Ms Piya Mukherjee is the Founder and Director at VESLARC. As an Adjunct Faculty at SP Jain School of Global Management, she specialises in World Cultures and Global Adaptability. She also is a Corporate Trainer. This interview describes her experience of teaching World Cultures to the first-year undergraduate students of SP Jain.
Did the experience of virtual classes match your expectation? And why?
In some yes, in some ways, no. The interactions have continued to be extremely rich. However, I had hoped that the use of great teaching tools would help overcome the absence of the vital element of 3-D interaction - that isn't happening.
How did you adapt your teaching style in response to the pandemic? Also, how far was the nature of the subject conductive to teach online?
Adaptation included far more individualised conversations, emails, feedback, pre-and post session chats, etc, along with changed teaching methods that are more discussion oriented and less concept-heavy. World Cultures is a subject that can be taught online.
In your opinion, what are some of the positives of teaching online in comparison to teaching face-to-face?
The ability to reach students in different parts of the country or of the world is probably the single-biggest advantage.
The Chat box allows even introverts and reticent students to make a point - the volume of participation in class is way higher than ever before!
Also, I've had students recovering from COVID-19 - they have attended classes while resting - something that physical classes would not have allowed.
Image 1: Ms Piya Mukherjee and her students in the ELO room.
What advice would you provide to teachers conducting virtual classes to address their concerns?
It's easier than one thinks it is. Keep things simpler.
What is the one learning from teaching online that you would incorporate in your teaching style henceforth? And why?
Encouraging "chat" using the chat box - this could be brought into physical classes too. It empowers even the quietest of students to speak up.
Image 2: The chat option in ELO platform as seen in faculty view.
For more information about Ms. Piya Mukherjee:
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