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Learning is a continuous process and the knowledge providers and the teachers need to enhance their teaching skills, develop new proficiencies, and master new knowledge which in turn will help improve students' learning and development.

We, at STTAR, recognize the growing need for teacher training in accordance with the changing needs of the society and future workforce. To be able to teach the students, we first need to train the teachers with effective skills.

STTAR Teacher training modules have been thoroughly researched and planned to bring about a gradual shift in the mindsets and competencies of teachers and to empower them in imparting quality education.

We’ll be discussing the various teacher training modules offered by STTAR in a 3 blog series. Here’s the first one talking about the first four modules. The duration of these teacher training modules is 4 hours for online training and 14 hours for offline training.

1. CONTENT DEVELOPMENT AND STRUCTURAL PLANNING

This teacher training module deals with the principles and helps create a framework for the teaching-learning process with the teacher and the taught at the heart of it all.  Reflection is an integral part of the whole process.

In addition to imparting essential competencies and skills for curriculum and content development, this training segment also emphasizes on 21st-century skills and lays stress on student’s cognitive and socio-emotional development.

Teachers undergoing this training program will acquire the requisite skills for imparting the program as mentioned above.

2. INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES

This teacher training modulefocusses on various innovative instructional strategies that will equip teachers with requisite knowledge and skills. The aim here is to ensure that teachers can establish suitable learning outcomes for students with varying abilities. Implementation of creative pedagogies will not only meet the individual student’s needs but also encourage them to take responsibility for their own learning.

Teachers undergoing this training program will be equipped with the latest pedagogical practices.

3. ASSESSMENT STRATEGIES

We provide well-constructed assessment strategies and tools to teachers so that they get authentic feedback for more effective instruction. It will help them to assess evidence of learning against clearly defined outcomes.These assessment strategies will help charter student progress and give a clear picture of students meeting educational goals and standards.

Participants attending this training program will be equipped with various assessment tools that provide productive learning opportunities and evoke exemplary pedagogies.

4. DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY

Students learn in diverse ways and have varying needs. Understanding the learner and using the research available on developmental psychology will help address the needs of the individual as well as the cohort of learners. This module is vital as it deepens the teacher’s own awareness of the teaching-learning process, learning goals, and milestones.

This course will fortify child psychology-centric pedagogy in classrooms that help teachers in mapping the social and emotional development of students which are fundamentally linked to academic progress.

The power of transforming lives lies in the hands of Teachers and therefore, it is crucial that teachers are not just told what to teach but how to teach. Before they enter the classroom, and throughout their time in the classroom, it is pertinent that we should focus on their learning and development as much as we focus on the learning and development of the pupils.

“The quality of education cannot exceed the quality of its teachers” – OECD Mc Kinsey report 2007

In this fast-changing world and especially with the outbreak of COVID-19, the education structure is changing rapidly and drastically. With this, the role of teachers is also undergoing massive shifts. With a massive revolution in knowledge and interactive technologies shaping the learning environment, teachers must learn to craft young minds with much care and ingenuity for their wholesome development. Keeping this in mind, Saamarthya Teachers Training Academy of Research (STTAR) has been set up to equip educators with effective strategies and skills to adapt to the frequent shifts in the education landscape.

Furthermore, competent and effective teachers are the cornerstones of an outstanding education system and online STTAR Teacher Training Programme aims to provide stimulating, nurturing, and learning environment where teachers can discover their passion and keep in step with the dynamic world of innovation in education. At the same time, we ensure that values and practices which have withstood the test of time are further strengthened and we hope to create an enduring legacy.

STTAR Teacher Training Programme is set to be a premier institute that will enable educators to meet the global requirements of the profession by developing competencies based on extensive research on all aspects of education.

We equip teachers and leaders of schools with the skills and proficiencies required to create meaningful student learning experiences by developing professional expertise founded on scholarly inquiry, design thinking, and research. It has set up top-performing educational institutions in all verticals from KG to PG. The core strength of schools and colleges lies in the quality of teachers who are constantly encouraged and groomed to perform to their highest potential.

The group has set up an independent Teaching and learning structure that regularly engages with teachers at all levels and guides them in the areas of curriculum progression & alignment, effective teaching strategies, structured digital lesson plans, classroom observation, and also identifies specific training needs of individual teachers.

Based upon long years of experience, we have identified some core areas that are in line with the global trends, thus equipping teachers with requisite skills and resourcefulness to faces challenges of the fast-paced education world.

Some of the salient features of STTAR that set us apart from other teacher training academies in the market are:-

1. Project-based learning - Educators are introduced to the pedagogical aspects of Project-based learning and their applications in the classroom. They are provided with tools that will facilitate creative lesson planning leading to student-driven activities that establish effective collaboration among students. They will be equipped to deliver experiential and stimulation activities to foster an entrepreneurial approach in learners.
2. Constructivist Approach - Educators will learn techniques to guide students in adopting higher-order cognition such as knowledge construction, concept acquisition, systematic decision making, and evaluative thinking. Instructors are encouraged to adopt strategies for scaffolding instruction that will help students in activating their previous knowledge and improving their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
3. Assessment-based modules - Effective learning is promoted through assessment based modules, where there are measurable indices in place to assess the integration of knowledge gained. The focus is on assessment techniques that will enable educators to make informed decisions and enhance student learning. This will provide educators with useful feedback to improve instruction and students to assess their own learning.
4. Empowerment with technology-based pedagogy - Educators are trained to create personalized, creative, and accessible learning experiences for students by connecting pedagogy with technology. They are guided on how to integrate digital tools into content in engaging learning experiences. Teachers can utilize technology to produce data patterns to identify the areas where students are faltering so that they can intervene with targeted coaching immediately.

STTAR’s online Teacher Training Programme has adopted an eclectic approach and draws upon the best practices from across the globe. Each training module has been thoroughly researched and planned to bring about a gradual shift in the mindsets and competencies of teachers to empower them in imparting quality education which sets us apart from other teacher training academies.

Jaipuria School of Business, one of the top PGDM Institutes in Delhi-NCR, approved by AICTE Ministry of HRD, Government of India has announced the launch of Saamarthya Teachers Training Academy of Research (STTAR). The zoom launch of STTAR online teacher training academy will take place on July 15^th, 2020 from 1:30 PM to 3 PM in the benign presence of Shri Dinesh Sharma- Deputy CM, Uttar Pradesh;  Smt Aradhana Shukla-  Additional Chief Secretary, Deptt of secondary education, Govt. of UP & Mr. Anurag Tripathy, CBSE Secretary among other dignitaries.

With the ongoing pandemic affecting the education sector, teachers have adopted the online medium to ensure continuous learning. The role of teachers is undergoing a subtle and distinct transformation from knowledge bearers to Facilitators, delivering, and generating high-quality content and new-age appropriate skills.

They need to be constantly exposed and trained on the latest trends and tools of quality education. Hence, STTAR online teaching training academy has been launched with the vision of becoming a premier teacher training institute that will enable educators to meet the global requirements of the profession by developing competencies based on extensive research in all aspects of education.

STTAR online teacher training academy is all set to regularly engage with teachers at all levels and guide them in areas like curriculum progression and alignment, effective teaching strategies, content development, structural planning, and classroom observation. The academy is backed by some of the prominent names in the education landspace such as Shri Shishir Jaipuria - Chairman, Seth Anandram Jaipuria Group of Educational Institutions, Mr. Anil Swaroop - Ex-Secretary to Gov of India, Mrs. Abha Adams – Sr Educationist, Mr. Ken Joshua - Educationist cum Scientist, Ms. Saritha Mathur - Sr Educationist among other members.

STTAR offers over 12 modules ranging across developmental psychology, personal effectiveness, leadership, happiness, assessment strategies, communication skills, ICT, and design thinking. Each module has been thoroughly researched and planned to bring about a gradual shift in the mindset and competency of teachers to empower them in imparting quality education. The STTAR online teacher training academy adopts an eclectic approach and draws upon the best practices from across the globe. STTAR also takes up training need analysis of teachers and the institution and is equipped to provide comprehensive customized training programs on a participative basis.

Frontiers of knowledge are vast, infinite and endless. They are somewhat like the horizon which appears close, but as you move towards it, it leaps several miles ahead of you. You keep repeating this process and the real horizon (It does not exist and is only an optical illusion) will continue to elude you. You stand on a beach with the ocean of knowledge lying in front of you. Drink as much water of knowledge that you can assimilate, and yet you will remain thirsty, literally and metaphorically.

There is something very curiously strange about the anatomy of knowledge, indeed of truth.  Paradoxically speaking, more you know, more you realize how little you know. In this context, it will be interesting to quote great Greek (Athenian) philosopher  of Fifth century BC,  also credited with setting up the first institution of higher learning.

"I am the wisest man living alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing."

Knowledge must also necessarily bring great humility, or it can lead to intellectual arrogance and that is a potential cause of fast decline. Humility therefore is the first attribute of a good teacher. It would not be an exaggeration to state that teaching is counted as one of the noblest professions in the world and it is not difficult to find the rationale behind this statement.

A teacher constantly remains in the state of Giving. He or she gives away and in this case knowledge, which is perhaps the priceless possession any individual can possess. There would be very few disciplines where you are constantly sharing and giving. This becomes an instrument of empowerment which helps a person to live a meaningful and respectable life.

Ideally, a teacher is imparting, knowledge, information and teaching several skills to the students, by actually demonstrating and validating the statement that are made about any phenomenon, essential for enhancing knowledge. The most important and indeed, the most relevant question that becomes evident is the extent of knowledge possessed by the teacher herself. A teacher will be in a position to give only what he or she knows, or has in her possession-in this case knowledge and skills. Nobody can give more that what one has.

This is where relevance of training in the life of teachers assumes importance. She is dealing with the business of education, and perhaps specializes in a few disciplines out of vast and multiple areas of educational landscape.  It is also well known that the world of education is extremely dynamic in nature and is constantly evolving. While some principles and concepts, including some historical facts may not change, new discoveries and fast technological changes bring about a new perspective both on the content as well as on pedagogical methods. The global connect today, facilitated by digital technology has only broadened the scope and access to several changing paradigms, relating to education at all levels, literally from kindergarten to higher level of learning.

The children today, because of an easy and direct access to several knowledge portals, are better informed and are known to challenge the knowledge quotient of the teacher, if she is not adequately informed or prepared. The teacher in the present era has to acquire deep versatility, and this has to reflect in her domain knowledge, innovative pedagogy, adroitness in class management and above all an empathetic mindset.  Initial training that a teacher may have acquired before induction is not adequate, and it is absolutely mandatory that each member of this glorious tribe, takes a brief sabbatical for 10-15 days in a year, to brush up her knowledge and learn a few new skills to remain relevant.

 A periodic immersion in areas like, personal effectiveness, development psychology, classroom management, project based teaching, assessment strategies  is absolutely imperative for a teacher to deliver the best. Teacher is also required, in the present scenario to shift focus from his or her teaching, to learning by the students.

Commitment and complete dedication is essential in all professions and one has to perform to the best of one's capacity. This capacity has to be enhanced on a regular intervals. A teacher should take the profession of teaching as a matter of personal conscious choice, and not as another job for a living.

You have to believe in yourself, be passionate about teaching and continue to remain engaged in a lifelong pursuit of knowledge and its application.

A great teacher who is fondly remembered by her students, well after they have left the school is also happiness personified. She makes learning a matter of joy. This art she has to learn on her own.

VINOD MALHOTRA
Chairman
Academic Council, STTAR