India is home to more than 444 million children in the age group of 0-18 years. It has one of the largest child and adolescent populations in the world.
A UNICEF report shows that learning outcomes are one of the biggest challenges in the country, with millions of children completing primary education without acquiring basic literacy and numeracy (FLN) skills.
To enrich the teaching-learning environment and make it child-centric, lively and fun, the Union Ministry of Education has recently launched game-based teaching and learning materials. The Magic Pitara (which translates to magic box) for the basic step.
Here are 10 things to know about learning-to-learn materials.
- The Magic Pitara The Foundation Stage (NCF-FS) is designed based on the National Curriculum Framework for 2022. At this stage, children engage in games and activities, talking, listening, using toys, working with materials, painting, drawing, singing, dancing, running and jumping.
2. Ministry of Education launched NCF for Basic Phase last year. As per the curriculum framework, NCERT developed and compiled teaching-learning material, and launched it on 20 February 2023. The Magic Pitara.
3. The The Magic Pitara Recommends learning and development in five domains – physical development, socio-emotional and moral development, cognitive development, language and literacy development, and aesthetic and cultural development. Positive learning habits are also included as another domain of development at this stage.
4. Child-centered and innovative learning experiences are expected to strengthen conceptual understanding among students in the 3-8 age group.
5. Materials include toys, games, puzzles, puppets, posters, flashcards, worksheets, engaging storybooks and playbooks for students, and are available in 13 Indian languages.
6. It also includes a trainer’s handbook, mapping curriculum goals for future training of teachers at the foundation stage.
7. The learning material for the basic stage has been designed as per the New National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which envisages an educational structure of “5+3+3+4” curriculum. In other words, children will spend five years in the basic stage, three years each in the preparatory and middle stages and four years in the secondary stage.
8. Under the Union Ministry of Education, the Department of School Education and Literacy constituted a National Steering Committee headed by K Kasturirangan to develop the NCF for each phase.
9. When issued The Magic Pitara kits, Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said, “This is a giant leap towards enriching the learning environment and making it more child-centric, vibrant and fun. nectar generation, as envisaged in the NEP.
10. These resources are available digitally on the DIKSHA platform.
Edited by Pranita Bhat