Educators
Quest’s Capacity Building initiatives ensure that educators develop stronger pedagogical skills for better classroom engagement. Through blended-learning experiences, the initiative helps educators build 21st-century classroom management skills to improve student-level outcomes, and develop the skills and attitude necessary to design self-learning pathways within their own institutions.
Skilled MasterCoaches
Over 3,700 educators undertook the ‘Skills for Online Facilitation’ course to combat the impact on learning during the pandemic.
States and 1 Union Territory
Four state government partnerships adopt the Master Trainer cascade model to build capacity of Employability Skills trainers.
93 ITI Principals from 8 states participated in a leadership program which aims to support systems-led change in ITIs
Partner organizations
160+ leaders from NGOs across India were part of the Masterclass in Fundraising, Project Management and Storytelling.
Cascade Model of Capacity Building
Starting 2022, a cascade model of capacity building of Employability Skills (ES) trainers will be introduced in 28 states and 8 Union Territories (UTs) in India. The cascade model will build capacity of two ES trainers across each ITI in India, through a Training of Trainer (ToT) model and recognize them as Master Trainers. The Master Trainers will champion the narrative and the need for ES across the ITI ecosystem. They will also in turn build the capacity of ES trainers across the state and provide ongoing support. The cascade model will play a key role ensuring systems-led change.
The cascade model has been introduced after the success of ongoing pilots in Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh. In Punjab, an MoU was recently signed with the Department of Technical Education to build the capacity of trainers using the cascade model.
From Teachers to 21st Century Facilitators
Under the Secondary School program, 7000+ teachers were trained across Odisha, Assam, Gujarat and Nagaland on online tools for student engagement, gender, STEM Mindset and 21st century skills, concept mapping of STEM in academics, self-awareness in classrooms and virtual platforms, sensitivity impact of COVID on different genders, and the digital divide between genders, among other areas. The endline analysis of all the trainings reflected an increase in the number of teachers (51% against 32% in the baseline) who reported change in their perception of girl students pursuing STEM education. A blended capacity-building course, MasterCoach, was developed in 5 languages for teachers to become 21st century educators. It has been vetted by the education department in Odisha, and will be rolled out to reach 4200 teachers.
An in-person training of 58 teachers from Dimapur and Kohima, Nagaland helped teachers implement the Hackathon initiative in their schools with 5,360 students.
Celebrating Educator-led Innovations & Initiatives
Through various initiatives, Quest Alliance felicitates and recognises the efforts of educators and trainers in nurturing 21st century classrooms and joyful learning spaces.
The Anandshala Shiksha Ratan Pursakar is an annual recognition process under the Anandshala programme for Head Masters, Teachers and Cluster Coordinators. 20 Schools and 5 clusters coordinators in Bihar received the award for special efforts made towards student enrollment, engagement and learning. The awardees were further felicitated at the block level by their respective Block Education Officers and other distinguished guests and Headmasters.
10 government Industrial Training Institute (ITI) Employability Skills (ES) trainers in Assam were awarded the MyQuest 21st Century Educator Awards for their efforts in bringing innovation and technology to classrooms. This initiative was supported by Cisco CSR and the Department of Employment and Training, Assam. The event is the second in its series to recognize the innovative pedagogical approaches by Employability Skills Trainers in ITIs. The first such award was initiated in Tamil Nadu in February 2021.
Additionally, the ‘Covid Champion Educator’ awards recognized 155 Vocational Training Institute (VTI) trainers nationwide for their efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic in student mobilization, imparting online training, and placement support.
These awards are a testament to the success of trainer capacity-building initiatives in the ITI and VTI ecosystem and demonstrate the role of blended learning pedagogical approaches in empowering trainers.
Supporting Leadership to Facilitate Change
19 senior managers from 8 organizations across India were part of the third virtual cohort of the Emerging Leaders Program. The cohort also had a physical convocation to celebrate their learning journeys and Change Projects.
So far, 57 leaders across India have benefitted from this program which empowers senior managers to bring lasting change within their teams and organizations.
Additionally, 92 principals from Industrial Training Institutes (ITI) in Assam, Tamil Nadu , and Madhya Pradesh underwent the Principal Leadership Program to support principals to bring systemic changes in the ITI ecosystem. Each program offered models and content contextualized to the challenges faced by principals in each state. Post program completion, Principals are equipped to lead Change Projects in their institutions.
New Content and Learning Experiences
In order to ensure that learning remains relevant for the future, the Capacity Building team at Quest engages regularly with key stakeholders in industry and education and training institutes to update employability skills and education curriculum.
In Jharkhand, Quest Alliance supports the Social Emotional Learning of students through the Sampoorna program. Activity books for grades 6-8 and 9-12 were developed, in addition to IVRS messages, scripts for radio programmes, and learning videos.
A Blended Learning programme was also created for Head Teachers, and offers self-paced digital modules, interactive videos, facilitator-led sessions, and opportunities for peer interaction through WhatsApp and the Anandshala learning platforms. The sessions in each content module are mapped with the School leader’s requirements to lead and create an ecosystem to provide quality education and learning environments in schools and the community. These include Storytelling, School Ecosystem, Change Leadership, and Digital and Data Literacy.
On the Quest App, 140 new lessons in English, 28 in Advanced English and 28 new assessments were uploaded in an effort to ensure that students have transformative learning experiences.
Additionally a digital gender toolkit with 8 lessons and two assessments was developed to have informed discussions on gender in the classrooms. A self-learning handbook with four modules and 12 lessons was developed to support trainers to organize family engagement sessions in institutions.
"The Emerging Leaders Program was an enriching and exciting opportunity. The beauty of the program was that along with prominent key resource persons, it also provided a platform for peer learning. I got to interact and learn from 18 other amazing leaders coming from diverse backgrounds and life experiences."
Tripti, Manager, Magic Bus
