For the future of Biology Education in Goa.
Things we hated about school? Dates in history and Latin names in Biology. Unfortunately, the hatred of these specifics turned into a hatred of the subject itself.
I’m Raj Kunkolienkar, a theoretical physicist by training from BITS-Pilani. I am here to make an appeal pertaining to the Seeker Space, a co-learning space that we are setting up in Panaji. It is going to be a space unlike any school, university or coaching center — an experiment to create the future of education.
We’re a community of eclectic individuals — students, researchers, educators, professionals and parents who want to encourage exploratory and experiential learning. We wish to give rise to independent thinkers and problem solvers who focus on collaboration, curiosity, interdisciplinarity & empathy.
We need your help to guide them to a place they’d love to be in.
As I am leading the development of the science space, I wish to discuss with you how we could promote interest in the biological and medical sciences among school students in Goa.
In my personal experience, biology education (in Goa / India) is doing little to get rid of the ‘biology is all about Latin names!’ image that it has unfortunately picked up over the years. I have been a victim of the same — I dropped out of biology after the tenth grade to only end up liking it thanks to the mandatory biology courses at BITS and the monsoon school at NCBS. To add to it, having talented youngsters dropping out from biology education in school only because they are inclined towards physical sciences or engineering is an irrational and unhealthy trend.
We’re moving towards an incredibly interdisciplinary world. The supposed 4th industrial revolution would be all about the amalgamation of the physical, digital and biological realms. But is the school system doing anything in particular to cater to this? Nothing, I’d wager.
As an educator, I note that while technology has impacted the way one we look at biology (be it genetic engineering, neuroscience) and biological paradigms have impacted technology (evolutionary algorithms, artificial neural networks), we are still stuck at a taxonomy and definition based approach to biology education in schools rather than opting for process and systems-based approach. What has worked for me is helping young minds question how everything around them runs , and how it came to be what it is — their own body and the gut microbiome, that of a spider spinning a web or a bird aligning their flight with the earth’s magnetic field.
In our space, we wish to emphasize this approach through top-bottom questioning, observations, and experiments. Be it setting up ant farms orcontrolling someone else’s arm with your brain. We want to make biology engaging — alive and active, the way it should be (and not textbook images and diagrams).
To make this a reality, we’d want to know your ideas on the possibilities that we should explore to make one’s explorations engaging. Since we aren’t bound to a curriculum, there is a lot of room to explore and experiment. We have dedicated an entire room to the sciences and we’d like to see biology play a big part of the same.
In order to make that a possibility, we’d also want to bring in relevant equipment. As I have listed down in a post that I made, we’d be looking at getting in the following equipment.
A Compound Microscope with a USB Camera.
It’s a pity that while the world has moved on to digital realms, our school students are still forced to watch onion peel cells through antiquated microscopes. We’d love to infuse some technology in there and allow kids to observe whatever they can think up of.
AmScope 40–1000x microscope with a USB Camera + 200 prepared slides would cost us INR 24,000 in hand.
Backyard Brains Neuroscience Experiments
Neuroscience sure is one of the hottest interdisciplinary fields out there. Why should Goan students have to wait till they graduate to have access to neuroscience research equipment? The Backyard Brains toolbox would make it possible for school students to play and learn how the brain works. Who wouldn’t love to control the actions of another human being, watch their muscles twitch and respond to signals and control a mechanical cockroach using an EEG headband?
The toolbox would cost us around INR 75,000 in hand.
Genetic Engineering 101
With CRISPR, Genetic Engineering and personalised medicine entering the mainstream, there’s no doubt that the sooner our young ones ought to be exposed to the workings, ethics and implications of such technological advances. The BioExplorer kit aids students to engineer bacteria and organisms with a new DNA program, grow them, and manufacture them in liquid culture.
To start off, these bacteria can be then used to create fluorescent art — one’s first step towards the future.
The BioExplorer Kit would cost around INR 1,20,000 with refills which can be sustained through workshops.
As most of this tech hasn’t penetrated the Indian market as much as we’d want it to, we have to turn to crowdfunding to help us bring these tools to the disposal of Goan students.
We believe that such an exposure would enthuse them to be curious about the biological world around them and that some of the youngsters would not only develop a holistic perspective towards the biological sciences but also go on to participate in research.
We’d urge you to make donations towards empowering Goans to dream bigger, and do more.
Donors can avail of access to the space and activities through tokens matching the value of ones’s donations. These tokens can also be redeemed through scholarships provided to deserving students from low income schools.
Thank you for taking out time to hear us out. Do reach out to us at education@vidyavriksh.in with your comments, suggestions, alternatives and additions to the equipment listed alongside your valuable donations and offerings to mentor students. And not to forget, spread the word among your peers!
Cheers,
Raj Kunkolienkar
