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Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Apr 06, 2003 Group PublicationsBusiness LineThe SportstarFrontlineThe Hindu
Source:
The Hindu http://www.hinduonnet.com/lf/2003/04/06/stories/2003040600410200.htm |
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Dr. Vasanthi Vasudev, educationist, speaks to D. Radhakrishnan while on a visit to Lovedale in the Nilgiris.
DIVIDE THE art of teaching in India into "yesterday, today and tomorrow" and one can see where we stand vis--vis the advanced nations in this field, she observes and laments "basically I feel that in our country teachers education is very much neglected". So how behind are we? Around 15 to 20 years, with a mindset change, the gap could be bridged through a concerted effort by all concerned. Though teachers in government schools get to undergo some sort of training periodically, in-service training for teachers in private schools is yet to catch on, she feels.
Her view is that if the classroom has to become vibrant and sensitive to individual differences, the teacher has to be on the fast lane. Instead of continuing as the conventional sedate "providers of knowledge" they should become go-getters and in the process if they are considered for a nomenclature change from teacher to classroom manager, so be it. "I will not label any child as a dud", she emphatically says and explains that it is up to the teacher to unearth the "special talent, which lies hidden within each child".
A path breaking tech-enabled system that provides the following
While an unbiased evaluation of where we stand in respect of teaching and how far it is serving its purpose, particularly at the school level, will help throw a great deal of light on the current state of affairs, the implementation of well thought out tailor-made programmes will definitely take the art of teaching to greater heights. . Whereas the Faculty Development Programmes such as the ones being implemented by the All India Council for Technical Education for the teachers involved in higher education have been in vogue for sometime now, similar programmes for teachers in private schools are as of now akin to "virgin soil".
So how does she propose to make teaching more interesting for the facilitator and the beneficiary? Through the implementation in a phased manner of teacher resource development programme called, "Differentiated Teaching".
On the need for a paradigm shift, she contends that educational psychology and research reveal that the performance of the students is dependent not on teaching styles but on learner preference and learning styles. The student body is not homogenous in potential, interests or aspirations and classrooms are becoming increasingly sensitive to individual differences.
The shift could be made by identifying the individual students in brain dominance, thinking style, personality profile, multiple intelligence profile and learning style. On the rationale behind the proposed change, she points out that globalisation and IT are ushering schools into an era of individualised instruction and mass customisation of the curriculum.
While teacher training to date focuses on teaching styles and instructional designs that are teacher led, research has shown that tailoring lessons to suit the "average child" has not facilitated student learning. "The average child just does not exist in the class", she regrets and elaborates, "we all know that students as individuals differ in temperament, intelligence, attitudes and abilities as a consequence of which, they differ in the way they approach learning and performance. But yet we tend to treat students as an aggregated mass without adequately distinguishing primary sources of differences in learning".
So what needs to be done? Schools have to shift focus from improving teaching to facilitating learning. Stating that teacher preference and skills do not really matter, she says that grappling with pedagogically sound teaching methodologies will not work magic. And the trick is in making the lesson student-friendly. Asked why the students learn differently, she says it is imperative to understand individual differences like how do we as humans differ and how do these differences impact our learning?
On the objectives of the programme, she says they are inter alia orienting the teachers to creating and delivering and into experiential learning techniques. The contents include teacher profiling, student-centric teaching, lesson planning, assessment and career guidance.
Categorically saying that the programme is not just for public schools, she says that it has been designed to benefit all, "forward looking schools".
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'Building Mental Muscle' with Dr.Vasanthi Vasudev
(http://www.iisjaipur.org/IIIMcurrent/IIIM-BuildingMental/IIIMBuilding%20Mental.html)
“If we think about some of the people we would consider to be historical geniuses such as Leonard da Vinci or Einstein, it becomes obvious that they displayed both ‘left brain logical’ and ‘right brain creative’ talents simultaneously. Research has shown that whole brain thinking is more effective than accessing either of the two brain hemispheres independently. If our species was meant to do manual tasks with one finger, we would NOT have been born with ten fingers. In fact, man (Homo Sapiens) is the only creature on earth that does NOT use its 100% brain capacity."said Dr. Vasanthi Vasudev from I.E.T.S., Chennai who was the main speaker at the National Workshop on ‘Building Mental Muscles’ organized today at India International Institute of Management, Jaipur.
Addressing the budding managers of the institute, Dr. Vasanthi said that when we don’t use a brain muscle, we lose it and we get stressed because we tire a few specific brain muscles by over-using them. She asked us to explore various ways to use our brain muscles to all its capacity through doing mental exercises. She also did many excercises with the participants and helped them discover how they can involve the 100% of brain at various levels.
Answering questions of the students, she also discussed Mediation, Multi-tasking & various Brain-warming exercises which made the workshop not just extremely interesting but also a sure hit.
Dr. Vasanti also shared her valuable time and talents with the staff and students of India International School on the 16th & 17th of Dec.2003.
One and all were benefited by the workshop. On behalf of the staff and students of IIIM, Director Dr. Ashok Gupta appreciated the kind presence of Dr. Vasanthi Vasudev and said that the institute would love to have her here-again & again !
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TIMELY INITIATIVE
Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai) Education World Septemper 2004
www.Educationworldonline.net
WITH MOUNTING CUSTOMER DISSATISFACTION over the quality of School education, student evaluation systems and teaching / learning methodologies, the need for expert intervention to facilitate improvements is increasing steadily, especially within quality conscious school managements. It was to fulfill this need that learning specialist Dr.Vasanthi Vasudev launched Osmosys, an education consultancy firm in Chennai recently. She is assisted by a team of professionals with rich teaching experience, who serve as franchisees of the firm’s products and services. Osmosys is committed to developing learning products and delivering an entire range of services in education: differentiated teaching programmes for teachers: curriculum planning and evaluation for school managements: education consultancy and career counseling for students, and technology and quality consultancy services to education institutions.
“Our objective is to popularize psycho-pedagogy among teachers, students and parents and develop quality consciousness and technology based systems in educational institutions. We want to improve individuals with knowledge and skills that they can share and transfer to others. We plan to develop entrepreneurial skills in teachers and build a learning products distribution system,” says Vasudev, an alumna of Delhi, Nagpur and Madras universities who has a doctorate in international relations from Delhi University. In a career spanning several decades she has taught in India and abroad, worked actively with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) in curriculum innovation and after a brief stint as college lecturer, joined the Sir Siva Swami Kalalaya Senior Secondary School, Chennai where she rose to become principal.
VASUDEV progressed to education consultancy after working with SchooNet India as senior educational resource person and continues to work with its successor organization IL & FS Education Technology Services as an independent consultant. She is also a registered QMS (quality management systems) auditor.
VASUDEV’S NEW VENTURE HAS already got off to a good start and she has conducted learning programmes in 17 institutions around the country, including Lawrence, Lovedale and other schools in the Nilgiris, DAV Public School and Vidya Mandir Senior Secondary School in Chennai, and the India International School and NIFT in Bangalore. Her future plans are to expand her services network to every part of the country, including remote villages. “I want to make a difference to educational institutions by empowering teachers and transforming them into entrepreneurs, so that they can work independently and develop the concept.” Says Vasudev.
With quality having become the new buzzword in Indian education, Vasudev’s entrepreneurial venture is the appropriate response at an apposite time and bodes well for the future.
Hemalatha Raghupathi (Chennai) Education World Septemper 2004
www.Educationworldonline.net
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