These are notes prepared during the VI
International & 42nd Annual ELT@I Conference on Teacher Development
held at
VIT University, Vellore, South India -16th to 18th
June 2011
On Teachers
*In sixth Century India, teachers were
accepted in society. They were respected for their knowledge and voluntary
poverty. In the Gurukula, they took care of the children like their own family
members. An acharya was one who reads, who learns and teaches what one has
learned. His job was 24X7
*Today’s
teacher teaches a set of students for one hour a day, and serves as a kind of
knowledge manager.
On Teacher Development
*Teacher
development is not related just to individuals or institutions, but
civilization. There are several ways of developing professionally: Learning
from workshops and experts, reading journals, reflecting on own teaching, peer
mentoring and constructive feedback after class observation, constantly
relearning and even re-inventing how to learn.
ELT in India
*The
problems ELT is facing in India today include among others : Huge numbers; Limited resources; Not enough
trained teachers; Unmotivated/un-motivating teachers; Boring books; Little
exposure to standard varieties.
*Three
reasons which paves the way for the
deterioration of standards of English are 1. A move towards focus on
introducing curriculum in the mother tongue 2. The entry of Hindi 3.
Reservation of jobs for those who learn in the regional language.
On becoming a
professional
*Some
ways of becoming a professional include the following : Enjoying what one does;
Keeping open to opportunities outside; Networking with others; Evolving own
methods; Acknowledging own ignorance; Reading more; Efforts put for personal
growth; Concern for the community; Care for the spark in the eyes of the
student; Commitment to the profession; Engaging in research.
*The
defining character of effective teachers would include: A passion for teaching,
a concern for the learner, an urge to enhance own pedagogic competence, one who
triggers thinking in learners, is eminently adaptable, empathetic and teaches for life and beyond.
*Training
in technology can go a long way in becoming a professional. The expected model
of training in technology for most teachers
can have three phases:
1.Hands-on-training in face-to-face mode 2.
Follow-up online training 3. e-mentoring and online support .
Questions for teachers of English
*Teachers
of English need to ponder on the following questions : Is ELT a profession?;
Does belonging to one makes one a professional?; Can one ever say one has
become a professional and can stay so?
On creativity
*To
Einstein the mysterious was the source of creativity. In the Upanishads it is stated that where there is creativity,
there is progress. But the tragedy of India is that a major portion of the curriculum (aping the west) does not
help in nurturing creativity possible through nurturing the left and right
sides of the brain.
*To
instil creativity in learners, teachers ought to understand what creativity is.
Creativity doesn’t begin with the mind but with the heart. To nurture
creativity in children enable them to develop the ability to see common
everyday things in a fresh light.
The hallmark of good writing
*Communicates,
uses only essential words, and the writer has the passions which comes out in
the writing, follows logically from sentence to sentence and from paragraph to
paragraph.
The future of learning
The
future of learning is likely to result
in the
following
ten Paradigm Shift :
1.Pedagogy
: Didactic models to constructivist
2.Networking
: Connectivism
3.Literacy
: From Print to working in
mutiliteracies
4.Heuristics
: From client server to Peer to Peer
5.Formality:
From hierarchical power centricity to informal learning
6.Transfer:
Applying social networking skills and concepts from personal life to professional.
7.Directionality:
From push to pull in dissemination of knowledge (Eg. RSS feed)
8.Ownership
: Proprietary vs Open Sources
9.Sharing:
From guarded copyright to Creative Commons and fair use
10.Classification:
Taxonomic to folksonomic