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Brainstorming ideas on Saturdays in schools

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You can change and improve things if you are able to imagine it. You can't make it, if you can't imagine it. It's naive to think that everything will happen serendipitously or just knowing things is enough.
Our schools incentivise student just for knowing things in form of marks without giving considerations to creativity. Attitude toward inventiveness is almost negligible in our schools.


You can't make it, if you can't imagine it.

Economic growth matters. Wealth brings us flush toilets, antibiotics, higher education, the ability to choose the career we want, fun vacations, and of course, a greater ability to protect our families against catastrophes.
If wealth is so important, what makes a country rich?
The most proximate cause is that wealthy countries have lots of physical and human capital per worker and they produce things in a relatively efficient manner, using latest technological knowledge. But why do so some countries have more physical and human capital and…
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Comparative analysis of openstax biology and ncert biology

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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 evolution…
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Why are our books filled with unnecessary short cut formulas?

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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
PSolution = 0.845 bar
Molar mass of solute (g/mol) = ?
PSolution = χSolvent P°Solvent
χSolvent = nSolvent/ (nSolvent + nSolute)

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 PSolution = χSolvent 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 programming tools?

When student…
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In the age of the internet, what to memorize and what not?

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There is a heated discussion about why remember facts when all information is at fingertips (through the internet)?.
So first look at dictionary what a fact is?
The first definition that comes up is this:
A thing that is known or proved to be true.

Ok, but most things we study in our education are facts.
Earth revolves around the sun is a fact.
New Delhi is the capital of India is a fact.
Hitler born on dated 20 April 1889 is a fact.
Independence day of India is 15th August is a fact.

Out of these, first two and last one, I needn't have to search the internet,  because these facts are very important to me as I live in India, and I am from Earth (Lol). I searched the internet to find out when Hilter was born because his date of birth was irrelevant for me till now. Maybe I will forget his date of birth after one day because it will not come to any use to me later.

So, some facts are very important to memorize while others are not.  Then what to memorize and what not? In the age of t…
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Suggestions for changes in lessons of NCERT Chemistry book

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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 surrounding…
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Experimental manipulation after tests using eSALT feedback from students

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Personalized pre and post test need to be conducted in the following manner with experimental manipulation:

While giving questions, each student needs to be asked for how easy or difficult the questions are.

Student Feedback for Questions Ease (eSALT):
1) Easy (E)
2) Safe (S)
3) Average (A)
4) Low (L)
5) Trouble (T)




Teachers curation
1) Students making mistakes with Questions tagged Easy, Safe, Average comes under misconceptions which need to be dealt with.
2) Concepts of questions that are tagged with Low and Trouble (it doesn't matter whether student solved it correctly or not) should be explained again to the student. If a student has solved correctly even after tagging it as Low or Trouble than the student need be asked for the cause of trouble along with solving the trouble.

Explaining and clearing doubts can be done in groups in the class as well as in individual level. Grouping can be done based on the overall type of feedback you get from all students.

Spaced Practice
All question…
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NCERT books nothing more than short notes with giving too shallow knowledge

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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 mere …
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