Chennai :
Balloons turn into air pressure models, DVDs transform into hovercraft and kitchen utensils become devices for physics experiments. For government middle school students, many of whom are without proper science labs in their schools, these Saturday sessions stretch their imagination, thanks to the efforts of Lata Kumar, former Anna University professor.
Her ‘Curious People’ science initiative, with the help of ‘select school students who moonlight as co-instructors, involves conducting these sessions for corporation school students from Classes 6 to 8.
Although a lot of classes draw from popular encyclopaedias of home experiments, she mixes her years of physics teaching. But why only middle school students? “Middle school is the right time to learn basic concepts in science visually and through hands-on experiments. Class 6 is when science is broken down into sub-branches. So we target those students,” says Kumar. Experiments are intended to expose students to science and kindle their inquisitive spirit. Topics like ‘light’ and ‘heat’ are learned from candle-glass experiments; botany is iodine-on-leaf test; and chemistry with ingredients like vinegar and baking soda.
Kumar says corporation schools in the city have been open to her ideas. Children improve social skills by interacting with their peers. The real driver, she says, is the general misconception about state board science syllabus not being good enough. “When I started designing the programme, I found the state board imitating CBSE. It is the teaching method and the way exams are conducted that need change. Only that can inspire real interest in the subject.”
Manoj Suresh, a Class 12 student of Akshar Arbol school who is a volunteer, explains a lesson. Children are told how laws of physics from acceleration to mass affect an action like a football kick. It is taught while they play the game .
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Chennai News / by Amrutha Varshini / TNN / December 03rd, 2016