SPARC Workshop at IIT Bhubaneswar delves into “Learning to teach Inclusively
A Five-day SPARC Workshop, titled “Learning to teach Inclusively: Navigating dilemmas of practice” from 26th December to 30th December 2024 was organized by the School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Management, IIT Bhubaneswar in association with NIT, Warangal. Prof. Srikala Narain, Teacher’s College, Columbia University, USA, conducted the workshop. This workshop aimed to bring together teachers, educators, scholars, and experts to explore innovative strategies and practices for fostering inclusivity in educational settings.
The educators constantly navigating an evolving classroom dynamic – one that brings together students from varied backgrounds, abilities, and experiences. These differences pose unique challenges and, more importantly, provide opportunities to create environments where every learner feels valued, understood, and supported. To understand these challenges, with great enthusiasm participants engaged in the workshop sharing knowledge and personal experiences. Thy have expressed that the workshop provided an opportunity to engage in meaningful conversations and build skills that truly matter in today’s diverse educational landscape.
The workshop was designed to help the participants grapple with these pertinent questions in the area and navigate the practical realities of inclusive teaching. The outcomes of the workshop were – the participants explored strategies to address the challenges of inclusive classrooms; reflected on their own teaching practices and how they can evolve; and shared personal experiences, insights, and tools that empower them as inclusive educators.
Prof. Karmalkar, Director of IIT Bhubaneswar, also motivated the participants with the teaching-learning concepts of inclusive classrooms such as: dimensions of learning; levels of learning, and factors contributing to language acquisition and communication.
The workshop was coordinated by Dr. Rajakumar Guduru, from IIT Bhubaneswar, Prof. Madhavi from NIT Warangal. Dr. Dukahabandhu Sahu, Head of the School HSSM; Prof. Pandu Ranga, Dean Continuing Education, IIT Bhubaneswar; and other faculty colleagues were present.
