Atlas recently conducted a special online webinar for primary school teachers under the umbrella of its ongoing SipUdana programme, which seeks to create opportunities for both students and teachers to experience new ideas and methods. The theme of the session was “New Educational Reforms and the Child”, and the session was conducted by Dr Punchi Nilame Megaswathta, the Secretary General of the Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO and a member of the Presidential Task Force for Education.
Around 350 primary school teachers participated in the 90-minute-long webinar, which was streamed on Facebook Live on the 15th of July 2021. The main objective of the session was to acquaint primary school teachers with new education reforms and how these impact the child. It provided an opportunity for the teachers and other viewers to better understand the changes that are transforming the education system in Sri Lanka and around the world. An active Q&A session rounded off the webinar.
A number of important topics were discussed during the session including the state of the present education system, its challenges and the importance of recognizing multiple intelligences. The importance of improving soft skills and performance-based learning within a 21st century curriculum framework and the need to treat children with love and dignity were also spoken about.
Overall, the session was a resounding success and the teachers who participated reacted very positively. By helping teachers enhance their methods, abilities and skills, we believe that they will be able to better create an environment in which learning is fun and engaging, where children will be inspired to learn and explore new ideas of their own volition. This is in keeping with our purpose, which is “making learning fun”, because such an environment unleashes the love of learning, allowing each child to reach their full potential.
SipUdana is an ongoing initiative and we have many more events for children, teachers and parents planned in the future. Stay tuned!