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Scaling new heights of learning -
Tales from a Metric Mela
On 20 March 2008, Shorapur in Gulbarga District, Karnataka was abuzz
with the sound of numbers. For, the young students of nine schools in
the area were in the midst of demonstrating classroom-learnt
mathematical concepts to members of their communities through clever,
self-designed games and experiments as part of the Metric Mela.
The
‘Metric Mela’ is an innovative strategy that was originally
designed and used by RIVER at their project schools in Madanapalle,
Chittoor District, Andhra Pradesh. It was aimed at not only helping
children get experiential knowledge for reinforcement of mathematical
concepts, but also making
parents take active interest in the education of their children.
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The
Mela has children setting up stalls with games on various
mathematical concepts e.g. length, measurement, place value,
fractions, weight, geometry, money, etc. Community involvement is
reflected through the participation of parents in helping their
children set up stalls or providing them with food stuff to be put up
for sale at a nominal price. This Mela is nothing less than a
festival in the village. The children come dressed up for the
occasion and decorations are put up all around the school
compound.
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Each
visitor to the Mela is given an evaluation card which he/she has to
give to the children in charge of each stall before participating in
any activity. Based on the visitor’s performance, the children
assign grades on the card to that person.
The
Metric Mela gives children an opportunity to demonstrate to adults
(and even educate them in the process!) their skills and familiarity
with a host of units of measurement in a variety of amusing ways.
These Melas have been highly successful in generating interest in
education among the adults too.
List of
Experiments
- Coin swimming in water (counting)
- How wise are you in measurement? (Length)
- Through rings – get things (estimation)
- Daddy, how sure are you? (Coin value)
- How much can you remember?
- Make a doll out of it (Shapes)
- Guess the Place Value (Place Value)
- Angles in clocks (angle)
- How much are these? (Estimation in
counting)
- Length of your nose
- Selling Flowers
- Letter Tree
- There is nothing! (Zero concepts)
- Know your weight
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- Know your height
- Your destiny is in your hand
- No. of elephants (just for entertainment)
- Is your answer correct? (General
knowledge)
- Solving riddles
- Which is the filled glass?
- Count the bangles (accuracy and speed)
- Touch flour – Identify grains
- Word Magic
- How much you know about animals
- Shape inside the shape
- Fractions
- One Question
- Measure and see (measuring in litre)
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Click
here for a
detailed report of the Metric Mela.
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