Technical teacher training : urgent area of concer

TECHNICAL TEACHER TRAINING: URGENT CAUSE OF CONCERN

By: -
Dr. Sunil G. Deshpande.

B. E. (Mech.). D.B.M. M.B.A., M. Tech. (C.D.)
Ph. D. (Busi. Mngt. & Admn.), MIE. MISTE.
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Government Polytechnic Gadchiroli

Teacher is the crucial element in any education system and Technical Education System is not exception to this. If we view Technical Education system in the form of System Concept with regular features of Input Process and Output, it is crystal clear that even though teacher is important input element (along with student and curriculum), the role of teacher in “Process” is of grate importance. It is this process only, which decides the quality of output of system. That is why the role of teacher is of prime importance, some people treats teacher as “Class-room Managers also.

Education System and Impact of Environment: - Every system has its own boundary but it has to be compatible with outside environment also. Technical Education System has to procure its input and sale its output to the out side environment. Hence out side environment has also stake in education system.

The changes in out side environment have its own impact on education system. The changes in Technology, Societal needs and requirement of world of work are the major factors which can not be neglected by Technical Education System. The requirements of world of work have compelled us to rethink on the duties and responsibilities of an engineering teacher. Hence it is better to analyze the role of teacher in the changing context of education system and expectations of stakeholders of Technical Education System.

Teacher Training: Present Scenario: - Most of the Universities and Technical institutions are accepting the fact that the teacher training is utmost important, however they are not making any efforts in this direction (Barring very few organizations which are imparting training to their teachers but it is not comprehensive.) In fact there is no consensus on the issue of areas of teacher training. Mere content-updating of teachers through training will not enhance the teacher’s effectiveness. Training in the area of Class room Management, Pedagogy, Curriculum implementation, Skills development & Assessment are also equally important areas need to be considered.


Redefining The Role of Teacher: - The changes in technology have compelled the industries to change continuously. The requirement of man power specification has also been changed. This has caused educational institutes to change their curriculum frequently. However it has also gave birth to another problem of teacher orientation to new technology, new machines and equipments. The frequent changes in curriculum need teacher participation in curriculum revision process as they are the real curriculum implementers.

The constant changes in technology and customer requirement has put industries in fix as they have specific specialized man power. Hence the industries are looking for man power with some specific skills like learning to learn, continuous learning, life long learning etc. This has caused institutions to introduce soft skills courses in their curriculum. The role of teacher has been stretched to this area also. He has to impart soft skill among his students.

The analysis of teacher role on this backdrop can be summarized below.

The functions to be performed by the teacher in the changing context are as follows

Improved Role of Teacher