Unlocking the Potential of Pedagogical Optimization in Undergraduate Science Education: A Case Study

Abstract

Education in science has undergone tremendous changes with the integration of innovative teaching-learning pedagogy and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools. In this paper, effort has been made to suggest some new and innovative pedagogies like students led Mentor-Mentee program, Design based labs, formative assessment by the stakeholders, framing of questionnaire with the solutions by the students amongst other to improve the understanding, skills and employability of Science Undergraduate students. These suggestions have been arrived at, based on the study carried out involving the undergraduate students of Physical Science studying Physics as one of their discipline (for a total of 2096 students from 1st, 2nd and 3rd year), admitted between 2020 and 2023, in one of the central universities of India viz., University of Delhi. The results have been analysed and discussed to suggest the scope of improvement in the existing teachinglearning pedagogy. Further, these suggestions have also been assessed in classroom settings with positive outcome and considerable success. Another important aspect analysed through this study was the effectiveness of the ICT tools, especially in a country like India where recent policy initiatives have ushered in a major overhaul of the entire teaching-learning system. This study has also focussed on the effect of ICT mediated teaching-learning pedagogy in view of the extraordinary challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.