Enabling Pedagogies in Higher Education
250 words abstract for papers, and C.V. due by 31st January 2015
Abstracts to be emailed to: Anannya Dasgupta ad509@snu.edu.in

The future of developing higher education in India lies in understanding and addressing the challenges particular to learning and teaching practices in the Indian classroom at the university level. Keeping step with the best teaching practices from around the world, what are some of the best ways to adapt education technologies and teaching methods that address the strengths and paradoxes of the Indian classroom that span central, regional and private universities? This conference is interested in theoretical engagement with ways to teach that enable conversations between universities as well as discussions and demonstrations of pedagogies that work. The proposed format is a combination of talks, presentations and panel discussions between experts. As a partner in the E-QUAL project, Shiv Nadar University invites papers and participants to explore and discuss topics that may include but are not confined to the following:

1) Understanding the college classroom
- The Indian college classroom is not homogenous. What are some of the characteristics and challenges of the Indian classroom? What is to be kept in mind while expecting outcome from course content, pedagogic methods, evaluation practices etc.?
- Analysis of the National Education Policies and its effects in shaping higher education
- Pedagogic theories that inform and help formulate classroom practices, analysis of successful and unsuccessful pedagogic practices in India and abroad.
- What are the goals of college teaching? What motivates teaching?
- Delivering content and teaching learning skills – how can these two goals be met without compromising one or the other.
- Re-imagining the classroom space. How should the physical space of the classroom be organized? How is the classroom re-imagined with hybrid or fully online courses?
- Can the teacher be written out of the classroom? What can we learn from the failure of MOOCS in the United States?

2) Pedagogies that work and travel: how effective learning works
- Practical lessons in using online technologies. How to develop online courses? How to use web technologies as teaching aid?
- In praise of lectures
- Active learning, interactive learning, workshop and seminar-style learning
- How to write good assignment questions?
- How to grade or effective feedback and evaluation methods
- Training the teachers, developing resources to help teachers hone their craft
- Discipline specific pedagogic practices
- Inter-disciplinary pedagogic practice

E-QUAL (Enhancing Quality, Access and Governance of Undergraduate Education in India), is a European Union funded International Collaborative Project. The project is being implemented by a consortium of partners, with the British Council being the lead partner in terms of strategic oversight of the Project. The university partners are Ambedkar University Delhi, Jadavpur University, King's College London, Shiv Nadar University, University of Bologna and University of Hyderabad. http://www.projectequal.net/equal/