In a significant development aimed at advancing the quality of school teaching in India, Zamit, a leading AI-enabled one-stop solution provider for all stakeholders in education, organised a symposium on Continuous Professional Development (CPD) for school teachers, department heads and principals last Friday. Attended by top educationists, researchers, educational specialists, educational assessment professionals, and above all, teachers from across the country and abroad, the hour-long virtual program was a roaring success.
There were four panellists and two moderators present during the symposium. The panellists included Ms. Nargish Khambatta, Senior Vice President at GEMS Education in the United Arab Emirates, Dr. Parul Sood, researcher, teacher, and assessor, representing the Chitkara International School in Chandigarh, Punjab, India, Ms. Nita Arora, the Principal of Sri Venkateshwar International School in Dwarka, Delhi, and Ms. Alka Singh, the Principal of Blue Bells Model School in Gurugram, Haryana, India. The program was moderated by Ms. Payal Mathur and Ms. Zita Reszler, both Academic Directors at Qualifications and Assessments International, UK, a top assessment and accreditation body in the United Kingdom.
The symposium centred on the importance of Continuous Professional Development in the lives of teachers, department heads, and principals. The ingredients of effective CPD and some of the reasons why CPD programs would become ineffective were also discussed. Personal experiences with regard to beneficial and non-beneficial professional development sessions were shared by national and international speakers and the panellists also touched upon the best methods for sourcing effective professional development programs and quality CPD providers. There were discussions about best practices and the developmental programs Indian educators and schools would most benefit from in the next year. The audience was very active during the event and there were lots of interesting questions coming from them during the Q&A session.
“Teaching is never static. It’s a dynamic and continuously-evolving process. This is especially true in an age when new technologies and platforms, curricula and content based on fresh research, modern teaching and assessment methods and tools, and most of all, novel ideas and concepts are continually shaping the way teachers educate their learners. As a result, teachers need to continuously keep up with what’s new in education in order to positively influence learning outcomes. Keeping this in mind, the aim of the symposium was to bring together some of the most experienced educational professionals and let them share ideas on how effective CPD programs would help teachers improve their skills and, in turn, help themselves, their schools, and their learners succeed in the 21st century, said Mr. Aarul Malaviya, Founder and Director, Zamit.
“Whereas we are trying to school more and more children in the country, we seem to forget that we can’t just be satisfied with any old education. Instead, we need to make sure that the education our children are getting is that of quality. It’s needless to say that the most important school-related factor influencing student achievement is teacher quality. It’s simply the greatest impact on improving learning outcomes. It’s no wonder then that quality education for everyone and the need to increase the number of quality teachers has been one of the most cherished sustainable development goals of the United Nations. Improving the quality of teachers is also one of the cornerstones of the national Education Policy 2020. What we would like to do is to facilitate this by offering as many high-quality CPD sessions to those working in education as possible. We believe that by doing this, we’ll not only help our teachers, department heads, principals and schools become better but will also contribute to the success and well-being of the current and future generations, added Mr Malaviya.
