mhrd brainstorming meeting july 4 2014 best dpr modified proposal for national mission on teacher...

BEST–HBCSE–Oct 2013 – modified for MHRD Jul2014

BEST – Detailed Project ReportDraft by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education

(with inputs from DST – NCSTC, Eklavya and Vigyan Prasar)

Modified Proposal for

National Mission on Teacher Professional Developmentsubmitted to MHRD, July 2014

1. Introduction

The Government has the responsibility of ensuring quality education for all students in the country, high quality of teachers at all levels of education, monitoring of the educational status and needs, and anticipating and providing for them. India is in an enviable position of having a large population of potentially creative and productive young people wanting to contribute to S&T. Several studies of students' ideas about science and scientists has revealed that Indian students have a positive image of science.

Over the years several initiatives have been made for the attraction of talent to study of science. However, adequate attention has not been paid to improve the quality science education in the country. No matter how suitable the curricular materials are, the teacher plays a crucial in enhancing the quality of science learning among students in the primary, secondary and tertiary classrooms. Steps are urgently needed to strengthen the teaching-learning of science at all levels in the country. Given that almost 92% of those in the school going age do not go to college, the most effective way to improve learning in science and mathematics is by addressing school teachers through appropriate schemes. Yet, in spite of initiating several programmes for professional development of teachers of Science and Mathematics, the quality of science education has been far below the desired levels. Most programmes have addressed far too few of the over 6.5 million school teachers.

Building Educators for Science Teaching, BEST, is one of the most expansive Schemes yet envisaged to address a significant fraction of school science and mathematics teachers through suitable incentives and collaborative organisational mechanisms. Through the processes initiated as part of the implementation, the BEST Scheme aims to create a climate for sustained professional development of science and mathematics teachers. These include building communities of teachers, pedagogy experts and science and mathematics content experts to encourage and support committed teachers in their effective teaching-learning practices.

Organisation of this report

Section 1: Building the case for Teacher Professional Development

The following section begins with a brief examination of the major lacunae in science education and the important considerations for effective science education. Subsection 1.3 gives a summary of the past schemes for recognition of science teachers. Subsection 1.4 highlights the importance of hands-on activities, demonstrations, experiments and investigative projects in science teaching-learning. In this context the subsection also summarises the efforts of various Government organisations and people science movements

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(PSMs) to build a culture of projects and innovation among school students and teachers. Section 1.5 argues for building collaborative teacher groups across educational levels and suggests models to build such collaborations.

Section 2: Goals of the Scheme

Section 3: Gathering inputs for the scheme, building collaborations

The section summarises the steps taken – the workshops and consultative meetings held – to gather inputs on the expectations of teacher communities and educational authorities from the Scheme as well as the organisations that will support the implementation of the Scheme in terms of identifying and building collaborative communities of educators.

Section 4: Structures and processes for planning, implementing and monitoring

Section 4 details the processes of the BEST Scheme in terms of the mechanisms for implementation of the Scheme through local, zonal and national collaborations between educational authorities, educational institutions at all levels and S&T institutions. The section includes organisations envisaged to take on the responsibilities of implementation of the Scheme, and groups formed by members from partner institutions that will support these organisations. Criteria for such organisations and groups their terms of reference are also listed. The last sub-section (4.6) details the criteria and processes for identification of educators.

Section 5: Work flows and time schedules

Section 6: The budget

1.1 State of science teaching in schools: addressing the lacunae

Science education at the school level in the country faces several problems. It is largely textbook dependent, and teachers often utilize rote learning and traditional teaching methods, which emphasize ‘chalk and talk’. Activity based learning or inquiry based methods are absent in classrooms as teachers are confused how to implement these pedagogies or are not confident that they can implement them in their classrooms. The pre-service and in-service training of teachers does not equip them with the skills required, and teachers are unable to create learning situations, or raise investigative questions. Thus there is a large gap between the curricular pronouncements and the ground realities. One finds that there is absolutely no experimentation done by students, and even activities tend to be read out. In rare instances demonstrations replace experimentation, but these are also done in a prescriptive manner without student participation or discussion. This results in a situation where both the theory and experimentation integral to science suffer. There is no encouragement of discussion or argumentation or student talk that may encourage theoretical development nor is there any opportunity to develop experimental skills such as observation, designing of experiences or drawing conclusions.

Another problem of science education in schools is that it is not contextualized and the role of the home and the knowledge students have already gained is not used as a resource. The nature of science presented is that of facts and information to be transmitted. The authority of the textbook is unchallenged and teachers themselves are used to instructions given to them in

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a top-down manner. This results in dis-empowerment of both students and teachers.

Addressing the problems requires both an understanding of the roots of the problems and provision of a support system to teachers to help them empower themselves and also their students.

1.2 Dimensions of science teacher expertise

1.2.1 Understanding science content

There may still be a dwindling number of teachers in state board schools who have not studied Science beyond class X, but are expected to teach all subjects upto class VIII including Science. However, even those teachers who have are graduates in Science subjects do not have any depth of understanding because of the common practice of studying just for the examinations. This means that all teachers need considerable support in order to develop a basic understanding of the concepts that they are supposed to be teaching. Without a firm grasp of the content, they are often found to hold alternate conceptions and thus need to learn not just new techniques in pedagogy but also content knowledge.

However, the teachers are aware of their own short-comings and are always thrilled when they get an opportunity to up-date their knowledge and skills. It is important to mention skills here because of the off-hand attitude to ‘doing practicals’ even in colleges in a cookbook mode. Most teachers would have never done the experiments mentioned in text-books and hence are wary of trying them out without some guidance. Hence, a comprehensive training which looks into content enrichment, skill enrichment and pedagogy needs to be worked out for the majority of the teachers.

1.2.2 Understanding the nature of science (NOS)

Science is generally presented in our text-books as a collection of indisputable facts. Generally there is also some discussion on the ‘method’ of science which lists steps like observation, generalization, etc., but this is never actually linked to the content being taught. Further, the nature of science which comes through in this is a naïve positivist approach which is then at odds with the general discussions on scientific issues in society. Another problem is that since we rarely get to go into the history of development of concepts, a likely opening to understanding the nature of Science is not availed of. Thus, we need to overtly bring out the nature, history and philosophy of Science during trainings, and get the teachers to figure out how they can cover these aspects in the class-room. This also makes these issues lively, interesting and gives a glimpse of real life science. This is contrast with the distilled theory of the textbooks.

1.2.3 Experiences in hands-on science

Eklavya has had decades of experience with teachers getting their students to do experiments in the classroom. The HSTP (Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme) has shown that it is possible for experiments relevant to the topics covered in middle-school science to be carried out in class-rooms with easily available materials. Conducting these experiments and pondering on the observations is a step towards appreciating how to get to theories from observations and this leads them towards the nature of Science.

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But, the teachers have to try out all the experiments themselves during trainings and develop a new set of skills on how to make arrangements for the entire class to carry these out. They also have to get an idea of the variations that arise when two dozen students take readings, how to judge experimental errors and how to deal with all of these. After gaining some expertise, it is likely that they themselves will be able to design experiments that make use of locally available materials, or come up with other innovations.

1.2.4 Teaching to learn (Reflective practice)

Reflection on their own practices among teachers is facilitated by providing platforms for teachers to share their work with other teachers and knowledgeable science educators. The skills of effective reflection are also built by encouraging teachers to provide critical feedback to their peers on their work. The BEST Portal, Local Teachers Seminars and Conferences will provide the varied opportunities for teachers to make their practices explicit, document them, share them with their peers and give and receive critical feedback. The teacher groups and the association of mentors and teachers also create the needed non-threatening atmosphere to encourage reflective teaching practices.

1.2.5 Teachers' beliefs, practices and professional development

Research in teacher professional development shows that beliefs and attitudes of teachers change only when teachers interact with their peers, share and discuss their experiences. Teachers internalise a new vision of education, shared by the community of teachers to which they belong – the learning community of practitioners. When they see this shared vision as a real possibility that can be achieved in their own classrooms, then the teachers evolve. Thus, they evolve through participation in their teaching communities, sharing experiences and practices that are in accordance with their shared new vision. Teacher learning is facilitated when teachers articulate beliefs and their situated knowledge (about content, teaching and students) in a community that supports negotiation and building on beliefs and knowledge while also provides challenges for reflection. According to NCFTE, 2010,

There is no opportunity for teachers to examine their own biases and beliefs and reflect on their own experiences as part of classroom discourse and enquiry. ...Apart from conceptual and pedagogical aspects, existing programmes need to develop certain attitudes, dispositions, habits and interests in a teacher. (page 12)

The BEST Scheme proposes to initiate processes that help in formation and sustenance of communities of teachers who follow exemplary teaching practices and contribute to the new vision of the development of professional competence among teachers. This would require not only provision of motivational incentives to teachers beyond professional satisfaction, but also suitable infrastructure and resources to support teachers communities. It is through these communities of teacher practitioners that exemplary teaching practices will be generated, sustained and spread. The Scheme conceptualises such communities and plans its implementation.

1.2.6 Elementary school science teachers: their role in education and needs

Elementary school is important for two reasons. One is that basic skills in all subjects have to be developed in the children at this stage. And the other is that, given current drop out rates,

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many children do not study beyond this level. The students learning at this level needs to be planned in a holistic manner. Besides, whatever is planned in the general curriculum, the elementary school teacher has to contextualize the material for the students because the children need to start learning from their concrete surroundings. Hence, it is important that teachers be trained to the required level of autonomy and that they be given the freedom to select the materials and the best order in which to cover the concepts with their students.

1.2.7 Building a professional community: Learning from peers

The professional development of teachers needs much improvement. There are no organizations which bring teachers together for professional communication, and there is no sense of empowerment which comes from being part of a group. We learn best along with a peer group at all stages and so it is important that we build networks of teachers who can learn from each other’s experiences and support capacity building at all levels.

1.2.8 Self esteem

The present system in which the teacher often appears to be lower in a professional hierarchy is obviously not conducive to developing self esteem. The respect that used to be earlier accorded to teachers is their due for the important work assigned to them. However, in the present context, taking away their autonomy and bringing in management reporting to monitor their work often ends up demotivating the good teachers. Building networks, which can lobby for conditions necessary for successful teaching-learning and introducing peer evaluations and collaborative working would go a long way in developing their esteem and improving the quality of work that they do.

1.3 Schemes for recognition of science teachers

There are several awards for teachers at the National and State levels. Some of these are prestigious, high value, and nationwide. However, these are for hundreds of teachers. Others are restricted to the jurisdiction of a few States. None of these awards has been conceptualised on a scale as large as the BEST Scheme, nor with the goal to sustain professional networks of science and mathematics teachers. The brief outline of the MHRD Framework programmes, linked institutions and some awards given in Annexure-A reveals the programmatic and institutional links that can be used to reach out to potential teachers for the BEST Scheme. Information regarding the NTSC of the NCSTC and some important awards is also included in Annexure-A.

1.4 Towards activities and experiments in school science

There is a lot of diversity among Indian students in terms of various factors, ranging from socio-economic backgrounds including languages spoken, class, regional, religious and caste or tribal affiliations to individual physical, mental and behavioural differences. However it is possible that some classrooms are quite homogeneous while others are not. The diversity in Indian classrooms has increased with the focus on universalisation of elementary education, whereby previously marginalised groups have gained more access to schooling. In this scenario there is a need to use a variety of pedagogical methods in school to meet the diverse needs of diverse students. Knowledge is constructed when a learner interacts with physical

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and social environment. Science is one way of looking at the world and the content that is taught in the science class is interpreted by pupils in accordance to their prior views. Hence the teaching of science has to take into account the contexts of the students, their backgrounds and experiences so that science learning can be meaningful, holistic and relevant.

If the traditional methods such as the usual chalk and talk method in the classrooms are supplemented with relevant activities, projects, demonstrations, discussions and experiments, especially in science classes, students are more likely to be actively engaged in the teaching-learning process. It is widely accepted that becoming educated is not simply a matter of accumulating information; it involves the gradual induction of students into new perspectives on the world and the development of new problem-solving skills and new ways of using language for representing knowledge and making sense of experience.

1.4.1 Demonstrations for meaningful science learning

Demonstrations in science classrooms can and should be used to supplement the traditional methods of teaching. When used appropriately as a pedagogic method they can be effective in increasing students' participation in class. The teacher can both prime the students to discuss the demonstration that will follow and can also discuss the observations once it is completed. One such teaching strategy is termed 'Predict, Observe and Explain' (POE), developed by White and Gunstone (1992). Before the demonstration students are asked to make some predictions about a phenomenon and these are followed by careful observation and explanation of the same. This method helps the teacher to understand the students' existing theories or ideas, and helps the student to think critically and explain the results which may be different from their predictions. Thus demonstrations can be modified to exploit the students' arguments and serve as an important pedagogical tool.

Demonstrations are de-emphasised in activity based learning however they are essential as there maybe many experiments/activities that students cannot perform on their own, owing to factors such as the involvement of expensive resources, or these being too dangerous or complex for students. Also demonstrations can be used to help students improve their skills of observation, recording and analysis. In his essay, Katz (2002) says 'an effective demonstration should promote good observation skills, stimulate thought, arouse curiosity, present aspects of complex concepts on a concrete level, and, most important, be the basis for class discussion'.

1.4.2 Activities, experiments and investigatory projects

Learning science can be an outcome of different kinds of hands-on activities. Some may be simple exploratory activities or surveys, and one learns a wide variety of skills from these activities, such as collecting, recording, analysing and documenting data. Experiments and investigatory projects are necessary in two complementary ways. Firstly even when experiments are done in a lackadaisical manner wherein the outcomes are well-known, they are still useful in learning a particular set of skills – handling equipment, learning to process the data and present it (draw graphs, diagrams, etc.). Secondly, investigatory projects give students a chance to try out the method of science in order to find the answers to questions that puzzle them. These projects have the additional advantage of the possibility of breaching disciplinary boundaries.

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1.4.3 Classroom dialogues to support science learning

Classroom interaction can take the form of rote, recitation, instruction, discussion and dialogue. Research has indicated that Indian teachers make very limited use of dialogic methods and also that teachers rather than encouraging a dialogue, tend to mute students' voices in their classrooms as these may pose a threat to the knowledge and authority of the teacher. In such a situation students too tend to be afraid to give answers of which they are unsure and may never present their experiences that conflict with what is being presented in science classes. Thus students may hold on to alternate views as there is no opportunity to express these.

In a science class, where there are diverse learners, a dialogic approach can help bring about different perspectives and voices. Dialogue does not mean a teacher framing closed-ended questions with the students competitively trying to answer the questions in monosyllabic answers. Dialogue implies that both teachers and students present their ideas and contribute to the teaching-learning process. Classroom interactions can be between teacher-student, teacher-group, teacher-class and vice versa as well. The teacher has an important role in guiding the conversation purposefully towards reasoning and inquiry and active engagement in dialogue, argumentation and/or discussions helps students learning. Thus, equipping the science class not merely with experiments and activities, but reinforcing them with discussions and dialogue can help in the science learning process. Teachers need to be supported to create classrooms that are rich in relevant dialogues that will lead to student learning. This requires teachers to have a deeper knowledge of the subject under discussion than they normally have, and the confidence gained through experience and the knowledge. They can be initiated into such ecologies of learning by participating in peer discussions with mentor support.

1.4.4 People's science associations, science museums, clubs

Since 2003, the National Teachers’ Science Congress has been providing a biennial forum to teachers of the country to enhance their level of scientific awareness. It is a round-table to communicate and share innovative concepts / methodologies of science education. A special emphasis is on proving applications of localized knowledge in respective field of science and technology through eight cross cutting facets as

1. Hands-on Activities based on scientific principles2. Exploratory Modules/studies including written material / documents developed by the

teachers3. Experimental Study on scientific concepts, processes or phenomena 4. Use of Resource Material5. Multimedia Packages / Software Packages/ IT based Modules / Improvised

Apparatus/Kits6. Evaluation/Assessment techniques 7. Action Research by Teachers, and8. Curriculum Reform

Teachers are invited to develop their papers for the NTSC through a research framework with a emphasis on Understanding different sciences in relation to each other, linking knowledge of science at different levels, and correlating sciences beyond the classrooms/ innovative methodologies. The BEST Scheme will strengthen this effort by supporting a tens of thousands of teachers academically and hundreds of them financially to present improved

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quality of work at the congress in larger numbers, from all parts of the country.

The National Council of Science Museums (NCSM) manages 25 science museums/centres across India in addition to the Central Research & Training Laboratory, in Kolkata. The Council has developed 23 Science Centres especially in rural areas and provides hands on learning opportunity to rural children. These science centres provide an experiment based learning environment to promote the spirit of inquiry, creative talent and scientific temper. This is through exhibits and activities; indoor and outdoor in addition to demonstrations and training programmes. The facilities of the NCSM as well as their trained resource personnel can be used to mentor teachers in the BEST Scheme.

1.4.5 Projects in NCSC, NTSC and INSPIRE

INSPIRE"Innovation of Science Pursuit for Inspire Research (INSPIRE)" is an inclusive program of the Department of Science & Technology to attract young talent to science. The details of the INSPIRE scheme are given in Annexure-B. Nationwide in reach and conducted on a scale as large as planned in the BEST Scheme. Hence, it offers lessons for the implementation of the BEST Scheme. However, while young students, already highly motivated in science, with high self-esteem, have a relatively short sojourn in the education system. They are at a stage where they can be inspired even through a single Camp that exposes them to innovative ideas and inspiring scientists. Any interaction model for teachers will have to be sustained through a process that includes building their professional esteem and collaborative mentoring. This will be taken into account in the BEST Scheme.

NCSTC InitiativesThe National Council for S&T Communication endeavours to stimulate scientific and technological temper in the country and coordinate and steer such efforts. Among its list of activities (included in Annexure-B) are providing short-term training in science communication to school teachers and activists of S&T based voluntary organisations, and giving awards and recognition for outstanding science communicators. Besides, NCSTC offers programmes for building a variety of relevant skills among science teachers and activists of science based voluntary organizations. Significantly, the NCSTC coordinates with State Councils and networks of S&T based organisations. Its activities, database of organisations carrying out exemplary work in science education and its active network make it the ideal organisation in the country to implement the BEST Scheme.

The NCSTC, through the Children's Science Congress organised each year, provides an opportunity for all children between 10 and 17 years of age to work in teams under a guide on an identified theme, select a problem from the neighbourhood, develop a hypothesis and conduct field research. The BEST Scheme is synergistic with this effort, as active participation in the Congress can be one of the criteria to identify promising science educators, while the processes of BEST is aimed to considerably improve the quality of support provided by teachers in investigative projects.

1.4.6 Vigyan Jathas and People's Science Movements

Three mutually reinforcing functions are served with the involvement of people’s science movements (PSMs). They provide decentralizing partnerships for literacy and adult education. They are important platforms for reaching out to communities beyond formal

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education systems of and related institutional mechanisms of the government. Citizens from all walks of life and levels of preparedness benefit from an inclusive approach of PSMs.

The committed and locally sensitive and grounded science education personnel, who are part of the PSMs would help coalesce communities of science educators envisaged through the BEST initiative. The different efforts of some of the PSMs are listed in Annexure-3.

1.5 Need for collaborative teacher groups across educational levels

One of the main objectives of the BEST Project is to identify and award science and mathematics teachers with interest and commitment in order to create a social space that expands the creative potential of scientists in the country. The award therefore has the following components:

• Financial incentives• Social recognition, roles and responsibilities that enhance the self-esteem of the

committed teachers• An assured community of scientists and mathematicians being available to support and

sustain the teaching communityThus the process of identification is integrated with the creation of a social networking space that gives the award a meaning and fulfils at the same time a strong community that nurtures and sustains a culture of doing science. The project, though prima facie an award scheme, is modelled to create an ecosystem that sustains positive energy for expanding scientific base of the society. A large number of collaborative local groups (over 600 at any point of time) will be created during the project. Some salient aspects of the design are highlighted below.

1.5.1 Citizen science projects

An experience in doing science, however elementary it may be, is essential for science teachers. Most of the current science teachers have gained content knowledge by reading about science as mentioned in 1.2 and seldom by doing science. Though citizen science projects are in the air for over a century, it is the onset of social networking and effective use of the Internet space for communication and collaboration that revitalized the interest. A citizen science project typically involves public participation in an ongoing scientific research. Special projects are already being launched in India as well as abroad to invite students and teachers of science to participate. Citizen science projects, unlike science-fair projects, have a longer duration, continuous engagement and collaboration that could sustain a network of teachers and scientists. As a part the BEST, citizen science projects will be specifically designed collaboratively along with scientists and launched to engage students, teachers and interested citizens. The teachers who take active interest in such projects will be identified for additional roles and responsibilities. A list of actual and possible citizen projects are listed in Section 3.

1.5.2 Vertical integration

A group of collaborating teachers often needs an inflow of ideas and support from experts who are engaged in doing science. Therefore it is envisaged that the process of BEST must have interactions and collaborations with the science and mathematics students, teachers and researchers from colleges, universities and other academic institutions. The primary, secondary and tertiary teachers will also be mutually supporting each other and participate in

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functional networking activities/workshops that take place from time to time. To ensure that the collaboration between science practitioners and science teachers is mutually rewarding, the scheme encourages participation of teachers in ongoing academic work mainly done by the professional scientists. It is expected that such an involvement will help boost the confidence and social standing of science teachers in society. The mechanisms for vertical integration are described in Sections 4 and 5.

1.5.3 Models of integration

(a) Integrating Science and Science Education: The quality of science and mathematics education in the country directly impacts research in science and mathematics by providing the creative resource. Though India has excellent institutions and individuals who do internationally acclaimed quality research in science and mathematics, not many of this section directly impacts the quality of science and mathematics education in the country. Thus there is a need to functionally integrate these two communities, for this integration is mutually rewarding. BEST provides processes to integrate what happens in research labs with what happens in the classrooms.

(b) Integrating scientific ethos into local languages: Most of the science communication happens in the English language, and to expand the base of science communication, it is essential to do science and mathematics in local Indian languages. Some of the best teachers are often left out due to the language barrier. BEST addresses a strategy to create science communication in local languages and does not exclude those who are not fluent in English.

(c) Participation of Undergraduate Students: Science teachers come from the undergraduate colleges in the country. The image and knowledge of science they transmit to children depends a lot on the quality of undergraduate education. Therefore, it is important to provide an experience of doing science at this stage. BEST provides programs and opportunities for the undergraduate students to participate in doing science as well as interact directly with science teachers at the block and district level.

(d) Creation of a sustainable self-rewarding multi-lingual social network is the essence of the BEST project integration model. Transparency in communication among all stakeholders provides the integrating force. A self-sustaining social network among them must necessarily cross a critical mass in each region/state. For this, the project involves two interacting communities: a community of teachers and a community of academics. Engagement driven processes will be used for identification of BEST teachers, as much as to expand the functional network of all the stake holders. A large network, inclusive of all stakeholders of the country, will be brought to a single platform. To enable community formation and to sustain a functional social networking, the project will use a multi-lingual digital platform developed by using the state-of-the-art ICT infrastructure.

1.5.4 Development of a vertically integrated multi-step model for BEST

A vertically integrated operational structure for sustainable grass-root level science engagement that integrates science and science education is proposed for optimization of

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resource mobilization. Right from a National level panel to local working groups, partnerships are built among those in science and in science education associated with several national, State and regional institutes of excellence. These partnership will enable a network of teachers and science education mentors at the grass-roots. Mentors will work with 30,000 teachers each year in schools at the Cluster, Block and District levels. In a period of five years about 150,000 teachers will be engaged by an expanding team of mentors and mentor teachers (Figure 1). The process of nomination and identification of teachers is elaborated in Section 4 and 5.

2. Goals of BEST

Building Educators for Science Teaching, BEST, is one of the most expansive Schemes yet envisaged to address a significant fraction of school science and mathematics teachers. The Scheme aims to do more. Through suitable incentives and collaborative organisational mechanisms, the BEST Scheme also aims to create a climate for sustained professional development of science and mathematics teachers. The mechanisms include building communities of teachers, pedagogy experts and science and mathematics content experts to encourage and support committed teachers in their effective teaching-learning practices.

2.1 Recognition and support for science and mathematics learning through projects

The HSTP (Hoshangabad Science Teaching Programme) has shown that it is possible for experiments relevant to the topics covered in middle-school science to be carried out in class-rooms with easily available materials. By conducting experiments and discussing the observations, teachers and students begin to appreciate what it means to do Science. However, teachers can only initiate such activities when they feel assured of expert support in science and mathematics. Through the incentives and processes initiated in the BEST Scheme, teachers will be encouraged to propose and carry out investigative projects of 2 to 3 months duration with their students. They will be encouraged to work collaboratively with their peers and will be adequately supported through mentoring by experts.

2.2 Initiating and sustaining collaborative teacher groups across educational levels

Collaborative engagements between teacher groups, mentors, which come with expertise in science and/or science education and students on one level, and between schools, higher education institutions and scientific institutions at another level, can create the necessary climate for improved science and mathematics education. The incentives and processes of the BEST Scheme will encourage formation and sustenance of collaborative communities of teacher groups across educational levels.

2.3 Towards Professional development and self esteem among communities of teachers

Research in teacher professional development shows that beliefs and attitudes of teachers change only when teachers interact with their peers, share and discuss their experiences. They also derive their self-esteem from the standing of the community they belong to. The BEST Scheme proposes to initiate processes that help in formation and sustenance of communities of teachers who follow exemplary teaching practices and contribute to the development of professional competence. Through provision of motivational incentives to teachers and

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suitable infrastructure and resources to support teacher communities, the BEST Scheme conceptualises such communities and plans its implementation.

3. Designing the processes

The structure and mechanisms of the BEST Scheme have been evolved through consultative meetings, involving stakeholders from a few States/UT: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Chennai and Puducherry. The mode of interactions were different in all the areas.

3.1 Inputs from the workshop cum consultative meeting at Puducherry

A one-day workshop at Pondicherry was organised on 14 August, 2013 by Vigyan Prasar and HBCSE also participated in it. Several eminent educationists, scientists, teachers and members of teacher associations from Puducherry, Chennai and other parts of Tamil Nadu State participated and contributed to several critical ideas. Four groups addressed the four major questions related to the implementation of the BEST Scheme. The first group concurred that it was essential to build teacher communities and sustain them.

Identifying teachersThe scheme should address not only the teachers who were already exemplary, but also those with potential to be exemplary teachers. It was felt that teaching-learning innovations need to be communicated to all the teachers through several modes, including the social media. The important criteria for identification of teachers were cited as evidence of interest in and dedication to teaching, a tendency to work voluntarily, evidence of contribution to pedagogy and out-of-the-box teaching strategies, abilities to structure and conduct hands–on activities, positive feedback from students and peer reviews, inputs of the headmaster, willingness to learn, and put in consistent effort over time. The group emphasised that the process must equally address rural and urban areas, as well as regional languages. It was suggested that the number identified teachers could be a proportion of the population covered.

What should be the role of mentor agencies? Mentors and mentor agencies were expected to provide academic support to develop skills, confidence in content and pedagogy, in addition to providing administrative support for the processes of the scheme. It was suggested that the mentor agency could be well-recognized and district-based organisation/ body, having contacts with a a large number of local teachers. A committee was suggested at the district level to easily provide frequent support to teachers. Notably, the group stressed that teachers needed to be supported in a non-judgemental way and a 1: 20 ratio for mentor to mentee would be adequate.

What are the types of Incentives that will interest teachers?While a few suggested securing an increment in the identified teacher's salary, others felt that the scheme should also recognise the effort of those who had contributed to the teacher's efforts in improving teaching-learning, which would include students. The recognition should be conferred by well-known and respected experts in the field. The recipient should be given cash awards and be allowed to decide on how to use it – for research / publication / travel, etc. The award should enable adequate exposure and visibility for the work done, by supporting travel and communication even at the block / cluster / district level. The agency at the local level should enable such dissemination.

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It was opined that an initial start-up fund to teachers would go a long way in helping them innovate in teaching, based on which incentives could follow later. Incentives should also be provided to the school of the awardee to buy equipment / establish a science park in school for the school or the area. The group felt that teachers critically need continued support and follow-up even after the award. Incentives may be in the form of tours to other countries to enrich learning / meet eminent scientists. The follow up could also come from a forum of awardees created to sustain interactions. Awards could also be given to institutions for collective action.

BEST should help promote the culture of experimentation / criticism / design of experiments / writing essential to promote innovation among teachers and students. Reiterating the suggestion in relation to selection criteria, this group also stressed the importance of documenting the innovations by teachers and sharing through all media, including a portal. Teacher participants in NCSC, NTSC and local science forums were suggested to be included in the process.

It was suggested that the DIET should be involved in an active way rather than merely in its organisational capacity. It was felt that DIETs have a list of teachers they can involve and form communities of teachers in about 10 schools as a unit.

3.2 Inputs from the consultative meeting at Mumbai

A meeting was held at HBCSE, Mumbai of about 50 participants over 1.5 days on 27-28, August, 2013. Besides the DST and HBCSE members, there were members from Maharashtra SCERT, several DIETs, Indian Institute of Education, Pune, the Maharashtra Prathamik Shikshan Parishad, large school systems like Rayat Shikshan Sanstha and Shivaji education Society, several teacher associations at the school and higher education levels, voluntary agencies committed to science and mathematics education like Marathi Vidnyan Parishad (MVP), NavNirmiti, Aapanach and Jidnyasa Trust, as well as GUJCOST from Gujarat and RVEC from Karnataka.

A large number of issues were raised and discussed. These included focusing on identifying “motivated” teachers and teacher educators, facilities needed to enhance professional esteem, characterising motivated teachers, their expectations from the Scheme, processes of establishing partnership between teachers and school administration, optimal number of awardees, etc.

The Scheme would be open to “regular” teachers from “recognized” schools, including primary, middle and secondary levels, and would not include teacher educators. It was felt that the award process that would address improving self esteem, and encourage best practices, would need to generate collaborative local level teacher communities, may include citizen science projects as a platform for academic interactions. Motivated retired teachers and voluntary educators would serve as mentors to the awardees in the Scheme.

One of the important foci of the sessions was to understand the current practices of teacher professional development programmes, the processes that are and can potentially be used to identify and engage teachers, and the roles that could be played the different organizations represented at the meeting. It was sought to document the work done so far.

The presentations revealed that Maharashtra State has an active SCERT and 33 DIETs. Every

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teacher visits a DIET at least once a year. They could, through their Innovation / Evaluation & Research Section help identify the potential “BEST Teacher”. The voluntary organisations and school systems worked with educational authorities at the district, block and cluster levels, and had a database of motivated teachers and teacher groups at the elementary school level. The MVP confers awards on motivated science teachers, and has a database of awardees and potential awardees.

In Karnataka, the Chamarajnagar Resource Centre and Knowledge Development Centre, IISc are well known facilitators in science education. The RV Educational Consortium from Bengaluru works closely with Karnataka Knowledge Commission, Karnataka SCERT and DIETs and 19 important agencies. Cluster level meetings of teachers and educational authorities are a regular feature in Karnataka, and can be useful for identifying potential awardees.

Some of the evidences to be sought while deciding criteria for nomination to BEST Awards were listed as: positive feedback from students, works with colleagues and shares credit, is a project guide and inspires children to perform in exhibitions, contributes to “green action”, “community activities”, etc. beyond school time, has ability to communicate in local languages, works to improve school environment, develops innovative teaching methods in science, encourage questioning by students, participates in academic teacher fora, gets positive opinions from parents, is regular in teaching, is a continuous learner, has leadership qualities and participates in current science events / campaigns.

3.3 Consolidation of guidelines for structure and processes for BEST Awards

The structure, processes and guidelines for identification of BEST Awards as well as ideas about the nature of BEST awards emerged from the meetings at Puducherry and HBCSE. These have been incorporated suitably in the following Sections.

4. Processes of BEST: The Awards, Organisations, Linkages

4.1 Awards: Need for processes

The Building Educators for Science Teaching Awards Scheme has three levels of Awards: Level-1, Level-2 and Level-3. Each level is a recognition of the level of commitment and contribution of the educator working within the formal school system to science and mathematics learning among the students and the community.

The awards at the higher level go to those who give documentary evidences of their commitment to education in science and mathematics. Higher level awards are expected to encourage educators to work in collaboration with their peers and mentors and follow research based practices in teaching-learning. Generating the evidences to help identify the awardees for the higher level awards is built into the processes of the BEST Scheme. For instance, the potential beneficiaries of the Level-2 and Level-3 awards are expected to have generated documentation, and shared their work through seminars as well as print and digital media.

As the level of award increases, the criteria for eligibility of the awards become increasingly

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based on documentary and other evidences generated collaboratively and through transparent processes. For instance, at the Level-1, the nominees are expected to describe their work, including one or more of the following points: (a) innovative strategies used in teaching-learning of science, (b) specific role played in guiding students' projects, and (c) activities related to science education conducted in local community. On the other hand, for the awards at Level-2 and Level-3, nominees should have won the Level-1 BEST Award in the current or earlier years, actively participated in group projects and science events after winning the Level 1 award, presented their work and provided critical feedback on the work of other awardees, submitted teaching/ learning resources at the BEST Portal, and feedback from community (peers, parents, principal and students).

BEST Award Level-1, given by nomination based on satisfying given criteria, carries a certificate and cash of Rs.5000/- per awardee.

BEST Award Level-2 demands evidences of collaborative work and its documentation, from teacher groups or individual teachers as well as from their mentors. All individuals and institutions, who submit evidences of actively promoting collaborative improvement of teaching-learning of science and mathematics, are rewarded. It carries cash awards as follows:

• Rs.25,000/- for each awardee teacher or teacher group, • Rs.25,000/- cash award per awardee teacher for the school, • Rs.10,000/- cash award per awardee teacher to the local organisation that facilitates

the science and mathematics activities and collaborative interactions in order to improve their facilities, and

• Rs.5000/- per awardee teacher for the mentor.

BEST Award Level-3, rewards those among the Level-2 awardees in the current or previous years, who show evidences of exemplary practices worthy of sharing in National and International fora. Hence, they are provided the necessary funds to participate in such conferences. They are given opportunities to develop their ideas by placement for about a month in suitable S&T institutions or those working in S&T education in the country. They will also be eligible for selection to teacher teams for participation in international exchange programmes.

4.2 Summary of processes

This sub-section describes the organisations, structures, and processes that will build and strengthen the mechanisms for improving the professional competence and social standing of science educators through the grand alliance between MHRD and DST. The Scheme will set up structures and mechanisms to support and sustain collaboration between educational bodies and S&T organisations at the Centre and State levels.

4.3 Strengthening educational organisations and channels

Implementation of the BEST Scheme to reach even 2% of the school teacher population of over 6.5 million will require a series of structures that reach all the way to the grass roots. DST as well as the MHRD have been successfully involved in schemes that reach all corners of the country, though so far largely through mutually independent channels.

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Several State institutions, like SCERT and DIETS are involved in pre- and in-service teacher education programmes. Participation of these institutions in the processes of the BEST Scheme would help in building their own capacity for science teacher education. Besides, the infrastructure and resources of the institutions can be optimally built up and utilised for consolidation, follow-up and documentation of the efforts.

In some States, like in Karnataka State, there are award schemes for teachers, with the associated teacher identification processes and teacher programmes. Building on the synergies of other teacher development schemes that address different issues can lead to coherent and holistic teacher development processes.

Teachers often have to balance the different tasks assigned to them, which may be at times conflicting. They struggle to allocate time between the administrative demands of school systems and their academic commitment to students learning. Involving the educational bodies governing the schools in the BEST Scheme, such as educational authorities of the State(UT) and the major major national level School Boards, like CBSE, would help towards focusing teachers' priorities on student learning. As a result, the BEST Scheme will be able to better support and enhance the educators' roles within the education system. Besides, the education authorities, some of which have relinquished their academic roles will be encouraged, through collaboration with committed S&T personnel, to contribute academically to teacher development. This will help strengthen existing teacher development efforts to serve long term sustenance of the effects of the BEST Scheme for science educators. It will also serve as a relevant model at the State level to include teachers of subjects other than science and mathematics.

4.4 Mechanisms and methods for collaborative implementation

The processes of the BEST Scheme attempt to set up collaborative mechanisms between the Central and State S&T institutions and the Educational bodies of the State and Centre. This implies that education and science can now come together, so the teacher may be able to collaborate and learn not only from teachers of pedagogy, but also professionally update their science content knowledge and build pedagogic subject content in collaboration with science mentors. The mechanisms set up in the Scheme will help teachers network professionally with their peers in their vicinity. But that is not all. It will also create channels for teachers to network with their peers from all levels of education – from primary school to colleges and Universities, as well as with scientists and educationists around the country. In fact, the Scheme will enable a limited number to network professionally with their peers from around the world.

The mechanisms for identification of the beneficiaries of the BEST Scheme involve Hubs and Working Groups. Committed individuals from the Hubs partner with other individuals in the State, District, etc., who have been contributing to science and mathematics education and dissemination in schools and the community at large. Hubs set up partnerships with all institutions and organisations from which the individuals come, and that support science education. Hubs provide the infrastructural and organisational support for the activities of Working Groups, collaborative teacher development, and digital documentation and sharing. Working Groups of individuals with a history of contributing to science education at the State or local regions, design the mechanisms for teacher collaborations and for identification of

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potential teacher groups and individual teachers engaged in science and mathematics education for the BEST Award.

4.5 Hubs, Working Groups and terms of reference

The Hubs and Working Groups that will initiate collaborative mechanisms for a national commitment to science and mathematics education, and in the process facilitate the implementation of the BEST Awards Scheme through the length and breadth of the country, are described below under suitable subsections. The work flow and time schedules are separately given in Section 5.

4.5.1. The National Working Group (NWG)

The National Working Group (NWG) is the apex body that oversees the implementation of BEST Educator Awards each year at all levels: Level-1, Level-2 and Level-3. The Working Groups at the Zonal level - about 30 in the country - are accountable to the NWG. The constitution and terms of reference of the NWG are indicated below.

A. NWG Constitution

(i) Project coordinators: MHRD & DST (?) (ii) Members will be "invited" by Project coordinators, especially from Apex Funding

Agency.(iii) There will be 10 to 20 members drawn from the following institutions:(iv) Stakeholders and partners: NCERT, UGC, DBT, CSIR, NCSM - may be ex-officio

members(v) Institutional Members: from one or more institutions, or nationally known agencies,

engaged in Educational R&D: HBCSE, TISS, Eklavya, IISER, etc.(vi) School Board Members: from one or more of the National School systems: CBSE,

KVS, Navodaya Vidyalayas, AEES, others(vii) State representatives: Representative members from a couple of State educational

and S&T bodies(viii) The Group will be reconstituted every two years with one third new members being

inducted.

B. NWG Terms of Reference

(i) Oversee and finalise the announcement of the BEST Award Scheme, including modes of advertisement, content of the announcements and nomination format. Publicise criteria for identification of awardees.

(ii) Identify about 30 Zonal Hubs – institutions – around the country, and nominate the contact persons/ groups for all further correspondence with regard to the BEST Scheme.

(iii) Ratify Level-1 and Level-2 BEST awardees intimated by the Zonal Hubs.(iv) Identify Level-3 BEST Educator awardees from nominations forwarded by Zonal

Hubs.(v) Identify and oversee the Level-3 awards, especially the exchange and placement

schemes for Level-3 awardees.(vi) Set up a Review of the BEST Scheme to appraise the effectiveness of the Scheme and

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suggest corrective measures.

4.5.2. Zonal Hubs (ZH)

A Zonal Hub (ZH) is responsible for implementing the Scheme in the region under its jurisdiction. There will be about 30 such Hubs covering all States and UTs of the country. Depending on the density of schools, each ZH may include districts beyond a State boundary, or may cater to more than one State/UT. Each ZH forms a Zonal Working Group as detailed below and coordinates with the Apex Funding Agency as well as the Local Hubs. The ZH also collaborates with State and Central S&T institutions and Educational Authorities at the State and Central level, S&T Departments in Universities and Colleges, and Institutions engaged in science education.

The significance of preferring a State Educational Authority for a Zonal Hub has been outlined in Section 4.3.

A. Examples of Zonal Hub

State Council of Education Research Training, State Institute of Science Education, etc. A list of Institutions and Organisations in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa that are examples of Zonal Hubs, Local Hubs or Partners of these Hubs is given in Annexure-C.

B. Responsibilities of a Zonal Hub

(i) Identifies list of potential Local Hubs following criteria outlined in the later section below for the ZWG to consider.

(ii) Gets the announcements and forms translated with help from ZWG members(iii) Coordinates with the Local Hubs on academic and administrative aspects of

implementing the Scheme: in dissemination information about the Scheme, receiving list of awardees, putting up awardee lists to ZWG from time to time.

(iv) Coordinates directly with Apex Funding Agency on all aspects of the BEST Scheme.

(v) Communicates to Apex Funding Agency the BEST Awardees at Level-1 and Level-2.

(vi) Communicates to Apex Funding Agency the nominees for Level-3 Awards.(vii) Forwards request for annual estimated budget to Apex Funding Agency as allowed

under the Scheme and is accountable to Apex Funding Agency for utilisation of the funds.

(viii) Forms the Zonal Working Group as outlined below.(ix) Coordinates, through a Zonal Working Group, with the Local Working Groups as

detailed below, as well as State and Central S&T institutions and Administrative authorities, and S&T Departments in Universities and Colleges, and Institutions engaged in science education.

(x) Maintains documentation on the Scheme at the State level: a list of schools, nominated teachers, mentors and awardees, etc. Maintains all documentary records of Level-1, Level-2 and Level-3 nominees and awardees.

(xi) Helps the Zonal Working Group to organise Annual Zonal Teachers' Conference, and distributes Level-2 Awards.

(xii) Facilitates Zonal Working Group meetings as needed.

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4.5.3. Zonal Working Group (ZWG)

This is a partnership of Institutions from which teacher mentors are drawn and State Councils of S&T. The teacher mentors may come from S&T Institutions, Universities, well-known colleges involved in S&T Communication and teacher orientation, voluntary organisations involved in science education, etc.

A. Constitution of a ZWG

(i) Zonal Hub invites 15 to 20 members to form the ZWG.(ii) The members of the ZWG are individuals, who have been engaged in different

aspects of science and mathematics education, in the formal educational set up, in outreach activities, teacher education, and so on.

(iii) These individuals may belong to any of the following organisations working in science and mathematics education in the jurisdiction of the ZH:

• State S&T organisations• State Education Bodies• Central or State funded S&T institutions, like CSIR Laboratories, IITs• Central and State Universities• institutions under DAE, DBT, DRDO, DoS• Voluntary organisations• Teacher Associations

(iv) The Group may be reconstituted every two years with one third new members being inducted.

B. Terms of Reference of ZWG

(i) Identifies Local Hubs.(ii) Finalises Level-1 awardees.(iii) Finalises Level-2 awardees.(iv) Organises Zonal Teachers Conference with help from ZH(v) Finalises Level-2 Awards, and nominates potential Level-3 awardees from its

jurisdiction.(vi) Oversees the processes in the Local Hubs and Local Working Groups, including

teacher identification, mentoring and generation of relevant documents for evidence and sharing, and archiving on the BEST portal.

4.5.4. Local Hub (LH)

Local Hubs are the contact points of the Scheme that are closest to the teachers and mentor educators. There will be about 600 Local Hubs in the country. They may typically operate within a District. Active and effective District Education Offices, DIETs, etc., may be identified by the ZWG to be Local Hubs. Besides organisational aspects of the BEST Scheme at the local level, Local Hubs are expected to contribute academically to support teachers in the locality and coordinate with the mentors.

A. Criteria to be Local Hub

(i) They will be identified by ZWG

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(ii) The choice and jurisdiction of Local Hubs will be based on the density, physical access and available organisational and academic facilities and academic expertise at the Hubs. The jurisdiction may be specified in terms of school blocks, where applicable.

(iii) All Local Hubs are expected to be RTI compliant in all their operations.(iv) The minimum and maximum number of schools catered to by a Local Hub will be

400 and 3000 respectively. The actual numbers of schools associated with each Local Hub will vary around the country. Thus, districts with more than 3000 schools may have more than one Local Hub. Similarly, two or more districts with low density of schools may have a single Local Hub.

(v) An Local Hub will be preferably be a State educational agency/body or a local educational institution having the required facilities (item (ii) above), which has been coordinating with local schools and teachers.

(vi) Based on the recommendations of ZWG, the Zonal Hub will announce the list of Local Hubs in its jurisdiction.

B. Examples of Local Hubs

An existing DIET, Govt. or Govt. aided College or Higher Secondary School.

C. Terms of Reference of Local Hubs

(i) Reaches out announcement and all information about the Scheme to all schools within the jurisdiction, and invites nominations of teachers and groups of teachers from school Principals, Block Education Officers, etc.

(ii) Receives nominations for Level-1 BEST Educator Award.(iii) Identifies S&T individuals with institutional backing or independent resource

persons that become mentors of teachers or provide academic support, including individuals from NGOs and volunteer Educators.

(iv) Provides organisational and academic facilities to support teachers' science education activities. Informing all teachers and mentors in the jurisdiction about the available facilities.

(v) Maintains a list of schools, nominated teachers, mentors and awardees.(vi) Seeks, receives and maintains work reports and documentation from teachers in

support of their application for Level-2 and Level-3 awards.(vii) Organises Annual Local Teachers' Seminars, distribution of Level-1 Awards.(viii) Communicates with the Zonal Hub.(ix) Encourages and facilitates the documentation and dissemination by teachers of their

studies, activities and data.(x) Ensures that all documents generated are also preserved and uploaded on the BEST

portal.(xi) Seeks registration of all science and mathematics teachers and stakeholders at the

portal.(xii) Seeks nominations from the schools under its jurisdiction.

D. Criteria for selection of mentors for teachers/ teacher groups

Level-1 awardees are associated with mentors. Each mentor may work with one or more individual teachers or with teacher groups. Mentors may collaborate with other mentors. They

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satisfy the following criteria:(i) Are willing to mentor teachers and teacher groups - to guide and provide help to

science and mathematics teachers.(ii) Are already known in the locality for their initiative in conducting science and

mathematics programs for teachers and/or students.(iii) Are known to work with groups of students and teachers and encourage

collaborative projects.(iv) Engage teachers and support their activities at the school level.(v) Design engaging projects in collaboration with teachers and students.(vi) Have access to resources, such as laboratory and computer facilities, which can be

made available to the teachers they are mentoring and the students of those teachers.(vii) Can support teachers to participate in the project portal.(viii) Can operate with relative ease in the local language and translate English documents

and resources into local language.

4.5.5. Local Working Group (LWG)

Local Working Group consists of committed members of the Local Hub along with a few members who represent the institutions and organisations from which mentors are drawn. It may also include committed local individuals.

A. Constitution of LWG, Criteria for partnership

(i) Members from LH(ii) Members from partner organisations – from which Mentors are drawn – may be

Science Centres, Science Fora, STEM Institutions (eg. Science & Engineering Colleges), High School and Higher Secondary Schools, S&T R&D Institutions, Teacher education institutions, and Voluntary Organisations.

(iii) Number of members between 5 and 20, depending on the number of schools in the jurisdiction and number of associated partner (mentor) institutions.

(iv) Not all mentors or potential mentors will be LWG members. But most institutions and organisations from which mentors are drawn may have representatives in LWG.

(v) The term of an LWG member will be 3 years.

B. Terms of Reference for LWG

(i) Screens Level-1 nominations of science and mathematics teachers for eligibility to Level-1 BEST Award.

(ii) Helps LH organise Annual Local Teachers' Seminars.(iii) Scouts for potential BEST awardees and encouraging them to share their expertise

among their colleagues.(iv) Ensures association of mentors with Level-1 awardees. (v) Supports teachers in documenting teachers' ideas and publish them in the BEST

portal.(vi) Provides translation support of resources available on the BEST portal.(vii) Supports teachers and students to participate in science and mathematics events.

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4.6 Identification of BEST Awardees

BEST Awards are given to science and mathematics teachers from schools, identified through a nationwide, distributed and locally effective process. As described in Section 4.1, there are three levels of BEST Awards: Level-1, Level-2 and Level-3. The awards at higher level recognise increasingly significant contributions of teacher and teacher groups to change the teaching-learning of science and mathematics in their schools and community of teachers and students.

Awardees at Level-1 are nominated. Nominators may be school principals or headmasters, block education officers, in consultation with school principals, educators from DIETs, CRCs or BRCs, who have interacted with the nominees in their professional capacity. Nominations may be of individual teachers or collaborative groups of teachers. In case of collaborative groups information must be furnished of individual teachers, as well as the nature of collaborative work.

Not more than 1% of the total teachers within the jurisdiction of a Local Hub may be nominated in a year for the Level-1 award.

Only those receiving the BEST Level-1 Award are eligible to be nominated for BEST Level-2 awards. Only Level-2 awardees may be nominated for BEST Level-3 Award. The identification of awardees for Level-2 and Level-3 is effected through a local process enabling active engagement of teachers through mentoring as well as facilitation by Local Hubs and Local Working Groups. The aim of the processes is to form communities of science and mathematics teachers, who are functionally networked and vertically integrated with practising scientists and mathematics professionals in schools, colleges and S&T institutions.

4.6.1. General guidelines for identification of BEST awardees

One of the goals of the BEST Awards is to seed communities of teachers with potential for practising innovative science teaching-learning. The following demonstrable aspects of teaching-learning provide evidence of such potential among teachers:

(i) Has adequate knowledge of content in science and mathematics;(ii) Demonstrates use of innovative and locally relevant pedagogic strategies suitable

for the level of students taught;(iii) Demonstrates adequate pedagogic content knowledge – knowledge related to the

teaching-learning of specific topics in science and mathematics;(iv) Is proactive in dealing with equity issues;(v) Participates in academic teacher for a;(vi) Participates in current science campaigns/ events;(vii) Collaborates with peers and mentors to generate science/ educational resources; and(viii) Demonstrates leadership in science education in the local community, and society.

In specific terms, the recipients of BEST Awards are (a) respected by students, parents and peer teachers,(b) fondly remembered by past students,(c) passionate about teaching, (d) team workers – collaborate and share ideas with colleagues,(e) flexible enough to adopt innovative ideas, eg. use inquiry based science teaching-

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learning methods,(f) flexible to cater to needs of diverse students (sensitive to gender, class, region,

religion, etc.) and topics,(g) able to engage all students in activities and asking questions in and outside

classrooms,(h) developers of experimental kits, teaching aids, hands-on activities, and school

laboratory,(i) active guides of students' science and technology projects, (j) writers of books and reading materials in science for students, and of articles on

teaching-learning, (k) readers and users of books and materials (other than textbooks, eg. Encyclopedia, co-

curricular books, articles on research or teaching practices),(l) proactive in (i) connecting science and mathematics to everyday life of students, (ii)

using community as a resource, (iii) organising community based activities in science, and (iv) teacher-community building through collaborative activities.

4.6.2. Criteria and eligibility for BEST Level-1 Awards

The following criteria may be used to generate the announcements and nomination forms.Nominees must

(i) Be Regular teachers in Recognised schools.(ii) Have attendance of 80% or above during the school year for the 2 years prior to the

Award year.(iii) Have minimum service of 3 years.(iv) Not have been associated with commercial teaching institutions (eg. Coaching

classes) at least for past 2 years.(v) Produce testimonials from past students, their parents and peer teachers (at least 3

from any one or more of these) that clearly indicate (some of) the general and specific qualities indicated above.

(vi) Have contributed to growth of students' learning, and improvement through the year(s), as shown by students' performance.

(vii) Give write-ups including the following points: (a) innovative strategies used in teaching-learning of science, (b) specific role played in guiding students' projects, and (c) activities related to science education conducted in local community.

It is desirable that nominees have written books and reading materials in science for students, and articles on teaching-learning.

4.6.3. Process for identification of BEST Level-1 awardees

(a) The identification of educator awardees at Level-1 is through nomination.(b) Nominators may be school principals or headmasters, block education officers, in

consultation with school principals, educators from DIETs, CRCs or BRCs.(c) Nominations may be of individual teachers or collaborative groups of teachers. In case

of collaborative groups information must be furnished of individual teachers, as well as the nature of collaborative work.

(d) Nomination must reach the Local Hub corresponding to the jurisdiction of the nominee's school on or before the announced last date for the same.

(e) The corresponding LWG considers the nominations, and screens those who satisfy the criteria (listed above).

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(f) Not more than 1% of the total teachers within the jurisdiction of the LH may be identified for Level-1 award in a year.

(g) The screened nominations are forwarded by the LH to the ZH, ratified by the ZWG and forwarded to Apex Funding Agency.

(h) The cash awards are given to the Level-1 awardees at the Annual Local Teachers' Seminars organised by LH with help from LWG.

4.6.4. Process for identification of BEST Level-2 and Level-3 awardees

Only those who have received BEST Level-1 Award, either in the current or previous years, are eligible to be nominated for the BEST Level-2 Awards. Level-1 awardees are then associated with Mentors following criteria listed in Section 4.5.4 (D). They choose an investigative project either on the teaching-learning process or on a topic that they teach. They write a tentative proposal. Projects may be of duration from 1 to 3 months. Awardees are encouraged to discuss their project proposals with Mentors, to collaborate with their colleagues and work with students on the project.

Further, Level-1 awardees are invited to join as members of the BEST Academy. The BEST academy will include all the Level I awardees from all over the country and the LWG, ZWG and NWG members. Continued membership will depend on continued collaborative engagement in the BEST process.

Non-awardee teachers are also invited to share resources, participate in discussions and take initative in local programs and work collaboratively with the local awardee teachers. After the first year selection which happens mostly through nomination, preference will be given to non-awardee teachers who collaborated with the awardees. Non-awardee teachers will be encouraged to participate in this event actively and will be informed that such teachers will be considered on a priority basis for the identification and nomination of subsequent year's awards.

4.6.5. Annual Local Teachers Seminars and Zonal Teachers Conference

The projects, whether addressing the teaching-learning process, or one or more topics in science and mathematics, need to preferably engage students in investigations in science or mathematics. About three months after the announcement of BEST Level-1 Award, an Annual Local Teachers Seminar is organised by each Local Hub with help from LWG. Projects will be presented at the Seminar by individual or groups of teachers, who will also submit reports on the projects. These presentations and reports, along with testimonials, from principals, peers and students, in evidence of the involvement of the authors in the project provide some of the inputs for nomination of BEST Level-2 and Level-3 Awardees.

Nominations for BEST Level-2 Award are made by the LWG on the basis of the project reports, presentations at the Local Teachers' Seminar, and testimonials of contributions. The nominations are screened, and those that satisfy the criteria given in Section 4.6.6 below are forwarded to the ZH.

ZH, with help of ZWG organises the Annual Zonal Teachers Conference, where the nominees present the project work and any extensions to their work based on inputs received at the LWG to a wider (Zonal) audience of educators. Based on the relative performance of the nominees, ZWG finalises the list of BEST Level-2 Awardees, and the nominations for Level-3

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awards, which ZH communicates to Apex Funding Agency.

4.6.6. Criteria for identification of BEST Level-2 awardees

Only those who have received BEST Level-1 Award, either in the current or previous years, are eligible to be nominated for the BEST Level-2 Awards. The nominee must have

(i) Proposed a project and actively participated in carrying it out, after receiving the Level-1 award.

(ii) Participated in group projects, science events during the period; shown ability to work in collaborative teams.

(iii) Received positive feedback from the community of their peers, their school principal, their students and parents.

(iv) Submitted teaching/learning resources at the BEST Portal.(v) Provided critical feedback on other presentations during the Local Conference.(vi) Demonstrated innovations in teaching practices.(vii) Participated in activities for spreading scientific temper in the community.

Only those who have been nominated for BEST Level-2 Awards are eligible to be considered for Level-3 awards. Additionally, to be eligible for Level-3 Awards, the nominees must show evidence of initiatives in documenting their ideas and collaborating with peers to document community learning.

Nominees at Level-2 and Level-3 may be individual teachers of science and mathematics or teacher groups who work collaboratively and provide evidence of such collaborative work.

5. Implementation of BEST Scheme: Work flows and time line

The number of different tasks and processes of the BEST Award, the initiating agency for each task or process, descriptive title of each task or process, task/ process completion month and a tentative month assuming Scheme begins in November are indicated in the Table below. If the beginning month is different the months may be correspondingly changed, noting that some tasks (eg. Task 16) need specific time gaps.

Task No.

Initiating Agency Initiated Process, Task(s)

Task Completion

(relative month)Task Completion (tentative month)

1 AFA Forms NWG Month -1 November

2 NWGDrafts announcement, Nomination forms Month 0 December

3 NWG Identifies Zonal Hubs/ Contacts Month 0 December4 AFA Announces Scheme/ Advt Month 1 January5 AFA Creates Portal for Scheme Month 1 January6 ZH Form ZWG Month 1 January7 ZH Translates announcements, forms Month 1 January

8 ZWGIdentifies Local Hubs/ Contacts, meeting Month 2 February

9 LHAnnounces, invites nominations at local Month 2 February

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10 LH Receives nominations Month 4 April

11 LWGScreens nominations, Identifies Level-1 Educators, sends to ZH Month 4 April

12 LWG Helps form teacher-mentor groups Month 5 April-May13 ZWG Finalises Level-1 awardees Month 5 May14 ZH Sends Level-1 list to AFA Month 5 May15 AFA Announces Level-1 Awardees Month 6 June

16 LH

Receipt of work reports, documentation from teachers (> 3 school working months after task 12) Month 9 September

17 LWG

Local Teachers' Seminar, Distribution of Level-1 Awards, Screens reports, identifies potential Level-2 Educators, nominates to ZH Month 10 Sept/ October

18 ZWG Finalises Level-2 awardees Month 11 November19 ZH Sends Level-2 list to AFA Month 11 November20 AFA Announces Level-2 Awardees Month 11 November

21 ZWG

Zonal Teachers Conference, Distribution of Level-2 Awards, Identifies potential Level-3 Educators Month 12 December

22 ZHSends potential Level-3 awardees list to AFA Month 12 December

23 NWG Finalises Level-3 awardeesMonth 13 =

Month 1 January

24 AFAAnnounces Level-3 awardees, and Scheme for next year

Month 13 = Month 1 January (Task 4)

AFA = Apex Funding AgencyNWG - National Working GroupZWG = Zonal Working Group ZH = Zonal HubLWG = Local Working Group LH = Local Hub

6. Budget estimates and funding for BEST

The budget of the BEST Awards Scheme over five years is estimated to be Rs.424.65 Crore. The breakup and details are given below.

6.1 Workshops & Consultative Meetings for development of DPR*15 Lakhs

The amount has already been sanctioned and utilised for the consultative meetings and workshops with members of the stakeholder institutions of the Scheme at Mumbai and Puducherry. Inputs were also gathered through informal meetings in Madhya Pradesh. The support shown by the participant institutions and organisations at the meetings have given considerable confidence in the potential success of the proposed distributed, collaborative and participative aspects of the Scheme.

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6.2 Awards and incentives272.5 Crore

This is a goal of the Scheme that can be negotiated to provide sufficient incentives to make the scheme attractive. The awards under the BEST Scheme are to be given as follows:

Level-1: • To nominated elementary school science and mathematics teachers, working

individually or in groups, who satisfy the pre-determined criteria• Carries a certificate and cash award of Rs.5000/- per awardee• Expected total number of awardees per year = 30,000 teachers• Total awardees in 5 years = 1,50,000 teachers

Level-2: • To Level-1 awardees, either of current or previous years, who show documented

evidences at State Level of exemplary science education, working in collaboration with peers, and mentors.◦ Carries a cash award of Rs.25,000/- per awardee.

• Towards improving laboratory, library and ICT facilities in Schools to which the awardee teacher(s) belong(s), and is given on showing evidence of supporting collaborative work in science education among its teachers, ◦ Carries cash award of Rs.25,000/- to a school per awardee teacher identified from

that school,• Towards improving laboratory and ICT facilities in local organisation that facilitates

the science and mathematics activities and collaborative interactions among teachers - ◦ Carries cash award of Rs.10,000/- per awardee teacher to the local

organisation/Hub. • Towards the remuneration of individual mentors for their efforts in reaching out to the

teachers in their schools, supporting their innovative projects and mentoring them.◦ Carries cash award of Rs.5000/- per awardee teacher for the mentor(s).

• Expected total number of awardees per year = 3,000 teachers• Total awardees in 5 years = 1,5,000 teachers• Budget per Level-2 awardee teacher = Rs.65,000/-

Level-3: • To Level-2 awardees, either of current or previous years, who show evidences of

continued exemplary practices worthy of sharing in National and International fora, working in collaboration with peers, and mentors.

• Towards registration, travel, boarding and lodging to participate in one National education conference, on evidence of submission being accepted for presentation and documentation in proceedings.

• Towards registration, travel, boarding and lodging to participate in one international education conference, on evidence of submission being accepted for presentation and documentation in proceedings.

• Placement for one month in a suitable R&D institution in S&T or in a science and mathematics education institution in the country.

• Funds towards awardee's travel, a maximum amount towards local boarding and

27

lodging • Funds towards contingency expenses of host institution.• The awardees to choose among given options.• They will also be eligible for selection to teacher teams for participation in

international exchange programmes.

• Expected total number of awardees per year = 200 teachers• Total awardees in 5 years = 1000 teachers• Estimated budget per Level-3 awardee teacher = Rs.10,000,00/-

6.3 Identification: Creation of interaction fora95 Crore

Documentation of work done and professional communication among peers at the local, national and international levels are the core of the processes in the BEST Awards Scheme. The mechanisms not only help build collaborative communities, raise the teachers' self-esteem and give them a sense of belonging to an esteemed community, the mechanisms of sharing, they improve the transparency and credibility of the award scheme.

• To the Local Hubs for Annual Local Teachers Seminar and Level-1 award presentations, involving teachers and mentors from the jurisdiction,

• Cost of Rs.3000/- per awardee teacher • Cost of Rs.5000/- per mentor• Total teachers = 30,000• Total mentors = 10,000 • To the Zonal Hubs for Annual Zonal Teachers Conference and Level-2 award

presentations, involving teachers and mentors from the jurisdiction• Cost of Rs.5000/- per teacher or mentor• Total teachers and mentors expected = 10,000

6.4 Identification: Creation of BEST portal, citizen science support 1.25 Crore

Conduct of science projects through collaborative engagement with peers both locally and distributed in other parts of the State or country makes such citizen science projects powerful tools for nation wide science education. As given in the budget estimate, this will involve

• The creation of a BEST Portal supporting teacher registration and interactions• Maintenance of the portal, through project staff, domain and supplies• Support for Citizen Science Projects

6.5 Identification: Local and Zonal meetings21.5 Crore

• To the Local Hubs towards Local Working Group meetings for screening of nominees and identification of awardees and preparation for Seminar, about 3 meetings per year.

• Cost of Rs.20,000/- per meeting per Hub• To the Zonal Hubs towards Zonal Working Group meetings for screening and

identification of Level-2 and Level-3 awardees, and preparation for Conference about 2 meetings per year.

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• Cost of Rs.100,000/- per meeting per Hub• For National Working Group meetings, about 2 per year• Cost of Rs.500,000/- per meeting

6.6 Identification: Organisational cost, liaison and publicity31.25 Crore

The BEST Awards Scheme that has to reach over 65 lakhs teachers in over 13 lakh schools, besides institutions of higher education and S&T institutions in the country will involve extensive publicity through all media, and a corresponding cost over 5 years (4 Crore). The publicity cost may decrease progressively as the Scheme becomes well known.

The mechanisms of the Scheme depend on the day-today organisation like receipt of nominations, contacting mentors and coordinating meetings, seminars, etc., documentation and record-keeping, and managing the funds. This will need annual cost of hiring project personnel and facility maintenance for 30 Zonal Hubs at Rs.3 Lakhs per Hub, and for 600 Local Hubs at Rs.20,000/- per Hub.

Additional cost will be needed for personnel and corresponding facilities for the Scheme in the Apex Funding Agency.

6.7 Review3 Crore

No Scheme can be perfect in all respects. It needs a period review and appraisal of what is good and what can be changed. The review of the this nation wide Scheme will be initiated by the National Working Group as and when felt needed and conducted by an agency/ committee nominated for the purpose.

The budget estimate under each of the above heads is given in the table.

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BEST General

Budget Estimate for BEST Scheme – October 2013 – Modified July 2014

S.No. Main Sub-item Unit Name Cost/ Unit Annual 5 Years Sub-totalsA Design Workshops / Consultative 15,00,000 15,00,000B Incentives

Level-1 Award – Cash Teacher 30000 5,000 15,00,00,000 75,00,00,000

Teacher 3000 65,000 19,50,00,000 97,50,00,000

Teacher 200 10,00,000 20,00,00,000 1,00,00,00,000 Subtotal B 2,72,50,00,000C Identification: Creation of meeting fora for interactions

Teacher 30000 3,000 9,00,00,000 45,00,00,000Mentors to participate in Annual Seminars Mentors 10000 5,000 5,00,00,000 25,00,00,000

10000 5,000 5,00,00,000 25,00,00,000Subtotal C 95,00,00,000

D Identification: Creation of BEST portal, citizen science support Creation of Portal for Teacher interaction 20,00,000 Maintenance Cost – proj. staff, domain 6,00,000 30,00,000 Citizen Science Projects 15,00,000 75,00,000

Subtotal D 1,25,00,000E Identification cost

Local Hub 600 60,000 3,60,00,000 18,00,00,000

Zonal Hub 30 2,00,000 60,00,000 3,00,00,000

10,00,000 50,00,000Subtotal E 21,50,00,000

F Organisation, Liason & Publicity Advertisement and Publicity 4,00,00,000 20,00,00,000 Organisational – Zonal Hubs Zonal Hub 30 3,00,000 90,00,000 4,50,00,000

Organisational – Local Hubs Local Hub 600 20,000 1,20,00,000 6,00,00,000Organisational – Apex Funding Agency 15,00,000 75,00,000

Subtotal F 31,25,00,000 Review 3,00,00,000 Grand Total 4,24,65,00,000

No. of Units

Level-2 Award – Cash to Teacher, School, Local Hub, Mentor Level-3 Award – Opportunity, Conf participation, Exchange Programmes

Local Working Group meetings with teachers, Level-1 award presentations, Annual Local Teachers Seminar

Zonal Conference with teachers, Mentors, Level-2 award, presentations

Teacher, Mentor

Local Working Group meetings – 3 per year, 20,000/- eachZonal Working Group meetings – 2 per year, 1 lakh eachNational Working Group meetings – 2 per year, 5 lakhs each

BEST – DPR – HBCSE – DRAFT October 2013

Annexure-A

PAST SCHEMES FOR RECOGNITION OF TEACHERS

A snapshot of some of the prevailing initiatives that appear to reach out to teachers across the country is as follows. They can be useful entry points for the engagement processes through the BEST initiative.

1. The NCTE for pre-service training and for in-service training is the large network of government-owned teacher training institutions (TTIs). At the National Level is the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), along with its six Regional Institutes of Education (REIs), National University on Educational Planning and Administration (NUEPA).

2. The State Councils of Educational Research and Training (SCERTs), prepare modules for teacher training and conducts specialized courses for teacher educators and school teachers. The Colleges of Teacher Education (CTEs) and Institutes for Advanced Learning in Education (IASEs) provide in-service training to secondary and senior secondary school teachers and teacher educators.

3. At the district level, in-service training is provided by the District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETs), Block Resource Centres (BRCs) & the Cluster Resource Centres (CRCs). Some of the important programs / schemes aligned with the NPE and the UEEE are the Operation Black Board, Shiksha Karmi Project, Lok Jumbish Programme, Mahila Samakhya & District Primary Education Programme and Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan.

4. The Model School Scheme launched in November 2008 aims to provide quality education to talented rural children through setting up of 6,000 model schools as benchmark of excellence at block level at the rate of one school per block to provide a model in infrastructure, curriculum, evaluation and school governance & try out innovative curriculum and pedagogy

5. Of these 3,500 schools (from 2009 – 10) are to be set up in as many educationally backward blocks (EBBs) through State/UT Governments, and the remaining 2,500 schools are to be set up under Public-Private Partnership (PPP) mode from 2012 - 13 in blocks which are not educationally backward.

6. The National Teachers Science Conference (NTSC) of the NCSTC provides a forum for teachers to enhance awareness on science and science teaching. It has been active since 2003. Innovative concepts that reveal creativity in methodologies of science education are discussed with a special emphasis on localized knowledge systems including pedagogy. These are low-cost innovations as hands on learning process. It also aims to promote R&D in science education and communication, measurements and feedback. NTSC is held biennially, as the quantity and quality of teacher presentations are far below what may be expected for a nation of over 6 million teachers. In fact the BEST Scheme aims to set in place a process to provide incentive and academic support for a significant proportion of teachers to contribute to innovative teaching-learning in science and mathematics, document them, and participate in the NTSC.

CURRENT SCHEMES: ANALYSIS AND IMPLICATIONS

Several important national and state level awards processes are evident. The scope for a specific focus on science appears to be large. A detailed analysis of the process of nomination / application along with parameters for assessment can follow this snap shot.


1. The National Awards to Teachers instituted in 1958, recognizes meritorious teachers in primary, middle and secondary schools. Some of the important parameters covered include community development and other welfare activities in addition to innovative teaching, text and activity tools for better learning. Request for recommendation is sent to all Education Secretaries of States & UTs.

(a) Of the total of 374 awards, 20 awards are reserved for Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic teachers.

(b) Each State/Union Territory/Organization has an earmarked quota based on the number of teachers.

(c) The Scheme covers teachers of schools affiliated to CBSE including teachers of independent affiliated schools abroad, the Council for Indian School Certificate Examination (CISCE), Sainik School, Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan, Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS), the Central Tibetan School Administration (CTSA) & of the Atomic Energy Education Society.

(d) 43 Special Awards’ are conferred on the teachers with disabilities working in mainstream schools & Special teacher or trained general teachers who have done outstanding work for Inclusive Education.

2. The National Award for Teachers for using ICT innovatively in Education was launched in 2004 (revised in 2010) This is part of the centrally sponsored scheme of ICTs in Schools.

3. The NCERT National Award for Innovative Teaching Practices is for Teachers part of the KVS.

Some other important awards for teachers:4. Nominations are invited for the Best Science Teacher award instituted by C.N.R. Rao

Education Foundation, Bangalore for Pre-University and High School Science Teachers. Nominations should be forwarded through the Head of the Institution with details of Innovative teaching methods

5. The Uttarakhand Chapter of NASI Best Science Teacher Award invites nominations from prospective candidates serving in the State of Uttarakhand.

6. The State Council for Science, Technology & Environment, Himachal Pradesh invites nomination for the Science Promotion Awards for school teachers every year through advertisements in newspapers. This is for teachers working in any school of HP or retired who has developed/propagated innovative science teaching aids/ worked for science promotion/popularisation activities in the state during last five years.

7. The Tamil Nadu State Council for Science and Technology recognizes every year the outstanding research work / skill/ talent acquired and conspicuously important and outstanding contribution. The nominating authorities include Directors of School Education/ Head of the Institution. The Dr Radhakrishnan Award is conferred by the Satte Department of Education for teachers in schools.

8. The Science teacher Award in Uttar Pradesh is conferred by the Council of Science & Technology, U.P for Science teachers of Secondary Schools for educational procedures and new educational technologies

9. Similar state level awards are conferred in Karnataka, Haryana School Education Department National Awards for Teachers using Information and Communication Technology for Innovation and Education-2013.

10. The Vishveshwaraiah Center in Karnataka has enabled a regional level award process for teachers through exhibitions. While the students exhibit, the teachers are awarded for their efforts.

11. The Karnataka State has instituted an action research award for teachers in addition to the other award for innovative teaching. This is to foster unique practices that reduce the burden of science learning on moving from the primary to the secondary levels.


Annexure-B

INSPIRE1

Three facets of the inclusive framework of INSPIRE I. "Innovation of Science Pursuit for Inspire Research (INSPIRE)" is an inclusive

program of the Department of Science & Technology to attract young talent to science. II. The basic objective is to help youth recognize the excitement of creative pursuit of

science. This is expected to sustain their interest to pursue higher education in science and establish the much needed critical human resource pool to strengthen and expand science & technology systems including research in India.

III. Access to and responses from students are driven through existing educational structures including identification of talent.

The three mutually reinforcing components of INSPIRE to help stay in the chosen areas of science are

1. Scheme for Early Attraction of Talents for Science (SEATS),2. Scholarship for Higher Education (SHE), and3. Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC).

The details of the INSPIRE scheme• 10,000 scholarships are available annually under SHE.• The scholarships are limited only to candidates studying courses in natural/ basic

sciences after their school finals (Post 12th Class).• The Scheme in its current format does not include courses in engineering, medicine,

technology and other professional / technical / applied science courses. • Selected candidates will be supported for a maximum of five years.• The Assured Opportunity for Research Careers (AORC) offers • Doctoral INSPIRE Fellowship in the age group 22-27 years, in both Basic and Applied

sciences (including engineering and medicine). • Opportunities for post-doctoral researchers through contractual and tenure track

positions for five years in both Basic and Applied sciences areas through an INSPIRE Faculty Scheme.

It is also observed that • All four Science Academies should convince the scientific community to collectively

invest time and resources to make the programme a success.• INSPIRE can be organized using a Network or Tree Structure especially to cover

SEATS and SHE components & Nodal centres such as IISER’s. IIT’s, Central Universities with sizeable expertise to cover all disciplines be identified to co-ordinate with schools and colleges to run summer and winter camps.

• DST support INSPIRE cells at Nodal centres to draw in faculty.• INSPIRE centres co-ordinate activities in local schools and colleges for age groups 10

–17 and 17 – 22, drawing upon SCERT’s, formulate proposals for running camps and to provide assistance for student selections.

• An important aim should be to make good quality science education accessible to children in rural and poorly connected areas of the country, which account for about 70% of all children in the 11 to 15 age group.

1 submitted by Vigyan Prasar


THE NCSTC INITIATIVE

The NCSTC endeavours to (1) Communicate Science and Technology, (2) Stimulate Scientific and Technological temper & (3) Coordinate and steer such efforts. The objective is to create excitement concerning advances in Science & Technology, to enable informed decision-making at the grass roots level & encourage intelligent debate on developmental issues.

The nine important approaches of the NCSTC include 1. Research in thrust areas of science and technology communication;2. Development of scripts, films, video and radio programmes, books, slide sets, etc., on

selected areas of science and technology3. Training (short term) for school teachers and activists of science & technology based

voluntary organisations in science communication;4. Development of science journalists through University Courses in Science and

Technology Communication;5. Awards and recognition for outstanding science communicators;6. Coordination with state councils and networks of S& T based organisations;7. Developing capacity through science communication8. Field programmes for demonstrating innovative ideas of science popularisation, outreach

and extension activities including National Children's Science Congress, Science Day celebrations, promotion of voluntary blood donation programmes, environmental awareness and positive action, etc., &

9. Promoting International Cooperation for mutual benefit.

Important initiatives that have succeeded across the country include science news and features service, weekly frequency Annotated bibliographies of popular science books in all regional languages, bilingual monthly newsletter, radio serials, Vigyan Chetna Jathas in 50000 locations with the support of 2500 organisations, Sensitization of school science teachers during year of scientific Awareness, Public Awareness Campaign for Total Solar Eclipse in 1995 and 1999 and Transit of Venus, Popularising Modern Science through a national campaign based on discoveries.

NCSTC is engaged in Skill Building Programmes for Science Teachers and Activists of Science Based Voluntary Organizations. The seven approaches are to 1. Develop and use low cost science teaching / learning aids2. Learn to demonstrate science behind so-called miracles3. Use origami for teaching concepts in primary and middle school maths4. Fun with high school physics through aeromodelling5. Demonstrate principles of flight - use multi stage rockets6. Detect food adulterants through high school level chemistry7. Popularizing construction and maintenance skills under work experience for high school

students

Training of Science Communicators is through • Skill enhancement of promising science writers (1 week);• Communicating science using folk media (1 week);• Use of mass media for science popularisation (3 months);• Post Graduate Courses in universities in mass communication and science journalism (18

to 24 months).


VIGYAN JATHAS AND PEOPLE'S SCIENCE MOVEMENTS

The efforts of some of the People Science Movements

(a) Bharat Gyan Vigyan Samithi (23 states / > 10,000 villages of India) as part of the Peoples Science Movement through the total literacy programmes, includes activities on continuing education, school education, etc.The Jan Vachan Programme makes reading material aligned with the Nation Wide Literacy campaigns and to foster a culture of reading generate reading culture in the villages. These materials include guide / reference books / titles / posters / CDs and communication through Kalajathas.The Peoples Science Movement’s science communication Jathas on focused themes involving more than 40 organisations in 20 States / 18,000 villages / 300 districts involving teachers, students, scientists and professionals

(b) Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad and its related Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha, the All India People’s Science Conference .

(c) Tamil Nadu Science Forum with its network of over 600 teachers / resource people who can train teachers problems with math teaching in primary schools, low cost science experiments, health education. The VCDs boost field programs. TNSF developed a mass literacy campaign in villages involving teachers and 200,000 learners. The focus of TNSF is now to integrate and expand ideas that have worked. In education these are innovative teaching methods, libraries for women and rural IT centers.

(d) The Pondicherry Science Forum & the Gujarat Vigyan Sabha

(e) Jnan Vigyan Pratibha Pariksha of Vijnana Bharati as a talent search examination

(f) I – CONSENT including Virtual School and Learning Homes as part of the Generating Mass Movement for Creating Quality School Education For All (QSEFA) http://wikieducator.org/images/6/6d/PID_566.pdf

(g) The Science Writers Association of India Sahoo & Pattanaik present a comprehensive overview of the PSMs from a social movements perspective.


Annexure-C

List of Institutions and Organisations in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa that are examples of Zonal Hubs, Local Hubs or Partners of these Hubs.

Potential Zonal Hubs

1. SCERT, Pune2. SISE, Nagpur3. Gujarat Science Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat4. SCERT, Goa5. NIO, Goa

Potential Local Hubs

1. DIETs2. IIE, Pune3. Raman Science Centre, Nagpur4. IISER, Pune

Partners 1. HBCSE, Mumbai2. IIT, Mumbai3. Universities, Colleges4. Vikram Sarabhai Community Centre, Rajkot5. PRATHAM Training Centres in Maharashtra6. Jidyasa Trust7. Navi Mumbai Science Foundation8. Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, Satara9. Shivaji Shikshan Sanstha, Amravati 10. Exploratory, Pune

mhrd brainstorming meeting july 4 2014 best dpr modified proposal for national mission on teacher...

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