Teachers need new methodology to suit students: Expert

TODAY TEACHERS DON’T SEE THEMSELVES AS HEAD OF CLASSROOM OR A BENEVOLENT DICTATOR AS IN THE PAST

LUCKNOW: Keeping up with changing times, teachers needed to adopt their methodology to suit the requirements of students, said Jyotsna Bharadwaja, consulting psychologist and practicing counsellor from Delhi, here recently.

Speaking at a programme, she shared, “Students work harder when their teachers make them participants in determining the form and content of their schooling and help them create their own learning plans.”

Jyotsna also enumerated the challenges that teachers faced in yesteryears when they were expected to toe the line.

“Teachers had to use the same age-old methods of instruction. Any deviation from traditional practices was discouraged by supervisors or prohibited by educational laws and regulations. Thus, many simply stood in front of the class and delivered the same lecture year after year,” she said.

Explaining how the situation was different today, Jyotsna added, “Today many teachers no longer see their primary role as that of the head of the classroom or that of a benevolent dictator. They’ve discovered the merits of evolving into educational guides, facilitators and co-learners.”

Highlighting the behavioural challenges that educators often faced from students these days, Jyotsna said, “Aggressiveness and anger seen in children, stems only from four reasons - power struggle, revenge, avoidance of failure and attention seeking.”

To be able to guide children better, she emphaised that teachers needed to provide a patient hearing to students. “Educators need to listen with their hearts and not merely with their ears,” she said.

Engaging the participants in various activities, the expert also spoke on the three ‘Es’ that led to empowerment. “Excellence, engagement and ethics can show the way to empowerment. We need to take a look at what we are serving to our children in schools today,” she said.