Chalking out a study plan

Representation pic

Being heard and seen is an important part of teaching for both teachers and students, otherwise the exercise is futile," says Hadley Quadros, faculty member at St Andrew's College, Bandra, and an organiser of the webinar The Paradoxical Lens: Education during the Pandemic. Quadros states that the classroom is the best place to get equipped with tools to navigate life as critical, thinking individuals, but that isn't always the case, especially since the transition to online learning where digital inaccessibility has hindered many.

"Everyone has become accustomed to statements about digital education, blended and hybrid models of learning, app-based initiatives, and so on. This, despite the fact that a large number of children across India have not stepped into classrooms for a couple of years," says Dr Swati Moitra, professor, Gurudas College, Kolkata, who is a speaker at the event. Quadros elaborates that teachers have refined their offline teaching methods over years, and to quickly adapt to a digital format has been difficult. He feels that irrespective of the challenges, teachers and parents have shown up to support students.

Dr Swati Moitra, Hadley Quadros and Ashmi Sheth

The webinar, helmed by the college's Sociology department, will look at such issues to help strategise conducive teaching-learning environments. The themes of accessibility, inclusiveness, communication barriers, emotional and mental fatigue, and the uncertainty of the future will be tackled by a panel of five speakers comprising academicians, an activist, a psychologist as well as a student.

On the panel is Ashmi Sheth, an artist, author and art therapy student. The 25-year-old will share the potential of art therapy as a coping tool to aid students grappling with multiple psychological and cognitive difficulties as they deal with an isolated learning environment without the immediate support of peers and resources. A student herself, she narrates how 15 minutes of drawing a day helped organise, understand and track thoughts that were hard to verbally express.

"This discussion session will offer insights from the trenches, courtesy practitioners who have first-hand experience of implementing pandemic-era learning methods. Anyone who is interested in education will find the session worth their time," concludes Dr Moitra.

On: February 5, 8.30 am
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