Introduction

This course has been designed for educators in science and engineering to get their learning process enhanced, and the teaching quality and competence improved to a significantly higher degree. During this program, the participant will be familiarized with the conceptual developments that emerged in recent years in methods and practices of lecturing in engineering and natural science spheres. The participants are trained to boost their lecturing capacity on the subject by selecting and executing various appropriate teaching pedagogies, both traditional classroom style and also the latest inclusion into the set of teaching tools in recent years.

Attendees will gain in-depth knowledge in understanding knowledge and skills, the most appropriate tools in transferring knowledge and development of skills, introducing modern trends of teaching pedagogies, enhancement of teaching career by networking and taping international resources.

Learning Objectives

The key objective of the course is to uplift the educator-personality of a teacher to have an edge over others in a competitive environment. Such knowledge, skills, and personality enhancement will be highly beneficial to the work environment as well.

Who should attend

• Early and mid-career lecturer, senior lecturer, and research engineer at higher education institutes.
• Postgraduate students that intend to move into the education sector for lecturing careers.
• High school teachers who plan to advance their skills to a higher domain.

Course Outline

• Knowledge base and analytical skills:

How does a student conceptualize knowledge and skills, Are knowledge and memory the same? Are skills born with?, How an engineer should link knowledge to skills, permanent and impermanent nature of knowledge and skills

• Crossing from understanding to realization:

Difference between understanding and realization, should an engineer always realize what he understands? Crossing the barrier of mental inertia.

• Optimization of knowledge and skill transfer:

Why optimize, not maximize? What knowledge should be transferred? Are skills transferable? How to remove psychological gates that prevent knowledge transfer?

• Differentiating science and engineering:

How should one approach the professional world in an engineer’s attire? Is it different from that of a scientist? Is “practical usefulness” a measuring stick of engineering?

• Selecting the most appropriate teaching pedagogy for a given subject:

Should all engineering fields be taught following the same methods? What does “personalizing of teaching pedagogy” mean? What are the filters for selecting the right method? Applications of basic psychological skills for student management and maintaining elevated team spirit among peers.

• How to be a colourful classroom teacher?:

Curriculum analysis, preparation of notes, time planning & management, appropriate balancing of chalk & board and slide presentations, management of Q&A sessions/snap questions/short speeches, etc., the strategy of assigning self-studying projects, team-based learning, design thinking, problem-solving models and progress evaluation techniques, Achieving personal goals to become an “excellent teacher” while covering targets of the curriculum.

• Introducing recent trends in engineering education:

Teacher facilitated and student-centered small group activities, AR/VR demonstrations, mind-boosting psychological exercises in & out the classroom, interaction with industry & international community through online platforms, snap questions in riddle solving, pros & cons of hands-on practical session and observed demonstration, capstone design, modern measurable and observables of learning outcomes, and psychological orientation from teacher-mind to facilitator-mind.

• Trends and challenges in implementing cross-disciplinary courses:

In this section modern trends in engineering education, where traditional segregation of subject fields is unproductive, have been discussed. Two exemplary cases; energy and environment, are considered to explain how a multi-disciplinary approach is required to address needs of the society. The strategies of developing curricula for such fields and the challenges in executing such courses are discussed.

• Online education Vs FtF teaching

Pros and cons of online education, additional points in preparing for online classes, breaking psychological barriers and monotony, and evaluation of outcomes on online platforms.

• Networking to become a marketable educator:

Linking academia and industry, exposing students to the industrial world, networking with national, regional and international communities through social media platforms and distance communication, taping information sources and databases for channeling knowledge at the international level to the classroom.