The Course Faculty, Staff, Students & State Officials involved in the course pose for a photo

The Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education (CETE), Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) and UNICEF India, have been collaborating over a year on a short term program- Constructive Teaching and Learning with Technology (CTLT). CTLT is an online program which seeks to help teachers understand constructivist approaches to learning, and expounds on the role of technology in constructing meaningful learning experiences for students. CTLT has been offered through online mode, in the TISSx platform to over 3700 teachers and educators in over 7 states and one UT in over 6 languages. On December 23, 2022, the closing and sharing ceremony took place in the TISS Mumbai campus to culminate the learnings from the program.

Prof. Shalini Bharat, Director, TISS said that though the pandemic was devastating, it taught many lessons. She said, “We could get by in the field of education during this time by having technology on our side. This programme was ahead of its time.” Mr. Terry Durnnian, Chief Education at UNICEF India, also spoke on the relevance of the CTLT program and said, “3700 teachers have been capacitated through the CTLT programme, the programme envisages the values of equity and contextual adaptation. UNICEF India has been working to fulfill NEP goals, and academic institutions like TISS are important collaborators in this process.”

The State officials and teachers present at the event were felicitated for their enduring participation and success in completing this programme. Dr. Amina Charania, Associate Professor, CETE, TISS and her team presented the concept, pedagogy and process involved in the programme. “The journey of 14 months was truly “magical” in terms of the scale and diversity which was attained from imparting the complex and relevant concept of CTLT,to inspiring teachers to be designers and they in turn inspiring their students to become producers of knowledge using technology.”

Sohini Sen, senior programme manager, reiterated that one of the important strategies used in the programme was immediate feedback to teachers on their queries, bringing the response rate on Telegram, and WhatsApp groups to under 15 minutes. Ms. Anjali Om Raina, an educator from Jammu & Kashmir who had enrolled in the CTLT program, while discussing her experiences said, “This pandemic broke the cocoon of inertia on teachers and encouraged us to take the step to integrate technology into our teaching process. This wasn’t an easy transition but flexible programs like CTLT will continue to help teachers reach their full potential.”

This was followed by a panel discussion on the continuous Teacher Professional Development opportunities established by the program. Prof. Padma Sarangapani, Chairperson, CETE said, “CTLT is a program that gives teachers the opportunity to experiment with the teaching learning process. The power of this program is that it has brought a fresh approach into this routinized process of using technology in teaching and learning.” Prof. Freda Wolfenden, Professor of Education and International Development , Open University, UK, who reflected on the way forward for this program said, “CTLT has a strong pedagogical approach, and I am excited to hear how the teachers see a firm purpose in their interactions and in their community.” Ms. Pramila Manohar,Education Program Specialist, UNICEF Indiareiterated that she was impressed by the sharings from teachers and state officials which truly reflects their deeper engagement and adoption of the programme’s key concepts. Mr Anurag Pratap, Vice President & CSR Leader, Capgemini India pointed out that CTLT brought in the power of digital technologies which are democratizing education and imparted constructive teaching as a strong contrast to teaching with technology that only transmits knowledge.

The event ended on a happy note with the stakeholders reminiscing on their experiences.