GSS School Model :
How Children Learn Inside the Classroom

Workshop: GSS School Model – How Children Learn Inside the Classroom

Facilitator: Dr. Hasan, GSS Schools, Bangladesh

The GSS (Gonoshahajjo Sangstha) school system is a comprehensive primary education system consisting of 700 primary schools practicing child centered, active teaching and learning. The system incorporates curriculum and material development, teacher education and training, learner assessment, supervision, monitoring of individual learner performance and research. The system provides an institutional base that would help build capacity of other providers and influence the quality of teaching and learning in the mainstream schools.

GSS has 4% absenteeism, 8% dropout and 0 repetitions. Learner achievement 86%. GSS is based on the most advanced models which are adapted to cultural specifics of South Asia.

The facilitator shared some strategies for effective learning, including:

  1. Protecting children by ensuring that schools are safe, that children are free from intimidation, and that they do not endure physical punishment.
  2. Keeping the class size small and assessments continuous to ensure that the unique needs of each child is met.
  3. Allowing children to sit across each other so that they can talk to others and the teacher. Children learn as they talk, share and ask questions.
  4. Adopting activity-based teaching. Children learn by experiencing, doing, and relating contexts.
  5. Helping children actively engage themselves every minute in the classroom rather than passively listening to the teachers. Children at an early age cannot concentrate for long.
  6. Children naturally learn on their own in small and large groups.

Here are some other principles that the GSS school models adhere to:

Teaching Learning

  • Contact hours – Over 800 hours of active contact
  • Time management and active teaching learning
  • Competency based schemes of work
  • Getting children to work in groups
  • Focus on individual learning
  • Incorporate enjoyable activities such as a Shop Corner that combines functional and mental math

Assessment

  • Capture what learners know, understand and are able to do.
  • Continuous fort-nightly assessment

Supervision

  • Strengthen capacity
  • Learning environment
  • Pedagogy
  • Assessments is in place

Monitoring

  • Individual learning performance
  • Overall programme performance
  • Access, equity and inclusiveness