Is Google Throwing Teachers Out of Business?

Thank you google, everything can be learned on the internet these days. From cooking to surgery to making a small bomb, every learning is on the finger tip. The education system is going through a transformation. Students are riding on this wave but teachers are feeling the pain. Do we still need teachers? If yes, then what is their role in the Google era? How do teachers respond to this threat? Can Google be used as a complementary tool rather than a competitive threat?

The real challenge for colleges is attracting students to the classroom.

Day by day the attendance of students in the classroom is going down drastically. Teachers are perplexed about the apathy of the students towards the classroom.

The teachers are struggling to attract students to the class and make them attend the lecture till the end. Many of the students do not hesitate to abscond after the break. Some students come to the college but they prefer to get engaged in other activities rather than going to the class and attend the regular lecture. Even the written warnings have not served the purpose and students come out with many lame excuses for missing the lectures. The average attendance in classes is going down alarmingly. Students don't even care for the statutory requirement of minimum level of attendance which is usually around 75%. The attendance for the lectures in the earlier and later part of the working hours is even thinner.

Another common complaint of the teachers is about 'the reduced span of attention' of students. They can't focus more than a few minutes on a particular topic.

How to increase the span of attention of the students is the biggest problem of teachers.

The junior colleges and undergraduate colleges (called Graduation in India. I am referring them together as 'colleges') are struggling hard with many issues. What does the passive participation of students in attending and learning in the classes indicate?

Is it indicating that teachers are becoming dinosaurs? Today, the teacher is not the only source of knowledge. There are multiple sources. Students don't take teachers at face value. They want you to be consistent with other sources of knowledge. Even a small deviation is challenged. Teachers, therefore, can't be dependent only on a textbook.

I have just three advises for the teachers.

1.Change focus from teaching to learning. 2. Develop scholarship & take it to class. 3. Create drama in the class.

Teaching: A Classical Method of Knowledge Transfer Teaching involves lecturing. The teacher takes the active role. He/she refers to the syllabus, textbooks, reference books, etc. Prepares himself well for the class. Makes notes, plan activities, prepares a board plan and the presentation. Provides handouts. Students are expected to attend the class and collect whatever is delivered by the teacher. They prepare for the examinations based on the approach taken by the teacher.

In teaching, the ownership of the knowledge transfer lies with the teacher.

The most of the talking is done by the teacher. Students are allowed to ask questions at the end of the lecture. They can intervene and request for repeat explanation only if they get stuck with a concept and fail to understand it. They have to maintain the discipline during the lecture and the teacher has to control the class. Students are expected to take notes on the topics being discussed by the teacher during the lecture. Some teachers provide notes.

Teaching style is specific to the teachers and students have to adapt them to that style

They give dictation while lecturing. Students refer to these notes and read the textbook for examination. They read only that part of the textbook which is emphasized by the teacher during teaching. Most of the Indian students became exam oriented rather than knowledge oriented, thanks to the pedagogy which focused on the teaching. There is an over-emphasis on the 3 hours written examination just at the end of the semester rather than continuous evaluation.

The content taught in the class and covered in exams hardly overlapped reducing the importance of the classroom inputs.

The 3-hour examination created a lot of stress on students. Most of the times the teachers, examiners who set question papers and the answer-sheet evaluators are different. The teacher is not involved in the evaluation of his students. Evaluation is centralized and delegated to the university. This may be one of the important reasons why students don't care about the classes.

Teaching approach lacks practical orientation and suppresses innovation.

Students tend to discount classroom as a 'theoretical' and do not expect any value for the real life work situation. They are confused about bridging the gap between the theory taught in the classes and practical knowledge required in real life. I have seen students respecting teachers who have practical work experience. The attend the classes of such teachers who relate the conceptual knowledge to the real life situation.

Learning: The Contemporary Method of Knowledge Transfer Learning focuses on needs of students. Learning is the acquisition of knowledge or skills through study, experience, or being taught. Study and experience are in control of students, the teacher is involved, actively, when something is taught. The learning becomes unique when the teacher gets involved in study and experience, directly or indirectly. Teachers can create experiential learning. They can provide resources and a direction for the study.

Good teachers focus on learning rather than teaching

In learning the onus of knowledge transfer is on students. The teacher is provider & facilitator. The focus is on the learning style of the student.Evaluation is done by the teacher directly and it is continuous. The student gets feedback, on regular basis, on his performance in an evaluation. The objective is to help the student learn the subject in such a way that he/she should be in a position to apply to real life situation. A student is not over dependent on the teacher or the textbook. He explores other sources as & when required The friends play an active role.

Develop Scholarship The teachers have to develop scholarship. It means developing a passion for the subject you are teaching. One must have a global competency in the knowledge of the chosen field. Reading books by international authors, attending conferences, joining relevant groups on Linked In, taking memberships of journals/portals/magazines, networking among like-minded professionals, conduct joint research are some of the methods to inculcate a research attitude. I have experienced that students enjoy the class when you take your research to the classroom. Research is the foundation of the classroom inputs.

Deeper the research stronger will be the classroom teaching

Create Drama in the Class Students hate monolog in low pitch without any voice modulation. They judge the teacher by his/her enthusiasm. They enjoy lively classes. I have experienced that

Learning is better when it is delivered with the entertainment.

Teachers eye contact, articulation, tone, and mood defines the mood of the class. Students enjoy audio-visual classes. We should use YouTube videos wherever we can. Great teachers bring down the 'generation gap'. They keep themselves relevant to their students, always.

The real challenge for any teacher is to strike a chord with students & get into their world.

Teaching can't be done only as a bread-earning activity. It is a noble profession with many privileges. Great teachers are role models. The first profession which a kid enacts while playing with friends is a teacher.

The power comes to teacher from his character, devotion, and sacrifice.

Knowledge delivery system is transforming. It is changing from teacher driven to the student-driven system. Learning style of the student is becoming dominant with more & more options available to them. Teachers have to compete with their international counterparts who are uploading quality learning material, in audio-visual form, focusing learning through more effective tools and techniques in a much convenient way. An absence of students from the classroom is a warning bell for the teachers. They have to transform and adapt their methods accordingly. They have to either perform in this new era or they will perish. Thanks to Google which is searching the internet and delivering many new avenues for learning. A teacher has to be a source of inspiration for his students. He is a charger which never lets the students get drained. He opens minds, triggers passion. Can you do it Google?

About the Author: Prof Dr. Ajit Patil is a Professor of Marketing & Retailing. He teaches at ICFAI Business School, (IBS) Powai, Mumbai, India.

He also pursues other careers as a Management Writer, Corporate Trainer, and Business Development Consultant. He is a visiting professor at the University of the South Pacific, Fiji.

He can be reached at +91 22 40434316 [email protected]

(Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are based on general observation and discussions. They don't hold true for many good schools, colleges, and institutions including those where I have been teaching or taught earlier).