IIT Chennai to help science education in Schools: Lesson for Orissa
January 22nd, 2008
The following is an excerpt from an article in Hindu. I hope some schools in Orissa will take similar steps.
… IIT Chennai, one of India’s foremost engineering college has now tied up with number of schools to enhance high school science education in the country.
"The way science is taught in our schools leaves much to be desired. Our children get programmed to answer questions in examinations without being able to relate the concepts to the real world around us. There is too much focus on scoring marks than on understanding, " Dr. T S Natrajan of IIT-Chennai told PTI.
Though IIT has introduced a number of initiatives like the National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) to enhance the quality of engineering education in the country by developing curriculum based video and web courses, Natrajan points out that new ‘Science Enrichment Program’ is first direct initiative of the institute for betterment of school education.
"This is my personal initiative and the institution is backing me completely for this. I wonder what kind of science is taught in the schools when students have to go for coaching classes in preparation for specialised entrances exams," he says.
Under the new programme, IIT Chennai will provide consultancy and develop Science Enrichment Program for classes Five to Twelve in Physics and Chemistry. This will include planning and developing problem based worksheets and activities which will make science fun and easy for children.
It also includes training the science teachers to improve their skills as well as understanding using some of the best materials and getting advice from eminent professors from IIT.
The program aims to develop Science Enrichment Materials which would include designing hands-on and computer based activities in Physics and Chemistry based on the CBSE syllabus from class 5 to 12 for implementation in the classrooms.
Entry Filed under: K-12,Odisha goals for the future