In a significant step towards implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Directorate of School Education, Nagaland, in collaboration with the NGO Saturday Art Class, successfully conducted the ‘Art for Educators’ program for teachers across the Kohima district.
The two-day training empowered 120 teachers from early childhood to Grade 5, representing 60 schools. This initiative reinforces the state’s commitment to holistic, multidisciplinary, and experiential learning, as envisioned in the NEP.
NEP 2020 emphasizes arts-integrated learning as a key pedagogical approach to fostering creativity, critical thinking, and emotional well-being in students. This initiative aligns with the policy’s vision of transforming classrooms into dynamic spaces for exploration and expression, ensuring that education moves beyond rote memorization. By equipping teachers with tools to integrate visual arts into their teaching methodologies, Nagaland is taking concrete steps toward providing quality, inclusive, and student-centered education.
About the Program
“Saturday Art Class” is an arts education organization established in 2017, dedicated to creating safe spaces for self-expression through Visual Arts and Social-Emotional Learning (SEL). The training sessions in Kohima were led by Krutika Khare Mukherjee and Mitali Dixit, experienced facilitators specializing in arts-based learning and SEL for children and educators across diverse communities in India.
The partnership between the Directorate of School Education, Nagaland, and Saturday Art Class is instrumental in fostering creative exploration, self-expression, and holistic development for both teachers and students. Through the program, educators were encouraged to rethink conventional perceptions of art, gaining a deeper understanding of the importance of dedicated spaces for visual arts in classrooms to foster creativity and well-being.
Participants engaged in interactive discussions, explored innovative teaching methodologies, and created their own unique artworks, drawing inspiration from renowned artist Etel Adnan and the traditional Indian art form Madhubani.
As part of the program, educators have also been onboarded onto a WhatsApp chatbot, where they will receive regular lesson plans, resources, and real-time support to enhance the implementation of their art classes.
Strengthening Teacher Capacities
The Directorate of School Education, Nagaland, has been actively working towards enhancing teacher capacities and creating holistic learning environments by prioritizing:
· Educator Training: Conducting professional development workshops to equip teachers with innovative teaching methods, aligning with NEP’s vision of a multidisciplinary approach to learning.
· Integrating Arts into Education: Promoting visual arts as essential pedagogical tools to improve student engagement and cognitive development.
· Strengthening Social-Emotional Learning (SEL): Encouraging teachers to create classroom environments that nurture students’ emotional intelligence, creativity, and critical thinking.
· Enhancing Classroom Experiences: Ensuring that education moves beyond rote learning by incorporating interactive and experiential learning methodologies.
By equipping teachers with practical skills and creative approaches, the ‘Art for Educators’ program marks a crucial step in transforming classroom experiences. It empowers educators to teach with confidence and foster safe spaces for students to express themselves freely. This initiative ensures that students across Kohima, Nagaland, have access to holistic, arts-enriched learning that nurtures creativity, self-expression, and emotional well-being.