New trends in physics teaching, v.4; The ... - unesdoc - Unesco

India
It is difficult to visualize the precise date of implementation without working out all the details
considering fully the constraints and the facilities available. No deadline has been set by the
Indian Science Congress. This is to be noted in the context that ours is a state controlled system
of education and therefore introduction of formal curricular changes become possible only after
discussions at various levels of policy, their acceptance by states and the issue of corresponding
directives.
However, there had been several efforts at the non-formal level to relate energy studies to the
real world of the energy gap, to the utilization and waste of energy etc. These non-formal efforts
can be broadly divided into two categories, (i) relating to a systematic development of topics
that can be taught to school children and (ii) through exhibitions and mass media. The earliest
available literature that I can lay my hands upon is from the Vikram A Sarabhai Community
Science Centre, Ahmedabad, which produced Integrated Sciences Trial Topics on Energy’ in
1975, where topics covering different aspects of energy that can be taught to school children
have been developed in a very systematic manner, The complete spectrum of energy has been
covered under fourteen headings, namely:
1. Energy and You 8. Chemical Energy
2. Energy Transformations 9. Nuclear Energy
3. Mechanical Energy 10. Energy in Living Organisms Part I
4. Machines 1 1. Energy in Living Organisms Part I1
5. Light Energy 12. Energy in Living Organisms Part I11
6. Heat Energy 13. Power Production
7. Electrical Energy 14. Sources of Energy
The topics that are of direct relevance for the present purposes are ‘Energy and You’ and
‘Sources of Energy’. Under the heading ‘Energy and YOU’ the subtopics of interest dealt with
are ‘The Conservation of Energy’ and ‘Einstein’s Ideas’. Under ‘Sources of Energy’, the points
that have been emphasized are (i) the sun is a major source of energy; (ii) large parts of OK
energy needs are met from coal, petroleum or natural gas, (iii) our energy needs are increasing,
requiring us to tap known and unknown sources of energy without polluting the earth. The
description is followed by a table giving consumption of per capita energy on food, home consumption,
industry and agriculture, and transportation through the ages.
The chapter ‘Energy sources on the Earth’ discusses two major topics, Conventional Sources of
Energy (classification by the present author) and Future Sources of Energy. The conventional
sources of energy include coal, petroleum, using potential energy of water and nuclear energy.
Under ‘Future Sources of Energy the discussion considers seven subheadings, namely (i) Solar
Energy; (ii) Wind Energy; (iii) Tidal Energy; (iv) Geothermal Energy; (v) Fast Breeder reactors;
(vi) Fusion Power or Energy from Fusion and (vii) Gobar Gas (energy from plant and animal
waste). The chapter concludes by defining the unit of energy that must be used when discussing
sources. The unit introduced is ‘Q’, equivalent to 2.98 X 1014 kWh or 1.06 X 1021 joules, projecting
the energy requirement for the next hundred years in the range of 100 Q.
At the national and state levels, the mass awareness programmes about the problems relating
to energy were organized through science exhibitions by having specific related sub-themes.
NCERT has been organizing National Science Exhibitions (NSE), for children in collaboration
1. Monograph, 90 pp.
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