SRM University-AP organised a workshop on “Interactive Learning” to acquaint faculty with the evolving dynamics of teaching and learning, and the state-of-the-art pedagogical approaches. The two-day workshop was held on July 21 & 27, 2022 under the auspices of Prof Ranjit Thapa, Associate Dean in charge (Sciences), School of Engineering and Sciences. Faculty members from different schools attended the sessions and exchanged views on alternative methodologies to unravel the different facets of learning.

Prof T Raghunathan, Associate Dean in charge (Engineering), School of Engineering and Sciences, addressed the gathering and expounded his ideas on teaching. “Teaching encompasses the features of arts and science necessitating a teacher to don the roles of an artist and scientist”, he stated. It is the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of learning that a teacher should shed light on, according to Prof Raghunathan, to awaken students to their passion and lead a life of purpose.

Prof B V Babu, Dean- School of Engineering and Sciences, interacted with the faculty and spoke on the responsibility of a teacher in a university. He specified the diverse opportunities the university provides to its student community, such as research, placements, and entrepreneurship, and how teachers can contribute to enhancing the performance of students in different arenas. Unlike the conventional understanding, today’s teachers are bound to perform multiple roles to fulfil their obligation.

The session was presided over by Dr Karthik Rajendran, Assistant Professor and Faculty Coordinator, Department of Environmental Science. He rendered an engaging talk on active learning, encouraging the teachers to take up an amicable approach in classrooms and skilfully guide students through the learning process. Flipped classes, project-based learning, and peer learning are some of the interesting techniques that teachers can put to practice.

Dr Satya Pramod Jammy, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, presented a session on different types of assessments that can be carried out to test the understanding of the students. He further elucidated the goals of assessment and how it should be aligned with meeting the practical requirements of the course rather than making students reproduce the content. He listed out the various assessment patterns followed at SRM-AP to ensure the learning caters to the all-round development of the student.

In the latter half of the workshop, Dr V M Manikandan, Assistant Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, delivered a talk on the learning management system used at the university, its features and clarified doubts on how the application can be availed to make teaching and learning a full-fledged activity. Dr Balaguruprasad Narayanan, Associate Professor from the Department of Teaching and Learning Centre wrapped up the workshop with an extended session on outcome-based learning.