Page 134 - EW May 2023_Neat

Teacher-2-Teacher

Innovation stimulus for

engineering colleges

PRATYUSH SHANKAR

RADITIONALLY, ENGINEERING EDUCATION Studio pedagogy takes a very different
has been perceived to be a higher education disci-
pline that requires good grasp of theoretical con- approach. A substantial number of
Tcepts and a fair amount of workshop or practical contact hours and credits are given to
exposure during the time spent in a bachelor’s degree pro-
gramme. This traditional pedagogy succeeded to a certain undergrads to resolve live workplace
extent in creating a generation of engineers and technocrats problems individually or in teams
who have participated in nation-building and also contrib-
uted to building excellent engineering companies. However
in recent times, there is a felt need to equip students with implemented studio-based courses in these core disciplines
more real life and shopfloor experiences while they are still of engineering with excellent results.
studying. Studio pedagogy, successfully used in numerous Projects are designed and given to students to complete
architecture and design schools worldwide, offers a good during a 16-week semester. Enough time and credits are
model for application in engineering education as well. allocated for studio learning. Supporting information and
In traditional engineering colleges, theoretical inputs in data is provided to help students devise innovative solu-
the form of lectures are given to students on the assumption tions for projects. Moreover, a lot of planning goes into
that when confronted with practical workplace problems, designing the problem itself.
graduates will apply this knowledge to solve them. Howev- To design testing projects, faculty members from differ-
er, there’s no dearth of evidence that chalk-n-talk pedagogy ent disciplines cooperate to ideate problems that demand
discourages creativity and innovation that is sadly missing and require students to draw from various disciplines in a
in fresh engineering graduates. multi-dimensional manner. Faculty members also monitor
Studio pedagogy takes a very different approach. A sub- the progress of students and batches and when necessary,
stantial number of contact hours and credits are given to provide inputs.
undergraduates to resolve live workplace problems indi- fter introducing design/studio learning into core en-
vidually or in teams. Over the course of every semester, Agineering courses, we have noted the first batch of
students try and find the most innovative solutions to com- students that experienced this pedagogy exhibited great
plex problems by applying access theory, case studies and enthusiasm and better understanding of concepts than ex-
tinkering with differing ideas. The role of faculty is trans- pected. This type of creative and innovative way of thinking
formed from ‘sage on stage’ to facilitators to whom students is sorely missing in most engineering schools. With the ap-
turn to for assistance. This pedagogy transforms students plication of studio pedagogy, students are transformed into
from passive to active learning participants in classrooms. innovators and thinkers from mere consumers of concepts
Moreover, students develop strong ownership of their ideas and theory. They were enthused by the prospect of applying
when a project ends with an innovative solution. theory to solve complex problems.
In most design schools, the studio course has the maxi- However even as studio pedagogy in engineering educa-
mum number of credits and hence the maximum contact tion offers a lot of hope, the work done needs to be fleshed
hours. It is not unusual to find a studio course having 9-12 out. This includes reworking curriculums to adjust to this
credits in a given semester. A typical five-year architecture new pedagogy. It will also require a considerable reorienta-
programme would have nine to ten studio modules. Each tion and training for faculty members to begin to think in
module poses a live or practical problem to be solved by a very different way.
students following discussion and debate. The studio model Moreover, higher education institutions will need to cre-
is designed to compel students to apply theoretical inputs ate a very different student culture in engineering schools
they have been taught in study programmes. — a culture that encourages originality and innovation to
In this pedagogy the studio is a learning hub that de- resolve everyday problems that confront society. It requires
mands holistic understanding of a problem, be it the quan- a big leap of faith for most engineering schools and one has
tum of resources used, technology deployed, or user behav- to wait and watch the outcomes of applying design/studio
iour. This stimulates creative thinking and fresh ideas, and thinking in engineering colleges where it has already been
provides a connect between theory and practice. implemented. But one thing is for sure: studio or workshop-
Studio learning also generates high interest among stu- based pedagogies can provide the much-needed innovation
dents and there is a great amount of learning when stu- stimulus that has been missing in most engineering pro-
dents witness peers ideate differing solutions to common grammes in India.
problems. This pedagogy if applied to core engineering sub-
jects such as civil, mechanical and electrical, can lead to
an enriching learning process. Navrachana University has (Pratyush Shankar is provost at Navrachana University, Vadodara)

134 EDUCATIONWORLD MAY 2023