ABSTRACTION

ACTIVITY BASED LEARNING

INTRODUCTION

The Activity Based Learning (ABL) program is an innovative, interesting and

corroborated classroom transaction program for standards one to four that has been introduced in
the state schools of Tamil Nadu. Incubated initially in approximately 260 schools of the
Corporation of Chennai from 2003 to 2006, it has been extended from June 2007 to government
and government aided schools across the state under the direction of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan,
Department of Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, and India. ABL, adapted from Rishi
Valley’s RIVER program and select practices of Montessori pedagogy for multi-grade and multi-
level classrooms has been extended to 37500 government and government aided schools in the
state. The present study is the officially commissioned Baseline and year-end survey done by
Schools cape in collaboration with SSA Tamil Nadu.

HISTORY OF ACTIVITY BASED LEARNING

Activity-based learning started sometime in 1944 around World War II when a British
man David Horsburgh came to India and finally decided to settle down there. He was an
innovative thinker and charismatic leader. He started teaching in rishi valley school. He joined
the British council and worked in Chennai and Bangalore many years. After his voluntary
retirement, he located a 7-acre (28,000 m2) site in Kolar District and opened his school. Neel
Baugh was based on an innovative idea of Horsburgh and known for its creative methods in
teaching well-planned learning materials. With his wife Doreen and his son Nicholas, Horsburgh
developed a diverse curriculum, which included music, carpentry, sewing, masonry, gardening,
as well as the usual school subjects, English, mathematics, Sanskrit, and Telugu. These
pedagogic materials were systematically planned, with sketches and drawings and an occasional
touch of humor. Later Horsburgh created a magnificent library in Neel Baugh that was accessible
to teachers and students. This initiative of Horsburgh was later proved to be one of the pioneer
and milestones in ABL.

OBJECTIVES OF ABL

To study the different methods of teaching used from class I to class V

To observe the interaction of students and report
To observe the voluntary participation of students.
To understand how the topic of the said period is recapitulated
To study the evaluation procedure of the activity by the teacher.
To relate the results to the achievement result of the students
CHARACTERISTICS OF ACTIVITY-BASED LEARNING

The key feature of the ABL method is that it uses child-friendly educational aids to foster
self learning allows a child to study according to his/her aptitude and skill.
Under the system, the curriculum is divided into small units, each a group of Self
Learning Materials (SLM) comprising attractively designed study cards for English,
Tamil, maths, science and Social Science.
When a child finishes a group of cards, he completes one "milestone". Activities in each
milestone include games, rhymes, drawing, and songs to teach a letter or a word, form a
sentence, do maths and science, or understand a concept.
The child takes up an Exam Card only after completing all the milestones in a subject. If
a child is absent one day, he/she continues from where he/she left unlike in the old
system where the children had to learn on their own what they missed out on.

ACTION-BASED LEARNING

Action-based learning is a planned activity that helps learners process and retain new
information by allowing them to interact and/or experience the lesson firsthand. The basic
premise of action-based learning is that learners retain and understand information better by
doing. Only 10% of the information that we hear in a lecture is retained, but 90%-95% of what
we learn by practicing ourselves or teaching others is retained. Inactivity based learning, children
learn from first experience by engaging in a series of activities.

What does an activity-based learning classroom look like?

Well, it looks . . . active! Wander by any room where ABL is being practiced and
chances are you will hear a lot of eager voices; see a range of purposeful activities and a group of
busy, engaged learners.

An activity of ACTIVITY BASED LEARNING is shown in below picture

 The following are examples of action-based learning:

Debate
Role-playing or simulation
Laboratory
Games
Clients teaching each other
Activities such as creating scrapbooks, recipe collections, posters, handouts, etc

ANALYSIS OF ABL
One can examine the ABL method and materials through the following five lenses:

 Clarity of lessons
 Classroom environment
 Children’s involvement in process
 Teacher’s role
 Scope for creativity

FOUR STAGES IN ACTIVITY BASED LEARNING

Preparation
Testing the materials
Extension
Evaluation

ADVANTAGES OF ACTIVITY BASED LEARNING

 Children learn at their own pace (speed).

 Pupils’ progress can be evaluated without their knowledge.
 Rote learning is avoided.
 Group learning, self learning and learning from each other are promoted.
 More time is devoted to self learning and the time taken by the teachers for instruction
gets reduced.