Theoretical Study of Art and Culture

Most of the working days of the Orientation course begin with a short session on “Regional Contribution to Indian Culture” by the participants, in which they highlight the contributions of their State/Union Territory to the composite culture of India.

Sessions on the “Theoretical Study of Art and Culture” are classified as follows:

Study of traditional and philosophical concepts and aesthetics of Indian Art and Culture. Illustrated lectures throw light on the 5000 years of Indian Art and of its people. Through these lectures, an attempt is made to show the unity and diversity in time and space and how people are linked together through its cultural manifestations.

Study of India’s natural heritage :

• Illustrated lectures on Indian flora and fauna.
• Environmental problems and solutions.
• Conservation of natural resources.
• Study of nature parks/botanical gardens, etc.

Study of Indian Architecture and Sculpture – These illustrated lectures are able to highlight the history and evolution of different styles of architecture and sculpture prevalent in all parts of the country. These lectures also discuss the influence of religions, beliefs, and geo-physical features on the development of these forms.

Lectures on Paintings trace the evolution of this art form from the earliest pre-historic cave paintings, illustrated manuscripts, various schools of miniature paintings and the contemporary styles of paintings.

Lectures on Indian Language & Literature throw light on ancient literary works, scripts, dialects, poetry and highlight the oral traditions which have kept the myths and legends alive through the ages. The lectures also provide information on contemporary writers and their work in the regional languages.

Lectures on Folk & Tribal Culture give a glimpse of traditional Indian Culture and life style of tribals in various parts of India.

Lectures on Traditional Theatre forms highlight regional variety.Lecture-demonstrations on Hindustani and Carnatic Music and also Folk and Tribal Music in form of the different prevailing styles of vocal and instrumental music, including compositional forms of these styles give a brief historical background along-with some essential definitions, nuances and fundamental techniques pertaining to the art forms.

Lecture-demonstrations on Indian Classical Dances trace the history and evolution of Indian Dance from Bharat Muni’s Natyashastra to the present time.

Practical Training in Arts and Crafts

One can learn to appreciate art only if one has experience of the creative process which brings the mind into harmony with physical skills.Each teacher participant in the Orientation training programme is also expected to spend approximately two weeks learning basic skills in two to three crafts which can easily be taught in schools. The practical classes are held under the guidance of artists and experts in the related fields. Some of the crafts being taught are pottery, clay work, cane weaving, book binding, paper toy making, rangoli and tie and dye etc.

The choice of practical activities offered to the participants are those which are suitable for Indian schools, in terms of cost, availability of materials and productive value.In order to encourage the participants to learn other Indian languages and also to develop love and the spirit of understanding each other, practical classes are organised in learning of songs in major national languages. Similarly practical classes are organised in movement and mime to develop teacher’s imagination and communication potential. Through their increasing grasp of dramatic concepts, participants are helped to understand “theatre” and its role in education.

Educational Aids

Project work teaches and tests higher cognitive skills, allows for the application of knowledge, gives the students a measure of choice and responsibility for learning and is a great motivator. Participants of the Orientation Training Programme are taught how projects can be formulated to motivate the students most effectively. A number of sessions are organised where teachers either individually or in groups, work on thematic projects in depth to prepare educational aids, games, charts, lesson plans, etc. to incorporate cultural components in classroom teaching. The topics and themes for the above mentioned activity chosen/selected by the participants are discussed in detail before they actually prepare their projects. An attempt is made to select such topics in which there is scope for linking cultural concepts with the subjects taught by the participants in their respective schools. Teachers also suggest related activities in their projects for students.

Regular sessions are held on the use of the materials of the Educational Kit where each teacher prepares slide presentations on particular themes or subjects. These programmes and presentations aim at encouraging the creativity of the teachers and are a preliminary exercise for introducing a cultural component in teaching of various subjects.

Educational Tours

During the Orientation Training Programme, educational visits to museums such as – The National Museum, National Museum of Natural History, Crafts Museum, National Science Centre, Nehru Memorial Museum, etc. are conducted. These visits aim at studying the resources available in the museums and how they can be used for broadening the perspective of the students. In each of these visits, emphasis is laid on the fact that museums/monuments be used as “Centres of Learning”. Through worksheets, teachers’ observations are narrowed down to a museum object so that they can develop similar worksheets for their students’ visit to local museums. Through educational tours to Zoological Parks and Historical Monuments, an attempt at highlighting the role of students in conservation of the natural and cultural heritage is made. The visits to Art Galleries and cultural shows are also organised so that the participants get first-hand experiences of the contemporary art scene.

Evaluation

Evaluation is an essential component of each training programme organised by the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT). It is incorporated in the programmes at the time of its planning.

In the Orientation Training Programme, periodical evaluation is done by the participants for different modules of the course. There is also a summative evaluation in every Orientation Training Programme. In every course, two or three evaluation sessions are conducted. The participants are given structured questionnaires so that they may express their views on different aspects of the course contents. Various techniques of formal and informal evaluations are applied to assess the knowledge gained by the participants during the training programmes.

It may be mentioned in this connection that, the responses of the participants for the various training programmes held during the period under review were invariably very encouraging and the participants were appreciative of the training programmes and its content. Since the evaluation serves as a feedback for the future programmes, which are of repetitive nature, the responses are considered while planning for the next training programme.

Other Activities

During the training programmes, the Centre for Cultural Resources and Training (CCRT) organises related activities on important National Days like September 5-Teachers’ Day, September 8-World Literacy Day, December 1-World AIDS Day etc.

These activities foster a culture of collective ownership and interactive tolerance. Through these activities, the CCRT nurtures collective ownership in which the knowledge produced through such activities is continuously shared and contributors are recognised. When participants engage in cross-cultural research projects or when they participate in lecture demonstrations, in which they interact cross – culturally, the other is continuously recognised, thereby facilitating, not only cross cultural understanding, appreciation and tolerance but also the empowerment as well.

This also provides a platform for the last element of the empowerment of teacher trainees through the creative engagement of life, culture, economy, education and work fostering independent thinking and action.