Impact of innovative approaches in teaching –learning of science on rural students at middle school level

The curriculum framework of any country is an attempt at visualising education with the changing times. In independent India, concerns regarding academic burden and unsatisfactory quality of learning among children have been voiced time and again. These voices found reflection in the four Curricular Frameworks for school education brought out in 1975, 1988, 2000 and 2005 by National Council of Educational Research and Training [NCERT], an apex body for school education, constituted by Government of India. It may also be mentioned that in 1993, a Report on School Education published by Government of India concluded that learning has become a source of burden and stress on children. Based on this Report, the National Curriculum Framework-2005(NCF-2005), proposes five guiding principles for curriculum development [Figure-1].

Figure 1. Five guiding principles of NCF-2005

The five guiding principles of NCF-2005(National Curriculum Framework, 2005), as well as the report on learning without burden (Learning Without Burden, 1993), contributed to the exercise of revising the syllabus for science. The position papers of the National Focus Group on Science served as a point of reference [National Focus Group Position Papers, 2005). The aim was to make the science syllabus a reference document for the creation of interesting textbooks. The post-2005 textbooks of science for classes VI-VIII recommended a pedagogy that is hands-on and inquiry based. Inquiry based science teaching –learning is engaging children in more science activities, questioning and encouraging children to learn science and learn about science (Olson &Louks - Harsley, 2000). All children by nature have curiosity, and it is this curiosity that leads them to search. This means the skills and processes that students use and develop are the same as those of the scientists. Literature shows that science process skills are effective on teaching-learning science (Brotherton &Preece, 1995; Chang&Mao, 1999; Harlen, 1999; Key&Bryan2001; Turpin& Cage, 2004; Walters& Soyibo, 2001; Wilke& Straits, 2005). The ultimate aim is to help children learn to become autonomous learners and to make their stay at school a happy experience rather than a source of stress or boredom.

Since the NCF-2005 and the textbooks of science have been prescribed in the school system for almost eight years now, it would be worthwhile to judge the textbooks transaction in actual teaching- learning situations.

Researcher being a faculty member of National Council of Education Research and Training (NCERT), decided to go personally to a rural school for three months to interact with children, teachers and parents to get authentic information with the following research questions:

Is physical environment of the school appropriate for children?
Are teachers transacting the concepts given in the textbooks and other supplementary materials developed by NCERT in the light of NCF-2005(which focuses on inquiry based science teaching-learning)?
Are children able to comprehend the concepts easily given in the textbooks and other supplementary materials?

The answers to above mentioned research questions would be helpful in identifying inadequacy and gaps in the infrastructure of school, textbooks and other supplementary materials at the grass-root level. This entire exercise will ultimately help in the revision of NCF–2005, syllabus and textbooks at the review stage in the context of future needs of rural school children.