This month, we bring you yet another project supported by Vibha, that is working to enhance the quality of education in Government schools. At Vibha, we are particularly impressed with such initiatives, because with low costs, they can reach more number of children. That is because with some specific initiatives like the Science program, described below, they are augmenting the existing infrastructure that the Government has already created.

In every edition of Xpressions, we address your question "What can I Do?". In this edition, we present you an excellent example of what an individual, irrespective of the age, can do.

Vibha Dream Registry

In the middle of all fund-raising activity, we are often pleasantly touched by a heart warming gesture that is  so special, particularly because it does not need any logistics, no advertisement, and no volunteer resources. Most importantly it is initiated by one of our youth.

Siri Yellamraju wanted to celebrate her 16^th birthday in a different way, by sharing it with children far away. So, she participated in the Vibha Dream Registry that facilitates patrons to celebrate their special occasions (birthdays, weddings, graduations, etc.) through supporting the cause of underprivileged children.  

Instead of bringing her gifts, Siri requested all her friends and families to donate to Vibha. "I am so glad that everyone responded so generously towards my request. It was really touching that each person rose to the occasion and really felt the need to help those who aren't as lucky as most of us are. I encourage everybody to do their share, so the world can be a better place. I thank Vibha for helping me in my effort and all those who supported through generous donations".

$2000.00 was raised through Siri's selfless gesture. Infact, this is the second time in the last six years that she celebrated her birthday helping other children.
 
Siri -  we are proud of you and on behalf of all the children, we wish you a very happy birthday!

Together, we can do much more!
Dream a little! Do a Little!

Pictures from Ariviyal Anandam Project

Teacher assisting students in a practical experiment

Students experimenting

Students listening to the lecture

Teacher teaching theory behind the experiment

The School

Educational charts

Charts to track progress

Experiment Kit

Project Profile

Ariviyal Anandam,
A Program to Improve the quality of Science Education, Tamil Nadu

“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not Eureka! (I found it!), but rather, “hmm…that’s funny….” Issac Asimov.

“Ariviyal Anandam” – “Science is Fun”, aims at getting children to understand that science is real and fun to understand. Most school children learn science only as facts given in textbooks. However, as Martin Fischer said “Facts are not science, as a dictionary is not literature”. The method of science is experimentation. To bring the excitement of hands-on experimentation is the surest way of furthering its understanding.

With this in mind, AID-India (Association for India’s Development) has developed kits containing low cost visually stunning experiments. Each kit, named “The Eureka Science Experiment Kit”, contains 35 experiments in different areas of physics like light, air pressure, water, sound and mechanics.

The program targets children in7 th and 8 th grades in government secondary (middle) schools in various districts in Tamilnadu. The program is implemented in 10 blocks, comprising a total of 300 schools and 30,000 children. The science kits and supplementary teaching material are distributed to the schools and the teachers are trained to do the experiments and explain the concepts. AID-India personnel visit the project to guide the teachers and students. The program will culminate with an exhibition at the school, block and state-level.

Vibha has funded this program since December 2006 to the amount of $5300 thus far. Of the 10 blocks targeted for this program, Vibha has funded the program in 5 blocks, each block comprising of 30 schools. Each science kit costs around Rs. 400 ($10) and 5 such kits are distributed to each school. Around 6,000 children in these 150 schools participate in 50 minute long sessions twice a week. In the first session, the teacher initiates a dialog about the topic, narrates a story, and demonstrates two experiments with explanations. The children then separate into small groups of 5 each and take turns performing the experiments. In the second session, the teacher reviews the experiments performed in the previous class and picks students to demonstrate them. The class ends with students explaining the science behind the experiments in writing.

Rajesh Haridas, Vibha’s COO, visited Ariviyal Anandam in January 2007. His visit report provides a view of how this project brings the excitement of learning science to the children in the participating schools.

Project Visit to “Ariviyal Anandam”:

I was picked up at the bus stand in Krishnagiri by Dr. Ravishankar of AID India who is leading the “Ariviyal Anandam” project. He was accompanied by Ms. Malathy, one of the key people responsible for developing the science experimentation kit. We went first to a school which is the resource center for other schools under the Sarva Shiksha Abhyan (SSA) program.

Krishnagiri is one of the three districts where the science kit program is being implemented. Vibha is funding the program in 40 schools in Krishnagiri District. This was the first review meeting of the program and they were expecting science teachers from the 40 schools to attend this meeting. Before that, we visited two schools to evaluate how the program was being implemented.

At the first school, located in Krishnagiri, we talked to the science teacher. The teacher had favorable comments about the science kit. Two hours a week are dedicated for the “Ariviyil Anandam” classes and reportedly the students really look forward to it. She mentioned that she now holds the regular science class in the morning when the students are fresh and more receptive and reserves the afternoon sessions for the “Ariviyal Anandam” class. The students are so enthusiastic to participate in this program that the usual afternoon laziness does not come in the way of learning!

The science kit itself is in a small briefcase slightly bigger than a laptop bag. If you were expecting Vernier Calipers and Test Tubes, then you would be surprised! It contains such every day things as, a plastic ball, a funnel, a long polythene tube, a lens, a cup, a few straws, a laser light kit etc. The lens was the closest thing I could associate with a science experiment kit. The students are divided into small groups of 5 or 6. There is a leader for each group.

Each classroom is equipped with three charts. The charts are used to keep track of the experiments completed by each group. There is also a reference book in the classroom and each group is given a work book in which they write the experiment they conducted and the underlying scientific explanation.

The students were in the middle of their exams before the Pongal holidays during our visit. After the exams, the students of 8 th grade were called in and the teacher asked them to fetch their science kits. This made them very excited and a few of them rushed to get their kits. Within a minute or two, the students formed their groups and sat on the class room floor.

Dr. Ravishankar mentioned that one of the children had actually created most of the experiments at home, including a very difficult one.

Instead of being called “ Newton’s law” or “Bernoulli’s priniciple”, each experiment had a catchy name. For example, “Disappearing Coin” and “Dog’s tail”, were the names of some of the experiments which were related to light and pressure respectively. In the coin disappearing act, a one rupee coin is placed at the bottom of a glass. Then water is poured into the glass and the coin appears invisible when looked at from the side of the glass. In the other experiment, one end of a small sheet of paper, about 1” x 6”, is held under the chin. The students then blow air out of their mouth and the paper starts rising like the tail of a dog.

After each experiment Dr. Ravishankar asked the student the reason for the result. Many students were able to perform the experiments with ease and even give the correct reasoning behind them. Only a few had trouble explaining the results. The boy who recreated all the experiments at his home was very helpful to the others who were unable to get it right. He also encouraged them when they had difficulty answering the questions, thus demonstrating genuine leadership skills.

The next school we visited was in a village called Obelesappalli, about 7 Km from the highway. Exams were being conducted here as well and the students were busy writing them.

The Head Mistress of the school Ms. D. Banumathi had wonderful things to say about the program. The science teacher Mr. K. Ponniyappan had just left for the review meeting of the Ariviyil Anandam program, but the Head Mistress agreed to let us watch the students perform the experiments on their own. There were 43 students in the 7 th grade and 34 students in the 8 th grade who were using the kits. The students were really enthusiastic in spite of the fact that they had to delay their lunch break to do the demonstration. Each of them could readily perform the experiments and explain them. At the instruction of the science teacher, each student had an individual record book in which the experiments were recorded in detail.

We were definitely missing a camera here to capture these moments. I decided to come back the next day to take the pictures and a few video clippings of them doing the experiment.

After that we had a short lunch and went back to the first school where the review meeting was scheduled. The turn out for the review meeting was really surprising. At one point there weren’t enough seats for every one present! In addition to the teachers, Dr. Ravishankar, and Malathy, there were three AID block coordinators, a senior government official and a consultant for UNICEF. I found out that UNICEF is interested in funding the program for the entire district of Krishnagiri.

At the meeting the teachers filled a feedback form and a few of them came forward to talk about how the program was being implemented in their school and the challenges they faced. They talked about problems with specific experiments and their own innovations to each experiment. Towards the end of the meeting, training was provided for next set of experiments. The training itself was very interesting and Ms.Malathy asked questions that were quite puzzling for some of the science teachers themselves!

Arrangements were made with the block coordinators to distribute additional kits to the schools which requested them. We left the place around 6:00 pm.

I went back the next day prepared to take some pictures and record a video of the students experimenting with their kits. I reached Obelesappali at 11:00 am. After they finished the last of their exams we went to the 8th grade class room. The science teacher was about to demonstrate a new experiment which he had learnt from the training session the previous day. After first ensuring that he could personally conduct the experiment successfully, the teacher wrote the details on the blackboard and explained the science behind it. It took about 10 minutes for the first student to finish his experiment, and in about 20 minutes, most of the class was able to successfully demonstrate their results. The happiness and pride on their faces was as if they had conquered Mount Everest or won a gold medal at the Olympics!

Summary: The science experiment kit is a fun way for students to learn science. It makes it easier for teachers to capture the attention of the students and help them understand the basics. It entails a lot more preparatory work on the part of the teacher, but they are mostly enthusiastic about it. The science kit can also help develop the creativity of the students.

The kit currently concentrates only on physics – (that was my conclusion based on the experiments I observed). Creating kits for other subjects such as Chemistry and Biology will need a similar effort, but will definitely be worth it. Mathematics is another subject where such creative kits can be helpful. The success of the program is ultimately dependent on the interest of the teacher.

If you would like more information on Ariviyal Anandam - Science is Fun, please contact us at projects@vibha.org.

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