A two-day Faculty Development Program (FDP) was organized by Amrita School of Communication from June 3-4, 2014. Dr. Binod Agrawal, Director, TALEEM Research Foundation, Dr. N. Usha Rani, Professor, Department of Communication and Journalism, University of Mysore and Dr. G. Ravindran, Professor and Head, Department of Mass Media and Communication Studies, University of Madras were the resource persons of the program. The Faculty Development Program covered diverse topics such as Ethics in teaching and blended learning techniques.
Dr. Binod Agrawal impressed the audience in his introductory address by highlighting the importance of technology in modern day teaching. He spoke about how technology obsolescence, storage, retrieval and transmission have affected the way we create and share knowledge. The session was peppered with jokes and light-hearted banter about technology savvy students and challenges communication gadgets pose to the traditional classroom setting.
The first day covered sessions on Course Design, Role of Technology in Teaching and Evaluation. In a session devoted to teaching and evaluation techniques, Dr. N. Usha Rani stressed the importance of Techniques of Assessment, which tested students on critical thinking and problem solving and discouraged rote learning.
Dr. G. Ravindran discussed the advantages of Blended Learning by connecting it with his experiences with the Facebook classroom he created for a course. He also described how he adapted his teaching methods to suit a multi-lingual and multi-cultural student base.
Round table discussions on both days served to raise the bar on performance and self assessment by combining open exchange of ideas, candid observations and ground realities. The sessions provided the faculty with realistic options for course-corrections and professional re-think.
In the concluding session, all three invitees exhorted the faculty to focus on geographically and culturally sensitive teaching and research that went beyond the binaries of western disciplines. In the informal round table held after that the session coordinators talked about specific research and funded project opportunities applicable to Journalism and Communication.
Prof. P. Jayaram, Chairperson Amrita School of Communication, thanked the eminent guests for their thoughtful and open-ended approach towards knowledge and sharing.
June 5, 2014
Amrita School of Communication, Coimbatore Campus
