Exploring effects of immersivity across three dimensions in Training Design: Technology Integration Training Workshop for Engineering Teachers in India

Abstract

Short term training programs are relevant in Indian context as an effective teacher professional development program as it addresses the ever present problem of paucity of time among engineering faculty members and the need to keep abreast with latest technological offerings. Most of the training programs studied so far, deal with techniques to incorporate Technology, Content and Pedagogy in classroom teaching. However, they do not adequately represent the techniques required when technology and content are inter-related as seen in circuit simulations for instance. We propose training with immersivity in Technology, Content and Pedagogy as an effective format for TDP when the technology aspect is closely connected to the content. We specifically look into the integration of SEQUEL - a circuit simulation and analysis tool, in the context of teaching analog electronic circuit design. In this paper, we present findings from an implementation of short term training program, merging recommendations from TPACK framework and immersivity in the three dimensions of Technology, Content and Pedagogy, as the underlying design principle. Our study shows promising results and indicates a clear shift towards adopting technology and pedagogy principles to augment content in lesson plans by the participating faculty members.