Pitfalls of moving education online

Pitfalls of moving education online

Academic Edamana Prasad on the need to re-design online education so that students can have a better learning process

29.06.2020 TOI Education times 

Education, a process of unfolding human potential, has been given significant importance and several steps have been taken to improve the quality of mass education in our country. However, compromise on several aspects is unavoidable due to the diverse socio-cultural-economic background of learners. To overcome various shortcomings, higher education sector in India has recently started implementing outcome-based education (OBE). One of the primary goals of OBE is to generate learners with specific expectations in knowledge, skill, and attitude. During the global pandemic, when education is getting pushed to online mode, teachers must think aloud whether this would end up in a scenario where OBE goals are compromised beyond limits.

As per the accepted classification of learning, there are three domains: thinking (cognitive), skill (psychomotor) and attitude/feeling (affective). OBE expects specific learner centered performances in each of these domains, to be attained through various educational programmes. The major issue with online teaching is that only the first domain (cognitive) can be focused, since physical presence is a desirable requirement for the other two domains. Even in the first domain, there are several issues to be addressed in the context of online teaching. Research has already established beyond reasonable doubt that higher cognitive performance (viz. critical thinking and creative thinking) are less likely to be achieved by large numbers of learners if the class is based on a nonstop lecture.

(The author is professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras)

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