Dear Guru,
Many thanks for your encouragement –
which keeps me going !
You are absolutely right when you say
that rot learning is forgotten as soon as the exams get over ! Where is
the question of “ applying “ the theories that we “ mugged up “ to any real
life problems , later on ?
I don’t know about writing those “
series of articles “ that you suggest .
I would be very happy if a person – or a
group – undertakes to at least “ Update
“ my following reports on Educational
Reforms , which I wrote 32 / 34 years ago , in collaboration with colleagues like P J Parekh /
Inder Sethi / V K Mahajan :
This last ( Questionnaire ) could serve very useful purpose if ,
Latest STATISTICS are compiled / substituted
It gets converted into an ONLINE SURVEY , using tools like :
Warm Regards,
hcp
From: Gurudatt
Kundapurkar [mailto:kundapurkar@yahoo.com]
Sent: 30 April 2018 14:50
To: Hemen Parekh
Cc: Haridas Shenoy; M. Subramaniam; K. R. Iyer
Subject: Re: EDUCATION REFORMS ? HERE IS ONE SUGGESTION
Dear Hemenji
You would have enjoyed visiting your past in terms of
the education system that made the student take the trouble of understanding
quite difficult & complex matters on his own though at the most from the
books recomended by the professors. Thus the lessons & concepts learnt were
meant to last life time. You proved you are equally at ease and enjoy taking
your readers back in time as much as you mostly do taking them into the
inescapable future, which has already begun, somewhere else, if not in India.
If the Government and the educators at the highest
levels are serious about introducing an entirely fresh and most productive way
to nurture future generations of professionals in India there is no better way
than to introduce radically different and practical ways of educating them, as
brilliantly argued by you. The education system that had turned into a
lucrative business, where children of moneyed parents get the seats in the
professional colleges rather than those with only merits. Or, the question
papers of important exams were available for sale behind, say, the innocuous
panwala shop!
Hemenji, the topic you have discussed so effectively
in this shared mail merits to be converted into an article, or a series of
them, for publication in the prominent newspapers and magazines of our
country. Every citizen with welfare of this nation at heart must have access to
this profound concept for transforming the education system and, in turn, the
quality of our educated youth in the true sense, with a target date.
Warm regards and best wishes = Gurudatt
Open
Book Exams ?
-----------------------
Hindustan
Times ( 29 April ) carries following news :
Excerpts
:
Open book exams would allow students to take notes, text book and
resource materials into an exam hall.
Students would be able to consult the material when answering questions,
which are structured to test their understanding of concepts rather than merely the ability to
memorise facts and figures.
“Exam reforms cannot be done
in isolation; it has to go with teaching reforms,” said Pradipta Banerji,a professor
at the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay. “Unless we do that we cannot
achieve much...”
According to the report, such exams are particularly useful in testing skills in
application, analysis and evaluation.
“A wide range of assessment methods (
example; term papers, open ended problem solving assignments, course / lab
project rubrics, portfolios ) need to be employed to ensure that assessment
methods match with learning outcomes,” it said.
Some
60 years ago , when I pursued my post-graduate studies ( Mechanical Engineering
) in USA in 1957 , open book exams were common
Since
then, thousands of Indians must have returned from USA after getting higher
degrees in engineering from US Universities
In
these 60 years , US education system must have undergone many changes , of
which , I am unaware
I
would be the last person to suggest that we, in India , blindly “ copy “ the
entire US education system , along with its “ open book “ exam format
But
, there is one aspect ( of the US system ) that I strongly feel we must “ copy
“ , viz:
EMPHASIS
ON “ SELF LEARNING “ THROUGH “ SEARCHING
AND RESEARCHING “ , RATHER THAN
ON PASSING AN EXAM
Following
of my experiences of that system ( albeit 60 years old ) will explain what I
mean
*
In the very first lecture ( Advanced Theory of Machines ) , Professor walked
into the class room and wrote down on the black-board ( there were no white
boards ) :
“ The only education worth its name , is self
– education “
He
refused to teach / lecture !
He
just announced the “ topic / subject “ for the next session and asked students
to consult / read any book on that subject and come prepared to the class
The
session was only devoted for the students to ask questions re what they did not
understand from those books which they read
Professor
was there only to answer those questions / solve student’s problems
No
teaching !
*
In those days, all professors were very fond of , what was called , “ Shot Gun Exams “
In
any random lecture session , as soon as you walked into the class room ,
professor will announce :
“
Keep aside your books . On a piece of paper , write down answers to the
questions which I write on the black board . Before you leave the class room ,
place your answer sheets on my table “
Then
, he would just walk out , leaving the students alone / unsupervised !
On
one occasion , I attempted only 6 questions , out of the 8
Next
day he called me and asked :
Hemen
, how come you did not answer all the 8 questions ?
I
said :
Sir
, I ran out of time before the session got over
Prof
:
But
, do you know the answers to the remaining 2 questions ?
Me
:
Yes
. of course
Prof
:
OK
, in that case , here is a piece of paper . Just sit down here in my cabin and
write down those answers , and leave the paper on my table when done . Take all
the time you need
*
One of the most un-nerving feature of the US education system was , “ home assignments “ ( - to which , I was not accustomed in my
engineering college , back home )
There
were plenty of such assignments to keep the students busy in the evenings and
even over the week-ends ! No excuse was acceptable for not turning in home
assignments before start of lecture
Only
concession that I managed to get from my professors was that I could hand-write
my assignments since I did not have a typewriter ( there were no computers )
*
And consider the following example of one such home assignment :
-----------------------------------
“
A Boing 707 airplane takes off from a concrete runway
After climbing for 1 minute, its nose wheel falls off , hits the runway and
rolls along
the
runway, before coming to a stop
What distance would the tyre roll after hitting the ground, before coming to a
stop ? “
---------------------------------
Stumped
? Of course , there were no DATA to solve this VECTOR problem !
Here
is what a student was expected to “ search
/ research / find “ ( - without
any help from Google ), by looking up
relevant info from the news-papers / books / catalogues of manufacturers etc ,
available in the University Library ( or by writing to the manufacturers ) :
#
Take off length / speed / angle of climb / acceleration , of Boing 707
#
Size of its nose wheel / weight of tyre / elasticity of the rubber raw material
used
#
Tyre’s rotational speed ( sfm ) after 1 minute of flight
#
Force with which it hits the ground ( based on height reached after 1 minute )
#
Coefficient of friction of the concrete runway
I
do not remember ( or can figure out today , being an out-dated engineer ) ,
what other DATA needed to be found out , in order to solve this problem !
But
, clearly this was an example of, “ testing skills in application,
analysis and evaluation. “
* And then there were these questions which “ external faculty
members “ asked me during my final oral exam :
“ If you are stranded on a desolate / uninhabited island , all by
yourself and want to re-start a CIVILIZATION, how would you make a beginning ?
“
My answer :
First thing to start civilization that I need , is a STRAIGHT LINE
I would take a leaf, puncture a tiny hole in it with a thorn , hold it
against sun and let a BEAM of sun-light , fall along a straight line
Next question :
Do you believe that human body is a kind of Internal Combustion Engine ?
Me :
Yes
Examiner :
Can
any IC engine work where the inside body temperature and the ambient
temperature is nearly the same ?
Me
:
No
Sir ! I am afraid I don’t have an answer to this riddle !
Examiner
:
Don’t
fret ! No one has figured it out , as yet !
And
talking about the DECISION-MAKING AUTHORITY of the examiners , I was asked to
wait outside the cabin after the exam was over
After
5 minutes , my Guide came out and said :
Congrats,
Hemen ! You have passed !
*
Then there was this professor of “ Managerial Economics “ who would suddenly
announce :
“
Hey guys ! It is too stuffy in the class room
Let’s drive down to my house and continue our session there, in my front porch
My
wife would be happy to serve us with some coffee and cookies “
Not having a car of my own , I would ride in Professor’s car !
*
And the world authority on “ Metal Cutting “ , Prof K J Trigger had the habit
of walking into the class room ( of just 6 students ) , pull out 7 ash-trays
from the pocket of his workshop overall ( white uniform ) , and place one in
front of each student ( all of whom smoked )
At
the end of the session , he would go around , one by one , pick up each ash
tray , empty it in a waste paper basket , wipe it clean on his uniform and put
back in his pocket before walking out !
*
Last , but not the least :
If any Professor was not satisfied with the academic performance of any student
, he
was the final authority to decide if that student shall stop attending his
class – and
with immediate effect ! All he had to do was to send a note to the concerned
college
authority about his decision and saying why !
No one can over rule his decision !
Dear
Educationists / Professors / Students / Education Ministers :
Please
do not look upon “ Open Book Exam “ as some kind of an “ Educational Reform “ , in isolation
What
we need is a “ CHANGE
OF ATTITUDE “ towards the
entire process of LEARNING
Before
attempting any such “ Gimmick “ , please carry out the following :
*
“ YES / NO “ type of “ Online “ questionnaire surveys among all
stake-holders
*
Publish the findings on many web sites
*
Debate the findings on many campuses / TV Channels
29
April 2018
