Education Reform: Bridging the Gap Between Theory and Practice

This essay explores the imbalance between theoretical knowledge and practical application in the current education system, particularly in India, where the focus remains largely on rote learning. Drawing inspiration from Benjamin Franklin's quote about involvement in learning, the author argues for the integration of activity-based learning approaches, similar to those used in developed countries, to provide students with hands-on experience and foster a more engaging and impactful learning environment. The essay also highlights the importance of incorporating technologies like interactive screens and real-world applications such as farming, aeromodelling, and robotics to enhance student understanding and skill development. The author's institute is actively implementing these changes, including activity-based learning at all levels and providing experiment and field trip opportunities, to create a more effective and enjoyable educational experience for students, aligning with John Dewey's vision of adapting teaching methods to meet the needs of today's learners. Desklib offers a variety of resources including solved assignments and past papers for students seeking academic support.

Running head: EDUCATION
Education
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author note

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Most of the education that children receive in school is theoretical in nature and lacks
practicality of the information gained. As an educator, what do you think is the solution to
this aspect of education?
The famous inventor Benjamin Franklin had once said “Tell me and I will forget. Teach
me and I remember. Involve me and I will learn’ (Coles 2014). These words are highly
applicable when it comes to provide education to children. Education system was introduced in
India by the Colonial masters so that Indians can serve them as clerks and civil servants.
Unfortunately even after 70 years of independence, we seem to have not much deviated from the
theoretical pattern of education. Since Indian educational system is only focused on theoretical
knowledge, the system lacks the performance and outcome which is expected. Being an
educator, I strongly believe that student receives the most of an education system when they get
a hands-on experience of their learning. In order to introduce practicality in the Indian education
system, I think an activity based teaching approach should be introduced in schools, colleges and
universities. The mentioned learning approach is followed by majority of the developed
countries like Australia, UK and US. Considering the fact that children are active learners rather
than passive recipients of information, activity based learning will provide them with proper
opportunity to explore their specific interests and provide them with a learning environment
which is both joyful and impactful. Moreover, practical experiments and live examples will have
a greater impact on their learning. For instance, majority of schools in the western countries use
supported classroom technologies like Interactive screens, Kapp Boards and Visualisers to
provide the students with a practical experience while gathering knowledge about a completely
new matters (Beetham and Sharpe 2013). This technology can be implemented in our Indian

2EDUCATION
system of education too. Finally, as being said by John Dewey, ‘if we teach today’s students as
we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow’ (Palmer 2017).
At a personal level, what steps have you taken or plan to take to improve the learning
experience of your students?
Our institute has planned to take several steps to enhance the learning experience of the
students. For instance, we are planning to implement activity-based learning at all levels.
Activity-based learning has already been implemented in the primary section of our institute.
Within a month of implementing activity-based learning, I have started noticing a positive
impact on the students. Students, who were incapable of remembering or understanding their
lesson effectively, are now showing a steady progress. We have introduced an activity in every
subject. Moreover, the management of the institution is focusing on providing the students with
experiment or field trip facilities before introducing theory to them. Moreover, to improvise
learning experience we have introduced farming, aeromodelling, robotics and computer program
coding to our student by which they can relate to what they are learning in class. These programs
have not only helped us to assess the specific skills of our students but have also enhanced their
urge to involve in the learning process.

3EDUCATION
Reference list
Beetham, H. and Sharpe, R. eds., 2013. Rethinking pedagogy for a digital age: Designing for
21st century learning. routledge.
Coles, R., 2014. The call of stories: Teaching and the moral imagination. HMH.
Palmer, P.J., 2017. The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher's life. John
Wiley & Sons.