Educational Initiatives
 |
This article appears to be written like an advertisement. (September 2011) |
 |
|
| Industry | Education |
|---|---|
| Number of locations | India, USA, Singapore, Dubai, Kuwait, Bangladesh |
| Key people | Sudhir Ghodke, Sridhar Rajagopalan & Venkat Krishnan N |
| Employees | 235 |
| Website | www.ei-india.com |
'Educational Initiatives[1]' (EI) is an Ahmedabad based consultancy working in educational research and assessment in India.
The company is headed by IIM Graduates Sudhir Ghodke, Sridhar Rajagopalan and Venkat Krishnan N and its aim is to promote an atmosphere of quality within India's primary school system. It pursues this by raising concerns related to the quality of learning, providing services related to assessment, professional development of teachers, curriculum and pedagogy, and influencing educational policy, especially in the realm of assessment.It takes a systems approach in order to improve the quality of learning. It uses a cycle of problem discovery, cause identification, solution implementation and feedback (which may lead to a deeper level of problem identification), a positive spiral towards improvement.
EI has over 10 years of expertise in education, with a deep understanding of child psychology and efficient methods of teaching, based on detailed research and formidable database of student learning through ASSET (Assessment of Scholastic Skills through Educational Testing)
Through its interactive tools such as Mindspark (digital self-learning program), ASSET, Detailed Assessment, CCE Certificate Course, Teacher Evaluation Program, Teacher Sheets and more, Educational Initiatives assists thousands of teachers in improving their students' achievements.
EI is also working with leading organizations such as the World Bank, the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, Google, the Azim Premji Foundation, Duke University, USA and is conducting large-scale assessment projects with various state governments. EI has been recently recognized as an official Supplement Educational Service provider in Texas, USA.
ASSET
ASSET is the scientifically designed diagnostic test, which stands for Assessment of Scholastic Skills through Educational Testing.
Through multiple choice questioning, ASSET focuses on determining the level of conceptual understanding in students and not how much they have memorized. The test generates detailed reports for students indicative of their progress and topics that require attention and improvement. The teachers receive a special report which indicates the class performance as compared to the other divisions as well as other schools on a national level. The reports are accompanied by an instructional supplement suggesting the future course of action for both students as well as teachers.
Every year more than 3.5 lacs students from over 1000 schools in India, Gulf and Singapore take the ASSET test.
Mindspark
Mindspark is a computer based program that is here to revolutionize the study of Mathematics. It focuses on self-learning with a curriculum integrated database. An interactive product, from the makers of ASSET, Mindspark has been derived from the belief of personalized learning. It is specially designed to assist the user to learn in his or her pace.[2][3]
Students learn best at their own pace. Mindspark enables children to learn and understand at their own pace, without rushing them through the syllabus. With an active and detailed database, Mindspark monitors the level of understanding in each concept and patiently helps the students when they are in doubt by resolving errors and misconceptions through explanations.
For example, if a student from the 8th grade does not have clarity on the core concepts of Algebra, the system automatically offers inputs in the form of questions that will help build the fundamentals of Equivalence (which is a critical point into understanding Algebra).
Currently more than 80+ schools spread across India have integrated Mindspark along with their Maths curriculum teaching.
Detailed Assessment
Detailed Assessment, a topic-wise testing tool, aims at providing immediate feedback to teachers on the current level of student understanding on the topics taught and completed in the classroom. DA is a futuristic assessment tool that formulates customized assessment programs in accordance with the school curriculum and presents immediate detailed feedbacks on individual student performance.
Detailed Assessment reduces the stress on teachers by preparing the assessment papers according to the curriculum taught in the class and provides test results and feedback within 48 hours of the assessment.
Research Projects
- Student Learning Study: is a bench marking study of student learning conducted by Educational Initiatives (EI), with financial support from Google.org, USA. The test was developed in 13 languages and administered to more than 1 lakh students in about 2399 schools in 48 districts in the 18 participating states and 1 Union territory. This is a diagnostic study which provides granular information on the quality of children’s learning and this provides insights that can help various stakeholders – ranging from policy makers to curriculum designers to teachers and parents – take appropriate steps to improve the educational quality.
- UNICEF Learning Assessment Study for Quality Education: Assessed mathematics and language acquisition among primary school children in the UNICEF quality package schools in 13 states of India. The tests were standardised across 9 languages and involved very intricate development cycle involving language experts from all over India.
- Bhutan Annual Status Student Learning Study: This study was done in partnership with Royal Education Council and Ministry ofEducation Bhutan. Nearly 34000 students in classes 4, 6 and 8 are tested for learning in Language, Maths and Science in 424 schools.[4]
- Andhra Pradesh Randomised Evaluation Study: Done in partnership with Harvard University, Azim Premji Foundation, World Bank and the Government of Andhra Pradesh, this is a longitudinal study across 8–9 years and covers currently 100,000 elementary school kids and measures the impact of various inputs (e.g., block grants, additional teachers) with outcome-based teacher incentives."Educational Initiatives » Andhra Pradesh Randomized Evaluation Study (APRESt)". Ei-india.com. Retrieved 2010-11-23.</ref>
- Assessment of Student Learning in Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan – RGSM, Chhattisgarh: The test was developed in Hindi and administered to approximately 3 lakh students in about 1900 schools in 16 districts in Chhattisgarh states. The tests have already been conducted for students of class 3 to 8 for Language and Maths and the report submitted to RGSM.
- Municipal School Bench marking Study : Supported by ICICI Bank, this study assessed learning in 35,000 municipal school students from class 2, 4 and 6 across the 6 biggest towns in five states- Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand.
- Teacher Needs Assessment: is a census study that has been initiated by the Royal Education Council, Government of Bhutan. In this project all teachers of Bhutan are assessed for their general ability, competence in subject knowledge and pedagogical practices.
References
- ^ www.ei-india.com
- ^ "Mindspark: Improve your Math Skills". Mindspark.in. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
- ^ "Educational Initiatives » What is Mindspark ?". Ei-india.com. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
- ^ "Educational Initiatives » Bhutan Project". Ei-india.com. Retrieved 2010-11-23.
