HOW TO PREPARE FOR UGC NET IN EDUCATION?

 

When you feel that everything is lost, remember there is someone waiting to hold your hands and make you travel the murky way. Be open for grace. Spread love and light wherever you go.

Dear friends,

When I meet my juniors and some of my friends who have been preparing for this exam for quite a long period of time I get to answer certain questions from them like How did you prepare yourself for the exam? How much time you devoted for your preparation? What were the different books and the study materials that you followed? These are some of the questions which are common for every aspirant preparing for this exam. Believe me friends it was not really a hard nut to crack. All you need is your belief, hard work and confidence in yourself. I was in the final year of my M.Ed (Masters in Education) course when I prepared for this exam. When we have a good strategy we can be sure of cracking this exam. Here in this post I would be sharing my strategy with you all. Hope it would be of some help to you. Inspired by our seniors who had cleared this exam I  thought why not give it a try? I downloaded the syllabus and took a print out of it. Then I started making notes from one of the topics I find quite interesting and relevant which is inclusive education. The syllabus is very vast but if you plan it well and have a good strategy for it it is a cake walk. I had some very good friends, seniors and juniors who kept me motivated throughout this journey. It is very essential that you have some good people around you to motivate you at times. We often say that people are influenced by the company they keep. Be focused on you goal and the rest will take care of yourself. Self belief that you are capable of doing it  and confidence in oneself is the key.

BOOK LIST

Some of the books that I followed include

Paper 1

The best book I feel that works for Paper 1 is NTA UGC TEACHING AND RESEARCH APTITUDE by KVS MADAAN. The book is very useful to have an overall idea about the type of questions to be expected for paper 1.Continous practice and revision  is the mantra that will help you sail through the exam. This is the only book that I used for my paper 1 preparation. There are lots of practice questions given at the end of each sections. You can practice them at ease after throughly going through the topics included in the syllabus.

From my experience during the preparation for the exam I would like to share with you all that this exam requires  is conceptual clarity. We should be very through with the concepts. When I refer to concepts it indicates to certain important topics mentioned in the syllabus which you have to be very through with. All together the syllabus has been divided into ten units. Every unit has certain topics within it.

Some of the books I followed include

L R Grey

Creswell-Pearson publication

SK Mangal-Research

S K Mangal-Psychology and Education Technology

Philosophy and Sociological foundation -G S Mathur(One of my senior suggested this book though I didn't read it)

These are few names of the book that I followed. In a digital age where everything is available online we have to be very careful in our preparation for competitive exams. We should be able to differentiate all that is important for us and that which is not.

For your help, I would  try listing the Units   topic-wise. The UGC NET Education syllabus is divided into several parts.

Educational Studies.

To prepare for this Unit I went through some of the good books of Philosophy available in my RIE BBSR library, the names of which I forgot. You can as well prepare from the internet for this topic.

Growth and Development

I followed the book written by S K Mangal which I feel is quite good to have a strong base that would help you to understand the topics of this unit.

Teacher Education

I didn't followed any standard books as such and depended upon Internet for this topic.

The remaining units preparation was from the Internet. The Units include-

Curriculum Studies 

Research in Education

Pedagogy, Andragogy and Assessment

Technology in/for Education

Educational Management Administration and Leadership and 

Inclusive Education

Here is a sample note of mine prepared for the topic Contribution of Educational Thinkers. Lot of questions do come in the exam from this portion-you need to prepare it very well and remember the books written by them. It is very essential that you are able to relate their works with the aims of education. That is what is needed for this portion.

Contribution of Educational Thinker

Swami Vivekananda

Birth-1883-Calcutta

Father-Narendra Nath Dutta

Contact with Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

Later came to be known as Swami Vivekananda

Established Ram Krishna Mission

in the memory of Guru

preached in Asia, Europe, England and America.

teaching of Vedant

preached gospel of international brotherhood

death-1902

philosophy-to become fearless and through struggle serve humanity

philosophy of education

philosophy of Vedant and  Upanishads

he condemned the education of his time considering it to be bookish and rote memory practice

he suggest an education which develop character, mental powers, intelligence and self confidence and self reliance

focused on practical and experimental education

basic principles of educational philosophy

-only study of books is not education

-knowledge lies hidden in the minds of man. He uncovers and develops it by his own efforts

-concentration is key to all knowledge. For it practice of brahmacharya is essential

-purity of thought speech and deed is self discipline

-provision of technical education for economic  prosperity of the nation

Meaning  of education

-Education is the manifestation of the perfection already reached in a man

Aim of education

1)physical and mental development

Aim

child to stand on own legs

not dependent upon others

physically well developed citizen

2)character development

practice of brahmacharya

development of mental moral and spiritual power leading to purity of thoughts, words and deeds.

3)moral and spiritual development

greatness of nation depends upon moral and spiritual development of citizens.

curriculum

foster material welfare

spiritual advancement

spiritual perfection-religion, philosophy, puranic lore, Upanishads, company of saints.

material-language, geography, science, arts etc.

Methods of teaching

ANCIENT SPIRITUAL METHODS OF TEACHING

-Guru and disciple in close association

to control fleeting mental faculties by yoga

to develop the mind by concentration and deep meditation

to gain knowledge through lectures, discussion, self experience and creative activities

to imitate the qualities and character of teacher by intelligent and clear understanding.

lead the child by individual guidance by the teacher.

Place of child

child centered -child is the store and repository of all learning material.

Place of teacher

"Teacher is philosopher, friend and guide helping the educand to go forward in his own way"

Education of masses

focus on mass education

-emphasis

Philosophy

-Idealism, Naturalism and  Pragmatism

-develop moral and spiritual nature of child

real education possible only through  nature

focus on western education of technology ,commerce etc.

-harmonious synthesis of Ancient Indian ideals and modern Western beliefs.

-focus on international brotherhood

nationalism

focus on common education

physical, mental, moral ,spiritual and vocational development of the child.

idealist at heart

spiritual development focus

material prosperity

safety of life

solving problems of fooding and lodging/clothing.

"Arise ,awake and stop not till the goal is achieved."

-Swami Vivekananda

Its not rote learning and memorization of facts that would help in the long run. Rather in recent years we have seen that there is a change in the way questions are being asked in the exam. It is more of understanding and reflective base. Solving Previous Year question paper is very essential. It helps to get an idea about the type of questions that are asked in the exam.

In this regard I would like to thank my institute Regional Institute of Education for providing me with such good books available in our institute library. Starting from the first semester itself our teachers used to emphasize upon us to develop conceptual clarity for clearing this exam. For paper 2 after going through some books on Research, Psychology and Teacher Education I started solving questions from Previous Year Question Papers. It was done for each of the topics.

I cannot suggest you a perfect strategy for this exam but yes definitely you can get some idea as how to go about  in your preparation after going through this blog. I also relied upon the internet for this preparation. There should not be segregated preparation like emphasizing on one particular portion of the syllabus and neglecting the others. Like there can be some students who like Psychology the most and mostly prepare well from that part. Remember friends you need not be an expert in this subject to crack the exam. All you need to do is have a through understanding of the exam pattern and prepare each topic well. The exam is all about checking your application based knowledge of the subject. There is no one best way to crack this exam. Lord Buddha said Apno Depo Bhabo which means be your own light. Believe in yourself that you can and find out the ways that best suit you. It's your journey. With lots and lots of  well wishes to each one of you my heartiest regards. May grace be with you. Feel free to contact. I would be providing my Email Id at the end.

A WORD OF THANKS

As I celebrate my success I would like to thank all my teachers of Tezpur University, Department of Education and the faculty members of Regional Institute of Education, A Constituent Unit of NCERT, New Delhi for their help and guidance by being my guiding light, showering so much love and blessings, without whom this would not have been possible.

My gratitude to my senior Priyanka Di who helped me immensely by providing all her books starting from Research Methodology to Psychology. I am ever grateful dear sister for your cartoon of books before my exam.

My thanks also goes to my family, my parents and my brother who have and always been an immense source of inspiration all these years and my gratitute would remain incomplete without the mention of my teachers from my alma mater St. Mary's High School, my Head Mistress Sister Asha Paul and all the teachers who have made me believe in the immensity of life and our limitations as humans and to all my friends and well-wishers for helping me to make this possible. I would like to sign off with some beautiful lines from a painting which was of two horses on a race from my school building I remember reading every day after assembly as a child which has a profound impact upon my life

Being with a winner makes you a winner.

Here is my email id

priyankakoch43@gmail.com

Keep Learning and if you feel this blog has helped you in some way do share it with your friends.

Thank you!

RIE BHUBANESWAR EXPERIENCES

 Completed your B.Ed.So what's next that you plan to do?Are you planning to do M.Ed?What are the job opportunities after completion of M.Ed?In this blog I will share my experiences as a M.Ed student at Regional Institute of Education,Bhubaneswar.

To get into the institute one needs to pass in the Entrance exam held.Questions  for selection of candidates for the M.Ed course consist of teaching aptitute,reasoning and english.Marks obtained in the qualifying exam which is B.Ed is also taken along with marks obtained at entrance for the final selection process.

M.Ed trainees get to learn theoretical concepts along with field exposure where they get to interact with students in universities  and colleges.Some other components of field exposure include interaction with SCERT OPEPA staff etc. along with visit to Ashram schools,DIETs etc.This is very enriching.It helps teacher educators to understand and experience real life situations outside classroom and relate classroom  learning to eveyday life.

RIE BBSR is  A Constituent Unit of NCERT New Delhi.RIE Bhubabeswar  is located in the Temple City of India Bhubaneswar in Odisha.It caters to the need of teachers and teacher educators for the eastern zone of India.It was earlier known as Regional college of Education.All total there are five Regional Colleges of Education spread in different places cross the country in Shillong Bhubaneswar,Ajmer Bhopal and Mysore.

RIE Bhubaneswar has different functions as a constituent unit of NCERT.Itorganizes different training programmes  for teachers which include progrms  for Madrassa teachers,pre school  etc.It also runs different programmes  like Integrated B.Ed and M.Ed courses.It caters to the need of both pre service and in service teacher education and works for capacity building of teachers.

The institute is well eqquiped with different ICT facilities and other modern amenities.It is a campus which is located  in the heart of Bhubaneswar.It caters to the need of the north eastern states and to the union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Island.

It is actively involved in research and develpment activities related to the field of school education.

The different courses offered include

 4 years B Sc B.Ed

4 years B.A B.Ed 

2 years B.Ed

 2 years M.Ed 

1year DCGC which is Diploma in Guidance and Counselling

 M.Phil in Education and 

Pre-Ph.D in Education.

If  you are someone who is willing to pursue your higher studies in the field of Education this is one of the best  campus in the country.It is a  fully residential campus with hostel facilities for boys and girls.For holistic develpment of the trainees different cultural  programmes are also organized through out the year.It is well connected to different parts of the country.The nearest airport is Biju Patnaik International Airport and the Bhubaneswar train station  is also of easy access from the institute.

The job opportunities include going into the teaching profession as teachers or as teacher educators in B.Ed colleges,Lecturers etc.You can go for Ph.D if you want to go in the field of research.

This is all in this blog.Hope it will definately help all those students and aspirants who wish to enter in to the teaching profession and envision themselves as  future teachers and teacher educators.If you feel like you have some query do  comment.Here is my email id

priyankakoch43@gmail.com

LEARNING IN THE EARLY YEARS

 Learning is unique to the child. Every learner has his/her own ways of learning. Childhood is the best time to explore. This exploration on the part of the child helps them to have their own general view of the world around them. The early years of 0-6 years of age is considered the best time for brain development. Recent studies in brain researches have focused upon this by bringing out the point that about 85% of brain development takes place during these early years. This period is thus considered to be the window of opportunity for the child.

Developmentally Appropriate Practices is a perspective withing Early Childhood Care and Development which aims to promote optimal learning and development of young children in various early childhood educational settings. Developmentally Appropriate Practices take into account important concepts related to the learning of young children like curriculum,theme-based activities, assessment practices, etc . Developmentally Appropriate Practices is integral for the holistic development of the preschool child.

                                                                 An ECCE worker

MY VISIT TO ASHRAM SCHOOL

 The word Ashram refers to the hermitage. When my teacher from the Regional Institute of Education, Bhubaneswar instructed that I should be going to visit Ashram School to interact with the teachers and the students there I couldn't visualize the exact picture of it. And when I finally visited it I came in terms of the functioning of the school. There are several of these schools at different locations of the state. These schools have students from the remote districts of Odisha and are for the tribal students. Odisha is home to many tribes many of which also belong to Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups. The students I met at Ashram School belong to several of these tribes like Munda, Santhal, etc from districts like Malkangiri. When I listen to the tune of Sambalpuri dance I cannot wait. To welcome us amidst them many of the students danced to the beat of Sambalpuri Dance. Both Sambalpiuri dance and Sambalpuri sarees are famous. The  Saree is famous for its intricate design and beautiful motifs. When I interacted with the headmaster I got to understand the functioning of the school. During my visits to several schools in my profession as a teacher educator on numerous occasions, I have got to interact with administrators and officials, Headmaster, and teachers. Often have I seen the dilapidated condition of residential schools with improper infrastructure and lack of appropriate facilities. But in Ashram School the picture was very different. The teachers were very friendly and cooperated with us in exploring the school. The students seemed to excel not only in academics but also in extracurricular activities. The students of the school come from diverse cultures many of whom are home to the indigenous knowledge systems passed through oral tradition. These Ashram Schools in the state of Odisha can definitely provide a platform to help these students to exhibit their local handicrafts and hone their skills better by making it a part of the curriculum. This can work in the direction of making Atmanirvar Bharat or Self Reliant India as is the vision of Prime Minister of India a reality.

RETHINKING THE WAYS CHILDREN LEARN

To quote Howard Gardner

"Wouldn't it be sad if there was only one way to learn and only one way to be assessed and that was the  end of Education?''

Assessment is an integral part of the teaching-learning process. There are several forms of assessment, the individual teacher should be left to decide about the ways to access the children. School is considered to be a miniature society where students spent a significant part of their lives. Education aims at bringing out the best in the child. As I say every flower is beautiful, it has to bloom in its own way. There cannot be only one single way of assessing the child. Gardner gave the concept of Multiple Intelligence. The eight different types of intelligence introduced by Gardner are-Logical/Mathematical, Linguistic, Musical, Spatial, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Naturalist, Interpersonal, and Intrapersonal. There are different ways in which synaptic connections are built in the brain and add to the existing schemas of knowledge. According to Gardner human intelligence are of multiple types and there are several ways in which processing of information takes place. Some students may be good at analyzing information, yet others can be best at identifying different categories of plants and naming them. It is essential that we recognize the ability of our students and make necessary changes in the way content is delivered in our classrooms.  Students in a diverse country like India come from different sections of society. This diversity adds to the beauty of Indian classrooms. Diversity is seen in terms of food habits, culture, religion, and many more. When we as teacher educators and teachers consider having a one -size- fits -all approach for our children it will invariably lead to differences in the classroom and will leave many students behind. Rather we should be more flexible in the delivery of instruction material and pedagogic practices. This would lead to equity and inclusion in classrooms. As educators, it is essential that we think about the varying ways in which we deliver instruction to young minds.

Education as a way of emancipation

The very thought of education brings to my mind the concept of emancipation. It liberates our mind, helps to grow to break the shackles of intolerance, removing darkness and poverty. I have learned so many things during my four  years  of experience as a student-teacher and as a prospective teacher educator.Every policy and programme whether it be National Policy of Education(1986), Kothari Commission (1964-66), Secondary Education Commission(1952-53)  were framed taking into mind the needs of the people associated with their actual implementation at the ground level.The grassroot level approach in curriculum development as suggested by Hilda Tawa prioritize on taking the opinion of the teachers. My  associations with the community in and around the village of Napaam,Tezpur the internship program at Kendriya Vidyalaya  during the B.Ed programme have helped me to have a practical approach. It in a way has helped me to hone my skills. Classroom discussions have been mainly activity-based. National Curriculum Framework (NCF) 2005 has focused upon the concept of Constructivism in education. At a time when students  lives are at stake due to the global pandemic COVID-19, countries have shifted to online classes. In a developing country like India, lack of infrastructure in the form of proper ICT resources is often seen as a barrier to making education reach every child. Down the line, there are many who cant afford to have a cell phone to get connected to online classes. It is thus necessary that the top-level administration and the bureaucratic process involved in policy planning take note of these issues which seem minimal but are of utmost necessity to shape the future of the nation.It is time we as stakeholders of the education system take a serious note about the challenges faced by learners to tackle issues arising due to the pandemic which has a huge impact upon the education system.This would also help us to deal with the post pandemic challenges as well.As Kothari Commission notes 

 

                                    "The destiny of India is  being shaped in her classroom

 

ACCESSIBILITY

Education in India is still today a distant dream for many. When I visited Keonjhar, I met some children near my picnic spot. I don't know from which tribes they belong to. There are many  Particularly Vulnerable Tribal  Groups (PVTG'S) in Odisha. They might be from the Munda or Santhal tribe. When I visited the lone house near our picnic spot I saw some kids playing outside. The younger one, a girl was munching some biscuits given by people visiting the place for a picnic. I tried to interact with them through the languages that I knew. Nothing worked out. Probably they are unable to understand Oriya, their dialect is different. When I asked them about the school through signs and hand gestures they said that they do travel to school. Accessibility is still a barrier in many parts of India-accessibility in terms of reach to school and related resources. Barriers can be many -geographical, rugged terrain, poor internet connectivity, poverty, broken families. The list could be endless. When I saw the little ones cleaning plates from visitors leftover I felt where is their childhood. Are we as stakeholders of the education system really working to make their lives better? Disparities in terms of rural-urban divide, resources, and others seem to leave many children out of school.

When  I returned at the end of the day to Bhubaneswar, many thoughts were fast running in my mind. The images of the kids, the tears on their faces raised many questions in my mind. Wandering around after having food, I visited a family and saw another girl selling wine made of Mohua to a visitor for a meager 20 rs.

In Keonjhar, people use solar panels for their works in most of the places. Issues associated with accessibility if taken care of by people associated with educating young children can work miraculously to trap the potential of the human resource of the country.