Teaching & Learning

With the smartphone camera, are we in any way altering how we might remember our everyday lives? With smartphones becoming practically ubiquitous, almost everyone now wields a camera in his pocket. So, it has become almost second nature for us…

That people have preferred learning styles is an idea that has entrenched itself in the educational scape over the last two decades. The most frequently touted styles, based on sensory modalities, are visual, auditory and kinaesthetic.

Spacing study sessions will win hands down in improving learning skills. Navya is dejected when she sees her exam results. Tears well up as she stares at her mark sheet. As her friends cheerfully post their marks on Facebook and…

Sturm und Drang. This Germanic phrase, which loosely translates as “storm and stress”, originally denoted a German literary movement in the 18th century. However, it also describes a particularly poignant phase of human development. Adolescence. Afte…  

Learning across disciplines can help you broaden your perspectives. The disciplinary boundaries between the arts and sciences are set in stone in most Indian colleges, both literally and metaphorically. The pure sciences and related disciplines like microbiology, electronics and nanotechnology…

Suman is struggling with Math. I need to find a tutor. I’m worried that Tanya will lose marks in board exam due to shoddy writing. Nitin needs to be more attentive in class. He can do much better if he…

What is it about maths that engenders phobic reactions? More than any other discipline, Mathematics tends to evoke awe and dread in a number of people. While every student likes and dislikes different subjects, the proportion of people who evince…

Recall the last time you were angry with someone. Perhaps, your spouse dilly-dallied, delaying your departure from home, which caused you to miss your flight. Or, just as you are hurriedly getting ready for a wedding, you discover that your…

As you fathom a topic at increasingly deeper levels, your curiosity about it also increases. Many articles on education, including previous ones in this column, urge students and teachers to place a premium on understanding as opposed to rote learning….