Mysuru: The shortlisted creamy physics students from across the country who are undergoing the two-week “Physics Training and Talent Search” (PTTS) programme conducted by the Infosys Science Foundation at the Regional Institute of Education, Mysuru, are delighted with the quality of teaching here.
The aim of the programme is to motivate undergraduate students to understand and apply physics concepts in both theory and practical. It also intends to provide a platform for motivated students to interact with peers and experts in the field and identify talented students and nurture their talent for a research career in physics. The students mention that during their regular classes, there is less scope to go in depth into the subject due to the teachers’ rush to complete the syllabus. But here at the workshop they have the opportunity to update their knowledge in the subject of their interest.
During the two-week programme which is modelled on the lines of the highly successful mathematics training and talent search programme that has been upgrading several mathematicians in India since 1993. Every working day there are two lectures of 90 minutes duration in the forenoon followed by two tutorials sessions of 90 minutes duration in the afternoon. The students were taken through classical mechanics, quantum mechanics and experimental physics. Elizabeth Zacharias from IFHE, Hyderabad, imparted training on classical mechanics, SVM Satyanarayana (Pondicherry University) on quantum mechanics and for experimental course Goutham K Samanta (Physics Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad) and Dr Sudarakannan of M S University Tirunelveli guided the students. Apart from this, there were guest lectures on topics of current research. A session on career prospects in Physics was also held.
M Sivakumar, School of Physics, University of Hyderabad, who is the coordinator of the programme said, “Unlike traditional lectures, classes in this programme were interactive in nature. Students were asked questions and also were encouraged to ask questions during the lectures. They were allowed to use the blackboard to solve a problem or explain a concept during tutorials. There was emphasis on clarifying students’ doubts on fundamental principles. Assignments for the afternoon tutorials included solving the problems and discussing questions based on the topics discussed in the morning. Students were encouraged to discuss the solutions among themselves with the teacher playing the role of a facilitator. Appropriate syllabus was developed taking a cue from variety of them adopted in different colleges all over the country. The experimental physics courses were structured so as to make the students ponder on how to propose and design an experiment and identify errors in obtaining and interpreting the data. The emphasis during both theory and practicals, was on training the students to think independently. “Overall we want students to enjoy doing physics”, the organisers said.
In all, 200 applications were received out of which only 50 students were shortlisted; of them more than 50 percent are from a rural background where they don’t have proper learning facilities. Selection was based on academic performance, teachers’ recommendation letters and a write up on “Why I want to attend this program?” The 14-day programme which kickstarted on December 9 will conclude on December 24.
Student reactions:
“Really it’s a great experience. It exposed me to lot of concepts which I wasn’t aware of earlier. The way they approach each idea is different. The thing is they don’t restrict you from thinking on your own which is not the same in colleges sometimes with focus being only on securing marks. Here they push you in the right direction. Such programmes should be conducted on a regular basis”, said Shreya, St Joseph’s College, Bengaluru.
Anirudh from Chennai said, “It is one of the rarest opportunities. You have the best teachers from the country taking the classes. In regular academics, they would just shrink the syllabus and just teach you what is needed for the exam but here it’s more about understanding the subject. We are allowed to question even best of the authors and that kind of freedom makes us more innovative and creative”.
Kasthuri from Noida said “They started from basics and gradually took us to high levels, with an increased depth on the subject. It was really helpful. Most important of all, the teachers were available all the time”.
Jisnu, Government College, Calicut Rural, said, “The teaching was of high quality and innovative. There were lot of interactions between students and teachers which really made us more comfortable and also involve more. Apart from all this, no one is studying here for scoring in the exams but out of sheer love to learn”.
