The only Indian Physicist with a Nobel Prize

National Science day is celebrated on February 28th to mark C.V.Raman’s birthday. He is the only Indian physicist with Nobel prize. three indian born scientists – Har Gobind Khorana, Subramanyan Chandrashekjar and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan won Nobel prizes after getting the U.S. Citizenship. Ram was ingtrigued by the blue colour of the Mediterranean sea and experimentedContinue reading “The only Indian Physicist with a Nobel Prize”

S-R association and Learning

The learning theory of Thorndike (connectionism) represents the original Stimulus – Response [S-R] connectionism: Learning is the result of associations formed between stimuli and responses. Habits are formed as a result of such S-R associations. What are the educational implications of this theory? 1. The law of exercise emphasizes practice in learning. The educational strategiesContinue reading “S-R association and Learning”

Experiential learning

Experiential learning is one of the buzz words of the 21st century learning. Carl Ransom Rogers, an American psychologist, distinguished two types of learning: cognitive (meaningless) and experiential (significant). The former corresponds to academic knowledge such as learning concepts, vocabulary or multiplication tables but the latter refers to applied knowledge such as application of theContinue reading “Experiential learning”

Class management issues?

Are you having issues controlling the class? managing the students? Holding their attention? The answer could be found in chapter 7 of the book From Chalk to Talk The Art of Teaching. Thomas Gordon, the author of a model of classroom management called Teacher effectiveness training, derived T.E.T. from principles of psychology to shift theContinue reading “Class management issues?”

Mind Map Vs Concept Map

Mind map is a good tool to learn from. Do you know the difference between a mind map and a concept map? Very often they are used synonymously. Mind map is not a concept map, The ppt explains the characteristics, usefullness and guidelines for making mind maps. Mind map was invented by Tonhy Buzan. HeContinue reading “Mind Map Vs Concept Map”

Indian Woman Scientist

Asima Chatterjee was an Indian chemist noted for her work on vinca alkaloids, and the development of anti-epileptic and anti-malarial drugs. Her doctoral research focused on the chemistry of plant products and synthetic organic chemistry. Additionally she also had research experience from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and Caltech. She was instrumental in developing anti-convulsive,Continue reading “Indian Woman Scientist”

Utilising the Teaching moments

The classroom curtains had become old and the teacher mentioned it to the class. The students decided to take it up as a project to buy new curtains. Teacher did not want to miss out on a teaching moment. Teacher uses the integrated approach to build the curiosity and teach the concepts enumerated below: TheContinue reading “Utilising the Teaching moments”

Deal with Stress

The relationship between stress and disease is now well established, but was not always recognised. Hans Selye describes stress as the “nonspecific response of the body to any demand “. It is non-specific because, any number of stressors can produce the same general non-individualised response as a defence. Stress could be a combination of personal,Continue reading “Deal with Stress”

Why is 1729 known as the Ramanujan number?

1729 is the natural number following 1728 and preceding 1730. It is known as the Hardy–Ramanujan number, after an anecdote of the British mathematician G. H. Hardy when he visited Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan in hospital. He related their conversation: I remember once going to see him when he was ill at Putney. I hadContinue reading “Why is 1729 known as the Ramanujan number?”

Math in Nature

There is Math all around us. Let’s look for Maths in Nature. Use the example of Adolf Zeisiing, a German psychologist, who found the golden ratio expressed in the arrangement of leaves and branches along the stems of plants and of veins in leaves. The number of petals in a flower consistently follows the GoldenContinue reading “Math in Nature”

How to move from Disorder to Order

Classroom management involves not only the teaching-learning processes but also the general behaviour of the students and discipline. No learning can take place effectively in chaos. If the classroom is chaotic, how does a new teacher ensure that the students pay attention? Movement from Disorder to Order needs effective lessons, good organisation, good rapport buildingContinue reading “How to move from Disorder to Order”

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