Devi Sansthan NGO & Global Dream - Non Profit initiative, Non Profit Literacy Campaign, Literacy Campaign, Global Dreamshaala Literacy Campaign, Saaksharta Abhiyan ,DEVI Sansthan and SBI Foundation to implement Global Dreamshaala

FLN ALfA Revolution at Shamli, UP

DEVI Sansthan's FLN initiative at a glance

Implementing FLN using Global Dream ALfA

Student Volunteers Implementing Literacy

With our methodology, anyone who is literate can be a teacher. School and college students can make up the bulk of volunteers for a literacy movement. The program's key principles are to ask questions, give the learner time to think, and use plenty of games and activities, which the student volunteers are doing with great enthusiasm. Began in 2014, the Global Dream campaign attracted 67,000 students in the first year itself. Till 2019, some 500,000 student volunteers across the nation have participated in the Campaign. Since the schools reopened after the COVID, 30,000 children have begun to work as volunteers.

ALfA - A Groundbreaking Methodology

ALfA is a disruptive methodology. Lessons are short, usually 15-20 minute-long; they save time for developing other broader skills. Children start with words, not letters. Teachers do not teach. Instead, paired learning makes learning engaging and interactive. ALfA processes fully integrate the 21st-century skills of character, citizenship, collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking.

Numeracy One Grade Up

With ALfA, children are doing numeracy one grade up. Prompts, such as stones, pebbles, leaves, buttons, rajma beans, crumpled newspaper balls, etc., are used to make learning more fun. Games and plenty of movement-based activities is a prominent feature of ALfA. ALfA encourages learners to come up with word problems similar to those provided in the lessons.

With Global Dream ALfA, 5-Year-Olds Are Reading Newspapers

The demand of these tiny tots from Kindergarten to Grade 2 is 100% literacy for all of India's children. The little ambassadors from Lucknow read the day's newspapers in national capital Delhi with fluency in both English and Hindi. To acquire these skills rapidly, the children have used the reverse methodology of Global Dream Toolkits and a paired learning process of Accelerating Learning for All or ALfA.

A Paradigm shift in FLN

ALfA— Accelerating learning for all, is a research-driven, ground-breaking pedagogy that ensures FLN levels are reached within weeks and months, and not years

Launch of Synergy Summit on FLN A11-12 July by Shri Rajnath Singh, Hon. Defence Minister of India

Prominent Leaders in Support of Global Dream

Support and praise has been received from numerous government officials, including Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh, Former Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Dr Dinesh Sharma, Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry, Dr Kiran Bedi, and the first female Mayor of Lucknow, Sanyukta Bhatia. They have supported our initiatives and assisted us in our literacy work.

Disruptive Talks on Literacy

D-talks or Disruptive talks is an online forum that brings together change-makers from around the world to share their solutions to the global literacy crisis and commit to urgent action for achieving Universal Foundational Literacy and Numeracy as envisioned by UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4. More than 160 speakers from 22 countries have participated in the D-talks since its launch in June 2021. The speakers and audience of the D-Talks include diverse stakeholders including government policymakers, heads of CSR foundations, international NGOs and foundations, academicians and educators across India and globally.s

Training Video on Literacy Methodology

Tom, a volunteer of Australian background, explains some of the guiding principles of our breakaway methodology for the teaching of language (here Hindi). He demonstrates how the method works with real live learners, which in his case are largely children living in abject poverty.

Global Dream ALfA Disruptive Methodology for Literacy

ALfA is a path-breaking way to reach literacy across grades. Learning scaffolds from known to unknown, concrete to abstract, and simple to complex. Each new learning builds on the previous one, making it easy to construct learning by self at any age. Children learn to decode letters and blend sounds to make words from the beginning. Using this powerful methodology, even five-year-olds are able to read complete newspapers in their mother tongue and in English. (See evidence).

Training Video on Numeracy

Tom Delaney explains here the guiding principles and demonstrates through young learners from his slum at the Railway Tracks how to teach numeracy in a practical manner from the beginning. Numeracy is far easier to teach using these methods but also very quick compared with the teaching of literacy. Numeracy is taught after the language. Many learners already have practical knowledge of transacting money in buying and selling, so this comes far more naturally to them.

Global Dream Toolkits (International Languages)

Global Dream ALfA toolkits are replicable and are already converted into 11 international languages that include Swahili, Arabic, French, Spanish, among others. It is highly scalable and fully enabled by technology. It can be downloaded for free on any device. Replication into new languages is a process away and takes two weeks to a month.

Global Dream Toolkits (Indian Languages)

Global Dream ALfA toolkits are easily replicable and are already converted into 18 Indian languages that include Assamese, Hindi, Kannada, Punjabi and Tamil, among others. The toolkits can be downloaded for free on any device and enabled by technology.

Accelerating Learning for All or ALfA

The ALfA 30-hour foundational literacy and numeracy toolkit is ground-breaking and can be used to teach anyone quickly at a low cost. ALfA modules engage all children through the use of hands-on, tactile, kinesthetic and interactive processes. The self-paced learning processes add to the academic self-concept, “I can.”

LMS Mobile Application

Some of the screen shots of the mobile LMS based learning app. Individual volunteers of any age, families, schools, organisations and governments can sign up here. A team is being developed to both make this available to every segment of society and to take a data-driven approach to the literacy work. Work is being initiated in the app being able to carry out target population survey and make it a comprehensive place for all our literacy data collection and teaching.

Global Dream Mobile based LMS demo

The mobile application enabled LMS will allow illiterate learners to become literate with minimal supervision from others. If a learner can operate a mobile phone, they can learn to become literate on this application

Principal, Government School, Republic of Maldives- Aishath Farhath.

Thank you so much for the great opportunity provided by the Ministry of Education, Maldives and the entire DEVI Sansthan team. A special thank you to Dr Abdulla Rasheed and Dr Sunita Gandhi for their untiring work to make the world a better place. I love the approach and indeed without knowing ALFA I was using ALFA for my daughter for a long time. I found that it is the best way to teach students literacy and numeracy. I am delighted to inform you that I have already given a briefing to all my teachers and made them access the ALFA booklets available via the internet. We have already prepared some learning materials so that students will practice the method in classrooms. Talking about EACH ONE TEACH ONE we are focusing on our students volunteering in the program to make our island a 100% literate island. In order to continue the program, we will be using ALFA method. This was discussed in today’s assembly. ALFA is in the air and we are working to expand our knowledge and practice it in a very positive environment.

ALfA Global Dream Eyewitness Accounts

Many prominent media houses have come to observe our ongoing work with Global Dream and ALfA pedagogy. In this video, there are some of the many eyewitness accounts by the media. The words and expressions they have used for our modules tells it all.

Bollywood Stars on Global Dream Literacy

Not only they are the master of their craft, but they are also closely associated with the social causes. This video shows how the famous Bollywood stars joined the Global Dream literacy campaign and urged their fans to understand the magnitude of the literacy and numeracy crisis. They appreciated our work and extended their warm wishes for our cause.

Worldwide Changemakers on Global Dream ALfA Revolution

These are some of the change-makers from around the world who attended our D-talks or Disruptive talks that bring together change-makers from around the world to share their solutions to the global literacy crisis and commit to urgent action for achieving Universal Foundational Literacy and Numeracy as envisioned by UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 4. They were full of praises for our Global Dream Disruptive Literacy Movement and expressed their wish to be part of this movement.

ELP First Global Advisory Meeting

In this video, you will see the Global Advisory Committee members, which consists of leaders, policymakers, practitioners, the donor community and other change-makers from around the globe. These prominent people are working together to plan the 1st Global Conference on Disruptive Literacy, which will kick off on the International Literacy Day, i.e. 8th September.

Torchbearers of Literacy

'Teach At Least One' Campaign helps students learn valuable social and life-skills by engaging in community service projects. Such a combined, informed, ambitious effort can help us rapidly attain universal literacy. Students grow up to become more proactive leaders of social change.

Women As Change Agents for Literacy

These women showed it is possible to make entire communities literate through their efforts. Community-based women volunteers are given training and the materials to start their own home or community-based literacy labs. Our work has shown when women are empowered, they can transform entire communities.

A Movement for Literacy

The Global Dream movement provides a roadmap for the world to rapidly achieve universal literacy. A huge number of children and adults cannot read, and now the COVID-19 crisis has pushed us into a literacy emergency. Yet it is possible to eradicate literacy poverty in just one to two years if we use disruptive solutions and mobilise all segments of society. Global Dream empowers people with effective and efficient teaching methods and enables them to make rapid change in their communities.

Say NO to Thumb Impression, Say YES to Literacy

Teaching someone how to write their name is easy and builds their motivation and interest level in them to learn the foundational skills of reading, writing and arithmetic. First, we ask them to verbally identify the different sounds (syllables) their name is made up of. Then write the different syllables of their name on cards. Then we play games: ask them to identify each syllable, and to join them together to make their name. As they become familiar with reading their name, we ask them to try writing it in a tray of sand or flour. Then we give them the chance to practice writing their name on paper. If they have a last name, we repeat the process. Soon they are able to sign fluently. The whole process takes just a few short sessions over a week or less.

Testimonies of Student Mentors Video 1

Two students speak of their experience in English. One of them, Robert, was just 10 years of age in 2014 when he taught his learners of 12 and 14 years of age and a security guard at his home who was 42. He shares his story of teaching them a year later, in 2015, as a 6th grader with huge applause from the audience. Another student volunteer, Illika, a 9th Grade student taught several learners in 2014 and 2015. She speaks in 2021 of her experience then. She is currently completing her Junior Year at Mount Holyoke, in Masachusetts, USA. She talks about what this experience has meant to her.

Implementation in Lucknow Government Schools

Here a few of the pre-service teachers from the government's District Institute of Education & Training (DIET) share their experience of teaching using Global Dream methods in government schools where they taught. One of the visible impacts was increase in attendance levels and the principals of these schools asking the teachers to give them their teaching aids like calendars and cards. It is also apparent the low levels of learning the teachers discovered in the baseline assessments.

Towards a People's Movement in Lucknow

The idea of a people's movement in which all segments of society are involved was piloted in the microcosm of the city of Lucknow. This involved participation from students at schools and colleges, community based volunteers in the urban and rural communities, tie up with government pensioners, corporates and local artisans using several modalities of implementation.

Women Literacy Drive in Kurauni Village

These women became literacy instructors and taught hundreds of women to read and write within a short time period, which ultimately led to greater social and gender equality. Karauni stands as a powerful example of what community mobilisation for literacy can achieve and how women can be powerful catalysts for change.

Synergy Summit Report 2022

Teacher Capacity Building, A New Way

This video shares with you the capacity building and training of the teachers in the new and innovative ideas of the Global Dream. Teachers are the torch bearers who can play a definitive role in bringing about a change and helping India to achieve the goal of a hundred per cent Literacy

Media Coverage

Here some of the media reports in English are included. There has been considerable coverage in several Indian languages. Top government officials have shown their support by meeting Dr. Sunita Gandhi and attending various events organised by her.

Mr. Anil Swarup on Global Dream

In this newspaper article written by Mr. Anil Swarup, former Secretary of the Union Ministry of Education (India), he highlights that the innovative methodology of Global Dream helps accelerate literacy and numeracy among learners of all age groups. Global Dream's simple methodology and toolkit make it highly scalable and replicable. He also emphasizes that India's National Education Policy's highest priority is to achieve Universal Foundational Literacy and Numeracy by 2025, and out-of-the-box approaches like Global Dream can help achieve this goal.

Global Dream Program in Hamirpur

for classes 1-5. Teachers were trained and provided Global Dream toolkits. In a period of just 6 weeks of instruction, the average reading scores of students jumped by more than 50 percentage points.

First 79 Learners Data

Jon, our US volunteer living in a Lucknow slum, Nai Basti, was charged with the responsibility to collect data and initiate other community based volunteers of all ages to teach illiterate learners of all ages. Here is data on 79 learners taught by him and other volunteers including children volunteers from the 'basti' (slum). It shows the learners took an average of 15.5 hours to become reading capable (being able to read a newspaper). These early efforts showed this disruptive methodology could be used within the locations of the communities, breaking barriers of fixed faraway locations and fixed timings.

Target Plus Real-Time Assessment App

TARGETPlus goes beyond assessment ‘of’, ‘for’, and ‘as’ learning to provide a truly rich personalized learning experience that guarantees results.
Built on the principle of “Compete with Yourself”, TARGETplus helps all learners not only identify their learning gaps but also improve on their mistakes, that too, in a matter of minutes, not hours or days. TARGETplus is the quickest way to build skill towards an upcoming examination. It is both time-efficient and cost-effective.

Economic & Political Weekly

This study analyses adult illiteracy in Lucknow, focusing on inequalities between different geographical regions, castes, age groups and genders. The reading ability of 1.06 million people in the 15–60 age group was tested, and the literacy rate found to be 65%—substantially lower than the census figures of 77% for Lucknow and 68% for Uttar Pradesh. Each socio-demographic dimension measured was a key determinant of literacy—disadvantaged groups had literacy rates substantially below the mean. Socio-demographic determinants also compound each other, highly disadvantaging some subgroups, an aspect that policymakers must take into consideration when developing policies to increase literacy equity.

World Bank Policy Paper : Ipsative Assessment and Personal Learning Gain. Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Dr Sunita Gandhi’s research on Ipsative assessments in several countries was published as a book chapter in the UK. It develops a radical evaluation of assessment to encourage learners to celebrate their individual progress and learning journey. Questions whether it is fair to elevate progress or place excessive emphasis on test results. Builds on a range of global case studies across educational contexts to highlight the benefits of ipsative assessment.

Accelerating Adult Literacy

This extensive report from the Target Population Survey of Lucknow district's 1.5 million individuals from ages 6 to 60 covering 396,000 households provides analysis of the extent of the problem and provides some policy level recommendations for addressing literacy of adults.

Why Can’t The Children Read?

In Conversation with Dr. Sunita Gandhi, President, Dignity Education Vision International

Visionaries of Uttar Pradesh , Dr Sunita Gandhi

Dr Sunita Gandhi was honoured as the Visionaries of Uttar Pradesh at a ceremony on 27th May 2017. The award is the flagship portal of the digital division of DB Corp Limited (DBCL), a print media company. Dr Gandhi received the award from Hon’ble Deputy Chief Ministers Dinesh Sharma and Keshav Prasad Maurya.

Morocco: Enhancing the Participation of Women in Development, Chapter 2, The Participation Sourcebook

Dr. Gandhi was recognized with the Most Outstanding Contribution to Development Award by the World Bank President for her work in Morocco on women and development. The work was published in the World Bank Participation Sourcebook, 1996, and showcased as one of the three projects shared at the UN Summit in Copenhagen in 1998.

Energy Efficiency and Conservation in Developing World

Energy Efficiency and Conservation in the Developing World, World Bank Policy Paper, was published after a worldwide consultative process led by Robert J Saunders and Sunita Gandhi in 1993.

Journal of New Economics

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