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International Seminar - 2010 |
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Meeting
the Challenge of Change
21st
century, an era of knowledge explosion and rapid scientific
and technological progress, has also posed certain
questions before us such as what and when to learn,
where to acquire it from, how and how much to gather
information , modus operandi of applying the same
etc. To answer these thought provoking questions intelligentsia
from all odd nooks and corners of our country as well
as delegates from abroad decided to share their views
on a common platform as the college believes that
thoughts and aspirations of people change the world.
These thoughts and aspirations are the result of the
constant struggle for change which is better and advanced
than the former. In the field of education the need
for change is inexorable. With the passage of time
there has been a paradigm shift in education from
quantifying skills in terms of grades or marks to
evaluating the qualitative aspects of learning, which
seem to be have gained importance. Meeting this challenge
of the 21st century demands deliberations of the minds
that can foresee the transformations of this ever
evolving world. Such were the deliberations that took
place at the Waymade College of Education on the 15th
and 16th of October. The two days saw a confluence
of ideas and discussions on “Education for the 21st
Century Skills: Choices and Challenges”. The event,
i.e. the international seminar organized at the college,
was a meeting point of people across India and abroad.
There were more than 250 participants who attended
the seminar. |
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Presentations
were made on the following themes: Conceptualizing
21st Century Skills, Role of Educational Institutions,
Teaching-Learning, Educational Management, Assessment
of 21st Century Skills, Research and Success Stories.
The seminar was a success in bringing people from
across borders both regional as well as national onto
a common platform. The driving force behind the seminar
was the untiring zeal and conviction of Dr. Sulabha
Natraj, Principal, Waymade College of Education. The
event was patronized by Dr. C.L. Patel, Chairman,
Charutar Vidya Mandal, Vallabh Vidyanagar and was
organized under the guidance of Hon. Secretary S.
M. Patel Charutar Vidya Mandal, Vallabh Vidyanagar,
Prof. M. K. Yagnik, Head, Department of Education,
Sardar Patel University, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Prof.
Pallavi Patel, Dean, Faculty of Education, Sardar
Patel University, Prof. D. R. Goel, Chairman, National
Council for Teacher Education, (NCTE) Western Region,
Bhopal, India, and Prof. Z.N. Patil, English &
Foreign Languages University (EFLU), Hyderabad, India.
Some of the thought provoking presentations were as
follows. |
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In
his address Prof. Harish Padh, Vice Chancellor, stressed
the fact that there has been a transition in the society
and rapid developments in knowledge creation, in a
shot span, equivalent to the knowledge creation during
the past 50 years. India is lagging behind the developed
countries and there is need to anticipate the future
developments to make our students productive towards
development of the society. There is a need for decentralization
of decision making in the education system. Autonomy
needs to be granted to stakeholders. |
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Dr.
Kanchana Wattayu, Vice Director, National Institute
of Education, Ministry of Education, Thailand, emphasized
the need for collaboration between India and Thailand
for development in the field of education and reiterated
the need for creation of thinking minds. She stated
that Thailand is making attempts to train its teachers
in ICT and to make ICT an integral part of the teaching
and learning process. She also spoke about the spread
of ICT education in Thai Education. |
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Prof.
D.R. Goel, NCTE Chairman Western Region spoke on Conceptualizing
21st century Education: Complexities, Choices and Challenges.
The focus of his presentation was on defining the
word 'skill', and discussing challenges of the 21st
century skills. Professor Goel's humane approach and
delightful presentation was really appealing and heart-touching.
It was appreciated by one and all present at the session.
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Dr
Z. N. Patil, professor of EFLU made a presentation
on "English in the Global Era". The highlights of
his presentation were: variations in the English language
which are a result of contact with diverse cultures
and gradual acceptance of the varieties of English
language as legitimized varieties and not as deficient
ones; the pedagogical implications of the spread of
English across the globe; the objectives of teaching
English language viz. confidence building, accuracy,
appropriateness and creativity and using literature
in classroom for functional competence.
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Besides
these distinguished speakers, delegates from all odd
nooks and corners of the country expressed their opinion
and views about the demands and challenges of 21st
century and also attempted to arrive at solutions
for that. The event, coordinated by Mr. Rakesh Ranjan,
Ms. Shamsha Emanuel and Ms. Rucha Desai and guided
by Prof. Sulabha Natraj, proved to be immensely successful
as delegates arriving here with unanswered questions
went back with some solutions. They expressed happiness
at the teamwork of the faculty members, the amenities
provided to them and systematic organisation and wished
that they would like to attend a seminar at this college
in future. |
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