Dec 17, 2019, Lalitpur – Professor Dr. Brian Purdey, Manipal Institute of Technology, Australia provided a career uplifting training on Innovative Teaching and Learning Practices in Higher Education to the faculty members of the NIMS College from November 8 to December 1. The training emphasized on Dr. Brian’s experiences in utilizing different tools to enhance the capacity of the faculty members. Seventeen faculty members participated in the training for a better adaptation of methodology.  A total of 18 hours spread over 12 sessions, the training mainly focused on Creative and Student-Centred Learning, Problem Solving and Real World based Pedagogies, Methods of Teaching and Critical Thinking, and Academic Entrepreneurship.

There was an emphasis on student-centred learning as opposed to teacher-driven teaching and shifting accountability for learning towards the student with the teacher assuming more the role of facilitator, coach, mentor rather than transmitters of knowledge. This training highlighted the importance of developing a vision for teachers in order to become a potential leader in their respective subject. The effectiveness of a teacher is measured by the level of interaction he/she does with the student, and also be able to help the student if there is a problem. The major highlight of the training was the interactive sessions filled with curious minds of the faculty members which were addressed by Dr. Brian. “It has to be one of the major training I have taken in my teaching career. It has enabled me to understand the different aspect of the teacher-student relationship, the communication mechanism and interactive behaviour we need to adopt in our daily life”, one of the participating faculty members praised. Another participating member emphasized the importance of psychology, creativeness and the way to find the right lane to obtain major success in teaching, learning and result-oriented practices. Faculty members have shown immense positivity from the training, be it theoretical or practical, and are now focused on utilizing the teaching and learning practices in their daily schedule.