New Delhi : Harappa Education, India’s leading online learning institution announces the winners from the second phase of its digital initiative Harappa Habit Heroes, today. Five educators have been selected from more than 2,000 nominations for the remarkable transitions they’ve made to online education, in the wake of the pandemic.

Thousands of students—and their teachers—across the world have had to learn to navigate the daunting prospect of moving to a new way of being. It wasn’t easy but teachers have really risen to the occasion with grit and perseverance.  Thanks to their valiant efforts, students continue to learn and grow.

Through the second edition of its digital initiative, Harappa is honoring teachers who’ve not only adapted but are leading the way with innovative teaching methods to help their students learn better.

Shreyasi Singh, Founder & CEO, Harappa Education said, “Access to learning is Harappa’s backbone—educators and learners are at the heart of everything we do. We pride ourselves on being an institution that’s redefining how experts can impart their knowledge; we bring together academics and industry leaders to teach our courses. So, we’re very proud to honor teachers who are making it possible for students across India to embrace change, navigate disruptions and imagine new possibilities of how to teach, and learn!.”

Meet Harappa’s 5 Habit Heroes.

1. Arzoo Rikhiya is the youngest of our teachers with 6 years of experience. She teaches students of grade 3 at Shiv Nadar School, Noida. She made her online teaching as impactful as offline teaching by enabling her students to be at the forefront of the shift. In her online classroom, students led the planning and execution. They also led class discussions and became adept at making interactive presentations. Most importantly, the participatory approach helped students feel responsible for their unique roles—digital citizen advisor, chat manager. Rikhiya’s recipe for success was rethinking the needs of the new environment and tailoring a solution that fit it.
2. Sunil Bhakhare works with tribal children, through Eklavya Model Residential School, Nashik, in remote areas where technology isn’t easily accessible. He’s taught grades 6 through 10 for more than 25 years. To ensure children without  internet connection weren’t left behind, Bakhare created different groups of students based on their tech access. This ranged from students who were entirely taught online, taught via WhatsApp, taught through a basic mobile without internet, and those without any device at all. He has used multiple formats to teach across these groups—through presentations, voice notes, and video clips.
3. Anjali Dadwal has been teaching for more than 23 years. She now works at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Chandigarh, and teaches preschoolers. For her, the biggest challenge was using technology for the first time in her life! She quickly became a learner herself to learn new ways to keep preschoolers engaged. She used kinesthetic learning techniques such as storytelling for each alphabet, asking her students to match things in their rooms with the alphabets, and similar innovative methods to make things interesting.

1. Shipra Bhartiya is a primary Maths teacher for grades 4 and 5 at Shiv Nadar School, Noida. She has been teaching for the last eight years. She faced the challenge of keeping her learners engaged and motivated in a subject many of them found challenging, or boring. Her magic formula was combining several simple ideas: asking students for feedback after each lesson, letting them decide how they wanted to submit their homework and helping them form small groups to facilitate peer learning.

1. Nisha Jain Grover is a psychologist and counselor based out of Jaipur. She has been working with children with learning disabilities, behavioral and adjustment issues for 15 years. Her biggest challenge was ensuring a socio-emotional connect despite the distance. Along with her team at Vatsalya Legacy Preschool, she overcame this challenge by systematically helping children acclimatize to their new reality. First, they  connected with children 1-on-1 through WhatsApp calls every day. Gradually, they moved their students to new music, dance and yoga classes. Only after students became comfortable with the new routine, the team introduced academics in bite-sized formats.

Harappa’s Habit Heroes will get complimentary access to all 25 Harappa courses and their inspirational video story will be shared on Harappa’s digital channels. To recognize the efforts of more teachers whose inspiring stories weren’t selected as part of the top five, 10 nominees will get 50% off and 25 nominees will get 30% off on any Harappa courses of their choice.