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

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  • Parul Kulshreshtha

    (Department of Zoology, Shivaji College, University of Delhi, Raja Garden, New Delhi 110027, India
    Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University, Rajasthan 303002, India
    Advising and Involvement Centre, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC V1V1V7, Canada)

  • 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
    Centre of Excellence in Teacher Education, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, 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
    Institut Pasteur, Université Paris Cité, Biological Resource Center of Institut Pasteur (CRBIP), 75015 Paris, France)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Parul Kulshreshtha & Sunita Gupta & Rafikh Shaikh & Divya Aggarwal & Deuvshree Sharma & Praveen Rahi, 2022. "Foldscope Embedded Pedagogy in Stem Education: A Case Study of SDG4 Promotion in India," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-16, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:20:p:13427-:d:946170
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Cara M. Djonko-Moore & Nicole M. Joseph, 2016. "Out of the Classroom and Into the City," SAGE Open, , vol. 6(2), pages 21582440166, May.
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    1. Sunita Gupta & Parul Kulshreshtha & Divya Aggarwal & Deuvshree Sharma, 2023. "Undergraduate Internship on Yamuna River Exploration: Raising Awareness about SDG6," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-16, June.

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