Newsletter for trainers and teachers with articles and resources for learning and development

1. July-Aug 2013 Page 1 of 4VOL. # 7 ISSUE #7-8
Inspiring Teachers
Human Excellence
From the editor…..
Welcome to this joint issue of the newsletter for July
and August 2013. We have had a busy time with
three workshops – very different from each other. You
can read the reports on this page, page 3 and 4.
This month’s FoM interview has been facilitated by
Urjita Deshpande. Dr Aruna Tijare is a well known
trainer and counselor. She has loyal participants who
have been attending her sessions for more than 15
years (on various topics) and still want more. Truly an
inspiring teacher.
If someone were to ask me for a single most
important skill in life, I would say ‘reflection’. If you
can reflect on any aspect of your life with
understanding, you are sure to become better. Simply
put, if you can ask yourself a few questions as to what
was the situation, what did you do well, what could
you have done differently and what lesson did you
learn from the situation, you will be on a path of
awareness and growth. Reflection is also an important
aspect of academic learning. It is a way of
reinforcement. It also allows the learner to assimilate
and own the learning. It is also called metacognition
or thinking about thinking. On page 4 I have given a
few questions that can help your students to reflect.
As usual I have shared some links to videos and
articles – thanks to Dr Anil Kumar Challa, Marutish
Varanasi and Raman Garimella.
Team Spirit workshop for DRDO scientists
24-27th June 2013
20 scientists from various DRDO labs in India
attended a four day workshop conducted by Teacher’s
Academy at ITM, Mussoori. We had sessions on Team
Structures, Six Thinking Hats, Personality Types for
individual and team interactions, Team values,
Situational Leadership, EI and 7 habits of highly
effective people. The sessions were facilitated by Dr
Akila Jaikumar, Ms Urjita Deshpande and me. There
were several games and activities and self assessment
questionnaires. There were role plays and discussions.
The participants found the sessions useful and felt
that such programs should be done for whole teams
from specific labs.
Contact us: info@theprofessor.in,
In this issue:
Faculty of the month Dr Aruna Tijare……… 2
Must Read Links ……………………………….. 3
Sevalaya Workshop for teachers …………… 4
Reflection on learning…………………………… 4

2. July-Aug 2013 Page 2 of 4 VOL. #7 ISSUE #7-8
Faculty of the month
DR. ARUNA K. TIJARE, M. A. Ph.D (Industrial Psychology),
Practicing Psychologist, H.R.D. Trainer and Counselor
1. How did your career begin?
My “Training Career” started in 1995, after completing my
“Career as a Home maker” for 20 yrs.
2. How did you know that you have a potential for training?
I have always been a voracious reader of self help books, so
it was just a casual attempt that I started helping students
with their studies, improving their memory, talking to
parents, counselling people on various issues. This kind of
help led to the opportunity that I started getting invitation
for speeches on different subjects by different social
organisations, where I realised I am a good speaker. Those
lectures led to industrial training programs. Actually that was
when I realised that I have the potential to be a
“Professional Trainer”.
3. Which areas do you train in?
Being a psychologist I focus on behavioural aspects, such as
Attitude change, Emotional Intelligence, Leadership,
Communication, Interpersonal skills, Time Management,
Stress Management, Managing Change, Seven Habits of
highly effective people, Memory Improvement and Speed
Reading, Parenting etc.
4. Do you get a feel of work cultures of different companies
as you train the employees? Can you throw some light
on these corporate training programs?
Of course!! Every organisation has more or less different
cultures. Some are very particular about the subjects, the
methodology and results. They are genuinely interested in
the improvement of the employees and their output after
training. While some want to just complete the formality.
Then Govt & private organisation’s participants differ in their
attitude towards training.
5. Would you like to share some of your experiences of
training in your centre?
• In one of my Memory improvement program there
were 40 students one participant was 13yrs old and
one was 70 years old while others were ranging
from 20 to 30s group. It was very challenging as
well as fun to teach 3 generations together on the
same subject as their needs and intellectual levels
were totally diverse.
• Dealing with Union Leaders without taking the side
of management in a session where there are lot of
grievances is really challenging.
Before caption a goes here
What makes you become better and better?
Your tips for trainers?
Meditating on the subjects, reading constantly,
talking to participants, introspecting the good
and bad after every performance, talking and
sharing with like minded people on various
training issues etc help me to become more
effective.
Being a trainer is a very noble profession. So
the first and the basic requirement of this
profession is that “practise what you preach“.
This will help you to sound much more
authentic and genuine. Being honest and
trustworthy is the key. And you cannot fake
these qualities for long term success
Dr Aruna has been training, counseling and undertaking
workshops on a wide range of subjects like human
relations, communication skills, emotional intelligence,
leadership skills and memory skills in different industries
and forums for last 20 years.
Some of her prestigious regular clients are L&T, Mahindra&
Mahindra, Bosch, Herdillia chemicals, ONGC, ColourChem,
Gharda Chemicals, Heavy Water Board, Nuclear Power
Corporation, Bombay Chambers of Commerce and Industry,
Indo American Society, CEAT, Various Banks, Management
Institutes, and a wide band of other industries all over
India.
Though her Ph.D is related to industrial Labor from Rural
Area, she takes keen interest in addressing problems
concerning day-to-day competitive life. She has proved her
credibility as a Trainer by conducting workshops for various
groups of people, students, housewives, senior citizens as
well as employees in industry.
She has released many audiocassettes on her subjects. Her
articles in news paper and programs on TV are very
popular. She has studied scientific religion for last 25 years
and this spiritual background adds depths to her programs.
Her programs have helped a large cross section of people
to live a more meaningful and happy life.
http://www.theprofessor.in/

3. July-Aug 2013 Page 3 of 4 VOL. # 7 ISSUE #7-8
MUST READ LINKS
Resources for schools
• http://www.teacherplus.org/resources
Parenting
• http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-10250/11-things-i-wish-
every-parent-knew.html
• Awareness on racism
http://www.upworthy.com/watch-a-teacher-make-her-
3rd-grade-kids-hate-each-other-for-the-best-reason-imaginable-
2?g=3
Self Development
• Reading Literature makes us smarter and nicer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HRXhRjfS7Q
• Energy medicine – simple and effective techniques to
heal yourself
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdMbdFb8URY
Videos- education
• Confessions of a converted lecturer – Eric Mazur on
Flipped classroom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwslBPj8GgI
• Clues to a great story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxDwieKpawg
• How simple things lead to scientific discoveries by
Adam Savage
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8UFGu2M2gM
• How to change education from the ground up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HRXhRjfS7Q
News
• IITs and IT companies get together to provide on-line
courses
http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/201
3-07-19/news/40681617_1_seven-older-iits-nptel-andrew-
thangaraj
• ISB graduates bring Touch-on-cloud to improve
education
http://www.zdnet.com/touch-on-cloud-innovates-learning-
for-indian-students-7000017017/
• Google to train AP students on cloud computing
http://www.sakshipost.com/index.php/news/state/1
8663-google-to-train-ap-students-on-cloud-computing
Teaching Skills for Teachers
Sevalaya, Mahakavi Bharathiar HSS
Rarely do you find a group of 60 teachers sitting with rapt
attention on a weekend for a workshop.
But this set of teachers is different – they are working in
an NGO run school that provides free education to 1800
children from KG to XII free of cost. The NGO Sevalaya
also runs a hostel for orphans, an old age home and a
goshala. This is the 25th year of its operation. See
http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/Positive_Chronicles/c_779_A_little
_caring_a_little_sharing32010.asp
This is our third workshop at Sevalaya. Previous ones
were in 2010 and 2011. There were a few senior
teachers from those years but majority were first time
participants for us. We had sessions on making
learning activities from newspapers, six thinking hats,
meditation, handling emotional problems of children,
differentiation and rubrics. There were a few games
and group activities. The teachers were very eager to
learn. Dr Akila Jaikumar and I were facilitating the
sessions – especially Akila took care of the Tamil
speaking teachers.

4. June 2013 Page 4 of 4 VOL. #7 ISSUE #6
Reflection on Learning
• Summarize the academic objectives of today’s session. Identify the content you were supposed to learn and how
well you mastered it.
• What was the “muddiest” or least clear point in today’s session? In this week’s lectures? In this week’s reading
assignment?
• What was the most useful thing you learned during this session?
• What questions remain uppermost in your mind as we end this session?
• Identify the three most important concepts you learned today.
• List five concepts that you found important today and explain what they mean to you.
• List five things that you learned about _____________ today.
• In no more than three sentences, summarize what was learned about _____________.
• Why is the concept of _____________ important in _____________?
• In your own words, summarize the meaning of _____________ (or the relationship between _____________ and
_____________, or how _____________ can be applied).
• Provide one example of how an equation encountered today must be manipulated or combined with another
equation to solve problems or answer questions.
• Explain how the concept of _____________ helps us understand _____________.
• Identify and illustrate how topic _____________ can be used.
• Explain why and how concept _____________ is useful in solving problem _____________.
• Explain why topic _____________ is important.
• Write a methodology for doing _____________.
• What information do you need to determine _____________.
• Identify an everyday example or analogy for _____________.
www.teachersacademy.co
www.theprofessor.in
Pre-retirement Planning
DMRL, Hyderabad July 2nd and 3rd 2013
Report
About 30 employees who will retire in the next few months attended enthusiastically our
program on planning for retirement. We had sessions on Psychosocial transitioning and
productive living by me, financial planning for peaceful life by Suri Seetaram, independent
wealth expert; emotional and spiritual well being by Dr Akila Jaikumar and Physical wellbeing
(health and nutrition) by Dr Raghunatha Rao, Head-Training at NIN, Hyderabad. In the
modern times with increased longevity, people have almost as much retired life as their
working life. Hence it becomes vital to plan the next 30 years or so to be financially
comfortable, physically healthy and emotionally stable. There are many opportunities to keep
oneself busy with meaningful work. Unless one has a spiritual outlook towards life, it becomes
difficult to cope with the changing dynamics of society and family. Simple breathing exercises
and mudras, meditation, new perspectives on relationships, alternate therapies were
introduced. Suri spoke about different instruments of investment suitable for them. A lively
interaction on do’s and don’ts of food and exercise was facilitated by Dr Raghunatha Rao.