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Ms. Usha Pandit
usha_mail@yahoo.com
Details:
Usha Pandit is an educational consultant, specializing in curriculum development, gifted
education and the academic and administrative management of educational organizations.
She has had over twenty five years of teaching experience in four countries. She brings
to consulting a deep understanding of the educational needs of students from a range of
cultures and age groups.
Usha’s experience ranges from senior high and college education in India and Hong Kong
(under the British curriculum), to gifted education and accelerated primary learning in
Auckland and Jakarta (under the Australian curriculum). She has a Master degrees in
English, and a Masters degree in Education from India; and certificates in Education from
Cambridge and Auckland.
Usha moved into the area of development and implementation of school-wide programmes
and curricula. She set up the highly successful gifted education programme at the
Austalian International School in Jakarta, covering start-up and marketing as well as
developing the identification criteria and curriculum framework for the programme going
forward.
In India, Usha has been first consultant to the Oasis International School in Bangalore
and SGKM International School, Mumbai involving the development of curricula and
teacher training. Both assignments have been rewarding and successful, with the schools
enjoying a monumental increase in public awareness, inflow of capital investments and
grants, and a clearer articulation of vision and long-term strategy.
In the last seven years, Usha has been retained by the Cathedral and John Connon Schools
as their Academic Consultant where she spearheaded major overhauling of the syllabus
in all subjects from Infant to early High School and doing a detailed audit of the infant,
junior and middle schools for all subjects. Currently Usha is Academic Consultant looking
after quality control and the Head of the School Connect Programme at the Euro School
group of schools.
Usha started the Mindsprings Enrichment Centre in the year 2011 in partnership with
Vidushi Chaudhry. The Centre has so far been involved in intervention programmes for
regular schools in mainstream classes of English reading, writing, grammar and spelling
and for IGCSE checkpoint intervention. The centre also does a unique 2 year Teacher
Enhancement Programmes for schools to improve both English and classroom skills of
teachers. It holds regular workshops on teacher education both at the Centre and in
schools. The centre runs programmes for children in creative writing, remedial reading,
thinking skills and learning disability corrections. The centre plans to put up thinking skills
and set up remedial learning centres in schools. Usha is also talking to a University to
collaborate in running a gifted and enquiry based learning programme for teachers.
Usha is the author of the textbook series \"Empowering English” from grades 1 to 8+ and
a writing resource book called ‘Writing with Ease’. The books have a client list of 60 +
schools across the country with some of the best schools in the country using it as their
preferred English text. Cathedral & John Connon the first school to use Empowering
English exclusively 5 years ago, has consistently topped the English ASSETs over 2000
schools for the last 4 years.
Usha is among the few people in India who are creating awareness of giftedness as a
special need for highly intelligent children with parent and teacher workshops. These have
been reported in the press in various cities. She trained on the job in gifted education at
the prestigious George Parkyn Centre in New Zealand and has been a practitioner for the
last 15 years. She runs after-school enrichment programmes in two schools which involves
thinking skills and out-of-the-box creativity for children. These programmes are slated to
happen in more centres in different parts of Mumbai and other cities in the near future.
Usha’s vision is to see education in India transformed from rote-learning, examination-
focused institutions, into dynamic, skills and outcome-based places of learning. Usha
uses her strengths in the areas of curriculum development, teacher training and parent
education to bring this philosophy alive in the schools she works with.
Usha can be contacted at 96670 21954 or on email at usha_mail@yahoo.com
– COMPANY PROFILE
MINDSPRINGS was started in the year
2002 by Usha Pandit to contribute positively to Indian Education, after
returning from a decade of teaching abroad in three countries. Gifted education was unheard of and bright
and exceptionally intelligent children were not considered to have any special
needs. In Bangalore, talks on awareness to parents and teachers, and a few
sessions of enrichment programmes for gifted thinkers kicked off the company’s
journey in gifted education. In 2004,
Mindsprings began enrichment programmes for the students of Cathedral &
John Connon School, Mumbai and has since been running successful after-school
programmes for grades from 2 to 8. The year-old Mindsprings Enrichment Centre
at Worli will enable exceptionally bright children from all schools to access
these programmes.
Mindsprings began its first
consultancy project at Oasis International School, Bangalore in 2002. Concept
mapping, curriculum design, teacher training and workshops were done. This was
followed by a short consulting stint with SGKM School, Ghatkopar Mumbai in
2006. In 2004, Usha became the Academic
consultant to the Cathedral & John Connon Consultancy and has ushered in
spectacular pioneering changes. English, Hindi and History have seen
revolutionary changes in the last six years.
Mindsprings has been retained by the Cathedral Vidya School Lonavala to
do their school academic audit in 2010.
Mindsprings Publishing was born in
the year 2009 in response to the need to publish and market the highly
successful English textbook series \"Empowering English” produced in 2007. In
2010, one more winner \"Writing with Ease” was added to the Mindsprings
Publishing stable. The books are aimed at demystifying learning and creating
empowerment for children. Books in grammar, spelling, poetry and reading are on
the anvil.
The first Mindsprings Enrichment Centre
at Worli opened in July 2010, where Vidushi Chaudhry, specialising in education
for the learning disabled, partners Usha Pandit. Besides enrichment for the
gifted, programmes for struggling learners, creative writing, nature club,
early bright thinkers, teacher training and parent workshops are being
conducted. Usha and Vidushi bring their joint expertise to reach across the two
ends of the special needs spectrum and fill in all the creative spaces in
between.
Website: http://mindsprings.in/home.php
Facebook: www.facebook.com/MindspringsIndia
Contact no: 9930043825/ 02224870140
+91 - 8291419590
