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Arts Education Teacher Training: A Process Document

Based on ‘Kali-Kalisu’: A Pioneering Project of India Foundation for the Arts and

Goethe-Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan, Bangalore

Compiled by Anupama Prakash, Sanjay Iyer and Aruna Krishnamurthy, Programme Executives, with help from C. Suresh Kumar, India Foundation for the Arts, Bangalore

2011

www.indiaifa.org

https://sites.google.com/site/kalikalisu/

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

• PREFACE

• INTRODUCTION

• OBJECTIVES

• KEY COMPONENTS

• METHODOLOGY

• OUTCOMES

• SUSTAINABILITY

• FUTURE DIRECTIONS: PHASE IV

• BEST PRACTICES FOR THE PROJECT

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PREFACE

This Kali-Kalisu Process Document is best viewed as a reflective narrative that documents the aims, methods, processes, and experiences of the Kali-Kalisu initiative in Karnataka, undertaken by the Goethe Institut/ Max Mueller Bhavan and India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), Bangalore. Kali-Kalisu emerged organically out of a successful coalition between a grant making arts organisation that was committed to the cause of arts education, local art organisations that had a heightened interest and expertise in the field, and state educational institutions that had a positive outlook on the project. We believe that the project has pioneered an innovative approach to integrating the arts within the classroom. We hope that the following document will serve as a general guideline for others committed to the cause of a holistic approach to arts education. IFA will be happy to work in a consultative capacity to enable such projects elsewhere.

INTRODUCTION

IFA’s Arts Education programme has shaped itself in response to perceived gaps and missteps in the role of the arts within educational institutions across India. The programme departs from the conventional idea of the arts as a secondary and subservient discipline within the curriculum (as useful hobbies or leisure activities), and aims to bridge the goals of knowledge gathering, aesthetic education and civic engagement through a holistic approach to arts-integrated learning. IFA seeks a convergence between the disparate approaches of arts-in-education and education-in-the-arts, and to institute a process-oriented—interactive, inclusive, self-exploratory—engagement with the arts in lieu of the typical product-oriented approach. Art becomes the language through which students can express all aspects of the self—aesthetic, cognitive and ethical/social. Kali-Kalisu emerged out a comprehensive review of the Arts Education (AE) programme conducted in 2008. After ten years of grant making, IFA called upon expert reviewers to articulate a narrower but more robust and focused version of its arts education programme that would define the next five years of the programme. Based on the recommendations of the panel, IFA’s AE programme reconfigured itself to play the role of a facilitator bringing together multiple stakeholders to promote the cause of arts education. The school teacher was identified as the most appropriate and enduring vehicle for the realisation of IFA’s vision for arts education. Training school teachers to employ arts methodologies in the classroom and instituting arts education within in-service teacher training programmes was seen as the best way forward. The teachers selected for training hailed from multiple disciplines, and from geographically and culturally diverse school districts in Karnataka.

At the heart of Kali-Kalisu is the teacher training workshop that creatively brought together a variety of art forms, such as music, dance, theatre, the visual arts and puppetry, and aimed at reaching a wide range of districts in the state. “Kali-Kalisu” translates as “learn and teach” in Kannada, and is intended to underscore that the arts can transform learning and teaching into a joyous experience. Teachers from primary and high school levels are exposed to the best of the arts by facilitators who are themselves artists and educators. Kali-Kalisu has drawn on the resources of some of Karnataka’s most vibrant arts institutions—Ananya Cultural Academy, Attakkalari Centre for Movement Arts, Ninasam, Gombe Mane (Puppet House) and Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samithi (BGVS). In the

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later years the list of artist-facilitators grew considerably, based on the self-identified needs of the teachers.

OBJECTIVES OF KALI-KALISU:

To offer arts education training to state school teachers based on the following goals:

Enrich the schooling experience for both teachers and students. Ignite a life-long quest for learning amongst teachers. Emphasise an interdisciplinary approach to arts education—bringing together

multiple art forms and practices. Stress a process-oriented approach to arts education rather than the usual

curriculum/text based approach. Ensure a sustainable, long-term approach to the work of arts education. Offer practical and concrete teacher training guidelines for IFA partners or service

seekers to implement concrete arts education-based teacher training.

Awaken spirit of lifelong

learning and discovery

Enrich classroom experience

Bring together local artists and school communities

Create innovative arts-integrated

pedagogies

Awaken spirit of lifelong learning

and discovery

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KEY COMPONENTS OF THE PROJECT

Training Emphasises learning as a participatory process with the teacher as a facilitator for

learning. Provides opportunities for multiple intelligences to come alive, emphasising the

importance of team work and peer learning. Provides opportunities to develop pedagogical capacity through skills in drama,

puppetry, visual arts, music, dance, story-telling and other art forms. Arts

Holistic understanding of the arts in their multiplicity, while appreciating the uniqueness of each particular form.

The arts seen as enhancing perception and cognition to negotiate one’s world. Pedagogy

Infusion of the arts in every stage of the teaching/learning process. Participatory and non-didactic explorations. Reflective evaluation replaces competitive evaluation. Emphasis on thought process and not on rote memorisation.

Artists bring in:

1. Knowledge of art forms

2. Pedagogical tools

3. Aesthetic appreciation

Teachers bring in:

1. Classroom realities

2. Social context for the arts

3. Challenging artists to think beyond their

practice

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METHODOLOGY The project unfolded over a period of three years and had three discrete segments to it. The core of the project—teacher training through three phases—was preceded by a planning phase.

1. Planning Phase: The planning phase of Kali-Kalisu focused on building two key constituencies of Kali-Kalisu—artist facilitators and teachers.

a. Artist Facilitators: IFA set up a conversation between five leading artist

practitioners in order to arrive at a work plan for the training. The artist practitioners were selected on the following basis:

• Their knowledge and experience of working with teachers and students within

state schools. • Familiarity with IFA’s vision and approach to Arts Education as past grantees of

the programme. • Willingness to work with teachers of different age groups and gender and

sensitivity to teachers’ issues • Capability to situate a particular art form within an educational context • Willingness to engage with multiple art forms and capability of a holistic

framing of particular art forms • Awareness of issues affecting quality education • Capacity and keenness to transmit the knowledge about art forms into

classroom practice

The artist practitioners were brought together to discuss and share their past work and experiences with arts education initiatives, and to give Kali-Kalisu an interdisciplinary shape through conversations between the art forms in which each specialised. After the initial discussions, the five groups continued to collaborate with each other over a period of six weeks, and created a work plan for their workshops that together framed the curriculum for the first phase of Kali-Kalisu.

b. Teacher Trainees: With the curriculum in place, the next order of business was

the selection of teachers who would undergo training. One important challenge of Kali-Kalisu was gaining access to the state teachers on which the project was centered. Involving the state teacher meant direct engagement with the state Department of Education, often through personal and extra-official affiliations, and maintaining constant contact with officials and functionaries who were often on temporary postings. Securing the consent of the state department to access state teachers and to endorse Kali-Kalisu as part of their recommended in-service teacher training involved a tremendous amount of personal investment and lobbying on the part of IFA’s programme executive(s). The success of the project hinged on this component.

General guidelines while selecting teacher trainees:

• In-service teachers within the state educational system • Teachers from multiple disciplines, and not just art/craft/theatre teachers

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• Teachers from geographically and culturally diverse school districts

• Good composite group with a gender and age balance • A balance of teachers of different rank and grades • Openness to exploring any artistic form or practice • Ability to share experiences, provide feedback, pool ideas, generate insights and

analysis.

c. The planning phase also involved appointing an evaluator who was present from the start of the project through the end of the first year, and gave important feedback about process and outcomes for shaping the next phases. The evaluator was briefed thoroughly about the purpose and method of training. Details of participating teachers’ professional as well as personal interests gave the evaluator a good understanding of the participant constituency. The most important characteristic of the evaluator was his/ her full commitment to the project, and complete involvement in its various phases and activities. The evaluator was encouraged to create a good mix of observational and participatory methods of documentation. The evaluator was appointed on the basis of: • A good understanding of the field with experience and expertise • Varied skills (e.g., note taking, interviewing, leading discussions, collating and

analysing information and presenting) • Cultural and contextual competencies (gender, cultural balance, sensitivity, and

language skills) • Sensitivity to the project’s principles (e.g., empowerment, participatory action,

capacity-building, etc.)

d. A Media Resource person was appointed to document each of these phases meticulously.

e. Press Release: Kali-Kalisu was formally launched at a Press Conference jointly

held by Goethe-Institut and IFA on the 17th of April, 2009, at the Press Club, Bangalore. All the facilitator institutions were represented at the meet by their respective directors. Media persons attended in good numbers and there were insightful questions for the various holders of the project.

Pla

nn

ing

Mee

tin

g

All facilitators, evaluator and programme executive came together to ideate on the project.

Shap

ing

the

pro

ject

An inter-disciplinary programme took shape through an exchange of ideas between facilitators.

Cre

atin

g th

e t

rain

ee

po

ol

In consultation with the education department, teacher trainees were selected

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2. Teacher Training: The project was shaped around three successive phases, roughly distributed around a training-application-reflection triad of activities. The first phase involved a comprehensive introduction to the arts for a wide constituency of teachers, and concluded with shared meetings with teachers for exchanging ideas and experiences; the second phase was shaped around capacity building through an intensive Master Resource Person training for a smaller but more focused group of teachers and artist-facilitators on select forms of art, followed by “hand-holding” sessions in the classroom with artists and teachers actively shaping arts education pedagogies; the third phase facilitated a series of “regional conferences” for sharing of best practices. A fourth phase has been planned around a number of initiatives that respond to the feedback from the third phase. Alongside teacher training activities, IFA hosted two annual international arts education conferences to showcase Kali-Kalisu as well as update itself on issues and approaches to arts education.

a. Phase I: Introduction to the Arts

The first phase had three components: Teacher training workshops facilitated by artists, followed by a gestation period to allow the teachers to translate training into classroom practice, and concluding with shared meetings between trained teachers and IFA programme executives to get feedback, discuss best practices, and plan the next phase in consultation with the teachers. Also, an international-level arts education conference was convened to further discuss the best practices in arts education, where Kali-Kalisu was featured prominently. Kali-Kalisu Phase-I conducted workshops in a rich variety of arts and art forms: music, dance, puppetry, theatre and visual arts provided a wide sweep of cultural knowledge for school teachers. The workshops were conducted by five major arts institutions from Karnataka: Ananya, Attakkalari Centre for the Movement Arts, Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samithi (BGVS), Gombe Mane (Puppet House) and Ninasam.

The workshops between May 2009 and October 2009 catered to 400 plus government school teachers of both primary and secondary levels across seven districts of Karnataka. The seven districts were: Shimoga, Dharwad, Bidar, Gulbarga, Udupi, Coorg and Mandya. Substantial interest and co-operation from the various agencies of the Department of Education, and the Government of Karnataka, helped the workshop series become a great success. An important direction for Phase II emerged from the teachers’ stated need for much larger pools of facilitators and master trainers.

Aims: To expose teachers to the uniqueness of art forms and inculcate a perspective on

multiple art forms (music, theatre, movement, puppetry and visual arts in the case of Kali-Kalisu)

To encourage teacher trainees to adopt for themselves the Kali-Kalisu method of approaching arts education through involving their local resource people and local art forms

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Process: Part I: Workshops

• In consultation with District Institute for Education and Training (DIET), a timeline and location were prepared for the first phase of training. Kali-Kalisu’s first workshop was held at Ninasam in Heggodu, Shimoga district.

• A pool of teachers from various districts were identified and communicated with. For the first workshop, Ninasam helped IFA contact 35 newly appointed theatre teachers from across ten districts. For the next six workshops, there was a mix of primary and secondary school teachers, including semi-administrative functionaries such as Cluster Resource Persons and Block Resource Persons,

• In the first of seven successive workshops (Shimoga), teachers underwent training over 15 days and were familiarised with five art forms. For the following six workshops, based on the recommendations of the DIETs, and in response to trainees’ time constraints, art forms were reduced to two, and training days to four.

• From May to October, the workshops moved through seven other districts that were chosen to create a diversity of experiences: Shimoga and Dharwad offered examples of proficient school districts, Kodagu and Mandya were mid-level performers, while Bidar and Gulbarga fell within the Dept of Education’s list of “backward” districts.

• While Kali-Kalisu was designed as an alternative to the state-mandated arts education programme, in at least one case it partnered with “Nali-Kali” to attempt a hybrid version of arts education.

• Following the workshops in the seven districts, feedback was solicited from the evaluator and teachers. Part II: Classroom Application

Following the workshops, the teachers had a period of three to four months to put into practice the methodologies and philosophy in which they had been trained. Here they were encouraged to identify and connect with local artists within their communities to attempt arts education pedagogy in their classes. Part III: Shared Meetings

Shared meetings, attended by roughly half of the 400 teachers who had undergone training, were conducted by the IFA programme executive. The aims of the shared meetings were fourfold:

• Gauge the level of interest and potential among teachers for Kali-Kalisu • Learn about the challenges and successes of the project as it operated in the

classroom • Understand teacher expectations for shaping the next phase of the project • Create a Kali-Kalisu community of teachers that would share its experiences on a

continuing basis.

In preparation for the next phase of Kali-Kalisu that aimed at providing training to a set of committed and capable teachers to become Master Resource Persons, teachers were given three actionable items:

• They were asked to write a statement describing their teaching philosophy and pedagogic goals

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• A rationale for receiving Masters Resource Persons training and a portfolio of their pedagogic activities

• An updated CV that detailed their workshop experiences.

Learnings: • The education department has to be taken into confidence at the planning phase if

the teacher constituency in the project is government school teachers. Further, the planning should be in sync with the academic calendar of the state system.

• A detailed project plan has to be submitted to government officials and an MoU formalised to maintain smooth functioning regardless of a change of guard on either side.

• Patience and persistence go a long way while working with the government. Update and follow up at each and every level is a must.

• One has to aim at a middle ground between maintaining structure and being open to an organic reshaping of the project during implementation.

• While it is desirable to have the best resource people involved, one must also be aware of their limitations with time commitment.

• The succession plan for Master facilitators has to be carefully thought through in the initial phases and junior-level facilitators involved in the process from the very beginning.

• The evaluator has to be connected with the work and goals of artist facilitators, alongside those of the teachers.

• It is crucial to reconnect with the teachers after the post workshop euphoria has died down to gauge the challenges ahead.

• Maintaining communication with the facilitators and encouraging them to continue thinking of innovative approaches for the next phase is important.

• For the programme executive, being active as a connecting point between the artists and teachers is important.

• Following up with the evaluator and ensuring the continuation of research work in the in-between phases is needed.

Between the workshops and shared meetings, a two-day national level Arts Education Conference was organised in December 2009 as an extension of the project. Twenty- eight Kali-Kalisu trained teachers participated at the conference. There were repeated and insistent calls for the expansion in scope and scale of the school teacher capacity building initiatives that IFA (with GI/MMB) support had set in motion. In order to

•7 Districts covered

•2-5 Art Forms

•2 Days for each art form

Workshop

• Identify local arts practices for pedagogic interventions

Classroom Application

• Collective feedback and future planning

Shared Meetings

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consolidate and extend the work of Phase I, it was decided that Phase-II for the year 2010 should follow a mandate of “Capacity Building” in the form of Masters Resource Persons Training.

b. Phase II: Capacity Building through Master Resource Persons Training and

Hand-Holding Exercises Based on the feedback of the teachers, artists and the evaluator, IFA created the next phase of the project around capacity building for the teachers and artists involved in Kali-Kalisu. The sustainability of the project also became a key factor for this phase. For teachers, Phase II built on their previous training by opening up an opportunity for a self-selected, specialised, but holistic curriculum of arts training over a period of fifteen days. For the artists involved, the second phase allowed them to expand their repertoire to other art forms, adapt their practice to the needs of educational institutions, while stabilising Kali-Kalisu’s growing need for artist facilitators. The “Masters Resource Persons” (MRP) training was designed as a residency, allowing teachers and artists sustained engagement with a great number and range of artistic activities, from hands-on training to pondering complex theoretical questions about arts education. The facilitators’ team for the workshop featured local art groups, but was expanded to include national and international art practitioners and specialists. The second phase also saw a change of evaluators to bring in new voices into the conversation about outcomes and methods.

The second part of Phase II was shaped around “hand-holding sessions” that put the philosophy and pedagogy of Kali-Kalisu into practice in the form of a day-long workshop session in the trainee’s classroom organised by the teacher. Master facilitators and arts education specialists from the project guided teachers in fleshing out their preferred art form in their own classrooms.

Aims: Identifying and working with a group of committed teachers whose capacities

would be built along a double axis: arts training to further shape classroom pedagogy through the arts, and resource training for the long-term goal of functioning as lead resource persons for Kali-Kalisu in their local districts.

Securing the long-term commitment of the artist facilitators of Kali-Kalisu by enabling them to experience other art forms, and through that process, sensitise them to the needs of the teachers and the “field” to become stakeholders in Kali-Kalisu’s idea of arts education.

Enacting the project in the trainee’s classroom in real time, with the aid of master facilitators.

Process: Part I: Master Resource Persons Training

Following the end of Phase I, where teachers were asked to state their interest in and capability for the next phase, 28 teachers applied for MRP training, and all 28 were selected.

The MRP training was conducted during the summer break to get a continuous 15 day window outside the academic calendar.

Ten independent artists—two from each of the five art institutions involved in the first phase—joined the MRP training.

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A diverse list of artist facilitators was selected and brought on board. A detailed timetable of activities was created that stretched from daybreak to

evening. The workshop was highly interactive and

o Interdisciplinary — games, nature walks, creative writing, movement arts, theater, voice and rhythm training, music theory and application, folk music, dance, puppetry, and visual arts, art history were included.

o Used a variety of resource materials—documentary films, lecture-demonstration, videos, PowerPoint presentations, and Internet sources.

o Addressed both pedagogical application as well as conceptual aspects of arts education.

o Included revisiting Phase-I workshop and sharing work done in classrooms o Included a session for feedback and follow-up plan

Phase II: Masters Resource Persons Training

Learnings: • More preparation work is needed while appointing new facilitators for elective-

based training, to help them catch up with past work. This will help in collaborating with the primary facilitators to shape the upcoming trainings.

• When artists join teachers in the training, one can expect attitudinal differences. These need to be addressed by having the facilitators orient their artists in advance of the project.

• When possible, display one’s commitment to the teacher constituency by being generous in terms of travel expense, boarding, lodging and stipend.

• It is best if the evaluator shares a linguistic connection with the constituency.

Part II: Hand Holding Sessions

Active and committed teachers are identified for organising a day-long workshop in their school, based on the art form chosen by them.

Teachers consult with local resource people to create a work plan for the handholding session.

Teachers are supported by IFA and other mentors to work with school officials and colleagues to administer a workshop by themselves.

Day-I

De-Briefing of orientation training

and classroom practice

Days 2-14

Intensive elective-based training

followed by reflection and discussion in the

evening

Day-15

Concluding session followed by feedback

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The workshop is conducted in small groups and introduces Kali-Kalisu to all school teachers including some from neighbouring schools.

Master facilitators are available to provide assistance wherever necessary.

Phase II: Handholding Sessions

Post Elective based Training • The teacher goes back to classroom practice with renewed commitment and with

the charge of organising a day-long workshop in their school based on the classroom needs.

Choosing an art form • Teachers interested in organising the workshop choose the form for a handholding

session. Typically, they either choose a form that they are not confident with to get the right guidance from master trainers, or ones that complement their immediate practice. In most cases, teachers have chosen forms that are most needed for their students.

Planning the workshop in consultation with the school & Master Facilitators

• Teachers are provided contact information of resource people to take forward a workshop plan. In consultation with them they draw a step-by-step plan

• They are put in a situation to exercise their management skills to seek permission from their BRCs and school authorities to administer a workshop by themselves. They have to work with their staff and colleagues to make it a success.

Organising the workshop

• The workshop is planned and executed in collaboration with colleagues within the school and nearby schools

• The Kali-Kalisu teacher facilitating the workshop will ensure that workshop is administered in small groups accompanied by teachers who have not undergone Kali-Kalisu training to give them a feel for the approach.

• Master facilitators will observe the methodology and provide assistance wherever necessary.

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Learnings: • A strong mentoring system needs to be built around the teachers to enable them to

take on a leadership role within their schools. They need to be made confident to approach their superiors to take on these initiatives.

• Facilitators should prepare themselves as enablers and not key resource people for this particular exercise.

• Participating teachers who are seeking initiation into the Kali-Kalisu method should be encouraged to be more hands–on during the workshop.

The following two charts give an overview of the process for Phases I and II conducted over the period of one year. Training Cycle Example: The phasing of the project works best when based on the academic calendar, giving participants reasonable time to reflect on and adapt the training within the classroom. It also allows facilitators and evaluators a reasonable time line for observing and evaluating the project. The following gives an overview of a one-year cycle of the project.

1 Planning Meeting with Facilitators and

Teachers Collective or (D.I.E.T)

March -April (Just before the start of the

acdemic year) 2 Arts Orientation-

2days on an average for each form

May (Just before school begins)

3 Shared Meetings

August (Giving some time to exrecise

orientation learning in classrooms)

Arts in Classroom

(This continues throughout the preliminary training)

4 Elective based Training (Intense

training for 3-4 days based on the

teachers elective)

Dasara Break

5 Hand-Holding Classroom Practice

Post Elective based training

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Details of the Training Cycle At the end of Phase II, teachers were asked to develop proposals that would bring together arts and education in innovative ways. These proposals allowed IFA an insight into the success of the project as they displayed not only the level of involvement of the teacher, but also his/her ability to translate Kali-Kalisu’s particular idea of arts education into a classroom reality. These proposals would have an afterlife in the fourth phase of the project. At the end of Phase II, IFA organised a second International Arts Education Conference that featured a roundtable panel of Kali-Kalisu trained teachers. Among the many issues discussed was the idea that the project was now mature enough to be adopted within the localised context of the trained teacher, empowering the teacher as well as the community that he/she is immersed in.

Main Activity Duration Academic Calendar Planning Meeting with Facilitators, evaluator, and teachers collective (DIET)

3 day-long meetings a. Orientation for

participants and discussion on how to approach the training

b. Discussions on inter-disciplinary ways to design the training module

c. Discussion on designing and feedback

March-April (Just before the commencement of the academic session)

Arts Orientation (2 Days for each art form. And a minimum of three art forms.)

2 Days X 3 Forms = 6 Days

May (Just before schools starts)

Shared Meetings One or two days, with a gap of 45-60 days between the two meetings.

August

Elective Based intense training for 3-4 days based on teacher electives

For teachers choosing one elective: min 2 to max 4 days

For teachers choosing 2 electives: average of 3days per form

Dasara Break (October)

Classroom practice (Post Elective Training)

To be used throughout their sessions as part of every class

Continuous till school summer break

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c. Phase III: Regional Conferences Phase III signaled a dialectical shift in the project, where the teacher, who had been brought out of the school to get trained, was now returned to enact it within his/her school and the larger community. Phase III was planned as a series of regional conferences that would bring Kali-Kalisu to nine school districts—seven from Phase I, and Sirsi and Chamarajanagara from other offshoots of the project. The main idea behind the conferences was to put the trained teacher in a leadership position for replicating or reinventing Kali-Kalisu within the local context, to spark off the imagination and inspiration of other colleagues who had not yet been initiated into the project. The conferences would also provide a platform for Kali-Kalisu teachers to showcase their best practices and projects, and facilitate agency for the teacher as a Master Resource Person.

Aims: To help create a series of three arts education regional conferences titled “Arts

Education Conference: To Inspire, Analyse and Reinforce”. To initiate a new body of teachers into the vision and practice of Kali-Kalisu. To build the conference around the suggestions of MRPs and heavily feature

classroom projects and the teachers’ process of maturation through the two earlier phases.

To ensure participation of Education Department officials in the process with the long term idea of incorporating the project within state curricula.

Process: Dharwad, Bidar and Mysore were identified as the three regions for hosting the

conferences. Dharwad would extend into Sirsi, Bidar into Gulbarga, and Mysore would cover Mandya, Kodagu, Chamarajanagara and Udupi.

The conference was held over two days and was a mix of plenaries, breakout sessions, case studies and performances.

The speakers were from the region, and breakout sessions were conducted by local artists, with many teacher presentations on classroom processes and projects.

The Bidar Conference was organised with the help of an Education department official. Speakers’ topics included oral cultures, cultural contexts of teaching, art education and art in education, challenges and solutions in the classroom and teaching methodologies.

At Dharwad, an ex-grantee—Gombe Mane—helped with organising the speakers and events. Topics included, “Oral Tradition and its relevance in Schooling Children,” and “Partnerships within and Beyond Schools for Arts in Education,” among others. An evening leather puppet performance by Gombe Mane trainees was included in the programme and sparked off great pedagogical and technical interest among teachers.

At Mysore, an ex-grantee was instrumental in recommending resources. Some of the speaker topics included “Arts Education: The Foundation of Education,” “Arts in Education for a Knowledge Society,” and “The Role of the Arts in Improving Quality Education,” among others. At the Mysore conference, the performance was a classroom project, the play “Kempu Huvu,” co-directed by a Kali-Kalisu Master Resource Person.

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Learnings: The regional conference was a creative conclusion to the first and second phases as

it introduced a new modality for Kali-Kalisu, away from the steady dose of workshopping. Such creative re-thinking of methods and approaches should be encouraged throughout the project.

The local facilitators for the breakout sessions should be carefully vetted. It is important to be as inclusive as possible in terms of district representation at all

levels of the conference. Rather than a top-down approach, the teachers need to be encouraged to take full

ownership of the conference and its proceedings. This will allow the conference to shape itself radically around the ground-level needs of their constituency.

Feedback should be centrally placed in the agenda particularly at this point of the project.

The evening programme should base itself on classroom art projects to provide continuity with the theme of arts education.

KEY OUTCOMES IN THE CLASSROOM: The following are some of the indicators that qualitatively define the success of the project. Kali-Kalisu has enabled tangible gains in all of the following.

Levels of teacher motivation – teachers unanimously reported that the workshops profoundly returned them to the space of their childhoods and that they became learners themselves. This has contributed to renewed enthusiasm when they went back to their classrooms and greater empathy for the students and for the learning process.

Student attendance – teachers reported that they had strategically timetabled arts pedagogy based lessons in the post lunch sessions. There was a measurable drop in post-lunch absenteeism. This was particularly noticeable in some of the poorer/tribal districts (e.g. Gulbarga and Chamarajnagar).

Classroom practice – IFA has made concrete efforts to ensure the transfer of methodologies and pedagogies from teacher workshops to actual classroom practice. ‘Handholding’ sessions have been held in a dozen selected schools across the state. Classroom practice can be seen to have integrated aspects of the arts, and to be more interactive and joyful.

Attitudinal shift among teachers – DIET (District Institute of Education and Training) officials have observed a key quality of the Kali-Kalisu training programme. They have specifically noted a significant attitude shift amongst the teachers during the training: the teachers showed enthusiasm and commitment. They were consistently punctual, actively participated, and motivated their peers to create a dynamic workshop environment.

Capacity and sensitivity of facilitators – The diversity of educational districts covered by Kali-Kalisu gave the facilitators an opportunity to comprehend the varied nature of regional cultures and work atmospheres they would be engaging with. This sensitised the facilitators to work outside of their regular practice, empathise with the participants and improvise creatively to suit the needs of each workshop.

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SUSTAINABILITY: One of the key achievements of Kali-Kalisu has been the promise of sustainability on several fronts. It is important to understand sustainability as much more than progressive infusions of funds. Even so, IFA has noted with satisfaction the fact that pilot funding for the expansion of Kali-Kalisu and related activities has come from government agencies and from private educational institutions. Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, a sweeping Government of India literacy initiative, commissioned IFA to bring Kali-Kalisu arts teacher training to Sirsi educational district. Fifty-three teachers attended three arts workshops over a continuous six-day period in the small town of Yellapur. The teachers expressed overwhelming happiness about the workshops. IFA proposed to SSA that they commission further capacity building for the same teachers, while simultaneously making other educational districts available for such training. Phase I of that training has been completed. Sujaya Foundation, a private educational foundation, which eventually hopes to have a large stable of schools across the country, commissioned a small pilot training package that dovetailed into their own teacher training programme.

Dakshinachitra, a cultural initiative of the Madras Crafts Foundation, has shown interest in Kali-Kalisu. IFA is in discussions with MCF about the possibilities for Kali-Kalisu in Chennai and Tamil Nadu.

Kali-Kalisu was presented at the ATSA (Art Think South Asia) Fellowship concluding seminar in February 2011. The project was well received and has triggered interest in other ATSA fellows from Mumbai (Mohile Parikh Centre), Delhi (Foundation for Indian Contemporary Art) and Guwahati (Periferry) to collaborate and host regional seminars in arts pedagogy.

Most important, perhaps, is the promise of sustainability held out by the internal energy and momentum within the large Kali-Kalisu family. Significant numbers of Kali-Kalisu teachers hanker for further capacity building workshops. Some have become arts education facilitators at their local levels. A Kali-Kalisu website has been set up to publicise the project. Kali-Kalisu teachers have also initiated blogs for their ongoing discussions emerging from the project. The regional arts education conferences held at Bidar, Dharwad, and Mysore were attended by a total of 340 teachers and 50 delegates, attesting to the groundswell of support for arts education.

Phase IV has been planned and funding has been secured. PHASE IV: Institutional Moorings of Kali-Kalisu Phase IV has the following goals:

1. Expand the effectiveness and reach of arts education by creating a Kali-Kalisu

inspired arts education module within state teacher training institutions such as DIETs (District Institute of Education Training) and RIE-Mysore (Regional Institute of Education).

2. Extend the Kali-Kalisu programme to three model/pilot schools that will undergo arts education training under the leadership and vision of a Kali-Kalisu trained

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teacher who will join forces with school authorities, teachers and the local art community to design and implement a programme of arts training.

3. Continue to build capacity of individual teachers by funding their own special projects that bring together arts and education in meaningful and innovative ways.

4. Reward teachers for excellence in arts education by giving out Kali-Kalisu Teaching Awards.

1. Kali-Kalisu dissemination through District Institute of Education Training (DIETs) and Regional Institute of Education(RIE)-Mysore

Background:

Kali-Kalisu teachers have consistently emphasised two points during their interactive sessions in the regional conferences: one, an appreciation for the programme that has opened new pedagogic possibilities for them, coupled with a sense of frustration regarding its ambiguous relationship with state-sponsored continuing education programmes. In their collective view, the effectiveness and sustainability of their training and their agency in the classroom depend largely on securing full-fledged institutional support and recognition for Kali-Kalisu. From the perspective of IFA’s own investment in Kali-Kalisu as a comprehensive method that nurtures the pedagogic sensibility of the teacher through a sustained engagement with the arts (rather than the conventional idea of art as a subset within the disciplines), it is imperative that such training be made available to the teacher at the source and early on within state-mandated teacher training curricula. Another important benefit of reaching a wider constituency of teachers for the dissemination of Kali-Kalisu can also be effected by placing it within such institutions. It is hoped that the self-same combination of artistic excellence and teacher interest that underlies Kali-Kalisu will inspire and obligate state functionaries to permanently incorporate Kali-Kalisu into teacher-training programmes.

Aims: To continue the legacy of Kali-Kalisu by incorporating it within state and national-

level D.Ed and B.Ed programmes. To reach a wider constituency of teachers by placing it within state administered

pedagogic training. To make Kali-Kalisu available at the foundational level for pre-service teacher

trainees. To enable Kali-Kalisu trained teachers and faculty participate in the shaping of a

local and national-level programme of arts education. To have national-level institutions such as the NCERT observe and evaluate the

Kali-Kalisu project. To mobilise support for the adoption of Kali-Kalisu method and strategy in other

parts of the country.

Process: IFA has consulted with DSERT to select appropriate DIET colleges and a viable time-frame for the module/programme. We have also secured the support of NCERT to pilot an arts education module at RIE-Mysore. Broadly speaking, IFA will follow the earlier five-phase methodology of arts orientation-workshop-feedback, followed by a gestation period for arts practice in the classroom, shared meetings

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for discussing best practices, elective-based training, all culminating in innovative classroom practices. For the key components of the project, please see page 5.

2. Model Schools

Background: Model Schools is a comprehensive programme that promotes art-based pedagogy as a tool to improve teaching and learning outcomes in the classroom. The Model Schools initiative stands out as the most promising and realistic way forward for Kali-Kalisu.

Aims: To sustain the legacy of Kali-Kalisu at the ground-level by reinvigorating the

teaching, learning and artist communities that the Model Schools bring together. To provide a live testimonial vis-à-vis the value and impact of arts education to

school authorities and local communities. To propel Kali-Kalisu teachers into leadership positions as Regional Coordinators.

Process: IFA will identify three government primary or secondary schools from a pool of twenty-five schools whose teachers have been exposed to Kali-Kalisu Master Resource Persons Training in 2010. The choice of schools will be based on the following criteria:

• Commitment and vision of the trained teacher to further the spirit of enquiry and

innovation in the field of arts education • Availability of a strong support system from the school administration and the

School Development and Management Committees (SDMCs) to nurture arts practice inside the classrooms

• Ability of the teacher to administer programmes within the school and at the cluster level under the guidance of IFA’s Programme Executive

Through the Model Schools programme, select teachers (in teams of two) will be propelled into leadership positions as coordinators of the arts education programme and to function as mediators between regional artists and administrators. Furthermore, they will be a given a rare opportunity to directly impact their own school through regional workshops, seminars, professional development, and participation in innovative thinking in the arts. Model Schools will also encourage networking, sharing of best practices and envisioning of future arts education through district participation in regional and national events such as seminars and the annual Arts Education Conference of GI/MMB and IFA.

Customised Training: In addition to other departmental trainings and 1-2 days of in-cluster customised training, Model School coordinators will assist the Kali-Kalisu teacher community within the region to liaise with local artist resources for shaping innovative arts pedagogies.

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3. Capacity Building through Funding Individual Projects

Background: As part of the Master Resource Persons Training in 2010, IFA had encouraged teachers to come up with project ideas and formulate relevant proposals for funding. The said exercise resulted in some promising proposals that ranged from sensitising peers and students to the arts through weekend workshops to a full-fledged theatre production. These proposals are a sure sign that the teachers are eminently capable of adapting Kali-Kalisu training to fit their workplaces, and given the opportunities, excited, willing and capacitated to explore the potential for creative pedagogies.

Aims: To encourage innovative arts pedagogies by funding individual proposals from

Kali-Kalisu trained teachers. To provide a platform where trained teachers can promote the Kali-Kalisu method

of shaping pedagogic vision and practice through a sustained engagement with the arts.

To trigger local artist resources, school and other communities to engage with arts education through these projects.

To spark off interest in new artistic practices among students, as well as create an arts-based community in the school.

Process: • Request for Proposals: Given that we aim to reach our entire Kali-Kalisu

constituency of teachers, it is imperative we cast a wide net in order to elicit maximum applications. A Request for Proposals (RFP) will be circulated widely in print through the state SSA network and electronically via the Kali-Kalisu and other relevant websites. The RFP will outline the project objectives, eligibility criteria, application process and timelines. The RFP will also ask the applicant to specify the project goals and objectives central to the proposal, methodology to be employed, work plan, budget, and the expected outcomes. An internal IFA panel will make recommendations on these projects based on a review of the short-listed proposals.

• Networking: Programme staff will facilitate meetings of project leaders to discuss

issues of methodology for the execution of projects.

• Presentations: In order to encourage project leaders to present their work to large and diverse audiences, presentations at art and educational institutions will also be promoted. Art institutions could include our partner resource institutions like Ninasam, Gombe Mane, Nrityagram etc. Educational institutions may include Regional Institutes for Education (RIE), District Institute for Education and Training (DIETs).

• Publicity and Promotion: In order to ensure that the projects and processes are

communicated to the outside world, IFA will sponsor four pages in Teacher, a state-wide monthly magazine published by Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samithi, Bangalore, which reaches 3,000 teacher subscribers. The project leaders will document their process and practice by publishing brief write-ups in the “Kali-Kalisu Corner” through the year. Programme staff will make an effort to feature these IFA-

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supported projects in ArtConnect (IFA’s in-house magazine). Significant project achievements will also be reported in the IFA newsletter. Most importantly, programme staff will work towards showcasing the projects within our annual arts education conference as case studies and fundraising endeavours or networking events, which will garner maximum media coverage and curiosity. Finally, the IFA and Kali-Kalisu website will carry the call for proposals, project-leader profiles and reports of various seminars or conferences supported under the programme, and convey any changes in programme strategy and/or focus areas.

4. Kali-Kalisu Teaching Awards

Background:

IFA’s Arts Education programme has recognised the pivotal role of the school teacher in the Indian educational scenario. This recognition has been the engine of the programme’s work over the past three years in Karnataka. IFA now proposes to institute annual awards for school teachers across Karnataka for exemplary practices in their classrooms and schooling at large. The awards will recognise innovative applications of arts-based pedagogies in mainstream school systems.

Aims: To extend Kali-Kalisu’s special focus on school teachers and provide an important

external validation of their valuable work in the arts. To create visibility for arts education in society by showcasing the projects

undertaken by the awardees.

Process: The Kali-Kalisu Teacher Awards will recognise a maximum of three teachers annually with a certificate and a cash award of Rs 25,000/- each. The number of awards each year will depend on the selection panel’s assessment of the quality of the applications. There may additionally be up to two ‘honourable mentions’ for deserving teachers, carrying a cash award of Rs 10,000/- each. The awards are for commitment to arts education, and for best practices in arts education within the various recognised school systems in the state. The Awards will be presented at a special function organised by IFA.

Key Components of the Project

Dissemination of Information • This announcement will be available in all the state-wide Kannada, Telugu, Marathi,

Urdu and English dailies and magazines in the field of education. The announcement will also be made through a strategic choice of regional newspapers and through IFA’s email and postal address database under the Kali-Kalisu initiative. IFA will also reach out to the Sarva Shikshana Abhiyan (SSA) state network and other awards instituted for teachers’ recognition within the state for dissemination of information.

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Eligibility • Applicants may be teachers of art, music, drama etc. Applicants may equally be

subject teachers who have made impressive impact through arts-based pedagogies within the school’s framework.

• Teachers applying for the Awards must consider that the Awards are primarily for demonstrable contribution to the infusion of arts education ideas and practices within the curricular framework governing the school’s functioning. This should include exemplary arts-based learning activities and programmes employing at least one recognisable art form (theatre, visual arts, dance etc.).

Application Process

• Only one teacher application per school will be considered. Applicants must be full-time employees of the school. Applications must be made by the school teacher and endorsed by the school Head, or by a higher administrative authority of the school. All schools functioning within recognised schooling systems are eligible. This means schools that cover classes 0-10 or 0-12 that work within board curricula recognised by institutes of higher learning. The schools may use Kannada, Urdu, Telugu, Marathi or English as its medium of instruction. Applications may be made in any of these languages.

Selection Process Applications will be short-listed by IFA. Short-listed applications will be sent to an independent state-constituted panel to select the winners. IFA and any future partner in the Teacher Awards will be represented on this panel. Short-listed candidates will be invited to make a public presentation of their ideas and their work. The winners will be announced shortly thereafter.

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE PROJECT

PHASES DO’s DON’Ts

Planning Phase Training should be ‘process’ oriented rather than ‘outcome’ driven. All stakeholders of the training have to be informed of this at the very beginning.

Today, much of the training is outcome driven in the education department. One must avoid giving a list of prescriptive and quantitative measurable outcomes in the proposal.

Do not impose collaborations amongst facilitating artists or institutions. However, encourage dialogue to open possibilities for natural and fruitful collaborations to emerge in the course of training.

Selection Phase

Once the purpose of Kali-Kalisu sort of training is expressed to the education department, the department usually makes an assumption to depute teachers based on their past experience of

Do not allow personal biases to over-rule the choice of facilitators nor evaluators in the selection process.

Avoid facilitators who are rigid in their approach however

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having acquired some skills and interest. They need to be open to teachers who have an inclination to such training rather than deputing their favorite officers.

Selection of participants and appointing the right external evaluator in case of oversubscribed applications need to be well thought out.

One must not ignore local artists and arts organisations when making a list of lead facilitators for the training.

senior and well experienced they are in the field. This may discourage full participation from the trainees.

Avoid ad-hoc trainee selection to meet numbers.

Must avoid selection of participants who present only past accolades as referrals for their current work. Lately, there has been a trend of workshop hoppers who attend all trainings irrespective of relevance and one must be careful of them.

Training Phase Encourage free participation Encourage organic possibilities of

problem solving

Do not offer easy solutions to problems in the training.

Evaluator should not interfere in the process of training, but could make possible suggestions outside the training to be less imposing.

Evaluators should empathetic rather than sympathetic.

Feedback Phase Evaluators should be careful in understanding and note-taking the expressions of the teachers.

Do not influence the participants or the facilitators’ feedback.

Follow up Meeting Phase

Assuming that everybody who attends the meeting will be interested in the next phase of training is just being too ambitious. However, it is important to keep their engagement in the arts continuing through leading discussions

Do not oversell the training in the course of discussion. They may take back a fanciful idea of the training and not be really invested. This could lead to a futile exercise of administering a training programme.

Communications Communications via emails, snail mails should be precise and in a language familiar to the participants

All meeting/ training information has to clearly state the purpose. An agenda of the same should be attached for better preparation. This would avoid any kind misunderstandings.

Never keep a meeting open-ended. Objective should be clearly stated.

Avoid long intervals of communication from training phase to its follow-up.

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IFA’S INSTITUTIONAL EVALUATION Kali-Kalisu has been one of the biggest projects executed by IFA. IFA is rightly proud of its achievements. In particular, IFA has been able to substantially live up to its own institutional promise to pay special attention to under-represented constituencies. The school teacher, by herself, is a member of one of the most important, but woefully under-represented, constituencies worldwide. Kali-Kalisu has paid special attention to teachers from non-metropolitan areas who are employed by government schools, which, in turn, provide education to the most needy.

It would be fair to say that Kali-Kalisu has had a demonstrable impact on education through arts pedagogies. The programme has also brought arts and culture to agendas of development. It has had democratic reach, empowering numbers of neglected and disenfranchised teachers.

The value of Kali-Kalisu has been acknowledged by educational agencies like NCERT. It received a special place (through a panel presentation and repeated screenings of the Kali-Kalisu film) in UNESCO’s Second World Conference on Arts Education. Going forward, we hope that the Kali-Kalisu project will become a permanent feature within the Indian educational system. All signs point to the very real possibility of arts being central to the shaping of a new curriculum at the centre, and with some strong advocacy from its multiple stakeholders, Kali-Kalisu can potentially play a transformative role in that process.