DB BEST—A TEACHING EXPERIENCE

‘As we ascended the stairs, a rush of emotions was evoked in each one of us, but we were determined to bring a smile to all their faces. Prior to this, we had planned out our activities for the day with full spirit’.

These are the words of first-year students from St. Josephs’ College of Law, Bangalore- Ms. Nita, Ms. Keerthana and Ms. Janhavi, sharing their experience of interaction with the skill training students at DB BEST Academy, Bangalore during their one-month internship with BREADS Bangalore.

‘Communication was the topic chosen as it plays a vital role everywhere. It is a basic means of survival and a very important life skill. Our introduction round was an ice breaker challenge. We played games to make them feel at ease and get more comfortable with us. The students enjoyed every bit of the session and in turn we learnt about the diversity and exuberance of these students. Games were interspersed through the PowerPoint (PPT) presentation, so the latter could be a little less monotonous than usual. What made our session successful was the reciprocity of the students, their cooperation and participation.

Nita handled the essentials of the presentation while Janhavi and Keerthana assisted. The key component was our interaction with the students. They proved to be brilliant participants, with no fear to stop and ask any doubts; no matter how simple or complex. We were able to learn the distinctiveness of each individual, how they stand out from the rest in ways galore.

All the important topics in communication were briefly discussed; including verbal and non-verbal communication, aspects like listening, clarity and concision, confidence, friendliness, respect, feedback, empathy, picking the right medium of communication. Each of these topics was elaborated in the PPT through pictorial representation and was complemented by informative videos. This would enhance their learning and understanding of the concepts and would also help us to retain their attention in the session.

The students were able to grasp the concepts very well which was evident when we asked them to explain what they had understood about the topic. Their recaps helped their batch mates and enhanced their understanding capability. After the session, we got a very positive feedback from the students.

For each one of us, it was indeed a wonderful experience as we had a fun time interacting with the students. We also hope that sharing our bit of knowledge with them might be useful for them in their futures.  We are also grateful to BREADS and DB Best Academy for providing us this opportunity and an unforgettable experience.’