A RIVER to Universal Basic Education Flows in India: A RIVER of Hope
Relevance, Resources
Individualized learning programs
Variety of ages and abilities in a vigorous mix
Environmental Linkages
Results
In the heart of an occasionally lush, but often dry, ancient valley in the state of Andhra Pradesh, known geographically as the Thettu basin, the red soil and granite-rich stone hills have cradled the head waters of a RIVER of educational innovation. The Rishi Valley Institute for Educational Resources (RIVER) is the result of the merging of several streams of educational thought and practice which have their origins in the early twentieth century. In the mid 1920’s progressive thinkers, profound philosophers, and social reformers set in motion a series of events that have emerged from the base of a big banyan tree, like a mountain spring (well spring) to refresh and revitalize education.
The Rishi Valley is a place where the ideas of Theosophical Society member and women rights activist Annie Besant, spiritualist and philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti, and progressive educators like John Dewey, Maria Montessori, Helen Parkhurst (the Dalton Plan) slowly merged, creating an extraordinarily rich learning laboratory. When the synthesis of these ideas was applied to rural education in the region’s farming villages, a RIVER evolved, growing into a tidal surge. Between 1989 and 2009, under the tireless guidance of an inspired couple, Rama and Y.A. Padmanabha Rao, with the support of the Rishi Valley Educational Foundation, RIVER has grown from a small system of a center with 12 satellite schools to a learning methodology applied to the instruction of over six and a half million students on three continents. Today, this program, processes, its associated pedagogy and teacher training offer those looking for learning innovations and effective approaches to universal basic education something profound: hope.
The Raos claim that the approach is the result of a response to real circumstances – teacher absence in schools requiring other teachers to cover many classes with children at different grade and ability levels. Therefore, developing a multi-grade and multi-level approach (the MGML Methodology) was a result of a reaction to the situation. There is however, much more to it than that. This is a program based on empowerment of the teacher, and investing that teacher with a unique gift, the gift of time. If the new three “R’s” are ‘Relationship, Relevance, and Results’, then RIVER has all the bases covered. The MGML methodology is encased in a seamless web of time and interaction – stretching from preschool or Kindergarten to grade 4 or even 5. Through this multi-year interaction, many things become possible: continuity, deep knowledge of the learner, trust, true differentiated instruction, personalized approaches to learning, cooperative groups, peer instruction, self-directed learning, and rich relationships with families and communities. But what else makes this program so special?
RELEVANCE: One of the key features of the RIVER methodology, aside from the use of activity rich multi-grade, multi-level approach, is the grounding of the curriculum in local, relevant knowledge, skills and information. Based on academic skills drawn from state and national curricula, the program engages in a process of “trans-creation” whereby the key concepts of language, mathematics, health and environmental awareness are recast in a set of relevant, meaningful activities and experiences based on local events, history, culture and folk-ways. An important part of this “trans-creation” or localization process is the collection and use of “mother’s and father’s stories”. Local lore, events, history, occupations, and circumstances are also considered in this important process. Children do not learn in the abstract or in a generalized way that makes much information remote and meaningless. They learn from what is before and all around them.
Every attempt is made to bring the learning right into the richness of the local experience – the life of the village itself. Language deals with important themes and knowledge, whether it is stories of local farmers, animals, or events. Math facts are learned in counting, combining or sorting common items, rice, stones, friends, goats, or pine cones. Mathematical operations are also based in the commonplace. Addition uses real situations: if Venu had five cows, and Rahda had three, how many would they have together? Equal distribution – a form of division, is based on how to assign people to a set number of boats, jeeps or houses, depending on the situation - fishing, traveling, being displaced by floods and having only so many places to relocate. In a society where there are always causes to memorialize and celebrate – harvest, birth, good rains, the program has developed a way to engage the children and the entire community in a celebration of the metric system, and all that can be measured. They call it the Metric Mela – a community based celebration of math.
In the area of health and environment, students are encouraged to apply and personalize their knowledge. In an area where malnutrition, especially among women, has resulted in low birth weight and long-term consequences including high blood pressure, and diabetes, the need for pre-natal care and better nutrition is critical. Discussing these things with a long-term mentor, your teacher, is natural and understood. Children learn to note local occurrences like mother’s weight (a bag of rice is 50 kg), but many mothers weigh far less than that. Cleanliness, water quality, insect control and diet become individual tasks and learning goals for students. One boy, upon learning that his mother was just over a half of a bag of rice, (about 60-65 pounds) determined to help her and do chores for her. This is truly extraordinary in a society where boys do not engage in chores and tending the field (farming) is generally left to women.
INDIVIDUALIZED: The RIVER approach is characterized by highly structured, activity-rich programs. Every student has a unique, highly individualized learning path. Actually, the path is very structured and common to all students in the MGML method, but the pace and exact position is unique and tailored to every student. This path of carefully sequenced activities and assessments is organized in to a subject-specific ‘learning ladder’, or progress chart, rich in details and information about the progress of every student. The ladder is complete with remedial or enrichment activities as needed.
The ‘learning ladder’, is actually an extremely detailed series of steps and process instructions for the teacher and the student. It is complete with the types of activity, level of mastery and directions for grouping learners as they progress to self-directed independence. Using a series of animal and insect icons, the ladder indicates subject, progress, grouping plans, assessments and results. The individual student is grouped and regrouped based on her level of mastery. After the evaluation, the student will undertake or engage in activities which remediate, reinforce, or enrich his learning.
The type of icon, as seen above, indicates the level of the activity, and the amount of individual or self-directed control the student will have. Animals (including the turtle) are used for math and language arts activities, while insects are used for science and the environment.
The type of icon, as seen above, indicates the level of the activity, and the amount of individual or self-directed control the student will have. Animals (including the turtle) are used for math and language arts activities, while insects are used for science and the environment.
The ladder also represents the structure of the sequence of learning. Each subject is divided into over a dozen benchmarks or progress steps which the learner must go through. Each benchmark represents a progression of activities from introduction of knowledge to practice, to evaluation and so on. The sequence of these activities continues until the subject is covered. The illustration below indicates the suggested sequence for benchmark 5.
Individuality, individual understanding, and self-awareness are central to the Krishnamurti philosophy. It is little wonder then, that the system is designed to appreciate and support the individual progress of children regardless of grouping or age. Progress is expected to be sure, but not in the lock-step, seat-time manner we are used to in the West.
VARIETY: In the RIVER learning system, variety and movement are evident everywhere. As you enter a school, you are immediately struck with the rich constellation of hanging objects, and the walls are a montage of writing, displays and various projects of the students. A RIVER school room is truly a home for the mind and the soul. Consistent with the methodology of the program, there is no center, and it is difficult to know where you will encounter the teacher or what he or she may be doing. The teacher is guide, creator, friend, story teller, mentor but seldom the didactic master of ‘show and tell’ we see so often in classrooms. In fact, in a RIVER school room everyone is a teacher and a learner at one point or another.
As there is a strong structure of knowledge which underwrites the series of activities and lessons of the program, so too there is a method for organizing learning groups and their progress. In the course of a day, students will move from group to group depending on the activity and their level of mastery.
RIVER classes which may enroll over forty-five students, but average between thirty and thirty-five, are generally divided into five groups, based on individual student need and progress: a teacher supported group – usually engaged in introductory activities or concepts; a partially teacher support group; a peer supported group; a partially peer supported group, and a self supported or self-directed group. An icon is associated with each type of learner, suggesting the composition of the group. Icons are associated with specific activities and levels of learning, not with individual students.
The flow of a day in a RIVER school is an endless succession of events, learning and interaction which can overwhelm the observer. From language to math, to crafts, to the frequent song and occasional shadow puppet show, you get the notion that this learning is indeed joyful! As with the most skilled performer or athlete, though joyful and beautiful, it is not easy. The creativity, imagination, patience, and skill of the teacher are at the heart of this cascade. The quality of teacher training and support are essential for the success of RIVER’s educational programs. The variety alone - over 2000 different activities and a collection of materials and resources, requires great management skill. Herein lays the strength and the weakness of this promising approach. Teachers who have worked in traditional educational settings may find these rapids too rough to ride.
What makes the RIVER education model particularly attractive is the design which integrates formative and summative assessments into each learning ladder. The critical issue addressed in this approach is measuring what is learned, not what has been taught. Furthermore, the teacher, who is actually a learning guide, is continuously updated and aware of the progress and position of every student as a result of this design. Integrated into each lesson, learning step, benchmark or module is the ‘evaluation’ which measures the level of mastery of the student for the content and skills required in that particular unit. While there are cumulative and summative assessments which occur less frequently, the embedded assessment process completes and validates the learning that has taken place.
In the RIVER school, it is very difficult for a student to get “lost”, or for a teacher to overlook a student’s progress until it is evident that it is too late. While it is true in the MGML system, few students are often in the same place at the same time, it is equally true that no child is left behind, a term which should resonate with US audiences. Gaps and differences do exist, but the gaps are always in full view of teachers and students alike. This openness and transparency permits issues to be addressed and not buried. Furthermore, the teacher and their ability are in full view, and they too are in constant contact with what is effective for the learners and what it not. Again, in a model which relies on the “teacher” to manage the process, and not direct every single aspect of it, evaluation provides the teacher with a valuable, up to date tool which lets them know what has been learned. Teacher efforts can then be timely, useful and effective in remediation or supporting the learner.
Evaluation is part of this culture of learning and does not stop at the student or the classroom. It is an integral part of the entire system. In this environment of trust, respect, support and dedication, evaluation of every aspect of the program is undertaken eagerly and without fear. In a way, RIVER is a society of loving, critical friends. From the directors of the program over to the youngest learners, evaluation, peer review and assistance, and self evaluation are embraced as a part of the learning process.
ENVIRONMENTAL Linkage: In addition to a culture of assessment and evaluation, the concept of community and environment is essential to the RIVER learning process. The very creation of each school is dependent on the local village or community willing it to be so. The local community must dedicate the land and build or provide a structure for the RIVER school to exist. Once constructed, the school and its associated land are the property of the community. They must maintain and care for the school as well as the surrounding land. In this respect, RIVER embraced the notion of “sweat equity” and buy- in which is mentioned by Mortenson in his book, “Three Cups of Tea”.
The notion of linkage goes far beyond the creation of the school to the concept of a center for community development. Part of the success of the RIVER model is the tremendous sense of ownership and pride of community members, especially the “mother’s committees”. These groups, in turn, are creating pressure on the directors to create vertical expansions in their program by adding middle school programs and facilities. The school is truly a community meeting place. The children have an active role in improving the environment, and participate in reforestation programs, planting herb gardens, soil conservation studies, and even lessons on agricultural practices. In fact, the RIVER school is at the center of a community-wide web of involvement and improvement. These schools are conducting local health education drives, metric mela and other festivals, discussing agriculture practices, collecting local lore and “mother’s stories”, providing a venue for adult education, creating a local repository for information and history and information meetings, making RIVER schools community schools in the truest sense of the word.
The very existence of a RIVER school in a village provides a sense of safety and security for families that cannot be imagined unless you have ever had to cross a dusty road in India and dodge the oncoming traffic. People feel that their children are safe, and the schools provide all the children with a mid day meal which is an additional form of assurance in an area ravaged by malnutrition and hunger. Added benefits vary from village to village, but the school is there for all – and has been an impressive factor in advancing the education and opportunities for girls in the region.
RESULTS: The story of RIVER’s journey into the sea of education would be sad if it was just a process, with only a hint of results. The good news here is that the system works, and it works well. Independent studies conducted on students leaving level two (Second grade) indicate that the RIVER students out perform their public (government school) counterparts significantly. Furthermore, they have a broader skill set than comparison groups. Studies are currently underway to examine the impact on students completing level four (Fourth grade). While no data exist on the comparison between rural students at RIVER and other alternative models, and no significant longitudinal studies have been conducted on the long term impact of a RIVER experience, the judgment of the Market Place and the Court of International Opinion have been resoundingly clear. RIVERS is an effective program with a very promising and attractive underlying methodology. While there has been limited adoption of the program and its approaches in Andhra Pradesh, likely a “Prophet in his own land” phenomenon, the impact on other states in the Indian Republic is impressive. The program is in place in fourteen of India’s twenty-two states, documenting an impressive adoption of the program which is now being used on over six million students in 75,000 schools in India alone.
International recognition has included the Global Development Network, a cooperative endeavor between the World Bank and the Government of Japan, who in January, 2005 recognized RIVER educational programs as “the most innovative international educational development program in serving the needs of children belonging to the underprivileged sections of society”. In 2001 the World Bank recognized RIVER as “A major innovation in teaching/learning materials for first-generation learners and prevent them from dropping out”. The Ashoka Foundation awarded Rao and Rama with an Ashoka fellowship for innovations in education in 2002. In 2003 UNESCO cited the impact of programs which were linked to RIVERS for their results: “Offshoot programs of RIVER with the highest learning scores in language and math in the country (India)”.
Over the past four years, the recognition and success has continued to widen as universities in Germany, France, England and the United States are visiting, studying and learning from the experiences of this impressive program. In 2007, Rao and Rama were awarded the Khemka fellowship for innovation in primary education and in scaling-up their methodology. In considering these results, we are reminded of Mr. Fujio Cho, former President and CEO of Toyota Motors, who characterized the goal of the Toyota production system as: “Brilliant process management is our strategy”. He added: “We get excellent results from average people managing brilliant processes… Our competitors often get average or worse results from brilliant people managing broken processes”. As such, RIVER represents brilliant processes in the hands of average, but dedicated people who offer the hope to improved results for millions of underserved and poorly served children the world over.