Our solution's stage of development:
ResearchOur solution:
Through scalable, sustainable, replicable and high-quality intervention in primary and secondary school education, this solution will demonstrably enhance life-time mobility, productivity and prosperity of these individuals. Particularly, in less fortunate societies (e.g., India, Asia and Africa) and distressed neighborhoods (such as minorities and immigrants in US and other developed societies).
Our pitch:
The scholarly and practical empirical evidence is compelling: a good teacher, that is improved learning in schools (particularly in third to eighth grades), increases mobility, productivity and prosperity by orders of magnitude.
Accordingly, our solution improves the learning outcomes of students in primary and secondary schools through this intervention: good-quality teachers.
We will design an on-line portal. This platform will be the learning source for teachers. The central component is: the teacher will have to take a Level (1 or 2 or 3 or 4) test, and score at least 80 percent. Upon scoring 80 percent, the teacher will be certified to be competent and contemporary to teach. A Level 1 will certify competency to teach up to fifth grade.
Our solution is portable and robust across societies and situations. But we will begin with India for the proto-type. More specifically, we will pilot the solution in Math for third to fifth graders in English and Hindi languages. Over time, we scale up: first to twelfth graders, and other languages such as Arabic, Bengali, Swahili and Urdu. We will then move to Science subjects.
Our solution is dynamic and contemporary: continuous and sustained education and re-education; scalable (hundreds thousands of teachers can be trained and educated); and the knowledge base is relatively easily updated to make it contemporary.
By all reports, the number of teachers in large parts of India (and other less developed societies) is dismal. Quality education can be delivered only by competent teachers whose knowledge set is contemporary. We can address these challenges only through an open and scalable model – and that is precisely what we do here.
Imagine a world of children ready to learn (and relearn) skills! Productive citizens and workforce. All this through effective intervention (good teachers) when it most matters.
The problem:
If we want a productive and skilled workforce in the 21st century, research shows that this is best accomplished with a simple intervention: good quality teachers (and education) in primary and secondary schools. This is the most effective and sustained intervention. Interventions (continuous learning, skill development, and training) later – in colleges and universities, on-the-job, in adult life – are substantially less effective in terms of investment and outcomes to the individual and the society.
So, the question is: how do we design a solution which is accessible (at teacher’s convenience), replicable, and scalable, and recognizes the differences in learning across teachers.
Why our solution will solve the problem:
See studies by Raj Chetty, John Friedman, Jeffrey Hammer, Karthik Muralidhar, Jonah Rockoff, Amrtya Sen, Venkatesh Sundararaman, and others. Good quality school teachers matter very substantially.
http://www.rajchetty.com/papers-categorized/#papers_education
http://econweb.ucsd.edu/~kamurali/research.html
https://www.povertyactionlab.org/muralidharan
https://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/faculty/jrockoff/research.html
Consultation with and inputs from (in India) included (representative listing) citizens: Adi Godrej (MIT alum) and Ratan Tata; educators: Dr. Bino Paul, Dean at TISS and Dr. Lakshman Rao, IIT Madras (MIT alum); advisors/leaders: Dr. N. Srinivasan and S. Vishwanathan who also advise and runs about 12 schools; and school teachers: Lakshmi Chari (Assistant Commissioner, Kendriya Vidyalayas) and Anjali Gurjar (Chief Principal of a group of schools in Pune.)
Our target outcomes:
Impact: Demonstrable long-term increase in mobility, productivity and prosperity of citizens and the society. See a Raj Chetty's study tracking of large number of individuals over 20 plus years from their primary school education to employment.
Benefit: Those kids and citizens who are disadvantaged and left out.
Deployment: Through open portal/platform.
How we will measure our progress:
The populations we will benefit initially:
The regions we will benefit initially:
The technologies we employ:
Why our solution is unique:
To the best of my knowledge and research, there is no contemporary, dynamic platform which offers the knowledge to empower the School teachers, and test them for their competencies.
For individual learning, there are many sources including Khan Academy. But GK School Academy is about teachers. Empowering one teacher empowers hundreds of students/learners.
All over the world, but particularly in places like India where the authority of teachers is enhanced by directives and traditions teachers are perhaps the most important link in learning.
Why our solution is human-centered:
The focus is on kids -- particularly those kids who are disadvantaged. Teachers are the instruments. We will draw many already existing sources, including but not limited to Khan Academy, MIT Blossom, GK12 NSF Project, Arvind Gupta Toys.
Our solution is simple, scalable. It is purposeful. The outcomes are monumentally enriching: increasing the social mobility, productivity and prosperity of those who have been left out or neglected.
How people will access our solution:
Our solution is open and available to everyone. There will be no barriers: registration fees or memberships.
We have already reached out to policy makers (state and national governments, including the Prime Minister's office) and schools and teachers in India. We have also consulted with community leaders and NGOs.
Concurrent with the development of the pilot portal/platform, we will be further reaching out to the teaching community.
Technology-Readiness Level:
4-5 (Prototyping)Our organization:
Non-ProfitHow we will sustain our team financially:
Our solution is an outcome of discussions with and at the suggestion of senior Government of India officials and policy makers including the Niti Ayog. The Government has promised significant and sustained financial support through Skill Development Program and the Ministry of Human Resource Development.
Further, Tata Trust, and several corporations including Godrej have promised sustained support through the Corporate Social Responsibility and other programs.
Other trusts and organizations have promised support with serious intent.
The factors limiting our success:
The limiting factor is simply the motivation of the teachers, and the incentives that they are offered.
At least in India, we expect robust acceptance and deep penetration.
In light of the facts that the shortage of teachers is huge, that the governments and private sector is pouring resources in this, and that there is no other market solution which is available to teachers at their convenience and at no cost, we expect our solution to attract the individuals and institutions.
How long we have been working on our solution:
2 yearsHow long it will take to develop a pilot:
6-12 monthsHow long it will take to scale beyond our pilot:
18+ monthsOur expected annual budget:
$125000
How much of our budget we've secured to date:
$50000
We're looking for partners in these fields:
Why we're applying to Solve:
We have a clear and well defined solution, which is simple to implement and hugely impactful.
I want to be a Solver and be part of Solve community because, as an engaged alum, I know that MIT's platforms/networks are always rich in content and ideas. Ideas that are practical, impactful and doable.
I want the inspiration especially for the proto-typing and initial execution. There is no better place than this.
Our current partners:
Likely and potentially, our first group partners are: Tata Trust, Adi Godrej, and Government of India (Skill Development Program and Ministry of Human Resource Development.)
Solution Team
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Dr. Kalyanaram Gurumurthy Advisor, Editor and Professor, Academic and Policy consultant
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Our Solution
GK School Academy