Enhancing the Capacity of Higher Education Teachers to Implement Blended Learning in West Bengal
An inclusive Workshop, of three days duration, on “Enhancing the capacity of higher education Teachers to implement blended learning” was organized jointly by Netaji Subhash Open University (NSOU) and Commonwealth Educational Media Center for Asia (CEMCA) on 25th February, 26th February and 28th February 2022.
The workshop was conducted in the Kalyani Regional Center of Netaji Subhash Open University situated at the district Nadia of West Bengal. The College/ University teachers from Nadia, 24Parganas (N), Murshidabad were invited to attend the workshop. Altogether 53 Higher Education Teachers attended the Workshop, out of which there were 39 male teachers and 14 female teachers.
Mr. Purandar Sengupta – (a Senior Master Trainer and Empaneled Mentor in two Ministries of Government of India) and Prof (Dr.) Shaunak Roy (Assistant Professor, St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata) were the Facilitators of the Workshop
The keynote speech was delivered by Project Director-Professor Anirban Ghosh, Director, Centre for Internal Quality Assurance, NSOU. He emphasized upon the ICT based Outreach Initiatives of the University, which are driven by the valued intent of reaching to the students in the remote rural areas and turning them enlightened with the glow of education. He illustrated the academic and developmental projects that were implemented in collaboration with CEMCA, adhering to an outcome-oriented approach.
Dr. Atindranath Dey - Director, School of Education, NSOU- highlighted the importance of the workshop in view of NEP 2020. He reiterated that inclusive learning, self-learning on a lifelong basis and technology-enabled learning are the instrumental catalytic factors that can enhance the momentum of Sustainable Development in the country.
The three day workshop covered various models of Blended Learning; features of Facilitation – an art for engaging, enlightening and empowering the students; significance of Motivational Cases & Success Stories in crystallizing Achievement Motivation and building up result-focused approach among the learners; concept of Mind Mapping as a tool of Facilitation fostering Cognitive Enrichment; illustrated the application of MIND MAPPING through effective digital tools, etc.
The participants were divided into six groups and the members of each group were inspired to frame Motivational Success Stories in a collaborative pattern. The session started with the vivid presentation of the motivational success stories by the participants of each group. Mr. Purandar Sengupta initiated an open discussion and enthused the members of all the groups to analyze each of the six stories and identify the unique Critical Success Factors embedded in each success- story.
Mr. Purandar Sengupta collaborated with some of the proactive learners (who emanated their spontaneity throughout the workshop) and demonstrated various tools and interventions of Facilitation like Design thinking, Appreciative Inquiry, Probing, Paraphrasing, Parenthesis, Positive Reinforcement and Behavioral modelling.
