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Pedagogies become obsolete when they continue to focus on ‘what’ they teach rather than ‘how’. Indian education has suffered for decades on this score because the purpose of education has never envisaged fostering curiosity and creativity as being critical to education but in knowing facts and information. We teach our kids to ‘memorise’ instead of ‘to understand’.

Today, we are witnessing industries undergoing a disruption with a rapid convergence of technologies. These constant changes are making competencies in workforce go obsolete leaving lifelong learning as the only feasible option. On the other side, the Gen Z has a set of unique behavioural attributes which is shaping the needs of education industry and pushing them to develop ways to deal with them.

New-age teaching experts believe that learning a concept from a textbook does not effectively explain it or facilitate easy comprehension. For example, certain subjects or concepts can be better understood through laboratory experiments, field trips, and three dimensional (3D) models, etc. AR/VR technologies thus introduce immersive and interactive experiences in the classroom to facilitate learning and knowledge retention.

 

Authored by Archana V, business partner, communications & engagement, dunnhumby India

S Gayathri, senior technical specialist – education at CARE India.

Authored by Prajodh Rajan, co-founder and group CEO, EuroKids International.

Archana Goenka, trustee and academic director, C P Goenka International School.

Milind Fadnavis

The part that I have always cherished as an educator for the last three decades is interacting with students. Each student is like a snowflake that is unique, unmatched, different and each of them has a bearing which intrigues and inspires. Walking into classrooms is therapeutic for me because it is that fertile space where knowledge is cultivated and minds are enriched. However in this field you often come across students with questions that compel you to think what is education? Recently, as I walked into one of the Math classes in my school, I noticed a student looking unconvinced about what was being taught. As I approached him, I could sense that he is pretending to hear and understand what the teacher was saying. I asked him to come out and meet me and as I started my discussion with him, I could sense that the teacher had clearly not connected the topic well for children to understand its relevance.

Education being a seamless exchange of interchanging knowledge and character is not limited to only homework and classroom. It assembles one's identity and holds power to transform capabilities into abilities for students. Co-curricular activities are activities that go hand-in-hand with the classroom curriculum thereby augmenting the overall development of the child.

To succeed in today’s business landscape quality education is a must. It is equivalent to graduating from top institutions. For students who want to pursue higher education like an MBA, the first step is to crack one of the many MBA entrance exams conducted in India. However, there is more to higher education than preparing for entrance exams. In fact, we can go so far as to say that clearing an entrance exam is only the first step towards enrolling in your dream university. Perhaps the most important aspect and oftentimes obstacle to pursuing quality higher education is the ability to pay the exuberant fees. That is when education loans come in.

Every sector in India Inc is going through a phase of rapid change in the way it operates today. The industry is looking at hiring candidates who are not just well qualified but also highly skilled. The qualifications and skill requirements of young graduates is seeing a change too; students today are apprehensive about opting for an engineering or medical course as a first choice in higher education. The millenials are aware of the importance of skill development above and beyond an academic degree. However, liberalisation of the education sector, which is the need of the hour, is curbed by the highly short-sighted and inflexible rules and regulations adopted by the government. Education institutions should be given a free hand in the pattern of assessing students; written examinations that test textbook knowledge are passe, today educators are looking to assess students with a more practical and research based approach. A technical course such as hotel management needs to focus on the latest developments in the industry today. The Food and Beverage industry is witnessing new trends today such as:

In order for children to become the leaders of tomorrow, it is highly essential for them to be proficient in these fields, besides possessing critical thinking abilities, knowledge of engineering design processes, a high creativity quotient, and problem solving skills. When taught to children early on in their lives, STEM can instil in them a healthy interest in not just gathering knowledge about predefined subjects, but even in exploring, questioning, and discovering everything they cannot understand.

With Artificial Intelligence (AI) making rapid inroads into the global education space, today’s youth are as much in awe of AI as they are keen on leveraging the technology to enhance their learning experience. Given that AI is based on a complex programme built to mimic the cognitive functions between two human brains, it comes handy around the problem solving premises of a learning structure. However, before we accept AI as an indispensable learning tool, we need to first understand the learning process and where and how AI could actually add value in this process.

Dr. Amrita Vohra, principal, Global Indian International School, Chinchwad.

In an exclusive interview with EducationWorld, Mr Ian Davies, Head of Garodia International Centre for Learning Mumbai (GICLM) - which has recently launched the International Primary Curriculum (IPC) - talks about the way forward for international schools in India.

The battle between digital and print media is long over but publishers across the world keep harkening back to the time when physical books were the only way to discover and ingest new information. When figures released earlier this year by the Publishing Association showed that eBook sales had fallen by about 17 percent in the UK alone, it led to a lot of media frenzy. But a deeper analysis showed that the reason behind this decline is probably higher eBook pricing rather than a renewed demand for print books. Jonathan Stolper, president The NPD Group, also attested to this fact at the Digital Book World in January 2017.

- Sandeep Dutta, HOD, Business Studies, Tula's International School

Hysteria and confusion surrounding college admissions seems to have become the norm in India during the past decade.

Teacherpreneurship is a combination of teacher and entrepreneurship, wherein the focus is on the teachers, who are ready to take risks, in making profitable learning experience for their students. It describes their relentless effort for the betterment of the education system. Teacherpreneurship is the mindset of the teacher to create something unique and innovative, based on leadership, both for profitable or non-profitable reasons. The teachers of Entrepreneurship or Business impart lessons to the students on how to incubate an idea and how to implement it. Therefore, the teacher is the right person to introduce entrepreneurship skills in the classroom, as teacherpreneurship is an expanded form of entrepreneurship, which adds value to the context of education and leads to an innovative and pioneering education system.

Although most schools boast state-of-the-art facilities pertaining to technology, they must ensure their investments are optimally utilised and instrumental in effective learning outcomes.

The internet is a great resource for teachers, as teachers, you find lesson plans, academic materials, suggestions, support and lots of information that can aid and assist your teaching. Below are websites for teachers you can harness for better and improved teaching:

The idea of school and college education is changing in India. Gone are the dayswhen university education entailed sitting in classrooms for the major part of the day. Distance learning has heralded unprecedented changes in India's higher education landscape.Today, you have e-learning and personalised learning techniques as the newest flavour of the education industry.

Rising competition along with the aim to reach high, has prepared students to leave no stone unturned when it comes to getting into the best college. According to IOSR Journal of Research & Method in Education, the stakeholders in the education sector are not only required to nurture the students academically, but also nurture them holistically, in order to ensure that the students reach their goal. Students need to have a thorough understanding of the concepts and a formulated strategy, which is required to achieve high marks in competitive examinations. This is where coaching institutes play a vital role in a student's life. Many students enroll in a coaching institute at a very early age in order to expand the boundaries of their learning and prepare a strong foundation for their future. The responsibility of coaching institutes thus increases as they are required to ensure all-round development of the students.

A classroom is a microcosm of the universe, and a classroom is an excellent space to inculcate practices that can help students throughout their adult lives. As correctly pointed out by Henry Ford, Coming together is the beginning, keeping together is progress. Working together is success Students need to be made comfortable working in groups.

- Aakash Chaudhry, director, Aakash Educational Services Pvt. Ltd

Deepika Sharma

 

Deepika Sharma, Principal SRS International School

A robust education system reflects any country's growth and prosperity. Education acts as the foundation for a brighter future of an individual. Over the last few decades, great strides in India's education system were made though the focus on developing the right set of skills and providing training to create global citizens is still missing. There is a dire need to empower individuals who have the power to make a difference in the world by eradicating the most of the complex issues.

-Parmeet Shah, Founder, upcoming IB School in Mulund.

As you enter the school on your first day as a new teacher, a million thoughts must be racing through your mind. On one hand you are excited about your new job and on the other hand you are terrified as to if you made the right choice in taking up this profession. Either ways as butterflies flutter in your stomach now it is show time.