STEM for Teachers

STEM subject’s hands-on learning workshop for Science & Mathematics

Teachers in Nashik region
Smt. Indrani Balan Science Activity Centre (SAC), IISER Pune
And
Maratha Vidya Prasarak Samaj, Nashik, Maharashtra

Background: In collaboration with Maratha Vidya

Prasarak Samaj Nashik, we have successfully
completed the pilot project named “STEM subjects
learning workshop for science and mathematics
teachers” in Nashik district. The duration of this pilot
project was four months (October 18, 2023, to
February 17, 2024). There were 40 teachers from
schools of rural areas of Nashik who participated in
this pilot project. We conducted three days of in-
person workshops in Nashik and two online sessions.
We have also formed a social media group for them to
continue our support after the workshops and for a
two-way exchange of new ideas with the teachers.

Outcome and the success of the Pilot project:

As per the original plan of the project, we conducted a

workshop for the 40 teachers to enhance their hands-
on skills and subject knowledge in science and
mathematics and design experiments and models.
After the workshop, we found that the participant
teachers not only learned these activities themselves
but also taught their colleagues in the schools. Thus,
we were pleased to realize that the final number of
beneficiaries is much more than we initially expected.
Teachers have also conducted several sessions with
their students in the schools and shared photos and
videos with us. We can see the curiosity and the joy
of learning on the children’s faces. This joy of
learning the subject using hands-on activities
shows the success of the project. By inspiring the
activities that we have used in the workshop,
teachers have created several new activities for
their laboratory and have also started using their
existing school laboratory more effectively.
We have also taken feedback from the teachers in written and video format during and after the workshop,
and unanimously, all the teachers said this workshop has been very useful for them. Most of the teachers
said this is the first workshop in their teaching service time where they got to learn many hands-on skills to
design their own activities for their classroom teaching. They requested that we have more such workshops
for them and their colleagues in Nashik district.
Link for workshop videos and photos of the Piolet Project:

Videos feedback from the teachers: [Link]

list=PLNsl4FmzN-wliPSiLJutowy0fk9qb6QUT Students photos of doing activities
in the classroom:
[Link]
Videos of students doing activities in the classroom:
[Link]
Feedback of the teachers:
[Link]

After the success of the pilot project with Maratha Vidya Prasarak (MVP) Samaj, Nashik we present
the project proposal as follows.
MVP Samaj Nashik is the biggest educational organization in Nashik district. This organization runs over
350 schools, junior colleges, senior colleges, and technical institutes in Nashik district, mostly for Nashik
rural area. For larger reach and impact of enhancing the knowledge and pedagogy of STEM subjects among
science and mathematics teachers, we propose this teacher training program.
STEM for Teachers: Quality education helps children
realize their maximum potential and also plays a vital
role in eradicating poverty and attaining financial
independence. It promotes gender equality and helps
create a society that empowers the underprivileged.
One of the ways of reaching these goals is to empower
the school and college teachers. As a first step, since it
is impossible to reach every teacher, we train a set of
teachers thereby creating Trainers or Master teachers.
These Master Teachers then in turn train more
teachers in their schools and other schools in their
geographical area. The emphasis during training is to
eventually equip the students with 21st century
skills like
innovation, critical thinking, problem solving and out-of-the-box thinking.
Our National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 lays emphasis on the development of the creative potential of
teachers via experiential learning including hands-on learning method for school curriculum. To improve
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education, the Science Activity Centre (SAC) at
IISER Pune intends to collaborate with educational institutes to train proactive teachers from
underprivileged schools in exploring hands-on STEM activities that can be implemented in schools. The
goal is to bring a refreshing change in school ecosystems. In the last seven years we have conducted
immersive workshops for teachers. These were at various places all over India. The teacher’s feedback from
the workshops has been overwhelmingly positive. Teachers with 25-30 years of experience have expressed
that this pedagogical intervention of using hands- on activities is novel and effective for their classroom
teaching. They were unanimous that such workshops should replace their mandatory, in-service training.

We outline the key components of this project proposal as follows.

Over-all goals:
 Enhancement of Classroom Learning Environment: Introduce hands-on activities as a means
of teaching in the teacher training workshops.
 Enhancement of Teaching Skills: Equip science and mathematics teachers with advanced
teaching methodologies and tools to deliver high-quality, hands-on STEM education.
 Improved Student Outcomes: Elevate students’ interest and performance in science and
mathematics through engaging and innovative teaching practices by teachers who have
completed our three-day workshop.
 Sustainable STEM Culture: Foster a sustainable culture of STEM education within schools
for its long-term impact.
 Community Engagement: Engage the broader school community and local stakeholders in
supporting and sustaining STEM initiatives.

Intended Outcomes:
 200 teachers from Nashik region will attend on-site, in-person workshops in batches.
Teachers will develop their own activity-based learning resources for their
classroom teaching.
 Selected participant teachers will attend the sessions (two sessions per year) for their
continuous engagement in outreach activities.
 Approximately 10,000 students (50 students per teacher, 200 x 50 = 10,000) will be the
indirect beneficiaries from the implementation of hands-on activities in the classroom.

Duration of the Project: June 2025 to March 2026

Sr. No. Year In person workshops for teachers at sessions for teachers (two
Nashik sessions per year)
Batches Batches
(first semester) (second semester)
1 2025-26 Batch I Batch II 100
50 teachers 50 teachers

2 2025-26 Batch III Batch IV 100

50 teachers 50 teachers
Highlights of the Work Plan:
1. 200 teachers from Nashik region (preferably teaching science and/or mathematics) will be
selected for workshops by the MVP administration.
2. These teachers will be divided into four batches of 50 teachers each, and a three-day
workshop per batch will be organized for them at the specified location in Nashik
district.
3. In line with NEP2020 to implement hands-on teaching and learning, in these trainings the
teachers will design the activities throughout the three-day workshops, and they will put
together their own educational resource kit. This kit will be the property of the school and will
be utilized for classroom teaching and shared with other teachers in the school.
4. Teachers are expected to implement hands-on activities in the classrooms, reaching up to 50
students per teacher, resulting in approximately 10,000 student (200 x 50) beneficiaries.

Beneficiaries Profile:

Sr. Number of teachers (direct Number of students (indirect Total

No. beneficiaries) beneficiaries)
1 200 10000 (200 x 50) 10200

Project – Assessment and Progress Report:

The project will be reviewed before, during, and after each session. In order to identify the impact
of the project, we will determine the optimal assessment procedure, and a few inquiries will be
addressed both before and after the workshops. In order to collect their input for the project
evaluation, we may also record some videos of teachers before and after the workshops and analyze
them like we did in the pilot last year.

Maratha Vidya Prasarak Samaj Nashik will receive an academic progress report for each workshop
conducted as part of this project every six months. The financial progress report will be submitted
annually. Utilization certificates will be issued in accordance with the institute policies.

Role and responsibilities:

SAC IISER Pune project team

 Curate the content for the teachers’ workshop.

 Procure the necessary materials for the workshop activities.
 Travel to the workshop location from Pune one day prior to the workshop.
 Conduct the 3-day workshops in batches (total four batches) for 200 teachers
Maratha Vidya Prasarak (MVP) Samaj Nashik team

 Select the teachers for workshops and establish communication with them for this project.
 Shortlist 300 teachers and share the details of the teachers with the SAC IISER Pune project
team
 Manage the logistics of the workshop including venue, audio-video support, and
refreshments etc.
 Make computer facility available for teachers during the workshop.
 Arrange lodging and boarding for the SAC IISER Pune project team at Nashik.
 Follow up with teachers to ensure that the workshop activities are implemented in their
respective schools after the training.

Project Execution Team:

 Mr. Ashok Rupner (Senior Technical Officer, Smt. Indrani Balan Science Activity Centre,
IISER Pune)
 Mr. Ankish Tirpude (Technical Assistant, Smt. Indrani Balan Science Activity Centre, IISER
Pune)
 One full time member to be recruited exclusively for this project

Budget:

S. No. Budget Particulars Amount (in INR)

1 Workshop 1(100 Participants) 5,00,000

2 Workshop 2(100 Participants) 5,00,000

Total: Ten Lakhs only 10,00,000