Dr. Susan Sam is the HOD, Home Science, S.S. Jain Subodh Girls P.G. College, Jaipur. She did BSc and MSc in Home Science from the University of Rajasthan. She received Ph.D. in Perceived Familial Gender Discrimination in relation to Adjustment level, Personality pattern, Ways of coping, and Mental Health of adolescent girls and qualified NET in 2000. She has 18 years of experience in the education sector. She is the IQAC Coordinator of the College, Coordinator of the ICT Academy, Skill Development Cell, and in charge of many of the Academic activities for the faculty and students at the college. She also holds the role as Counsellor at Precious Children’s Home, Jaipur, a place of shelter and refuge for children affected by crime. Dr. Susan Sam is a speaker at different universities in the United States, Singapore, Malaysia, Malta, Japan, and also different parts of India. She is a Life member of Vigyan Bharati and attains the Annual Membership of the Social Research Foundation and Swaikshik Duniya. She also published papers/ articles reviewed in various journals and written articles for local Newspapers. Awarded Gold Medal for securing highest marks in M.Sc (Home Science) Previous and Final. She received the Excellence in Teaching Award for outstanding contribution in the field of Human Development at the 4th International Conference held at Mahsa University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Additionally, she received SUBODH Vidushi Award on the occasion of Independence Day and the Excellence Award in Teaching and Research at an International conference on agriculture, Allied and applied science, Singapore and also by BioLogix Research and Innovation Center Pvt.Ltd, India.

S.S. Jain Subodh Girls P.G. College

What is your role and responsibility towards students in S.S. Jain Subodh Girls P.G. College?

“Provide my learners with one-to-one support, improved academic performance, increased motivation, and better social skills”

As a teacher, I will interact with my students as they are learners on a regular basis and for long hours. This will lead to an important developmental relationship. My role as a mentor will help in inspiring and motivating the students where I am able to guide them finding the information required. It helps them learn ways to search for information. My responsibility is to keep myself and keep my teaching methods updated regularly. It is important for me to be a good learner so as to keep up with the changes in the present time. Being a figure of wisdom and kindness, my students will find it easy to model their personality and behavior based on the person I am. They will respond positively to kindness or empathy and value it. It is my responsibility to be a good listener and able to understand the needs of my students by listening to their concerns. I should play the role of a planner on a daily basis planning lessons and courses. It helps students schedule themselves. I myself must be organized by having a well-strategized approach, in order to effortlessly play the role of a planner. In order to offer quality lessons for the students, I should be able to cater the needs of my students. As a teacher, it is important for me to keep up with the latest research in my field in order to be able to effectively teach my students. It is also important to be constantly developing new teaching materials to keep them engaged and inspired by the way I teach. It is my role to provide my learners with one-to-one support, including improved academic performance, increased motivation, and better social skills.

How to maintain healthy relationships with students on campus?

“Organize team building games, extracurricular events, maintain a positive attitude and treat students with respect”

I know my students well ‘who’ they are and ‘where’ they come from. To maintain good relations, I always talk to students in and outside of class and be friendly with them by playing team-building games for critical thinking. We set them up for success once creating activities or lessons that let them stand out and create opportunities throughout the year. Some students are creative, some are intelligent while others are social Butterflies. In order to maintain a healthy relationship, I should provide them ongoing opportunities to show their talents and genius. We assume the best in every student and participate in their extracurricular events. Our campus build.effective communication, adjusting to the pace of the students, highlighting important concepts, and reviewing students' queries which leads to rapid comprehension. By Teaching With Enthusiasm and Passion the Students will respond positively about the content. It will lead to increased learning as Excitement is contagious. We maintain a Positive Attitude. No one likes to be around someone who is always negative. Students will in time resent a teacher who is always negative. Make sure that teaching and learning should not be boring and involve sharing an appropriate joke related to the content of the lesson. So, they will enjoy coming to the class because they love to laugh and learn. By using their interests and passions to their advantage by incorporating them into my lessons. Student surveys are a fantastic way to measure these interests. Once we know what my class is interested in, I will have to find creative ways to integrate it into my lessons. We always treat them with respect and provide them extra tutoring on their own time. By communicating with parents more frequently and taking a genuine interest in the well-being of the student. Other ways to build strong relationships with students include honest communications, developing people skills, respect and appreciate my team. 

How to maintain a healthy relationship with fellow faculty on S.S. Jain Subodh Girls P.G. College?

“Conduct social events, share funny stories and be trustworthy with each other”

Being Trustworthy helps us to maintain good relations. We never spill secrets, gossip, or talk smack about administrators. When someone tells you something in confidence, keep it to yourself and never talk trash. Showing my colleagues that they can trust me is a fundamental step in building strong relationships with them. Like any other person, each faculty plans and organizes social events throughout the year in their homes. Teachers and administrators can plan barbecues, golf tournaments, participate in holiday gatherings, attend retirement parties and baby showers. These may not seem very important, but our presence says as much, or more, as our absence when it comes to these events. It might be uncomfortable but it can turn out to be loads of fun with food, drink, discussion, etc. Those conversations will continue back at work, and positive connections can be established. I know it well and have experienced it oftentimes that teaching these grown up girls can be challenging and stressful. No one will understand the challenges, stresses, celebrations or emotions quite like another teacher will. While it is true that other teachers will understand and can relate. It is important to remember that negativity can and will spread like wildfire. I need to be surrounded by understanding and positive colleagues as well-intended collaboration can quickly turn into a gripe fest that leaves everyone feeling bummed if one does not proceed with caution. Teaching is also a joyous profession that can present many smiles and opportunities for laughter. Spending our free time with those teachers who enjoy laughing, sharing funny stories and listening to the silly tales of others can release our stress.

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How do you introduce a practical and industry oriented approach towards the subject?

“Industrial visits, guest sessions, and internships maintain an industrial approach in our subjects”

As a teacher of home science, I'm always interested in teaching topics and incorporating the practical aspect of the subject matter into the classroom. This helps to bridge theory and real-world practice. A strategy that can be implemented in my home science course at undergraduate level in order to link theory and practice can be - inviting Guest speakers from the food and textile industry. Industrial visits of the students can improve understanding and appreciation for the subject matter by contextualizing the topics. Tese visits can open their eyes to the practical and the real-world practice which can be crucial for the achievement of long-lasting understanding of the subject matter. Besides this other methods that work are online learning, experiential learning, differentiation, blended learning, game-based learning and student-centered learning. My students learn the practical aspects of the subject and it can help them to be a responsible citizen who can handle her home and community responsibly. We deal with various aspects such as psychology and community living, and take good care of your family, friends, neighbors and other people around you. Home science when taught in a practical manner can enable them to be equipped with skills to lead a well-balanced life. Food and nutrition is an important subject in home science. They will learn important details about the art of preparing a balanced meal using fresh and natural ingredients. The industry outside is having a lot of open options. For example, one who is aiming to specialize in food and nutrition can work as a nutritionist, dietician or food scientist and pursue research further. The hotel industry offers lucrative career choices for home science graduates specializing in housekeeping and food catering. Our campus also organizes internships for students. The subject under home science- Human Resource management can help them becoming a consumer conscious individual by wisely managing family income and expenditure.

How do you strategize and update the Curriculum to make it benefitting for the students?

“Provide the solid foundation of intended outcomes and specific direction for continuous monitoring”

The curriculum development process is a continuous improvement rather than a linear or stagnant approach. We frequently reviewed, revised, and updated different needs. It should be changed due to subject-area discoveries, innovations in instructional best practices, or shifts in course delivery. We focus on Subject-centered, Problem-centered and Learner-centered. It is required of me to have specific skills and knowledge associated with a subject area intended to create equal learning experience across different students and classes. I have observed that this approach is not student-centric. It can lead to a lack of engagement and potentially lower performance. Additionally, this approach leaves little room for cross-subject connections. Curriculum development has many real-life applications. Problem-Centered approach aims to provide students with relevant real-world skills. Learners are taught how to look at a problem and come to a solution. Students still learn key skills and knowledge, but with additional context. Learner-Centered design emphasizes the needs and goals of each learner as an individual. With this approach, you can analyze the preexisting knowledge and learning styles of your students.The needs of your learners will guide your curriculum development process. Generally, this type of curriculum development aligns most closely with a process-focused curriculum. For a comprehensive curriculum that strikes an ideal balance for your course, learners, and subject area. You must include elements from each of these models. A fully customized and comprehensive approach to curriculum design will yield the best results for your course over time. Provide the solid foundation of intended outcomes, specific direction for the continuous monitoring, assessment and evaluation of the actual outcomes the curriculum produces.We enable a faculty to resist academic drift, where a college or program with one mission or curricular purpose gradually and unconsciously drifts away to some other purposes. We deal more straightforwardly and rationally with conflict over curricular content, such as disputes related to departmental turf. Also, increase the perception of institutional openness, candor, integrity among all of the institution’s customers and stakeholders.

What are your views on placements and higher education of students from S.S. Jain Subodh Girls P.G. College?

“Students get a fair idea of the job market through placements and integrate career planning”

Campus placement is when companies come to our college campus, conduct interviews, and hire candidates to work in their company. These campus placements are arranged for by the college who invite all the best possible companies to recruit from their students. The campus placements are held before the final examination. These placements not only benefit the students, but they also benefit the companies and colleges. Placements in the campus teaches students about industry standards and makes them more employable. Students get a fair idea of the job market that they will be a part of, and also freshers. It is very important to have a basic knowledge of the do’s and don'ts in the corporate world. Our department of home science assists students to develop/clarify their academic and career interests. It helps the students develop and implement successful job search strategies and integrate career planning. Our department acts as a link between students, alumni and the employment community. Up gradation of the students communication skills and personality development by inviting experts from outside for seminars/classes and prepare them in obtaining final placement in reputed companies and the world outside.

What strategies do you use to cope with the competitive world?

“Encourage student learners to compete against themselves and make the competitive experience fundamentally positive”

Competition can so frequently be a double-edged sword. Others find the competition intimidating, off-putting, and it causes them to leave the course early so carefully. We encourage student learners to compete against themselves and be transparent about their competition performance. Make competitions about more than winning one trophy or certificate and competitive experience fundamentally positive. So, students of the department of home science don’t walk away feeling negatively about their course mates or themselves. Asking them questions and encouraging them to participate in class discussions. When they feel the pressure of competition, ask them to take a moment to consider how others feel as well. They may be in the same situation as you. By getting in the habit of thinking outside of their own goals and concerns, my students will develop a healthier attitude toward competition.

What are the extra curricular activities to enhance the skills of students?

“Conduct Worships, seminars, sports, and academic clubs for students”

We make them a committee Leader by volunteering in various events, academic clubs., Sports activities and creative activities. They can attain technological Skills, social and community welfare activities. Our campus performs Arts, Music, Sessions for Cultivating self-esteem, confidence and Developing a strong sense of work ethic. They can learn professional skills, worships, seminars, competition, personality grooming sessions, culture and language. 

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What challenges are facing to uplift the quality of education in the S.S. Jain Subodh Girls P.G. College?

“Gender bias, lack of relevance to the lives of learners, and focus on Applied Learning are the greatest challenges faced by us”

Student enrollment in Home Science in secondary schools has declined over the years. Gender bias is being noted in both student enrolment and staffing. Inadequate knowledge about the scope of the subject has adversely affected enrolment and the teaching of the subject. Sometimes, I feel that Home science curriculum is jam-packed with content which lacks relevance to the lives of learners. Increased Focus on Applied Learning, graduate Employability and Falling Enrolment Rates are other challenges faced by us. 

What approaches do you bring to teaching other than curriculum?

“Formulate kinesthetic learning model, Game-Based Learning, projects, discussion and more”

Apart from books and curriculum, we focus on a high-tech approach to learning. Technology plays an ever-greater role in many of today’s classrooms including kinesthetic learning models, students perform hands-on physical activities rather than listening to lectures or watching demonstrations. Kinesthetic learning which values movement and creativity over technological skills. It is most commonly used to augment traditional types of instruction. The theory being that requiring students to do, make or create something exercises different learning muscles. Game-Based Learning, Students love games, and considerable progress can be made in the field of game-based learning, which requires students to be problem solvers as they work on quests to accomplish a specific goal. For students, this approach blends targeted learning objectives with the fun of earning points or badges. It is much like they would in a video game. As a teacher, planning this type of activity requires additional time and effort. Many rely on software to help students maximize the educational value they receive from within the gamified learning environment. Some of the other methods to teach include Book reports, Bulletin boards, Brainstorming, Case studies, Class projects, discussion, video diary, Collaborative learning spaces, Current events quizzes, Debates, DIY activities, etc. 

Any valuable suggestions for students in S.S. Jain Subodh Girls P.G. College?

“Set a schedule, take notes, improve your skills and move to your dream job”

Planning for what you are going to do will make sure ahead of the curve literally. Studying isn’t fun to begin with, and forcing yourself through a study marathon will only make it worse. Dividing your work into manageable chunks and rewarding yourself when you finish each chunk will make studying fun. Don’t underestimate the importance of those eight hours, rest will sharpen your focus and improve your working memory. Set a schedule and take notes. Taking notes will not only keep you more engaged during class. But will also help you narrow down what you need to study when exam time rolls around. It is much easier to reread your notes than to reread your entire textbook. Find a place that will maximize your productivity. Look for places away from the television and other distractions. Find a study group, quiz each other, reteach material, and make sure that everyone is on the same page. After all, teaching someone else is the best way to learn. Ask questions in order to learn, don’t be afraid to do just that. Asking for help from a teacher, a tutor or your friends is a surefire way to make success.