This document discusses critical pedagogy in Indian higher education. It begins with an example of an ordinary college student who experiences an extraordinary change in his English class when a new teacher uses different teaching methods like playing songs and having students analyze lyrics. This sparks critical thinking in students. The document then defines critical pedagogy as encouraging students to question common meanings and form their own understandings. It explains that critical pedagogy helps students unlearn past lessons and relearn with their own ideas by facilitating active participation and critical analysis over passive learning.

1. Special needs of Indian Higher
Education Scenario
in Teaching

2. Welcome to the session of the course ‘Teacher
and Teaching in Indian Higher Education’
The session is on the special pedagogical needs
of the Indian Higher Education Scenario
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3. On Objectives
By this session, you will get overall awareness on ..
• General Views on the Pedagogical Needs of
Indian Higher Education and
• The special pedagogical practices in Indian
Higher Education scenario
Main objective is to introduce Critical
Pedagogy and Blended learning Classrooms.
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4. I would like to zero in on the Critical
Pedagogy in this session
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5. Here is a genuine question. We think of new
methods, is it only because the present
methods that we practice are not effective?
No at all… We have different methods for our
classrooms. Some are highly effective and
some are less.
We come across with different types of
teaching methods through our own learning
attempts and through different types of in-
service courses.
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6. • A reality is there. What ever the
method, the teacher who makes use it
has to prove its quality.
• Even excellent teaching strategy remain
ineffective if the teacher fails to practice
it properly.
• By this session I shall introduce you the
critical pedagogy. Enrichment of the
method and effective use of it are up on
you.
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7. CRITICAL PEDAGOGY
Once we are to discuss any pedagogical
method, we have to go through the
elements like-
• Philosophy or theory behind the
method
• Its features and peculiarities
• Practicability
• And advantages and disadvantages.
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8. • Lets discuss all these features of
critical pedagogy one by one
We should keep in mind a factual
point before discuss the learning
material
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9. A new pedagogical ideology may not be
a brand new one.
It will be continuation of an existing
system or thought. It distinguishes from
the former one with innovative
concepts, notions and ideals.
The core ideas of critical pedagogy also
are not brand new. Like any other new
perspective, critical pedagogy is built on
previous theories and ideas.
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10. John Dewey’s idea of ‘ experience’,
(education is the continuous organization
and reorganization of experiences) social
constructivism of Vygotsky, cognitivism
of Bruner, and the like are explaining the
tenets of critical pedagogy in some ways.
We can see the fundamentals of this
pedagogy in the philosophical ideals oh
Jithu Krishnamoorthy also.
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11. • George Counts’ (1932) book “Dare
the School Build a New Social
Order?” discusses the matters of
school as center of social change
through critical ways of teaching
and learning.
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12. What I would like to mention is that
the critical pedagogy is not
completely a new method but
continuation of some former
pedagogical experiences and
theories; but with notable
distinguishes
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13. • Lets discuss how critical
pedagogy works
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14. Let me tell you a story!
All we like stories…. !
There was an ordinary college student
in an ordinary college.
The ordinary youngster wakes up on
every ordinary morning and go to the
ordinary college .. And sat in the
ordinary classes of ordinary subjects
being taught in the ordinary methods
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15. One day while he was in his ordinary
English classroom for learning the
ordinary topic of Language and Culture,
he found that every thing is becoming
extra ordinary all of a sudden…. A flip
flop.
Instead of the former teacher a new
teacher has come….. A middle aged
woman..
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16. Ordinary young learner considered her an ordinary
teacher….
She started saying ‘ I am your new teacher for the
paper English language… and….”
…… to mock, her one from the last row of the
graduate classroom stood up and said….’ madam I
am Rohith.. And my ambition is… ..”
It was a funny criticism to the teachers that normally
every new ordinary teacher in all new class starts
with asking name and ambition of learners ! Or a
regular question like “why do you select his
course?”
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17. • But this new teacher skipped the
scene..
• To wonder all the ordinary students she
said ‘I want to play a music…’
She opened the lap top ..connected with
LCD and speaker… and played the song
from TITANIC… ‘.. I feel you….’
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18. • then one song from another film,
and then she played one from the
regional language… played some
bits… bigii beeegi boomboom
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19. And to make the ordinary students in
wonder, she said…… “now we can start
writing the first two lines of the song
from Titanic.. … and we can translate the
lyrics of song from our language to
English….. …”
The task went on… they became difficult
to translate lyrics to English from the
familiar regional song……..
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20. And she said.. The words have
regional connection.. That connection
is our culture…..
And she took them to the topic
connection between language
culture…
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21. • The ordinary youngsters feel like
how the things are becoming
extraordinary …
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22. The pedagogy that we make use in
proper way has some critical force to
make the learners active
Critical pedagogy is one like that
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23. • Critical pedagogy is an area with wide
scope and it is highly acknowledged by
Indian classrooms both at school and
higher education levels.
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24. While make use critical pedagogy.. Keep aware of;
• Students are not passive listeners
• They are the participants in learning
processes
• They can understand the paradigm shift of
ordinary classroom to an extraordinary
context
• The critical pedagogy aims the active
participation and critical thinking in
learning process
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25. Critical pedagogy is a form of teaching
learning process in which students
are encouraged to question dominant
or common notions of meaning and
form their own understanding of
what they learn.
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26. • One of the core ideas of Critical
Pedagogy is that students are able
to build their own meaning for
every learning material when
learning.
• Teachers should facilitate the
learning process rather than “force”
the meaning upon the students.
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27. It is opined that Critical pedagogy tends
to help students “unlearn” previous
lessons they learnt and that may enforce
dominant thought and “relearn” their
own ideas.
It connects ‘Learn’- ‘Unlearn’ and
‘Relearn’.
Critical pedagogy also explains a new
relationship between teacher, student,
and society. 27

28. What these learn – unlearn- relearn
explain?
• One can learn the contributions of
Mahatma Gandhi and accept the learning
content that he is the father of nation of
India. The learner may learn reasons for
calling Gandhiji father of nation.
But while go through Gandhi’s contributions,
the learner may recognise Gandhi in a
different way. He may become sceptic on his
contributions as politician and as person. 28

29. • He will critically evaluate the learning
content on Gandhi and may start learning
Gandhi in a different way.
Suppose a question there, “Do you think
Mahatma Gandhi was eligible to be
recognized as father of nation? Assess and
opine based on Gandhi’s Contributions”
Reflection to this question may not be as it is
learnt from the teacher. Learner will have own
opinions with critically developed evidences,
and that opinion is what he relearned.
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30. • Here learner “Learn” Gandhi from the
teacher. And he find out that many
materials on Gandhi are different
from the teacher’s talk. That motivate
him to “Unlearn” (temporarily forget)
the learned content.
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