GTU to get students to design study material
Varsity’s design-your-study-material contest rid teachers of preparing the course material and instead gets students to research subjects
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Saturday, October 13, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/2012101320121013020851482803d56fa/GTU-to-get-students-to-design-study-material.html)
So what does a university do to ensure students understand concepts clearly when the teachers, busy with research and administrative work, are unable to go an extra mile to help them out. It involves students in designing the course material and directing their own study.
However, Gujarat Technological University (GTU) has gone a step further with this idea. The varsity has come up with a design- your-course material competition for students of MBA, MCA, pharmacy and engineering (diploma and degree) courses. Colleges can register groups of 8-10 students per class per semester for the competition.
The groups will be required to prepare powerpoint slides on the subjects in their semester. In all, slides will be prepared on 1,200 broad chapters. The competition is scheduled to be held in March and will be an annual affair. The group that comes up with the most simplified explanation of the chapter using graphics, photographs, videos and illustrations will receive a certificate and cash reward from GTU.
The winning presentation will make it to the university’s website for free access by students across the world similar Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Open Course Ware (OCW), which is a free and open educational resource for faculty, students, and selflearners around the world.
The project, says GTU Vice Chancellor Akshai Aggarwal, will also help students take help of the best reference books and understand the subject thoroughly and design the material that will supplement classroom teaching.
“Teachers cannot devote extra time to preparation of study materials since they also take care of research and administrative work. That is the reason we decided to involve students,” said Aggarwal.
“The material designed by the groups will be reviewed by faculty members who will also suggest necessary changes. Since students will be designing the material they will prepare it in a manner other students can understand. Besides, for the participating students, it will be a revision of the chapter they have been assigned for the contest. The contest will take place every year and students can keep upgrading the existing material.”
Welcoming GTU’s decision, Rupesh Vasani, principal of SAL Engineering College, said, “Earlier, we had assigned the faculty with the task of preparing the course material. But since they have too much work on hand they were not able to devote time for it. Hence we had been involving students in classroom projects. GTU’s decision to involve all the colleges in course material preparation is a great idea indeed.”
Tejas Panchal, a diploma student of LDRP Institute of Technology and Research, said, “We had been facing a tough time preparing the study material. With GTU’s new initiative, we will get readymade material for every subject next year since our seniors will be preparing it this year. I think that students are in charge, the material will have lot of illustrations and links to videos which teachers usually don’t incorporate. We’ll therefore be able to understand the topics better.”
“It also solves the problem of faculty shortage and attrition. Every time we have a new teacher, the teaching method changes. Sometimes we are not able to cope with it. Now, at least we will have the best study material with us,” said Mayur Koshti, a student of government engineering college in Godhra.
Janak Khandwala, a professor at Silver Oak Engineering College, opined that the new project will also boost students’ confidence. “Besides they will also get a grasp of research work since designing study material involves lot of reading and exploring. It is a good initiative and will make the studies interesting, too,” he said.
However, Gujarat Technological University (GTU) has gone a step further with this idea. The varsity has come up with a design- your-course material competition for students of MBA, MCA, pharmacy and engineering (diploma and degree) courses. Colleges can register groups of 8-10 students per class per semester for the competition.
The groups will be required to prepare powerpoint slides on the subjects in their semester. In all, slides will be prepared on 1,200 broad chapters. The competition is scheduled to be held in March and will be an annual affair. The group that comes up with the most simplified explanation of the chapter using graphics, photographs, videos and illustrations will receive a certificate and cash reward from GTU.
The winning presentation will make it to the university’s website for free access by students across the world similar Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Open Course Ware (OCW), which is a free and open educational resource for faculty, students, and selflearners around the world.
The project, says GTU Vice Chancellor Akshai Aggarwal, will also help students take help of the best reference books and understand the subject thoroughly and design the material that will supplement classroom teaching.
“Teachers cannot devote extra time to preparation of study materials since they also take care of research and administrative work. That is the reason we decided to involve students,” said Aggarwal.
“The material designed by the groups will be reviewed by faculty members who will also suggest necessary changes. Since students will be designing the material they will prepare it in a manner other students can understand. Besides, for the participating students, it will be a revision of the chapter they have been assigned for the contest. The contest will take place every year and students can keep upgrading the existing material.”
Welcoming GTU’s decision, Rupesh Vasani, principal of SAL Engineering College, said, “Earlier, we had assigned the faculty with the task of preparing the course material. But since they have too much work on hand they were not able to devote time for it. Hence we had been involving students in classroom projects. GTU’s decision to involve all the colleges in course material preparation is a great idea indeed.”
Tejas Panchal, a diploma student of LDRP Institute of Technology and Research, said, “We had been facing a tough time preparing the study material. With GTU’s new initiative, we will get readymade material for every subject next year since our seniors will be preparing it this year. I think that students are in charge, the material will have lot of illustrations and links to videos which teachers usually don’t incorporate. We’ll therefore be able to understand the topics better.”
“It also solves the problem of faculty shortage and attrition. Every time we have a new teacher, the teaching method changes. Sometimes we are not able to cope with it. Now, at least we will have the best study material with us,” said Mayur Koshti, a student of government engineering college in Godhra.
Janak Khandwala, a professor at Silver Oak Engineering College, opined that the new project will also boost students’ confidence. “Besides they will also get a grasp of research work since designing study material involves lot of reading and exploring. It is a good initiative and will make the studies interesting, too,” he said.
