HAPPENINGS

05 Aug 2022|Gurgaon (Manesar)

Faculty Development Program on “Contemporary Teaching Methods in Higher Education”

Hon’ble Vice Chancellor Prof PB Sharma during Facilitating Dr. Arvind Singhal

Amity Academic Staff College, Amity University Gurugram, in collaboration with Amity School of Communication, hosted a faculty development programme on innovative teaching practices in higher education in the digital era on August 5, 2022, led by Prof. Arvind Singhal, Professor, University of Texas, USA.

To promote excellence and best practices as we transition from an individualistic information acquisition culture to a collaborative knowledge creation culture, this workshop's goal was to use creative teaching pedagogy. Dr. Sanjna Vij: "Improving academic achievements, addressing real problems, and promoting balanced learning are the purposes of learning and applying new innovative teaching approaches and methods." Pro Vice Chancellor Prof. Vikas Madhukar, Distinguished Guest Prof. (Dr.) Arvind Singhal, Professor of Communication, University of Texas, USA, and Honorary Vice Chancellor Prof. P.B. Sharma were present.

To move the celebration along, the Honorable Vice Chancellor gave a sapling and a souvenir to the guest- Ms. Shashi Singhal. Dr. Vikas Madhukar, the pro vice chancellor, gave the welcome speech. In his speech, he focused on five crucial elements: curriculum, learning outcomes, teaching pedagogy, learning environment, feedback, and evaluation.

Prof. Dr. PB Sharma, the honourable vice chancellor, was requested to deliver the opening remarks. Dr. Arvind Singhal's work on "diffusion of invention" was complimented by Prof. Sharma. Prof. Sharma concentrated on the necessity of bringing about community unity, social transformation, and organisational reform simultaneously. Additionally, he discussed the idea of unity in variety as well as cutting-edge methods for teaching and learning. Using visuals to idealise Lord Ganesha and Goddess Saraswati, Prof. Sharma shed light on the symbolic portrayal of their various virtues that academicians might imbibe. He added that one should continually reflect on the Adhyan, Manan, and Chintan schools of old Indian philosophy.

After that, Prof. Arvind Singhal led a workshop in which he quoted Nelson Mandela: "We owe it to our ancestors who brought us here, we owe it to our children who will take us there, and we owe it to ourselves because we connect the two." Prof. Arvind Singhal broke with convention by starting the workshop with an interactive activity instead of the usual workshop format. He focused on using the space in the classroom for students to overcome hesitation, collective ownership of learning,

Dr. Esha Jainiti offered the vote of thanks, noting that among other things, the necessity of comprehensive storytelling, learning to learn, and cumulative learning were some of the session's key lessons. The cherry on top was the Honourable Vice Chancellor's book, "Thought Leadership," which he discussed and presented to the guest.