Sunday 24 July 2022

Best Teaching Practices for Law Academicians

Honored to conduct a hands-on workshop for UPES School of Law faculty members and contribute to the annual FDP.

Best Teaching Practices
for Law Academicians

It was an honor to conduct a hands-on workshop to build the capacity of UPES School of Law faculty members and contribute to the annual FDP.

Through a half-day workshop, we brainstormed and discussed the latest developments in teaching and learning like intrinsicmotivation, andragogy, generationz, bestpractices, hybridteaching, studentengagement, gamification etc.

It was quite impressive to witness the willingness to learn and give their best in the team challenges by all the participating faculty members to build a world-class law school. 

The success of the workshop, in no small part, goes to all the efforts made by the entire organizing team and the leadership. 

The success of the workshop, in no small part, goes to all the efforts made by the entire organizing team and the leadership. 

Here are the major pointers discussed in detail during the workshop,

  1. I come from the training background. Before any training and development intervention, we always do TNA (Training Need Analysis). This is the very first step to start with.
  2. The most important part is to know who the target audience is. Even their age group, their background etc. matter to us as trainers and then accordingly, we design as well as develop the whole training program to suit their needs.
  3. Though the topic could be the same for all of my sessions but because my audience is different, I have to evolve and improvise my training material as well as training delivery accordingly.
  4. I realized I am dealing with a generation that is super ambitious and they are digital natives. They don’t know landline or dial-up modem. They are tech-friendly and have their own unique characteristic. Yes, I am talking about generation Z.
  5. Gen Z is the first generation to be spending more time online using a mobile phone each day then all other devices combined. Today’s teenagers are changing the ways all generations view the world.
  6. Gen Z also creates more new online content than any other generation. They are not just consuming; they are creating. Their content is movies, games, and media. They think in 4D.
  7. It’s a generation that has no idea what life before Google or a smartphone was like. They are a part of a unique do-it-yourself (DIY) culture – self-taught on YouTube or Google. They are visual in communication.
  8. People speak different love languages. After many years of marriage counseling, Chapman’s conclusion is that there are 5 ways that people speak and understand emotional love. Chapman believes that, once you identify and learn to speak your spouse’s primary love language, you will have discovered the key to a long-lasting, loving marriage. Does it have any implications into teaching?
  9. Every child is special. With all due respect, my own personal experience as a student and as a teacher has made me realize that there are no ‘bad’ students yet there are bad teaching styles though…It’s just that do we know their language?

    Topics for Poster Presentation as Team Challenge for Participating Law Faculty Members

  10. The acronym VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinesthetic sensory modalities that are used for learning information. Fleming theorized that we are all one of four main types of learners: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinaesthetic. Understanding our brain’s psychology and how we best process information is one of the most crucial building blocks for educational success.
  11. Adult educator and researcher Malcolm Knowles adopted the term “andragogy” to refer to the unique motivators adult learners used. While children required more extrinsic motivation and relied on instructor-led methods, Knowles noticed that adults were self-directed and relied heavily on their past life experiences when they approached learning opportunities.
  12. If you can ignite a spark or love for learning and growth in a student, more than half the job is done already!
  13. Don’t use fear of punishment as a motivator all the time. Make every student feel capable. Help them trust themselves to succeed.
  14. Give accurate and authentic performance feedback. Stimulate cognitive curiosity by presenting a problem or question as a puzzle to be solved.
  15. Connect games and learning. Talk about it. Set a greater goal. Show how knowledge applies in real life.
  16. Course assignments should relate to students’ real-life experiences. Give students a sense of ownership and control.
  17. Be a storyteller. Track student performance. Flip your classroom to stimulate deeper discussion.
  18. Find what inspires your students. Keep it interactive. Make your students feel valued.
  19. For asynchronous sessions, create back-and-forth dialogue in online forums. Gamify with teaching if possible.
  20. Provide timely and useful feedback. Develop participation as a skill. Have students earn points. Create an addiction to learning.
*UPES School of Law is ranked 21st in India in the Law Category by NIRF 2022, offering unmatched global opportunities with multidisciplinary and holistic learning.

Many thanks for such wonderful words and kind remarks. 
Glad to see such active participation and highest professionalism

******