To train next generation teachers, IISER Pune to set up Department of Science Education

The institute’s senate, in July, approved the setting up of the Department of Science Education. Once the Board of Governors clears this proposal, expected in a meeting scheduled within a month, IISER Pune will become the first among the seven IISERs and also possibly among the IITs and NITs to have such a department.

Currently, research in Education is majorly carried out at the Regional Institutes of Education located at Shillong, Ajmer, Bhopal, Bhubaneswar and Mysuru, and the TIFR – Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education in Mumbai.

“Good work has been done at these institutes and in non-government sectors and now a scaling-up is required. Experts engaged in research in Education agree that teaching at the school-levels needs greater attention,” said Prof Bhas Bapat, Dean (Academics) at IISER Pune.

For several years now, IISER, Pune, has hosted a number of workshops and teacher training sessions but they have mostly been short-term engagements.

“ Now, with a dedicated department, we will have full-time teaching faculty members who are keen on taking up research in teaching and Education. The aim is also to create awareness among teachers about this stream as a career option as like opting any other subject,” added Bapat.

Initially, the department-under-making will engage senior students from within IISER Pune, who are inclined towards teaching and research in Education. “This will be slow but a long-term engagement. We are up against two challenges – finding faculty, teacher-educators and more importantly, creating awareness about research opportunities in Education,” said Bapat.

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With the pandemic forcing virtual learning world over and newer technologies allowing learning through multimedia tools,
the Department of Science Education and Research will pay attention to the impact and possibilities that the latest tools bring in.

“We may not need conventional labs but we will have to create spaces to hold teacher workshops, to develop teaching tools, all of which will require extensive and multi-faceted support. To begin with, our existing infrastructure should suffice but going ahead, will need dedicated facilities,” the Dean, said.

New faculty members will have to be hired for the department to get operational. Once the department strengthens its faculty
numbers, the courses will be open first for our own students and also for teachers and other folks in the field of education from outside IISER, Pune, in future, he said.