FACULTY SKILLS DEVELOPMENT (FSD)
A faculty is the lifeblood of an educational institution. They are solely responsible for delivering knowledge and training a school promises its students. The reputation of an organization depends on the dedication, passion and sincere efforts of its faculty members. In order to empower them to provide the best education for education, it is vital to invest the best training for them. The training areas where we focus on, are enumerated below:
* Teaching, Assessing, Research, Professionalism – a teacher, apart from teaching effectively should also know to assess them effectively and regularly, to check their learning. One should keep themselves constantly updated by regular research. Professionalism in teaching means a set of implied and explicit standards educators are expected to follow while working as a teacher.
* Pedagogical Skills – these are a set of skills which reflect a teacher’s ability to instruct students and manage their classroom. Teachers need to understand their students, communicate with parents, collaborate with colleagues and build upon their pedagogical skills throughout their careers to better connect to students and teach materials.
* Leadership Skills – it is essential for teachers to display leadership skills both inside and outside the classrooms. To inculcate such skills one can step out of their comfort zone and accept additional duties like coaching a sports team, or directing a student club, like chess, quizzing or drama. This would equip them to get promoted towards senior positions.
* Patience – it is a virtue that all teachers need to possess. Considering the fact that a classroom represents a variety of cultural backgrounds, learning styles and intellectual abilities, a teacher would have to be patient in dealing with her students. This virtue ensures a smooth functioning in the classroom to facilitate proper learning.
* Critical Thinking Skills – a teacher has to be completely aware of the students so that the lessons delivered in the class can be beneficial for them. It involves conceptualizing, analyzing, synthesizing and evaluating information gathered from observation, reflection, communication, experience or reasoning, as a guide to belief and action.
* Communication Skills – excellent physical,verbal and written communication are pre-requisites of a good teacher. They are required to make their lesson materials, and expectations clear while presenting concepts in a manner that students can understand. Maintaining proper eye contact with the students is also vital to make teaching more engaging.
* Organisational Skills – it is necessary for a teacher to create a proper structure for storing and using study materials effectively. A teacher should be able to maintain binders and folders for different students where all their study materials, assignments and progress reports can be stored.
* Creative Thinking Abilities – a teacher is supposed to incorporate her creative potential into her teaching methods to enable the students to take keen interest in the classroom. For younger students, activities like mimicry, singing and drawing can be included to stimulate learning. For senior students, teachers may use media like films, music and the internet to illustrate ideas and concepts in detail.
* Computer Skills – it is essential for teachers to embrace new technologies and learning modalities in order to deliver quality education to their students. Besides tracking grades, teachers can use computers to formulate lesson plans, worksheets, study guides, tests etc. Digital media tools like online videos and interactive exercises can also be used to make their teaching more engaging.
* Conflict Resolution Skills – managing disagreements and conflicts in a classroom is an important responsibility of a teacher. Conflicts arise mostly in the case of younger children, when it comes to sharing resources like story books, games or toys. Teachers should be able to stop conflicts from escalating and teach students to be respectful towards their peers.
