Best Practise 1

Reflective Responses to Teaching – Learning

Pedagogical Innovations for Student-Centric Learning and Evaluation have always been the area of prime focus at Rajagiri. It aims to facilitate the holistic development of students aligning with needs of industry/other stakeholders, understand the key Graduate Attributes/Competencies required by a professional and current proficiency in each of the competencies, identify key Graduate Attributes/Competencies that need to be enhanced, with the help of Assessor feedback and introspection and , to thus develop an Action Plan for students based on the competency gaps.

Rajagiri has established effective ways to establish mutually beneficial communication by reflective listening to students. When students contribute to the discussion in class or asks a question, taking the initiative to learn, a best way to respond is analysed. To facilitate self-discovery and self-appropriated learning, teachers take the initiative to respond without changing the topic to share their own information or perspective from a posture of mutual respect, without domination. These three reflective responses, when used in sequence, constitute a responding convention, a standard way to develop a process which release the potentialities of the learner and promote mutually significant sharing by both the teacher and the learner. Together with that, effective ways to support learner actions with well-timed, encouraging positives are initiated by the teacher.

Student learning methods are commonly grouped into direct and indirect measures. Assurance of learning (AOL) system places a greater emphasis on direct measures of learning. Indirect measures are used to augment direct measurement. Indirect measures include faculty level assessment, NGO-appreciation letter and end beneficiary evaluation. Students are given regular remedial-classes, individual-mentoring and counselling-sessions to simplify the learning-process.

Due importance has been given to examine critical issues in web-based distance education including the changing role of faculty and students, instructional design for quality education, outcomes assessment, and administrative support.

Learner Centred methods which include Active learning, in which students solve problems, answer questions, formulate questions of their own, discuss, explain, debate, or brainstorm during class, Cooperative learning, in which students work in teams on problems and  Inductive methods include inquiry-based learning, case-based instruction, problem-based learning, project-based learning, discovery learning, and just-in-time teaching are adopted in the various departments.

The learning process is measured by direct and indirect measures. Direct Assessment Measures are:

• Embedded questions: 80% of all students should score more than 40% of marks. 
• Rubrics: 80% of all students should fall in “Meets Expectations” or “Exceed Expectations”.

If, three criteria rubric (oral communication and written communication), the score required for below/meets/exceed expectations category are:

• 1-3 score : Below Expectations
• 4 -6 score  : Meets Expectations
• 7-9 score : Exceeds Expectations

​​​​​​​(3,2 and 1 points for Above, meets and below expectations respectively)

Indirect Assessment measures are the opinions about students' own knowledge/skills/ attitudes/learning experiences/perceptions of services received or employers' opinions. Indirect assessment measures supplement the direct measures of learning by providing information about how and why learning occurs. Eg: student-surveys(entry/exit), focus-groups, alumni/employer surveys.

Best Practise 2

Transforming the rural and urban youth into an economically sustainable workforce.

​​​​​​​Rajagiri aims at skill training and disseminating knowledge of the youth through various projects under Rajagiri Centre for Sustainable Livelihoods(RCSD). RCSD  aims to impart professional skills and knowledge , impart participatory training programmes for providing sustainable livelihood to the marginalised, developing and patenting of innovative products, processes and technologies having contemporary social relevance, launching need-based Projects with the support of various funding agencies, awareness building within the community on skilling opportunities by mobilizing the marginalised rural and urban youth, imparting knowledge, skills and attitude that enhance employability and personal growth, and providing placements and ensuring career progression and retention for the youth. It is materialised through:

1. The Implementation of DDU-GKY involves multiple stakeholders such as state governments and technical support agencies including the National Institute of Rural Development, Panchayati Raj (NIRD & PR), and Project Implementing Agencies (PIAs).
2. The NULM (Deen dayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission) project aims to reduce poverty and vulnerability of poor urban households by enabling them to access gainfull self-employment and skilled wage opportunities, resulting in a marked and sustainable improvement in their quality of live. This is achieved through the construction of strong grassroot level institutions for those who are economically disadvantaged.
3. The Rural Masonry project at DDU-GKY aims to ensure women get higher stakes in employment, the Kudumbashree Mission of Kerala launched the Rural Masonry program in co-ordination with the various Panchayats. The Government’s planning fund is the source of funding.
4. Rajagiri conducted the training for the transgenders, an initiative of Kudumbasree mission to facilitate their entry into the mainstream job market with the joint initiative of police commissioner. A good number of transgenders attended the programme, later on they were absorbed in various jobs including Kochin Metro Rail Services.
5. Rajagiri outREACH, (Rajagiri Educational Alternatives and Community Health) specialising in Social-Impact Assessment Studies,   Research and Consultancy/Need-Assessment Studies, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Child-Centered Programmes, Youth-Development Programmes, Women Entrepreneurship Programmes, Programmes for Elderly, Environment & Natural Resource Management, Community-Health Programmes, HIV/AIDS Project/ Suraksha Migrant Projects, Disaster Management Training Programmes and Students Internship, for the past seven decades.
6. State Level Empanelled Training Institution (ETI) for National Service Scheme, which has been offering refresher and orientation programmes for NSS Officers of colleges in Kerala and Lakshadweep, for the past five decades.
7. Rajagiri Centre for Developing Micro Entrepreneurship and Development which specializes in various branches of Life Sciences having societal relevance such as Centre for capacity Building, Mushroom cultivation, Tissueculture, Plant-breeding, Probiotics, Integrated Farming, Empowering of Kudumbasrees and training to Day-Care Centres.
8. Rajagiri Career and Employability Hub for Auditing and Social Entrepreneurship which has the vision of imparting industrial relevant skills and knowledge among students leading to better career/employability opportunities at Undergraduate and Postgraduate level.
9. Social Entrepreneurship Hub where several under graduate and post graduate students have started own social entrepreneurship service wings of MAGICS (NGO founded in 23rd May 2015 registered under trust act (Regno: IV 32/2015)), C-POSITIVE (Regno:2/1V/18), CANVAS, DARE, Vanchibhoomi etc, to name a few.