Innovative Practices in Teacher Education

Submitted by
Ashutosh Kumar

Registration no.
1211579

In partial fulfillment for the requirements of the award of the degree

of “BTech (Computer Science and Engineering)”

“SCHOOL OF COMPUTER SCINCE AND ENGINEERING”

Lovely Professional University

Phagwara, Punjab
INRTODUCTION
Teachers are the ones who will construct our nation's future,
they are the ones who impart knowledge and wisdom. They are the
main source of education for most of the population and they are the
ones who shape a country's destiny. Teachers have a pretty easy time
choosing the kind of country they wish to live in and educating the
population accordingly. They possess the capacity and fortitude to
overcome obstacles and transform India into a strong, educated
nation. Because the future is entirely in their hands, teachers play a
crucial role in the development of a nation.
Modern society has been significantly altered by sophisticated
technology. Unexpectedly, this change has resulted in the rise of a
generation of kids raised on multidimensional, interactive media, a
generation whose perceptions of the world are very different from
those of generations before them. A new type of educational practice
that draws on children's innate learning capacities and technology
competency must replace our current approaches if we are to provide
young kids with the education they need to prosper in our digitally
demanding, global future.

INNOVATIONS
Innovation is typically thought of as the introduction of anything
new and beneficial, such as new processes, procedures, or practices,
as well as new or modified goods and services. In order to increase the
effectiveness of the institution and overcome the challenges they
encounter on a daily basis, schools or teachers, education institutes
might innovate or experiment with any area of their job connected to
teaching, learning, management, or training. In order to improve the
quality and effectiveness of teacher preparation programs at the pre-
service level and through in-service programs for serving teachers
throughout the program, a network of national, provincial, and district
level resource institutions are supporting the current structure of
teacher education. Today's teacher education is becoming more
responsive to the new demands coming from the educational system.
Because the range of the teacher's duties has expanded due to
changing student educational demands and technological advances.
Today's teachers must play a variety of roles in order to help students
discover their talents, reach the heights of their physical and
intellectual potential, develop desirable social and human values, and
become productive members of society. These roles include
encouraging, supporting, and facilitating learning situations.

MEANING AND CONCEPT OF INNOVATIVE

PRACTICE IN TEACHER EDUCATION

What each nation considers to be an innovation, reform, or

growth in the teaching and learning process varies greatly between
nations. For instance, in certain underdeveloped nations, using
colored chalk and rudimentary audio-visual materials may be
considered an innovation in education, yet in other more developed
nations, innovations may relate to the creation and use of advanced
technology and procedures, practices, etc. This electronic technology
has radically influenced every facet of society and our social and
cultural life in our country as well.
Over the years, there has been a significant change in the
manner and means of providing education services. The quality of
instructors and the training they get for all levels of teaching is
improved in large part by research and innovations. They demand that
new concepts and methods be included into class discussions as well
as other academic and extracurricular pursuits. Excellent leadership
and effective teaching strategies can increase a teacher's
effectiveness. The goal of teacher education is to develop qualified
educators who can play a variety of roles and advance the country.

INNOVATIVE IDEAS TO MAKE YOUR

TEACHING METHOD MORE EFFECTIVE
Keeping students' attention and conveying information in a
way that will stick with them long after they leave the classroom are
the biggest challenges for teachers. In order for this to occur, the
classroom experience has to be reimagined, and creative solutions
that improve teaching strategies need to be put into practice. So, in
order to assist instructors rethink their teaching strategies and make
their courses more engaging, here are some creative ideas:
(1) Creative teaching
(2) Audio & Video Aids
(3) "Real -World" Learning
(4) Brainstorm
(5) Classes Outside the Classroom
(6) Role Play
(7) Strong-board Teaching
(8) Stimulating Classroom Environment
(9) Work Together As a Team

SOME INNOVATIVE PRACTICES IN TEACHER

EDUCATION

Following are some of the innovative ideas that need to be focused

Team-teaching, Cooperative or Collaborative learning

process:
When teachers and students must operate under so many restrictions,
team teaching, cooperative learning, or collaborative teaching is
always a wise choice.
A situation known as collaborative learning occurs when two or more
individuals try to learn something collaboratively.
It is a teaching and learning approach where students work in groups
to investigate an important issue or produce a noteworthy project.
Collaborative learning can take many forms, such as students from
several schools collaborating online on a group project or a class of
students debating a lecture.

Reflecting Teaching and Reflective education:

Teachers can utilise reflective teaching as a method for self-evaluation
of how they conduct themselves in the classroom. If you take the time
to analyse the events that took place in your classroom while
collecting information about them privately, you can learn more than
simply what worked and what didn't. Reflection is the continuous
process of critically analysing and improving practise, carefully taking
into account the personal, pedagogical, social, and ethical aspects
related to school classrooms and the many responsibilities of
instructors.

Constructivism and Teacher Education

Constructivism is a development of cognitive psychology. The
constructivist paradigm is founded on the contributions of several
individuals, including Piaget, Vygotsky, Gardner, Dewey, and Tolman.
As a result, it is a synthesis of several widely held viewpoints on
learning. It is thought that the fundamental tenet of constructivist
theory is that Innovative Practices in Teacher Education is how people
learn. An outline Meisha Das Issue IV of Volume I, May 2015 17
actively creating their own knowledge, evaluating new information in
light of prior learning, and drawing conclusions from all of this. The
foundation of constructivist learning is the active engagement of
students in problem-solving and critical thought on a learning activity.
By putting to the test theories and methods based on their own
knowledge and experience, applying them to new knowledge, and
combining them with pre-existing intellectual structures, students
develop their own knowledge. Throughout the learning process, the
teacher acts as a facilitator or coach, coaching the student's critical
thinking, analysis, and synthesis skills. The teacher participates in the
learning process as well. Therefore, teachers should promote
cognitive transformation by giving pupils challenges through
specialised assignments that generate issues. In this context, a
problem-solving teaching technique is described as a process of
posing a problem in a way that encourages deliberate, reflective
thought and leads to the development of a logical answer.

Blended-learning and Teacher Education

Blended learning is a method of teaching where teachers use
technology, typically in the form of online lessons, in conjunction with
and as a supplement to in-person lessons. They may also use sections
of a learner-centred online course where the instructor must be
actively present and provide guidance. A blended learning approach's
strength is that it offers a way to make sure students are supported
and directed while they complete autonomous learning activities. The
instructor and students have access to a variety of affordances while
using the Web in these situations, including communication channels,
information sources, and management tools. These features seem to
make blended learning especially well-suited to teacher training
students, especially those in big groups where it may be difficult to
receive direct instructor help.
Soft Skills and Teacher Education
Since it fuels a country's progress, human capital development is a
valuable asset. A professionally constructed and well-planned
education system is the foundation for producing high-quality human
capital. Hard skills, on the other hand, are frequently specialised to a
certain kind of task or activity. Soft skills are character traits that
improve a person's interpersonal relationships, professional
performance, and career prospects. Soft skills include character
qualities, social elegance, linguistic proficiency, personal habits,
friendliness, and optimism that distinguish persons to varied degrees.
The curriculum for teacher education might help create a
comprehensive human capital that can support economic, social, and
personal growth since soft skills are widely relevant in programmes
for teacher education.

PROBLEMS OF RAISING THE STANDARD OF

TEACHER EDUCATION
 The goals, the curriculum, the institutions, the teachers working
in the institutions, and the end result of the teacher education
institutions are all included in the standard of teacher education at any
level. The product is the most crucial of all these factors. This serves
as the true barometer of teacher preparation standards. However, in
practise, teacher education at all levels now produces subpar results.
The instructors who graduate from these schools lack knowledge, a
positive attitude toward learning and teaching, and training in
practical skills. Insincerity and a lack of commitment to duty have
spread across the nation, and if it is observed in instructors leaving
these institutions, the entire society as well as the regulatory agency
are to blame.

INITIATIVE STEPS OF INNOVATION IN

TEACHING EDUCATION SYSTEM
NPE (1986) stated “The existing system of teacher education needs
to be overhauled or revamped.” This has resulted in a number of
initiatives being launched and they are:
-Establishment of NCTE by the government of India on August 17,
1995 as a statutory body responsible for the regulatory as well as
professional aspects of teacher education.

-Programmed of Mass Orientation of School teachers (PMOST) was

launched as a centrally sponsored scheme in all the states and Union
Territories during 1986-1990.

-Special Orientation Programmed for Primary Teachers (SOPT) was

taken up in 1993-94 to provide

orientation to primary school teachers.

-In the light of recommendations of NPE 1986, Block and Cluster

Resource Canters were established for professional growth of
elementary school teachers and heads.

-Interactive teleconferencing has been successfully tried in Karnataka

and Madhya Pradesh in in-service training course.

-Three National Curriculum frameworks on Teacher Education have

been brought out by the National council of Teacher Education
(1978, 1988 and 1998).

-To acquire ICT literacy, the NCTE has produced a CD-ROM entitled
‘IT Literacy’.

-NCTE has developed self-learning modules on “Human Rights and

National Values” with a view to familiarize entrant teachers with
values enshrined in our constitution.

SUGGESTIONS:
The above observations clearly indicate that teacher education
programme at secondary level needs to be examined critically in
terms of its innovativeness .Here are some suggestions which can be
used to overcome these problems :

-Identification of the Innovative research could be done if all the

Departments of Educations Countryside contribute in this area .They
may periodically produce the Research Abstracts of the Studies
conducted in their respective Departments, which may be made
available on the World Wide Web.

-Every Teacher Educator may be given Unique Identification Number

.It will facilitate Manpower Planning in Teacher Education.

-There should be networking amongst all the Teacher Education.

Institutions to learn from the innovative practices of each other.

-Efforts should be made to realize holistic Teacher Education by

integrating various skills, such as, microteaching, info-savvy, techno-
pedagogic, life skills in the various Teacher Education Programs
.Along with cognitive development there should be adequate focus
on emotional maturity, psycho-motor development, health and
environment, and inter-disciplinary development.

-It is imperative to strengthen Vocational Teacher Education in

almost all the domains of vocational Education, such as, agriculture,
horticulture, sericulture, servicing of the electric and electronic
appliances. Innovative approaches need to be evolved.

-Physical facilities and funds should be adequately provided to the

institutions by the government, local bodies and organizations .The
internship model of practice teaching should be adopted.

-The conventional system of a few demonstration lessons given by a

few teacher educators at the beginning of the practice teaching may
be replaced by display of some video recorded good lessons
in each subject delivered by expert teacher educators, teachers and
teacher trainees.

-Relevant methods of instruction such as tutorial, discussion seminar,

team teaching and interactive teaching learning should be adopted.

-More curricular activities such as physical education, social services,

tree plantation, and formation of eco club should be organized.

-Modern technological gadgets like computer, video, mass media,

OHP should be used at the time of instruction.

-Counselling and follow up programs should be initiated and made

effective.

-Teaching staff should be given adequate representation in the

management.

-The Teacher educators should be made mobile so that they can see
their professional world outside their institutions.

-The service and support from practicing schools, administrators,

students-teachers, guardians and community should be encouraging.

-Teacher educators shall be given proper incentives for the

professional growth.

-Publication and subscription to professional journals by the

institutions should be encouraged

-Research wings in the university departments and selected

government colleges should be started.

-A healthy relation among teaching staff would evolve new

procedures and move towards new goals.

-The management and administrators should be watchful in

maintaining the health of the institutions so as to make them
innovative and progressive .Conclusions to meet the challenges of
the new millennium, teacher education in India.

CONCLUSION
Thus, it can be said that in the modern period, knowledge and
information stand out as crucial inputs for development and survival.
The society must consider education as an engine of growth in the
information age, powered by its wheels of knowledge and research
leading to development, rather than only as a method of attaining
social uplift. Any country may advance via innovation, and a
country's future lies in its schools. It is not required for every
invention to be well-structured and original; a teacher may choose to
use a simple, unorganised, or informal approach in order to ensure
that the pupils are acquiring important material. Therefore, we must
recognise such inventions and encourage them in our schools,
colleges, and other institutions through creative teaching procedures
and fresh ideas. The two sides of the innovation coin research-based
knowledge and education must be combined under an unified policy
framework in order to create an innovation culture that will drive
and support the knowledge economy. In light of the newly
implemented policies and the processes of globalisation, teacher
education in India is in a new stage. It needs to adapt to the new
difficulties and give its students the opportunity to reach level.
Students seeking teacher education must elevate the community and
the next generation of citizens by developing new abilities, attitudes,
and competitive knowledge in the relevant field of education. All of
these things are feasible by putting new teaching techniques to use.
Because these techniques are popular and supported by several
institutions involved in teacher education, it is likely that they will
draw interest from the academic community. They may then take
initiative to either adopt new paths of creative teaching at their
particular institutions or disregard existing innovative teaching
techniques in teacher education. India's teacher education must
undergo a significant transformation in order to face the challenges
of the new millennium. The teacher educators require extensive
training in a variety of new innovation-related topics. The
aforementioned issues are difficult, thus finding solutions is of the
utmost importance. In order to make the educational system
creative, NCTE, SCERT/SIE, and university departments of education
should act right now. There is no need to be discouraged. Education
in India is in transition. The National Curriculum for Teacher
Education (NCTE, 2009) and Teacher Education Reflection towards
Policy Formulation are two examples of how the national vision
mission will undoubtedly foster innovations (NCTE, 2009).

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