Pedagogical Skills In Teacher Education

To become a teacher, completing a BEd degree with Graduation is one of the most important aspects of the field.  However, every industry goes through new demands and challenges, and it becomes pertinent to fill the gaps to overcome those challenges and fulfil that demand. Similarly, the teaching profession is going through disruption, requiring teachers to adopt and adapt to the modern student learning styles to maintain the effectiveness of learning. 

Today’s school students - Gen Z and Gen Alpha have access to almost everything at a touch of a few clicks, which has resulted in a lower attention span across the generation. This has created the need for teachers to be able to understand how these students think and learn to be able to achieve the desired learning outcomes in the classroom. Teachers need to use multimedia in the classroom to keep these students attentive.

Further, since the pandemic in 2020 when the teaching and learning process shifted to digital platforms, teachers need a complete understanding and application of pedagogy in an online setting to be effective. Unlike traditional pedagogy, which relies on teachers and subject matter specialists to create the teaching-learning process using a content-context cluster, e-learning integrates learning psychology, content delivery, and assessments to track each learner's progress.

The number of people quitting the teaching profession is at an all-time high, and instructors' stress is rising day by day. The disparity between the number of teachers available and those needed is widening at an alarming rate.

The traditional teacher training courses and workshops are now becoming ineffective when it comes to preparing teachers for the 21st century. 

We have to improve the quality of our teachers and the learning process because teachers play a huge responsibility in preparing the future generation. To resolve the issue, e-learning startups have designed innovative programmes and modes of delivery to help teachers upskill for the modern-age student and get them closer to the desired skill set and better job opportunities, nationally and internationally. 

Here is how EdTech platforms are helping teachers to get better jobs:

1. Upskilling for a modern-day classroom: The platforms are offering various courses to help the teachers upgrade their pedagogical skills, preparing them for success in teaching. The focus is on training teachers in strategies and methods that ultimately help to ensure clear understanding and achievement of desired learning outcomes among the students.
2. Connecting with top schools: Edtech platforms not only provide courses for upskilling but also increase teachers’ chances of securing the best jobs. They invite various educational institutions to come and hire teachers from the platform.
3. Staying updated with the latest technology: Educating teachers involves not only teaching them how to tackle the students but also making them understand the technology they’ll be using. It is critical to get handy with technology and meet the growing pace of the technological era. 
4. Learning from Expert trainers: E-learning offers the opportunity to be trained by top trainers in countries around the world even while you are seated in your home. Teachers are being mentored and guided by trained people from all over the world to ensure that they get the best possible learning experience.

Members of the profession should evolve according to the needs of the community and adapt to the same. As per the students’ needs, the methods of teaching have also been changing so that desired learning outcomes are met, irrespective of online or offline classrooms.

A few edtech startups have come up and are creating an impact on the teachers’ careers with mentorship and upskilling. After a huge struggle in the teaching jobs, it is nice to see how the industry has evolved and continues to evolve every day.

Rishabh Khanna

Guest Author The author is Cognitive Scientist and Founder of Suraasa