One of the finest serendipitous moments in my career came in late nineties when I opted for a job that motivated me to educate and help students to achieve what motivates them. I realized that personality traits fit more into educating students than to work as Company Commander (Deputy Superintendent of Police) in the Border Security Force or as Central Intelligence officer in Government of India (the two very elite jobs for which I got selected then).
My journey as a teacher / mentor started in the year 1997 at B. V. Raju Institute of Technology, Narsapur which was established in the same year. In the initial years, I used to teach only Physics for first year students but later on, I started enhancing Employ-ability skills for 2nd, 3rd and final year students. My extra-curricular skill set gave me an opportunity to become the Faculty Lead for Sports and Branding, and Chief Editor for our Society magazine.
For me, teaching is a wonderful conduit of sharing relevant knowledge to improve the quality of life of people. Teaching before GOOGLE is completely different to how I do it now. Students used to heavily depend on us for learning and resources. I used to put extra effort and time to reach out all the students for personalized teaching.
My precious library hours gained me both what to teach and how to deliver. I always made sure that my lectures answer three questions viz. why, what and where (why (purpose) the reason to pursue that course, what to learn and where to apply the concepts/principles learnt). I made it a point that my sessions should be interesting, inspirational and with a lot of real life connections.
The advent of GOOGLE era changed the paradigm of teaching to me. The ICT tools provided the conceptual learning and practical exposure of the topics covered in my course. Of late I also use blended learning that combines both traditional classroom teaching and online learning that improves teaching, content retention, student engagement and enjoyment.
2. What is your opinion of the Indian education system and how would you like to change that?
I like the Indian Gururkul system that bonds the student and the teacher which is something unique and special. The bright side of Indian Education system is that getting educated here is less expensive. Unlike other developed countries in the world, where knowledge is attached with economy, in India any student can pursue basic or higher education without spending exorbitantly.
2. What is your opinion of the Indian education system and how would you like to change that?
I like the Indian Gururkul system that bonds the student and the teacher which is something unique and special. The bright side of Indian Education system is that getting educated here is less expensive. Unlike other developed countries in the world, where knowledge is attached with economy, in India any student can pursue basic or higher education without spending exorbitantly.
It’s great that in India ‘Right to education’ is a fundamental right. The dark side of Indian Education system is that it still promotes rote learning; gives high emphasis on scores / grades; it lacks of passionate and committed faculty; many managements consider education as a business, et al.
I would like to see a system where the paradigm shifts from rote learning to conceptual learning that helps students understand better and apply the concepts and knowledge to solve some real world problems. The evaluation should be based on what they understood, not what they remembered.
I would like to see a system where the paradigm shifts from rote learning to conceptual learning that helps students understand better and apply the concepts and knowledge to solve some real world problems. The evaluation should be based on what they understood, not what they remembered.
Also we should change the selection and performance criteria of teachers / faculty (definitely not based only on their educational qualifications). I can guarantee that those teachers with high intrinsic motivation, passionate and good communication & behavioral skills would certainly bring a sea change in improving the teaching learning processes.
And last, but not the least, bringing technology to the classroom makes whole learning experience more effective. With measures like these we can transform the Indian education system that would not only help students get a job but also build an excellent career or profession of their choice.
3. What changes in the teaching methodologies have you seen in the recent times?
The most important change that I have witnessed is the transformation of learning from Teacher-centric (which I believe is more passive) to more effective Student-centric. In recent times, I observed Blended Learning, Flipped classroom, Project-based learning, gamification, design thinking, competency based learning, etc brought in some very innovative and effective ways to make students learn better. The incredible progress in the technology is helping to implement these approaches for a better learning experience.
4. How does education help one do well in their career?
I believe that the purpose of education is to not only learn but also to think, to think creatively, objectively and holistically. Education opens up the mind and allows students to improve their life in many ways. Education, whether formal or informal, helps to gain knowledge and practical skills that are imperative both in career and in life.
3. What changes in the teaching methodologies have you seen in the recent times?
The most important change that I have witnessed is the transformation of learning from Teacher-centric (which I believe is more passive) to more effective Student-centric. In recent times, I observed Blended Learning, Flipped classroom, Project-based learning, gamification, design thinking, competency based learning, etc brought in some very innovative and effective ways to make students learn better. The incredible progress in the technology is helping to implement these approaches for a better learning experience.
4. How does education help one do well in their career?
I believe that the purpose of education is to not only learn but also to think, to think creatively, objectively and holistically. Education opens up the mind and allows students to improve their life in many ways. Education, whether formal or informal, helps to gain knowledge and practical skills that are imperative both in career and in life.
Acquiring additional skills like communication, problem solving, critical thinking, creativity and collaborative skills keeps anyone highly confident and ahead of their peers. Quality education helps students stay competitive & relevant at any point in their careers. I love this quote from Malcolm X - "Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today."
5. Do you think teaching as a profession is viewed at par with corporate jobs?
It all depends on how the word profession is defined, either as a service or as an instrument of personal and professional excellence. If someone is looking for professional excellence and expecting to become a hot shot in corporate world, then taking up a job in a multinational company would be a good idea.
5. Do you think teaching as a profession is viewed at par with corporate jobs?
It all depends on how the word profession is defined, either as a service or as an instrument of personal and professional excellence. If someone is looking for professional excellence and expecting to become a hot shot in corporate world, then taking up a job in a multinational company would be a good idea.
But if someone is passionate and consider teaching as a service, then they should go and spread the vast knowledge they gained. One difference we look at in a corporate job and teaching is their salary. The common belief is that the corporate salaries are higher. But recent trends show that there is significant rise in the salaries of teachers as well across the world.
6. How can we adopt technology to make teaching more effective?
The technology driven education would definitely nurture, encourage and support student centered learning process. Good teaching methods have successfully integrated technology into them to bring in both efficiency and effectiveness of learning experience.
6. How can we adopt technology to make teaching more effective?
The technology driven education would definitely nurture, encourage and support student centered learning process. Good teaching methods have successfully integrated technology into them to bring in both efficiency and effectiveness of learning experience.
The adoption and application of tech-driven methodologies progresses through multiple stages like setting goals, planning, communication and collaboration with all the stakeholders. Evaluating technology adoption and practice in classroom should contain assessments of educators and learners.
It’s great to see that many educators are partnering with inventive technology providers (like SimpliLearn, NIIT, Upgrad, Meritnation, etc) to improve education standards and create accessible, intuitive and powerful tools that allow teachers to accept and evolve for adaptation of Tech- driven education system.
7. Why does India need more educators like you?
Our country surely requires teachers who play an indomitable role in creating responsible leaders of tomorrow. We need teachers who are empathetic, inclusive and envisage equitable futures for all. India is replete with teachers with quantity (high educational degrees) but have a scarcity of quality teachers (passionate, creative, tech-savvy and enthusiastic).
7. Why does India need more educators like you?
Our country surely requires teachers who play an indomitable role in creating responsible leaders of tomorrow. We need teachers who are empathetic, inclusive and envisage equitable futures for all. India is replete with teachers with quantity (high educational degrees) but have a scarcity of quality teachers (passionate, creative, tech-savvy and enthusiastic).
It’s these quality educators who create and nurture competent engineers and managers who would make India a self-reliant, knowledge economy that would become an indomitable force in the fast changing world. I hope and wish that I would leave no stone un-turned to transform my students’ aspirations into achievements.
- Mr. A. L. Kishore
Faculty Inspired, B V Raju Institute of Technology, Narsapur Medak
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lakshmi-kishore-adapala-33638326
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lakshmi-kishore-adapala-33638326
- Interview by - Sanjana Jain
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