Angel (Renick) Jacquin

Research Question and Reflection based upon my travels in India in 2016:

What are the similarities and differences between Indian and American teachers in teaching
methodologies and student outcome, and how can we learn from each other to promote better
teaching practices?

When I went to India I knew nothing about the country I would be visiting. I had seen
movies, read books, but reality in India was nothing like any of those stories. My experience
there was of a privileged tourist, not of a local in any class or caste. Even after the days of
cultural training and amazing guest speakers it made me feel even more privileged. I had this
amazing education, this amazing background, and I did not know what it was to come from a
country with so many struggles. It is true that the United States has struggles but they are of a
different degree to the troubles that face a nation such as India.
Our lessons on the education system of India seemed to have its fair share of struggles to
face as well. Depending upon who you talk to Indias education system is corrupt or doesnt
support its teachers. The English first practice is being debated and battled on both sides with
pros and cons reaching from loss of self-identity and difficulty learning in a non-native language
to being able to compete in a global world that speaks English. Of course all of this made my
background in curriculum and instruction even more precious to me and made me feel as if I was
a better teacher than any I would hope to find in any schools in India. Although I do not consider
myself a prideful person it was hard hearing so many negative things about the Indian school
system not to take pride in my passion for teaching and my love for my students. In my
experience with pride almost always comes a humbling experience to follow. After my time in
India I was nothing short of humbled.
India is a paradox. That is what I was told when I first arrived and it is no less true about
teachers and schools. Some teachers I wanted to learn from and easily put me in my place as a
young teacher, other teachers I wanted to help move into the 21st century with teaching strategies
and even curriculum. It was interesting to see that although I thought I knew nothing about India
I still had a preconceived notion that the way I taught was better than them. My instruction and
classroom must be unique in comparison to theirs and I have more to give then to receive. I was

amazed at discovering that I held this unfounded notion and even more startled at how untrue it
all was.
Seeking out similarities and differences in Indian and American teachers and teaching
methodologies was a hard topic to dig deeply into. I found that as I took pride in my work so
others also took in their own. My first experience with a school was in a secondary math
classroom in Bengaluru (Bangalore). Here I watched dumbfounded as a teacher called no
students by name but addressed each girl based on what row and seat she sat in. I was also
amazed that the boys and girls were segregated but there was a large difference in the size of
class for upper level girls versus boys. This we found out was due to the fact that girls tended to
drop out earlier. Although there are plenty of math teachers in particular who still teach strictly
through lecture and with the use of chalk and chalkboard, I was still amazed that each student
was listening with full attention. In addition to this each girl was listening strictly. No notes, no
utensils to write with in hand. Of all the things I thought old-fashioned or out dated in the room,
this one detail I thought was curious. I had never witnessed a classroom where the teacher or
professor was talking and no one was bothering to write anything down.
After this math course a few days later I found myself in Hyderabad viewing another
math course within a private school with personally hired teachers. This math teacher was
teaching to a mixed group of students in a class size that was very small. He also knew his
students names and held conversations with them. The curriculum being presented however was
very similar to the other math class I viewed and still very different from the presentation you
would see in the United States. Again however I saw that much of the time a teacher talked no
one took notes.
That small detail about not taking notes was the most basic and most ah-ha moment I
had as a teacher on this trip. I asked a teacher about it and the response to me was students need
time to process information and cannot do this if they are trying to keep up with writing down
notes. What a simple thing to say. Of course I knew this too, I was taught this in teacher
courses, yet no one in the United States ever practices this especially not myself. This simple
response to a well-known fact made me realize more than anything that I did not know
everything, and even the things I did know I could still learn about.

After viewing many classes of all levels and ages and subject matter I have found simply
put that no matter where you teach, students are still students. The middle school math teachers
were excited to hear that math teachers in America are also asked the question When are we
ever going to use this? Freshman in America and class 9 students in India will both try to get
away with things when the teachers heads are turned, and speech and debate students will always
bring up cultural references such as Pokemon-Go as often as they can to prove a point.
On the outside it seemed that our teaching instruction and methodologies and even our
students were very different, but up close the similarities seemed a lot more. From all of my
inquiries and conversations with teachers and fellow travelers alike I have found two different
viewpoints.
Overall the teaching style picked by teachers my cohorts viewed was direct instruction
with lecture and note mentality. Classrooms seemed very teacher centered and less student
focused. Many of my fellow travelers had experiences similar to those in Bangalore where the
teacher may not have even known the students name. A chorus response was expected almost
always from students with a few call, stand, deliver answer, and sit down type of cues thrown in.
Not many variations on the teaching style was seen other than lecture, notes, assess, repeat.
In my host school it was extremely different and students were learning in pairs, having
Socratic style discussions with the teacher, and after they had time to process the information
would then get out a notebook and summarize or copy what was on the board. The student
products I saw reminded me very much of student work in my own high school where I work. I
even talked with a primary school math teacher who after having a class discussion about place
holders for numbers had them play a game in pairs that she had discovered on Pinterest. Most of
my colleagues will do the same thing. Science classes were holding investigations and
experiments to come to conclusions. All very similar to what happens in the United States.
From the school I visited most of the teachers actively cared and found new ways to teach
lessons. I was surprised at how little difference there was and how comfortable I felt working
alongside these teachers for a week.
The only area I felt that there was a large difference was in mathematics. In my own
classroom I use cooperative learning strategies along with different investigative approaches as
much as possible. I saw this happen in almost every classroom in my school in Hyderabad with

the exception of math classrooms. Most of the math classrooms were lecture style sometimes
with student input and guidance. This unfortunately is very true for a lot of math classes in
America but the trend is moving away from that and fast. What was really different though is the
drive with formulas. Students in India were very driven by formulas in a math class. In America
there are some formulas that are required but more often it is a style that we teach. Methods of
solving that can then be applied to other examples. In all the secondary math classes in India I
saw where a formula was taught and memorized and then strictly used to solve or expand
equations. It was extremely different than what I was used to and a little disappointing since
memorization does not always lead to understanding.
Something I was unable to do that I still would wish to do next time I visit schools in a
different community are truly have a time set aside to share. Share what I consider my best
teaching strategies and share what they consider their best. Also, I would love to see the
curriculum and see what it is they learned at university to compare to who teachers are even
taught to teach in America. Do they teach any cooperative strategies? How are they trained to
use technology in the classroom? Where did they come up with the idea to have notes and
discussion segregated whenever possible in a classroom? I feel as if we talk about the need for it
but it is never done in our schools.
Ultimately I was very humbled by what I saw and confused by what my fellow travelers
saw. Given a chance I would love to go back yet again and really see what other schools are like.
I would love to share my knowledge and learn from theirs. However, I can say that what little I
saw I learned from. And finally I love that even in other cultures and other on continents
students are students, kids will be kids, and teachers still love to teach.