monojit, Author at Adamas University

Pedagogical innovation in Microbiology: As Experiential learning collaborates with traditional learning

Teaching methodology is an ever-evolving process where the educator and the student continue to learn as they grow. Their exchange of knowledge and views in course of their growth paves the path for finding best ways to enrich the teaching-learning process. The educator comes across heterogeneous batches of learners whose requirement changes every year. While some students learn fast, some others are slow ones. While some prefer to memorize lessons, some want to understand the concept, again some others rely on illustrations and other elaborations, preferably tangible ones, to comprehend what a teacher teaches.

Traditional learning has long been the staple of educational systems globally, imparting knowledge through structured lessons, supported by textbooks and other resources in classrooms as well as in laboratories sometimes. However it is no longer sufficient to meet the diversified requirement of a class of students nowadays.

Challenges faced in traditional learning models

Although Traditional learning models are proficient in structuring a basic understanding for students, there are limitations as follows:

‍Lecture-based methods safeguard the consistent flow of information, but it may not be appealing to the diverse group of students with different learning styles, rather it may promote passive learning.
Model of traditional learning often fail to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and its practical application in the real world (or instance, requirement in industries). A student may perform well in exams but struggle to cope up with the workplace challenges due to dearth of skills essential for employability.
Traditional learning being generic, it provides students exposure to wide range of skills and knowledge that will be advantageous for any career they choose related to the subject they learn. However, in absence of real-life exposure to genuine work-based projects, it often becomes challenging for the students to specify their actual expectations from their careers. So often manpower gets wasted as either truly deserving candidates miss to make the right choice in time or because of recruitment of undeserving candidates in inappropriate positions.
Whatever may be the efforts of the educators or the learners a lack of connectivity prevails with a certain fraction of students in a batch every time, resulting in emergence of discrepancy between slow-learners and fast learners and the difference becomes difficult to be resolved.

Solution for the limitations of traditional learning models:

If educational institutions implement experiential practices into their curriculum early on, then students could gain a primary preview of their future careers, test theories, make vital connections, and refine skills in environments reflecting their post-graduate destinations.

This career clarity is of prime importance to ensure that students love what they do and identify the skills they will need in professional lives.

Therefore traditional teaching needs to be complemented with experiential learning that emphasizes on hands-on experience and real-world application. It is similar to the “show and tell” activities of students of primary school where traditional learning reflects the telling component and experiential learning resembles the showing part. Both components are mutually exclusive in imparting knowledge, but if applied in tandem, they are sure to make the learning process an enriched one catering the need of every type of students. This is particularly significant for wet lab based subjects like microbiology which has led to incorporation of curriculum revolution in microbiology education.

Table 1: Comparison of traditional learning and experiential learning:

Advantages	Traditional learning	Experiential learning
	A structured and systematic approach	Bridges the gap between theory and real-world application
	Time-tested and widely accepted
Disadvantages	Can be passive in nature	May require more resources to implement
	Sometimes, it may fall behind current industry demands	Might be challenging to integrate into traditional curricula
	Might not cater to all learning styles	Requires institutions to develop and maintain relationships with a diverse range of organizations

Collaboration of traditional learning and experiential learning in Department of Biological Sciences, Adamas University:

Considering student interest as one of the topmost priorities, Department of Biological Sciences, School of Life Science and Biotechnology of Adamas University has amalgamated experiential learning with the time-honored approach of traditional learning for the full-fledged training of young scientific minds of aspiring microbiologists of both undergraduate and post-graduate programs.

Generally, the process of data analysis and interpretation followed by drawing conclusions to decide on next steps in any experiments is reserved for higher class students of undergraduate and post graduate programs. In our department, the educators encourage the students to think critically and participate in themed active learning activities in the classroom/ laboratories rather than taking mere observations or performing surveys. For instance, students are given a graph on microbial growth kinetics or enzyme kinetics from peer-reviewed journals to be interpreted that allows the students to not only understand the biological phenomena but also comprehend useful information from scientific articles. The C.R.E.A.T.E. method — Consider, Read, Elucidate the hypothesis, Analyze and interpret the data, and Think of the next Experiment (Hoskins et al. 2011, https://teachcreate.org/ ) has been adopted to encourage the students to gather knowledge from text books, interpret the essence of the chapters, apply the knowledge to explain unanswered questions in old experiments and find new ideas for new innovations. Alternatively, for medical microbiology and immunology, case studies are included to train their skill of critical thinking skills.

Figure 1: Representative photographs of different aspects of experiential learning in Microbiology in Adamas University

Due to time limitations during the semester, most of the undergraduate labs are unable to provide the necessary instruction on vital aspects of experimental sciences, like replication, sample size, reproducibility, and additional critical thinking required when designing experiment to answer biological questions. Department of Biological Sciences of Adamas University provides training in these prime components of experimentation through project works, dissertation and field works. Communication skill of the students are refined using tools like flip-learning, poster presentations, model making, platform presentation and other Moreover, as the first footfall for exposure to industries, networking is crucial in the competitive landscape of modern days. Industrial internship is a pivotal experiential strategy to prepare the students in navigating the real-time requirements of job market at present. In our department industrial internship is a mandatory component in curriculum of both undergraduate and postgraduate programs that allows the learners to assess their knowledge in action. Moreover, we attempt to elevate the learning experience through collaborations with pioneer industry partners, by incorporating industry relevant topics in curriculum (as suggested by industry experts present in panel of Board of studies of the department), organization of Industry series talks, workshops and introducing rel-life projects for the students to participate.

In microbiology research it is now common to use “omic” technologies to find answers to scientific questions. For that a thorough understanding of these technologies should be complemented with basic bioinformatics skills. Our department provides advanced training in bioinformatics using technology skills like R, Python etc.

.Postsecondary enrolments in the life science and health related fields are steadily increasing in which microbiology serves an important role in the curriculum. This has enhanced the opportunities for pedagogical innovation which will be key to addressing future demands of the students and their learning process.

Biochemistry in the Modern Era

Few subjects are as complex and fascinating in the wide range of scientific inquiry as biochemistry. It’s the science that investigates the chemical processes found in and connected to living things, helping to solve the most basic riddles of life. Biochemistry is more important than ever as we approach the dawn of the modern era, propelling revolutionary developments in biotechnology, agriculture, medicine, and other fields.

This time of the year for a class XII student (especially from a science background) is a challenging one. Most of them either prepare for engineering or medical entrance examinations and eventually sit for them. Therefore, students may experience anxiety due to heightened expectations. But one should always remember that in the field of competitive exams, one cannot predict success, as often people with sufficient preparation can fail. Hence, one should not lose hope because there are many subjects where one can get success in their career. Students who are interested in a career in biological sciences with a strong foundation in chemistry can pursue a graduation degree in biochemistry. Besides, students who want to pursue a research career in biological sciences in the future must go for this subject. Biochemistry is the branch of science that explores the chemical processes within and related to living organisms. The study of the subject comprises classical topics like cellular structure and function, biomolecules, metabolism, etc. as well as modern topics like bioinformatics, genomics and proteomics, genetic engineering, and many more. Therefore, understanding these fundamental concepts provides insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying life processes, disease pathology, and potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
A graduate and post-graduate degree in biochemistry opens a wide range of career opportunities across various sectors. Here are some potential career paths you could consider:

Research Scientist: In government organizations like research institutes, DRDO, ISRO, etc.
Clinical Biochemist: In hospitals, diagnostic laboratories, or different healthcare centers.
Pharmaceutical Industry: Pharmaceutical companies employ biochemists in various roles, such as drug development, formulation, regulatory affairs, or marketing.
Academia:In schools, colleges, universities, or other reputed institutes.
Bioinformatics: In different corporate houses working on clinical data research.
Biomedical Engineering: In different pharmaceutical companies involved in biomedical instrumentation research.
Food and Beverage Industry: Biochemists are employed in the food and beverage industry to develop and improve products, ensuring their safety, quality, and nutritional value.
Patent Law and Intellectual Property: In government organizations and private farms as a patent officer or agent.

Furthermore, some new exciting areas where a graduate or a postgraduate in Biochemistry can find jobs include the following –

Artificial Intelligence (AI):
AI has revolutionized the field of biology across various domains and biochemistry is not an exception in that; knowledge of biochemical pathways and artificial intelligence can be utilized in different aspects like drug discovery, precision medicine, disease diagnosis,biomedical imaging, drug repurposing and side effect prediction, biological modeling, and simulation, etc. The involvement of AI has increased the scope of biochemistry students to explore the subject in higher details which in turn gives them a scope to work in several other fields of science, media, and commerce.

Precision Medicine: Decoding the Human Genome
The advent of high-throughput sequencing technologies has revolutionized the landscape of medicine, paving the way for personalized healthcare. Biochemistry plays a pivotal role in this revolution by deciphering the human genome, identifying genetic variations, and elucidating their implications in health and disease. From predicting disease predispositions to designing

targeted therapies, biochemistry empowers clinicians with unprecedented insights into individualized patient care.

Drug Discovery and Development: Targeted Therapies
Gone are the days of serendipitous drug discovery. In the modern era, biochemistry lies at the heart of rational drug design, enabling scientists to meticulously tailor therapeutics for specific molecular targets. Through techniques like structure-based drug design and virtual screening, researchers can identify promising compounds with precision, accelerating the development of novel treatments for a myriad of ailments, from cancer to neurodegenerative disorders.

Synthetic Biology: Engineering Life
Biochemistry intersects with engineering in the burgeoning field of synthetic biology, where scientists wield the principles of molecular biology and genetics to engineer biological systems with novel functionalities. From synthesizing biofuels to producing therapeutic proteins, synthetic biology holds the promise of addressing pressing global challenges while offering innovative solutions to improve human health and well-being.

Environmental Remediation: Harnessing Nature’s Toolbox
As concerns about environmental degradation escalate, biochemistry offers eco-friendly solutions for remediation and conservation. Enzymes capable of degrading pollutants, microorganisms engineered to remediate contaminated sites, and bio-based materials for sustainable packaging are just a few examples of how biochemistry leverages nature’s toolkit to address pressing environmental challenges and foster a greener, more sustainable future.

In the modern era, biochemistry stands as a beacon of hope and innovation, driving transformative advancements across diverse domains. From unraveling the intricacies of the human genome to engineering biological systems with unprecedented precision, biochemistry continues to redefine the boundaries of scientific possibility, shaping a future where human health, environmental sustainability, and technological innovation converge harmoniously. As we embark on this exhilarating journey, one thing remains abundantly clear: the wonders of biochemistry in the modern era are boundless, and the possibilities are limitless. At Adamas University, we offer undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D. programs in Biochemistry.

Language Acquisition: A view from Cognition and UG approach

Language and Cognition

It has been widely discussed in the literature of cognitive approach towards language acquisition that humans organize the world in concepts and children acquire those concepts. So, what cognitive linguists have stated that perceptual experience gives rise to conceptualisation followed by lexicalisation. Genter and Borodistky (2000) argue that there are two possibilities: one in which concepts arise from cognitive-perceptual sphere, which they term as Cognitive dominance and the second possibility is the Linguistic dominance, which states that the world presents perceptual bits whose clumping is not ‘pre-ordained’. In fact the usage of language leads these perceptual bits to get conflated into concepts. It is quite a well-known fact that children acquire language effortlessly, without being taught explicitly. They acquire language in a way that is similar across cultures. They start with the babbling stage, then they gradually move to one-word stage, multi-word, and finally establish relations between linguistic items.

Noun Advantage

Noun Advantage is a well-known phenomenon in child language acquisition. The first productive words of one to two year old children (excluding greetings and refusals) are predominantly nouns.

Gentner (1982) states that an infant learning a language has two streams of information: first, the ongoing stream of the perceptual-cognitive information about the world around; second, the stream of language being spoken. The child’s task in learning word-meanings is to match up these two streams. Now there are some collections of perceptual information that are particularly easy to separate from the world stream, perhaps because they are more salient, or more stable. And these particularly stable concepts are considered to be concrete objects and lexicalised in adult language as nouns. Gentner, based on cross-linguistic evidence (from languages likes Mandarin Chinese, Japanese, German, Turkish, English), shows that nouns enter the vocabulary before verbs. Gentner and Boroditsky claim that noun-dominant property of a child’s early word stage rests upon two corollaries of the Division of Dominance: Natural partition hypothesis and relational relativity hypothesis (Gentner, 1988; Gentner and Boroditsky, 2000). Division of dominance takes off the classical distinction between open class and closed class lexical category. Open class words have denotational functions and closed class words serve grammatical or relational functions. Gentner (1981, 1988) reviewed this distinction and suggested that this division is better viewed as a continuum, with verbs and prepositions ranged between nouns and closed class words. Like closed class terms, verbs and prepositions perform relational functions. They are linguistically embedded, i.e., their forms, meanings, and usages are shaped by language to a greater degree than is the case for concrete nouns.

So, if we look into the division of dominance continuum we can notice that at one end concrete nouns, which refer to objects and animate beings, follow cognitive- perceptual dominance. They denote entities that can be individuated on the basis of perceptual experience. On the other end we have closed class terms which follow linguistic dominance. Their meanings do not exist independent of language. Unlike closed class terms, verbs (motion verbs) and (spatial) prepositions have denotational function, but the composition of events and the relations they denote, those are negotiated via language.

The first productive words of 1-2 year old children are predominantly nouns. It has been a matter of debate that noun dominance is due to the cognitive salience of objects in the environment, or due to a difference in the way a language structures nominal and verbal categories. G&B proposed two interrelated hypotheses that respectively address these factors: NP and RR. NP hypothesizes that concrete objects and entities are easier to individuate in the world and therefore easier to label. Verbs on the other hand refer to ‘relational constellations’ (Gentner, 1982) which require the presence of the entities they link. Entities thus have representational priority in the infant mind and consequently in infant language acquisition. Predicative meanings vary more than those of concrete nouns because relational terms are not ‘out there’ as individuated objects are. In language acquisition study (Nelson, Goldin-Medow, Gentner, Vijaya and Amritavlli, among others) it is observed that the acquisition of verbs proceeds in tandem with other closed class terms and this heralds the multi-word utterances. Thus, verb production marks the onset of syntax in a language.

So, the question that now arises: Is it the case that cognitive dominance and linguistic dominance are the only factors that influence language acquisition?

Universal Grammar and Language Acquisition

We know that when language cannot find its way through oral-modality through manual channel, as in sign language. When other children at the age of 6-8 months start to babble: produce sequence of sounds without attached meaning, the deaf and blind children exposed to a sign language also start to babble in the manual modality. Landau and Glietman (1985), Bigelow (1987), among others have found that the vocabulary of blind children consists of less object words and more action words. This may be obvious given the nature of the disability. The sensory-perceptual experience that surrounds the acquisition of language is very different for a blind and a sighted child; yet the language of these children grow in very similar fashion. Petitto (1996) has shown that the same milestones of language development characterise the acquisition of spoken and sign language. At 6-8 months children start to babble orally or manually, around 12 months the first words or first signs appear, around 24 months children start to combine words or signs together. Thus the modality in which language is expressed (orally or manually) does not change the course of language acquisition. The kind of linguistic and extralinguistic experience available to deaf or blind children is different from that of hearing and sighted children. Yet, there are not great differences in the milestones of language development.

So, how does this happen? The cognitive dominance or the natural partition hypothesis cannot account for this. Let us first talk about the nature of linguistic input. The linguistic input is impoverished in both natural language and sign language. We will see that input does not encode information to infer how the linguistic structure is organised. The linguistic output outstrips the linguistic input.

Let’s take a look at some natural language data

Show me the second underlined black ball

The way words are combined obey some constraint.

These examples illustrate one of the key property in linguistic rules: recursiveness. There is nothing in the string of sounds that alluded to this property. There are many more instances that support the argument for the poverty of stimulus.

Now the argument for the poverty of stimulus also holds in the case of sign languages. Goldin-Meadow (1982, 1984, 1998) studied the homesigns of the children raised in the USA and in China. Homesigns: deaf children spontaneously create rudimentary and idiosyncratic gestures to communicate with hearing members of the family or other deaf people. Goldin-Medow found some interesting observations. Combination of signs (around 24 months) by deaf children reared in different cultures shared structural properties. The specific patterns that these homesigns children from the USA and China developed were neither similar to that of the respective oral languages (English and Chinese), nor to that of the respective sign languages (ASL and CSL). It was a pattern found in some natural languages spoken around the world, Basque, Tibetean, some aborigine languages spoken in Australia. So, if this knowledge does not come from the input, where does it come from? Chomsky’s answer that humans are biologically endowed with a UG, an innate structure that encodes the form of a possible human language and that guides the child during the acquisition of language. Now the fact that children are endowed with such a structured capacity for language does not mean that the environment does not have a role to play. Off course, it does.

Ethnographic Exploration: A Dimension of Sociological Study

Sociological research opens up with several dimensions of research methodologies and methods that fit with the objective of the study. Sociological research encompasses with adventures and zeal to explore new domain of knowledge. Ethnographic research is amongst one of it. At its core, sociology examines the structures, institutions, and dynamics that shape human behaviour and social interactions. It is a part of qualitative research to study and understand social phenomena within specific cultural groups or communities. Ethnographers immerse themselves in the culture they are studying, often for an extended period, to gain a deep understanding of the community’s beliefs, behaviors, practices, and social structures. For example, an ethnographic study when deals with tribal communities to understand about their culture and lifestyles often opts for participant observation and resides with a particular community so that it becomes easier to understand their daily life rituals and also the significance of those rituals in their lives.

In sociological domain, conducting an ethnographic study can gain attention to understand various underlying factors of the tribal communities, who are also recognised as marginalized communities. Being marginalised tribal peoples live in isolations however, they possess certain features that make them unique, by cultural, social and political entity. Their habits and rituals have a marked dissimilarity with other people.Tribal people in India are also recognised as Adivasi meaning “aboriginal inhabitants”. Also, there are various terms used in relation to them such as Atavika, Vanavasi (“forest dwellers”), or Girijan (“hill people”), amongst Adivasi carries the specific meaning of being the original and autochthonous inhabitants of a given region and was specifically coined for that purpose in the 1930s. Over time, unlike the terms “aborigines” or “tribes”, the word “adivasi” has developed a connotation of past autonomy which was disrupted during the British colonial period in India and has not been restored. They generally live outside the mainstream society. Most ordinary Indians known little about them. There are some 573 communities recognized by the government as Scheduled Tribes and therefore eligible to receive special benefits and to compete for reserved seats in legislatures and schools. They range in size from the Gonds (roughly 7.4 million) and the Santals (approximately 4.2 million) to only eighteen Chaimals in the Andaman Islands. Central Indian states have the country’s largest tribes, and, taken as a whole, roughly 75 percent of the total tribal population live there.

But in present times it is seen that they are in the process of absorption. N.K Bose in “Hindu Method of Tribal Absorption” has also stated that the tribes get absorbed in the Hindu society. He has described how the Juangs, Oraos and Mundas has adopted the Hindu way of life by accepting the caste structure. Hence, they are treated as hardly differentiable from neighboring Hindu peasantry. Some of the well-known tribes in this category are said to be Bhils, Bhumijs. Majhis, Khasas and Raj-Gonds. Many a time these tribal communities are forced to change their cultural practices to get into the mainstream of the society. These tribal communities hence face a lot of hindrances to continue their cultural practises and often fear of losing their cultural identity. However, for social acceptance, they leave behind their own customs and take up the traditions of other communities.

In this context, we can bring the example of “Sankritization” which refers to the process where the people belonging in the lower stratum imitate or take up the lifestyle of the upper castes and leave some of their own habits like liquor drinking or beef eating to get accepted by the upper caste people or to be one of them. Sociologists and anthropologists often refer to this process to describe the change in tribal society. But one thing that Xaxa pointed out is that the tribes are completely outside the Hindu caste system and that is why they are referred to as tribes but for the process of Sanskritization, the tribes have to enter into the Hindu society first. So, in the case of tribes, the process can be better referred to as Hindunization.

In the 1950s a policy of protection was adopted towards all the tribal peoples in India. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru once wrote: “There is no point in trying to make them a second rate copy of ourselves…they are people who sing and dance and try to enjoy life; not people who sit in stock exchanges, shout at each other, and think themselves civilized.”So in one hand it is stated that they can preserve their traditions but in the other hand they have to integrate with the mainstream society to survive and gain acceptance. So we can see that that this statement of preserving their culture often turns into a paradox. Here the sociologists can actually help by studying these communities thoroughly where major concentration should be given to their everydaypractises and the problems that they are facing for carrying out their practises.

In connection to the ethnographic study on tribal communities, it has been observed that Savara tribes are neither Sanskritized nor Hindunized. They are able to keep their original culture and identity alive. They still practice their exotic religious practices.

To understand their complex set of foreign cultural practices, myths and rituals it is very essential to carry out an intensive ethnographic study. Their daily lived experiences were captured by interaction and interpretation to get a richer understanding of their social relations and workings of the society. Their cultural practices can better be understood by listening to their narratives and personal stories and experiences and even participating in their cultural rituals and practice that will help an ethnographer to achieve a clearer understanding about that community.

Information and Communication Technology and Smart Education

What challenges do we encounter as a teacher?

As a teacher I have to face several challenges in the context of the education system in India where the classrooms are filled with heterogeneous learners and one of them is to get going the passive, non-interactive, non-performing learners. The heterogeneous learners in India are composed of multi-lingual and multi-cultural students who belong to diverse social categories such as gender, religion, and caste, and also to different economic strata. They hail from a curious mix of different and sometimes largely uneven educative institutional cultures. Further, they display varying levels of competence in language communication in general, and English language communication in specific. Altogether, they reflect and embody the complex differential phenomenological histories within the ambit of education.

The Problem at Hand

Due to the varying intensities of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the teaching-learning mechanism at that time was being conducted in the virtual mode through the usage of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based tools. Apart from immediate challenges that threatened continuous seamless teaching-learning process, such as, the digital divide, disparate and incommensurate life conditions at homes, I have faced daunting tasks of being unable to reach out and communicate with a group of students who remained inert during the class sessions. The conventional strategies of attempting to ensure their participation in most of the learning, assessment, and evaluation procedures proved futile. This compelled me to ponder and introspect on the practical pedagogical formulations which interacts heavily and regularly with the domain of ICT. It appeared that the philosophical-theoretical debates on the role of ICT in education and the practical-pedagogical challenges involved therein have hitherto remained focused on motivated learners. The passive, non-interactive, and non-performing learners (our target learners) in the classroom have remained discursively excluded. Thus, the immediate challenge for me is to make attempts at involving the target learners’ in the institutional educative process.

Developing Metacognition through ICT Based Education

At my university, I offer courses in Linguistics and Communicative English. In the Communicative English classes what I observed is that I have always received feeble responses from the target learners in a number of task based activities. It was a “story-telling task” that struck chords with the learners. During the “story-telling task” (assessing coherence and cohesion of ideas among the learners) that was conducted twice – without and with ICT tools – it was noted that during the former, the target learners showed memory failure, difficulties in mapping contexts & events, lack of comprehension about the text generated by the previous participants, and that culminated in the overall failure to understand the text narrative. However, later when the same task was executed with image cards, and power point presentation over a Learning Management System (LMS) platform, the target learners could successfully fulfill the assigned tasks. During self-assessment, they unanimously chose visual perception as a stimulus that facilitated in understanding, remembering, analyzing, applying, and creating their knowledge level. It was the first time that the learners not only participated in the activity, but also were actively engaged in self-assessment and evaluation processed. They finally opened up and started regularly articulating themselves in the teaching-learning sessions. The above instance and the outcomes that it generated actually led me to furthermore dwell on the relational aspects of ICT tools in inducing the metacognitive faculties of the target learners. It has been found that ICT based language teaching meta-cognitively empowers the target learners, offers them alternative strategies to claim their space within the educational fold, articulate their self and aspirations.

Information and Communication Technology Based Education and Enhancement of Critical Thinking

With rapid strides in the global technical and digital advancements, newer ways, avenues, and modes of learning have emerged. ICT services and tools have assumed the formal incorporation into what is understood to be Smart Education that thrives on modern existing & emergent technologies of customized learning. The new smart technology enables education to be more learner-centric, where the learner can exercise principal choices in the elaborate knowledge acquisition procedure, and secure autonomy to take responsibility of the learning process. As a result, the learner emerges as a key agent in the field of education. Through the meeting of individuated requirements or customized formations, smart technology provides several alternatives in terms of knowledge sources for prospective learners to engage in learning activities. Consequently, it increases the learners’ participation, and also promises ample scope for the learners and the learning process to be interactive. Thus, ICT based smart education has transformed the landscape of education by replacing the erstwhile lecture based and teacher-centric process of knowledge exchange. With the sole focus on the learner, smart education seems to provide the former with increased motivation. Two contrasting features appear to operate simultaneously in this field – one, fragmentation of knowledge & atomized individualization of the learner, and two, assembly of fragmented knowledge to generate an impression of a ‘holistic’ view of knowledge content, and cultivation of academic solidarity of the learners within crystallized communities. ICT as a support for smart education provides several benefits, like: easy access to reading and other study materials, continuation of learning outside the classroom space, online discussion forums, enables teachers and learners to render the study process more flexible, and focuses on the principle of individualization based on different interests, levels of competence & expertise, and needs.

Apart from the pedagogic advantages offered by ICT mediated instruction, the faculty of critical thinking can be developed as learners engage with tools, discuss, experiment, collaborate, make decisions, and solve problems using various tools. Moreover, in ICT mediated learning, the control on the entire learning process consisting of aims & objectives of a particular lesson, the specific kind or sort of information & knowledge that needs to be accessed, the time factor as to when it would be accessed, the utilization of the information-data-knowledge, securing the outcomes of the learning, qualitative and quantitative assessment & evaluation of the learning rests on the learner. ICT mediated education establishes self-regulated learning process, where the learners are aware of what, why, and how they are learning. Technology based learning (in particular, e-learning) enables the teaching-learning process to be more flexible as it takes into consideration the needs of different learners depending upon their levels of competence – basic, intermediate, and advanced levels. They can plan, monitor, and evaluate their own learning process. The minute constitutive process adds on to the critical thinking capacity of the learner in this case.

In order to develop critical thinking skill and analytical skill, the learning environment needs to be conducive and learner friendly. ICT tools like various learning applications, different types of software, videos, images, audio files, power point presentations, among others, simulate a ‘constructivist’ classroom wherein the learners can engage in long-term learning process, constructing their own learning by asking questions and finding better approaches to solve the problems. The ICT mediated classroom makes the learning process more interesting as ideas and information can be presented in different forms such as images, video clips, audio clips, tables, graphs, and even multimedia. The emergence of World Wide Web associated with internet has compelled stake holders within the academia to invent new forms of learning that would add significantly to the creation of learner’s autonomy and its enhancement as well.

Considering that this blog focuses solely on English as Second Language Acquisition (ESLA) and TESLA, it may be claimed that ICT provides the language learners the opportunity of real-life exposure to the technical and socio-cultural aspects of language communication by giving them an insight into those who speak the target language as their native language. For example, through digital platforms such as emails (Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, et.al), social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snap Chat, Face Time, professional networking sites such as LinkedIn, and other video conferencing applications such as Google Meet, Zoom, and Cisco Webex platforms to name a few, language learners can interact with native speakers and this enables them to understand the communicative culture of the target language speakers. That in turn facilitates the language learning process for the non-native speakers. ICT tools such as Interactive whiteboards, power point presentations, video clips, and images, they provide stimulating visual aids as a productive strategy to support the comprehending, understanding, and using of the target language in real contexts. In ICT mediated learning, the learners have freedom to access information and control their own learning speed. It makes the language learners aware of the whole learning process. The learners can consciously adopt preferable language learning strategies as per their need. This further intends to establish a more action/outcome based learning.

While using technology to plan their learning goals and outcomes, the learner becomes aware of one’s own cognitive process, which further inculcates self-regulation of learning objectives and active monitoring of the learning process. Thus, the arena of language learning and knowledge acquisition gets invested with neural vectors with the predominant intersection of a complex network involving cognitive, supra-cognitive, and metacognitive practices for the fulfillment of broader goals.

Author: monojit

World Happiness Fest Kolkata

HEALTHMEDICON 2025

AIU ANVESHAN

International Seminar on Globalization in Transition

Event