Teaching Competencies: A Pathway to Becoming a Better Teacher, authored by Dr. Bhavna Dave and Ms. Shruti Nair, is a comprehensive and practice-oriented book designed to support student-teachers pursuing B.Ed. and other teacher education programmes. The book highlights the importance of developing essential teaching competencies beyond subject knowledge, emphasizing practical skills, educational theory, and the ability to respond effectively to learners’ diverse needs.
The book introduces the concepts of teaching competency and micro-teaching before exploring essential classroom skills, including set induction, explanation, questioning, probing, illustrating with examples, stimulus variation, blackboard writing, reinforcement, and closure. It also addresses broader professional competencies such as classroom management, communication, and student engagement, offering valuable insights into creating inclusive, organized, and participatory learning environments.
Addressing contemporary educational priorities, the book explores core elements, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and values in teaching, along with learning resources, the three phases of teaching, and lesson planning. Its practice-oriented approach incorporates rating scales, schematic representations, illustrative examples, and sample plans to help readers observe, assess, reflect on, and improve their teaching practices. These features make the book a useful resource for connecting theoretical understanding with effective classroom implementation.
With its balanced combination of theoretical foundations and practical guidance, Teaching Competencies: A Pathway to Becoming a Better Teacher serves as a valuable reference for aspiring teachers, teacher educators, and education professionals. By encouraging systematic practice, reflection, and continuous improvement, Dr. Bhavna Dave and Ms. Shruti Nair aim to contribute to the development of competent, confident, and reflective educators prepared to meet the evolving demands of modern education.