Sparking ‘creativity’ in rural India through hands-on Science education

www.agastya.org

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SCHOOL CHOICE NATIONAL CONFERENCEDec 2013, New Delhi

Ajith Basu Chief Program Executive

ajith.basu@agastya.org

ABOUT AGASTYA

MINDS-ON vs. HANDS-ON

or

MINDS-ON + HANDS-ON

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Which route?

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“Education does not mean knowledge of the alphabet. This type of knowledge is only a

means to education. Education implies a child’s learning how to put his mind and all his senses to good use. That is to say, he really learns how to use his hands, feet and other organs of action

and his nose, ear and other organs of sense.”

(Gandhiji, Navajivan, 2 Jun 1929)

Gandhiji on Education!

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“I would develop in the child his hands, his brain and his soul. The hands have almost atrophied.

The soul has been altogether ignored. I therefore put in a plea…. For correcting these

grave defects in our education.”

(Gandhiji, Young India, 12 March 1925)

Gandhiji on Education!

ABOUT AGASTYA

WHOLISTIC RESPONSE MECHANISM

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focus of education…?

THINKING RESPONSE …

vs.

ABOUT AGASTYA

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focus of education…?

WHOLISTIC

RESPONSE

MECHANISM

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Introduction to‘Agastya’

Link:http://youtu.be/ZgDyZUObt5w

3 min. film

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AGASTYA VISION

Creators

Tinkerers

Solution - seekers

Humane

Anchored

Connected

Creative Rural India

AGASTYA VISION

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• Uninspiring

• Rote-based learning discouraging creativity

• Lack of hands-on methods of teaching & learning

• Lack of school labs & access to quality education

KEY PROBLEMS IN INDIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM KEY PROBLEMS IN INDIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

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KEY PROBLEMS IN INDIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

A MOVEMENT TO TRIGGER

WHOLISTIC RESPONSE MECHANISM,

“NATURAL INTELLIGENCE”

IN A CHILD !

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UMA’S STORY

earning Rs. 3,000 (USD 75) per month

SELF RELIANTADULT

Higher income

Career in engineering, electronics, software…

UMA’S TRANSFORMATION

• Makes school visits to campus Creativity Lab• Participates in summer camp project-based learning• Engages in Mobile Lab sessions at her school• Participates as Young Instructor in Science Fairs• Becomes member of Young Instructor Leader program

Pursuing degree in Electronics & Communications Engineering

(first in her family to do so)

LOW INCOME FARMING FAMILY

Gutharlapalli School, A.P.(near Agastya Campus) – headmaster takes personal interest in her progress

“I will train and motivateother children in my village”

Recycles skills to her village

Sustainabledevelopment

Sparked curiosity Improved learning Increased confidence Interest in science Motivation to succeed

“ After my experience at Agastya I am not afraid to speak anymore”

87 % in Class Xschoolexams

PRESENT

FUTURE

(2013)

ATTENDS VILLAGE SCHOOL

ENTERS CITY COLLEGE

THE AGASTYA EXPERIENCE

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1

2

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UMA’S STORY

YIL

5 million Schoolchildren, Dropouts

150,000 Teachers

Parents &Community

Government

Investors/Donors

Media

ResourcePersons

100 %0.2%

Young Instructors

2 % 3 %

NGOs

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Partners

AGASTYA’S STAKEHOLDERS

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AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESS

Mobile Lab

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Taking science to the village doorstep….

AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

Whydo things act a certain way?

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AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESS AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

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80 Mobile Labs

AGASTYA’S INFRASTRUCTURE

Lab-on-a-bike (Pilot)

Lab in a Box

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School teachers embracing hands-on learning

AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

How can I understand things I cannot see?

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AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

Science Center

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Resource hubs for the community

AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

How do I know if what I’m doing is right?

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AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

30 SCIENCE CENTERS

Workshops

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Interactive, project-based activities

AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

How do I use what I know?

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AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

Science Fairs &Young Instructor

Program

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Leveraging peer-to-peer learning

AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

How can I spread to others, what I know?

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AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

AGASTYA KIDS WIN IRIS - Intel NATIONAL SCIENCE AWARDS

Agastya’s children win IRIS-INTEL national awards for scientific innovation

Rani and Roja

Supriya and Dharani

Hari and Murali

The Cooling Effect of Leaves (2008)

The Best Oil for Lamps (2009)

Conservation of Energy through Dry Leaf Pads

(2009)

Poornima & Nandini along with Prashanth & Ganashekar

Innovative Fire Extinguisher System & Renewable Energy to Increase Efficiency

of Solar Panel with Plant Extracts (2010)

COLLABORATORS AND ACHIEVEMENTSContd.

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Santosh Banakar

Poornima

Gunashekhar

AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

How do I change the world?

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AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

Innovation Fairs

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Seeking solutions to real-world problems

AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

How can I build things of value?

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AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

National

Platforms

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Commitment and effort towards long-lasting change

AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

Creativity Labs

ScienceActivity Centers

MiniScience Centers

Mobile Labs

STATE

DISTRICT

TALUK

20(1 per State)

600(1 per District)

3600(6 per District)

6000(10 per District)

Lab-in-a-Box

Present coverage – 12 statesNational-wide scale-up model presented to Prime Minister

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AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

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School System

School System

School System

Core ScienceCentre

School System

Mini Science Centers

Mini Science CentersMobile Labs

Mobile Labs

APEX Campus RAICHUR

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HUBLI-DHARWAD

SHIMOGA

Core ScienceCentre

Core ScienceCentre

BAGALKOT BIJAPUR

BIDAR

Core ScienceCentre

Pilot project - Ecosystem in Karnataka State

AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

Transforming Attitudes to Learning

‘Yes’ to ‘Why’ ‘Looking’ to ‘Observing’

‘Passiveness’ to ‘Exploring’ ‘Textbook-bound’ to

‘Hands-On’‘Fear’ to ‘Confidence’

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AGASTYA’S EDUCATIONAL PROCESSContd.

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AGASTYA’S ACTIVITIES

ART PROJECTS – VESSEL MURAL, SCULPTING

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• Created biodiversity rich campus – sustainable in water

• Current achievements - Biodiversity taxonomy by children guided by researchers

from Indian Institute of Science - Ecology open lab - Preserve endangered species

• Future plans - Butterfly park and bird park

AGASTYA’S ACTIVITIES

ECOLOGY PROGRAM

Contd.

NIGHT COMMUNITY VISITS ENGAGE ENTIRE VILLAGE AGASTYA’S ACTIVITIES

NIGHT COMMUNITY EDUCATION

Contd.

BUILDING SKILLS USING COMPUTERS AND ROBOTICS AGASTYA’S ACTIVITIES

COMPUTER & ROBOTICS

Contd.

AGASTYA’S ACTIVITIES

600 DISCOVERY MODELS

Contd.

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AGASTYA SUPPORTERS INCLUDE EMINENT SCIENTISTS, EDUCATORS

President Abdul Kalam

Dr. Aatre & Prof. Balaram, IISc

Prof. CNR Rao

Dr. V. Kasturirangan

Cambridge UniversityHimachal Pradesh Dr. MS Swaminathan

National Knowledge Commission

Prof. VS Ramamurthy

COLLABORATORS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Best Practices Foundation study of 1348 children in Karnataka shows:

Increase in Awareness on alternative learning methods,

motivation to study science and curiosity

Increase in Creativity, Problem-solving and Leadership among

Young Instructor Leaders (YILs)

MHRD study of 2048 children in 256 schools:

70% + children and teachers welcome Agastya & demand increase of interventions

Enriches and fills gap in the curriculum and Increases interest in Science

Provides professional development for teachers

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AGASTYA AMONG TOP 11 INNOVATIVE NGOs COLLABORATORS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

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KEY PROBLEMS IN INDIAN EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM

AGASTYA’S

“SPARKING HUMANITY”

PROJECT !

15 Member Organizations from 8 countries working on 15 STEM based sandbox projects exploring one theme-

‘New Learner’“A student who has a personal learning network of people and

resources from formal, informal and non-formal institutions”

New Learner Consortium-HP catalyst

Initiative 42

New Learner Consortium (NLC)

Consortium led by

AGASTYA INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION

Identification of Giftedness with Special Focus on Science and Mathematics

In association with

Office of Principal Scientific Adviserto the Govt. of India

&National Institute of Advanced Studies

DATE: 11th May 2012

Approach : 11 CRITERIA

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1.Considered outstanding as per feedback from teachers, Parents, Fellow students,

Community.

2. Highly apparent level of inquisitiveness and curiosity, questioning & perseverance.

3. Analytical ability: seeking depth, consequential thinking and problem solving.

4. Interdisciplinary thinking, consequential behavior.

5. Pattern recognition – creativity connected to patterns.

6. Exhibiting above normal capacity of memory, network memory and then retrieval.

7. Exhibiting divergent thinking, lateral thinking and extension thinking.

8. Innovative and creative.

9. Intuition – exposure & experience leading to a pattern intuition.

10. Expression, communication and articulation.

11. Deductive and Inductive Logic.

Approach :

Search Methods

Organized Opportunistic

Media & Public Agastya Events

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AGASTYA’S MISSION

…of unlocking the creative potential of disadvantaged children and teachers across India is being achieved through:• 75 Mobile Science Labs• 2 i-Mobile Labs (Blended Classroom)• 27 Science Centers• Arts Mobile Lab• Ecology Mobile Lab• Recommended by PM’s National Knowledge Commission

•Sparking creativity through hands-on science education

•A program of rural transformation

•World’s largest hands-on science education program

•Reached over 5 million children and more than 200,000 teachers

Global Collaborations with…

• Among top 100 in Rockefeller Foundation’s next century innovators awards.

• Agastya is the global leader for HP Catalyst Initiative’s New Learner consortium.

• Won a grant at World bank’s Development market place

• Recognized by Clinton Global initiative• Received grants from Dell, IBM, Agilent,

Synopsys, HP, United Way etc…

YOUNG INSTRUCTOR LEADERS and IRIS

• Children teach children• Enhance Self-belief, Leadership and Confidence• Over 5 years, Won 11 awards at the Intel IRIS competition• Won Awards at Design For Change

competition

AGASTYA MOBILE LAB

An instrument to revolutionize education at < 50 cents operating cost per exposure

• Up to 30,000 exposures p.a. • 150 + experiments• Mega Science fairs

ABOUT CAMPUS • 170-acre Creativity Lab [Campus]• Teacher training• Model making• Arts• Robotics• Eco restoration program• Media Arts Program• Astronomy Center(Planetarium)

ajith.basu@agastya.org

THANK YOU!

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AGASTYA MISSION

Spark creativity through…

Experiential, hands-on science education

Teacher education

Scalable learning methods

Sustainable and environment friendly

Make learning

Fun!

Useful!

Accessible!

AGASTYA MISSION