Technical teacher training : urgent area of concer

To make effective teaching learning process.

To up-date his own knowledge and skills.

To design question paper as per the scientific norms of curriculum. philosophy.

To develop question banks for his subjects.

Implementer.





To decide Validity and Reliability of question paper.

To orient fellow teachers about skill based curriculum and its implementation strategies.

To design and implements assessment norms for theory & practical examination





To acquire and use effective process of development and assessment of skills.





To develop liaison with Govt. agencies like MCED, DIC. MSFC, MITCON, Financial institutions and to act as facilitator for organizing EAC programmes

To acts as counselor in the context of Environmental protection and Sustainable Development.

To acts as a Skill trainer

To acts as a friend philosopher and guide for students.

Above listed areas are very crucial for a teacher in order to make technical education product acceptable to the world of work. In fact the stake-holders like student, parents, industries, society and Government expects more from him apart from his regular teaching duties.

On this backdrop there are certain specific areas where teacher training should be made mandatory. Such areas are discussed below in brief

1. 
   Technology Up-gradation (Technology Gap): - It is common cry of industry world that technical pass-outs are equipped with obsolete knowledge and skills. They need to be trained in industry with necessary knowledge, skills and attitude. This really calls for total introspection of Technical Education System. It is universal rule that without modern and high-tech tools one can not produce quality products for the contemporary world. The role of teacher and the teaching –learning process has remarkable impact on the quality of engineering pass-outs. This really underlines the need for updating the skills of teachers and innovations required for improving the effectiveness of teaching learning process.
   

Industrial training to the teachers is the effective way to bridge the so called technology gap. Industries are changing technology very fast but it is not possible to change the curricula so often. The education and examination system has its own limitations also. The crunch of financial resources is also major hurdle in modernization labs and workshops. However the problem of changing technology can be cope up to some extent by making frequent interaction with industries people, involving industry people in curriculum implementation (wherever possible) , arrangement of student training in industry, industrial visits etc. are the possible remedies.

2. 
   Paper Out of Syllabus/ We Want Revaluation: - This is the common shout of students. In fact when the students shout about “Paper is out of syllabus” he is challenging the validity of question paper. Also when he demands for revaluation he doubts the reliability of assessment system.
   

. In fact “Validity & Reliability” are the two important quality parameters of Question Paper and when the students make above demand it means they are challenging the sanctity of examination system. But How many Universities and Education Organization are looking at this issue very seriously, unfortunately the answer is No. Instead of thinking on this very vital issue they are busy in issuing the Xerox copies of answer books and asking student to pay heavy fees for the revaluation. When Universities and Technical Education Institutions are going to take serious cognizance of this matter?
There are scientific ways to design the Question Paper. How to design Question Paper? How to decide the validity of Question Paper? What is Question Paper Profile? What is Specification Table? How to design it? How to use Specification Table while Setting Question Paper? How to develop Question Bank? These are some of the important areas where training is essential for the teachers

To increase the reliability in assessment of theory paper, the Assessment Norms for theory and practical examination can be prepared. The incorporation of Moderation Retotaling, Critical Assessment of specific papers at the assessment centre will certainly enhance the reliability of assessment which in turn will reduce the request for Retotaling of revaluation. The training in this area of assessment and about assessment norms etc is extremely important for the teachers

3. 
   Teachers are the curriculum Implementers: - Teacher is the main link between student and the curriculum contents. His role can not be substituted by other means in conventional education system. It is universal fact that “Excellent curriculum and poor implementation the result is poor, on the contrary Average curriculum with effective implementation the result is excellent. “ This indicates the position & importance of teacher. Teacher should know the basics of curriculum development and implementation. He should be trained to act as curriculum developer. The Philosophy of Curriculum, Effective Curriculum Implementation are the key areas where teacher training is necessary.
   

4. 
   Skills Based Curriculum and Skills Assessment: -All the educational institutions are making curricula which are skills based as per the requirements of industry. Technical education is basically skills oriented and aims at developing certain skills among its students (developing and assessing the skills). But again the same question: whether our teachers are trained in the area of skills development and Assessment?
   

Since last 30 years we are assessing the communication skills through paper pencil examination. Where as the universal fact says that skills can not be tested by paper-pencil method it requires special technique and situation to test the skills. The development of skills is also special phenomena. The skills are better assessed where they are developed. Training in the area of Skills Development and Assessment is the urgent cause of concern for every teacher.

5. 
   Teacher as a soft skills trainer: - Now a day industries are demanding soft skills in their employees. The engineering pass-outs must be equipped with these soft skills. The curriculum should be oriented with inclusion of such soft skills required at the work place. Hence it is equally important to train the teacher to act as a skills-trainer in his institution. The concepts of “Finishing School” its implementation at institute level with in house faculty as well as outside experts are the areas where teachers need more orientation.
   

6. 
   Lesson of Entrepreneurship: - Looking at the grim scenario of availability of jobs it becomes necessary to impart the lessons of Entrepreneurship to the students so as to make ready for self employment. It is in fact mandate given in NEP-1986 (National Education Policy-1986.) About Entrepreneurship the NEP Document says” Bringing an attitudinal change in the minds of students so as to make them ready for accepting self employment.” So it becomes moral and social responsibility of every educational institute to impart lessons of Entrepreneurship through systematical series of training. Even help of Government agencies like MCED, MITCON, DIC, and MSME is also available for this purpose. Teacher must develop liaison with these agencies to explore the possible training opportunities for the benefits of their students.
   

Arrangement and conduction of EAC (Entrepreneurship Awareness Camp) and EDP (Entrepreneurship Development Programme) at the institute level is the need of hour to-day.

7. 
   Lessons regarding Environmental protection and Sustainable Development: - This is most important area for Technical Education and Technical Student. Engineers are the creators of product and services. While doing so they should have awareness about the cautious use of resources and at the same time discard such raw materials which are making cradle to grave pollution.
   

In fact the real need is that, the whole contents of curriculum should be oriented from the view-point of environmental protection and sustainable development. Teachers should be made aware about the need of such trainings to the students and hence they should be also trained about how to impart such contents in classroom with necessary co-curricular activities for effective teaching learning process in this area.

The above discussed areas are of prime concern. Along with the content up dating training, industrial trainings to the teachers, training in the area of Curriculum Development, Entrepreneurship Development, Personality Development, Sustainable Development, Soft Skills and Psychomotor Skills Development. Assessment of Skills etc are also equally important areas of concern. The exhaustive list of comprehensive teacher training is summarized below.

Suggested areas of teacher training: -The exhaustive list of teacher training areas is given below. The institutes are free to add more in this list as per the courses offered and the objectives of their curriculum

1.