Page 53 - EW July 2022

Teacher-2-Teacher

Mentorship teacher

development model

PRACHI BHARDWAJ

PGRADING THE QUALITY OF TEACHING- Under the mentorship model unthrea-
learning in India’s 17,000 teacher training col- tened by audit-style evaluation teachers
leges is one of the most important prerequisites are likely to experiment, innovate and
Uof introducing academic rigour and improving
students’ learning outcomes. This is acknowledged in the improve classroom management and
National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. Under the new lessons planning and delivery
policy, every school teacher is obliged to undergo profes-
sional development training for at least 50 hours per year. ern day teachers need to be empowered in an environment
This necessity is also recognised by the country’s 9-million- of trust and belief rather assessed by a bureaucratic judge-
strong educators’ community. ment and evaluation system.
According to Union education ministry data, 1.72 million nder the current system prevalent in teacher education,
principals and teachers have already signed up for continu- Uteachers are drilled and skilled in selected pedagogies
ous professional development programmes and 2.3 million which deprive them of opportunities for reflection, innova-
educators have enrolled in online programmes. Yet there tion and personalisation of their lessons. On the other hand,
is no clarity about who is accountable for the quality and under the mentorship model unthreatened by audit-style
sustained implementation of these programmes. In the cir- evaluation and assessment, and supported by trusted peers,
cumstances, there’s a urgent need to examine the quality of teachers are likely to experiment, innovate and improve
teacher development programmes and the methodology of classroom management and lessons planning and deliv-
assessing teachers’ learning outcomes. ery. Moreover under the mentorship model, principals and
In their book Continuous Professional Development senior teachers shed their leadership roles and contribute
(2003), David Megginson and Vivian Whitaker describe their expertise and experience to a pool of innovative peda-
continuous professional development as “a process by gogies and best practices enabling teachers to implement
which individuals take control of their own learning and them through reflection, modeling and scaffolding.
development, by engaging in an ongoing process of reflec- An additional benefit of the mentorship teacher training
tion and action. This process is empowering and exciting model is that it enables innovative teachers to transform
and can stimulate people to achieve their aspirations and into mentors. Possibility of upward mobility makes the
move towards their dreams”. It’s important to note the key mentorship model superior to existing hierarchical school
words “ongoing process of reflection”. structures. Moreover in innovative learning environments,
Currently in India’s schools and higher education insti- teachers enhance students’ learning by inviting their active
tutions, there is a fixed rubric of evaluating teachers’ capa- participation in sharp contrast to lecture-based teaching.
bilities. In teacher training colleges, the evaluation meth- Schools that have adopted the mentorship system of con-
odology is pre-dictated and must be followed. Therefore, tinuous professional development report higher teacher
the room for action driven by reflection is minimal. This retention and improved learning outcomes.
is only possible in an environment of trust where teachers Unsurprisingly, the mentorship professional develop-
are free to experiment and draw from a pool of pedagogies. ment model is increasingly being adopted by teacher edu-
Reform and upgradation is dependent upon teachers being cation institutions abroad. There is rising and overdue
encouraged to learn through innovation and being given awareness that a teacher is not a sage on stage in modern
sufficient resources and time to implement new pedagogies. classrooms, but an enabler who stimulates her students’
This is not possible in schools and colleges where there is mindfulness, creativity and analytical thinking skills. To
an audit-like institutional culture. discharge their roles in this complex technologies-driven
There are several models for teacher training and de- new age, teachers need to be empowered by provision of en-
velopment. Yet the common factor should be mentorship abling environments based on trust. A radical re-evaluation
which invests teachers with the necessary agency and au- of the existing teacher training and development model is
tonomy to develop best teaching practices. According to urgently required.
John Baumber, professor at the International Centre for (Prachi Bhardwaj is head of the English department at Kunskapsskolan
Educational Enhancement at Bolton University, UK, mod- School, Gurgaon)

52 EDUCATIONWORLD JULY 2022