Our MIL curriculum for grades 6–8 (a 10-hour programme delivered as 15 classes of 40 minutes, completed within 40 days at each school) was developed through direct work with children in schools and community learning centres. AltEd educators deliver sessions alongside class teachers, who attend and become co-facilitators by the end of the programme — so the practice stays behind in the school.
Introducing MIL as a formal curricular component across India’s diverse school systems is not a realistic goal today. Instead, we identify and partner with highly motivated schools and teachers — India has a long history of locally rooted educational initiatives in science, environment and more — and spread MIL through such networks. In four years we have worked with close to 30 schools and learning centres and nearly 2,500 students in Kolkata and beyond, and conducted MIL workshops for close to 300 teachers.
Pedagogy
- Activity-based learning. All our curricula for students, teachers and young adults are entirely activity-based, extensively gamified, and tailored to the learner’s context.
- Project-based learning. Participants complete multiple micro-projects and one group macro-project, applying micro-lessons to a bigger whole.
- Act–Reflect–Consolidate. Every programme closes with a consolidation event where students organise an exhibition or production showcasing their learning to peers, teachers and community.
- MLJP — Meaning, Learning, Joy, Pride. The principle guiding every classroom session.
From our classrooms
The economics of attention, Narendrapur. At Ramakrishna Mission School, 150 eighth-grade students took a session on the economics of attention — how digital content is engineered to capture and monetise theirs.
Theatre as media analysis, Naihati. At Naihati Pallimangal Uccha Vidyalaya, 28 students spent a 20-hour workshop fusing theatre with media analysis, and wrote and performed a play examining how media represents development and urban displacement.