IQAC: Policy For Slow and Advanced Learners
Purpose
Every registered student of the college enrolled for any academic programme gets all kind of support from teachers and peers to enhance learning abilities. This is done
through formal and informal interactions in the classrooms, laboratories and also during field work/projects and other co-curricular activities. The students admitted to any course/subject in a college always differ in their learning abilities. Some students are very intelligent and quick learners, some average while some may require more time and special efforts to understand concepts. Based on certain parameters the students can be classified as slow and advanced learners. A slow learner can be described as a student, who has the ability to learn necessary academic skills, but at rate and depth below average peers and therefore may require more time, more repetition and more resources/guidance from the teachers to be successful.
Advanced learners on the other hand are students who learn at a rate that exceeds that of their peers in one or more content areas. The learning of these students also falls outside the need-spectrum of the majority of their peers and there fore are required to be provided with adequate opportunities in more than one way to cater to their intellectual needs.
Specific measures for slow learners
- Conducting remedial teaching classes
- Problem solving sessions / revision sessions/extra sessions
- Providing practice questions and guidance on how to write answers
- Counseling by mentors during mentoring sessions
- Personal attention/Encouragement to participate in various activities
- Workshops to improve spoken English, soft skills and communication skills.
Specific measures for advanced learners
- Flexible and innovative mode of internal for continuous evaluation
- Encouragement to participate in Regional/State/National and International Levels workshops/seminars/conferences/technical events catering to subject matter, to promote entrepreneurial and research capabilities.
- Ensuring regular participation of students in guest lectures (e.g. Prime Minister’s Research Fellows) for introducing current research/ entrepreneurial and industrial traits.
- Providing opportunity to undertake research projects under the aegis of various funding schemes at college.
- Providing opportunities to participate in summer internship programs/ dissertation/project work at reputed industries/research institutes.
- Encouragement to join and complete NPTEL/SWAYAM/COURSERA/0ther courses.
- Publishing and contributing in newsletters, magazines etc.
- Providing platform to showcase research/ entrepreneurial ideas and guidance for future avenues available at National and International Level.
- Providing guidance for competitive exams like 11T / JAWNET /SLET /GATE TOEFL/ Civil-Services/ State government examinations etc. and for higher education.
Advanced learners will be supported by assigning them with small research projects, they will be encouraged and provided all practical support to participate in co-curricular activities which could range from writing research paper to presenting it in conferences, seminars, participation in various competitions etc., all this will help a student in overall personality development.
Policy
For successful teaching and learning experience, it is therefore necessary for the teacher to identify the ability of a student and develop strategies and implement them so that both slow and advanced learners are benefited without ignoring the average learners. This policy throws light on how the institution will identify slow and advanced learners and implement specific measures for them. This will result in
improved performance of identified slow learner in exams, enhanced participation in various curricular and extra- curricular activities leading to improved confidence and
motivation in them. For advance learners, it will bring about consistency in high academic performance, participation in seminar/ workshops/ conferences, publishing articles/papers in conferences proceedings/journals. These measure will also enhance their participation in research, innovation and open greater opportunities in their chosen fields.
Identification of learning abilities of students
The learning levels of students are identified on the basis of:
- Performance in the qualifying exam
- Performance in diagnostic test conducted for first year undergraduate/post graduate students
(If the performance score of the student is below 40%, then the student is considered as slow learners and score above 70% as advanced learners)
- Performance in continuous assessment and end semester examination (Theory and Practical wherever relevant)
- Attendance
- Communication skills
- Participation/contribution in various curricular and extra-curricular activities
- Specific observations by teacher/s
Expected Outcome
- Improved performance of identified slow learner in exams results.
- Improved participation and interest in various curricular and extra-curricular activities by slow learners.
- Improved confidence, motivation and communication skills of slow learners.
- Consistency in high academic performance by advanced learners in exams. Participation of students in conferences and publishing articles/papers in conferences proceedings/journals.
- Increase in number of students completing MOOCs.
- Increase in number of advanced learners attempting to clear competitive exams and clearing them.
- Increase in participation of advanced learners towards entrepreneurship and Innovation.