Why Covid-19 calls for rethinking in our educational content and processes?

Questions were raised in the last few webinars on how the schools will cope with the emerging scenario after Covid pandemic is laid to rest. Underlying all these questions was a dormant fear about managing their next academic year, ‘finishing’ the syllabus on time and issues related to inadequate time schedules they will have later. Unfortunately, the existing mindset seeks to reposition the schools back to their pre-covid systems, thereby acknowledging their unwillingness to learn the lessons this pandemic has taught us. Carefully examined, the Covid experience has given us some ‘alarm signals”. One could see a number of vital inputs that are needed to redesign our life systems, by eliminating several of the mistakes we had been doing over the decades consciously. If we are unwilling to learn and change, it will be suicidal to the future of the human race in this planet.

I feel, that the following are some important elements that need to be incorporated as fundamentals to our curricular design. To the advocates who argue that the current curriculum contains these elements already, my suggestion would be to re-examine the content and pedagogy whether these are really addressed in their true sense or are we trying to just paint a picture that ‘all is well’.

1.   Developing Social consciousness

The current pandemic has proved beyond doubt the need for “social consciousness” among the humans in all nations. Demonstrating its neutralizing effect, the pandemic has brought the rich and the poor, the valiant and the meek, the intellectual and the stupid, the philosopher and the pragmatist to the same platform. It has proved that love and service are the powerful pain-killers for a socially evolved civilization. Reaching out to the needy, saving the lives, sharing the resources, drawing limits to growth and living with minimal needs, have emerged as the essence of a happy life. It has also proved beyond doubt that health, safety, survival and togetherness are the basics on which the society needs to weave its texture rather than intellectual supremacy, technological arrogance and pride arising out of the conquest over nature. curriculum has to be articulated to meet these needs with purpose and focus.

2.   Developing Health consciousness

The Covid threat has exposed the need for focused activities in health education so that health emergencies arising from time to time can be prevented through thoughtful practices which are preventive rather than curative. It indeed calls for a total paradigm shift in our perceptions to health, hygiene, personal space and care, and social distancing. Further, it has put on show our inadequacies in existing practices with regard to pollution free environment- clean water, clean energy and clean air. The existing approach to these issues is very casual and just good enough to meet some basic legal requirements rather than as engaging inputs to create skills, competencies and comfort.

3.   Developing skills of Relationship management

Over a few decades, the value of our learning engagements has become largely ephemeral. The focus was laid on generating attitudes towards monetary growth and for improving standards of life. In this process, institutional structures like family, marriage, neighbourhood concepts got marginalized, rather sacrificed, to satisfy personal gratification needs. Relationships were built to suit contexts and to meet immediate needs, and thus became utilitarian in nature. Working in service sector was looked down by the white collars, thus creating divisive social relationship designs. Covid-19 has brought to light how the inequity in relationships need re-fabrication; it reveals how the society has to be sensitized to a sense of gratitude and gratefulness to fellow beings who risk their own lives for the welfare of the society. . .

4.   Developing emotional intelligence

Emotional intelligence has assumed priority over cognitive intelligence. Compassion, empathy, love, care, sharing and reaching out to others has become the need for a society suffocating in an emotional lockdown. The sense of philanthropy giving itself to selfish needs, indifference to people who are sick and suffering, non-participation in redeeming the fate of the downtrodden from poverty lines, self-branding through vulgar display of money power, non-recognition of the social and emotional needs of the senior citizens, inability to recognize the insecurity of the unorganized sector of labour, negation of equity to differentially abled persons and the like, are some fundamentals that need to be examined with greater depth and intensity. Lack of educating adequately on the emotional intelligence and relevant competencies, through educational platforms has resulted in developing a generation of people and a society, who appear to be highly self-centred. The situation needs to reversed. Educational inputs have to be resourced to meet these requirements.

5.   Developing a sense of inclusivity

The planet houses several lakhs of organisms that breathe like us and has a life system similar to us. The organisms living in water, land, forests and everywhere else have a right to live; live with comfort and peace. They have a right to live with dignity in their sphere of life system. They need freedom to live according to their own will, genetic culture characteristic of their own species and their co-habitants. Denying their right by sustained attempts to eliminate them from the planet, is an injustice to the purpose and beauty of the creation. As the entire eco-system is interdependent, it will have its fallouts even in human existence also. Education should focus on inclusive systems embracing species which fly, which crawl, which swim, which gallop and which have their own multi-dimensional life styles. Education has failed to take note of their existential needs and eliminated their habitats worldwide, by converting forests to deserts. The current scenario has brought to light our lack of appreciation and judgement about the needs of other species.

6.   Developing skills of Resource Management

The Covid-19 management requirements have taught us a number of new managerial skills required for mass management. We had to focus on managing several types of resources – food, shelter, transport, sanitation, health care, safety, law and order, mobility, finances and organized business practices and the like. All types of resources required specific skills relating to – identification of resources, accessing of resources, mobilization of resources, warehousing of resources, their delivery systems, their accounting systems and ensuring their reach on time. For a country like India, these skills are contextual to geography, culture, social backends. We would need human resources to plan and execute.  All these do not necessarily require certified qualifications or experience through institutions of higher learning, but call for practical wisdom and insights. These could be incorporated into the curriculum, and facilitation of selective acquisition of these skills could be addressed among the learners.

7.   Developing servicing skills

The spirit of service is vital to cohabitation. This is an expression of the concern and compassion for the community. Service, in essence, is an expression of our belongingness to every microcosm of this universe. Service to the underprivileged, service to the senior citizens, service to people with different abilities, service to all during disasters are a few areas, which need essential engagement. Each require different set of abilities to deal with. It may be important and prudent if these abilities and skills are incorporated at the formative stage, so that the learners can grow with a frame work of mind which has deep roots in such sensitivities. It will also open opportunities for the learners to be integral part of service organizations with a sense of purpose and as their signature for effective engagement with life.

8.   Developing crisis management skills

In a highly volatile world, which has opened to newer technologies, industries and uncertainties, crises have become order of the day. Lerbinger classifies the crises in the following categories: Natural disaster, Technological crisis, Confrontation, Malevolence, Organizational Misdeeds, Workplace Violence, Rumours, Terrorist attacks/man-made disasters. All these and more could put any community under avoidable risk. Hence the current generation of learners should acquire necessary basic skills of crisis management so that they could handle the crisis with requisite alertness, prudence, pragmatism and planning. Leadership skills in crisis management, at different levels, is the need of the day.

9.   Developing Wealth Management skills

Wealth needs to be understood in its right perspective. Land, Water, air, bio-sphere, living organisms Plants and a number of other non-living things become a part of the shared wealth of the human race. Beyond that at the individual level, health, knowledge, relationships, values, life skills, order and stability in life and a host of other things are integral to our concept of wealth. Unfortunately, in the last few decades we have identified ‘money’ and possessions as symbols of wealth. The corona impact has enlightened us of this faulty approach to life. It is time our educational systems focus on the real inputs to wealth and help in real time wealth generation.

10 Developing a sense of enterprise

Recovery from a disaster, resilience from an upheaval are essential in a vibrant society. To convert challenges into opportunities, people need to have entrepreneurial mindset and skills. The sense of enterprise is required for every individual for growth and scale up achievements in life. It brings to light all the latent talents in us. It helps us to seek resources, address innovation, plan strategies, find markets and discover our passion. It helps in understanding risk management, customer needs and satisfaction, budgeting finances and address issues related to quality management. These skills are required immaterial of any profession a learner would seek in later life. Education in entrepreneurship is the need of the day in a competitive and consumerist world.

The question is not how much and how far can we go. These are essential for a futuristic society. This would indeed mean refocusing our curricula from data and information to essential life skills. Indeed, this calls for a change in the mindset of educational administrators and policy makers. Better sooner, than later!!

ONLINE LEARNING – THE EMERGING NEED

I had been a teacher and I continue to be. I have been somewhat passionate about what I used to do and I continue to be. This has given me a conviction that the teacher has a role to play in the classroom and he can never be replaced. Convinced as I am that the teacher cannot be replaced, I am equally convinced that the role of the teacher is fast changing and if they are not sensitive enough to be a part of such changes, the ailing classrooms will shift gratification of their needs to other portals of engagement. That is exactly where the technology steps in to bridge gaps wherever they are and also to provide scaffolding roles to the classrooms. In his book “Bridgital Nation”, the author sh. N. Chandrasekaran, Chairman of Tata sons, observes “Technology alone does not solve difficult problems. But when technology is applied in context with reimagined purposes, the results can be magical.” This magic can happen in education sector also.

Technology is no more a guest to our schools. It is a part of our organizational structure that facilitates, resources, manages and delivers our intents. It is not going to be just an information- management system, but will be a pedagogical tool for improving our educational content, its spectrum of pedagogy, and our methods of objective assessment. Over the years it had taken several Avatars to make its impact in classrooms in the form of : Tele-classrooms, Computer-Aided-Learning (CAL), Computer-Based Learning (CBL), e-learning, Web-based learning, Remote learning, Satellite supported classrooms (edusat),  Virtual learning and the like, with each of them emerging to cater to a specified audience, purpose or a strategy. On-line learning, therefore, has come to stay. It is entirely up to us how effectively and how quickly we use the portals of technology to make learning efficient, effective, purposeful, stress-free and self-motivating.  There need be no fear that online learning would make formal education an outlaw. Says Peter Dickson, the author of the book “The Future of (almost) everything”: “Despite the growth of informal online education, most people will spend even more time in formal education by 2030.”

The following are the expected pathways through which technology may make its inroads into the portals of education:

1.      Online learning for scaffolding the teacher

Essentially, online learning is a supplement to formal learning at the school level; at higher pedestals of learning it could be considered as a tool of distance learning. The role of technology, therefore, is to facilitate the teacher for reaching out concepts which are otherwise difficult in the absence of technology. The visual effects, the audio effects, the multiplicity of resource inputs it could provide has the capacity to engage the learners more effectively. Thus, it could help a teacher for concept stabilization, enrichment and for intellectual engagement with the learners. It does provide a very powerful scaffolding effect to the formal classrooms.

2.      Online learning for learning enrichment

It is claimed by the brain scientists that neither the presence of the teacher nor the student does guarantee learning. Learning happens as a natural human instinct empowered by the brain. It could be formal or informal, instructional or non-instructional. Learning happens continuously dependent on several factors’ characteristic to the learner. Online learning, can indeed help in learning enrichment by reaching out to varied interests of the learners, varied intellectual requirements of the learners and through varied strategies of pedagogical intervention including edutainment. Thus, online could bridge some of the existing gaps in the learning systems through rich resources housed on its clouds and enabling the learner to seek them at one’s own will and time. Further the scope of resources provided by a teacher could be limited to their own experience, while online resources bring with them a treasure house of resources from global platforms at nanoseconds.

3.      Online learning for managing learning styles

A lot of research has gone to understand the learning styles of the learners. However, a number of psychologists do question the validity of the ‘VARK’ questionnaires, as no direct correlation has been found between the preferred learning style and effective learning. However, there does exist a relationship between the preferred learning style and the memory, with memory not being a factor to be singled out either as a source or resource for learning at all times. Nevertheless, the online learning inputs do provide enriched resources to the learners with preferred styles of learning; thus, facilitating repetition and spaced- repetition for revisiting the content, thereby reinforcing the process of learning. It thus helps, in eliminating the monotony that would arise out of linearity either in pedagogical deliveries or linearity in learning.

4.      Online learning for stress free learning

The formal classrooms have been associated with the terminologies – bag load, curriculum load, transaction load, psychological load, homework load and the like. Over the years, an impression has been created that all learning in schools is associated with stress, whether there is any truth or not, in such a belief. The online learning is possibly a home remedy for this ‘belief sickness’. The leaner is neither under fear nor any compulsion to learn in a given manner, unless it is a synchronous classroom where the dominance of the teacher continues to exist. With a variety of learning inputs, the online could make learning more learner-friendly, more edutaining, more engaging and more participative. Though, the physical absence of the teacher is to be factored with a negative note, the resource inputs are good enough to gravitate, engage and motivate the learner and to sustain the curiosity. No doubt, the teacher has to plan and work adequately to create the necessary environment.

5.      Online learning for self-learning

In the ‘ivory-tower’ approach of the formal classrooms the ‘knowledge flow’ is projected from a higher pedestal to the lower one. As it is less participative, it creates a sense of fear and inadequacy in the learner. Further, it creates a myth in the mind of the learner that one would not be able to engage with learning without a superior or supervisory person. This often leads to a self-defeating approach demotivating the learner from intense personal engagements with knowledge. Once introduced to digital portals, with access to a universe of knowledge and several gateways to access the same, the learner feels like one who has been relieved of the shackles of compulsions. The learner is able to freely make his real time and virtual journeys to the vistas of learning. This does offer the learner a sense of fulfilment, a sense of achievement and being exploratory in nature, the much needed “Aha” experience. Self-learning is indeed vital to the growth of the brain as brain is not at all designed for linear learning and to be more specific ‘not at all for learning’. It enjoys challenges and discovers knowledge through experience and exploration.

6.      Online learning for anywhere, anytime learning

Formal classrooms don’t have the necessary environment or time schedules for enabling customized learning. Possibly because of the shortage of time, pressure on completion of courses, management issues in the classroom arising out of large numbers and for ensuring uniformity right across the school bandwidth, the possibility of learner specific customized learning opportunities are minimized. With digital support, the learner can free himself from the clutches of time and space, and can enjoy learning anywhere, anytime so long as the individual stands gravitated to the content and the delivery process. This ‘freedom of learning” is indeed a trigger to enhance the learner’s universe of learning and learning domains.

7.      Online learning for extended learning

Normally, the formal classrooms provide limited learning opportunities, largely restricted to the definitions of the curriculum, and then the outfit of the syllabi. Even if the teacher is a great motivator, the compulsions of a defined architecture of learning limits the scope for extended learning like visiting a library, seeking sources and resources for further learning. But in an online platform, the opportunities for extended learning are tremendous, as the learner can transport himself to search portals immediately for search, research or for a journey to the digital libraries. The access and the quantum of resources available to the learners is immense and can keep the learner engaged for a long time.

8.      Online learning for Research based learning

The future holds a huge promise for ‘research’, ‘creativity’ and ‘innovation’. With self-learning enabled, research-based approaches in online pedagogy, is found to be a very powerful tool for enhancing learning, facilitating extended learning and to provoke the learner into an investigative approach to learning based on logical thinking. With innumerable number of search engines at their disposal for accessing information, there is every opportunity for redeeming lost avenues of information and using them in the current context for synthesis of new knowledge. As such, several convergent as well as divergent approaches to knowledge management have opened up in prime institutions, who are willing to discover ‘themselves’ in a newer world of knowledge consciousness.  Research based learning provides both challenge as well as satisfaction to the learner simultaneously enhancing their self-esteem. Further, online research-based learning can also promote ‘collaborative learning’ thereby raising opportunities for effective ‘social construction’ of knowledge, thereby making it more authentic, credible, valid and transparent.

Though online learning has been initiated in some of the educational institutions, the approach appears more cosmetic than founded on futuristic vision. It is important that educators need to position online learning as a tool for long term futuristic requirements which will prepare a generation of competent professionals and entrepreneurs for the country. It calls for a purposeful self-learning on the part of educational leaders and policy makers, leave alone teachers. The future of ‘online learning’ is no doubt, very encouraging.

WILL A GLOBAL LIFESTYLE TRANSFORMATION HAPPEN?

WILL A GLOBAL LIFESTYLE TRANSFORMATION HAPPEN?

Alvin Toffler writes in his book ‘The Future Shock’ published exactly fifty years ago “It is the thesis of this book that there are discoverable limits to the amount of change that the human organisms could absorb, and that by endless accelerating change without first determining these limits, we may submit masses of men to demands they simply cannot tolerate. We run the high risk of throwing them into that peculiar state that I have called Future shock.” He continues “We may define future shock as the distress, both physical and psychological, that arises from an overload of human organism’s physical adoptive systems and its decision-making processes. Put simply, future shock is the human response to over-stimulation.”

The current global disaster has led to the loss of several thousands of lives and a scale of human disease in unimaginable proportions, and is increasing in an exponential manner. Is this just a reflection of that over-load and over- stimulation of the human organisms for which we neither have a meaningful managerial response nor an adequate operational response? It is in a state of chaos across the globe. In this context, it is interesting to learn from the mathematical models of chaos that “if a butterfly flaps its wings in China, it can cause a hurricane in Texas.”  The catastrophe that has struck the world diffusing all boundaries of geography, race, religion, language or the social status has brought us down from an excited state of energy to the ground state, from a perceived technology dominated world to a realistic biology dominated world, if one could put it a little scientifically.

In the midst of serious political debates on the source, origin and modus operandi of the virus, the human race is not only trying to find remedies for a disease, but is potentially engaged with questions which are more fundamental. These questions relate to the scope and direction of future human and social progress, its impact on the global and local economies, newer life styles that could emerge and drawing the speed limits to our hunger for intellectual conquest over nature and of course, an engagement with the past and the native cultures to seek solace and peace.  Economists and sociologist may engage with some reflective questions on repositioning and redefining the current perspectives of needs, desires and luxuries which are not necessarily related to the basics for human existence.  Questions relating to the need for re-engineering current social architectures may draw public debates.  Well, the tools of science and technology has facilitated to address many of the fundamental issues; however a host of other issues seeking solutions remain – the acceptable pathways for our future living platforms , the way we would socialize human relationships, contemporary belief systems and trust deficits, ethical living and business systems, and the way we would combat consumerism and exhibitionism as a people of a planet struggling to survive.

Consumerism and exhibitionism have really transported human thought architectures to flights of fancies and negotiating and subordinating the real world to a virtual world, least realizing that such conquests have very short life. Compromises for immediate pleasure have constantly been ushering newer life styles and the human race has, at least in the last one century, subordinated its culture and heritage assimilated over centuries to a few peanuts of modernity. The argument may sound stifling and strange, but we cannot deny the realities latent in the core of our hearts. Intellectual conquests, which shun human considerations, and trigger personal priorities over those of ecosystems have a perilous value. We have just pursued that path. Possibly, the catastrophe Covid-19 brought, has triggered some thinking in a large cross-section of well-meaning people on ‘whether we should consider rehabilitating our life styles?’.

Talking about the search for human happiness in his book “The Future of (Almost) Everything” Patrick Dickson remarks  “Research into Happynomics shows that happiness in developed nations is strongly linked to some or all of the following: mid-range income, good friends, stable marriage or partnership, strong faith or spirituality, extrovert nature, liking your job, living in a stable democracy.’ If closely analysed all the ingredients to a happy society appears challenged in the excessively ‘information and data driven society’ wherein logistics singularly outwits emotions and intuition. There is more to life than logic, though it scaffolds a healthy living. The author also talks of a survey which reveals: “Africa is the place where people are happier (84%), while people in western Europe are the least happy with 11% saying that they are unhappy or very unhappy.” This indeed takes us to a more basic issue whether the standard of life is the real indicator of happiness levels?’ Possibly in the pursuit of the standards of life we have sacrificed the ‘quality of life’.

Covid-19 has certainly ushered in a sense of social fear psychosis, whether one agrees or not, however much we may say we are warriors by nature. This sense of fear may indeed provoke us to revisit and re-calibrate some of our past assumptions about life styles. Let us consider a few possible scenarios:

1.   Would lifestyles change?

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Over the last few decades, we have moved towards a faster life; fast in everything – in scaling distances, in defining and measuring achievements, in assimilation of wealth, in fast processes including food habits. While this technology driven change is indeed a blessing to us for solving problems, for mass management systems, for speedy engagements in times of crisis and for larger focused approach to human thought architecture. This is being scaffolded through big data management, deep learning exercises and the like. Speed, impatience, excitement have impacted our life processes by awarding anxiety syndromes, gratification urges and achievement scales.

The incumbent fear may act as a speed-breaker to restore the human thought dynamics closer to its native state and to a heritage driven culture of thinking. We would certainly like to look back frequently whether we are losing anything in life or losing the life itself, in its true sense. We may reconsider our lifestyle needs as to their relevance and reliability. Work-life balance may be revisited by human consciousness. Referrals to the ground state of human existence built on healthy lifestyles that nurtured the self and the neighbourhood, as detailed in the past knowledge parks may be re-read to seek a newer meaning and purpose.

2.   Will consumerism get reversed?

“Now a days people know the price of everything and the value of nothing”, said Oscar Wilde. Possibly he was right. We have engaged into a new culture in consumerism, wherein we tend to buy, possess a number of things whether we want it or not. Every individual is valued more on his credit profile unlike the past wherein taking a loan from someone was considered as inappropriate and a challenge to the self-esteem. It is said that ‘we buy things we don’t need with the money we don’t have, to impress people who we don’t like.’ This consumerist attitude has impacted the eco-sphere both directly and indirectly raising several threats to our existence in the planet. As Bryant.H. McGill puts is “The new slavery is consumerism.’  Given an unprecedented assault on both Marco-economic and the micro-economic systems, the instability in the value profile of money, there is every possibility of the consumerist trends getting reversed, if not largely, but in a progressive manner with serious impacts on the global markets and economy, This may force producers to rethink about their market profiles, needs and approaches.

3.   Will nations become glocal than global?

The last decade or two has witnessed a strong impetus towards globalization. The rat race among nations to explore global markets and seek monarchy over production and distribution of products fostered not only the mobilization of products to global markets but human resources too. In some countries, they decided to market and export even essentials to other countries at the cost the consumption needs of their own citizens just to ensure their global presence. In this process, many products, services and systems which are either culturally or socially alien to countries penetrated into markets, not only promoting insensitive and inappropriate products to other countries, but significantly redefining their culture. This cultural assault impacted the social psyche creating conflicts in belief systems, life styles and in the educational delivery processes required for the Next-gen. The current scenario suggests that there will be increasing focus on local products or adoption of local products to the local geographies, not letting dominance of 

global markets over the local ones. There is every possibility of this rehabilitating local cultures, which may indeed by a gift of Covid-19.

4.   Is conservatism wait-listed?

With growth curves of many countries flattening, they might have to rediscover themselves in terms of their produces, processes and people skills. Whatever be the inflow of global currencies infused to keep the economic vibrance and fluidity in place, the local inadequacies will force several countries to rethink on their entrepreneurial adventures, thereby promoting conservatism in their mind maps and thought universe. The burden of the past will hang on their economies for some time and their purchase power will be low and strategically moderated by the administrative hierarchies. William Gladstone observes “Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence; conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear,” In the current scenario, countries will operate both on distrust and fear for some more time. Consequently, conservatism will retard faster growth and reduce global interactions. With a down-graded economy, many countries will review their import requirements and strategies forcing the design of contended communities.

5.   Will technology become humane?

Technology has impacted the world extensively. We have reached a situation that we cannot either live or let live others without technology. Its exotic penetration, while providing a number of ‘aha’ experiences in outreach, research and human services, it has also promoted the idea of ‘utilitarianism’ and encouraging ‘throw away’ approaches as a part of our social growth. Durability and sustenance of materials and methods have been replaced by novelty and fashions. While technology has linked people at distances, it has separated people who were close by reducing human interactions. The technology organizations which have witnessed the human disaster in unprecedented proportions might re-position their entrepreneurial and investment adventures more proximate to human needs, humane linkages and adopt a ‘healer’ approach to stay closer to human issues.

6.   Will the concept of wealth be repositioned?

Thanks to competitive consumerism, cut-throat and cutting-edge competitions for establishing supremacy anywhere and everywhere through brand marketing, unethical values proliferated unethical practices worldwide both in business and in everyday life. Wealth was positioned in terms real estates, stock markets, bank balances, credit bills, corporate expenditures, avenues for club houses, egalitarian approaches to relationships and the like. Vulgar and arrogant display of liquid money was considered as demonstration of wealth. “Without a rich heart, wealth is an ugly beggar” said R.W. Emerson. Now, the social consciousness, which is likely to get stirred by fear, would provoke people to reconsider their definition of wealth as health, family, relationships, ecosystems, satisfaction, engagement, peace and pleasure. The impact of this will be on the entire spectrum of industry- business-market-people engagement. People will find substance and meaning in the words of Epictetus “Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants.”

The aftermath of Covid-19 poses unpredictable impacts in the social psyche. It will be interesting to wait and watch how nations, communities, corporates and businesses will respond.

IMPORTANT PEDAGOGICAL CONCERNS TEACHERS NEED TO ADDRESS FOR EFFECTIVE ON-LINE LEARNING

ON-LINE learning is an emerging social necessity. Given the various health concerns world over, the learners cannot get engaged in socialized learning systems for a couple of more months. That is also avoidable. Further, it is also evolving as a new living and learning culture among the Gen-Next. Consequently, the learning paradigm shifts towards on-line teaching where the teacher becomes an enabler from a distant place; thus, a direct personalized interaction between the teacher-learner is getting minimized. One consequent fallout will be lack of adequate emotional contact between the learner and the teacher as it existed a few weeks ago. This calls for a renewed relationship management pattern between the teacher and the learner. It would therefore be appropriate if teachers could understand the challenges they could face and adopt some simple strategies to make the learning effective, interesting and focused.

1.   Diffusing any linearity in learning

A number of brain studies have indicated that learning is not a linear process. It is influenced by several inputs that impact, that emerge from the learner’s eco-system. The duration of attention and the resultant focus could be much less than in a formal classroom as the freedom to learn in the on-line learning environment might add to the distractions of the learner. However, the nature of the content, the modus operandi of the pedagogy, the varieties in learning inputs, opportunities for thinking and effective tools of communication may enhance the attention and focus in the on-line platform. It would be ideal if the contents are captured in small learning capsules and delivered. The content has to be gravitating with diversified inputs which are based on concepts. The ability to relate with the texts on the screen will be much less as compared to the visual content. Learning, not being linear, efforts should be made to weave the content with a variety of illustrations, experiences, narratives that further the learning stimulation

2.   Organizing the content

The content organization for the on-line delivery has to be articulated on the following four elements 

a.   Provoking the curiosity

b.   Element of novelty

c.   Gravitating attention

d.   Sustenance of attention and motivation

Any content that does not provoke the curiosity of the learner within the first two minutes has possibly forfeited its purpose. The presentation of the content has to provoke the sensory stimuli of the learner so that he gets related to the content. The element of novelty refers to the pedagogical novelty that would be embedded into the content, so that the learner finds a new value or purpose with this technological intervention, lest the learner identifies only its documentary value. Any novel content would certainly gravitate the attention of the learner and this is the time the on-line teacher exposes the learner to the universe of the content and its operational and experiential dimensions, so that the learner stands gravitated. Subsequently, the content delivery should move to inputs that would not only sustain his attention till the successful delivery of the content, but it further motivates him or her to revisit the content for reinforcement.

3.   Empowering Memory

In the online platform, we are not addressing to building a rote memory, but a conceptual stabilization in the memory that leads to understanding for effective application and reflection. Usually, most of the visual or auditory inputs suffer from a transient value and hence are captured only in the short-term memory of the learner. Neuro-cognitive experiments have indicated that only a minor percentage of the cognition embedded in the short-term or volatile memory is transmitted to the long-term memory. This is usually achieved, according to the brain scientists, by following ‘repetition – and spaced repetition’. Hence the on-line faculty should steal the opportunity of enabling the learners to engage repeatedly and at intervals revisit the concepts and their immediate universe. Further, it is claimed that ‘Emotionally Competent Stimuli’ have direct access to long-term memory as compared to stale packaged deliveries. So, it is important to find and provide opportunities for periodic excitement in learning. Such inputs of excitement need not be direct or formal, but could be those which are auxiliary, scaffolding or secondary. Nevertheless, they have an outreach value and they relate to the learner to stay focused in the compass of learning.

4.   Enabling ‘AHA’ experience

Technology enabled platforms have a great opportunity to help the learner to move towards an ‘AHA’ experience. This is possible, on a virtual platform, because an integrated approach to visual, auditory and sensory inputs to the context of learning. The synergy of the above helps in meaningful and focused approach to seeking conceptual clarity, and also seek learning inputs and experiences which are not usually accessed through a largely auditory based classroom. Further, as the dominance of the teacher is much minimal in an online platform, there is either participatory access to knowledge acquisition or a creative approach to knowledge acquisition. Either way, the learner’s self-esteem is boosted and there is a greater ownership to learning resulting in a sense of achievement, and consequent ‘aha’ experience. Further, there is a better opportunity of personal performance in on-line platform as the normal ‘conditioned learning’ approach of a formal classroom is minimized.

5.   Focus on whole brain development

Though the recent researches in neurosciences have clarified that learning is a whole brain activity, the argument of active engagement of the right and the left brain in a prioritized manner for a short duration of time, has not been negated. The brain scientists do recommend, therefore, the need for varied content that would engage and impact both the right and the left-brain faculties from time to time. It would, therefore, be appropriate to design and deliver contents which would enhance both faculties by periodic engagements, than letting a stereotype content for a longer duration. It is also equally important to design and deliver the content that would mindscape all the facets of intelligences as detailed in the MI pedagogy.

6.    Facilitating learner engagement

In a number of content delivery platforms, the method of delivery often is unidimensional, just replacing the dominance of the teacher by the dominance of technology. Such an approach would have retrograde effects in online learning. Periodic facilitation for learner engagement through multiple strategies has to be embedded so that the learner doesn’t feel ignored, marginalized or his interests subordinated in the process. The methods could be seeking differentiated response processes - through an edutainment strategy that motivates play, an intellectual engagement strategy like quiz, a creative engagement strategy as problem solving, or a logic provocation strategy like the cross-word puzzles. There could be several other innovative approaches.

7.   Facilitation for extended learning

One of the limitations of a formal learning environment is the attempt of teachers to limit the learning to a textual content or a defined curriculum or the needs of an examination. All these, oftentimes, curb the curiosity of the learner for further learning or are suggestive of the small achievements one is expected to have in a specified period of time. In the online learning platforms this psychological limitation can be diffused by introducing effective pedagogy and content strategy that could lead to a variety of referrals either immediately or subsequently to enhance and further knowledge. By igniting the curiosity of the learner to such extended platforms of learning, the entire process of learning can be modified to knowledge acquisition rather than examination-oriented performance. This could further trigger the self-learning competencies of the learner and the ability to reach out to content at one’s will. Thus, the limitations of learning defined through time and space can be re-engineered to learning anywhere and anytime.

8.   Assessment while learning

In a formal classroom, the strategies for assessment for learning is usually inadequate. There is a larger focus on assessment on learning. The formative assessment practices appear to be very limited, stereotyped to the competency profile of the teacher. Further both in terms of tools and assessment strategies they do not necessarily meet the actual need and profile of the learner and his learning style. The online platforms provide a huge opportunity for the teachers to remain adequate, well-prepared and empowered with a variety of tools to be delivered to the learner. Further these can be positioned to meet the actual needs of the learner from time to time; and to draw a factual learning curve of the learner. The online learning also would help ‘assessment as learning’ to help the teachers to fix the learning inadequacies from time to time or in short intervals so that the requisite pedagogy for the individual learner can be strategized for effective learning.

IMPORTANCE OF TEACHING SOCIAL DISTANCING TO CHILDREN

Social distancing has become a necessity at this time to save ourselves from some possible impacts of a viral disease that has spread as a pandemic. It is in essence an exercise of keeping a physical distance from another person to eliminate the possibility of any impact by touch or through other sensory inputs. It is considered as a social action to reduce the chances of infection between individuals or groups. But the concept of social distancing is not anything new. It had remained as a part of culture in several countries for several reasons. It has been welcomed as well as criticised aggressively from time to time. Sociologists have categorized various types of social distancing methods under the following four categories:

a.  Affective Social Distance

b.  Normative Social Distance

c.   Interactive Social Distance

d.  Cultural and Habitual Distance

Talking about social distancing, Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional intelligence observes “Social distancing makes it all the easier to focus on the small differences between groups and to put a negative spin on the ways of others and a positive spin on our own.” Advocating the need for ‘Social intelligence’ Daniel Goleman further defines it as “our ability to build successful relationships and to navigate through social environments.” The concepts of “Social awareness and social facility” are essential to develop a meaningful sense and approach to social distancing.  Explaining the need for educating on social consciousness John Dewey, the celebrated Educational philosopher says “Education is a regulation of the process of coming to share in the social consciousness; and that the adjustment of individual activity on the basis of this social consciousness is the only sure method of social reconstruction.”

Efforts have also been made to understand and develop methods and strategies for measurement of social distancing in different contexts and in different geographies so that some measurable scales are developed for standardized analytics.

The basic reasons for maintaining the social distance could include:

a.  Health and hygiene

b.  Personal space

c.   Respecting interpersonal distances

d.  For maintenance of law and order

e.  To ensure safety

f.    To maintain social order

Some of these fundamentals have to be incorporated as a part of learning in institutions to facilitate and empower a dignified life. In many countries some of these have become a part of culture and any violation in public spaces is considered as impolite or as an exhibition of arrogance. Let us consider some of the educational implications of the above in a learning environment to empower social consciousness, social awareness and social facility.

a.  Health and Hygiene

The history of science has proved time and again the communication of diseases through personal touch or through air, water or through appliances which are handed over from one to the other. Touching an individual without their consent is considered an act of indecency in many cultures. Most actions of goodwill are restrained to a handshake and in some cultures, a simple hug between the most proximate people. In India, the use of Namaste posture was considered as the safest one as it doesn’t involve either a touch or need for a proximity. Habits were inculcated to leave the chappals outside the house, to wash hands and legs before entering the house. Touching the teeth and eyes, poking the nose, inserting clothes or instruments to ears were all forbidden and if any one does it, they were instructed to wash their hands immediately before they touch anything else. Similarly sipping, nail biting and growing long hairs were all considered as hazards for the personal health and hygiene of the people. I think the schools can initiate discussion on such issues among children and create an acceptable environment because learning is powerful when the learner is personally convinced rather than when it is forced through authority.

B Personal Space

The concept of personal space is exhibition of respect to an individual’s identity and esteem. Hence as learners grow, it would be wise to give them the freedom of their space, so that they celebrate their individuality, uniqueness and identity. While the students could be trained on the importance of personal space at the physical level, it will be an opportunity to empower them with their personal space mentally, emotionally and intellectually. The idea of personal space should get ingrained in their mind which would result in their profile and behaviour. Personal space gives a psychological assurance to every individual about their own possibilities as well as sense of responsibility. It encourages self-discipline.

c.   Inter-personal space

AS much as we teach about the concept and use of personal space in life, it is equally important to imbibe in them the idea of inter-personal space. Unfortunately, this idea has not developed adequately in our country possibly due to a prevailing sense of insecurity, competition, cutting-edge consumerism and a strong push towards achievement syndromes. Inter-personal space is a reflection of a social culture and is reflected through a number of activities. Keeping distance from people while walking, while conversing, while following a queue, while doing a purchase in the markets or malls, while claiming up the stairs are indicative of the culture of an individual. Further, seeking out of line favours impacting the emotional status of others, not letting others to express themselves or do something by pushing ourselves ahead for the same do suggest that we don’t respect the inter-personal space culture. Teaches could provide experiential inputs on such issues, so that the learner develops as an individual who commands mutual respect from others based on the behaviour and culture.  

d.  Maintenance of law order

Social distancing is very important for maintenance of law and order. Quite often one could see the tendencies of people failing to follow a queue, pushing others aside while climbing a bus, a train or a flight which exhibit the restless and impatience of the people. The exhibit a sense of irresponsibility and rudeness through such actions which could indeed become subsequently an issue of law and order. Similar cases are also seen by non-compliance to rules and regulations on the road, driving ahead of others giving opportunism for accidents, speed-driving, not maintaining the minimum distances while using vehicles creating a sense of panic in others, creating noise pollution through unwarranted noise, sirens and horns, disturbing the emotional profile of others. Crowding, gathering at religious places and in conferences and not keeping socially required distances might inconvenience the health, safety and comfort of others. Teachers have enough opportunities to create sensitivity on these issues so that learners develop as socially conscious citizens.

e.  To ensure safety

Proverbially it is said that ‘accidents do not happen; they are caused.” Very often unsafe conditions emerge because of impertinent actions of some individuals. Leaving instruments and appliances in public places that could hurt, walking into areas defined as private spaces, abusive use of technology to hack the personal interests of others, bullying and commenting on others personal profiles and status, insulting or harming others in public spaces to settle personal scores, demonstrating one’s proximity to VIPs or people who matter and thereby displaying a sense of authority and arrogance are all indicators of absence of understanding about social space and social order. As such studies in civics offer a lot of opportunity about human rights and its violations. Real time exercises, mock shows on the above and debates in classrooms will help in understanding the need for social distancing, not necessarily as a physical act but as a concept which has a much deeper meaning.

f.    Maintaining social order

Every citizen has a significant role to play in maintaining social order. A community is a collective family with people who have equal rights and specific responsibilities. Social distancing, with its deeper meaning, also calls for distancing from unethical actions, unfair practices and being a part of an insane mass behaviour. Learners need to have adequate life skills to be committed and compassionate citizens, who would not engage in corrupt practices, even if they are invited to a situation of such kind. ‘social distancing’ forbids a herd mentality and curbs the growth of the personal intellectual and spiritual profile of the individual. Teaches could take a number of case studies on how an individual can destroy a social order or get himself liquidated in a group with a negative social activism.

Social distancing is an exercise in developing not only the personal profile of the individual, but is an act that is targeted towards developing the skills of citizenry among the learners.