TTF's Annual Seminar 2014 : Knowledge Management in Schools

As the new year unfolds, it is that time of the year again for TTF's Annual Seminar!

 

In all our interactions with school managements and principals, in the recent past, one recurring and real concern they have shared with us is the loss or fear of loss of their most vital of resources – the teachers, especially teachers they have invested in or have groomed for greater responsibilities. The 'brain drain' that most schools fear, either in reality or in perception, often halts or negates any concerted change initiative, especially for improving teaching-learning processes. Schools therefore prefer to focus on more permanent fixtures like infrastructure and technology enhancements rather than teacher development.

 

Vice Admiral (retd.) B Kannan, is someone who understands this dilemma very well albeit in the context of the Indian Navy, where the retirement of highly qualified and talented officers could leave the Armed Forces severely handicapped if it were not for sound Knowledge Management Systems.This actually has far-reaching implications for schools too. Much of the unique style, content and classroom repertoire often remains embedded in teachers' minds as “tacit knowledge”, and may not have been transferred and embedded in the “organisational knowledge” of the institution. In such a case, the exit of the particular teacher leaves a vacuum, which puts pressure on the organisation to juggle a demanding academic calendar.

 

How should schools cope with such situations when their organisational knowledge is significantly bereft of the expertise and experience of some teachers? What measures should they regularly take for building up the organisational knowledge? How do the institutions ensure that these measures do not further burden the teachers? How can the teaching methods be refined with the help of organisational knowledge? The answers to these questions emerge from a tailor-made Knowledge Management System (KMS) for the institution, which allows tacit knowledge of teachers to flow to organisational knowledge with minimum effort.

 

Vice Admiral Kannan is a highly decorated officer, of the Indian Navy. He has been honoured by the President of India with the Vishishta Seva Medal, Athivishishta Seva Medal and the Param Visihishta Seva Medal for exemplary service. He is a graduate in Electronic Engineering from College Of Trivandrum, Kerala and an M. Tech from IIT Bombay. He also has a Masters in Administrative Management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies, Mumbai. He was instrumental in setting up KMS systems in Naval training centres, Dockyards and Project organisations. He retired recently as the ‘Chief of Material’, the top-post for technical officers in the Indian Navy. Presently he is a research fellow with Anna University.

 

We look forward to having you at what promises to be an illuminating seminar on 13 February 2014 (from 3.00 pm to 6.00 pm) at St. Mark's Hotel, 4/1, St. Mark's Road, Bangalore - 560001.

 

For more details and to register your name for the event, please contact:

 

Aditi Choudhary + 91 80955 87430

Ajay Kumar +91 80955 87431

 

You can also register for the event by mailing us at info@teacherfoundation.org