The primary objective of the workshop is to clarify the importance of learning craft skills from an early age for the students in early childhood and elementary age. More than 200 students were asked to describe, what are the essential learning skills for their age group. Of the 200 best answers, more than half of them were for kids, which is very interesting. In the next section we will see that the development of skill through this method has a greater effect on the students’ self-esteem and their ability to succeed in school.
Upskilling And Crafts
The traditional learning process is mainly through books and classroom instruction. This traditional process helps the learner to gain knowledge and practice the necessary skills to become successful in school. The traditional learning process also helps in creating a discipline in children’s behavior. A problem occurred when teachers attempt to add some creative element to the traditional learning, by doing this they may confuse students and, make them lose their interest in learning traditional skills.
- The workshop conducted by Mrs. Kumar and Mr. Sundaram in Chennai led to the establishment of a frame of mind for students as well as for teachers. The workshop was designed in such a manner that it included building awareness about what craftsmen do, building constructional skills and building well-being.
- The first part of the workshop included the traditional job-crafting skills and how to choose a job, the next two sessions focused on building the discipline of work, and the last part focused on building the ability to accept difficult work and tolerate errors. In the job-crafting skills the learners were encouraged to create their own jobs that would solve a problem in a constructive way.
- The second session taught the students how to use a hammer, a screwdriver, an electric drill and an… The last session was on how to use these tools in a way that would not cause any harm or discomfort. Thus the combination of traditional job-crafting skills along with the use of practical, hands-on application of skills created a perfect framework for both job-crafting skills and for using the skills in a practical manner.
The approach was practical and it was built on the concept of the full text available online. The full text available online refers to the traditional materials like books, manuals, pamphlets, etc., that are required by an organization in order to complete their training program. These traditional materials are very well-written but sometimes the message that they convey is lost in translation because of poor translation. The language used is sometimes generic and the meaning may be misunderstood by the older workers who are not trained in the traditional materials. Thus the message of the full text is not clear enough for the older workers who need the information.
This innovative online method for imparting skills on a subject through interactive sessions with a trained professional is very effective in delivering the message of full text available online. It is designed to deliver the holistic craft learning that is the hallmark of an efficient learning system. This holistic craft learning methodology is used in imparting skills on subjects like painting, wood working, embroidery, sewing, carpentry, photography, fashion designing, home craft and many more. The lessons are delivered through short videos with detailed set of instructions and suggestions. Thus this method is very effective in imparting skills to the older workers who need to use the skills in a practical manner.