The 21st century generation, known in the technological cosmos as Gen Z is a clan that seeps in everything that is computerized. Whether you talk about grabbing bytes of news headlines on the news websites or glimpsing through websites for appropriate study material or boosting up their entertainment quotient, you will not find any child of today’s generation sans computerized skills. Children today are smarter and more pragmatic, exposed as they are to a mélange of informative resources and options. While, this definitely puts them at an advantage over their predecessors, yet it is imperative to channelize and make the best use of the technological sources so as to prevent them from going on the wrong track.
Schools play a vital role in developing and bringing out the best in every child and together with parents institutes can play wonders in shaping the curious minds and therefore contribute positively and constructively towards the development of the nation’s economy. Encouraging children to indulge in research work from an early age can be one of the most formidable ways to strengthen concepts and build a strong foundation. Gone are the days when education was confined to the four walls of the classroom. With technology taking up the front seat and the digital enigma beaming bright in the lives of these youngsters, there’s no dearth of things and methods of learning that they are exposed to.
Looking into the educational trends today, good schools motivate students to learn concepts based on projects and hands-on learning rather than mere textual interpretations. For instance, The Lexicon International School, Wagholi seeks to boost the creative and scientific bent of mind of its students from a very early age through its unique Research and Development programmes. The Research and Development projects are taken up by the Middle School and High School students wherein they indulge in grueling research work based on topics in their curriculum. This necessitates them to engage in real surveys in their immediate surroundings and thereby collecting and interpreting data and arriving at conclusions. Visits are often carried out to places or sites involving real-time occurrences related to the research problem, such as a Rehabilitation centre to discuss issues of Drug abuse or organic farms to witness the real efforts that go in the same and the benefits of sustainable organic farming. Such exposure also helps students develop their communicative skills as they interact with diverse people and get to face the real world outside, thus preparing themselves for the future.
The final report is then presented through Power Point Presentations, Role Plays and Debates along with comparative analysis carried out between countries of the world. Comparisons enable students to get a bird’s eye view of the way other countries deal with the problem at hand, thereby bringing infeasible and probable solutions that can be implemented. An open forum discusses the various aspects of the problem in question thus giving students the ability to ponder on wider perspectives.
Not only within the school, institutions that encourage students to participate in district, state or national level research competitions, nurture brighter and more scientific minds. Exhibitions such as National Science exhibitions conducted by reputed organizations across the country encourage students to come up with striking projects such as Smart City development or those based on futuristic ideas that trigger students’ imagination and compel them to think beyond the clichéd ideas to innovate something extraordinary but realistic.
When so many ideas are inculcated in the minds from such an early stage and the habit of systematic research, reference, reviewing and presentation are imbued indelibly students definitely grow up with a constructive approach towards life and therefore are motivated to contribute positively towards the environment.
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