News
How citizens’ ecological imaginations can impact the future of our green infrastructure
Listen to the podcast by Harini Nagendra, Faculty, Azim Premji University, in The Swaddle, on re-imagining environmental sustainability, reframing the development versus environment binary, and creating more equal cities by fostering urban commons.
Ambedkar in a savarna mundu? Why Babasaheb’s clothes matter
Kerala debate on Ambedkar shows his suit is a signifier on multiple levels. Some link it to Buddhist enlightenment, others to the 1942 SC federation flag, writes K Kalyani, Faculty member, Azim Premji University, in ThePrint.
Science Education: How students can learn the foundational principles of physics through simple experiments
G S Rautela, in i wonder… magazine, presents simple but exciting experiments that can be performed with low-cost materials, to understand the basic principles of physics.
Why success of new education policy depends on how we recruit and assess teachers
Aanchal Chomal and Anupama Raj, in The Indian Express, write that setting up clear benchmarks of quality and well-designed recruitment processes hold the key to ensuring better teaching-learning outcomes.
निवेश बढ़ा तो संवरेंगे सरकारी स्कूल
अनुराग बेहर, अजीम प्रेमजी फाउंडेशन के सीईओ, हिन्दुस्तान में लिखते है कि केंद्रीय विद्यालयों की तरह ही हम यदि अन्य सरकारी स्कूलों में निवेश कर सकें, तो निस्संदेह उनकी तस्वीर भी बदल जाएगी।
Bengaluru Rains: While record rainfall appears to be the immediate villain, was it the only reason for flooding?
Torrential rains turned many parts of Bengaluru, including its tech corridors along the Outer Ring Road, into veritable lakes last week. Harini Nagendra, faculty member, Azim Premji University, in The Times of India, suggests solutions in an interview.
Why e‑waste processing is a dangerous occupation
Sapna Mishra and Rakhal Gaitonde, in The Wire, highlight the plight of the workers who process e‑waste, as part of their PhD fieldwork conducted in the slums of a city in a south Indian state.
अधिक कुशल शिक्षकों के लिए बदलना होगा ढांचा
अध्यापकों की क्षमता और उनकी प्रभावशीलता में सुधार की जरूरत है। अनुराग बेहर, अजीम प्रेमजी फाउंडेशन के सीईओ, राजस्थान पत्रिका में लिखते है कि यह तभी हो सकेगा जब शिक्षक शिक्षा व शिक्षकों को अधिक कुशल बनाने की दिशा में संरचनात्मक और व्यवस्थित परिवर्तन होंगे।
When Bengaluru became Venice: Gear up to the challenges of living in a world disrupted by constant risk
We must go beyond band-aids and patchwork solutions, desilt our lakes and widen the concrete box drains to cope with intense bursts of heavy rainfall in short spells, writes Harini Nagendra, faculty member, Azim Premji University, in Deccan Herald.
How to bridge the gap between environmental research and action
The awareness to contribute and care for the environment can begin with teachers and children in schools, write Harini Nagendra and Seema Mundoli, in the Learning Curve magazine.
How one can bring about and contribute to social change
Social action without theoretically informed and practically grounded ideas may have limited ends and impact, writes Kinnari Pandya, in Deccan Herald.
Kendriya Vidyalayas (KVs) are clear examples of how public schools can be run well — we have six decades of evidence
If we back the state run schools with the same investment as the country has made in KVs, our public schools will be transformed, says Anurag Behar, in Mint.
Environmental Education: What children can learn from staying near forests
Ankit Shukla, in the Learning Curve magazine, shares learnings from a visit to a nearby forest that was planned with some children of a government school, inspired by Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window, a book by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi.
How hydroponic farming can become a medium for students to develop connections with science concepts
Prashant Wahule, in i wonder… magazine, explains how encouraging student-led inquiry, discussion, and collaborative work can help children to develop into confident learners by sharing an experience of hydroponic farming with tribal students of Ashram Shala.
How teachers can help first-generation school children learn without fear and stress
Vidhya Das, in Learning Curve magazine, shares her experiences from Agragamee school, which addresses complex issues affecting learning in first-generation school children in the tribal districts of Orissa.
Children are not picking up the four basic numerical skills adequately. How to modify the teaching practices?
No matter what one does, the ability to add, subtract, multiply and divide is crucial and needed for everyday matters. Swati Sircar, in the Learning Curve magazine, explores the resources to enable children to master these basic operations.
How Environmental Education can support efforts to address the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by UN
Compelling stories and evidence through case studies would support the understanding of Environmental Education (EE) writes Chandrika Muralidhar in the Learning Curve magazine.
Why experimental evolution is a powerful approach to study evolution
In an era of massive environmental upheavals like deforestation, habitat loss, and global warming, Shampa M Ghosh, in i wonder… magazine, explores how this approach can be a great tool to understand and predict evolutionary changes in nature.
How to include the arts into learning experiences, to create environmental awareness
When diversity of artistic expression is shared and discussed in the classroom, children get sensitised to perceive diversity and nuances within their own environment, writes Malavika Rajnarayan, in Learning Curve magazine.
Passionate about public transport, student lists bus routes to and from Sarjapura, Bengaluru
Vikas Gotla, MA Development student, Azim Premji University, took a year to compile the data. He wants people to understand that they can count on buses and that a lot of money can be saved by using them.
Why an English-only education is neither desirable nor doable in India
T Vijay Kumar and Giridhar Rao, in Telangana Today, highlight how a multilingual or bilingual nationally enforced education policy could instead adapt the best of both worlds and foster critical thinking, as emphasised in NEP 2020.
Is there a perfect time to hang up one’s boots?
With lifespans increasing, more and more people will spend a third of their life in retirement. Sudheesh Venkatesh, in The Times of India, writes that it can be the next big adventure and a time to give generously for the prepared mind.
Indian philatelic journey: How stamps became part of India’s family planning mission
Vikas Kumar, faculty, Azim Premji University, in ThePrint, highlights how family planning was a major philatelic theme for more than three decades, between 1966 and 1999, in India.
India at 75: Diverse influences on Indian education system and the pledges to redeem
To mark 75 years of our independence, Anurag Behar, CEO, Azim Premji Foundation, in Mint, shares a list of events, people, trends and ideas from modern India that have shaped India’s school education.
How environmental awareness for preschoolers can create a lifelong impact on them
Yogesh GR, in the Learning Curve magazine, illustrates how anganwadi teachers can create opportunities through which children are able to observe and explore local habitats and a foundation for greater environmental awareness is laid.
How and what to teach students to improve their understanding of Nature of Science (NOS)
Arvind Kumar, in i wonder… magazine, discusses the rationale for introducing Nature of Science in school science curricula, its evolving perspectives, and the approaches we may adopt to enable the learning of this topic.
Why we cannot ignore the consequences of an out-of-control global production and consumption system
We must seize this decade if we are to have any hope of wrestling back a liveable future for ourselves, our children and grandchildren. We must get emissions under control in the next 3 – 5 years, writes Harini Nagendra, faculty member, Azim Premji University, in Deccan Herald.
Azim Premji University Study: Teacher efforts to support learning recovery after school reopening
Given the widespread and deep effects of school closure on learning levels of students, the study recommends a more sustained long-term effort by the entire public school system to focus on the recovery of learning loss.
How teachers can use shadows and reflections to link everyday observations to the concept of light
Studying light is an opportunity for teachers to enthuse students about science, by relating it to observations that they can themselves make and think about, writes Rajaram Nityananda, in i wonder… magazine.
Will a skills-inclusive education enable schooling for all?
V Santhakumar, in Learning Curve magazine, explains how individual desire to achieve social or economic mobility, or society’s concern about growing inequality may make certain experiments in this regard ineffective.