Teacher Development in India: Building on Grassroots Innovations and Technology

This volume shows how grassroots educational innovations and technology can be brought together in a fresh approach to human resource development in public social services. Based on a three-decade-long engagement with innovation in public education, this book provides an illustration of how teacher-driven innovations can be transformed into learning objects for technology-based professional development. It describes how innovations can be identified, screened and validated, and disseminated through two mechanisms―a clearinghouse-based approach and grassroots innovation “fairs.” It then demonstrates how these innovations can form the backbone of a “third space,” problem-based-learning curriculum, which can be delivered through a technology platform for large-scale professional development. The book offers guidance on practical ways of doing this, and on evaluating the curriculum’s impact, with case studies of programmes that covered thousands of teachers.

This book will be of interest to teachers, students and professionals in education, teacher education, digital education, information technology, communication and media studies. It will also be useful to educationists, policymakers, teacher educators, educational institutions, online education centres, and practitioners involved in professional development, education and training in developing countries.

Vijaya Sherry Chand is Professor, Ravi J. Matthai Centre for Educational Innovation, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, India. Prior to joining IIM Ahmedabad in January 1993, he worked for nearly 11 years in rural development. His research interests include educational innovation, educator professional development and educational inequality. He is also Vice President of SRISTI, an organisation dedicated to grassroots innovations.

Samvet Kuril is at the Amrut Mody School of Management, Ahmedabad University, India. He completed his PhD from IIM Ahmedabad, working on online professional development of public school principals. He is engaged in research on the impact of teacher behaviour (innovative, entrepreneurial, negative) on student outcomes (motivation, self-efficacy, engagement, goal orientation).

Ketan Satish Deshmukh has a PhD in Management (Innovation and Management in Education) from IIM Ahmedabad. His interests lie in the application of technology and large-scale data analytics to issues in K-12 education and the professional development of educators.