A Site-based Learning Program specially designed for the K. J. Somaiya English Medium
School at Sameerwadi of Mudhol district, Karnataka designed by Prachi Dalal, museum
educator and heritage & sustainable tourism professional based in New York, USA.
The program, implemented in partnership with Somaiya Vidyavihar Trust, aimed to
help implement experiential, object-based and site-based learning approaches with
the local teachers that can enhance the learning experience for children. The program
helped teachers use local historic sites and natural resources to teach their children
and then lead discussions going beyond their curriculum to develop among their students
skills like planning, critical thinking, leadership, civic responsibility, creativity,
and much more. By using built, natural and intangible heritage as a focal point,
this program raised awareness and inspired students and the local community to become
stewards and advocates for heritage conservation and sustainable development.
Project Goals
- Introduce experiential, object-based and site-based learning pedagogies to teachers
to empower them to enhance the learning experience for children.
- Create an enhanced exploratory experience with heritage resources.
- Provide experiential & interactive learning to ignite a passion for our shared heritage.
- Encourage civic engagement towards sustainability, conservation & social change.
- Empower youth to become change makers.
- Encourage critical thinking, observation, creativity and leadership qualities.
- Equip educators with resources to use heritage to make curricular connections.
Teacher Training
The program included three-day training for teachers to encourage and empower teachers
to free themselves of the confining limits of the classroom and infuse curiosity,
sense of discovery, creativity, hands-on and interactive activities and games to
enhance the learning experience for their students. This approach aims to prepare
the students not just for exams but with critical thinking and leadership skills
to meet the challenges in the 21st century. The vital introductory session was co-designed
and co-led by Prachi and Parveen Shaikh, head of the Pre-Primary School at Vidyavihar,
Mumbai. The following day the teachers were taken on an excursion to Bijapur to
inspire them to create lesson plans using a historic site, which was then implemented
during the pilot project with the 8th grade class. The final day was spent on working
in groups reviewing, refining the lesson plans and creating materials for implementation.
This approach could then be used by teachers to design experiences for students
at sites far and near including using the beautiful school campus or the local community
and farms as a site.
Vikram Sir engaging the students on the life of Mohammad Adil Shah
Student Program
DAY 1
The program was piloted with the Class VIII and started with an orientation session
on Monday, 21st October 2013 and ended with a Town Hall Meeting and Parent Open
House on Sunday, 27th October, 2013.The Orientation session prepared the students
through thought-provoking activities like ‘Body Mapping’ and ‘Itinerary Planning’
and were introduced to the concept of Heritage and why the understanding of heritage
is important. They engaged in creating ground rules for the program, stating their
expectations for the program and team building activities. After the orientation
students packed their bags with excitement for a fun-filled 3-day out-of-the-box
learning experience in Pattadakal and Bijapur, followed by a visit to an organic
farm.
DAY 2
At Pattadakal, a complex of 7th century Early Chalukyan temples near Badami, the
students learnt about sculpted stories (their symbolism, iconography, and connection
to dance and literature), styles of architecture and layout of Early Chalukyan temple
architecture. The students became detectives equipped with torches exploring stories
carved on the pillars of the Virupaksha temple. Students experienced stories in
dance by Mr. Pavitra Bhatt, an eloquent and expressive Bharatnatyam dancer who specially
came down from Mumbai for the dance demonstration and workshop. Pavitra demonstrated
Bho Shambho, Gajendra-Moksha and Ardhanareeshwara in the Virupaksha temple. Students
also experienced what it meant to express an abstract concept with their bodies
as they created themed freezes during a movement workshop. The visual sketching
workshop resulted in beautiful copper- embossed manuscript covers. That evening
the group proceeded to the next destination – Bijapur, the erstwhile capital of
the medieval Adil Shahi Dynasty.
(Left) Describing the story of Gajendra Moksha in the panel above through dance;
(Center) Story detectives at the Virupaksha temple; (Right) Bharatanatyam demonstration
by Pavitra Bhatt
DAY 3
The theme of the next day at Bijapur was ‘Conflict and Confluence’ and the morning
started with an introduction to the historical and socio-cultural context of Bijapur
and the Adil Shahi dynasty by Prof. Imaratwale in the Gol Gumbaz premises. Students
explored the confluence and influence of many cultures in Bijapur during the Adil
Shahi period through an interactive museum exploration activity conducted by Prachi
at the Archeological Museum of Bijapur.
(Left) Prof. Imaratwale and Dr. Sujeet Nayan outside the Archeological Museum of
Bijapur (Right) Museum exploration
At the Ibrahim Rauza, a tomb and mosque complex built by Ibrahim Adil Shah II, the
students examined the beautiful stucco ornamentation and sketched motifs that inspired
them. These motifs would have had deeper symbolic meaning, unknown to us, still
provided ample inspiration for the students to design their manuscript covers. A
brief activity introduced the concept of mathematics of symmetry at Ibrahim Rauza.
This helped the students make connections between geometry, architecture, design
and aesthetic. It made the concept of symmetry relevant to our day to day lives,
where we can see symmetry all around us in nature, architecture and design.
Students sketching at Ibrahim Rauza
Later that afternoon, students were divided into four groups – each group engaging
in a unique experience which was shared with their peers at the end of the day in
a Sharing and Reflection session.
Group 1: They visited an Adil Shahi period dam and water system at Kumatgi (outside
Bijapur) headed by Mr. Klous Rotzer, a French scholar and researcher who has been
studying the fortification and water systems in Bijapur for many years, to discover
the technological achievement of the Adil Shahi sultans in creating an effective
water & irrigation system which was sustainable and helped with providing a natural
fertilizer to the farmers but was also dotted with beautiful pleasure pavilions
for the royal ladies – combining pleasure and work – a unique feature in Deccani
architecture of those times.
Group 2: went to a village on the outskirts of Bijapur, which is a home to the Lambanis,
a nomadic community now settled in Karnataka. This experience was researched and
conducted by Ms. Smitha Kumar, Assistant Archeologist at the ASI, Bijapur. The students
got a rare insight into the culture, lifestyle and beliefs of the Lambanis. A teacher
and a student got an amazing opportunity to dress in the traditional attire and
the entire group enjoyed their hospitality and loved dancing to Lambani tunes.
(Left)
Kumatgi water pavilion and water lifting tower; (Center) Mr. Klous
Rotzer showing students the bath and toilet in the pavilions; (Right)
Lambani women and
Sujata Teacher matching steps
Group 3 & 4: The workshop on Stucco by Mr. Ameen Pullar exposed students to building
materials used during medieval times and the advantage of those techniques with
respect to weather conditions, geology and aesthetics of that period as well as
the challenges to using these materials today. Due to weather conditions the workshop
on Secularism and Tolerance was altered to a workshop on Dakhani Literature, where
professor of Deccani Urdu – Prof. Daulatkoti shared jewels from his treasure trove
of Deccani literature that brought out the confluence of various cultures as well
as languages like Urdu, Sanskrit, Marathi and Kannada. This session revealed the
sophistication, culture, tolerance and love of literature & arts of the Adil Shahi
rulers and also led to a discussion on the importance of tolerance in contemporary
times.
(Left) Detail of stucco ornamentation on the Gol Gumbaz; (Right) The entire group
with Mr. Ameen Hullur, Prof. Dawlatkoti and Dr. Sujeet Nayan
DAY 4
The wonderful officers at ASI, Bijapur generously helped arrange for a visit to
the Gol Gumbaz and the underground tombs at 6 a.m. the next day to provide the students
an experience of the resounding quality of the “Whispering dome” of the Gol Gumbaz.
In complete silence, students observed the incredible echo of their voices. The
serene experience on top of the Gol Gumbaz and in the underground tomb was one of
the highlights of the group’s experience. This experience also left them with a
lasting impression of the threat of continuous and irresponsible shouting on the
longevity of the Gol Gumbaz, and our responsibility as visitors in conserving our
collective heritage.
(Left) Setting ground rules before entering the Gol Gumbaz; (Center) Paying respect
at the underground tombs of Mohammaed Adil Shah; (Right) Taj Baodi
The students were taken to the Taj Baodi (one of the water bodies that originally
supplied water to Bijapur) and the Narsimha temple (one of the oldest temples in
the city) where they witnessed the impact of litter and trash on city’s infrastructure.
They also realized how our past can teach us valuable lessons that can improve our
current quality of life, if managed well. Mr. Anand Teertha and Dr. Sujeet Nayan
of the Archeological Survey of India (ASI), Bijapur made insightful presentations
on the ‘Challenges of conserving heritage’ and ‘Excavations in Nalanda’ respectively.
  
(Left) Mr. Anand Teertha addressing the students; (Center) Demonstration of a conservation
exercise; (Right) Dr. Sujeet Nayan presenting his work on Excavations in Nalanda,
Bihar
After lunch, each groups selected an issue for visitor awareness that had bothered
them during their trip. The groups selected the following issues: littering in the
premises of a monument, scribbling on monument walls, spitting and shouting in the
Gol Gumbaz. After creating a strategy for this awareness campaign and refining it
as a team, the students set out to change visitor behavior in the Gol Gumbaz premises.
Their spirits were not dampened by a few ‘nay-sayers’ but they were definitely moved
when visitors not just obliged to their requests but appreciated their initiative.
This exercise may not change the everyday challenges of heritage management at Gol
Gumbaz, but it converted the students into future advocates of civic responsibility
through and may have created a change of heart in a few visitors.
  
Vistior awareness in the Gol Gumbaz
The day concluded with the teachers leading a site-based session at the Gol Gumbaz.
The groups returned with a bag full of experience to share with their friends and
family.
DAY 5
The following day was spent in reflecting on their experience and in feverishly
preparing their group presentations for the Parent Open House. Each group put in
their best to create a wonderful presentation with guidance from their teacher-guides
given the limited time and resources.
DAY 6
This day brought to them a different perspective on understanding heritage – the
natural heritage and how our day-to-day actions can leave an irreversible impact
on the environment. An environmentalist based in Delhi, Mr. Prashant Mahajan started
the day with an introduction to the ecosystem and to ecosystem services which brought
out the vital understanding of how even the survival of a tiny bee could be so vital
to the sustainability of an entire ecosystem. The students visited an organic farm
where they toured the farm and observed drip irrigation, use of natural fertilizer
and pesticides, vermin-composting, algae in The group came back and discussed their
observations, and sustainable processes that were applicable on some of their own
farms. A green quiz helped them think about how they could take personal responsibility
in making their school green. This experience made the concept of environmental
sustainability more relevant to their lives.
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Leading Management Consultant and Executive
Coach Mr. Vivek Patwardhan set the tone of the conference was followed by an
engrossing panel discussion on sectoral practices by senior practitioners from
the Industry. Mr. Ramesh Mitragotri CHRO, Chemical Sector, Aditya Birla Group,
Mr. Rajesh Manik, Head HR, Deloitte and Ms. Sujata Chogle, GM – HR BPCL came up
with illuminating insights on engagement scenario. Deliberations by Mr.
Prasenjit Bhattacharya, CEO, Great Places to Work came up with glimpse of “future
of work”. One of the leading academicians in Engagement Research, Prof. (Dr.)
Jyotsna Bhatnagar, MDI, Gurgaon helped provide valuable insights on different
dimensions of Employee Engagement. This conference served
as a platform to blend the research and practice paradigms in Employee Engagement.
