22 Feb 2011|Noida | Amity Institute of Education, Saket, New Delhi
Amity Institute of Education, Saket, New Delhi organizes workshop on the theme “Nurturing Institutional Climate through Ingenious Practices and Techniques”
The Amity Institute of Education, New Delhi, conducted a one day workshop on
22nd February, 2011 as a part of the project proposal submitted to NCERT for “The All India Competition on Innovative Practices and Experiments in Education for Schools and Teacher Education Institutions 2010-11.” The workshop was based on the theme, “Nurturing Institutional Climate through Ingenious Practices and Techniques”
The workshop was supervised by a team of eminent professionals from NCERT- Prof. Shakuntla Nagpal, Head of the Dept. Teacher Education and Extension and Dr.B.P. Bhardwaj, Associate Prof. Dept. of Teacher Education and Extension.
Prof. Shakuntla Nagpal after observing the sessions in progress interacted with the participants to understand their views and opinion on the topics dealt with in the workshop and on other important issues of education.
The proposal stressed on the need for a conducive institutional climate which would enrich and nurture the members or the team working for it. The highlight of the workshop was the emphasis it laid on the need for proper Human Resource Administration for attainment of individual and institutional goals. The participants of the workshop were Principals, Teacher Educators, Coordinators and Teachers of Educational Institutions in Delhi and NCR.
Through the workshop the prominence of the following dimensions named “SCORED” was accentuated:
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Simplicity in communication
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Connectivity among members
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Openness to new and innovative practices
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Relationship orientation among members
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Empathy
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Development of continuous knowledge.
The focus area was the implementation and adoption of “SCORED” in institutions. The sessions centered on the following themes:
• Improving Organizational climate through Spiritual Intelligence
• Working towards a healthy team spirit
• Self Awareness
• Impact of yoga way of life on organizational performance
• Role of Meditation for a Better Life.
Before the technical sessions, the participants were administered to a pre test. The pre test was held to understand the existing culture of their respective institutions. The pre test was conducted in the form of questionnaires. The focus of the pretest was:
•To measure the organizational Climate, that is to check the perception about the leader and colleagues.
•To test both the positive and negative factors of Emotional Intelligence.
•To check the Motivational level and Commitment level of the employees.
The pretest was followed by the five technical sessions.
The theme of Technical Session I was "Improving Organizational Climate through Spiritual Intelligence"
The 1st session was conducted on understanding the importance of Spiritual Intelligence in one’s life. In today’s world, only Intelligence or IQ is not sufficient. An individual needs to develop EQ and SQ or SI to follow the path of success along with the team.
“Spiritual intelligence" might be about having the good sense to:
a) choose beliefs that support your highest and greatest potentiala) choose beliefs that support your highest and greatest potential
b) be in service to others
c) belong to a community (workplace, church, sports or anything you name it) that helps, guides and support its members
d) make decisions based on moral wisdom and ethical standards.
The session started with the participants answering a questionnaire to understand their level of spiritual intelligence. The session focused on the importance of Spiritual Intelligence for effectiveness of the members of the organization and highlighted the Eight Fold Path of Buddha around which the techniques and practices of Spiritual Intelligence were based.
The theme of Technical Session II was ‘Working towards a healthy team’
The second technical session was conducted on how to build a healthy team. Effective teamwork is considered essential for the success of any business. It is believed that the positive effects of productive teamwork can energize an entire organization similarly, the negative effects of lack of teamwork can cripple an organization.
This session focused on the key components of a successful organizational climate like Effective Leadership, Communication among all in the organization, conflict management (to have better intra and inter personal sklls) and stress reduction, team building, problem solving, system thinking, empathy and taking pleasure in work. The session also had some mind games and activities to make it more interesting and help the participants realize the importance of the above mentioned components for a good organizational climate.
The theme of Technical Session III was ‘Self Awareness’
Self-awareness means knowing one’s self at a deeper level. This includes the shadow side which is anything in us that is unconscious, repressed, undeveloped and denied. Without this deep awareness of who we are, these ignored feelings can surface in actions later and cause conflicts.
The participants did a SWOT analysis test to know their strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities so that they can perform better in their organizations.
The Theme of Technical Session IV was ‘Impact of Yoga - Way of Life on Organizational Performance’
The session highlighted the importance of yoga asanas and their benefits in one’s life. Some important easy and day to day asana like suryanamaskara and others were taught to the participants. It also focused on the importance and benefits of Pranayama and it was followed by a practice session of pranayama.
The Theme of Technical Session V was ‘Role of Meditation for a Better Life’
The session was about the importance and types of meditation. The benefits and outcomes of meditating were the major focus. The participants were taught the techniques of right meditation and how to de-stress themselves. A practice session on how to meditate to have better concentration and focus was carried out.
After the five technical sessions the participants were given a post test to evaluate the desired change among them to improve their overall performance in the actual set-up.
The technical sessions carried out helped individuals imbibe the importance of the right attitude, leadership qualities, healthy competition, drive to excel and learn broad mindedness and other sklls needed to develop and develop the right team to achieve the organizational goals and happiness.