Teachers’ curricula changes to adapt to online learning

While teachers already working had to learn on the job, the next generation has a chance to skill themselves; (top) Learning from home involves many distractions — a challenge teachers must face every day. Representation pics

The new normal has brought a new era of teaching and teachers. Considering the changing times, colleges meant for teachers are tweaking the syllabus to include pandemic-induced online teaching. While training skills such as teaching through a camera, using smart devices, preparing audio-visual presentations and conducting effective assessments in the absence of traditional pen-paper practice are being included in the curriculum individually by colleges, all of them are pressing on the need of curricular changes.

"Considering the blended approach of teaching, skills expected from teachers, too, have changed. It is no longer just handling the class but doing it online, ensuring everybody's interest and discipline. Required changes are being made by individual education colleges. Lessons, field trips, science projects or even assessments - everything is online. It is important for new teachers to learn to make it interesting for students while they are connected from their homes," said Dr Arundhati Chavan, academic dean, Swayam Siddhi College of Education. Dr Chavan added, "It is important for teachers to learn to think out of the box. For example, using household items to keep students engaged or creating an intriguing audio-visual presentation of a place that could have been a field trip destination."

Associated schools, too, are allowing online internships, which is giving students a glimpse of what they are going to have to do on the job. But it is for the education colleges to ready students for the internships. Talking about new practices undertaken at the Kapila Khandwala College of Education, Principal Dr Jayashree Inbaraj, said, "We are training them to make videos of their lectures, prepare a lesson plan to be delivered in front of the camera, ensuring that it is interesting, how to use online tools, etc. The training also includes having a buddy teacher, considering the internet or connectivity issues - if one teacher faces internet issues, the class will not wait cluelessly. We have especially looked at embedding technology."

According to educationists, even as the new generation of teachers is tech-savvy, younger students are getting smarter with gizmos. As such the curriculum needs to be changed accordingly. Inbaraj added, "Now that students are at home, how to make a history lesson interesting? Teachers could ask them to connect with their grandparents to talk about certain historic milestones or use easily available videos or photos of historic monuments. When teaching is not face-to-face, interaction with students is bound to become a challenge. It is important to work hard to make it effective."

New teaching curricula

Dr Preeti Verma, former head of the Centre of Special Education at SNDT University, said, "With there being innumerable distractions, the onus is completely on teachers to make the content interesting. While those already working had to learn on the job, new teachers should learn this during their studies. The Information Communication Technology (ICT) may be just one paper in B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education) curriculum. But now it should become an embedded approach as everyone needs to ace in technology to kindle the curiosities of young minds. The use of multimedia has to become more effective as the blended mode of learning is here to stay. This calls for new curricula for education courses."