Strengthening Critical Thinking Skills of Prospective Teachers Through Applications Of Vedic Mathematics

Good teachers form the foundation of good schools, and improving teachers‟ skills and knowledge is one of
the most important investments of time and money that local, state, and national leaders make in
education. Our changing goals for learning, coupled with shifts in curriculum emphasis and a deeper
understanding of teacher learning and student thinking, have led to new findings about the impact of teacher
professional development and how best to sharpen teachers‟ skills and knowledge. Teachers are expected to
teach as per the curriculum, take care of all round development of children, develop abilities such as
learning how to learn, problem solving, creative thinking, which are crucial for living effectively in the
world rapidly changing with the developments in science and technology. A person who does not possess
the skills and competencies required for the tasks expected of the teacher cannot be called a teacher. What
matters most is what teachers learn. Professional development should improve teachers‟ knowledge of the
subject matter that they are teaching, and it should enhance their understanding of student thinking in that
subject matter.