Delivering Knowledge for Creative Solutions

Teaching Practices

SMIT delivers curriculum which includes development of programmes and courses based on academics inputs, classroom teaching coupled with web based contents, application based pedagogy, continuous assessment, organized feedback from students and further improvisation of teaching techniques. Theory with practical application is the main focus on which the teaching practice approaches. Both BBA and BCA departments have well defined objectives which collaboratively work towards a single goal of imparting “Quality Education With Moral Values” to the students and inculcating in them the desired skill set and knowledge required by the industry.

The institute ensure that the teaching methods adopted are well in consonance with the real world needs. We also ensure that the skills and knowledge of the teachers are upgraded regularly to make them well verse with the latest industry trends so that they can impart knowledge of latest trends and techniques to the students.

Some of the teaching methods adopted to enhance best of the practices and help students to derive the best of the learning from their programmes and courses are:

The lectures conducted for every course are there to infuse and develop in the students the analytical, conceptual, presentation, communication and application oriented skills. The classrooms are well equipped with modern teaching aids like multimedia projectors and computers which help to make teaching more interesting and interactive for students. The students are free to ask any questions cropping up in their minds while listening to lectures and the faculties make sure to answer them in the best way understood by the students.

The practical sessions are ideal testing grounds for students to apply and test the concepts taught. Modern laboratories are an integral part, especially of the BCA department. 
For boosting the creativity amongst the students, challenging practical work is designed. The students have to develop the work followed by group viva in which they have to explain the findings and interpretations.

Workshops, Seminars, Guest Lectures are conducted on all topics to provide a platform for deliberation and knowledge sharing. Industrial and corporate professionals are brought to the campus to bring the practical and application practices from the actual working environment and give extra input to the students on the current topics as well as the topics which are relevant to their area of specialization.

This method of teaching is devised to facilitate the students to relate theory with the real world. The suitable cases to clarify the concepts learnt by the student are given to students well in advance for the students to come prepared with case analysis to be discussed in the class. The discussion held for the case-studies in the class encourages students to apply the concepts learnt, for problem solving / decision making in the face of reality and develops the interpersonal skills necessary for putting one’s point forward and listening to others in a group.

Group discussions are conducted by the faculties among the students to increase awareness of the world wide events and their effects and also to enhance interpersonal skills – the ability to either convince others or get convinced. During this activity, the students are expected to be well-prepared about the topic, to abide by the norms during the discussion and also to respond to the feedback with a more logical and assertive approach.

This technique helps in linking the concepts with their applications in the professional field. This also helps to replicate a real world situation in a class room setting through various modes like role plays. Such activities link the concepts learnt by the students to their application in the professional field. During this activity, the students imagine themselves in the decision making situation and act accordingly using all the available data and theoretical models.

The institute understands that the future professionals need to be well versed in every minute aspect of corporate world. With the concern to develop clarity of thought and confidence for addressing the public, along with other presentation skills in the students, an activity is devised where the students give presentations during their class hours. A date-wise schedule of the topics to be presented by the students is prepared by the teachers, so that the students can prepare their topics well on time. The students observe inquisitively and participate actively in the ensuing discussion.

The teachers use Slide Shows as teaching aids to employ visual mode for flow charts, diagrams, images, animations etc, for the better comprehension and retention. They also use videos and images to demonstrate specific topics for better understanding.

Projects are a crucial part of both BBA and BCA department. The Projects are done by individuals or group of students and are intended to be intensive, active learning projects, requiring significant effort in planning and implementation as well as preparation of a substantial final written documentation. The group of students are made to choose a project from their domain and asked to conduct practicals and real life studies on them. They provide hands on learning experience to the students by enabling them by making them aware how to convert the theoretical knowledge to the practical one They also help to boost ‘learning by doing’ teamwork.

Industrial visits include students going to an organisation / company relating to the studies for which they are being groomed in order to get a feel of the real world’s professional demands. It provides a valuable opportunity to discover the realities and practices of the profession the students are aiming for.

Media Watch involves the students in keeping a regular track of the news floated in the media viz newspapers, TV, magazines, internet, etc and discuss in a group about the current news. They are also encouraged to paste the news clippings in their workbooks and write their comments on how the events might affect them as an individual, a professional and a society. This acts as a source of motivation for the students to voice their opinion regarding the happenings in the society and also lets the group to come on a common consensus and develop a new approach towards the issue.

There are bulletin boards in every classroom where the students paste clippings from newspapers, periodicals, journals or their own creative work which can be of interest or value to others and give a few minutes presentation on the same. This is followed by a feedback from the rest of the class and a discussion on the point talked about. The institute is also planning to introduce the E-bulletin boards where the students can write their opinion about any topic.

A variety of group activities are performed with an aim to create an urge for collaboration. The Class is divided into subgroups of individuals. Case studies, group discussions, debates, quiz, management games etc. are conducted by dividing the class into groups.
The target of these activities is to promote cooperative learning i.e. the group members will help each other in understanding concepts, solving problems, doing projects as are evaluated on the basis of team performance.

To encourage professional orientation and entrepreneurship among the students, the institute provides opportunities to the students wherein they can initiate business ventures on campus. These facilitates provide the platform to implement practical application of their professional knowledge. The institute encourages and aids such enterprises by providing the requisite infrastructural support.

In order to prepare the students for facing job interviews in a better way, career portfolio is made as a part of the pedagogy. As a part of this, the students prepare a file depicting their interests and achievements throughout their student life. It is divided into 3 segments viz.

  • • Academics
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  • • Co-curricular (literary, cultural sports)
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  • • Personal (hobbies, community services)

Mock interviews are conducted to make the students aware about the level of interviews conducted by the industry expert panel. In mock interviews the institute creates a virtual corporate environment for the students and virtual interview sessions are held where the students respond as their final interview day and these sessions are recorded. audio visually. The recordings are shown to students and feedback on individual basis is given by the panel which helps the student to do their own competitive analysis and find their strengths and weaknesses. The Panel consists of teacher, Management representatives as well as the industry experts. The students are also provided with the relevant assistance both in oral and written format which can help them to face the Interviews in a better way.