Teacher training vital importance in today’s higher education system
Usually,
we associate teacher training with hundreds of thousands of school
teachers supporting millions of students. We often forget universities
and higher education institutions, where we have a large teaching
workforce getting students through their final education milestone. They
too need training and development to keep up with a rapidly changing
student composition and evolving classroom environment.Internationally recognised teacher training programmes
University classrooms no longer don the faces of your usual
18-year-olds. We are seeing a number of new profiles emerge with
specific needs and ambitions.
The phenomenon was pioneered by ISB
nearly 20 years ago but has caught the eye of everyone from the deeply
traditional IIMs to the more mass-market private universities.
These
students are mature, driven and require practical, dialogue-based
learning which is significantly different from the traditional
'lecturer' role.
2. International students
In 2018, the
government announced the Study in India programme, to spend over $21
million to increase India’s international student population from 47,500
to 200,000.
International students need more pastoral care and
academic support in the classroom considering the change in their
personal and learning environment.
But these students will come with
a distinct set of challenges based on their numeracy, literacy or
English language skills, which will all test the capabilities of the
lecturer.
Online learning: Globally, online enrolments are growing
4-5 times faster than on-campus. In India, the UGC has invited
applications from all eligible Higher Education Institutes to deliver
online courses from 2019-20. But how many of our educators are ready to
teach online?
Digital resources: Today, even a student sitting in a
physical classroom has access to vast pools of online information which
if unchecked can lead to plagiarism and misdirected learning. Without
building awareness and equipping educators with the right tools, it will
be tough to channel students in the right direction.
There are many
education degrees for teachers offered by some of the best universities
around the world (Harvard, Stanford, John Hopkins) and in India (Lady
Sri Ram College, St. Xavier’s College).
So what should
freshly-minted PhDs do when they enter today’s lecture halls that have
different dynamics to what they studied in? That remains a largely
experience-gained prerogative.
