Givology - give to learn, learn to give

The Nanubhai Education Foundation works to create long-term, sustainable change in rural public schools in India. In Gujarat, our base of operations, the quality of government school English education is very poor. Many teachers do not speak English, and struggle to teach an outdated curriculum.
To compound the problem, the level of training that teachers receive at the B.A. and Master's level is deficient compared to the challenges they face in the classroom. Many teachers have simply never been taught how to teach. Without this basic methodological knowledge, only a select handful of "natural teachers" will succeed in teaching this critical subject to their students. This situation is not acceptable. Rural teachers have the potential to alleviate poverty for tens of thousands of students by giving them a quality education and we are committed to assisting them by providing professional training and development workshops.
Without basic English skills, it is extremely hard for students to go on to college, or secure a job in the fast-growing fields of engineering, technology, the service industry or outsourced work. By partnering with English teachers to improve their language skills as well as the quality of instruction, we are giving a generation of children greater economic potential. Considering that many of our students are the first in their families to complete education beyond the 3rd grade, the stakes are very high.
Our Foundation Workshop series for public school teachers takes a grassroots, bottom-up approach. We have seen first-hand the positive impact that our workshops have on teachers, and are continually conducting research and evaluating our programs to ensure that they are practical and sustainable.
With the funds we receive through Giveology, we plan to purchase video cameras and a projector which will allow teachers to record themselves in the classroom. They can then review the recording themselves and with other teachers to analyze their effectiveness. This is a common practice in all teacher training programs in the United States and Europe and is an extremely effective and low-cost professional development tool.

The funding will be used as follows:
- Video Projection Unit: 360
- Video Camera with Projector: 320
- Two carry-bags and memory cards: 75
- Video Projection Screen: 125

The Nanubhai Education Foundation has been working in rural schools since 2004. Our purpose is to improve the standards of English education in rural, under-funded government schools in India, thereby giving a generation of students access to greater economic opportunities.
During our 2011-2012 programming year, we launched an innovative pilot program that is the first of it's kind in India. Working with a handful of teachers, we provided professional development and training support across eight separate metrics of teaching and learning. What we found was encouraging - after six months in our program, teachers improved basic teaching skills 32% on average. When teachers are more effective in the classroom, student's time in school is more meaningful and effective. By improving an already existing resource, teachers, the Nanubhai Education Foundation is slowly creating change in India's rural government schools.
For the next phase of our project, we would like to incorporate basic technology into our workshops and mentoring. By using video cameras and projectors, we plan to record our teachers teaching lessons, and then play them back to analyze their methods and approaches. This approach will not only allow teachers to improve their basic teaching skills, but will also allow them to think critically about their classroom.

Our workshops have the potential to impact up to 500,000 students per year. Since we are working directly with teachers, who will teach in the government system for thirty years until they reach the age of retirement, our interventions with one teacher will impact students for thirty years. This gives us the potential to affect millions of students over the next several decades.

Our ground team consists of nine-members, three full-time management-level staff members and six full-time teachers working in government schools. Seven of our nine members are Indian nationals and all are from rural backgrounds.

Claire Arthurs, Co-Director
Claire Lynn Arthurs is from Pennsylvania, USA, and is the Co-Director of Programming and Teacher Training at the Nanubhai Education Foundation. In this role, she focuses on developing and implementing teacher training programs, forging new relationships with partner sites and government entities and overseeing all operational logistics for the ground team. She holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College, an M.A. in Teaching and Secondary Education from Columbus State University, and has completed post-graduate studies at Georgetown University in Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Her teaching experience includes working with primary, secondary and adult learners in both the United States and India. Since 2010, she has held active membership in Phi Kappa Phi, a U.S. based professional association that honors professionals working in the field of eduction. In addition to working in the education field, Claire spent several years working in the corporate sector and brings her knowledge of organizational management, financial planning, human resource development and project management to the Nanubhai team.

Sarah Birg, Co-Director
Sarah Birg is from Vermont, USA, and is the Co-Director of Programming and Teacher Training at the Nanubhai Education Foundation. She focuses on conducting program impact research, developing training curricula, and helping to design and oversee marketing and outreach. An M.A. (focus on Education) candidate in Sustainable Development from the School for International Training in Brattleboro, Vermont, USA, her course work included NGO Management, Project Design and Development, Mediation, Intercultural Communications, and Non-Formal Educational Programs. Sarah also has a B.A. in English Literature from the University of Chicago. She has experience working as a master trainer with the James Bay Cree, an indigenous tribe in Canada, as well as teaching ESL in New York City and South Korea. She has multiple years of experience teaching in the American and South Korean school systems.

Jayesh Chaudhari, Assistant Director
Jayesh Chaudhari is from Tapi district, Gujarat. He did his Bachelors in English Literature (Hon.) from Sardar Patel University, V.V Nagar, Anand where he stood first in final examinations. Then he did his M.A in Social Work from Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai. During his course he took Community Organization & Development Practice as his main theme and Management of Non Profit Organization and Rural Development & Sustainable Livelihood as skill based concentrations. Prior to NEF, Jayesh worked with the Development Support Agency of Gujarat (D-SAG), Tribal Area Sub Plan (TASP) Songadh, Tribal Development Department, Govt. of Gujarat as Sr. Project Consultant for three years and four months heading projects running under "Vanbandhu Kalyan Yojna" which included educational projects such as Eklavya Model Residential School (EMRS), Eklavya Girls Residential School (EGRS), SATCOM based tutorial classes Project, Bio Metric Attendance Project for concurrent monitoring of students and teachers, High Skill Training Programme, Scheduled Tribe Youth Employment Exchange Project (STYEEP) of Team Lease-IIJT, Livelihood based projects such as Integrated Dairy Development Programme (IDDP) project of SUMUL dairy, CCD Projects for PTGs, Agriculture based Project: IWADP-RKVY and "JEEVIKA" Project-I. He has expertise in various aspects in the social development sector, which includes NGO management, project planning, implementation, documentation, micro planning, monitoring & evaluation, Power-Point presentations, and liaising with different bodies/organizations.

Primary School Teaching Staff:

- Mayuri Bhavsar - The Kadod High School, Kadod
- Nimisha Chaudhari - The Kadod High School, Kadod
- Sunil Chaudhari - Mahdi High School, Madhi
- Purvi Gamit - The Kadod High School, Kadod
Vibhuti Gamit - The Kadod High School, Kadod
Kamini Solanki - Madhi High School, Madhi