Short Course in Educational methodology for AYUSH Teachers by RGUHS Karnataka

Short Course in Educational methodology for AYUSH Teachers by RGUHS Karnataka

Conducted by Rajiv Gandhi University of health Sciences, Karnataka

Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Karnataka conducted a Short Course in educational Methodology for AYUSH Teachers of its affiliated institutions.

This program was conducted in two phases – July to September 2013 and October – December 2013.

The purpose of this program was to enable the participants to –

• Identify the learning needs of their students, demonstrate effective teaching skills, plan and design appropriate teaching – learning aids, design, plan and implement appropriate student assessment strategy, act with integrity, fairness, and in an ethical manner.

The three month course was envisaged on the Distance Learning Mode. The course was delivered on multiple platforms –

Distance learning through self-learning text, self assessment activities which were built into the learning materials, induction program to introduce the course, mentoring through e-mail from the academic hub, contact programs to practice relevant skills.

The course was of three months duration with one Contact Program at the beginning of the course and, one at the end of six weeks at the Academic Hub. The course was delivered in a modular design.

Assessment of the learners was done in three phases
Portfolio comprising of Self Assessment Activity, which is in-built as Assignments into the Self Learning Material, Individual and Group Tasks at the Contact Programs and Microteaching presentation and Peer Review during the second Contact Program

The following were the objectives of the modules:

Module 1: Basics of education

• Summarise adult learning principles
• Describe stages of learning
• Acknowledge differences in learning styles and their implication on educational practice
• Discuss the  basic teaching model
• Explain Miller’s Spiral of Education
• Distinguish the characteristics of a ‘good teacher’
• Justify the need for a formal course in educational methodology for better teacher performance
• Importance of training teachers in health professions 

Module 2: Curriculum Management

• Describe the domains of educational taxonomy
• Design course plan for Unit, Term and Year
• Prepare a lesson plan
• Present a micro teaching session
• Peer review a micro teaching session 

Module 3: Learning environment

• Demonstrate the effectively use, advantages and disadvantages of various TL methods
• Relate TL Methods to various domains
• Validate the importance of communication in TL context
• Match TL Media to TL Methods
• Identify domain specific TL Media 

Module 4: Evaluation

• Discuss principles of evaluation
• Choose assessment methods based on domains
• Construct a Question Paper blueprint
• Prepare questions for three categories of theory test – long essay, short essay and short answer
• Recall principles of OSCE / OSPE
• Conduct ‘good’ viva

The first phase, which started on 01^st July 2013 had 27 participants from the AYUSH Colleges in Bangalore. Out of these 22 qualified for certification in September 2013. There was a huge demand from other AYUSH Institutions across the state. The Director of AYUSH, Government of Karnataka instructed that all the teachers of Government AYUSH Institutions must undergo this training. As a result, four batches started simultaneously at Bangalore, which was exclusively for Government AYUSH Colleges of the state, Mangalore, Gulbarga and Belgaum. In this phase, 140 teachers from across the state joined for the course and 109 eventually completed in December 2013.

The Valedictory for this Function was organized at RGUHS Campus in Bangalore.

The Course Coordinator, Dr. Munir Ahmed R, explained that the course was modeled on principles of Learning and Development as applied in corporate training to give it contemporary touch. The participants who gave feedback of their experiences with the course expressed their satisfaction and desired that advanced level of this course be made available to them.

Dr. Sriprakash KS, Hon’ble Vice Chancellor of RGUHS presided over the function and handed over Certificates to participants. During his presidential remarks, the Vice Chancellor observed that the Course is unique one, where the teachers were constantly applying the concepts and generating evidences for their learning. He said the course has so far covered only 10% of the AYUSH teachers and the rest will be covered on priority basis.