TEACHING BIOLOGY EFFECTIVELY

(SEPTEMBER 19, 2025)

An online workshop, ‘Teaching Biology Effectively’ for Biology teachers of grades XI – XII was conducted on September 19, 2025 by Ms. Neeta Rastogi and Ms. Bharati Sharma, Sr. Director (Academics) of GD Goenka Group of Schools. It was attended by the Biology teachers of all GD Goenka Schools. The workshop enabled the participants to have a deeper look at concepts of teaching methodology of Biology through demonstrations and challenging questions and to share the excitement and joy of learning together. The session highlighted many misconceptions and few points to be focused on while teaching Grade XII Biology through simple demonstrations of difficult concepts and virtual labs.

The key highlights of the session were

Use of Teaching Aids - Teachers were made to understand how teaching aids provide the learners with different intelligences to enjoy learning as well as develop their potential and thinking skills. The need for developing independent and critical thinking and problem-solving skills in students was laid emphasis on. It was reiterated that when students have strong self-awareness skills, they can identify their strengths and challenges.

The paradigm shift is now from “learning by doing” to “Experiential and Active/Action learning”- The use of different teaching strategies such as ‘Jigsaw’, ‘Case- based/ Case-study’, ‘Quiz’, enhances student participation, connection and provide immediate and relevant teacher feedback.

Role of Assessment- The role of assessments in enhancing the success of the process of learning and motivation was highlighted along with the understanding of assessment of learning as summative, while assessment for learning as formative. Assessment as and in learning is when the students are their own assessors.

Overall, it was an enriching experience highlighting the importance of competency-based education, which helps students develop and demonstrate mastery over their knowledge and skills thereby attaining the learning objectives laid down by the teacher.