The management strategy adopted by the military is one of the best form of crisis management and adaptive leadership, handling the transactions as it arises. Land on the battlefield, meet the troops of your side and other side, calculate the strengths and weaknesses of both the side, take decision, deliver the strategic intent. The fight is not between the troops of both the sides, but also the fight between life and survival for each one of the soldier.
India is planning to digitize its education system, when whole world is going through the serious crisis. Fight is for survival, for livelihood for continuation of inherent knowledge, experience and wisdom of this generation to be transferred transferred to next generation.
At this moment with this experience, we are trying to bring new prospective to the situation by creating new knowledge, new process and new leadership to drive through the newness. As per the RONALD HEIFETZ and AND MARTY LINSKY , adaptive leadership is the act of mobilizing a group of individual during a tough time and emerge as triumphant at the end.
Adding the Digital Mode into the Existing System, Not by Shifting
Academic institutions have been established in last 500 years in different times as per the need of the evolution of intellectual aspirations, which integrates the knowledge of generation with society and nature through its established system of training and grooming. We all know and understand that educational institutions can not be built instantly, with best infrastructure or best faculties. It takes time to integrate different aspects. So disrupting the age old system of learning may create chaos in the lives and ultimately in the society, which are the true reflection of educational systems and vice versa. The institutions should plan to add one more feature to the existing system, as such learning can be more flexible to accommodate few more societal and natural necessities to cope with time.
Bringing features for peer learning, or learning from each other, who aspire to learn the same subject
In physical mode, the students learn from each other, as they learn together and live together in the campus, which is the place for integration of knowledge, social prospective, critical thinking on the subject by number of best brains, interested to learn and coming to its best form automatically synthesized by the class. Physical presence and direct communication filter outs the minority of ideas and only mass opinion exists. But in digital mode, the relationship or engagement is mostly direct between teacher and student. Adding new features for group activity or group competitions can provide avenues to connect to the peer and also virtually, when they are not physically present in the campus.
Developing Relationship with the students
Goleman has clarified that to be successful in life being exceptionally intelligent and brilliant, is not required. To be successful, Goleman defines that “Emotional Intelligence as a capacity for recognizing our own in others for motivating ourselves, and for managing our emotions, both within ourselves and in our relationships”. Emotional Intelligence is self awareness, self regulation, motivation, empathy and social skill, when in digital education it is required from both the side, teacher and student for co-learning the subject and be successful.
Diverse ways of Learning should be open for the students to choose their own way
The students are the supreme, those who aspire to learn, those who join to sacrifice for the purpose of learning. They should be given freedom to choose between the digital and physical mode as per the nature of content delivery defined by the teacher and communicated to the students, the type of engagement required, listening,, reading, experimenting or applying or mixture of all or few.
Availability of Technology
In digital education, the technology holds the major role in engagement. Teaching , communication and analysis of knowledge. As the sky connects the heaven with the earth through air, in digital education the technology connects the teacher and students, source with the aspirant. Availability of proper technology can make the digital learning successful. Where more than 50% people live in rural India, where stable internet connectivity, 24 hours power supply etc. are dream, availability of effective performing technological system may not be possible for all.
In front of the teachers so many challenges are there starting from e-content development , developing solutions, to learn the use of technical tools for imparting education, adopting to the change, working on emotional quotient, fostering the culture of change with honesty for organizational justice and human justice. They should be ready to take up the challenges, being creative, transparent and should have deep sense of character as an adaptive leader.
Digital education can increase the inclusiveness and may increase the gross enrolment ratio. Education will be available to all as the driver of the knowledge as part of life, together with profession, helping everybody to learn and earn.
Digital education and physical education was treated in isolation and now this crisis has made us understand that we can go for an integrated model with all its merits. The demerits can be eliminated slowly with time and experience of execution.
With adaptive leadership, this new initiative can build trust and emotions among the teachers and the students and should be implemented with shake of hand, and brief look of eyes to make an inedible impression, which will stand as the best in the world, not only as the producer of best minds but the source of best minds too.
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Sasmita Samanta
Prof. Sasmita Samanta is an accomplished academician and administrator with more than two and half decades of experience in strategizing excellence in professional and technical education. Currently she wears the mantle of Professor of Management and Vice-Chancellor of KIIT Deemed to be University.
Yes, very true. Digital education has proved its need during this pandemic situation. India should take the Leadership to promote education digitally and all should accept it formerly without any second thought. This practice, though will be little new and difficult for adoption, but it is the only path to reach the destination for the present generation. Its the demand of time. Keep lighting the mind and action of others ma'am. Thanks
A new dimension of educational and social integration is slowly becoming a visible reality….. penned down nicely.
Very true ma'am, India is going through a paradigm shift in the process of learning n teaching
Very true ma'am, India is going through a paradigm change in the process of learning and teaching
Dr.Elina Kanungo
Indeed, it is a new challenge for all of us. We have not faced these type challenges during our School days and college days. Connecting mind of students or guiding students through virtual mode of teaching and learning is a additional challenge for all of us.
Yes Madam, very true. We saw during this lock-down, it is acceptable by both the trainers and the trainee.
In the prevailing situation of lock-down, the entire world is trying to invent and adopt new methodologies to come back to the normal social life. The term “social distancing” has now become a buzzword in every part of our life. Thanks to the digital world, people are now socializing more than ever through digital platform though maintaining social distancing. But, in all this, we need to adapt to the situation and acclimatize or mutate ourselves accordingly. This article clearly spells out the need of the digitized education in our society and its implementation through adaptive leadership. In fact, we, as a part of the education system, have experienced the same under the able leadership of our own management visionaries and hope we will do our best in times to come.
Sanjib Moulick
What’s the definition of leadership has several perceptions based on the situation but the effectiveness of this blossom out during the crisis. KIIT is one of the best examples to truly represent the Education blended with digitalization at the crisis management, reflecting the competency of effective leadership. The article has addressed several critical areas to build up confidence in the society is considered to be need of the hour.
Really true madam. India is going through a paradigm shift in the process of learning and teaching.
Yes, it is the need of the hour… nicely emphasized the need for adoptive leadership with adopting the integrated model of both digital and physical education system with all its merit…
– Samaresh Mishra
Education in his traditional classroom teaching is the best form of sharing knowledge when teacher physically deliver his thoughts with live physical expression. But due to pandemic it is not possible. Digital transformation of knowledge is also another form which can be adopted as you suggested. KIIT University is well equipped to do it as right technology is availablefor the students and faculties are well trained
Hope your observations will be a right step to take it further.
ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP AND DIGITAL EDUCATION: Disruptive Technology is ready to adapt and thrive-need of the hour. Rightly observed and explained by the author.
The is really the great vision of true Leadership, who foresee the challenges with AGILE solutions, guiding the Team and Digital adoption is the way of life for a great support to Teaching & Learning processes. Very well narrated with key pointers for a Digitally integrated approach to compliment the current need during this pandemic, to go Digital in education sector.