Technological progress is witnessed in every walk of life and has been advancing over time. In many ways, it has come as a boon, and teachers and teaching processes are no exception. The very definition of teaching is being redefined in this technological age.
Education and the processes of teaching and learning have come a long way and today we have both, the traditional classroom teaching and online teaching also. The benefits that one can derive from online teaching are numerous. It offers flexibility of timings and ease of teaching from home. Virtual platforms also come with many benefits like adaptability, access to larger audience and also online resources and all this with the help of friendly technological devices.
Online teaching is thus empowering teachers in India and abroad. At the same time, it is important for teachers to understand the needs of the students in a virtual setting. The scenario is where students and the teacher are all together but are ‘actually’ not at least physically. So, it is all the more important to create a strong mental bond with the students. Only then the real crux of online teaching can be brought to the fore. With growing concerns about the dreaded virus and its variants, online teaching has come to stay for all its advantages. All said and done, teachers and students might miss the mingling and the physical proximity of teachers. To overcome these , the virtual teaching -learning methodology has to bring out the best by creating a better environment. The Hybrid mode of learning is gradually catching up and in this blended mode of learning, it is still possible for students to take physical classes and meet their friends and teachers. the hybrid model facilitates both; physical and online classes. how can the online sessions be made more effective?
Syllabus
The syllabus should be thus designed as to suit its new avatar. The syllabus must include activities, teaching aids, and likewise so that the efficacy can be increased. It should facilitate both in-class and online teaching. Framing syllabus involves strategic decision making. Syllabus framers must take into consideration, the suggestions given by educational researchers to distribute syllabus that caters to all the parameters like cognizance quotient, intellectual quotient and general comprehension levels of students.
Curriculum enriching experiences
Teachers should supplement the existing syllabus with activities and experiences that add on to the value of the curriculum. The teacher can choose from a number of resources for the activities that will kindle the curiosity of students.
Careful selection
A careful selection of topics is important that is following selecting topics from the syllabus and logically sequence them to get the desired levels of comprehension. Engagement, improvement, innovation and expression must be encompassed into the delivery of the topics. The topics should be instructed in such a way that they connect themselves naturally to the upcoming topics of the next class.
How does your teaching unfold?
Planning how you would deliver the topics plays a significant role. The topics spread over the syllabus can be associated with activities that engage students. Creating contexts helps to proceed fruitfully.
For subjects like Physics, many real time situations are given as examples. The students can be asked to come up with their projects, selecting real-time situations, where they could apply the laws of a particular topic they have learnt in Physics. When it come to Arts, that is subjects like English, the teacher can create many contexts, to applying what they have learnt and also broaden their imaginative capabilities. Thus, apart from subject-knowledge, there will be a focus on skill development and timely intervention of teachers to fill areas that are found lacking. All this is possible, by maintaining a positive atmosphere in the classroom. Children show progress at different levels, and this has to be kept in mind by the teacher to help cope with learner needs. Diagnostic assessments help in understanding the diversity of their needs. Remedial sessions and counseling helps to bridge the gaps.
Qualitative selection of activities and resources
Activities and resources must be properly selected so as to go hand in hand with the syllabus being covered. The teacher should see to it that the activities given should be different each time, that is with a well thought out plan of increasing complexity.
Readiness to adapt and change
Self-evaluation of the teacher also plays an important role. The evaluation about self is regarding delivery of the topics, methods of instruction, bridging gaps in learners’ needs, the empathy factor, staying abreast of the information regarding subjects and so on.
The discussion above includes the basics of teaching and with the progress of technology and its integration with traditional teaching it is much easier for teachers to conduct themselves in a more efficient way. After all, life is something that progresses and is made more meaningful through further learning. As constant seekers of knowledge and perfection, teachers can reap richer results by adopting innovative online teaching platforms.
We at Indgiants, believe in substantial and sustainable progress and our vision encompasses itself in the teaching- learning platforms we have created for schools and individual trainers, namely, Mindhosts for schools and Lecturersclub for individual trainers. Please do visit our site to know more.
