Odisha: IISER Boot Camp To Strenghten Science Education In KVS

Berhampur: A five-day boot camp for Science and Mathematics Trained Graduate (TG) teachers in the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) is being organised in Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) Berhampur campus, to strengthen science education in school at the grassroots level.

Total 80 selected TG teachers including 40 from the Science and 40 from the mathematics streams are participating in this program running from 22 to 26 July 2024.

Boot Camp aims to inculcate innovative teaching techniques among teachers, give them an exposure to the research environment and develop a better understanding of concepts. It also provides continuous opportunities for self-improvement and learning the latest innovations in advanced teaching methodologies.

The event, sponsored by KVS, commenced with a ceremonial lamp lighting by Prof. Ashok K. Ganguli Director IISER Berhampur, Dr. Shiharan Bose Deputy Commissioner KVS and Deans of IISER Berhampur.

During the inauguration, Prof. Ganguli inspired the participants by emphasizing the importance of continuous learning and innovation in teaching practices and highlighted the role of such programs in enhancing the quality of education and equipping teachers with the latest methodologies to foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills among students.

PG Teachers are fascinated with the Boot Camp and enjoy learning science through activities to widen their exposure to latest discoveries and current progress in scientific fields. Teachers were exposed to explore state-of-the-art research labs at IISER Berhampur, which are dedicated to physics, chemistry, biology, and earth & environmental sciences.

IISER Berhampur faculty members and officers delivering talks on a wide range of topics, including Critical Thinking Teaching in the Post-COVID Era; Art, Math & Science Climate; AI Programming; First Aid Basics; Enhancing Teaching through Open Access Resources; Unravelling the Universe through the Fundamental Forces; Electromagnetism to Optics: Journey to the Centre of the Atom; Geometry: Euclid and Beyond; Tinkering with the Code; Every Rock Has a Story; The Evolution of Mathematics; Genetics and Evolution, etc.

Teachers are fed with ideas to explore curricular science concepts in a manner that would be exciting to students. A large number of activities covering a range of topics from school curricula are demonstrated with detailed explanation of scientific principles behind each. This is considered as a step to improving teaching-learning in classrooms to the benefit of students and meant to get students excited about learning science and fuel their curiosity.

Dr Nihar K. Patra, Librarian and Dr. Prosenjit Mondal, Dean of Academic Affairs at IISER Berhampur, are the coordinators of this boot camp event.