Teaching Methods in Contemporary Higher Education

In the present day higher education system the method of teaching has drastically changed. Though the conventional set up of lecture hall has continued to form the foundation of higher education systems, a combination of new tools, techniques and methods of teaching in higher education has replaced the old pattern. These changes have changed the roles of teachers. In past the teacher were the key sources of knowledge. They were the leader and the educator. The present scenario is that the teachers provide the information and exhibit the students the method to tackle them. Today they are the facilitators in the Teaching - Learning process. The teaching process has also undergone a radical change. The task of today’s teacher (a facilitator) is to set goals and organize the learning process accordingly. In past, teachers used to follow a syllabus which was a benchmark but today one has to consider National level Curriculum, a Core Curriculum and a local curriculum. Curriculum design is a task teachers have to be equipped for meeting the expectations of the society and the business world outside. The Semester System and Choice Based Credit System have replaced the annual pattern of education in all disciplines. Today student are offered a curriculum where, in addition to the subjects of their core discipline, interdisciplinary subjects are also offered .Thus in the present era, to be an effective teacher, one has to adopt teaching methods which provides a proper direction to the students. In this regards the present paper attempts to analyse the various teaching methods and strategies a teacher of today must follow in the present day higher education and suggests some innovative methods of teaching. After detailed analysis it could be concluded that all the methods whether traditional or non-traditional are very important and use of the same will help to develop creativity and problem solving skills of the students in this contemporary higher education system. Today the teacher has to be an educator, a facilitator and an organizer of the whole educational system.