“Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo
It is universally accepted that the teachers are the pivot of the educational system, our system needs to provide adequate opportunities for their professional development. It is, therefore, necessary to develop in-built mechanisms to provide opportunities for teachers within the framework of knowledge society. It is also accepted that teachers must not be confined only to transmitting information, they must also orient students to meet the challenges of life, to not merely become trained professionals, but also better citizens. The people become human resource only when they are competent to perform organizational activities.
Therefore, LPU-HRDC ensures that the organization has such competent human resource to achieve its desired goals and objectives. LPU-HRDC imparts the required knowledge and skill by organizing Professional Development Programs like Orientation courses, Refresher courses, Short Term Courses and Workshops. The GURU-DAKSHTA: Faculty Induction Program has been organized w.e.f. May 03, 2021 to June 07, 2021 for 53 participants from 16 Higher Educational Institutions across India.
Week 1 of Guru-Dakshta: Faculty Induction Program (FIP) was designed as per Module I and II prescribed as per UGC Guidelines, 2019 in Guru-Dakshta manual. Hence week 1 targeted: M1: Higher Education and its Ecosystem and M2: Curriculum Designing, Outcome Based Learning and Choice based Credit System.
The first module titled “Higher Education and its Ecosystem” provided a comprehensive overview of Indian Higher Education System in which Prof. (Dr.) D. Buddhi, Executive Dean, Division of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Lovely Professional University deliberated on Role of a Teacher: A Pillar of Nation Building and Educational Policies.
Dr. Lovi Raj Gupta, Professor and Executive Dean, Faculty of Technology and Sciences, Lovely Professional University focussed on Engaging the Millennial Learners. Dr. Gupta deliberated on the learning styles and preferences of Millennial Learners and urged the teacher to be Guide By The Side Rather Than Sage On The Stage.
Dr. Ramandeep Singh, Associate Professor and Asst. Dean, Division of Research and Development, Lovely Professional University explained on Funding Schemes for Research and Development. He elaborated on the protocols of preparing research project proposal and highlighted the points of caution for successful research grants.
Dr. Sanjay Modi, Professor and Executive Dean, Faculty of Business and Arts, Lovely Professional University deliberated upon the Academic Roles & Responsibilities of a Teacher contributing to removal of deficiencies in the current teaching- learning environment and to improve the management of academic process at individual level.
Dr. Sunaina Ahuja, Professor and Associate Dean, Head-HRDC, Lovely Professional University and Dr. Harminder Singh, Professor & Assistant Dean, Department of Accreditation and Rankings, Lovely Professional University focused on Measuring Teacher Performance as per NAAC Criteria. The experts elaborated on Vision, Mission and Core Values of NAAC, Accreditation Process and Methodologies. SMEs apprise the participants on Quality Indicator Framework (QIF) and Benefits of NAAC Accreditation.
The second module titled “Curriculum Designing, Outcome Based Learning and Choice based Credit System” provided essential knowledge and skills to be an active contributor in curriculum designing, outcome based learning techniques and choice-based credit systems. Dr. Deepa Sikand Kauts, Associate Professor, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar focused on:
- Best Practices on Curriculum Design
- Principles of Curriculum design
- Outcome Oriented Curriculum.
Dr. Gurpreet Singh Phull, Professor & Associate Dean, Division of Academic Affairs, Lovely Professional University deliberated on:
- Revision in Curriculum: Action on Feedback from Stakeholders. Methods of soliciting feedback from Industry, Academic Fraternity, Students and their parents and NGOs were discussed. Feedback Analysis and Action Taken Reports were demonstrated.
- Organization of the Content: Guiding principles in the selection and organization of the content; Structure of subject matter content and Learning Outcomes for the cognitive-affective and psychomotor domains.
Prof. P. K. Sahoo Former VC and Dean, Faculty of Arts, Department of Education, University of Allahabad oriented the participants onDesign of Program Educational Objectives and Program Outcomes.
Dr. Renu Bhardwaj, Professor, Department of Botanical and Environmental Sciences and Controller of Examination, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar oriented the participants on Choice Based Credit System (CBCS).Theparticipantsobserved that CBCS was the need of the hour for matching Indian Higher Education with Global standards.
Dr. Sanjay Modi, Professor and Executive Dean, Faculty of Business and Arts, Lovely Professional University, deliberated onthe Blooms Taxonomy and explained with examples as to how teachers can take the learners across the levels of Blooms Taxonomy i.e. Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating and Creating.
Dr. S.K. Chadha, Professor, University Business School, Panjab University, Chandigarh exchanged his views and experiences onDesign of Course Learning Outcomes.He narratedcases of course outcome design with specific reference to social sciences. He inspired the participants to be lifelong learners and established rapport with the students by adopting story telling approach by teaching complex concepts and illustrated the usage of humour in teaching.
Prof. Bhupinder Verma, Dean, School of Electronics and Electrical Engineering, Lovely Professional University disseminated vital informationon Mapping of Program Objectives with Course Learning Outcomes. He elaborated on the structuring the curriculaas per program educational objectives derived from University Vision and Mission.
Dr. Amit Kauts, Professor, Head and Dean Faculty of Education, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar oriented the participants on Student Evaluation Using Outcome Based Learning. Hediscussed the Steps in Assessment and the complete process of implementation of Outcome Based Learning by sharing case studies from his vast experience from teaching and research.
Reading material relevant to assessment and evaluation was shared in advance as part of the self-learning process. SMEs used Collaborative learning methods like discussion, quiz, demonstration and story-telling. Week 1 culminated with a quiz based on Module I & II which gave the organizers an opportunity to assess the learning outcome attainment so far. Feedback was solicited from the participants in response to which they appreciated the gesture shown by the Lovely Professional University in terms of choice of Subject Matter Experts, LPU MyClass Platform giving an interactive learning environment, study material and content delivery.
