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Books lack the depth, inquiry, reasoning and critical thinking, it is just about memorising names of persons and places, and dates through parroting the quizzes and questions. Students given to memorise names of famous artists Take for example: Book asks to name the national parks of India. What's the point in memorizing names of different national parks, if you don't know anything about ecology; if you can't see and feel the environment and lifestyle of exotic and endangered wildlife in that national park? In many entrances including B.Ed, GK in one of the subjects, and students end up parroting the names. It also takes a huge chunk of time in schools, what if it were used for more meaningful learning. Do the content help in transfer of learning? How questions and content needs to be designed? https://iambrainstorming.wordpress.com/2018/02/17/question-designing-should-be-brain-friendly-cue-based/ Features of great book: https://iambrainstorming.wordpress.com/2017/01/14/all...

Learning Objectives To convert Roman numbers to Hindu-Arabic numbers What are the big ideas that students have to learn? 1) Memorizing these Roman Symbols with their respective Hindu-Arabic value 2) When to do addition and when to do subtraction based upon the position of  Roman Symbols 1) Memorizing these Roman Symbols with their respective Hindu-Arabic value Without memorizing the mapping of Roman Symbols to its respective Hindu-Arabic value, students can't reach their learning outcomes. The mapping is very hard to memorize. So it's critical to provide them memory tricks for it. Kids usually know 1) I means 1 2) V means 5 3) X means 10 But what about other symbols, here are the memory tricks that students have to imagine. 4) L means 50 So tell them L means (L)ake, and Lake is half filled (50%) 5) C means 100 Tell them C means see and see is a full (100%) eye 6) D means 500 Choose a student whose name starts with D and give him/her a Rs 500 7) M means 1000 The child gave Rs 10...

Inviting suggestions on rationalising curriculum/ syllabus/ subject contents for class I to class XII with the objective of all round development of students "It has been envisioned that in order to develop a fairer and more egalitarian society comprising of well-balanced human beings, in addition to cognitive and analytical skills,adequate attention on activities like life skills, experiential learning,health and physical education, sports, visual and performing arts,literary & creative skills, and work based education are indispensable. Though the existing curriculum does incorporate these skills, however, the load of curriculum in cognitive and analytical area seems to be so heavy that students practically do not get much time to develop skills in other areas. In order to balance the curriculum for cognitive and analytical areas with curriculum in other life skills including creativity and sports, specific suggestions are invited from teachers, academics, students, parents ...

Why question designing should be brain-friendly and cue based? Evidence: Applying Science of Learning in Education (Society for the Teaching of Psychology) We make up stories, Memory is reconstructive not reproductive Reconstructive memory refers to the way memories are pieced together from bits of information. Memories are not perfectly formed, and they depend on outside influences to develop the whole picture. These influences can be anything, such as a person's own expectations or suggestions from other people. People want to believe that memories are perfect and not able to be molded by information outside of the memory. However, in memory recall, there are blind spots. The brain fills in those gaps, and that is reconstructive memory. When recollecting a memory, a person will remember pieces of it and, in order to form a whole memory, they add to it, or reconstruct it. Reference Video https://www.ibiology.org/neuroscience/what-we-think-we-become/ Examples of cue based question...

1) Teaching whiteboard not students Students work is only to nod head to say yes most of the time even if they understood nothing, disagreement is remarkably uncommon. Teachers don't inquire about student comprehension. Some teachers do inquire but by asking a dichotomous answer of yes or no. But to know the comprehension level, one has to test it by asking questions to students or asking them to explain the concept. 2) Not answering means insult If students don't give the right answer, they are insulted in front of the whole class. Students are completely responsible for not knowing the answer. "Kya tum gharme padthe nahi ho" (Don't you study at home?). So everything you have to study at home. School is not a place for learning. 3) Personal attack when you ask too much question Again students are insulted if they ask too many questions. 4) Target only to finish the syllabus The syllabus is paramount, not students. Why are teachers going so fast that students are ...

Most often questions are designed that tests the understanding of whole instead of its components.  Students miserably fail to solve these problems due to lack of enough practice of its components. So systematically breaking down the whole concept into its required components is important. e.g. Take this question: [Cr(NH 3 ) 6 ] 3+  is paramagnetic while [Ni(CN) 4 ] 2-  is diamagnetic. Explain why? To start solving this question you have to know the following components: 1) You have to know the atomic number of Cr and Ni. If you have forgotten the atomic number or not memorized it, you are out of luck to solve it. So, has the teacher or the book has given memory tricks to memorize the periodic table. 2) After you know the atomic number, do you know the electronic configuration of the metal atom? 3) Then, can you determine the electronic configuration of metal ion? 4) Do you know how to calculate the oxidation state, because you need to calculate the charge of metal ion? 5...

Problems with alike content: 1) Homogenization of skills When a finished product reaches the market, the product development cycle goes through the touch of many divergent skilled peoples. A product can have many components which require different skill sets of different people. For example, Website Development: When you begin to develop a website, you start with designing a prototype of how it will look, which requires the expertise of graphic designers, you need the skill of programmer to code for the website, you need to be a webmaster to host your website. If you look into the depth, there is much more complexity to it. Each website has its own requirements. A prototype can be designed by using different software, such as Inkscape, illustrator and many others. Each software requires a different kind of learning and experience. Similarly, from programmer side, which language you will be using, which framework, based upon your website requirements such as speed of development, scalab...

Solving by intuitive methods helps students to understand the working of the formula, which is most important to build strategies for different problems. But our books and entrances only give most leverage to formula part without the intuitive part . Take it physics, chemistry or mathematics. Students in coaching centers are mindlessly taught short cut formulas so that they can solve the problem in short time, as there is time limitation in entrances. Example of Intuitive vs Formula Based in probability (Addition Rule): Book: Elementary Statistics (Mario F. Triola)

The sequence of chapters: Openstax biology: In openstax biology, chapters are arranged based on increasing biological complexity . The second chapter is about atoms, molecules, water, and carbons. It gives applied techniques about how biology is being done, for example, carbon dating, molecular interactions that take place in lifeforms and why, how it takes place, its describes all the basics at the atomic and molecular level, and also talks about environmental conditions of life forms such as pH. At the end of the chapter, it says about Carbon, and why it's important for life. Next chapter is about Biological Macromolecules (increasing complexity from atoms to long polymers), then cell structure and other chapters about functioning. Evolution is taught before the five kingdom classification. Why? Because classification is completely phylogenetically linked. You have to understand evolution, in order to understand classification. Classification is also written with linking evoluti...

A short cut formula like these add nothing to the understanding of concepts, also overloads children with pointless burden as they have to memorize by parroting. How its need to be solved? P° Solvent = 0.850 bar Mass of solute = 0.5g Mass of solvent = 39g Molar mass of benzene = 78g/mol P Solution = 0.845 bar Molar mass of solute (g/mol) = ? P Solution = χ Solvent P° Solvent χ Solvent = n Solvent / (n Solvent + n Solute ) Solvent: g -----> mol Conversion factor = 1 mol/ 78 g 39g * 1 mol/78 g = 39/78 mol No. of moles of solvent = 39/78 mol Solute: g -----> mole Conversion factor = 1 mol/x g 0.5g * 1 mol/x g = 0.5/x mol No. of moles of solute = 0.5/x mol Putting these values in the equation P Solution = χ Solvent P° Solvent we get following equation (((39/78)/(39/78 + 0.5/x))*0.850) -0.845 = 0 Solving it through python programming: Ans: [169.000000000000] Also why overload students with so much of large calculations (in higher education), when we have calculator or pro...

Chemistry Book: NCERT Chemistry book requires a complete reinvention, with eliminating most units that are unrequired at the higher secondary level and making it more systematic with the flow of information and building new connections by using prior information. e.g. How quantum mechanical model is linked with explaining the properties of elements and molecules? And before explaining the quantum mechanical model, it's needed to explain what are model and theories. From Britannica: Scientific modeling, the generation of a physical, conceptual, or mathematical representation of a real phenomenon that is difficult to observe directly. Scientific models are  used to explain and predict the behavior of real objects  or systems and are used in a variety of scientific disciplines. The Higher secondary level is meant to know the basics first with the foundational understanding of the mechanism of concepts in detail. It should be relevant to students day to day life to know their surr...

Instead of having cut off marks based on students scoring, we can have minimum high pass marks that check if the student has enough knowledge to study medical including checking the projects they have done (it checks whether the student is exceptionally excellent for the work). Then  lottery system can be done if we have a fewer number of seats. The proposal can also include girls and other vulnerable social class under reservation. This will reduce the too much of unnecessary burden on the student, also they needn't have to join coaching centers for getting the seats. No more sky touching marks, and no more importance of special coaching. Scientifically speaking luck do play a role in the entrance exam, it's not all about merit.  How luck plays the role? Students who score 2000 rank is not necessarily better than 3000 rank. Parents can't afford the coaching institute. Not knowing the pattern of exams, such as e.g. following Campbell book instead of NCERT, even though...

Chemistry Book: NCERT Chemistry book requires a complete reinvention, with eliminating most units that are unrequired at the higher secondary level and making it more systematic with the flow of information and building new connections by using prior information. e.g. How quantum mechanical model is linked with explaining the properties of elements and molecules? And before explaining the quantum mechanical model, it's needed to explain what are model and theories. From Britannica: Scientific modeling, the generation of a physical, conceptual, or mathematical representation of a real phenomenon that is difficult to observe directly. Scientific models are used to explain and predict the behavior of real objects or systems and are used in a variety of scientific disciplines. The Higher secondary level is meant to know the basics first with the foundational understanding of the mechanism of concepts in detail. It should be relevant to students day to day life to know their surroundin...

Comparative analysis of Openstax chemistry book and our NCERT chemistry book read by largest populated country Review of chapter Atoms, Molecules and Ions of Openstax and Structure of Atom in NCERT Openstax starts the chapter with a picture mass spectral analysis. Mass spectrometry is a very important technique to study atomic properties. To make you more curious it talks about the diagnosis of diseases through analysis of molecules in an exhaled breath. But ncert book image is this: NO IMAGE Let's come down to the introduction: NCERT Chemistry: The existence of atoms has been proposed since the time of early Indian and Greek philosophers (400 B.C.) who were of the view that atoms are the fundamental building blocks of matter. According to them, the continued subdivisions of matter would ultimately yield atoms which would not be further divisible. The word ‘atom’ has been derived from the Greek word ‘a-tomio’ which means ‘uncut-able’ or ‘non-divisible’. These earlier ideas were...

All entrance exams only test rote memorization of abstract concepts without testing critical thinking and in-depth knowledge. Questions don't let you think, just requires a recall of abstract data that you have memorized. Today I will review few questions of NEET and compare those questions with Campbell book Look at the question, it's very descriptive, and promotes critical thinking, just reading the question itself makes you think even if you don't know the answer But what NEET will ask The equivalent of a structural gene is: 1) Operon 2) Recon 3) Muton 4) Cistron Believe me, students would have just memorized or linked structural gene with cistron by attempting previous years questions. The questions simply don't make you think. Do the questions address the answer to the question why Cistron is called a structural gene? From the internet: A structural gene is a gene that codes for any RNA or protein product other than a regulatory factor (i.e. regulatory protein) Cis...

Most questions of CBSE 12th board, all requires rote memorization of abstract information that adds no understanding to the subject. Let us analyze the style of question in CBSE: This is the question from book Nivaldo J Tro: The question gives some background knowledge,  structures are already given and the question really tests your understanding, not how much you have memorized. Answer:  Option Vitamin C and Vitamin B5 are water soluble as it contains many polar groups and others have large nonpolar groups (Vit K3 and Vit A) so its fat soluble. What type of questions you will expect in CBSE? Name the water soluble vitamins and fat soluble vitamins? or Something like is Vitamin C water soluble?  (The structure of Vitamin C will not be given) How are vitamins classified? Name the vitamin which is fat soluble. "All these questions require rote memorization of vitamins:" Fat soluble vitamins are A D E and K Water soluble vitamins are Vitamin B So, just rote memorizati...

Learning About Learning Resources https://github.com/amiyatulu/teacher_resources Textbook must cover six fundamental instructional strategies while presenting the information, defined by rigorous research. 1) Pairing graphics with words 2) Linking abstract concepts with concrete representations Why we face difficulty to remember abstract concepts? https://iambrainstorming.wordpress.com/2017/03/08/why-we-face-difficulty-to-remember-non-concrete-information/ 3)  Posing probing questions http://mrkempnz.com/2014/06/questioning-the-most-powerful-tool-in-the-classroom-an-action-research.html "What Makes a Great Question?" rubric Why, how, what if, how do you know, what are the evidences What if and why not helps you to find alternatives to a solution 4) Repeatedly alternating problems with their solutions provided and problems that students must solve. Solved example and unsolved problem  with steps of problem-solving strategy: 1) sort 2)strategize 3) solve and 4) check.  Che...