Devdutt Pattanaik underlines principles of teaching at Chitkara University’s BEd orientation

Chitkara College of Education (CCE), Chitkara University, Punjab, welcomed the 2023-25 batch of its BEd and Med in an orientation programme on Monday.

Familiarising the students with the ethos and practices of the college, an orientation programme, christened “Shikshan Shastra”, was organised for the students, which saw the presence of industry greats, such as author and mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik, ex-dean, business school, City University Ajman, HS Anant and Ashish Verma, associate professor with Chitkara Design School.

The event kicked off with lighting of lamp, a brief introduction of the university and a welcome note by the college dean, which was followed by enlightening talks on the means of effective teaching by the programme’s keynote speaker, Pattanaik.

He has written 50 books in 15 languages conducted a session on “Mastering the teaching mantras” regarding the core principles of teaching. Highlighting a thought-provoking perspective towards the teaching, he touched upon the realms of mythology and management.

In his concluding remarks, Pattanaik appreciated the university for excellent BEd and MEd programmes, which have been designed in sync with the requirements of Industry 4.0 and cater to the demands of the present generation’s learning styles.

In another session conducted by HS Anant, he delved into effective communication skills for teachers. Anant apprised the students of the importance of verbal and non-verbal communication in classrooms.

Alpha-teachers and alpha-masters participated in a storytelling activity, which made them understand the concept of noise in communication and how the information eventually gets distorted when communicated by different people.

In the last session conducted by Ashish Verma on “Photography: As essential pedagogical tool,” he highlighted the importance of photography as a memory and a digital diary. He gave the audience an idea about the museum of material memory.

Addressing the students, Madhu Chitkara, pro-chancellor, Chitkara University remarked, “It is very crucial to keep pace with latest educational trends and techniques when it comes to teaching the learners of today. Understandably, it is a challenge for the present-day teachers to come up with engaging lessons for these learners who already consume a great amount of digital content on a daily basis. With mastering the principles of teaching and incorporating rewarding practices like movement and expressive arts therapy in education, teachers can help learners engage their mind, body and emotions in the process of learning that shall undoubtedly bear promising outputs. I wish the young learners of BEd and MEd Batch 2023-25 the best of luck for their academic pursuit’s journeys at CCE. I would like to extend my gratitude to the keynote speaker Devdutt Pattanaik , HS Anant and Ashish Verma, who have certainly described the merits of undertaking functional teaching practices along with following the golden tenets of teaching.”

Sharing her excitement and thoughts, one of the aspiring teachers of BEd batch said, attending the orientation programme on mastering teaching mantras has been a transformative experience. I learned that education goes beyond textbooks and lectures; it is about fostering creativity, self-expression and emotional well-being.

Chitkara University’s Chitkara College of Education (CCE) is delivering cutting-edge education programmes designed to provide industry-relevant education and training.

The dynamic and research-informed curriculum is dedicated to nurturing highly competent educators. CCE serves as a stepping stone to ensuring future teachers’ success in the rapidly changing educational landscape. The college offers a two-year bachelors of education programme, two-year master of education programme and doctor of philosophy programme in Education.