UUNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION AACADEMIC SSTAFF CCOLLEGE RESOURCE MATERIAL ON ORIENTATION PROGRAMME Volume – II Dr. A. Singaravel Editor BHARATHIDASAN UNIVERSITY KHAJAMALAI CAMPUS TIRUCHIRAPPALLI-620 023 1 Editor : Dr. A. Singaravel, Director, in charge UGC Academic Staff College, Bharathidasan University, Trichy - 23. Copy right : Bharathidasan University, Trichy - 23. First Edition : 2011 Paper used : 80 GSM TNPL Size : 1 X 8 Demmy Font Size : 12 Points Times New Roman` No. of Pages : No. of Copies : 100 ISBN No. : 978 – 81 – 922810 – 3 - 2 Printed at : Sree Venkateshwara Power Printers, Trichy - 10. Cover page design & Page Making : Ms. R. Sangeetha Computer Assistant, UGC-ASC 2 MESSAGE When I asked Dr.Singaravel, the Director i/c of the Academic Staff College to compile the learning materials used by Resource Persons, he readily agreed to do it. The result is the book you hold in your hands. I am happy to record that the Director has brought these volumes which could be used by participants of Orientation Programmes as Resource Materials. I take this opportunity to congratulate the Director for his proactive initiatives and carry out the vision of Bharathidasan University to be innovative. I thank the University Grants Commission for its fullest support for the progress of the Academic Staff College of Bharathidasan University. I also congratulate Dr.A.Singaravel, Director In-charge of the Academic Staff College and his team for this innovative practice of converting the lecture notes and selected seminar papers of participants, into Resource Materials. I wish the Academic Staff College all success in its endeavors. (Dr.(Mrs.)K.MEENA) 3 From the Director‘s Desk The UGC Academic Staff College (ASC), Bharathidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, has been conducting three types of specially designed training programmes like Orientation Programmes (OP), Refresher Courses (RC) and Short-Term Courses (ST) for the benefit of the College and University Teachers across the country to empower and enhance their academic excellence consistently so as to impart updated subject knowledge to the students of Higher Education for the past quarter century. The ASC also organised Short Term Workshop even for the benefit of the Ph.D Scholars and Administrative Staff to empower and enhance the academic and administrative skill respectively. In addition to this, the ASC has been publishing Resource Materials on various disciplines for the benefit of the stakeholders who attend these programmes. The ASC publishes this "Orientation Course Resource Material Volume-II", to benefit the Teacher Participants, with ISBN facility. This book was compiled from the lectures delivered by the resource persons as well as the seminar papers presented by the participants for the Programmes. In this endeavour, I sincerely thank the UGC for its continued support and co- operation. I thank the most respected Vice-Chancellor and the Management of Bharathidasan University for their academic and administrative support and encouragement to run the courses and bring out the resource material without hassle. I thank all the Resource Persons, who have contributed and extended their fullest support and encouragement towards this endeavor. The Resource Persons/Teacher Participants are totally responsible for their articles and lecture notes presented in this volume and the UGC- ASC can not be held responsible for any criticism or comments from the readers. Finally, I thank Sree Venkateshwara Off Set Printers, Ariyamangalam, Tiruchirappalli, for bringing out this book neatly, within a short span of time. With regards, Director. 4 CONTENTS S.No Particulars Page.No 1. The Personality of a Teacher 2. Career Counseling 3. Thinking Skills And Scientific Temper 4. Creativity For Better Learning And Better Life 5. Enhancing Speaking Skills 6. Microteaching: Theoretical Perspective 7. Information and Communication Technology in Education 8. Impact of Globalization on Small Farmers Worldwide: Implications on Information Transfer The Status of E-Commerce in India and its Potential 9. 10. Indian Society 11 Spread of Swadeshi Movement in Southern Tamil Nadu 12 Bharathanatyam Then and Now 13 Biodiversity and its Conservation 14 Human Rights: The Right To Development 15 Electoral Reforms in India 5 THE PERSONALITY OF A TEACHER Dr. S. Ramamurthy Introduction Personality is a human trait. Animals typify but do not personify. Personality signifies a conscious human paradigm of ideology and practice, vision and mission, mental make-up and behavioural pattern. As such it is neither given nor inherited. Personality evolves within the social collective as one‘s mode of coming to terms and communication with the reality around oneself existing independently of one‘s will. Mediations are crucial. Personality evolves against the backdrop of given socio-economic and political conditions as praxis against de- humanisation at work while passivity fossilizes human existence. The evolution of personality has, therefore, a polemical connotation as it evolves against the backdrop of the hegemony of an ossified order and the designs of the perpetrators of de-humanization. Teachers unique The personality of the teacher is more demanded than desired as they decide the destiny of the nation in the class room. If they fall in line with those who could not rise above the encapsulating trivia or mundane realities, the blind Miltons of India would not embrace the light outside the tunnel of darkness. When the ‗sanmargists‘ predominate, the nation would thrive whereas when the ‗Tunmargists‘ count more, progress would remain down regulated. Acquiring the desired personality shall remain the basic ethic of the teaching profession. Native history has provided exemplary models for great teachers and their antitheses (Ramanuja, Schwartz, Maha Vidhwan and St. Ramalinga Vs Bhishma, Dhrona and Parasurama). UNESCO Prescription The UNESCO‘s document (1998) on education for the Twenty First Century entitled ―Learning: The Treasure within‖ has identified four pillars of Learning: a) Learning to know (Knowledge) b) Learning to do (Skills) c) Learning to live (in Harmony) Former Professor, Department of Tamil, TBML College, Poraiyar. 6 d) Learning to be (able to Transform) These constitute the four crucial premises of the evolution of the teacher‘s personality as well. The first two are the components of impart dynamics. The other two constitute the education dynamics. The four, put together, envisage the evolution of the teacher from being an imparter into an educator and his knowledge becoming wisdom. The first two necessitate orientation and refresher programmes. The other two demand sensitivity and organizational praxis. Parameters For the teacher to evolve as an effective imparter, he must accept the oneness of all souls in human existence. (In ancient times, the seeker of truth was first made to realize the oneness of all ‗Jivas‘ in ―Brahmam‘). Also, the teacher must take into account the plurality of the humans in class rooms caused by social constraints. Effective imparting comprises three parameters: a) Knowledge Proficiency b) Language Proficiency c) Ethics All the three have varied dimensions. The Educator dynamic is characterized by three parameters: a) Perception of education as cultural action for emacipation (Paul-Freire) b) Essential Partisanship (Gorky) c) Conscientisation programme inbuilt-imparting coupled with organizational participation (Gramscy) Personality Development and its Dialectics The education system is largely undermocratic. It is set with authoritarian orientation and bureaucratic governance. The system offers only a semblance of teacher participation. Service conditions are appalling in major areas Teachers have no civic and political right. 7 Teachers remain almost marginalized in educational policy making Marketisation has devalued the system Has the personality of the teacher any relevance in this context? Yes. The struggle against expropriation of human dignity personifies the teacher who, in turn, contributes to conscientising the students and transform them. Getting humanized and humanization are the two sides of the same coin. 8 CAREER COUNSELING Dr. G. Ravindran Career Counseling and Career Coaching are similar in nature to Traditional Counseling. However, the focus is generally on issues such as career exploration, career change, personal career development and other career related issues. Typically when people come for Career Counseling, they know exactly what they want to get out of the process but are unsure about how it will work. In the UK, Career Counseling would usually be referred to as Career Advice or Guidance. Career Counseling is the process of helping the candidates to select a course of study that may help them to get into job or make them employable. A Career Counselor helps the candidates to get into the career that suited their aptitude, personality, interest and skills. In other words, it is the process of making an effective correlation between the Internal Psychology of a Candidate with the External Factors of Employability and Courses. Career Counselors work with people from various walks of life such as adolescents seeking to explore career options or experienced professionals contemplating a career change. Career Counselors typically have a background in vocational psychology or industrial/organizational psychology. The approach of Career Counseling varies but will generally include the completion of one or more assessments. These assessments typically