MUMBAI: In an out-of-the-box endeavour to infuse life into history lessons in classrooms, teachers were urged to role-play with inanimate objects from history and taught to engage students in a dialogue. Educators were asked to hold up objects such as an ancient pot, a sword or other artifacts and pose a question “Who am I?” to their students who would interview the “objects”, asking questions about their origin, significance, and history. By learning to respond in character, the teachers understood how students can learn about history in an engaging and interactive way, their imagination stoked through inquiry and storytelling.
At a time when history and historical figures are in the spotlight, 35 teachers from 20 rural schools across eight districts of Maharashtra participated in the first-ever Rural Teacher Training Programme organized by the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), Mumbai, which taught, among many other things, techniques of teaching history to their students.
For many, this was their first visit to Mumbai, and for some, it was their first experience of exploring a museum.
The three-day residential training programme, which concluded on Friday, introduced the rural educators to interactive teaching techniques in history, emphasising the role of museums in enriching classroom learning. Participants visited Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Nehru Science Centre and the Elephanta Caves, and engaged in hands-on activities designed to demonstrate innovative methods for teaching history.
Anuradha Kadam, headmistress of Gurukul School, Satara, shared her experience. “Teaching history interactively—allowing students to physically handle historical objects and question their origins—was a completely new approach for us,” she said. Kadam, who also teaches English and Geography, emphasized how this method fosters curiosity and deeper understanding.
Santosh Kamble, a history professor from Shahajiraje College, Khatav, Satara, which is attached to a local school, reflected on the impact of the workshop, “This programme has equipped us with strategies to encourage students to ask questions and develop a critical mindset. Learning about different types of museums and their interdisciplinary approach has been invaluable.”
He highlighted how the workshop inspired him to improve an existing initiative at his college. “We have been collecting historical artifacts from nearby villages for the last five years, but they were simply stored in a room. Now, after learning about the ‘Museum in a Trunk’ concept, I will organise these items properly to make them accessible and educational.” The concept of ‘Museum in a Trunk’ was envisaged and rolled out by CSMVS last year, where artifacts of a particular era or subject are put in a trunk which the museum’s curators take to rural parts to impart education about history.
CSMVS, through its Education and Public Programme Department, has offered such outreach initiatives, particularly through its Museum on Wheels project (in which artifacts of certain periods of history are put in a bus, along with an interactive module, and taken to schools in rural parts). Vaidehi Savnal, curator (Education and Public Programme) at CSMVS, said, “Our Museum on Wheels has successfully reached urban and rural communities, bringing exhibitions to those who cannot visit museums. Through this endeavour, we recognised the need for teacher training and began working on this programme.”
This initiative aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which advocates experiential learning and the integration of museums into school education.
Narendra Derle, a teacher from Madhavrao Borste Vidyalaya, Ozar, Nashik, found the programme an eye-opener. “This session changed our perspective on teaching history. We learned how to find and utilise the right historical resources, both physical and digital, so that we can make history lessons more engaging and fact-based,” he said.
As part of the training, teachers also explored techniques such as storytelling cards, interactive games and hands-on museum activities to make history more accessible to students.
The director general of CSMVS, Sabyasachi Mukherjee, emphasized the broader impact of the programme, “The museum’s Rural Teacher Training Programme is designed to empower educators with innovative pedagogical strategies for integrating museum resources into their curriculum. A single trained teacher can reach hundreds of students, multiplying knowledge and benefitting society at large.”
Mukherjee also said, following the success of this year’s programme, the museum will conduct the training annually, with 35 selected teachers from the rural parts each year.
This year, teachers from Ahilyanagar, Amravati, Dhule, Nashik, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Satara, and Yavatmal participated in the programme.