Teaching and Management Education in India: Cultural Insights and Effective Pedagogies

1. Teaching in India Presented by Sankaran Manikutty Indian institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India

2. About India • A major borrower of pedagogic techniques as well as materials from the West, notably US. • A fairly diverse culture within the country • But quite distinct from the West • A sizeable number of students go for higher education abroad, most their first trip abroad • Likely to be a major market for educational institutions

3. About Management Education in India • A large number of management institutes • Of different quality, and employing different methodologies • Many use the case method; hence we give a little more importance to this in this presentation.

4. India: The Culture in Brief • Power distance: Higher compared to the West; less compared the SE Asia • Collectivism: -do- • Uncertainty Avoidance: -do- • Future Orientation: As above but in reverse

5. Case Method: The Essential features • Depends a great deal on peer learning rather than dissemination by teachers • Teachers are facilitators • The decision problems presented are usually open ended, with multiple “solutions” possible • Hence discussion with many perspectives vital

6. Impact on Teaching • The teacher tends to be seen as the final dispenser of knowledge; at the end of the class, teacher has to give his view of the “best” decision • Due to collectivism, peer criticism does not readily take place • Formation of cliques in the class

7. Impact on Teaching (Contd.) • The solutions tend to be short term oriented; more difficult to make the students see the long term tradeoffs • Learning tends to be more grade oriented (strategic/ surface learning orientation) • Often (some) students tend to be argumentative

8. Impact on Teaching (Contd.) • Teachers also tend to impose their views on the class, often too early, thus stifling learning • Teachers’ questions, often intended as clarificatory, seen as critical • Students tend to be quite positive to the visual media, esp. videos related to the case

9. Role Plays • Tend to work very well, provided students prepare adequately • Briefing needed tends to be more detailed and lengthy • Sometimes, lack of familiarity with the context (esp cultural) impacts the role plays

10. Story Telling • Usually, stories (and works of literature) are very useful. Students can interpret the lessons quite well and draw interesting conclusions. • Teachers need to spend time in the beginning to explain the philosophy behind this pedagogy. • Students are also quite good at role playing stories

11. The Good Old “Straight Lecture” • In technique oriented courses such as accounting, decision analysis etc. the good old lecture method tends to work well. • Even in case method, often, a preliminary talk capturing the essence of the case is very effective.

12. Conclusion • Teachers need to be sensitive to the cultural tendencies such as collectivism and take actions such as: • Questioning individually in greater depth • Discourage formation of cliques be breaking up study groups and reforming them periodically • Take pains to build on ideas • Refuse to give “correct” solutions • Emphasize the greater importance of the process of thinking rather than the result (the actual ideas)