The New Normalcy in Teaching

In the month of March, colleges have resumed after Holi (festival of colors in India) vacation on the 13th. The coronavirus began to spread in India slowly and steadily. The number of patients went on increasing. As a precaution, the DM passed an ordinance and declared holidays till 31 March 2020 to have control of COVID 19 in Bihar. Seeing the situation, the Central government announced lockdown 1.0 and then the series of lockdown continued till 4.0

We all know that a few days of a planned holiday can be of great fun. 

But what to do in a situation like a lockdown when you can’t come out of your house? The condition due to coronavirus was the worst. It generated distress. Teachers were worried about the career of the students.

Change is inevitable. It forces us to adopt new things. Teachers who discouraged the use of technology were now ready to embrace it because this was the only means that can connect them with their students, help them in conducting their classes, and engage students to resume their studies.

The process of online classes has begun. The mode of conducting class was completely different from offline or traditional. Teachers were not comfortable in delivering the online session. They missed the interaction of the students. They were not used to one-way communication. 

In an offline class, a teacher conducts a session observes the expression of their students to notice whether they could assimilate the delivered knowledge and are confident with the understanding of the concept.

In the offline mode, students get an opportunity to interact with teachers and clear their doubts. These were missing in online classes.

Time has come now to overlook these problems and to come up with a suitable solution.

Right from universities to schools, teachers were motivated to utilize ICT and conduct sessions. Schools took the necessary initiative. Teachers who were ready to impart their classes were well-trained to conduct it via online. 

The new normalcy expected the teachers to deliver the virtual sessions that included:

1. Experiential sharing
2. Application through simulators
3. Engaging through interactive sessions
4. Fulfilling their need for learning as per their expectations

Hence teachers have to rethink and redraft their lesson plan. They will have to analyze their course and understand the new ways of teaching a concept that could be easily grasped by the learners via virtual mode.

These changes needed a quick understanding and application by the teachers, in identifying the right source of information that they wish to deliver.

Time has come when the teachers will have to empower students not only to gain knowledge of the concepts but also to learn the art of applying the knowledge in their day-to-day life.

The new mantra of 2020 teachers is learning through experience and application. Even students will have to adopt the same. Only these can enrich their knowledge skills, develop the right attitude, and enhance their aptitudinal skills.

E-learning is a new normal. Along with a good teacher, it is necessary to have connectivity of the internet and inclination to learn from home.

Further, what else is needed?

The learners can share their opinion. They can share their comments and help teachers in conducting virtual sessions as per the expectation of the students.