School with a Difference

1. School with a Difference Vega Schools in Gurgaon work on the model of 'problem-based learning'. Sandy Hooda, co- founder, Vega Schools, spells out their vision and pedagogy in an email interview. Edited excerpts: What was the idea behind the launch of Vega Schools? In my travels, I discovered some incredibly progressive schools around the world. Some of these were using a wonderful teaching method known as problem based learning or PBL. I had to find a way to start a PBL school in India and was hugely fortunate to meet Dr. Steven Edwards who was a global expert in PBL. I managed to convince him to join me in cofounding PBL schools in India. What is its philosophy? Our philosophy is to help students or as we like to refer to them at Vega as our learners navigate CBSE (our national curriculum) by developing their inquiry, creativity, thinking and problem- solving skills. Instead of starting with the curriculum we always begin with the interests and strengths of the child.

2. How is PBL different from conventional learning? Problem based learning (PBL) is a research based teaching methodology and begins with the child, or a group of children (that along with their teachers) come up with a driving question, which is usually about a local real world problem that needs to be solved. Through our PBL pedagogy, the children cover all the essential elements of the curriculum in a more interesting, engaged, practical and relevant manner. PBL puts learners in charge of their learning process. This instills a sense of ownership, which has proven to show much higher levels of interest and motivation leading to measurable positive outcomes. How do you bridge the skill academia gap? At Vega, the starting point is our teachers. We have a comprehensive teacher recruitment and evaluation process that ensures our teachers possess the right attitude and are continuously developing skills required in the real world. Our teaching methodology (PBL) further helps bridge the skill academia gap by ensuring all the major skills are developed during the process of learning. Through our unique Learning Management System (LMS), we are able to assess both subject content as well as skills. How are you preparing the leaders of tomorrow?

3. PBL is designed to ensure children are effective in the complex careers of tomorrow. It also ensures children enjoy the learning journey. Our method encourages children to experiment, solve complex problems, build resilience and emotional intelligence and develop a growth mindset. These shall be the qualities required for leaders of tomorrow. Any child can be that leader, as long as the learning environment is conducive.