Training Program for Junior and Senior Faculty held at Preston Islamabad Campus

A two-day training program was organized for the permanent and visiting, junior and senior (non PhD) faculty members engaged in imparting education at the Islamabad Campus  of  the  university.  The  program
kicked  off  at  the  Islamabad  Campus  on September  10,  and  continued  through September 11, 2014. Topics that came under discussion during the two-day program were(1) Innovative Teaching Strategies and (2) Andragogical Skills/Questioning. Thirty four junior and senior faculty members of the Islamabad Campus participated in the referenced training program on the first day. On the second day, twenty eight    members were in attendance. Ms. Rukhsana Nazir, an eminent and well known professional master trainer, was instrumental in conducting the training.
During her discourse on the occasion, Ms. Rukhsana Nazir at the outset emphasizing on the importance and need for continuous training of the staff of the organization said that training has become a significant feature of corporate growth and development. She said, an increasing number of institutions are today identifying a fairly wide range of areas where training is essentially required; and the leading among them has been training and development of the teaching faculty at the university level in particular and at all levels of education in general.

Highlighting the learning objectives of the training program, Ms. Rukhsana said the objectives were innumerable. However, the six important objectives she mentioned during the course of her training sessions were (1) To find the latest, most innovative, futuristic methodology for teaching (2) To enhance the abilities
of the educators who exhibit model behavior that will guide the Learners to become productive adults (3) It is almost incumbent upon the faculty members to insist, through professional behavior, that they are, in fact, important and skillful people.

They are responsible for shaping the thought processes of those who enter other professions (4) To encourage faculty members to utilize higher order thinking skills (5) To facilitate cooperative learning and teamwork (6) To produce professional principals/administrators/teachers who possess theoretical knowledge and understanding, combined with practical skills. Ms. Rukhsana said that yet another vital objective of the training program organized for the faculty members of Preston University is the development of teachers who are ‘Reflective Practitioners’ and are able to engage in educational research.

The training program was interactive and focused on participation  of  the  participants  through  activities, exercises and discussions. Audio/Video presentations were made to demonstrate practice of effective teaching skills. The participants were also provided an opportunity to practically demonstrate their teaching skills during the course of the training. In addition, the training program enabled the participating faculty members to learn what it takes to engage students in novel topics and retain their attention for a longer period. It also equipped them with knowledge and skills to use Bloom’s taxonomy of learning domains for effective delivery and retention.