This 5-days online course on ‘Effective Teaching Training’ was designed meticulously to produce professional educators who will be able to teach and create a congenial environment for the next generation learners facilitating the learning and development of children.
The course was facilitated by Mr. Parshuram Sharma Niraula, Director/Educator, Smart Minds; and Ms. Kamala Shrestha, Teacher’s Trainer from Smart Minds where they introduced the general concept of teaching. They discussed the origin of education & also about the changing values of education. He also introduced the concept of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) and the methods of integrating the elements of ESD into different subject areas.
The session delivered following learnings;
Origin of Education
When human beings started living in small communities, it became necessary for them to develop and spread among themselves certain values, skills, knowledge and information that were essential for ensuring harmonious and conflict-free conditions in society. Each human being had the capacity to inflict harm and even death on the other, and if they exercised this power, then no human society would have ever come into existence. At the same time, if humans cooperated with each other and combined their strength, they could achieve things that would not have been possible individually. Working together requires the imbibing of certain values such as non-violence, integrity, diligence, resourcefulness, and caring attitudes towards other members of the clan. It was only the education, in its broadest sense that instilled these values in the members of different societies.
Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
Education for Sustainable Development is setting a new direction for education and learning for all. It promotes quality education, and is inclusive of all people. It is based on values, principles and practices necessary to respond effectively to current and future challenges. It is critical for the development of new economic thinking. ESD contributes to creating resilient, healthy and sustainable societies through a systemic and integrated approach. It brings new relevance, quality, meaning and purpose to education and training systems. It involves formal, non-formal and informal education contexts, and all sectors of society in a lifelong learning process.
ESD emphasizes creative and critical approaches, long-term thinking, innovation and empowerment for dealing with uncertainty, and for solving complex problems. ESD highlights the interdependence of environment, economy, society, and cultural diversity from local to global levels, and takes account of past, present and future.
Education and Changing Values
As society developed and became complex there was an explosion of knowledge, and newer values became necessary. For example, looking back to the tribal phase of human history, initially there were many tribes and groups which fought with each other for control of resources. Many thinkers like Lord Buddha, Jesus Christ, Mahatma Gandhi and others put forward an alternative value system in which the entire humanity was considered as one single family, which means violence against any section of humanity was violence against one’s own self. Such all-encompassing values have become even more essential in the nuclear world where conflict can wipe out the entire humanity.
The need for a universal value system and a means of universalizing this value system among all humans also came from another source-the deepening environmental crisis. This was mainly due to the increase of the human population who demanded more than any other animals from nature. This has led to the deteriorating situation of nature and natural resources. Today, the humans have badly devastated nature and are desperately looking for solutions. This has compelled the educators around the world to look for a kind of education that can solve and lessen the problems that humanity faces today. The environmental crisis was felt in the 60s, and since then serious concern has been shown by all nations around the world to address the issues, which has given rise to the concept of Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), that needs to be integrated into various subject areas.
Some good points on classroom approaches
Similarly, Mr.Shrestha introduces the role of teachers, classroom management & different approaches that were used in the classroom. As a teacher, one must not lose temper or give too much love to the children. A teacher should be kind to the children and help them in times of need. Besides, if a teacher is not firm in his dealings and decisions, the children will start disobeying him and sometimes may create serious problems for the teacher. A teacher also has to be fair and should not discriminate against anyone on any grounds.
It is generally observed that a bright child in a class is awarded more praise and attention, responsibilities and opportunities by the teacher. This may create a negative feeling among others who are not able to fare so well. Therefore, a teacher has to be very careful in awarding anything. Others should be equally encouraged to come in line with the ‘bright’ one in the class. A teacher must understand his students and their social, economic, health and psychological backgrounds.
CAS (Continuous Assessment System)
Continuous Assessment System refers to a system of school based assessment that covers all aspects of a student’s development. It emphasizes two fold objectives.
- Continuity in evaluation and assessment of broad-based learning;
- Behavioural outcomes;
Correlation of Subjects
One of the essential points in framing curriculum is to see that the subjects for the study do not form absolutely water-tight compartments. It is very important to maintain an inter-relation between the different subjects so that the pupil gets an unified knowledge, instead of learning a few disjointed subjects. This aspect of seeking a relation between different subjects is called correlation of subjects. The number of subjects in the curriculum is very large. These do not ensure the fullest individual attention to each. It is easier and more practical to treat subjects in groups. So, the study of one subject would render material help in the study of the other. Again, the subjects are self-independent. Each is closely related to the other.
Correlation means linking together. That is to say that different things are linked together in one because of their commonness. The linking up of different subjects is called correlation of studies. There was a time when different branches of knowledge were taught in separate water-tight compartments, one subject having no relationship with the other. But the German Educationist, Herbert Spencer brought in the idea of correlation of studies in education. He showed that there is a common link among different subjects. Broadly speaking, no knowledge can be separated in water-tight compartments. There is a close unity among diversities. We only divide and classify our ideas, thoughts and deeds for our practical purposes. Human knowledge is a united whole. An experienced teacher can visualize links among different subjects.
In addition to this, different other ideas on communication, interaction and teaching skills were discussed which guided them to understand the main personal and professional qualities of a teacher and make them understand the growth and development of a child-how they grow and develop, the “needs and instincts” and role of adults. Participants got proper guidance from the trainer to overcome the challenges on the implementation of integration approach and enable them to learn about how integrated teaching should be evaluated.