This issue of the newsletter focuses on deeper learning and inspiring teachers. It includes an article about engaging students in deep learning through effective teaching methods. It profiles PSS Raju as the faculty of the month and discusses how better delivery and administration of curriculum can enhance students' chances of employment. It also features an organization called Samrita Trust that provides education resources for visually challenged students in India. The issue concludes with interesting links, updates to the website, and a question submitted to the "Ask an Expert" section.

1. May 2011
Volume 5, Issue 5 Inspiring Teachers
Driving educational change through excellence in teaching
This month….
Facebook is really useful for question on our site too this month. Excerpts of
gathering tips quickly. and the answer is Faculty-of-Month, PSS
Sometime back I asked for published in this issue. An Raju, Results of picture
creative ideas in making article by Indira Narayan caption contests, humour,
This month: students come to school on on how to engage students interesting links sent by
Deeper Learning time and was happy to see a in deep learning and the friends and mailing lists are
Indira Narayan..….2
lively and useful discussion. profile of a differently the regulars. Please explore
PSS Raju – Faculty The school is going to abled trainer Shakir, those links and keep
of the month …. . 3 implement one of those ideas complemented by work contributing too.
Interesting links …4 posted by FB friends. done by Samrita Trust for Have a great vacation, and
One of our readers posted a visually challenged – get refreshed and recharged
Updates on site and
these are the main reads for the new academic year…
ask an expert …..4
College Champions
Differently abled
trainer Shakir …..5
April-May 2011
• Elaborate training needs analysis (TNA) for A unique model of engaging faculty and
Education for
100 teachers at NMREC, Hyderabad 25th- building a truly distributed team
Visually Challenged -
Samrita Trust……6 27th April • To make faculty as stakeholders in
• “Classroom Management”, JNTU Academic expanding the reach of
Picture captions
Humour Staff College, 26th April TheProfessor.in and
• Visit to REC Bhalki and interaction with SchoolCanvas.com
faculty – 6th April • To help enhance the profile of faculty
• Visit to Nanded and interaction with through consultancy and research
schools – 11th April options
• Sessions in a corporate induction training At the end of one year engagement, apart
program from – 15th May from the performance based cash
• Faculty training from May 15th – NMREC incentives, the faculty will get visibility in
• Adult learning and TNA – ESCI – 12th May academic and industry circles, expand
• Sessions for faculty at Kolhapur Institute of their horizons and get an impressive
Engineering, 25th May profile. For details read:
http://theprofessor.in/careers.shtml

2. Inspiring Teachers Page 2 of 6
Deeper learning Indira Narayan
“Learning which is necessarily mean beautiful) the underlying principles.
concerned to extract and active presence is sure to The concept can be made clear
principles and underlying catch the interest of the by giving an example from
meanings, to make sense of students. Dull and inactive outside the textbook like
facts and feelings and to teaching only makes the ‘Physics in our daily life
integrate them with students feel dull and ‘where do we see this: in our
previously acquired unenthusiastic. eyes, in the movement or
knowledge. Rather than Communication is an art and a flexing of our fingers or
memorization, it aims to skill which is very important in bending of our knees etc. In
provide greater the teaching line as much is English, the rudiments of
understanding and therefore class control. This can happen sentence structure, how
“Aerobics class a must a deeper meaning” only when the teacher is very plurals are formed and so on
for teachers” sound with her subject and can can be made fun by grammar
Deeper learning is all about
cater to all the queries/ doubts games, jingles, songs all of
encouraging the skills and
of her students. In fact deeper which can absorb the
knowledge that students will
March Newsletter learning can take place only if students’ interest. Class room
picture caption contest need to succeed in this fast
Sent by Neelu Vig on a teacher is willing to be activities are the best way of
changing world. It prepares
facebook. interrupted during her enhancing interest. In the
students to master the
teaching with queries or given school curriculum it is
basics, understand them and
doubts, big or small, intelligent difficult to devote much time
be able to apply them
or simple. In a class where to such fun activities. Herein a
whenever required.
doubts are deemed as silly, creative teacher will introduce
To understand what deep
learning in its true sense her lesson by citing something
learning is we should look at
ceases. This leads to a outside the class and the book,
the other side … which can
downhill process of creating or use some novel method,
be termed as ‘Surface
a weak foundation in but something definitely
Learning’ like reading, academics which defeats the about what she has to teach.
memorizing and thereby
concept of deep learning. It This may take 5 to 10 minutes
being successful in fetching
can create individuals who but if the concept has been
good marks. Learning like may work mechanically understood she can teach
this may or may not ensure
referring to book knowledge quite a lot in the remaining
‘understanding’.
time and again. time. With the interest
In my opinion the important To affect deep learning the evoked, following the theory
feature required to enable will become easy and learning
teaching methodology must be
‘deeper learning ‘is the will be more effective.
made on creating an interest in
teacher’s persona. A teacher
the subject by understanding
with an attractive (does not

3. Page 3 of 6 Inspiring Teachers
Excerpts from Faculty of the month - more at www.theprofessor.in
be designed to give students employment?
the fundamental For students who are willing
understanding of the discipline to utilize them, absolutely.
and lay the platform for As mentioned earlier I think
him/her to easily adapt to new the biggest problem and
and myriad tools based on probably the sole reason for
their sound understanding of students not building the
Are there huge gaps in the fundamentals. wherewithal needed to meet
curriculum compared to
Many short-sighted people also industry expectations, is lack
what industry expects?
recruit for an immediate need of good delivery and
No. This seems to be a .
and not for long term human curriculum administration There is no egg in
monstrous myth that is being
resource, which makes this and not gaps in curriculum eggplant, nor ham in
purported by many very hamburger; neither apple
perception develop. Also, there itself. Of course, this is only nor pine in pineapple.
feverishly but I thoroughly
is a total lack of understanding for students who are willing English muffins weren't
disagree. The curriculum of invented in England or
among majority of the to utilize such delivery and French fries in France.
B. Tech course I teach (we Sweetmeats are candies
academicians about how to complement it with
follow JNTU Kakinada while sweetbreads, which
interpret and deliver learning proactive self learning. aren't sweet, are meat. We
Syllabus) to me is reasonably
of the curriculum. This I am more than certain if the find that quicksand can
good. work slowly, boxing rings
frustrates industry people above is done, there is a are square and a guinea
I feel the goal of a B. Tech pig is neither from Guinea
when they come for negligible chance that a
program in make students nor is it a pig.
recruitment and interact with student would be English is a funny language
understand the fundamentals --fwded by KV Jayakuamr
academicians, and then these unemployed in the current
of the engineering discipline
comments like curriculum has situation.
and help them develop a Sitarama Raju holds a B. Tech
gaps come up. Again, maybe
strong analytical problem this is coming because many in CSE from Andhra University
solving approach. I can College of Engineering
academicians have not had
categorically say the followed by an M. Tech in CS
exposure to industry. I say may
curriculum meets that from University of Hyderabad.
be, because I do not think one
requirement. Many people A career spanning 9 1/2 years
needs exposure to industry to
in software industry,and 4 yrs
feel computer science is all develop an awareness of how a in academics. He is passionate
about some tools and some concept might be explained in about sharing knowledge &
programming languages and a relevant manner. understanding and feels pretty
feel that the syllabus should strongly about how a wrong
have the latest tools, to meet Can better delivery & more understanding of what is
industry needs. The reality is effective administration of required for an engineering job
any general purpose B. Tech is adversely affecting quality of
curriculum enhance
program can and should only graduates coming out of
student’s chances of
colleges.

4. Inspiring Teachers Page 4 of 6
Updates on website
♦ Most of the archives of newsletter (2007, 2008 and some 2009) have been uploaded on
the blog
http://www.theprofessor.in/blog/
♦ A practical and proven method of engaging students in peer learning
http://www.theprofessor.in/blog/teachers/study-teams/
♦ An initiative by American Society for Engineering Education –
http://www.theprofessor.in/blog/student/egfi/
Ask an Expert on website
How can we help students weak in English? Abdul Basith
Picture Caption Contest
1. If this is a small group of students who are not interested in learning, first try to find out
what interests them. Talk about those topics or discuss what they like and why? Develop a
“…and yes students, personal rapport with them so that then they are willing to listen to you.
this chart shows how
well you should take 2. Put them on some on-line English courses with which they can improve their language. You
good care of your heart, can see a list of courses here
chomp, chomp"... http://www.theprofessor.in/blog/open-education/english-courses/
Thechitchat e-magazine 3. Make a small group or what we call as buddy system. One friend who is good at studies is
on facebook teamed up with one weak student (or a few) and they should be asked to talk and communicate
in English only. Any subject related discussions can also be made by these groups.
Learning by doing –
Watch this video (in part I and II) to see what they can do.
Divya Nalla, NMREC on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gajJ9huCog
facebook http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x-kAhh54iw&feature=related
Interesting Links
♦ Big Thinkers: Judy Willis on the Science of Learning. The noted neurologist turned educator
talks about the science of boredom, lessons learned from video games, how to capture student
attention, and the most important lessons for 21st-century learning.
Mrs Indira Narayan has http://www.edutopia.org/big-thinkers-judy-willis-neuroscience-learning-video
been an English
Teacher in St Ann’s ♦ A talk that touches on a very important issue of childhood stories
High School, http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/chimamanda_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story.html
Secunderabad where ♦ IISc’s plunge to train school teachers
she is the Academic
http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/25apr2011/1137.pdf
Head Mistress now and
continues to teach. ♦
Good link for communication and team building activities
http://www.community4me.com/
♦ Learn English with comic strips
http://learnwithcomics.blogspot.com
♦ Inside a hard disk drive – see related videos also
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdmLvl1n82U
♦ Magazine and website for resources to empower people with the vision and tools to create a
healthy planet and vibrant communities.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/for-teachers
Sent by Anil Kumar Challa, LearningNet-India, Nagaswetha Pavuluri, Sofia Stefanidou, Ajit Kumar
Atluri

5. Page 5 of 6 Inspiring Teachers
Shakir – a differently abled trainer
Shakir is the first visually- about his 200-plus budding and enabled it
challenged MBA from the workshops that flower. Memory skills he
state of Andhra reverberate the need to encourages can be
Pradesh, India. He also inculcate in one’s self, developed by any
holds a masters in English skills to scour the individual. He teaches the
literature. He set positives out of the techniques towards memory
rolling “Empower” – a negative situations as well development in his
premier HRD Institute in as to mould the mind to seminars as a key ingredient
Hyderabad, servicing accept problems as for success.
Corporates, MNCs, challenges. Bangalore, Computer savvy, Shakir
engineering colleges – Hyderabad, Vijayawada browses internet and reads
envisioned to empower and the four metro cities emails with the aid of a
the human-mind to are among the prominent ‘Talking Computer’. An avid
Shakir with APJ Abdul
discover their true-hidden places he conducted the reader, Shakir considers Kalam
potential. Concurring with workshops/seminars in. ‘talking computer’ as a best
the medical findings that The participants ranged invention. It disassociates
humans barely use 5% of from managers, to him from crutches of having
their brain’s capacity technical and others read for him given
till their death, the CEO of administrative staff, at their own time and will
‘Empower’ Mr Syed Noor Mitsubishi, ICICI- constraints. This software
Muhammad Shakir Prudential, Care has aided him in reading
seems the right person Hospitals, Maxivisiion, more than a 100 hundred
around to invigorate us to City Cardiac, books on personality
tap our dormant Ascendas(L&T), Bajaj, development. His latest
mental capacities and Netlife, LIC, Vilan, being ‘Awaken the giant
capabilities. His Keertilal Jewellers to within’ by Anthony
transcription of Holy name a few. Students of Robbins. He laments
Qur’an into English various engineering, though that the software
Braille put him in Limca management, post- can read out only English
book of records. He has graduate and graduate language. Hence, loses
developed amazing educational institutions independence reading
memory skills and can constitute yet another vernacular languages, which
recall all the 600 names sector who attend his include his mother-tongue
with respective contact seminars, where he visits Urdu, also Telugu and
numbers saved in his on invitations. Regarding Hindi. Please contact
mobile phone. his own memory skills he Shakir@9347255325
It’s absolutely fascinating found in himself the

6. Samrita Trust – Education for Visually Challenged
Teacher’s Academy 60 million Indians are Audio CDs, MP3 Players, competitive examinations to
blind. There are 2 million Braille Kits, SAFA software, blind candidates appearing
blind children in India and laptops etc – to help to for the examinations to get
Hyderabad
only 5 % of them receive any study on their own, the employment in private and
education. subjects in their courses and public sector.
PHONE:
97011 41118 Blind persons can learn to perform better in More importantly, the trust
live a life of dignity and examinations. The Trust is has worked to affect
E-MAIL: independence. They can inspired by Louis Braille, changes in the government
info@inspiring-teachers.com
also perform all most all the inventor of Braille, and policies to benefit these
tasks of a normal person indomitable spirit of Helen students with latest
and lead a normal life. Keller. technology.
Mission of Samrita Trust Apart from curriculum Visit the website to learn
(estd 2006) is to empower books for intermediate, more and contribute either
the blind students to degree and some school your services or funds.
become self sufficient, by books, the trust also http://www.samritatrust.org/
providing suitable learning produces and supplies audio samrita/index.aspx
devices for their education. books of study materials and http://www.giveindia.org/m-
The learning devices are model papers of various 1008-Samrita-Trust.aspx
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Uma Garimella