharashtra!

If you want some guidelines from my research, that is Fiza Pathan’s authentic private research, on this particular topic, then here are some guidelines that can aid you as an educator in India to eliminate this gross malpractice from our schools forever.

Please remember that you have read and heard all this first here on Fiza Pathan’s website teaching portfolio for PGCITE at fizapathansteachingportfolioforpgcite.com – so please consider my copyright over this information and research, which I have presented freely to you for your perusal and implementation.

Preventable Measures Against Corrupt Tuition Teachers and their Associates, as suggested by Fiza Pathan, a PGCITE graduate and upcoming AS & A Level and IBDP Teacher Scholar

When schoolteachers use their positions to provide ‘insider information’ to their private tuition students, they destroy the meritocratic foundation of education. This practice not only marginalizes students who cannot afford extra coaching but also instills a dangerous belief in young minds that success is something to be ‘bought’ through connections rather than ‘earned’ through hard work. I have said this before, and I am reiterating it for emphasis, because this is not spoken of much in urban circles or in the newspapers. The psychological impact is profound, leading to a ‘fear psychosis’ as I have found in certain South-Indian articles and journals among students, and a total erosion of the ‘Guru-Shishya’ bond that once defined the Indian education system takes place.

To combat this, a structural shift is required. Schools must move toward a culture of ‘Radical Transparency,’ where assessment materials are generated through centralized banks (that is the best!) and ‘Conflict of Interest’ clauses are strictly enforced to prohibit teachers from tutoring their own school’s students. By implementing anonymous feedback loops and providing in-house remedial support (such as ‘Zero-Period’ clinics, which I started when I was teaching at Lilavatibai Podar High School, Santacruz, and proposed to the Principal and Vice Principal, who were willing to implement), institutions can reclaim their role as the primary centers of learning. Furthermore, the profession must be revitalized by offering teachers the ‘Professional Prestige’ and ‘Financial Security’ they deserve, ensuring that no educator feels compelled to moonlight out of economic necessity. Come on! How can you ever live on just ₹3,000 a month? I spend ₹3,000 on one visit to Crossword Bookstore, and it’s ₹360 for a Cappuccino at Starbucks!

We can also recognize ‘Innovation in Classroom Teaching’ through public awards to boost teacher morale and professional standing. I received this award at Podar in 2011. My salary was increased because of my honesty and my students’ exam performance, from ₹36,000 to ₹45,000. 😊

A foundational step, in my view, is implementing a Mandatory Conflict of Interest Clause that requires every educator to sign a declaration upon joining, strictly prohibiting the private tutoring of any current student from the school for financial gain. This clear boundary protects the sanctity of the teacher-student relationship from being reduced to a financial transaction. Complementing this is the introduction of Periodic Anonymous Feedback Systems, through which students and parents can securely report whether they feel overt or subtle pressure to join external classes offered by specific faculty. By giving a voice to the stakeholders most affected by predatory tutoring, schools can identify and address ‘engineered inefficiency’ before it takes root in the classroom.

Furthermore, the ‘paper-leak’ culture can be neutralized through Centralized and Moderated Assessment Practices, as I have mentioned before, and I have practical experience with this while teaching 9th and 10th grades at Lilavatibai Podar High School ICSE, Santacruz, where this excellent policy was implemented to ensure fairness. Instead of allowing individual subject teachers to have sole control over exam creation, schools should use a centralized question bank or a cross-departmental moderation committee to ensure that no single teacher can use ‘leaked’ content as a marketing tool for their private tuitions.

Also, to address students’ genuine remedial needs, institutions should institutionalize In-House Support Systems, such as ‘Zero-Period’ clinics or supervised after-school sessions, as I have mentioned before. However, please note that these sessions should be led by a rotation of teachers to ensure students receive high-quality help at no additional cost, thereby eliminating the financial barrier to academic success. I used to be the only one doing this back at the ICSE Podar; I was the first teacher to arrive at 6:00 am and the last to leave, around 2:30 pm or even 3:00 pm, when the school would actually end by 12:30 pm! (Didn’t I tell you I was eccentric!)

I, Fiza Pathan, am committed to being a catalyst for this change. Starting in 2026, I am officially launching an in-depth discussion and a series of advocacy modules on my PGCITE website portfolio. My goal is to take an active, leadership role in this initiative—using my platform for podcasts, Zoom interviews, and classroom demonstrations—to champion an ethical, student-centric pedagogy. By highlighting the contributions of pioneers like Allen and Bush alongside modern reformative policies like the NEP 2020, I aim to restore the sanctity of the classroom and ensure that education remains a tool for empowerment, not a commodity for sale.

Here are some of the Ethical Guidelines I have crafted for Educators:

I will use these as a personal statement on a website or as a handout during demonstrations:

1. Content Equality: Everything a student needs to excel in a subject should be provided in the classroom.
2. Transparency: Maintain an open approach by making lesson plans and resources accessible to students.
3. Assessment Integrity: Grading should be based on shared rubrics and not used as a tool for coercion.
4. Professional Boundaries: Avoid using school time, school premises, or student data to promote personal ventures.

Podcast and Interview Talking Points on fizapathansteachingportfolioforpgcite.com

When being interviewed or interviewing my panelists or colleagues, I will also use these points to discuss the current educational landscape:

• On Integrity: Discuss the importance of ethical conduct in education and the consequences of compromising it.
• On the Teaching Profession: Highlight the need to treat teachers as professionals and to provide adequate support.
• On External Tutoring: Discuss the reasons for the rise of external tutoring and how to address them within the school system.
• On Vocation vs. Transaction: Emphasize that teaching is a calling that requires sustainable compensation.

I, Fiza Pathan, as mentioned before, will champion these specific pillars of reform as a core part of my 2026 initiative. Through my website portfolio and upcoming podcasts and interviews, I intend to demonstrate how these strategies—ranging from centralized assessments to structured in-house support—can be seamlessly integrated into modern school systems to restore trust and excellence in Indian education.

For your study and review, and for transparency, which I always advocate, I am providing a detailed bibliography for this topic that details where I conducted my research and collected my data. Please refer to it and get back to me if you are a professional working in the education sector, or with students anywhere in the world, in any area of specialization, for their well-being. If you are an author, teacher, professor, or scholar who has conducted valid research in this area, please feel free to contact me using the contact information provided in the PGCITE teaching portfolio on this website. I would love to hear from you. 😊

Bibliography for PGCITE Portfolio: Education Reform and Pedagogical History:

1. Bray, M. (2009). Confronting the Shadow Education System: What Government Policies for What Private Tutoring? UNESCO Publishing.
2. Bhorkar, S., and Bray, M. (2018). “The Expansion and Roles of Private Tutoring in India: From Supplementation to Substitution.” International Journal of Educational Development, 62, 148-156.
3. Majumdar, M. (2014). “The Shadow School System and the New Class Division in India.” In: Education and Inequality in India: A Classroom View. Routledge.
4. Ministry of Education, Government of India. (2020). National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. New Delhi: Government of India. (Specifically, Sections 4 and 5 on Board Exam reforms and Teacher Education)
5. UNESCO. (2021). State of the Education Report for India 2021: No Teacher, No Class. UNESCO New Delhi Cluster Office. (Critical data on teacher working conditions, lack of autonomy, and staffing deficits)
6. Government of India. (2024). Guidelines for Regulation of Coaching Centers. Ministry of Education
7. Pandit, S., and Kamjula, N. (2025). “A Study on Teachers’ Moonlighting Impact on their Job Performance in Selected Secondary Schools.” International Journal of Global Research Innovations and Technology, 3(1)
8. The Times of India / The Hindu. (Archives 2023–2025). Coverage on “Dummy Schools,” “Paper Leaks,” and “Kota Coaching Suicides.”
9. Fiza Pathan. (2026). The Systematic ‘Corruption’ of Education – Coaching Classes and Tuitions. [https://fizapathansteachingportfolioforpgcite.com/]

Set-Induction Procedure Continued –(Resource Person Rekha ma’am)

Component Skills Application

1. Starter/Set Induction/Introduction Skill

2. Skill of Probing Questions

3. Skill of Explanation (We don’t do this at the IGCSE and IB levels because our students will be explaining to us instead)

4. Skill of Stimulus Variation (where we change the modality to prevent the lesson from becoming monotonous)

5. Skill of Blackboard/Interactive Board

6. Skill of Achieving Closure

Plan for Set-Induction Lesson

Start a small lesson as part of the IB or IGCSE Board syllabus. Use the following steps to create your lesson according to the Set-Induction steps:

1. Starter/Set Induction

2. Teach – small lesson

3. Feedback – Peers are aware of what has been taught, and there should be a direct relationship between the story or set induction and the lesson at hand.

4. Re-Plan – Based on the feedback, one has to re-teach the lesson if necessary.

5. Re-teach – Only one week’s time will be given for the same.

6. Re-Feedback – The peers provide their feedback again.

The Thirsty Crow

(Rekha ma’am’s favorite Aesop Fable)

‘India was China’s teacher in religion and imaginative literature, and the world’s teacher in trigonometry, quadratic equations, grammar, phonetics, Arabian Nights, animal fables, chess, as well as in philosophy, and that she inspired Boccaccio, Goethe, Herder, Schopenhauer, Emerson, and probably also old Aesop.’

― Lin Yutang

(Prolific writer of a wide variety of works in Chinese and English; in the 1930s)

Rekha ma’am, before she could introduce the topic of Storytelling, introduced the January 2025 batch of PGCITE students to her favorite curio in the world, which also happened to be her favorite Aesop Fable – namely, the thirsty crow.

For a long time now, since January 2025, we have been aware that Rekha ma’am loved this fable and found it to be an all-purpose fable because:

• It taught mathematics using a story as a set induction.
• It taught Physics through topics such as Mass, Volume, Density, and the concepts of floating and sinking.
• In Chemistry, we learned about the solubility of substances such as mud, salt, and sugar.
• In Chemistry again, we learned about filtration.
• In Biology, we learned about the characteristics of living organisms.
• In Global Perspectives, we learned about water scarcity.
• In Economics, we learned about Demand and Supply.
• In Business Studies, we were taught about the efforts put in and the results obtained.

Thus, through one Thirsty Crow, we got so many examples of lessons for various subjects. Thus, Rekha ma’am, to my absolute delight and ecstasy, started the topic on Set-Induction, but did so through stories. Stories were told using a prop, a curio, and the like. These could be real stories, known stories, made-up fictional stories, or unknown stories.

Rekha ma’am then asked us to give examples of PYP stories we had read or heard about when we were children, or when we were working with our students in the Junior Grades or the PYP. Naturally, I knew most of these books and shared my knowledge with the PGCITE class. Here is the list we noted down on the 27th of June, 2025:

• Bible Stories
• Stories from the Puranas
• Stories from the Ramayana
• Stories from the Mahabharata
• Stories from the Jataka Tales
• Stories from the Koran
• Stories from the Hadith
• Stories from Aesop’s Fables
• Stories from Akbar and Birbal
• Stories from Hans Christian Andersen
• Stories from Grimm’s Fairy Tales
• Stories from The Arabian Nights
• Stories from the Panchatantra
• Stories from the books of Dr. Seuss
• Stories from Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of Peter Rabbit
• Stories of Vikram and Betaal
• Stories of Tenali Raman
• Stories from the Hitopadesha
• Stories from R.K. Narayan’s Malgudi Days
• Stories of Ruskin Bond, etc.

Rekha ma’am informed us that we would be introduced to more stories and books as we went along with the class for the rest of the month, and hoped that by the next class some of us would be generous enough to bring some of our storybooks for younger readers to class, or the storybooks our children read or were reading who were in the PYP or Kindergarten.

Naturally, I was overexcited, and Sana, my PGCITE friend, could see that clearly. In the end, as I mentioned last year in a blog book review post of the PYP book ‘Oscar and Arabella and Ormsby’ by Neal Layton on this same online teaching portfolio, it was ultimately only I who carried most of my books to the PGCITE classroom and was the SOLE RESOURCE PERSON for the books read and analyzed during the whole Story-Telling PGCITE lesson session.

But first, we shall go over what we were taught about storytelling and its basics. We were probed by Rekha ma’am about whether it was possible to use these PYP stories of old as set inductions for lessons, and whether there was a rationale for using stories as starters in a classroom setting. She briefly mentioned Piaget (1969, stating that he and Bruner (1966) were responsible for the rationale for using stories as set inductions or starters in micro-teaching simulated lessons.

But we did not receive any further information from her on that point. So I researched my own books and journals, available for free or for rental, at my MTS college library, MyMuse, and found the following information about their contributions to this field. I have included it here for your review.

Piaget’s and Bruner’s rationale for using stories as set induction (Resource Person – Fiza Pathan, PGCITE Graduate)

Jean Piaget’s constructivist framework, developed in the early-to-mid 20th century, provides a strong rationale for using stories as set induction (the ‘hook’ at the beginning of a lesson). Piaget (1896–1980) argued that children are not passive recipients of information but ‘little scientists’ who actively construct their own understanding through interaction with their environment.

In his seminal 1923 work, ‘The Language and Thought of the Child’, he observed that young children’s cognitive processes are qualitatively different from adults’, characterized by egocentrism and reliance on symbolic thought. By introducing a story-based lesson, educators tap into a child’s natural symbolic function, which is particularly strong during the preoperational stage (ages 2–7). This stage is defined by the ability to use symbols—such as a story’s narrative—to represent real-world objects and events.

The rationale for using storytelling as an introductory activity also rests on Piaget’s theory of adaptation, which comprises two complementary processes—assimilation and accommodation. A story provides a relatable context that helps students integrate new information into their existing mental frameworks or schemas. However, when a story presents a conflict or a surprising twist, it creates a state of disequilibrium, a cognitive discomfort that motivates the child to accommodate their thinking. This process of equilibration—restoring balance by updating one’s mental models—is the engine of cognitive growth.

Furthermore, Piaget’s 1932 book, ‘The Moral Judgment of the Child’, suggests that stories help children move from egocentrism toward decentring by prompting them to consider the perspectives of different characters. By using stories as a ‘concrete anchor,’ teachers provide the readiness children need to transition from intuitive play to more logical, rule-based learning in the concrete operational stage (ages 7–11). Ultimately, Piaget believed the goal of education was to create ‘inventors and innovators,’ and stories serve as the initial spark that invites children to actively discover and transform reality rather than simply repeating what they are told.

Jerome Bruner’s contribution to the significance of storytelling as set induction (the ‘hook’ or introductory stage of a lesson) shifted the focus from Piaget’s internal mental stages to the social and cultural tools that help children learn. While Piaget saw stories as anchors for individual development, Bruner viewed them as an essential ‘mode of thought’ that makes any complex subject accessible to any child. In influential works such as ‘Actual Minds, Possible Worlds’ (1986) and ‘Acts of Meaning’ (1990), Bruner argued that humans have two primary ways of organizing knowledge: the paradigmatic (logical-scientific) mode and the narrative mode.

Bruner believed that while science and math are ultimately paradigmatic, the human mind is naturally ‘story-ready.’ Using a story for set induction works because it speaks to the narrative mode first—the way we make sense of human experience—before transitioning students to the lesson’s more abstract, logical rules.

Bruner’s ‘Theory of Instruction’ (1966) introduced three levels of representing reality that are often used to structure set induction:

1. Enactive (Action-based): Learning by doing (e.g., a teacher physically acting out a part of a story).
2. Iconic (Image-based): Learning through sensory images or mental pictures provided by the narrative.
3. Symbolic (Language-based): Moving into the abstract symbols of the lesson, such as mathematical formulas or scientific definitions.

A story-based set induction is powerful because it often moves students seamlessly from the Iconic (picturing the characters) to the Symbolic (understanding the underlying lesson).

Referring to the hare and tortoise race, Rekha ma’am created a lesson in the past in which she used this story and an image similar to the one above, which she stuck to the board with blue tac, to teach her class the lesson – Speed, Distance and Time.

She thus encouraged us to bring our favorite stories into our teaching. In English, as Rashmi suggested, the Hare and the Tortoise story could be used to teach Degree of Comparison, Tenses, or even the simple number line, such as how many jumps the hare would take. She stated that the story’s connection to the lesson should come naturally rather than be forced. It should thereby be a seamless transition into the topic under study.

Even with the story of the ‘Three Little Pigs’, we, as IGCSE and IB teachers, could analyze many concepts that could be taught through this classic story. We could teach UOI topics like ‘Materials of Houses and Cacha and Pacca houses’ or, in a PYP Science class, teach about domestic and wild animals. In Physics, we could tackle the topic of Mass, Weight, and Volume through the breeze blown by the wolf, and in English, we could do a character analysis or a negative character analysis, etc.

Rashmi, a dear PGCITE colleague, also suggested that in English, rhyming and onomatopoeia could be used, and in Physics, again, because the wolf came down the chimney into a boiling pot, we could teach the heating and boiling points of water accordingly, as well as the topics of Force, Air Pressure, etc.

We were therefore implored by Rekha ma’am to bring our storybooks to the PGCITE class by the 1st of July, when we would officially begin our class on Storytelling in full swing. She insisted that our first presentation in that area would be to pick any book from the display of our own books, arranged decoratively in the PGCITE classroom. Then, in class, we would have to read the book or just one book and present it to the PGCITE classroom in an interactive way, conversing or discussing the many subject topics at the IGCSE and IB level that we could teach with that particular story or book in mind.

On June 27, 2025, I was scheduled for a proxy class in the MYP 7th-grade section, where I had to assist my teacher friend, Shailendra Sir, the new Spanish master, in maintaining discipline in his class. That day, to conduct a formative test, the class would be combined with more than 45 students. So the master needed extra assistance, and I was asked to assist him after my PGCITE class. However, I wanted to start the procedure of telling a story or series of stories to my PGCITE class and analyzing the various topics that could be covered therein.

To save time, I was again the first to give my presentation that day. I read two books that day interactively, using voice modulation and my trained oratorical skills, and even asked my peers probing questions about the books. I read two books that day, namely ‘Dear Zoo’ by Rod Campbell and ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ by Dr. Seuss, which everyone appreciated beyond measure and applauded me to the point of a standing ovation.

Story-Telling Lesson Continued – (Resource Persons – Rekha ma’am and Fiza Pathan, a PGCITE graduate)

‘My alma mater was books, a good library…. I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.’

― Malcolm X

‘What an astonishing thing a book is. It’s a flat object made from a tree with flexible parts on which are imprinted lots of funny dark squiggles. But one glance at it and you’re inside the mind of another person, maybe somebody dead for thousands of years. Across the millennia, an author is speaking clearly and silently inside your head, directly to you. Writing is perhaps the greatest of human inventions, binding together people who never knew each other, citizens of distant epochs. Books break the shackles of time. A book is proof that humans are capable of working magic.’

― Carl Sagan

(From his book Cosmos, Part 11: The Persistence of Memory 1980)

‘Let children read whatever they want and then talk about it with them. If parents and kids can talk together, we won’t have as much censorship because we won’t have as much fear.’

― Judy Blume

After I finished presenting both my books, Rekha ma’am applauded me along with the others, and my PGCITE peers gave me their feedback, which was a resounding ‘wow.’ I’m not saying that out of pride, but as I always say, I’m stating a statement of fact. It was so, and it was so. Sana especially applauded me for the way I narrated the story, including our younger Gen Z teachers, namely Ananya and Mehek. Later, during their future micro-teaching lessons in the PYP, I could see them drawing inspiration from my storytelling and narrative abilities and developing their own unique forms of storytelling. The younger ones got on really quickly about how storytelling narration was supposed to be done, and I’m glad they created a niche of their own and a unique presentation style, which I admire.

Rekha ma’am, before I left, initiated the discussion about the topics that could be covered in the book ‘Dear Zoo’ by Rod Campbell because she was quite fascinated with it, compared to the otherwise more Christian-based ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ by Dr. Seuss, who is not everyone’s cup of tea – or coffee!

Here is a table of the subjects that ‘Dear Zoo’ could cover, which were discussed in class, not only before I left for my proxy but also after the class was again in session two days later, after a day’s break for internship duties such as observations, invigilation, and other Podar IB school internship work related to your interest.

Subject	Topic/Chapter
UOI (PYP)	Materials
Science (PYP)	Domestic and Wild Animals
Physics (MYP)	Measurement
English (PYP)	Sounds of Animals

I later worked on the subjects and topics that could be taught using ‘How The Grinch Stole Christmas’ by Dr. Seuss at home, and here is what I got:

Subject	Topic/Chapter
UOI (PYP)	Festivals/Christmas
English (PYP)	Rhyming Words
English (MYP)	Figures of Speech
English (MYP)	Poetry Writing

I had to do ‘How the Grinch Stole Christmas’ because it was my all-time favorite kiddie book, and besides, Jim Carrey, my favorite actor of all time, had acted in the movie based on this book, so how could I ever resist?

By July 1, 2025, my presentation was over, and, well, I did not have to read anything per se because all the books bought every day for a whole month for the class were mine. Plus, I had read all those books several times before while I conducted the Born To Read Library Book Club at my home.

When we met on July 1, we began compiling a list of stories, fairy tales, and books we had read in the past that could be discussed and used in a classroom setting. Rekha ma’am informed us that we needed to have at least 50 known stories as a resource for our lessons at Podar IB between October and December 2025. In December 2025, I would use Greek and Roman mythology extensively in my Individuals and Societies lesson across the 5 divisions of the 6th-grade MYP. I would also use even more innovative and rare stories pertaining to the Chinese Civil War in my IBDP-1 History lesson.

Rekha ma’am was very particular about having this resource. For me, this task was a piece of cake, so back at home, I started making a list of well-known and popular stories and came up with this tabular list that I am sharing with my readers here:

Name	Description	Concepts
1. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee	Young Scout Finch witnesses her father defending a Black man falsely accused of rape in 1930s Alabama.	English Literature (narrative perspective, symbolism), History (American Civil Rights movement, Jim Crow laws), Global Perspectives (justice systems, racial prejudice), TOK (ethics, moral courage)
2. 1984 by George Orwell	Winston Smith lives under totalitarian surveillance in a dystopian future where the Party controls history and thought itself.	English Literature (dystopian fiction, political allegory), History (totalitarianism, Cold War), Global Perspectives (surveillance, propaganda, media manipulation), TOK (truth, language, and reality), Politics (authoritarianism)
3. Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare	Two young lovers from feuding families in Verona secretly marry, leading to tragic consequences.	English Literature (tragedy, dramatic structure), History (Renaissance Italy), Global Perspectives (family honor, conflict resolution), Psychology (adolescent decision-making)
4. Hamlet by William Shakespeare	Danish Prince Hamlet seeks revenge for his father’s murder while grappling with existential questions about death and meaning.	English Literature (soliloquy, revenge tragedy), Philosophy (existentialism, mortality), Psychology (grief, indecision, madness), TOK (knowledge and certainty)
5. Lord of the Flies by William Golding	British schoolboys stranded on an uninhabited island descend from civilized cooperation into savage tribalism.	English Literature (symbolism, allegory), Psychology (group dynamics, moral development), Philosophy (human nature, civilization versus savagery), Global Perspectives (leadership, governance)
6. Dracula by Bram Stoker	Count Dracula moves from Transylvania to England, spreading vampirism, while a group tracks him to destroy him.	English Literature (Gothic horror, epistolary novel), History (Victorian England, Eastern Europe), Geography (Transylvania, migration), Psychology (fear, sexuality)
7. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley	Scientist Victor Frankenstein creates life but abandons his creature, who seeks revenge for his isolation and suffering.	English Literature (Gothic novel, Romanticism), Biology (ethics of scientific creation), TOK (responsibility of knowledge), Global Perspectives (scientific ethics, playing God)
8. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll	A girl falls down a rabbit hole into a nonsensical fantasy world filled with peculiar characters and illogical events.	English (nonsense literature, wordplay), Mathematics (size changes, logic puzzles), Philosophy (logic, identity), Art (illustration, surrealism), TOK (reality, dreams)
9. Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll	Alice enters a mirror world where everything is reversed, becoming a pawn in a chess game across an enchanted landscape.	English (mirror imagery, reversal), Mathematics (chess, logic, spatial reasoning), Science (reflection, mirrors), Philosophy (reversed logic)
10. Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe	Scholar sells soul to devil Mephistopheles for 24 years of magical power and knowledge, ultimately facing damnation.	English Literature (Renaissance drama, tragedy), Religious Studies (sin, damnation, redemption), Philosophy (knowledge, ambition, soul), History (Renaissance, Reformation), TOK (limits of expertise, price of expertise)
11. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving	Superstitious schoolteacher Ichabod Crane encounters the Headless Horseman while courting Katrina Van Tassel.	English Literature (American Gothic, legend), History (colonial America, Dutch settlers), Geography (Hudson Valley), PSHE (superstition, fear)
12. Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving	Man sleeps for twenty years in the Catskill Mountains, awakening to find the world completely changed.	English Literature (American literature, transformation), History (American Revolution – before/after), Science (sleep, aging), Geography (Catskills), TOK (time, change)
13. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne	Englishman Phileas Fogg bets he can circumnavigate the globe in 80 days, racing against time through adventures.	Geography (world geography, routes, cultures), Mathematics (time zones, calculations), History (Victorian era, colonialism), Science (transportation), English Literature (adventure)
14. The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells	A scientist discovers an invisibility formula but becomes insane and violent when unable to reverse it.	Science (light, refraction, biology), English Literature (science fiction, mad scientist), PSHE (consequences of discovery, isolation, power), TOK (visibility and existence), Ethics (science without ethics)
15. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde	A beautiful young man’s portrait ages and shows sins while he remains eternally young, leading to moral destruction.	English Literature (Gothic, aestheticism, morality), Philosophy (aestheticism, hedonism), PSHE (vanity, morality, consequences), Art (portraiture), TOK (appearance versus reality)
16. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss	Sam-I-Am persistently offers green eggs and ham to a reluctant friend who finally tries them and loves them.	English (repetition, persuasion, limited vocabulary), PSHE (trying new things, persistence, open-mindedness), Nutrition (food, trying new foods)
17. Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2-3)	First humans disobey God by eating the forbidden fruit after the serpent’s temptation, introducing sin and mortality.	Religious Studies (original sin, fall of man), English (temptation narratives), PSHE (obedience, consequences, temptation), TOK (knowledge, forbidden knowledge), Philosophy (free will)
18. Noah’s Ark (Genesis 6-9)	God floods Earth, destroying wickedness, Noah builds the ark, saving family and animal pairs, and God promises never to flood again.	Religious Studies (covenant, flood), Science (rain, flooding, animals, biodiversity), Mathematics (ark dimensions, animal pairs), Geography (floods), Environmental Studies (extinction, conservation)
19. Abraham and Isaac (Genesis 22)	God tests Abraham’s faith, commanding him to sacrifice his son, Isaac, providing a ram at the last moment.	Religious Studies (faith, sacrifice, testing), PSHE (obedience, faith, trust), Philosophy (Abraham’s dilemma, faith), TOK (faith versus reason), Ethics (obedience to authority)
20. Solomon’s Wisdom – Two Mothers (1 Kings 3)	Two mothers claim the same baby, Solomon orders the baby cut in half, and the real mother reveals herself by sacrificing a claim.	Religious Studies (wisdom, Solomon), PSHE (wisdom, motherly love, justice), Law (creative justice), Psychology (maternal instinct), TOK (revealing truth through testing)
21. The Prodigal Son (Luke 15)	Younger son demands inheritance, wastes it, returns home repentant, father celebrates while elder brother resents forgiveness.	Religious Studies (forgiveness, repentance), PSHE (forgiveness, jealousy, family), Economics (inheritance, waste), Psychology (jealousy, repentance), TOK (unconditional love)
22. St. Bernadette – Visions at Lourdes	Poor French girl sees Virgin Mary 18 times at grotto, discovers healing spring, site becomes pilgrimage destination.	Religious Studies (Marian apparitions, pilgrimage), Geography (Lourdes, France), History (19th century France), Science (springs, water, healing claims), PSHE (faith, simplicity)
23. The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells	Shipwrecked man discovers a scientist creating human-animal hybrids through vivisection on a remote island.	Science (genetics, vivisection, ethics, evolution), English Literature (science fiction, horror), PSHE (scientific ethics, animal rights, creating life), TOK (what makes us human), Ethics (experimentation)
24. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey (1962)	Rebel McMurphy, admitted to a mental asylum, challenges authoritarian Nurse Ratched, ultimately lobotomized, inspiring patient Chief Bromden’s escape.	English Literature (rebellion, institutions), Psychology (mental institutions, sanity, authority), PSHE (rebellion, conformity, freedom, mental health), Sociology (institutions, control), History (1960s counterculture), TOK (sanity versus insanity)
25. Birbal’s Khichdi	Birbal proves that warmth from a distant candle cannot cook khichdi, winning the bet about enduring a cold night for money.	Science (heat transfer, distance, temperature, cooking), Mathematics (distance, measurement), History (Mughal era), PSHE (fairness, literal versus spirit of agreement)
26. The Railway Children by E. Nesbit	Three children moved to the countryside after their father’s mysterious disappearance, befriending railway workers, ultimately clearing their father’s name.	English Literature (family, mystery), History (Edwardian England, railways), Geography (English countryside, railways), Science (trains, steam engines), PSHE (family, loyalty, resourcefulness)
27. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery	Imaginative orphan Anne mistakenly sent to elderly siblings on Prince Edward Island wins hearts through spirit and intelligence.	English Literature (coming-of-age, orphan narratives), Geography (Prince Edward Island, Canada), History (Victorian Canada), PSHE (imagination, adoption, belonging, education)
28. Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus	Titan Prometheus chained to rock for giving fire to humanity, refuses to submit to Zeus despite eternal punishment.	English Literature (Greek tragedy, suffering), Classical Studies (Greek myths, Titans), Philosophy (resistance, suffering, gift of knowledge), Science (fire), TOK (knowledge as gift/curse)
29. Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne	Bear and friends have gentle adventures in Hundred Acre Wood seeking honey and solving small problems.	English (character-driven narrative, gentle humor), Science (bears, bees, honey, forests), Mathematics (counting honey pots), PSHE (friendship, simple pleasures, acceptance)
30. Rapunzel (Brothers Grimm)	Girl with impossibly long hair imprisoned in tower by witch, rescued by prince who climbs her hair.	English (fairy tale conventions), Science (hair growth, biology), Mathematics (measuring height of tower), PSHE (imprisonment, freedom, patience), Geography (towers, isolation)
31. Rumpelstiltskin (Brothers Grimm)	Miller’s daughter must guess magical creature’s name to keep her firstborn child after he spins straw into gold.	English (names, power of language), Economics (gold, value), Mathematics (spinning quantities), PSHE (keeping promises, deception), TOK (names and identity)
32. Snow White (Brothers Grimm)	Beautiful princess flees jealous stepmother, lives with seven dwarfs, falls into enchanted sleep from poisoned apple.	English (fairy tale structure), Science (apples, poisons, sleep), Mathematics (counting to seven), Geography (forests, mountains), PSHE (jealousy, kindness, vanity)
33. Little Red Riding Hood (Charles Perrault/Brothers Grimm)	Girl wearing red hood encounters wolf on way to grandmother’s house, learning about stranger danger.	English (cautionary tales, dialogue), Geography (forests, paths, navigation), Science (wolves, animal behavior), PSHE (safety, obedience), TOK (trust, deception)
34. The Emperor’s New Clothes (Hans Christian Andersen)	Vain emperor parades naked believing he wears invisible clothes only wise people can see, until child speaks truth.	English (satire, speaking truth), PSHE (honesty, courage, peer pressure), TOK (truth, perception, social conformity), Sociology (authority, mass delusion)
35. The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams	Stuffed rabbit becomes Real through boy’s love, teaching about love’s transformative power.	English (transformation, love), PSHE (what makes something real, love, loss), Philosophy (reality, essence), TOK (what is “real”)
36. The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle	Caterpillar eats through increasing quantities of food each day before transforming into beautiful butterfly.	English (repetition, days of week), Science (metamorphosis, butterfly life cycle), Mathematics (counting, sequencing, days of week), Nutrition (healthy eating)
37. The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter	Mischievous rabbit disobeys mother, enters Mr. McGregor’s garden, narrowly escapes after losing his jacket.	English (cautionary tale, animal stories), Science (rabbits, gardens, vegetables), PSHE (obedience, consequences, adventure), Art (botanical illustration)
38. Night by Elie Wiesel	Wiesel recounts his experiences as a teenager in Nazi concentration camps Auschwitz and Buchenwald with his father.	History (Holocaust), English Literature (memoir, witness testimony), Religious Studies (theodicy, faith and suffering), Global Perspectives (genocide, human dignity)
39. The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare	Venetian merchant Antonio borrows money from Jewish moneylender Shylock, leading to courtroom drama about justice and mercy.	English Literature (comedy, dramatic irony), History (Renaissance Venice, Jewish history), Economics (usury, commerce), Global Perspectives (religious discrimination, justice versus law)
40. Oedipus Rex by Sophocles	King Oedipus discovers he has unwittingly killed his father and married his mother, fulfilling a terrible prophecy.	English Literature (Greek tragedy, dramatic irony), Psychology (Freud’s Oedipus complex), Philosophy (fate versus free will), History (Ancient Greece), TOK (knowledge, self-knowledge)
41. The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss	Mischievous cat visits children’s home alone on a rainy day, creating chaos before cleaning up perfectly before the mother returns.	English (rhyme, rhythm, nonsense), PSHE (rules, responsibility, fun versus order), Science (balance, physics of chaos), Mathematics (Thing 1 and Thing 2)
42. Confessions by Saint Augustine	Bishop Augustine recounts conversion from hedonistic youth to Christianity, exploring sin, grace, memory, and time.	Religious Studies (Christianity, conversion), Philosophy (sin, free will, time, memory), History (Late Roman Empire, early Christianity), English Literature (autobiography, confessional writing), TOK (memory, self-knowledge)
43. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain	Mischievous boy has adventures in Mississippi River town, witnesses murder, gets lost in caves, finds treasure.	English Literature (American childhood, adventure), History (antebellum America, Mississippi River culture), Geography (Mississippi River), PSHE (childhood, friendship, morality)
44. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain	Boy escapes abusive father, rafts down the Mississippi with escaped slave Jim, confronting slavery and societal hypocrisy.	English Literature (American literature, vernacular language), History (slavery, antebellum America), Geography (Mississippi River), PSHE (racism, moral development, freedom), Sociology (race, society), TOK (social morality)
45. The Boy Who Cried Wolf	The shepherd boy repeatedly lies about a wolf attacking sheep, and the villagers ignore him when the wolf actually comes.	English (consequences, truthfulness), PSHE (honesty, trust, consequences of lying), Sociology (trust in communities), TOK (trust, credibility)
46. The Fox and the Grapes	Fox, unable to reach high grapes, declares them sour anyway, illustrating the rationalization of failure.	English (sour grapes idiom), Psychology (rationalization, cognitive dissonance), Science (foxes, grapes, vines), PSHE (dealing with failure, attitude)
47. The Goose That Laid Golden Eggs	A greedy farmer kills a goose laying golden eggs, hoping to get all the gold at once, and loses everything.	English (greed), Economics (sustainable income versus quick wealth), Science (geese, eggs), PSHE (greed, patience, gratitude), Mathematics (value, gold)
48. The Dog and His Reflection	A dog carrying a bone sees a reflection in the water, drops its real bone, tries to grab the reflection’s bone, and loses everything.	Science (reflection, mirrors, water), English (greed), PSHE (greed, contentment, appreciation), Physics (reflection, light)
49. Ruth and Naomi (Book of Ruth)	Widowed Ruth remains loyal to mother-in-law Naomi, marries Boaz, and becomes an ancestor of King David.	Religious Studies (loyalty, providence), History (Ancient Israel), PSHE (loyalty, family, kindness), Sociology (family structures, widows), Economics (gleaning, poverty)
50. The Temptation in the Desert (Matthew 4, Luke 4)	Satan tempts Jesus three times during the 40-day fast in the desert, and Jesus resists using Scripture.	Religious Studies (temptation, spiritual warfare), Geography (Judean desert), PSHE (resisting temptation, fasting), Science (fasting, survival, deserts), TOK (responding to temptation with truth)

Then Rekha ma’am started discussing with us a series of stories for PYP students and the subjects they could be used to teach. We discussed the story of the ‘Monkey and the two Cats,’ which most of us, including me, seemed to forget when Rekha ma’am asked us to narrate it. I just knew it had to do with some cake or bread, and that the monkey gets to eat the whole thing. Rekha ma’am indicated I was close enough, but then started probing us to remember the actual story, which I am narrating to you as follows from my lecture notes:

The Monkey and the Two Cats

Once upon a time, two feline friends were wandering through a village when they came upon a delicious-looking piece of sponge cake left unguarded. Almost immediately, an argument broke out between them. They agreed they should share the treat, but neither trusted the other to divide it fairly, each secretly wanting the larger portion.

As they bickered, a clever monkey strolling by noticed their dispute. Seeing an opportunity, the monkey approached the cats and offered his services as an impartial judge to ensure a perfectly equal division of the cake. The cats, relieved to have a solution, eagerly accepted.

The monkey produced a small pair of balancing scales. He took the cake and broke it into two pieces, deliberately making one piece noticeably larger than the other. He placed the pieces on the scales and, with a thoughtful frown, declared that the scales were not balanced because one side was much heavier.

To rectify the situation, the monkey said he would need to lighten the heavier side. He picked up the larger piece and took a substantial bite out of it. When he placed it back on the scale, however, he noted with feigned surprise that the other piece was now the heavier of the two.

Consequently, he took a bite from the second piece to balance the first. He continued this charade—nibbling first from one side, then from the other—always claiming he was merely trying to get the scales to balance perfectly. The two cats watched in dismay as their beloved cake rapidly shrank. Finally, realizing they were being tricked, they begged the monkey to stop and simply give them back whatever small pieces remained.

The monkey replied slyly that he could not do that, arguing that the remaining crumbs were his professional fee for the time and effort he had spent serving as their judge. Before the cats could protest further, the monkey popped the last morsels into his mouth and scurried away, leaving the two cats with nothing but a hard-learned lesson about greed and trusting clever strangers.

Fire on the Mountain Game – And Fiza Pathan Sees the Light!

Fire on the Mountain is a classic ‘circle game’ that is perfect for burning off energy while practicing listening skills and quick reactions. I never knew how to play the game at all. The only ‘Fire on the Mountain’ I was aware of was the ‘Fire on the Mountain’ in one of my favorite contemporary classics, which is even taught in English Literature at the IGCSE and MYP (IB) level, namely ‘The Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding. Here, the ‘fire on the mountain’ became a motif or symbol for the connection with civilization. The dousing of that fire would eventually lead them to savage destruction.

But this was a different ‘Fire on the Mountain’ that Rekha ma’am taught us while we were playing it. Then I saw ‘the light’ that this Fire on the Mountain:

a) Had nothing to do with ‘The Lord of the Flies.’

b) It was a fun game, and I had really missed out on it all my life!

c) That no one other than me had read ‘The Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding, so I was talking to myself. And most of my colleagues are English Literature graduates and postgraduates!

To begin, the students form a large, spacious circle, and the leader, usually the teacher, stands in the center to direct the game. The atmosphere begins with a rhythmic chant as the leader claps and calls out, ‘Fire on the mountain, run, run, run!’ In response, the students move clockwise around the circle—skipping, running, or walking in time with the beat—while repeating the chant in unison. This phase of the game is wonderful for building a sense of collective rhythm and excitement within the group.

The tension builds until the leader suddenly changes the cue by shouting, ‘The fire is out!’ This serves as the signal for immediate action. In one popular version, students must scramble to find a partner and sit down as quickly as possible. In another variation, they must race to occupy a limited number of floor markers or hoops placed around the room. Because there is typically one fewer spot (or partner) than players, one student is usually left standing. That student then moves to the center to become the new leader for the next round. This transition not only keeps the game moving but also gives different children the opportunity to practice their leadership and projection skills in a fun, supportive environment.

The game ‘Fire on the Mountain’ is a versatile tool that can be seamlessly integrated into both IB (International Baccalaureate) and IGCSE (International General Certificate of Secondary Education) frameworks, particularly for younger learners in the Primary Years Programme (PYP) or as a foundational exercise in Physical Education and Literature.

The game fosters the ‘Balanced’ attribute by promoting physical well-being alongside mental alertness. It also promotes being a ‘Communicator’ and ‘Caring’ as students must work together and show empathy when forming groups to ensure no one is left out unnecessarily. You can also use the game to illustrate stages of the Inquiry Cycle. For example, ‘Tuning In’ could involve students mimicking natural elements, while ‘Sorting Out’ occurs when they must quickly organize themselves into specific numbered groups upon the teacher’s command.

The game aligns with Cambridge IGCSE PE objectives by serving as a dynamic pulse-raiser during a warm-up. It develops core skills such as coordination, reaction time, and the ability to follow complex verbal instructions under pressure. Interestingly, ‘Fire on the Mountain’ is also a set prose text by Anita Desai for IGCSE Literature. You can use the physical game as a kinesthetic hook to introduce themes of alienation and destruction in the novel. For instance, having a ‘leader’ call out different ‘fire’ locations can symbolize the spreading forest fire at the book’s climax, helping students physically experience the tension and urgency depicted in the narrative.

Birbal Ki Kichadi or Birbal’s Stew

The story of Birbal ki Khichdi — one of the most beloved tales from the Akbar-Birbal tradition — can be used to teach concepts related to heat transfer, patience, and logical reasoning. In this story, Birbal demonstrates that a distant flame cannot warm a pot of khichdi, thereby exposing the flaw in a test of endurance imposed by Emperor Akbar. The narrative naturally leads to discussions of conduction, convection, and radiation, making it an ideal set-up for a science lesson on modes of heat transfer.

I knew the story, but most of my colleagues could not recall its gist. Therefore, Rekha ma’am asked me to retell the story to the PGCITE students. Here is the version I retold to them for your perusal.

One winter morning, Emperor Akbar and his trusted advisor Birbal were walking along a frozen lake. Akbar, shivering from the biting cold, remarked that no man would ever stay in such freezing water for a whole night, even for a reward. Birbal, ever the optimist, disagreed, saying that a person would do anything for sufficient motivation. Challenged, Akbar announced a reward of one thousand gold coins for anyone who could survive a night standing waist-deep in the icy lake.

A poor man, desperate to provide for his family, accepted the challenge and endured the freezing night under the watchful eyes of royal guards. The next morning, when he arrived at the court to claim his reward, Akbar asked how he had survived. The man innocently explained that he had kept his gaze fixed on a distant palace lamp to distract himself from the cold. Hearing this, Akbar claimed the man had cheated by receiving warmth from the distant flame and refused to pay him.

Heartbroken, the man sought help from Birbal. The next day, Birbal did not appear in court, sending a message that he was busy cooking a special Birbal’s Khichdi. When Akbar finally visited Birbal’s home to see what was taking so long, he found a pot of rice and lentils suspended five feet above a tiny fire on the ground. Akbar laughed and told Birbal it was impossible to cook food at such a distance.

Birbal calmly replied that if a man could be warmed by a lamp hundreds of yards away, then surely his khichdi could be cooked by a fire five feet below. Realizing his flawed logic and the injustice he had committed, Akbar immediately ordered the poor man’s release and rewarded him with the promised gold. The story serves as a timeless moral lesson that true judgment requires fairness and that we must not let our egos cloud our logic.

The Enormous Turnip

The Grimm fairy tale ‘The Enormous Turnip’ is another outstanding example of how a simple story can serve as a multidisciplinary set induction. In this story, a farmer plants a turnip that grows to enormous size, and he must enlist the help of progressively smaller helpers — his wife, his granddaughter, the dog, the cat, and finally a mouse — to pull it out of the ground.

A video of this story can introduce an astonishing range of concepts. In physics, the story illustrates the principles of push and pull, force, and Newton’s First Law of Motion — the turnip remains at rest until sufficient force is applied to overcome its resistance. In mathematics, the sequential addition of helpers introduces the concept of sequence. In English language arts, the repetitive, rhythmic structure of the narrative lends itself to lessons on rhyming, event sequencing, and narrative structure. In biology, the turnip itself provides an entry point for discussing root vegetables, plant biology, and the conditions under which plants grow. This is the genius of storytelling as a pedagogical tool — a single story, carefully selected and thoughtfully analyzed, can open doors into multiple disciplines simultaneously, embodying the very spirit of interdisciplinary learning that the IB champions.

Rekha ma’am really gave us ‘Enormous Turnip mania’ that day, on the 1st of July 2025, by discussing the story at length, showing us videos of it, and eliciting from us the story of ‘The Enormous Turnip’. Ruchita, one of our PGCITE colleagues, after the story was discussed at length, bemoaned the fact that she was already preparing that story for her first micro-teaching class on set induction through storytelling. After Rekha ma’am comforted her, we went on to explore the various aspects of ‘The Enormous Turnip’, which made us laugh in a LMAO fashion, especially when we heard the weird narrator’s voice in the YouTube video narrating the story.

Other Stories Discussed by my PGCITE Colleagues

Some photographs of my PGCITE Colleagues

The examples multiply magnificently when one surveys the range of stories that can be mapped to IB and IGCSE curriculum objectives across subjects and grade levels. As a PGCITE class with Rekha ma’am’s guidance, we were especially able to do this because of my personal collection of books, which I used to lug to the school every day in my blue denim jeans sling bag. I think I carried more than 100 storybooks to Podar International School, Santacruz, every day to give the class some variety for our discussions, which our class and Rekha ma’am truly appreciated and kept on applauding and praising me accordingly. Because no one else in the class had any books at home, nor did they bring any storybooks to class, even after Rekha ma’am egged and begged them to do so.

That was strange and scary as well. Was it so that India was no longer reading books, whether physical or eBooks or otherwise?

But back to my contribution, and so the wide variety of books we could sift through and analyze for a whole month of July! Yes – I lugged those 100+ books to Podar IB every day for a whole month. What am I? I am the pack mule, of course!

From my 100+ or even 150+ books, we gleaned enough foundational information to build a rich repository of stories for our set induction lessons.

For example, the nursery rhyme ‘Old Mother Hubbard’ can be used in an English language class to teach alliteration and rhyming words. However, the method of analysis in an IB or IGCSE context would differ significantly from that in a traditional ICSE classroom, as the IB demands deeper inquiry and critical engagement rather than mere identification. The story can also be extended into a science lesson on the different food habits of animals, since Old Mother Hubbard’s bare cupboard raises the question of what her dog — and, by extension, various animals — actually need to eat and why. ‘The Princess Diaries’ by Meg Cabot, though a modern young adult novel, can serve as a set induction for discussions on identity, social expectations, and governance in a humanities or personal development context. ‘Oscar, Arabella and Ormsby’ can be used to teach concepts related to seasons, prehistoric periods, the Ice Age, tools used by early humans, extinct animals, pine forests, glaciers, and landscapes — a veritable treasure trove of geographic and historical learning embedded in a single narrative.

Regarding the book ‘Oscar and Arabella and Ormsby,’ I was reading it at the time, having borrowed it from one of the many lending libraries I patronize. However, I added it to the collection right at the beginning because, as I have mentioned earlier, it was rich in prehistoric content concerning the Ice Age, and I thought one of my PGCITE course colleagues would find the book useful to read, present, and then explain, as I had done with ‘Dear Zoo’ and ‘The Grinch Who Stole Christmas’.

It was Samira who picked up ‘Oscar and Arabella and Ormsby’ by Neal Layton and then read the story to the PGCITE class. She analyzed it, and we all discussed it accordingly.

I then went to my blog to analyze the story in great depth. It became very popular on the internet and was one of the many blog entries of mine that launched my teaching portfolio to international fame, as well as me. You can check out the book analysis of the same on the blog section of my website, teaching portfolio for PGCITE.

But one of the most intellectually satisfying examples from my training was using the story of ‘Noah’s Ark’ to teach physics concepts. Rashmi, one of my fellow trainees, showed how Noah’s building a great vessel to survive a flood naturally leads to a discussion of volume, mass, and density. Why does the Ark float? Because wood is less dense than water. Why does wood float? Because it is lighter than water and displaces the same amount of water as its own weight — a direct application of Archimedes’ Principle and the Buoyancy Principle. From this single Biblical narrative, the teacher can branch into lessons on genetics and heredity (Noah was instructed to take two of every animal, raising questions about species preservation and genetic diversity), extinct species, conservation, and sustainability. The Food Chain and Food Web can also be explored through the lens of the animal kingdom aboard the Ark.

As Mehek demonstrated during our training, the story of ‘The Emperor’s New Clothes’ is a masterclass in interdisciplinary storytelling. Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of an emperor duped by two weavers who claim to have created invisible garments can teach the concepts of sycophancy and moral courage in a humanities or ethics class. It can also serve as a brilliant set induction for a science lesson on materials — specifically, the properties of different types of materials, the distinction between opaque, transparent, and invisible substances, and the concept of the Unit of Inquiry (UOI) in the PYP framework. Furthermore, the story raises questions about how emperors ruled and the dynamics of power, flattery, and truth in governance, making it equally relevant to a history or social studies lesson.

‘Beauty and the Beast,’ as presented by Ambili, provides an excellent framework for teaching sequencing and character analysis. Students can be given strips of paper with scenes from the story and asked to arrange them in the correct order — an activity that develops sequencing skills applicable to both English literature and history. The same approach can be applied to poems, where stanzas are jumbled and students must reconstruct the correct order based on meaning, rhyme scheme, and narrative logic. I also connected the story to the French Revolution, demonstrating how a fairy tale set in a French château can serve as an entry point for discussing the social conditions, class divisions, and revolutionary fervor of eighteenth-century France.

Minal’s presentation on ‘Hansel and Gretel’ and ‘The Magic Porridge Pot’ demonstrated the remarkable versatility of fairy tales as vehicles for science education. ‘Hansel and Gretel’ connected to the concepts of Joules, electricity, and resistance — the witch’s oven serving as a springboard for discussing how electrical appliances like toasters and heaters work, how electricity is transferred, and the role of convection coils in heating air. ‘The Magic Porridge Pot,’ in which a pot overflows endlessly with porridge, was used to teach thermal expansion and elaboration — specifically, that heating causes liquids and gases to expand, the transformation of H₂O into steam, and the broader principle of heat energy. These connections may seem surprising at first glance, but they illustrate precisely the kind of creative, lateral thinking that the IB encourages in its educators.

Sana’s presentation on ‘The Story of Chocolate’ was a delightful example of how a narrative about a familiar and beloved subject — chocolate — can teach biology. By tracing the journey of chocolate from the cacao tree to products like Snickers, Kit Kat, and Cadbury Bubbles, the story naturally introduces concepts such as the role of monkeys in seed dispersal, pollination, and the broader ecological relationships that sustain plant reproduction. Children who might struggle to engage with an abstract lesson on pollination and seed dispersal become immediately attentive when the subject is chocolate, and the learning that follows is both deeper and more durable because it is anchored in a narrative they care about.

One of the most impressive demonstrations of storytelling, however — where the teacher creates an original story to teach a concept — was Rekha Ma’am’s own example of a story written to teach decimal numbers. In this story, a boy named Ram is left in charge of his father’s shop when his father is called away to work. Ram has a price list, but while playing with a bottle of water (priced at ₹1.20), he accidentally spills water on it, smudging the decimal points. As a result, when a customer comes to buy a book, Ram reads the price as ₹250 instead of ₹2.50. The customer, naturally, refuses to pay such an outrageous price. The same confusion occurs with a pen (read as ₹500 instead of ₹5.00) and an eraser (read as ₹25 instead of ₹0.25). When Ram’s father returns and discovers what has happened, he explains to Ram — and through Ram, to the students — that the decimal point, though tiny, is critically important because its presence or absence changes the entire value of a number. The story ends with an invitation for the students to help Ram serve his customers better, thus connecting the mathematical concept to daily life and giving the students a sense of purpose and agency in their learning. This is storytelling at its finest — a concept directly embedded within a narrative crafted by the teacher, making the abstract concrete and the intimidating approachable.

Rekha Ma’am’s second original story, on the topic of adaptation in desert plants, was equally brilliant. In this story, the narrative takes students to the desert regions of Rajasthan, where water is scarce, and asks them to consider what plants grow in such harsh conditions. The answer, of course, is the cactus — and from there, the story personifies the different parts of the cactus plant to teach the science of xerophytic adaptation. The roots, which must penetrate deep into the earth to absorb water and minerals, are compared to the Rudali women of Rajasthan who carry jars of water on their heads from far away — just as the roots must travel far to find moisture. The story then introduces the concept of osmosis, as water travels back to the stem. But then a conflict arises: the leaves are losing too much water through transpiration, and the stem and roots become angry with the leaves. The leaves protest — after all, they are responsible for photosynthesis, without which the plant would have no food. The resolution comes when the stem, thick, fleshy, and green (containing chloroplasts), declares that it will take over the job of making food. The leaves, no longer needed for photosynthesis and now a liability due to transpiration, become scared and transform into thorns and spines — protecting the plant from animals like camels that might try to eat it and steal its precious stored water. The stem tells the thorns, “You remain, and protect the plant with your thorns.” The story concludes by connecting the cactus’s adaptations to real life — to the concept of xerophytes, to the resilience of Rajasthani women, and even to the Hindi film “Rudali,” which I put into context. This single story teaches osmosis, transpiration, photosynthesis, the function of roots, stems, and leaves, the concept of adaptation, and the classification of xerophytes — all through a narrative that is engaging, memorable, and emotionally resonant.

The story ‘Sooraj Ka Roomal’ (The Kerchief of the Sun), a Hindi children’s book featured in both ICSE and CBSE textbooks, was presented in video form to teach the science of light — specifically, the refraction of light and the formation of rainbows. The narrative, accompanied by illustrations of the sun, clouds, rain, and the VIBGYOR spectrum (Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red), offers a natural and beautiful entry point into the physics of how white light scatters into its component colors. The concept of light scattering, which can seem abstract and difficult when presented solely through equations and diagrams, becomes intuitive and poetic when framed as the sun’s colorful kerchief. Rekha Ma’am herself had attended a conference on teaching science through stories, and this story was one of the exemplary models she brought back from that experience.

The range of story types available to the IB and IGCSE teacher is, quite simply, endless. During my training, we compiled an extensive taxonomy that includes Aesop’s Fables, Akbar-Birbal Stories, Animal Stories, Arabian Nights Stories, Bedtime Stories, Dada-Dadi Ki Kahaniya (Grandparents’ Stories), Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, Jataka Tales, Mulla Nasruddin tales, Mythological stories, Panchatantra tales, and Tenali Raman stories — and this list barely scratches the surface. To these I would add Bible Stories, Stories from the Lives of Catholic Saints, the Parables of Jesus, the Parables of Buddha, classic short stories by authors such as Bram Stoker, O. Henry, Saki, Ruskin Bond, and Rudyard Kipling, as well as comics including Tintin, Asterix, and Archie’s Comics. People from every culture can add many more types of stories from their own traditions and folklore, making this a truly international and inclusive approach to pedagogy.

Here are some more of the happenings from that month full of Book Reading and Story-Telling fun!

Stories can also be used to teach psychology, as noted in our training. The narratives we tell and the characters we identify with reveal deep truths about human motivation, fear, desire, and resilience. For example, the Antakshari Dictionary exercise is not merely a vocabulary game — it is an exploration of how language, music, and emotion intersect in the human mind. Similarly, stories can teach students about confirmation bias, the Halo Effect, and other psychological phenomena by inviting them to analyze characters’ behavior and reflect on their own assumptions.

Storytelling is not a quaint or outdated teaching technique — it is a sophisticated, evidence-based, and endlessly adaptable pedagogical strategy at the very heart of what the IB and IGCSE curricula seek to achieve. When used as an opening set piece, a story transforms the first minutes of a lesson from a routine administrative exercise into a moment of wonder, curiosity, and emotional connection. When used as the backbone of a lesson, a story provides the narrative structure within which even the most abstract concepts — decimal points, xerophytic adaptation, Newton’s Laws, Archimedes’ Principle, the refraction of light — become accessible, memorable, and meaningful. The teacher who masters storytelling makes knowledge come alive, and in doing so, honors the oldest and most human of all educational traditions. As educators in the IB and IGCSE system, we have both the privilege and the responsibility to keep this tradition alive — not as a relic of the past, but as a living, breathing, endlessly creative force in twenty-first-century classrooms.

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THE END

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Games in the IGCSE and IB Classroom: (Resource Person – Fiza Pathan, PGCITE Graduate and Stellar Educational Content Creator)

Disclaimer

Due to concurrent diagnoses of swine flu and chikungunya, I was medically unable to attend the entire Games class conducted by Rekha Ma’am as part of the PGCITE course at Podar IB. At no point was I invited, permitted, or given the opportunity to attend an equivalent Games session in any other online or offline batch to compensate for this absence. No alternative arrangement was provided to me.

All content in this section of my teaching portfolio is, therefore, the product of my own intensive, self-directed research and study. The material herein is entirely my original, copyrighted work and does not derive from, nor is it based on, any PGCITE classroom instruction on this topic. I take full and sole responsibility for every piece of information, analysis, and pedagogical perspective contained in this section.

A comprehensive Bibliography has been provided at the end of this section to benefit all readers, educators, and students who wish to further their study and understanding of Games in an international pedagogical context.

Should anyone have any questions, queries, or observations regarding this section or its contents, they are more than welcome to contact me using the contact details provided on this website’s teaching portfolio. I would be honored to hear from them. 😊

© Fiza Pathan. All rights reserved.

Introduction: Why Games Matter in International Education

The use of games in the classroom is not mere entertainment or a concession to short attention spans; it is, in fact, one of the most powerful pedagogical strategies available to educators working within the Cambridge IGCSE and International Baccalaureate (IB) frameworks. When a teacher introduces a game into a lesson, she is doing far more than filling time—she is activating multiple cognitive pathways simultaneously, fostering collaboration, encouraging risk-taking in a safe environment, and embedding knowledge through experiential learning that no lecture, however brilliant, can replicate. As Jerome Bruner (1960) argued, learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas and concepts based on their current and past knowledge, and games provide the ideal scaffolding for this constructivist approach.

In the IB framework, the Approaches to Learning (ATL) skills—Thinking, Communication, Social, Self-Management, and Research—are not abstract aspirations but lived practices that must be cultivated through deliberate pedagogical choices. By their very nature, games demand all five ATL categories simultaneously. A student playing a Tarsia puzzle must think critically to match correct pairs, communicate with teammates about strategy, exercise social skills in negotiating who places which piece, self-manage by staying focused and patient when pieces do not fit, and research by recalling or looking up information to solve the puzzle. Similarly, the Cambridge IGCSE Learner Attributes—confident, responsible, reflective, innovative, and engaged—are activated when students participate in well-designed educational games.

This write-up examines the specific games demonstrated in the PGCITE classroom session, analyzes the pedagogical theory underpinning each, and expands to include additional games and strategies that can be used across IGCSE and IB curricula in all subjects. A comprehensive bibliography is provided at the end for teachers who wish to deepen their understanding and create their own free, accessible game resources—because excellent education should never be locked behind a paywall.

Section 1: Tarsia Puzzles – The Triangular Jigsaw of Knowledge

What Are Tarsia Puzzles?

The Tarsia puzzle—sometimes called a ‘domino triangle puzzle’ or ‘jigsaw match’—was a game I, Fiza Pathan, and many Scottishites from the ICSE School, Bombay Scottish School, Mahim, used to play daily in the early part of the 21st century. It is one of the most versatile and effective game-based learning tools available to international educators. It consists of a set of triangular (or sometimes hexagonal) pieces, each with questions or prompts on one edge and answers on another. Students must match each question to its correct answer by placing triangles adjacent to one another, ultimately assembling a larger geometric shape—typically a hexagon, as beautifully demonstrated in the PGCITE session photographs—the only things I got pertaining to that class, which I missed, as mentioned above in the disclaimer. Mind you, I returned to school cured of swine flu but still very much fresh with the chikungunya fever. I still had chikungunya fever every day and attended PGCITE classes, even serving on Board Invigilation Duty for a month and a half; I continued my internship and daily observations, and took proxy classes. I was doing it all, as many witnesses and my doctors are aware, while flush with a serious bout of chikungunya, which lasted longer than the swine flu. I was down with chikungunya fever for one whole month but did not miss my school duties. I would have continued my observations, invigilations, etc., at that time, but then, at random, the Principal of Podar IB determined that the PGCITE students should cease all their post-graduate related activities after Diwali, though 2 full months of our course was still left!

The ‘game’ photographs from the PGCITE class show two distinct Tarsia activities. The first, printed on a yellow card, was a general knowledge matching exercise in which students worked collaboratively around a table, arranging the triangular pieces, discussing and debating, and ultimately assembling the complete hexagonal shape. The second, printed on pink card on a purple background, was a Geography Tarsia matching Asian countries with their capital cities – Kuwait with Kuwait City, Mongolia with Ulaanbaatar, Georgia with Tbilisi, Armenia with Yerevan, Israel with Jerusalem, Qatar with Doha, Jordan with Amman, Timor-Leste with Dili, Bahrain with Manama, Laos with Vientiane, Bhutan with Thimphu, Brunei with Bandar Seri Begawan, Kyrgyzstan with Bishkek, Maldives with Malé, Singapore with Singapore, Oman with Muscat, Lebanon with Beirut, and Turkmenistan with Ashgabat.

Pedagogical Theory Behind Tarsia Puzzles

Tarsia puzzles are grounded in several robust pedagogical theories. First, they embody Vygotsky’s (1978) Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), as students working collaboratively can solve puzzles that might challenge them individually. The group dynamic provides natural scaffolding—a student who knows that Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan helps a peer who is uncertain, and both benefit from the exchange. Second, Tarsia activates Bloom’s Taxonomy at multiple levels—Remembering (recalling facts), Understanding (comprehending relationships between matched pairs), Applying (using knowledge to place pieces correctly), and Analyzing (determining which pieces do not match and why). Third, they align with Howard Gardner’s (1983) Multiple Intelligences theory, engaging spatial-visual, interpersonal, and logical-mathematical intelligences simultaneously.

How to Create Free Tarsia Puzzles

The wonderful news for teachers with limited budgets is that Tarsia puzzles can be created entirely for free. The original software, Formulator Tarsia, was developed by Hermitech Laboratory and is available as a free download. It allows teachers to input their own question-answer pairs and automatically generates printable triangular puzzles in various configurations (hexagonal, rectangular, or circular). For those who cannot access the software, Tarsia templates can be created manually using Microsoft Word or Google Docs by creating a table of equilateral triangles and typing content on each edge. Several websites, including the TES (Times Educational Supplement) resource bank, offer thousands of free pre-made Tarsia puzzles across every IGCSE and IB subject.

Applications Across IGCSE and IB Subjects

• IGCSE/IB History: Match historical events with dates, causes with consequences, historians with their interpretations, or key terms with definitions (e.g., ‘Appeasement’ matched with ‘Policy of making concessions to an aggressor to avoid conflict’).
• IGCSE/IB English Literature: Match literary devices with examples from set texts, characters with their descriptions, quotations with themes, or authors with their works.
• IGCSE/IB Geography: Match countries with capitals (as shown in the class photographs), rivers with countries, tectonic features with locations, or climate types with characteristics.
• IGCSE/IB Sciences: Match chemical symbols with element names, biological terms with functions, physics equations with their applications, or scientific laws with their discoverers.
• IGCSE/IB Mathematics: Match equations with solutions, geometric shapes with properties, statistical terms with definitions, or fractions with their decimal equivalents.
• MYP Individuals and Societies: Match world religions with key beliefs, economic terms with concepts, or cultural practices with their regions of origin.
• IB Theory of Knowledge (TOK): Match Ways of Knowing with examples, knowledge questions with Areas of Knowledge, or philosophers with their epistemological positions.

Section 2: Manipulative-Based Mathematics Games

What Was Demonstrated in the PGCITE Class?

The photographs from the PGCITE session reveal a beautifully simple yet profoundly effective approach to teaching foundational mathematics using everyday materials—specifically, cotton buds (Q-tips) and rubber bands on a whiteboard. Three distinct mathematical concepts were demonstrated:

1. Place Value (Tens and Ones): Cotton buds were bundled into groups of ten using coloured rubber bands, with individual loose cotton buds representing ‘ones.’ The number 56 was represented by five bundles of ten (labelled ‘Tens’) and six individual cotton buds (labelled ‘Ones’). Similarly, the number 78 was shown with seven bundles (Tens) and eight individual buds (Ones), with the decomposition 70 + 8 written alongside. This concrete, visual representation transforms the abstract concept of place value into something a child can literally hold in their hands, count, rearrange, and understand at a sensory level.

2. Addition with Manipulatives: The equation ‘20 + 20 = 40’ was demonstrated using four bundles of ten cotton buds—two bundles on one side of a ‘+’ sign and two on the other, with the total of four bundles equalling 40. This moves addition from rote memorisation to a tangible, countable reality.

3. Number Bonds: Two number bond demonstrations were shown using a branching diagram. In the first, the number 10 at the top branched into 4 and 6, with four cotton buds on one side and six on the other, and the equation ‘4 + 6 = 10’ written below with all ten buds together. In the second, 10 branched into 2 and 8, with corresponding cotton bud groups and the equation 2 + 8 = 10. Number bonds are fundamental to mathematical fluency—they help students understand the composition and decomposition of numbers, which is essential for mental arithmetic, subtraction strategies, and algebraic thinking in later years.

Pedagogical Theory Behind Manipulatives

The use of physical manipulatives in mathematics education is supported by decades of research, most notably Jerome Bruner’s (1966) theory of representation, which identifies three stages of cognitive development: the enactive stage (learning through physical manipulation of objects), the iconic stage (learning through pictures and images), and the symbolic stage (learning through abstract symbols and language). The cotton bud activities sit squarely in the enactive stage, providing the concrete foundation upon which iconic and symbolic understanding is built.

Jean Piaget’s (1952) theory of cognitive development similarly supports manipulative use, particularly for students in the concrete operational stage (ages 7–11), where logical thinking develops through interaction with physical objects. Even for older IGCSE and IB students, manipulatives serve as powerful re-anchoring tools when abstract concepts become overwhelming—a struggling IB Mathematics student can benefit from returning to concrete representations just as much as a seven-year-old encountering numbers for the first time.

The Singapore Mathematics approach, widely recognized as one of the most successful mathematics curricula globally, is explicitly built on the Concrete–Pictorial–Abstract (CPA) progression, which mirrors Bruner’s framework. The cotton bud activities demonstrated in the PGCITE class align perfectly with this internationally acclaimed methodology. I will be interviewing a number of Singapore’s educators, former principals, current principals, current heads of department, teachers, students, educational content creators, policymakers, etc., on my website teaching portfolio for PGCITE, where we will also discuss in great detail how Singapore managed to eliminate tuition teachers and coaching classes ‘moonlighting’ or corruption in the education system due to the same. We will discuss the measures taken, the books and changes in curriculum, and the teacher salary increases that were not only offered but immediately implemented, and we shall submit our united findings then to the Government of India for their perusal to improve the integrity of the Indian education scenario, especially with regard to corrupt practices of school teachers ‘moonlighting’ as tuition teachers and, of course, the commercial coaching classes racket that has destabilized an otherwise very sound and very non-commercial education system that had been running well for centuries following the Guru-Shishya Parampara of our Vedic ancestors and Rishis.

Creating Free Manipulative-Based Activities

One of the most beautiful aspects of manipulative-based teaching is that it requires virtually no financial investment. Cotton swabs, rubber bands, buttons, dried beans, bottle caps, matchsticks, paper clips, and even small stones can all serve as effective manipulatives. A whiteboard or even a sheet of paper provides the working surface. Colored rubber bands (as shown in the photographs) add visual distinction between groups, helping students identify and count bundles quickly. Teachers can create their own place value mats by drawing simple ‘Tens’ and ‘Ones’ columns on a card, and number bond diagrams using circles and lines—no expensive commercial resources are necessary.

Section 3: Additional Games for the IGCSE and IB Classroom

Beyond the Tarsia puzzles and manipulative-based mathematics activities demonstrated in the PGCITE class, there is a rich universe of educational games that can be adapted for IGCSE and IB teaching. The following is a curated selection of the most effective, research-backed games, all of which can be created or adapted at minimal or no cost. Thank you also to all the educational experts from Singapore, Finland, and South Korea who helped me create this part of my Games component for my website teaching portfolio for PGCITE. Thank you for helping me and for sharing your valuable knowledge, wisdom, and experience – all for free. God bless you all! Let India soon also become as equipped as these three countries to put an end to the commoditization and commercialization of school and college education by corrupt tuition teachers, coaching classes, and their agents.

1. Quiz-Quiz-Trade (Kagan Structure)

Each student receives a card with a question on one side and the answer on the other. Students move around the room, pairing up with classmates. Partner A quizzes Partner B, then coaches if needed. They then swap roles. After both have answered, they trade cards and find new partners. This Spencer Kagan cooperative learning structure integrates retrieval practice, peer teaching, and movement into the lesson. It is effective across all subjects—IGCSE History key terms, IB Biology definitions, English Literature quotation identification, or Mathematics formula recall. Cards can be handwritten on index cards at zero cost.

2. Gallery Walk

Large sheets of paper (or sections of a whiteboard) are placed around the room, each displaying a different question, image, source, or prompt. Students move in groups from station to station, adding their responses, observations, or analyses in different colored markers. Each group builds on what previous groups have written. This is particularly powerful for IB History source analysis, IGCSE English Language comprehension, TOK knowledge questions, and any subject requiring multiple perspectives on a single stimulus. The only materials needed are large paper and markers.

3. Kahoot!, Quizizz, and Blooket (Digital Quiz Games)

These free digital platforms enable teachers to create multiple-choice quiz games that students play on their phones or devices in real time. The competitive element—leaderboards, timed responses, streaks—drives extraordinary engagement. All three platforms offer free tiers with unlimited quiz creation. Kahoot! is best for fast-paced whole-class review; Quizizz supports self-paced play and homework assignments; Blooket offers game modes in which correct answers earn in-game advantages. They are effective for revision across every IGCSE and IB subject and require only internet access and student devices.

4. Jigsaw Activity

Originally developed by Elliot Aronson (1971) to reduce racial conflict in newly desegregated schools, the Jigsaw is now one of the most widely used cooperative learning strategies globally. Students are divided into ‘home groups,’ then each member joins an ‘expert group’ to study one aspect of a topic in depth. Experts return to their home groups and teach their section to peers. For IB History, each expert group might study a different cause of the Chinese Civil War; for IGCSE English, different chapters of a novel like ‘The Lord of the Flies’ by William Golding; for IB Biology, different body systems. The interdependence—each student holds a piece that the others need—mirrors the Tarsia puzzle principle at a human scale.

5. Hot Seat

One student sits in the ‘hot seat’ facing the class, with a word, character name, historical figure, or concept displayed behind them (visible to the class but not to the student in the seat). The class provides clues—without using the target word—to help the seated student guess what is written. This develops descriptive language, circumlocution skills, and deep conceptual understanding. For IGCSE English Language, use vocabulary words; for IB History, use key figures or events; for IB Psychology, use key studies or theorists. Cost: one whiteboard and a marker. That is it. And I have been doing this since 2009, when I began tutoring senior ICSE 9th- and 10th-grade students.

6. Taboo

Based on the commercial board game, academic Taboo requires students to describe a concept, term, or figure without using a list of ‘forbidden’ words. For example, describing ‘photosynthesis’ without saying ‘sunlight,’ ‘plant,’ ‘green,’ ‘energy,’ or ‘chlorophyll’ forces students to access deeper understanding and alternative explanations. Cards can be handmade on index cards. This is superb for consolidating IGCSE Science terminology, IB Economics concepts, or MYP Design vocabulary.

7. Bingo (Academic Version)

Students create their own Bingo grids by selecting terms, answers, or concepts from a provided list and placing them randomly on the grid. The teacher then reads definitions, questions, or clues, and students mark the corresponding item on their grid. Creating the grid itself is a learning activity (students must read and engage with all terms), and the game reinforces recall through repeated exposure. Free Bingo card generators are available online (e.g., BingoCardCreator.com, MyFreeBingo.com), or cards can be drawn by hand on paper.

8. Stations / Carousel Activity

Multiple stations are set up around the classroom, each with a different task, question set, or resource. Groups rotate at timed intervals, completing the activity at each station before moving to the next. This mirrors the structure of IGCSE and IB examinations (which require students to address multiple topics within time constraints) and builds time management alongside content knowledge. Stations can include a mix of game types—a Tarsia puzzle at one station, a sorting activity at another, a source analysis at a third—creating a varied and engaging lesson with minimal preparation cost.

9. Sorting and Classifying Activities

Students receive a set of cards, images, or statements that must be sorted into categories. For IB History, sort the causes of a conflict into political, economic, and social categories. For IGCSE Biology, sort organisms into kingdoms. For IB English, sort quotations by theme. For MYP Science, sort materials into conductors and insulators. The physical act of moving and placing cards activates kinesthetic learning pathways and makes abstract categorization tangible. Cards can be printed, handwritten, or created digitally and displayed on an interactive whiteboard.

10. Board Games and Card Games (Teacher-Created)

Teachers can create custom board games using simple materials: a hand-drawn game board on A3 paper, dice, and question cards. Players advance by answering questions correctly. ‘Snakes and Ladders’ can be adapted so that correct answers allow a player to climb ladders, while incorrect answers result in sliding down snakes. Card games like Snap (matching pairs), Go Fish (requesting specific pairs), and Memory/Concentration (flipping cards to find matches) are adaptable to any subject content. The beauty of teacher-created games is that they can be tailored precisely to the syllabus being taught, with questions pitched at exactly the right level for the class.

11. Escape Room / Breakout Activities

Students work in teams to solve a series of academic puzzles that, when completed, reveal codes to ‘unlock’ a box or complete a challenge. Each puzzle tests a different skill or knowledge area from the curriculum. Digital escape rooms can be created using Google Forms or Genially (both free), while physical versions use combination locks on boxes (available cheaply online). This game format develops critical thinking, teamwork, and resilience under pressure—all essential IB Learner Profile attributes. Breakout EDU (breakoutedu.com) offers free resources and templates.

12. Debate Games and Structured Academic Controversy

While not a game in the traditional sense, structured debate formats such as Four Corners (students move to corners labeled Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, Strongly Disagree) and ‘Think-Pair-Share’ create game-like engagement through movement and social interaction. These formats are particularly powerful for IB Global Politics, TOK, IGCSE History, and any subject involving evaluative thinking. Cost: four printed signs and a provocative statement.

Section 4: Alignment with IB and Cambridge Frameworks

IB Learner Profile Attributes Developed Through Games

Every game described in this write-up activates multiple IB Learner Profile attributes. Inquirers are nurtured when students ask questions to solve puzzles. Knowledgeable learners demonstrate and consolidate their understanding through gameplay. Thinkers exercise critical and creative thinking to solve challenges. Communicators express ideas and negotiate strategies with teammates. Principled students play fairly and with integrity. Open-minded learners consider different perspectives and approaches. Caring students support peers who are struggling. Risk-takers attempt unfamiliar challenges without fear of failure. Balanced learners experience the joy of learning alongside intellectual rigour. Reflective students evaluate their performance and learning after each game.

Cambridge Learner Attributes

Cambridge International Education identifies five learner attributes – confident, responsible, reflective, innovative, and engaged. Games develop all five—students gain confidence through success in a low-stakes environment, take responsibility for their own learning and their team’s progress, reflect on strategies that worked and those that did not, demonstrate innovation in solving problems creatively, and remain deeply engaged throughout the activity because the game format inherently motivates participation.

Section 5: Practical Tips for Creating Free Educational Games

1. Start with your learning objectives: Always begin with what students need to know or be able to do by the end of the lesson. The game is the vehicle, not the destination.
2. Use everyday materials: Cotton buds, rubber bands, index cards, coloured paper, bottle caps, dried pasta, buttons, and dice are all effective and essentially free.
3. Leverage free digital tools: Formulator Tarsia (free software), Kahoot! (free tier), Quizizz (free tier), Blooket (free tier), Wordwall (limited free tier), Google Forms (free), Canva (free tier for education), and Genially (free tier) all enable game creation at no cost.
4. Build reusable resources: Laminate cards when possible so they can be reused across classes and years. A single set of well-made Tarsia pieces can serve hundreds of students.
5. Differentiate within the game: Create Tarsia puzzles at different difficulty levels, or include ‘challenge cards’ for advanced students and ‘hint cards’ for those who need support.
6. Debrief after every game: The learning is not complete until students reflect on what they learned, what challenged them, and what strategies they used. This reflection phase transforms a game from entertainment into genuine pedagogy.
7. Involve students in game creation: Having students create their own Tarsia puzzles, quiz questions, or board games is itself a high-order learning activity that requires deep engagement with content.
8. Align games with assessment: Ensure that game content directly relates to upcoming assessments. Games should reinforce, not distract from, the curriculum.
9. Document everything: Take photographs, collect student feedback, and keep records of game-based activities for your teaching portfolio.

Conclusion

Games in the IGCSE and IB classroom are not a luxury—they are a pedagogical necessity. The research is unequivocal: students learn more deeply, retain information longer, develop stronger social and cognitive skills, and experience greater motivation when games are integrated thoughtfully into the curriculum. The PGCITE class photographs show this principle in action—teachers collaborating, problem-solving, laughing, and learning through Tarsia puzzles and manipulative-based activities that cost virtually nothing to create.

For the teacher who cannot afford expensive commercial resources, the message is clear and liberating: the best educational games are not bought—they are made. Whether Tarsia puzzles, manipulative-based mathematics, Quiz-Quiz-Trade, Gallery Walks, Jigsaw activities, Hot Seat, Taboo, Bingo, Carousel stations, Sorting activities, teacher-created board games, Escape Rooms, and debate formats—represent a comprehensive toolkit that any teacher, regardless of budget, can deploy to create engaging, rigorous, and joyful learning experiences for every student in her care.

Bibliography

Essential Texts on Games and Active Learning in Education

Aronson, E. (1978). The Jigsaw Classroom. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications. [The original text on the Jigsaw cooperative learning strategy, with research evidence and implementation guidance.]

Boaler, J. (2015). Mathematical Mindsets: Unleashing Students’ Potential Through Creative Math, Inspiring Messages, and Innovative Teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. [Transformative approach to mathematics teaching that emphasises visual, creative, and game-based approaches over rote memorisation.]

Bruner, J. S. (1960). The Process of Education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [Foundational text on constructivist learning theory, including the spiral curriculum and discovery learning.]

Bruner, J. S. (1966). Toward a Theory of Instruction. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press. [Introduces the enactive–iconic–symbolic framework that underpins the use of manipulatives in mathematics education.]

Cohen, E. G., and Lotan, R. A. (2014). Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College Press. [Comprehensive guide to cooperative learning with practical strategies for equitable participation.]

Delacruz, S. (2014). “Using Nearpod in Elementary Guided Reading Groups.” TechTrends, 58(5), 62–69. [Research on digital game-based interactive learning in primary classrooms.]

Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of Learning for Instruction (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. [Comprehensive overview of learning theories, including constructivism, behaviourism, and cognitive theories that inform game-based pedagogy.]

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences. New York, NY: Basic Books. [The foundational text on Multiple Intelligences theory, providing the basis for varied game types addressing different intelligence profiles.]

Ginsburg, H. P. (2006). “Mathematical Play and Playful Mathematics: A Guide for Early Education.” In D. G. Singer, R. M. Golinkoff, and K. Hirsh-Pasek (Eds.), Play = Learning (pp. 145–165). New York, NY: Oxford University Press. [Research connecting mathematical play to deep learning in early and primary education.]

Kagan, S., and Kagan, M. (2009). Kagan Cooperative Learning. San Clemente, CA: Kagan Publishing. [The definitive guide to Kagan structures, including Quiz-Quiz-Trade, RallyCoach, and other game-like cooperative activities with step-by-step implementation guides.]

Marzano, R. J., Pickering, D. J., and Heflebower, T. (2010). The Highly Engaged Classroom. Bloomington, IN: Marzano Resources. [Practical strategies for increasing student engagement through games, movement, and active learning.]

Moyer, P. S. (2001). “Are We Having Fun Yet? How Teachers Use Manipulatives to Teach Mathematics.” Educational Studies in Mathematics, 47(2), 175–197. [Research study examining how teachers use physical manipulatives and the impact on student understanding.]

Piaget, J. (1952). The Origins of Intelligence in Children. New York, NY: International Universities Press. [Foundational developmental psychology text supporting the use of concrete materials in learning.]

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Game-Based Learning. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. [Seminal text on integrating digital games into education, with theoretical framework and practical examples.]

Salen, K., and Zimmerman, E. (2004). Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. [Comprehensive guide to game design principles applicable to educational game creation.]

Swan, P., and Marshall, L. (2010). “Revisiting Mathematics Manipulative Materials.” Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom, 15(2), 13–19. [Research-based guide to effective use of manipulatives in mathematics, including cotton buds, counters, and bundling sticks.]

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. [Introduces the Zone of Proximal Development and the role of social interaction in learning, both central to collaborative game-based pedagogy.]

IB and Cambridge Framework Documents

Cambridge International Examinations. (2015). Cambridge Learner Attributes. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

International Baccalaureate Organization. (2013). IB Learner Profile. Geneva: IBO.

International Baccalaureate Organization. (2014). Approaches to Teaching and Learning in the IB Diploma Programme. Geneva: IBO.

International Baccalaureate Organization. (2014). MYP: From Principles into Practice. Geneva: IBO.

Free Online Resources for Creating Educational Games

Breakout EDU. (n.d.). “Digital and Physical Escape Room Resources for Educators.” Retrieved from https://www.breakoutedu.com/ [Free templates and community-created educational escape room activities.]

Formulator Tarsia. (n.d.). “Free Jigsaw Puzzle Software for Teachers.” Hermitech Laboratory. [Free downloadable software for creating Tarsia puzzles in multiple configurations.]

Kahoot! (n.d.). “Free Game-Based Learning Platform.” Retrieved from https://kahoot.com/ [Free tier allows unlimited quiz creation for classroom use.]

TES Resources. (n.d.). “Free Teaching Resources.” Retrieved from https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources [Thousands of free Tarsia puzzles, worksheets, and game templates shared by educators worldwide.]

Wordwall. (n.d.). “Create Interactive Teaching Resources.” Retrieved from https://wordwall.net/ [Free tier includes multiple game formats: matching, quiz, anagram, whack-a-mole, and more.]

Recommended Books for Self-Study on Creating Free IGCSE and IB Games

Barkley, E. F., Major, C. H., and Cross, K. P. (2014). Collaborative Learning Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. [50 detailed collaborative learning activities adaptable as games for IGCSE and IB classrooms.]

Bowman, S. L. (2010). The Functions of Role-Playing Games: How Participants Create Community, Solve Problems, and Explore Identity. Jefferson, NC: McFarland. [Theoretical and practical exploration of role-playing as an educational tool.]

Fleming, N. D. (2001). Teaching and Learning Styles: VARK Strategies. Christchurch, NZ: Neil D. Fleming. [Practical strategies for addressing visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic learners through varied game types.]

Gee, J. P. (2003). What Video Games Have to Teach Us About Learning and Literacy. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. [Groundbreaking analysis of game design principles and their applications to education.]

Lemov, D. (2015). Teach Like a Champion 2.0. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass. [Contains numerous quick, game-like techniques for maximising student engagement and learning in every lesson.]

Marzano, R. J. (2010). The Art and Science of Teaching: A Comprehensive Framework for Effective Instruction. Alexandria, VA: ASCD. [Includes extensive research-based strategies for game-based learning and student engagement.]

Stoyle, S. (2014). Primary Maths: Teaching Theory and Practice (7th ed.). London: SAGE Publications. [Comprehensive guide to using manipulatives and games in primary mathematics, applicable to lower secondary IGCSE preparation.]

Teed, R., McDaris, J., and Roseth, C. (2015). “How to Create Game-Based Learning Activities.” Science Education Resource Center (SERC). Retrieved from https://serc.carleton.edu/ [Free online guide with step-by-step instructions for creating educational games.]

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