AIMS AND METHODS

"…the thought of India [has always maintained that a human being is a portion of the Divinity enwrapped in mind and body, a conscious manifestation in Nature of the universal self and spirit. Always she has distinguished and cultivated in him a mental, an intellectual, an ethical, dynamic and practical, an aesthetic and hedonistic, a vital and physical being, but all these have been seen as powers of a soul that manifests through them and grows with their growth, and yet they are not all the soul, because at the summit of its ascent it arises to something greater than them all, into a spiritual being, and it is in this that she has found the supreme manifestation of the soul of man and his ultimate divine manhood…"

(Sri Aurobindo, (SABCL, Vol.17, p. 199)

“Those systems of education which start from an insufficient knowledge of man, think they have provided a satisfactory foundation when they have supplied the student with a large or well-selected mass of information on the various subjects which comprise the best part of human culture at the time. The school gives the materials, it is for the student to use them, — this is the formula. But the error here is fundamental. Information cannot be the foundation of intelligence, it can only be part of the material out of which the knower builds knowledge, the starting-point, the nucleus of fresh discovery and enlarged creation. An education that confines itself to imparting knowledge, is no education."

(Sri Aurobindo, (SABCL, Vol.17, p. 331)

FREE PROGRESS: INTEGRAL METHOD OF TEACHING AND LEARNING

Our approach to Integral Education is primarily concerned with the evolution of consciousness in the individual, but we firmly believe that this evolution is an integral part of the evolution of societal consciousness. We are guided by the ideal that education is the means for facilitating individual transformation to prepare the humankind, one individual at a time, for a collective transformation. We hope to become a centre of ‘higher’ education and a dynamic ideal for the society through the very nature of our work in facilitating individual and collective evolution of consciousness.

Our educational approach is inspired by the Free-Progress Integral Method developed by the Mother at the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education in Pondicherry, and utilized successfully in various learning institutions in India and abroad.

The term ‘free-progress' means that within certain basic educational structures, the learner is given full freedom to approach and explore the subjects they study in their own unique manner, but without sacrificing the concentrated focus and rigour necessary for high quality work. This educational method encourages the development of the individual and fosters original and free thinking.

We use the term ‘facilitator’ instead of the more conventional ‘instructor’ because we truly believe that learning can only be facilitated, and “nothing can be taught.” We believe that teachers are mentors and guides for their students, not ‘experts’ who are supposed to ‘impart’ knowledge to the learners. Instead the facilitators are humble learners alongside their students’ learning journeys. When they interact with learners they do not speak from a position of their expertise or authority but as mentors they offer suggestions for learners to explore and come to their own understanding and interpretation.

THREE PRINCIPLES OF INTEGRAL TEACHING

Our approach to learning and teaching is guided by the three cardinal principles given by Sri Aurobindo.

“The first principle of true teaching is that nothing can be taught.”

To put it another way, if nothing can be taught it only means that all can be learned. Our facilitators are also life-long learners and are constantly working on their inner and outer progress. As and when needed, they share appropriate personal experiences and life-situations, which helps develop a deeper and closer relation with the learners. We believe that facilitators and learners learn together as they work together; they just may have different roles but they are both seekers in their own unique ways. Our facilitators sincerely and honestly practice the values and ideals that form the heart of the learning content of many of our courses.

“The second principle is that the mind has to be consulted in its own growth.”

Through the various experiential, introspective and self-observation exercises which are generally included in most of our courses, we emphasize the value that it is important for learners to gradually become more and more conscious of their true swabhava and swadharma.

“The third principle of education is to work from the near to the far, from that which is to that which shall be.”

Our Science of Living related courses and exercises aimed at self-observation and self-transformation emphasize for our learners that while we may keep our eyes on the distant goal of completely transforming our outer nature, but we always start from what is nearest to us. We recognize the importance of learners’ development based on their unique life experiences and help them recognize that the best way to begin on their journey of self-transformation is to begin from wherever they are.

This principle is also reflected in the nature of our interaction with learners. In order to clarify any doubts and questions learners may have regarding a certain topic, in our responses we start with what we consider as of immediate and local interest to the learner, and use simple and learner-friendly examples to illustrate abstract theories and ideas.

EDUCATION OF THE WHOLE BEING

Our online programmes and courses provide ample of opportunities for individual learners to develop their vital, mental and psychic parts of the being. We do this through the use of a variety of learning activities and by incorporating plenty of self-reflective and introspective exercises.

We also include a variety of intellectual assignments in order to help the learner gradually perfect their mental faculties. At the same time we believe that learner’s education and training of the intellect divorced from the perfection of moral and emotional nature is injurious to human progress. Therefore, we provide gentle learning opportunities – in the form of selected course content and readings that emphasize living and practicing higher ideals of life and constantly working to purify and transform one’s emotional and vital self. 

EDUCATION OF THE MIND

Given the online nature of our educational offerings undoubtedly there is a greater emphasis on mental education of the learners. But there also we keep in consideration the principal phases of mental education as given by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother in their writings on Integral Education. These principles help prepare learners for a higher life by:

• Developing the power of concentration, the capacity of attention
• Developing the capacities of expansion, widening, complexity and richness
• Organizing one’s ideas around a central idea, a higher ideal or a supremely luminous idea that will serve as a guide in life
• Practicing thought-control and rejection of undesirable thoughts, to become able to think only what one wants and when one wants
• Developing mental silence, perfect calm and a more and more total receptivity to inspirations coming from the higher regions of the being.

These faculties are developed through our use of different types of learning activities which include: wide and in-depth reading, widening one’s understanding through research and discussions with fellow-learners and facilitator, focused reflections on the core ideas covered in the material read, clear articulation of one’s understanding of the concepts, organizing one’s thoughts and ideas around a particular theme such as in the form of essays, self-observation assignments, introspective analysis, and contemplative exercises.

By using this approach of mental education our objective is to help awaken in the learners interest in the subject and a will to progress – intellectually and spiritually. The wide range of activities and learning situations help develop the faculties of observation, precise recording and faithfulness of memory.

ORGANIZATION AND SYNTHESIS OF IDEAS

We also encourage our learners to take interest in and study various topics related to their main field of study in order to increase the suppleness and comprehensiveness of mind. At the same time our pedagogical approach of incorporating a range of learning activities related to a particular topic also helps remove the rigidity of the brain, makes thinking richer and more supple, and prepares the mind for a more complex and comprehensive synthesis.

The integral approach to mental education also emphasizes that learners develop the habit of constructing knowledge which will permit all the diverse and scattered and often contradictory ideas accumulated in brain to be organized and put in order, this is necessary to avoid chaos in one’s thoughts. We achieve this by encouraging readers to do a broad and wide reading.

By incorporating reading material from several authors – from different cultural backgrounds and belonging to different generations – we encourage learners to recognize that the mind must progress constantly, revise its notions in the light of new knowledge, enlarge its framework to include fresh notions and constantly reclassify and reorganize its thoughts, so that each of them may find its true place in relation to the others and the whole remain harmonious and orderly.

Through their responses to learners’ comments and questions, our facilitators help learners see that over time and with sufficient practice all contradictions can be transformed into complements, but for that one must discover the higher idea or ideal that will have the power to bring them harmoniously together. We gently remind the learners that upon the choice of the central idea will depend the value of one’s mental synthesis. The higher and larger the central idea and the more universal it is, rising above time and space, the more numerous and the more complex will be the ideas, notions and thoughts which it will be able to organize and harmonize.

NATURE OF OUR PROGRAMMES

We are inspired by a fundamental aspect of Integral Education, namely that the education of a human being should begin at birth and continue throughout his/her life. This value of life-long learning is evident in the nature and design of our programme and course offerings, and also in the profile of learners who are generally attracted to these programmes.

Within each of our programmes, learners are given a broad choice of courses that focus either on different subjects considered in the main lines of Sri Aurobindo’s thought or on the multifarious aspects of Integral Yoga. Facilitators guide each learner individually, thus helping the learner to find their special interest and to explore the queries particular to each learner.

All courses and programmes, while focusing on Sri Aurobindo’s thought are sufficiently broad-based so that learners become aware of alternative perspectives and approaches to their subjects, and to tackle profound and complex subject matter in order to widen and clarify their faculties of thought, reasoning, and understanding. 

EDUCATION FOR TRANSFORMATION

Learners find our programmes and courses refreshing and illumining alternative to traditional fields of higher study. Our programmes are progressive and future-oriented. We strive toward the constant renewal, rethinking, reframing, and most importantly re-living of the timeless ideals and teachings of Sri Aurobindo for our changing times.

The educational values driving our programmes include: emphasis on life-long learning, transformative learning guided by a keen passion for individual and social transformation, quest for knowledge for the development of self and society, respect (and not mere tolerance) for cultural diversity and a global perspective, and practice of critical and contemplative pedagogies.

For many of our learners, individualized and self-directed learning becomes a means for their individual transformation. We understand that true education enables an openness of mind and heart. We encourage learners to move beyond the limitations of dualities, to cross boundaries of ideologies. We view learning as a practice of freedom, and understand ‘knowing’ as that which leads us into greater connection and greater understanding of life, challenge the rigid dichotomy of mental knowing (or knowing by logic, reason) and other forms of knowing including experiential, contemplative, and intuitive.

Through experimentation and constant reflection on our teaching and learning practice, we have developed a system that reconciles these various needs of the total process of learning accurately and harmoniously.

INTERDISCIPLINARY AND TRANS-DISCIPLINARY FOCUS

Sri Aurobindo’s integral thought concerns itself with all levels of human existence, which includes physical, emotional, instinctual, mental, moral, social and spiritual aspects; it looks upon them as equally valid and contributing for human evolution. This vision of integrality helps to appropriately place the vast developments made in the field of Matter –- in various disciplines and fields of study -- in a much wider, vaster framework of the Spirit.

Our courses cover various aspects of Sri Aurobindo – darshnik-rishi or the philosopher-sage; kavi, the mystic poet; purna yogi, the integral psychologist; social-political thinker; and anti-colonialist revolutionary. By integrating and synthesizing these different aspects these programmes become truly trans-disciplinary and interdisciplinary in nature.

Our learners come from a variety of academic and professional backgrounds and fields ranging from most traditional disciplines to most inter-disciplinary and individualized foci of interests. This further adds to the trans-disciplinary flavor learning environment and often then gets reflected in learners’ contributions to online discussions in various courses.

We welcome innovative ideas of our learners, and encourage them to look beyond the limitations of their own ways of learning and knowing. We value rigorous scholarship, self-reflective practice, specialized and interdisciplinary learning.

MODES OF FACILITATION

We offer programmes of study through two distance modalities:

• through online facilitation provided over the internet,
• through traditional correspondence mode (for the benefit of those residents of India who may not have easy access to online technology or may prefer a conventional correspondence approach to online learning.)

ONLINE PEDAGOGY

Our programmes primarily attract non-traditional, adult students who are generally highly motivated and self-directed learners, and feel most comfortable in a learning environment that allows them to be in control of their learning, and provides ample flexibility. An online learning environment can be effectively designed to provide such learning conditions.

Our online courses are structured with specific weekly reading assignments, discussions stimulated with the facilitator’s questions, writing assignments, and tests. Properly designed online courses are effective, because unlike oral lectures, learners have the opportunity to spend the time needed with material and return to it as often as necessary to understand and digest it. At the same time, learners can more readily identify those particular aspects of the course material that they do not understand and seek clarification from the facilitator in a relaxed and private atmosphere.

EFFECTIVE ONLINE TEACHING

We constantly strive to apply what Olcott (1999) refers to as five “I”s of effective online teaching. These are: interaction, introspection, innovation, integration, and information. Interaction refers to communication that occurs between the student and the facilitator, communication that occurs among the students, and also the interaction that occurs between the student and the content of the course. Introspection is the interpretation, revision, and demonstrated understanding of concepts.

Innovation refers to the ability of facilitators to experiment with technologies to address various learning styles. Integration implies the integration of facts, concepts, theories, and practical application of knowledge. Information refers to the knowledge and understanding that is a prerequisite for students to move to the next level of learning.

ONLINE CLASSROOM

Learners who enroll in our online programmes are given a username and password to access the academic areas of SACAR website where the online courses are taught. Generally, all our online courses are taught through a simple, easy-to-navigate web-based bulletin board which uses a group email-like format. A specific online space is created for each course being offered in a particular semester. This space is called “class” for it serves the role of a traditional face-to-face classroom. Only the course facilitator, enrolled learners, and concerned administrators have access to the online class.

While setting up our online classes we have also paid close attention to the differences in the technology available to our online students. Through our experience with adult learners we have learned that the focus in online learning should be on the essential learning experience and not on technology.

We have kept the design for our online courses fairly simple and easily accessible, which does not require students to upload any new software or upgrade their computer hardware. The facilitator’s notes and lectures (if needed) are all text-based, are posted directly under the appropriate subject heading in the course online class-space, and can be easily saved or printed by the learners for easy reading. We have found that our learners appreciate the simple technological setup of our classes.

 ‘SAGE ON THE STAGE’ OR ‘GUIDE ON THE SIDE’?

An important issue in an online classroom concerns the role of the course instructor. Should an instructor be only a ‘provider of the content’ or a ‘facilitator of interaction’? Should an instructor be a ‘sage on the stage’ or a ‘guide on the side’? Our experience suggests that the instructor’s role is situated somewhere in between the two. This is also consistent with the first principle of true teaching that is, “nothing can be taught” and that facilitators and learners learn together as they work together with the course material and interact in online classroom; they just may have different roles but they are both seekers in their own unique ways.

Online learning and teaching is just as much about the process as the product. The facilitator and learners engage in a process of creating knowledge through their interactions with one another and with the content of the course. This content is again constructed in several ways – through the readings and learning notes assigned by the facilitator, and through the discussions and conversations that occur in the online classroom. Because the online environment allows learners and facilitator to go back and review this always-developing content in the online discussions area, the knowledge itself is always in the process of construction as new interpretations are made, and as new questions are posed by either the students or the instructor or both. This breaks down the dichotomy between process and product, between facilitator and learner, and allows for a more meaningful and collaborative learning experience.

RELATION BETWEEN FACILITATOR AND LEARNERS

Internet has been described as the great equalizer – essentially eliminating the boundaries that exist between cultures, genders, ages – and also eliminating power differences between facilitators and learners. It has been suggested that the discussions that occur in the online classroom are as free of socio-cultural bias as is possible. In order to achieve this state, however, faculty must be able to relinquish their power over the educational process and let the learners take on their process management role. Clearly, facilitators hold the extra edge in the process because they assign a grade for the course. However, in the area of process management, facilitators can and should play an equal role and leave behind the traditional power boundaries that exist between faculty and learners.

This revised role of the facilitator, however, does not eliminate the traditional role, which is to create learning opportunities that challenge learners and motivate them to participate fully in the process of creating knowledge. That is what we as facilitators try to do through our comments on assigned readings, learning notes, and through our participation in the Discussions.

We acknowledge that in some sense our self-directed learners are the primary constructors of knowledge in the online discussions area, we also realise that our role as course facilitators requires us to step in and ask relevant questions and address the emerging issues in students’ responses. This helps learners see that facilitators are also active member of the online learning community, and their views and postings are just as much available for interpretation, challenge and/or criticism as theirs. That helps us all learn and teach at the same time. This pedagogical approach is based on our ideal that “the first principle of true teaching is that nothing can be taught”.

We recognize and deeply value the fact that teaching and learning are primarily about the experience that learners and facilitators create collaboratively. Only in a secondary way it is about the mode of delivery.

ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITY

Good, leaner-centered teaching is the most critical part of online teaching, and through this approach we hope to create an online learning community.

Facilitators take an active role in helping an online community to evolve. With our new learners we begin our online courses by asking them to post their personal introductions during the first couple of days of the class; the facilitator opens this ‘conversation’ thread by posting his or her introduction. This allows learners and facilitator to get comfortable with each other and makes them feel part of a group.

Online discussions lie at the heart of online learning communities. Learners and facilitator engage in co-construction of learning through exchange of ideas and perspectives, provide clarifications and challenges, and explore better ways to articulate thoughts and reflections. All of this is done in the spirit of learning with and from others.

For every instructional unit, our facilitators give learners a small number of (2 to 4) open-ended discussion questions that encourage reflection and critical thinking about the learning material and about its application to their world of practice. These questions act as starting points or somewhat-loose anchors to facilitate a more free-flowing conversation. They help develop an atmosphere of reflection and adventure in learning, keeping learners interested in the process of learning.

All discussion in online classes is asynchronous, that is, learners can log on to the class website at any time that is convenient for them, read what has already been posted and post their comments and responses. Depending on individual need, a phone conference or live chat may be occasionally scheduled with some learners.

As and when needed we also use web-based voice chat programmes such as Skype to communicate with our learners. This technology is also used effectively in place of tele-conferencing which is needed at some key points in a learner’s programme such as thesis related discussion, oral thesis examination, etc. We also have an audio-library of many talks that summarize and interpret key texts of Sri Aurobindo. These audio CDs/MP3 are also used as additional learning material and sent to the learners as and when necessary.

ROLE OF FACILITATOR IN ONLINE LEARNING COMMUNITY

Designing a well-organized course syllabus, providing learners with a comprehensive list of reading resources, grading learners’ assignments and tests are only a small part of the instructor’s role in online education.

A major portion of facilitator’s role in an online class is to create a supportive, encouraging, motivating, inspiring and safe space for learners to freely participate in discussions. This is done by:

• setting up class participation expectations as part of the course requirement (these expectations may be included in the syllabus as follows: each learner is expected to submit at least: i) one post per unit in response to the discussion questions posted by the facilitator, and ii) one post per unit in response to the responses submitted by other learners in the class;
• encouraging learners to post substantive and reflective comments instead of mere electronic nods;
• encouraging a dialogue between the learners;
• the facilitator positioning himself or herself as a fellow learner;
• paying attention to who is responding and who is not;
• ensuring the quality and relevance of discussion and at the same time allowing learners to be creative in their thinking and reflections;
• allowing a diversity of perspectives to emerge;
• helping learners see the value of their perspective;
• gently challenging the learners to look beyond their perspectives;
• and demonstrating inclusiveness and co-existence.

FACILITATOR AS A FELLOW-LEARNER

Learners often are not just learners but also teachers for one another. We encourage facilitators to consider themselves as another learner in the class and let learners be their fellow-teachers. This means that the traditional role of teacher is greatly transformed in online classes as they are now encouraged to silence their ‘teacher voice’ so that learners can take more ownership of the learning space.

As learners begin responding to the discussion questions, the facilitator participates as and when needed, shares his or her perspective, poses more questions based on learners’ responses, responds to their questions, and sometimes may also pose counter-arguments in order to encourage deeper thinking on part of the learners. This interactive spirit of an online class demonstrates how meaningful knowledge can be constructed through and within these interactions. This tells learners that the facilitator is also an active participant in the course, and reminds the learners that the facilitator may be out there somewhere in cyberspace, but is still accessible and fully engaged with activities going on in the class.

INDIVIDUALIZED MENTORING

The online mode allows and encourages individualized mentoring for each learner. The facilitator addresses the questions and points brought out by different learners in the form of individualized responses to the learners’ posts concerning the assigned readings and/or discussion questions. At the same time the format of the online forum allows all learners in the class to benefit from these specific responses. This enriches, widens and deepens the learning experience for everyone in the class while making it possible for each one to receive individualized guidance.   

ACADEMIC RIGOUR AND LEARNER PARTICIPATION

The real working of a learning community is only visible when members of a class start participating actively in discussions about the class topics. The learner participation is closely related to academic rigour in an online learning environment. In an online learning environment, the key to the learning process are the interactions among learners themselves, the interactions between facilitator and learners, and the collaboration in learning that results from these interactions.

Our experience has taught us that such a learner-centered learning community evolves more easily when learners are given a general framework for discussion, or some specific open-ended questions to respond to. We have also learned that it is important to create safe spaces where learners can explore issues, share their opinions, and feel confident that their views will be acknowledged and respected and their questions will be answered. This makes learners responsible for their own learning and also lets them share the responsibility of creating meaningful knowledge in the course.

These safe spaces, are however, best created when the facilitator establishes some structural guidelines, e.g. by setting some deadlines for completing each unit and certain assignments; by providing learners with some open-ended discussion questions; or by introducing a new unit with some brief introductory remarks or learning notes that invite learners to directly engage with the content.

The discussion questions, if challenging, help encourage an atmosphere of reflection and adventure in learning, keeping learners interested in the process of learning.

CONTENT ROBUSTNESS

Content robustness is concerned with the breadth and depth of the content included in an online course and the extent to which learners are required to interact with that content and with each other. Our online courses do aim to being robust courses and provide a lot of different learning situations in which learners can interact with the content. These learning opportunities include activities such as reflecting on particular themes explored in the week’s reading, writing essays, conducting library research, introspective journaling, preparing annotated bibliography, preparing for test questions, etc.
Another aspect of our online courses that helps them become content-robust is that the course assignments generally require learners to apply course content and skills, and also require critical thinking on the part of learners.