DELHI University's (DU) Faculty of Education plans to introduce a new BEd programme from next year. Under the new scheme, the faculty aims to make the BEd programme more practicebased and also to increase the duration of the programme from one year to two years. "In today’s world, the role of 'critical inquiry' in teacher's preparation has gained tremendous importance. It is in this context that a teacher education programme of a longer duration is conceptualised, which provides for a structural as well as intellectual and experiential space to student-teachers to think and reflect upon their own practice," informed Bharati Baveja, head and dean, Faculty of Education, DU.
"The new programme aims to strengthen the relationship between theory and practice. So, the student will be both, a researcher and a problem solver. The programme would be essentially rooted in ground realities of our education system where a student will play an active role in identifying crucial issues and developing school education," she said.
The existing programme teaches students theories that are either foreign or outdated. "The new programme's structure would be evolving in nature. Students will be required to give feedback on the real issues he/she faces in the classroom," said Baveja. The faculty aims to achieve this by organising group discussions, paper presentations and theme-based discussions for students after they return from their training period.
As the present duration of the programme is short for teaching students, sending them for practical training and then taking their feedback, the faculty will extend the BEd programme to two years. "Once the university incorporates the semester pattern for all its postgraduate courses, we will be able to increase the duration. One year would be devoted to learning theories and the other for rigorous practical training. So, students will get to teach and also give us feedback," explained Baveja.
Further, the faculty is also working with the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) on a research-based project on how to make mentors more effective. The findings of the research will be implemented in the new BEd programme. "Under the present scheme, the students who undergo training are observed and mentored by teachers in their respective schools. We also observe them. However, since teachers who are already working are in a better position to mentor them, we would try to formalise this mentoring system under the new scheme," stated Baveja.
The faculty will train 20 teachers from each school affiliated to it on how to mentor the students who go for training. "We will use UKIERI's project findings on mentoring to train school teachers. This would also help in aligning the teachers' approach towards education with that of the faculty," added Baveja.
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