Our Story

Mindsprings was started in the year 2002 by Usha Pandit, after returning to India from a decade of teaching abroad in three countries, to contribute positively to Indian education and meet the needs of bright and exceptionally intelligent children. “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 education for bright and intelligent children i.e. “gifted education”.

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. After a couple of years, the focus shifted to improving the quality of English language teaching in regular schools. This lead to the publication of text books and teacher training manuals. Mindsprings publishes the highly successful English textbook series “Empowering English” authored by Usha Pandit in 2007. These books are being used by children in schools in Mumbai, Delhi, Jaipur, Bhopal, Surat and Lucknow. They are being used by schools from the ICSE, IB, CBSE and SSC Boards. In 2010, “Writing with Ease” was added to the Mindsprings Publishing stable. The books are aimed at demystifying learning and creating empowerment for children. The first Mindsprings Centre at Worli opened in July 2010, where Vidushi Chaudhry, specializing in education for the learning disabled, partnered with Usha Pandit. Besides enrichment for the gifted, programmes for struggling learners, creative writing, and teacher training were added.

Mindsprings offers consultancy on curriculum development, developing teaching skills and training teachers in teaching English language. Currently, Usha Pandit is the academic consultant for The Heritage Schools Delhi, Nirja Modi Schools Jaipur and Shishuvan Schools in Mumbai.

TRAINING AND WORKSHOPS

REGULAR TEACHER TRAINING COURSES AT SCHOOLS

  • A unique effort was made in training all the teachers and administrative staff of one school in English for a period of 2 years with regular inputs and study materials and testing. The school reported an overall positive change in the standards of English across the board. It was also the testing ground for change management and its travails.
  • Sustained workshop support at MSB Mumbai to strengthen basic skills(2010)
  • Support workshops done at Podar Group of Schools across India giving their English programmes a foundation and meaning and progressive thrust. (2011- 2013)
  • Mindsprings worked with the MSB School in Mumbai and around 50 Podar schools