Foldscope Embedded Pedagogy in Stem Education: A Case Study of SDG4 Promotion in India

Parul Kulshreshtha, Sunita Gupta (), Rafikh Shaikh, Divya Aggarwal, Deuvshree Sharma and Praveen Rahi
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Parul Kulshreshtha: Department of Zoology, Shivaji College, University of Delhi, Raja Garden, New Delhi 110027, India
Sunita Gupta: Department of Zoology, Shivaji College, University of Delhi, Raja Garden, New Delhi 110027, India
Rafikh Shaikh: Homi Bhabha Center for Science Education, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai 400088, India
Divya Aggarwal: Department of Environmental Studies, University of Delhi, Delhi 110007, India
Deuvshree Sharma: Air Quality Management Division, Central Pollution Control Board, New Delhi 110032, India
Praveen Rahi: National Centre for Microbial Resource-National Centre for Cell Science, Pune 411021, India

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 20, 1-16

Abstract: Most government schools and colleges run on low budgets in India, yet they cater to a large population of students. In government settings, biology labs lack basic equipment such as simple microscopes or compound microscopes or sometimes possess just one instrument. In the absence of compound or simple microscopes, the students lose interest in science. To solve this issue, the Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, introduced the origami microscope, the foldscope, into the Indian educational system. In this article, we describe the design of a sustainable, inclusive, and equitable curricula for teaching biological concepts using the foldscope. We describe the implementation of foldscope-adapted curricula in post-secondary settings to teach natural selection, developmental biology, parasitology, and economic Zoology via individual, small-group, and large-group field trips, and project-based learning that involves experiential learning. We found that these culturally sensitive pedagogies involving translingual instructions had the potential to retain students and make science education accessible for the linguistically and culturally diverse population of India. We could successfully implement our project as per the five priority action areas outlined by UNESCO. Therefore, we propose the adoption of the foldscope-adapted curricula under SDG4 to make STEM education accessible in budget-frugal settings.

Keywords: STEM education; education for sustainable development (ESD); foldscope; SDG4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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