Participants of ‘Art for educator’ programme in Kohima.
Kohima, March 13 (MExN): In a significant step towards implementing the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, the Directorate of School Education (DoSE) Nagaland, in collaboration with NGO Saturday Art Class, conducted the ‘Art for Educator’ programme for teachers across the Kohima district.
The two-day training capacitated 120 teachers of early childhood to Grade 5 from 60 schools.
NEP 2020 emphasises arts-integrated learning as a key pedagogical approach to foster creativity, critical thinking, and emotional well-being in students. This initiative aligns with the policy’s vision of transforming classrooms into dynamic spaces of exploration and expression, ensuring that education goes beyond rote memorization. By equipping teachers with the tools to integrate visual arts into their teaching methodologies, Nagaland is taking concrete steps toward providing quality, inclusive and student-centered education.
“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 with children and educators across diverse communities in India.
The partnership between the DoSE, Nagaland and Saturday Art Class is essential for both teachers and students, enabling creative exploration, self-expression, and holistic development. Through the programme, educators were encouraged to rethink conventional perceptions of art, enabling 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 programme, educators have also been onboarded to a WhatsApp chatbot, where they will receive regular classroom lesson plans, resources, and real-time support to enhance the implementation of their art classes.
The DoSE, 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 the NEP’s vision of a multidisciplinary approach to learning, Integrating Arts into Education: Promoting the use of 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 foster students’ emotional intelligence, creativity, and critical thinking and Enhancing Classroom Experiences: Ensuring that education moves beyond rote learning, incorporating interactive and experiential learning methodologies.
By equipping teachers with practical skills and creative approaches, the ‘Art for Educator’ programme marks a crucial step in transforming classroom experiences. It empowers educators to create with confidence and foster safe spaces for students to express themselves freely, ensuring that students across the district of Kohima, have access to holistic, arts-enriched learning that nurtures creativity, self-expression, and emotional well-being.
