Integrating value education…

...into every subject.

Hello all. Welcome to the 131st edition of TEPS Weekly!

The above is a short excerpt from the Curriculum Integration Section of the NEP 2020 document. NEP 2020 stresses heavily on holistic development – it recommends incorporating value-based education in schools and discusses its importance at many instances. Undoubtedly, values form an important pillar of holistic education. 

Values define how one lives at many levels. For simplicity, let’s look at  some examples taken from CBSE’s Values Education Handbook for Teachers: 

• Personal: self-respect, freedom, happiness, gratitude, acceptance, courage, authenticity, joy 

• Interpersonal: love, respect, empathy, fairness, consideration for others 

• National: national integration, tolerance, equality, fairness, no stereotyping, social justice

• Global: environmental consideration, peace, human rights

Teaching values at a young age is like sowing a seed – the rewards are reaped in the long term in the form of conscious individuals with strong moral characters. 

But, is preaching what is right and what is wrong the correct way to instill values? 

The word instill is often used in the context of values. The Oxford dictionary defines it as “to gradually put an idea or attitude into somebody's mind; to make somebody feel, think or behave in a particular way over a period of time.” So, instilling values goes much deeper than defining, preaching or explaining them. 

How to do it right

• Having value education as a once-a-week period won’t work. It needs to be integrated with all subjects to make it relevant. 

• The role of the teacher needs to change from preacher to facilitator. Values have to become a choice made by students. 

Here are some examples: 

Cultivating Gratitude, Acceptance and Joy in a Science Lesson 

Value level: Personal  

Activity: Art + Discussion

In Grade 4, students learn about different seasons. Let’s see how a teacher can weave in a sense of joy, gratitude and acceptance in this topic. 

Activity	Teacher’s role
Students draw a comic related to their favourite season, highlighting what they like about the season.	This activity is done individually. The teacher gives everyone their personal space. The teacher also makes a drawing before taking rounds. By doing so, the teacher conveys that he/she is a learner too.
Students think and write down the season they do not like.	The teacher shares which season he/she does not like. This creates a safe space, conveying that it is “okay” to not like a season.
Class discussion: First, all students share what they like about their favourite season. Next, the teacher asks some prompting questions like: "Can you share one small thing you like about your least favorite season, even if you find it challenging?" or "What's a creative way you've seen someone else find joy in that season?" The teacher highlights that every season offers a unique gift.	The teacher starts with explaining that the goal is not to convince others to change their minds. She/He encourages students to listen to their peers' experiences, such as enjoying a mango in the hot summer. The teacher models active listening as well as sharing.

In this activity, thinking about their favourite season and the things they like about it makes students feel joy and gratitude. Hearing about other seasons from their peers helps them accept the seasons they do not like. By sharing his/her preference first, the teacher creates a safe learning environment. 

Nurturing Empathy in an English Lesson 

Value level: Interpersonal 

Activity: Role play + Discussion 

In Grade 1 English, there is a story of a boy taking care of a stray puppy. The story begins with the boy coming across a little puppy shivering in the cold. This event is a great starting point to explore values like kindness and empathy.

Activity	Teacher’s Role
The teacher uses the start of the story as a hook. He/She asks students to think of what it would be like to be in this situation.	The teacher simply states the scenario. She/He does not preach the correct way to act in the situation.
Students are divided into pairs for a roleplay. The teacher explains that each partner will take turns being the animal or the boy passing by. Students discuss and perform the roleplay.	The teacher encourages students to express their feelings in the role play. She/He does not provide a script. If some students are not comfortable in English, the teacher allows them to express in their mother tongue.
Class discussion: The teacher makes two circles on the board: one for the dog and one for the boy. The teacher asks students to share how they felt when they were playing each role and writes the feelings in the circles. The teacher summarises the discussion.	The teacher creates a non-judgemental space by saying that all feelings are okay and that even having no feeling is ok. The teacher waits for students who are reluctant to respond; students are allowed to respond personally to the teacher or through other mediums like drawing. (If a student is very reluctant, the teacher lets them not respond.)

Empathy is the ability to understand and share others’ feelings. It is more than just noticing how someone else feels; it is imagining yourself in their situation and trying to see things from their perspective. In this activity, the roleplay makes students think about a situation and imagine how each character feels to build empathy. As a facilitator, the teacher creates an inclusive space by allowing different languages or ways to express.

Exploring Fairness in a Social Studies Lesson 

Value level: National  

Activity: Group Reflection + Discussion

In Grade 7 Social Studies, students learn about supply chains and markets. This premise can be used to probe deeper into fairness.

Activity	Teacher’s Role
Students are divided into groups, and each group is assigned a different good like food grains, cloth etc. Students have to collectively reflect on which players in the chain are exploited and why.	The teacher goes around and asks questions like: "Who grows the cotton or the grain?" "What are their working conditions like?" and "How might they be exploited?" Such prompts encourage students to consider the human element of production.
Each group shares their thoughts with the class. The teacher encourages other students to praise or make suggestions.	Teacher models and encourages students to respect and actively listen to others’ ideas.
Class Discussion: The teacher conducts a class-wide discussion on why exploitation happens in industries. She/He guides the discussion to a deeper level to help students arrive at how lack of certain values drives exploitation.	The teacher encourages deeper thinking by asking probing questions like: What makes a player likely to be exploited? How do you think a person who exploits views his/her position? How does the person view the other player?

In this activity, the teacher facilitates deeper thinking on different players in a supply chain to identify which players might be unfair towards others. Students also reflect on possible reasons for unfairness and the importance of values in driving people’s actions. Both group reflection and class discussion involve more talking by students, encouraging them to discuss values. 

Developing Environmental Responsibility in a Maths Lesson

Value level: Global  

Activity: Worksheet + Journaling

In Grade 8 Maths, students learn how to calculate cubes. Using a mathematical sum, a teacher tries to get students to think of the environmental impact of each individual’s actions. 

Activity	Teacher’s Role
The teacher introduces a problem like: In a town, each careless individual throws 2 plastic bottles into the river every day. On the first day, 3 people throw bottles. On the second day, the number of people increased 3 times. On the third day, the number of people again increases 3 times. How many plastic bottles are thrown in total? All students solve the sum, and the teacher discusses the answer.	This is purely an academic step. The teacher stresses on students understanding the word problem and solving it by cubing.
After students have solved the sum, the teacher spends 10-15 minutes using the problem as a hook to reflect on how each individual’s action matters. All students self-reflect and answer questions on the same worksheet: What does this sum tell us about the collective impact of individual actions? What will happen if the number reduces by three times instead of increasing further? The teacher discusses their answers and writes important points or phrases on the board.	The teacher focuses on student inputs and avoids writing points of their own. The teacher praises student answers and waits for maximum participation.
On the same worksheet, students answer: What is one change I will make TODAY for the environment? After a few weeks, the teacher discusses how everyone has done in terms of implementing the change.	The teacher models by sharing one change that she/he will make starting today. After a few weeks, the teacher also discusses their own challenges or success with making the change.

In this activity, the teacher has guided students to grasp the impact of individual action on the environment. The activity instills environmental responsibility by including a component of putting thoughts in action. The teacher gives importance to student inputs and models a more responsible behaviour. 

Key Takeaways

• Although different aspects of the teachers’ role as a facilitator have been discussed in isolation in the above examples, in practice teachers need to do it all together. As a facilitator, the teacher has to:

  • create a non-judgemental, safe and inclusive space

  • encourage students to think about and discuss values

  • consider student inputs to develop their understanding 

  • model a conscious and value-aligned behaviour   

This is an on-going process and not confined to lessons on value education only. 

• Value-based education can be integrated in all subjects. For many topics, teachers can mention or highlight a value very quickly. However, for a deeper exploration, teachers can: 

  • select lessons to align to the values for the grade level

  • design prompting questions to guide thinking

  • plan activities like roleplay or art for more engagement

  • include real opportunities to act, like community service

  • factor enough time for reflection and discussion  

To bring about such changes would require immense efforts from not just teachers but also school leadership and parents. However, the effort seems worthwhile considering the holistic goal of education: to look beyond just imparting content and shaping young minds to thrive in an ever-changing world.

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Edition: 4.38