Workshop on Character Building for 500+ NCC Cadets.

The first half of the workshop primarily focused upon, self motivation through self awareness along with deeper self analysis and self realization of understanding of one's own worth and areas of improvement. Along with the same, more emphasis was laid upon taking up the self responsibility and ways to control and manage one's anger and emotions, along with more rational and thoughtful approach to life.

To give a kick start to the workshop, a motivational video was played at the start to instil deeper realization of the need of hard work, patience, persistence along with resilience to be successful in life.

Thereafter the cadets were given a task where they had to depict themselves by correlating themselves with any form of nature and along with it also had to give a justification for the same. This task primarily promotes self introspection along with stronger self realization.

After the above, the cadets were told to choose their personality type from the following 5 broad categories of personalities i.e. courageous, extrovert, introvert, emotional, thoughtful. Accordingly individuals from each type of personality were made to do a task, so as to have a stronger realization of the peculiar traits of each type of personality and the related strengths along with areas of improvement.

Further the cadets were elaborated the various factors shaping one's personality along with differentiation between personality and character, where it was realized that too have an enhanced personality, one needs to have a stronger character.

Thereafter another activity was done, which involved the participation of all the cadets, to illustrate the impact of difference of receiving and perceiving information, which primarily differentiates one's attitude towards life and its situations.

Thereafter another activity was done, which involved the participation of all the cadets, to illustrate the impact of difference of receiving and perceiving information, which primarily differentiates one's attitude towards life and its situations.

The cadets were then asked to narrate a few instances where they did something jokingly but it eventually turned out to be more aggressive form of teasing or bullying. To make this concept

more revealing the senior cadets were asked not to bully the younger cadets, but rather encourage them in their little initiatives and guide them throughout.

In the second half of the workshop after the lunch, the cadets were shown different videos emphasizing upon the aspect of not being addicted to technology and gadgets but rather working on ways to control their adolescent emotions and managing anger.  The cadets were elaborated the concept of 'Prioritizing' and undertaking tasks based upon their intensity of urgency and importance.

Thereafter with the help of another video, the cadets were instilled the sensitivity towards the opposite gender and the need for both the genders to be respectful towards each other and to be all the more responsible towards the growth and progress of the opposite gender.

Lastly through different pictorial slides along with voluntary participation of the cadets to sing, dance or enact, the importance of being organized or better managed was conveyed to unleash one's own potential and harness it all the more.

Thereafter the cadets were told to be more curious in lives and try to find out an answer to all the ‘WHY's’, so as to have a more confidence and clarity in life. Lastly an open house interaction was facilitated, where the cadets expressed themselves for why this workshop was organized and why it was important for them.

Just before concluding the whole workshop a guided thinking session was facilitated, where the cadets had to listen along with instrumental music in the background, during which recapitulation of all the key concepts and prime learnings' of the workshop was done.

Lastly, the male cadets and the female cadets were separately made to take a pledge to be responsible in their words and actions as a "Caring Son/ Daughter, Loving Brother/Sister, Affectionate Friend and a Responsible Citizen of India".

A DAY SPENT WITH THE NCC CADETS.

In the recent past we have been privileged to conduct a workshop for the NCC Cadets at the NCC Headquarters in sector 31. This hald day workshop was a part of NCC camp going on at the Air Force Station in Chandigarh which had cadets from both Junior and Senior Wing.

The prime purpose of our workshop was to instil and provoke those important values much desired and really crucial for a NCC cadet to pursue his NCC trainings effectively along with assurance of retention and fulfillment of roles and responsibilities of a true cadet. 

We initiated our workshop with the involvement of the cadets in various daring activities so as to make then realize and promote within them the attributes desired to be a promising NCC cadet and practice it with all sincerity and dedication in all facets of life.

The cadets were also shown clippings from some movies like Lakshaya and Chak de India along with some other inspirational audio visuals, to encourage them for a progressive future with defence services along with more commitment and devotion towards one’s nation.

Some other exciting outdoor games and simulative exercises were done with the cadets to promote experiential learning and instil stronger sensitivity within them to be more self responsible, self disciplined and ways to behave and operate as more responsible citizen of India.

Personality Development and Life Skills(PDLS) Capsule for NCC officers

  

Personality Development and Life Skills(PDLS) Capsule for NCC Officers

 In one of our recent workshop held at the Officers Training Academy in Gwalior in which the team "The Transformers Value Creators" had facilitated a 2 days PDLS (Personality Development and Life Skills) capsule for the NCC Officers as a part of their refresher course.

This 2 days workshop included a group of 118 NCC officers in the average age group of 43 years and with an experience ranging from 10 to 25 years. Hence it was all together a very senior group of some of the most seasoned professionals.

Accordingly the PDLS workshop was planned in a way to add more value to the rich experience and technical expertise of these senior NCC Officers.

Day 1 was primarily all about self introspection along with self realization about one's potential, strengths and areas of improvement as a woman, as a NCC Officer and then being the ambassador of NCC.

Through number of interactive sessions, brainstorming, group discussions and many other simulative exercises and fun games some very crucial aspects and essential thoughts were provoked and promoted inclusive of :

• Role of women in all spheres of life.
• Sensitization on importance of Indian women and their significant contributions.
•  Sensitization on the crucial aspect of the need for the girls to be educated.
•   Involve the participants in some daring acts so as to help them reflect deeper in their lives from being a girl to growing up as a woman.

• Boost the morale of the ANO's by making them believe that can do everything and  excel in any sphere.
• Self reflections and self introspection to understand their strengths as an ANO.
• Sensitize the ANO's with their responsibilities along with mutual understanding of  other's point of view.
• Work on the ways for how to promote and instil the real essence of NCC.
• Practical ways to work in the direction of promoting NCC principles and work as per the guidelines.
• Have a deeper understanding of the essentials of being more planned, organized, proactive and well managed.

Day 2 was more about the connect between the NCC Officers and their cadets so as to facilitate them working together in harmony for the nations 'progress. 

In the same direction, through some more of experiential learning and outdoor sessions, sense of responsibility was instilled deeper amongst the NCC officers towards their cadets, respective educational institute, relevant army unit and all together towards the nation, based upon the following objectives:

• Sensitization of the gap existing in one's personality or way of dealing with people and situations due to lack of emotional intelligence.
• Why emotionally intelligent people are always preferred over others and highlight the very aspect of "conduct is more important than capability"

• Practical ways of instilling socio emotional learning amongst the ANO's and further within their cadets.
• Through different fun exercises help individuals work on the essential skills of self awareness, self management, decision making skills, relationship skills and social awareness.
• Sensitization of the need and the ways to promote the spirit of Nationalism amongst the youth and ways of working for the progress and development of the nation.

Finally the 2 days of the PDLS capsule concluded with some of the most enticing and captivating performances by the very versatile and multitalented NCC Officers in forms of poetry, songs, role plays and even dance performances to present their 2 days of learning in more creative and impressive ways. All together it was a great learning and absolutely enriching experience for all the NCC Officers and their facilitators which could be felt and realized stronger in the enthusiasm and wholehearted participation of all the very experienced and most competent Officers.

Teachers As Lifelong Learners!!!

Teachers As Lifelong Learners!!

Teaching is one of those rare professions’ that keeps one’s brain young, allows continuing one’s own journey as a student and a lifelong learner. 

Teaching is a job that encourages one’s own growth because to do it well requires one’s own continuous enhancement. Teaching provides that environment where one encounters people of different ethnicity and religions with different philosophies, learning styles and backgrounds which in turn helps one to grow as a person.

 Being a teacher allows learning something new; immerse oneself in a distinct universe with each project and so much more as-

-Each school year brings new people into one’s life.

-Each unit and lesson brings new perspectives.

-Each failure, when looked at formatively, can help solve new problems.
-Each success, when used reflectively, can be even greater, the next time.

The eight features which impact the effectiveness of teacher learning:

Life and career experience

Teachers are influenced by what goes on in their lives, both on a daily basis and over time. Their priorities and lives are therefore important. Each teacher also experiences their own individual career pattern that influences their desire and readiness to engage in improvement activities.

Beliefs

Individuals’ perceptions and actions about changing and developing their teaching are highly influenced by what they believe, as well as by their knowledge. 

Emotional well-being

Daniel Goleman (1996) has argued that emotional intelligence influences students’ self-concepts and motivation. But teaching is also full of emotions. A school’s readiness for change is influenced by teachers’ psychological state. As valuing individuals as people and valuing their contributions enhances teachers’ self-esteem and builds trust.

Knowledge

Another influence is the detailed and deep knowledge a teacher has on general pedagogy( style of teaching)  and pedagogical content, as well as their subject discipline(s). This incorporates knowledge about each students’ strengths, weaknesses, home background, cultural experiences, and learning styles. It also includes teachers’ understanding of how their “deep knowledge” interacts with the classroom context; and a self-awareness, that enables them to be conscious of their own thoughts, feelings, intentions and behaviours, and of other’s values.

Skills

As Bob Garmston and Bruce Wellman (1998) note, “Like the queen on a chessboard, the teacher with the most moves has the most options and the greatest degree of influence.” Individual teachers are influenced by the extent of their repertoire of teaching strategies and their ability to experiment with their own practice, by working through a learning cycle of: activity, reflection and evaluation, extracting meaning from a review and planning how to use the learning in future. In particular, when teachers plan for students’ learning, their “bag of tricks” includes tasks and processes to promote active learning, collaborative learning, learner responsibility and learning about learning, and skills related to handling relationships.

Motivation to learn

Motivation is the starting point for learning. For a busy and often overworked teacher to devote effort to change and new learning, there has to be a good reason for the change: some sort of catalyst or urgency – a sense that “what I’m doing doesn’t seem to be working”. Also, faced with a new teaching strategy, the teacher needs to know it is practical and useful - “relevant to me in my classroom with the students”.

Confidence that (s)he can make a real difference

Confident teachers believe that what they do and can makes a significant difference to their students’ progress and development at school and lives beyond school.

Sense of interdependence

Teaching has been described as the second most private activity, and yet the majority of humans are social animals with a need for connections, relationships, and social support. While many teachers may express individuality and choose, at times, to work and learn alone, some also see the potential within groups, and know they are their work benefit from collaboration.

Inculcating life skills amongst the rural youth: A 7-Days Workshop by The Transformers Value Creators

Inculcating Life Skills amongst Rural Youth: 

A 7-Days' Workshop by The Transformers Value Creators

The workshop was conducted by the Nehra Yuva Kendra Sangathan, Pinjore at the Gram Sachivalya, Bhoria Village, District Pinjore with the main objective to develop life skills amongst the rural youth with participants from 10 different villages across Pinjore and Kalka.

This workshop was further facilitated by The Transformers Value Creators, a nationally renowned life skills training and knowledge enterprise. The Transformers have been associated with the NYKS since last 2 years, wherein a number of workshops and training sessions have been organized in the past as well for their Zonal Directors, DYC's, NYV' s and Rural Youth.

The first day of this one week workshop on Life Skills, primarily emphasized upon instilling confidence amongst the youth by promoting self awareness and self motivation in which more focus was laid upon understanding one's own strengths and talents and boosting their morale to become more expressive and confident to share and discuss. This all was induced amongst the participants through different daring activities to unleash their hidden or real potential and sensitizing videos to facilitate students find their objective or goal and collaborate it with their strengths.

The second day was all about understanding one's own emotions, with emphasis upon valuing and managing emotions. On this day, participants were made to understand and realize their different emotions and related stimuli or response to each emotion. They were also enabled with the skill of prioritizing and making choices crucial for their age and stage of life.  Participants were also sensitized with the need to respect and value one's own emotion along with other's emotions.

Third day was all about anger management, where students were instilled with the sensitivity of the ill effects or the irreparable or permanent damages caused due to excess anger. Thereafter, the participants were facilitated with ways to control and manage anger through elaborate discussions and brainstorming sessions.  Furthermore, the participants were made to do various role plays which were based upon different themes provided to them, so as to understand how to respond or react to different crucial or problem situations.

Fourth Day was completely focused upon understanding the various life skills and their importance in life to have a balanced life and be success oriented. Participants were given different simulative situations where they had to express their individual ways to respond so as to have a deeper understanding of the need and role of various life skills in different circumstances. Participants were also instilled with stronger self realization for the need to overcome their weaknesses and boost their strengths by developing life skills.

Fifth Day was to develop positive thoughts and ideas by promoting creative and critical thought process for which the participants were involved in various energizing and engaging activities so as to instigate new ideas and ideologies. As a part of this session, the participants were also made to understand the various mindsets and different types of natural intelligence and ways to instill creative intelligence.

On the sixth day, the participants were enabled with very important skills of goal orientation and managing time. The participants were made to complete different time bound tasks individually and in groups to understand the importance of time and being focused towards their goal.  As a part of this session, the participants were also sensitized with the adverse impact of being distracted and loosing valuable time.

On the seventh day, i.e. the last day of this workshop, the participants were instilled with the importance and need of the girls to be educated and most importantly for both the genders to progress collectively. As a part of this session, to further evoke sense of responsibility amongst the participants, they were emphasized upon the dire need to stay away from addictions in life.

At the end of the seventh day, the participants were made to fill a questionnaire, so as to evaluate their complete 7-days of learning. Finally, the workshop was concluded with a formal closing ceremony, wherein the participants were rewarded with a participation certificate and were also acknowledged in front of their parents.