Role: L&D Consultant – Instructional Design & Trainer Enablement
Location: Mumbai | Duration: Aug 2018 – Dec 2018
Partnered with Arshiya Foundation, a CSR initiative of the Arshiya Group, to design and pilot a life skills learning program for children from underserved urban communities.
Program: Essential Life Skills Development Program
Audience: Children aged 6–16 from marginalized, low-income communities
Location: Mumbai
Objective:
Design engaging, behaviour-focused learning experiences and enable trainers to deliver them effectively in highly constrained environments
Trainers were honorary, low-paid, and lacked formal classroom delivery experience
Limited exposure to structured lesson planning and learner engagement techniques
Language barriers (English vs local language delivery)
Mixed-age group (6–16 years) with varying cognitive and emotional maturity
Low discipline, high energy, and minimal exposure to structured education
Use of informal/rash language impacting classroom decorum
Temporary classroom setup (borrowed college space)
Limited access to teaching aids and materials
No consistent learning environment
Topics were foundational (hygiene, road safety, equality, unity in diversity)
Risk of low engagement if delivered traditionally
Needed to translate “basic content” into meaningful behavioural learning
Designed a highly interactive, activity-led learning model tailored for mixed-age, low-attention classrooms
Developed detailed trainer manuals with step-by-step facilitation guidance, compensating for lack of trainer experience
Introduced structured classroom management techniques embedded within activities (not separate instruction)
Used multimedia elements and physical space (inside + outside classroom) to sustain engagement
Created simple, visual, and behaviour-driven learning materials (worksheets, exercises, demonstrations)
Built continuous trainer support loops, providing on-ground and on-call guidance during delivery
Transformed basic life concepts into experiential activities (e.g., role-play for road safety, demonstrations for hygiene habits)
Designed learning experiences that simultaneously taught content + classroom discipline + social behaviour
Enabled trainers to shift from instruction-based teaching → facilitation-based engagement, despite no prior exposure
Successfully delivered a pilot life-skills program in a high-complexity, low-resource environment
Improved trainer confidence and delivery capability, enabling more structured and engaging sessions
Increased learner participation and behavioural engagement, despite mixed age and challenging classroom dynamics
Established a replicable activity-based learning approach suitable for similar community-based programs
This project strengthened my ability to design for extreme constraints—low resources, untrained facilitators, and unpredictable learner environments—while still delivering structured, outcome-driven learning experiences.