logo
T.N. trains college teachers to set question papers testing students' analytical, problem-solving skills

T.N. trains college teachers to set question papers testing students' analytical, problem-solving skills

The Hindu05-07-2025
Numbers, often, do not reflect the reality. Masked behind Tamil Nadu's high gross enrolment ratio (GER) of 52% in higher education are serious deficiencies in curriculum transaction and assessment, as highlighted by a State Planning Commission's evaluation of university question papers that was released in December 2023.
The report was an indictment of the rot that had set in in Tamil Nadu's higher education realm. Question papers for semester-end exams for Engineering and Arts and Science subjects barely challenged the students to use analytical or problem-solving methods; rather, they had questions that involved mere recall of concepts, which promoted rote learning. These deficiencies in pedagogical methods directly affected learning outcomes that are reflected by placement performance of institutions.
So, how did the State respond?
After twiddling its fingers for about a year, the government launched a training programme in December 2024 for the faculty of all State universities and government colleges. The revised Bloom's Taxonomy, a framework to classify learning outcomes based on six cognitive levels — namely remember, understand, apply, analyse, evaluate, and create — forms the core of the training programme. While the first two levels largely pertain to recall of the concepts, the next four levels require higher order thinking and problem solving skills.
Improving quality of education
'In these training programmes, which are conducted in workshop mode, the teachers are being taught to write the course outcomes to align with the larger programme outcomes,' said M.P. Vijayakumar, Vice Chairman, Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TANSCHE), the agency with the mandate to improve the quality of higher education in the State. 'We want to build their capacity to frame analytical and problem-solving questions for evaluating students.' This change, he cautions, needs to be brought in gradually so as not to inconvenience learning.
Giving an example, Mr. Vijayakumar said that for science subjects, investigation, which is a K4-level attribute in revised Bloom's Taxonomy, can happen essentially in a laboratory, but focus on laboratory curriculum has been lagging.
So far, nearly 2,000 faculty members have been trained in about 20 sessions, but extending the programme to cover all 50,000 faculty members across the State appears a tall order. The Council has already trained 180 master trainers who would then train other faculty members. 'We would like to cover as much ground as possible within this academic year,' Mr. Vijayakumar added. Registrars and controllers of examination of all State universities have undergone this training.
At the day-long workshops, the faculty members are given a rundown on Learning Outcome-based Curriculum Framework (LOCF) formulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Outcome-Based Education (OBE) adopted by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE). They are then required to write their course outcomes to reflect the final programme outcomes. This is followed by a group discussion and feedback on the outcomes.
As a follow-up to this, the Council plans to audit all question papers of State universities and autonomous colleges on the percentage of questions based on higher order thinking skills once the new form of evaluation is rolled out. It would take a while, years perhaps, to notice any tangible result, but these initial steps need to be taken and pursued doggedly.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Liquor scam mastermind will be revealed soon: Andhra Min Kollu Ravindra
Liquor scam mastermind will be revealed soon: Andhra Min Kollu Ravindra

New Indian Express

time10 hours ago

  • New Indian Express

Liquor scam mastermind will be revealed soon: Andhra Min Kollu Ravindra

ANANTAPUR: Reacting to Rajampet MP Mithun Reddy's arrest, Minister for Excise Kollu Ravindra has said the liquor scam during the previous YSRCP regime is the largest in the country, with small players being exposed, but the main culprit will soon be brought to light. He expressed surprise at the extent of corruption that had taken place, and noted that the State had incurred debts of over Rs 10 lakh crore. Projects like Polavaram and Amaravati were stalled, and there were instances of illegal arrests, atrocities, and looting during the previous regime, he said. The Excise Minister participated in the Suparipalanalo Toli Adugu programme held at Kanaganapalli Mandal Centre of Sri Sathya Sai district on Sunday. He also took part in several other development programmes. On the occasion, he reiterated that the mastermind behind the liquor scam will soon be revealed, emphasising the government's commitment to uncovering the truth. Ravindra recalled his own experience of being arrested and jailed for 53 days, along with many other TDP leaders who faced similar treatment during the YSRCP regime.

Urban experts call for expansion of civic limits to include urbanised villages
Urban experts call for expansion of civic limits to include urbanised villages

The Hindu

time2 days ago

  • The Hindu

Urban experts call for expansion of civic limits to include urbanised villages

While there has been general concurrence among urban planners and experts on the way the city's civic limits have been divided into five corporations , many argue that the municipal limits should have been expanded to include areas beyond today's civic limits that are urbanised. 'We seem to be trying to solve yesterday's problem and not tomorrow's. We are confronting this problem because we did not anticipate this years ago. We still do not seem to be addressing a ground reality that most of the new migrants into the city are settling outside the civic limits, urbanising those areas,' said urban expert Ashwin Mahesh, arguing for four more corporations beyond the civic limits, all to be brought under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA). GBA has been notified to be the BBMP area only, with a promise to be expanded at a later stage. Initially, there was a proposal to include at least 25 urbanised villages beyond the civic limits in the GBA. However, that was put on hold. Sources said while GBA will be expanded, areas beyond the civic limits may be municipalised or kept under zilla panchayats and their representatives be given a seat at the GBA. Given the disparity in revenue generation capacity of the five corporations and the role of the Chief Minister-led GBA to bring in a balance through State grants, N.S. Mukunda of Bengaluru Praja Vedike, said that there was a need to develop a comprehensive ward development index which becomes an impartial and transparent yardstick to allocate funds. 'A corporation that may need money may elect an opposition party to that in power in the State, and this can create a situation where that corporation may be starved of funds and development. We should ideally avoid such situations. If an impartial development index becomes the yardstick, we can hope to achieve some balance over the next few years,' he said. Mr. Mahesh also said that given the wide disparity in area and population of these corporations, delimitation of wards will end up with unequal wards, a problem that already plagues the city. He said each corporation should be allowed to have its own delimitation exercise to ensure equal representation within that corporation. However, others oppose this argument. 'According to the Greater Bengaluru Governance Act, 2024, each corporation can have a maximum of 150 wards. To bring parity in the larger GBA area, we can ensure a corporation with a smaller population will have a lesser number of wards and those with a larger population more wards,' an official said.

HC directs Madurai Corporation to repair damaged roads, relay new ones in a phased manner
HC directs Madurai Corporation to repair damaged roads, relay new ones in a phased manner

The Hindu

time2 days ago

  • The Hindu

HC directs Madurai Corporation to repair damaged roads, relay new ones in a phased manner

It was the constitutional obligation of the State and its authorities to ensure that basic amenities and infrastructure were provided in a standardised manner to redress the grievances of the citizens, observed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court while directing Madurai Corporation to initiate immediate steps to repair damaged roads and relay new ones in a phased manner. A Division Bench of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and A.D. Maria Clete observed, 'Providing drinking water, pure air and infrastructure facilities are the constitutional mandate for the State. The right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution extends to the provision of these basic amenities and it must be protected by the State and its authorities'. The court was hearing a public interest litigation petition filed in 2021 by advocate S. Suresh Kumar Isaac Paul of Madurai who had sought a direction to the State and Madurai Corporation to lay new roads after scrapping the existing roads, take necessary steps to maintain the drainage system, lay pavement and install information boards displaying the details of the road project in order to maintain transparency. Due to the damaged roads, the residents and the road users were suffering, the petitioner said. The court observed that the Corporation was expected to provide basic amenities and infrastructure facilities to the residents of Madurai city. Roads are to be laid properly to prevent accidents and to ensure smooth traffic flow. Areas which require immediate attention are to be identified and roads which are damaged are to be repaired immediately. New roads are to be laid in a phased manner according to the budget allocations. While laying new roads, the existing roads are to be milled in order to avoid inconvenience to the residents and the road users, in order to maintain roads at the existing level. The authorities should act in a swift manner to redress the grievances of the people residing in Madurai city in a phased manner by using technological advancement, the court observed. Madurai Corporation, in a counter affidavit, told the court that the Corporation was taking effective steps to ensure quality roads. The court disposed of the petition.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store