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LABORATORY COUNSELLING IN DISTANCE
EDUCATION
R. K. Mithal
The counselling sessions for laboratory classes are as important as theory classes, Several factors, viz., time, materials and space management play a decisive role in the methodology to be adopted for laboratory counselling. The objectives for the training period involve to gain insight into the scientific phenomena and learn skills required in the measurement of properties of materials, verify the laws and equations and determine the physical, chemical and biological principles.
The distance education institutions usually do not have their own laboratories to feed the requirements of the countrywide students. These institutions have to depend on the laboratories of the conventional colleges (study centres). The time requirement is also an important factor to impart practical training. Availability of time for students to conduct different practicals is limited and varies from student to student. It is mainly because the students are mostly employed or busy otherwise. Likewise, the laboratories of the study centres are available for distance education institutions for a limited period. These are mostly available during the summer vacations at the study centres in the colleges for six to eight weeks only. The practical training programmes, therefore, should be planned in such a manner that the training period suits the students and the study centre. The time schedule has to be prepared carefully, gainfully and purposefully after consulting both the parties.
As mentioned above, some factors like time, space and material management usually form the deciding factors for the success of training programme. As a conse
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