Making Learning fun for Young Students
In India, many schools have started focusing on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) in particular, but such schools are not the norm as yet. A vast majority of small-town, rural and vernacular schools do not have the awareness, means and/or resources to give STEM subjects the required focus.
While awareness is the crucial first step, realizing the importance of such subjects and acting on it is another thing altogether. Even tinier are the number of schools who actively engage with the students to ensure that their interest in these subjects is piqued. While on one hand, India is producing engineers and doctors, there are a large number of students who are still afraid of such subjects on the other. To understand the mindset of these students, we, Nysa and Aditri from TribesForGOOD, interviewed a few students studying in such low-income schools to gauge their interest levels regarding STEM subjects.
The methodology adopted for this research was, as stated earlier, conducting interviews of students between grades 7-9 who go to government schools in India. On an analysis of their answers, multiple commonalities were noticed, the major highlight among them being their dislike towards Science.
Still, almost every child had one favorite chapter and interesting opinions on why certain chapters were their favourite. For example, Nitin said, “Crop, Production and Management (is my favourite) as it is easily understood and it is interesting as well. It has plants and trees, something that I personally like.”
Another trend noticed was that almost 75% of the students’ favourite chapters were from biology, owing to the drawings and diagrams in such chapters.When asked about their favourite subject, 3 out of 4 students said that it was English. In their perception, poems make English more interesting and Science could get equally fascinating if it had poems. Another major finding was that a lot of students seem to lose interest in Science due to long answers. It was noticed that shorter answers made chapters easier to understand for the students which could lead to them liking those topics; they ultimately seek ‘easier ways of understanding.’
Additionally, all the respondents agreed that doing experiments, having cooking sessions, gardening or going to a planetarium would make the subject more exciting. The exception was Ashwini, who said, “My Science teacher says that we should be careful with materials used in experiments, and I may mess up something, hence I’m scared to conduct experiments.”
Lastly, when asked for their inputs on teaching methods which could help them get excited about such subjects, the students said that teaching using diagrams, activities, drawings, quizzes and jokes would all be helpful.
The responses from the interviews conducted prove that experiments, quizzes and videos are how students would enjoy classes and gain interest in STEM subjects gradually, which is opposed to the typical teaching methods adopted in a majority of schools today.
As the advancement of technology plays a huge role in the current generation’s education, students should be given ample exposure to work and learn from the internet to contribute to their learning. While many students still have a fear when it comes to STEM subjects, they also feel connected to subjects about the environment and other things which they see around themselves.
Schools should be able to equip students with knowledge which should quench their curiosity and aid in future scope. Additionally, teachers and students should conduct experiments on a regular basis instead of encouraging students to stick to rote learning from the textbooks provided.
Authors: Aditi is a student at Sloka The Hyderabad Waldorf School and Nysa is a student at Prabhavati Padamshi Soni International Junior College.