THE PANCHADI LEARNING STEPS IN THE MODERN TEACHING CLASSROOM: A REVIEW OF NCF-SE 2023, TRADITIONAL INDIAN PEDAGOGY AND CONTEMPORARY EVIDENCE

Modern classrooms are increasingly expected to move beyond traditional lecture-centred approaches towards more learner-centred and outcome-based forms of teaching, as highlighted in India’s National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE) 2023. In this changing educational landscape, traditional Indian pedagogical practices offer valuable insights into structured and sequential learning, although their potential application in contemporary instructional design has received relatively limited attention. Against this background, the present study examines the Panchadi learning steps, the five-step learning process recommended in the National Curriculum Framework (NCF-FS 2022, integrated within NCF-SE 2023) as a way for teachers to plan the sequence of classroom activities, and explores its conceptual foundations and its relevance to contemporary educational research. The study adopts a narrative review approach, drawing upon NCF policy documents, classical Indian pedagogical texts, foundational theories of learning, and major meta-analyses and research syntheses related to instructional effectiveness. Relevant literature was identified and examined on the basis of its conceptual contribution and methodological significance, followed by thematic organisation and analysis. Although the review does not adopt a PRISMA-based systematic review methodology, selected reporting principles from PRISMA 2020 were considered to improve transparency in the review process. The Panchadi framework, as set out in the NCF, consists of five interconnected steps: Aditi (introduction and connection with prior knowledge), Bodha (conceptual understanding), Abhyāsa (practice), Prayoga (application), and Prasāra (expansion through sharing and communicating learning). The review suggests that these steps share meaningful conceptual connections with several established evidence-based instructional practices, particularly active learning (Freeman et al., 2014; Hake, 1998), retrieval practice (Roediger & Karpicke, 2006), learning by explaining and teaching others (Fiorella & Mayer, 2013), formative assessment and feedback (Black & Wiliam, 1998; Hattie & Timperley, 2007), as well as the 5E and Herbartian instructional models and the classical Indian sequence of śravaṇa, manana and nididhyāsana. Overall, the Panchadi sequence emerges as a culturally rooted and theoretically coherent pedagogical framework with potential applications in contemporary classrooms, including blended and technology-supported learning environments. Nevertheless, the NCF describes Panchadi within its Foundational Stage framework and as a non-binding recommendation, and its actual contribution to teaching and learning outcomes, including at later school stages, needs to be established through further empirical investigation, particularly controlled classroom studies examining its influence on students’ academic achievement, learning engagement, and long-term knowledge retention.