1. DEBNATH D., BARUAH R.S. / International Journal of Engineering Research and
Applications (IJERA) ISSN: 2248-9622 www.ijera.com
Vol. 2, Issue 5, September- October 2012, pp.1603-1606
“Problems And Prospect Of Teaching Electricity And Electrical
Devices In Primary Classes”
DEBNATH D., BARUAH R.S.
Department of Physics, Dhing College, Dhing, Nagaon, Assam
Abstract:
. Young children have curiosity about the conductor is also associated with a magnetic field,
phenomena taking place around them and which is used in electrical bells.
teachers have the responsibility to create an The elementary school years especially are
environment so that a positive attitude grows up important because this is the time in which children
among the pupils in their early stage of learning. develop a foundation of science for entire life. So it
Since electrical energy is the basic need of is very important to guide them carefully. Electricity
modern age, students must have to enhance in primary classes is the basic of science. If the
storehouse of knowledge about electricity. status of science education is to changed then the
Therefore in order to make teaching electricity education of teachers who have the responsibility for
effective & yet interesting, several techniques teaching those children will be a critical factor.
may have to be adopted. Elementary school teachers were far more sanguine
about their working conditions, when compared to
Introduction their middle and high school counterparts and
The importance of science education in the Teachers who report relatively low levels of
early childhood / elementary years is very important satisfaction with their professional development
if we are to expect the young people of this nation to often do not have access to the kinds of training they
become active & interested in science and believe they need. Teacher must have sufficient
technology. The school years are very important content knowledge and skill in different teaching
because it is this precious years children develop a techniques, an ability to evaluate and use appropriate
foundation of science. Here the prime responsibility tools to supplement the text. In elementary, middle
of the teachers is to make science interesting to the and secondary school education, the study suggests
students from the early years of schooling. These that the activity of story telling has an impact on
skills are required for processing information in to a Participants' interpersonal relationships, empathy,
developing system of knowledge. and senseof“Connectedness" in the classroom and
It is here that an assessment needs to be built teacher-student friendly relation regarding
done regarding the effectiveness of teaching education and knowledge. Teachers who intend to
procedure, additional requirements of the school leave their schools and teaching are more likely to
children and the teachers and the reforms that are have grave concerns about their lack of
needed to make science an enjoyable learning empowerment, poor school leadership, and the low
subject. levels of trust and respect inside their buildings
(Barnett Berry, Mark Smylie & Ed Fuller,
ELECTRICITY-AN INTRODUCTION: November 2008). This paper describes the use of
ELECTRICITY is the branch of Physics autobiographical storytelling, personal myths, and
which deals with movements of electrons that is the visual imagery in preparing elementary and special
flow of electric charges constitutes an electric educators for activist roles in creating effective,
current. The conventional direction of flow of inclusive schools. (Jackie Baldwin and Kate
current is taken as the direction of flow of positive Dudding)
charges. Electron is an elementary particle having
mass 9.110x10-31 kg and charge 1.602x10-19 Aims and objective:
coulomb .Unit of electric current is ampere and is The following are the objectives of the study-
measured with the help of ammeter. As metals a) To discuss the concept of current,
contain free electrons .which are capable of moving electrical equipment and devices and
freely within the metal, just like molecules of liquid, find out simplest & interesting way of
constituting current. Dry cells, keys, wire are the teaching electricity in primary
required materials for making electrical circuits. standard.
When current flows through a circuit heat is b) How to operate and handled household
generated all along the length of the conductor and electric and electronic devices and
the effect is called Joules heating effect of electrical precautions should be taken before
current. Electrical heater, iron, safety fuse etc. are using these devices.
the examples of this effect. Again current carrying
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2. DEBNATH D., BARUAH R.S. / International Journal of Engineering Research and
Applications (IJERA) ISSN: 2248-9622 www.ijera.com
Vol. 2, Issue 5, September- October 2012, pp.1603-1606
c) To enhance the skill of science teachers Since the study was conducted during the festive
regarding the use of the electrical and season as well as examination season, the desired
electronic devices. maximum number of respondents could not be met
d) Public awareness through the students by us. A total of 170 Students were made
to minimized accident due to mis- respondents.
handlelling of electrical and electronic
devices. Analysis of students feed back:
e) To identify problems with text book.
% of
f) And to asses the requirements of Total no. Averag
Sl. correc
additional support material for teaching Name of the of e
No t
electricity. school question correct
. answe
s answer
r
MATERIALS AND METHOD Bhumoragur 25 14 56%
Since the objective of the study was very i S.S.
1
difficult, a complete and comprehensive analysis Madhabdev
was only possible if the views and apprehensions of ME School
all the parties i.e. students, science teachers as well Batadrava 25 10 40%
as the Head of the institution were surveyed and Anchalic
2
studied. Different sets of questionnaire were Girls ME
prepared for students, teachers & HOD of the School
institutions to identity the right need. The key Athgaon 25 12 48%
findings are presented in the form of tables, graphs, 3 MV School,
charts. The questionnaires of the student‟s had 25 Dhing
questions regarding concept on electricity and Dhing 25 9 36%
electronic device, problems of text book, problems 4 Public High
of science teachers etc. School
Dhing 25 16 64%
Limitations of the study: 5 G.B.H.S.
Because of the poor attendance of the School
students due to festive season, socio-economic Dumdumia 25 11 44%
census duties and forthcoming examination, it was 6 Balisatra
not possible to meet all the students, science teacher H.S. School
and head of the institution the schools.
Field study Average percentage of the average correct
Sample Size: answer is 48%. It reveals that the knowledge
A total of 6 Schools were covered in gathered from text book is average.
Batadraba Education Block and 170 School children
who were present were made respondents. 25
Sl. Name of the Total no. of
No. School respondents 20 school1
Bhumoraguri 10
S.S. school2
1 15
Madhabdev school3
ME School
Batadrava 15 school4
10
2 Anchalic Girls school5
ME School school6
Athgaon MV 45 5
3 average
School, Dhing
Dhing Public 30
4
High School 0
Dhing 20 No. of
5 G.B.H.S. questions
School
Dumdumia 50
6 Balisatra H.S. Fig. shows the comparative study of
School questionnaire of different schools.
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3. DEBNATH D., BARUAH R.S. / International Journal of Engineering Research and
Applications (IJERA) ISSN: 2248-9622 www.ijera.com
Vol. 2, Issue 5, September- October 2012, pp.1603-1606
The students of in all schools were asked even a single school I visited had library /
questions about the teaching method by teachers. library facility which is considered as a
25% of the students said that the science teacher minimum requirements for a good school.
only read from the text book (without using black In absence of a library, students are not able
board) & they (students) listen. It is practically a to refer to books (other than text books) and
monologue. Only 52% science teacher make use of thus are being deprived of quality /
black board and 23% give examples while additional information.
explaining the text books. While testing the basic
knowledge of the students questions were asked Conclusion and Recommendations:
from the questionnaire, It was found that 48% During our project period, our team wanted
correct answers was given by the students, which to visit 6 schools in Batadrava Block. But, due to
were very basic. Al most 70% of the students have time constrain, it was not possible to collect data
not been handled electrical devices although the from all schools. So we collected samples from 6
tools are readily available. schools. And after analyzing the data the following
In this regards, teacher should take conclusions were drawn:
necessary steps and work on it. The learning abilities (i) Although the phenomenon of electricity is
of the students to a large extent are dependent upon very interesting but students are not eager enough to
the way the teacher is able to make his /her views learn because the teaching-learning process is
more easily acceptable as well as interesting. examination oriented. The tests of students revealed
Teaching electricity is never very easy since it that they are not able to answer basic questions. As a
requires adequate communication skills by the result it can be concluded that there is a gap between
teacher concerned. In terms of „communication the knowledge gathered through books and its
skills‟ the teachers just manages to meet the average applicability in real life.
standards. It is observed that most of schools do not (ii) Laboratory facility as well as experimental
have sufficient furniture‟s in the class room.. tools is an essential parameter for teaching. If an
Laboratory facilities are not up to the mark in many electrical phenomenon is explained with tools like
schools. It may be noted that the necessary battery, wires, ammeter, voltmeter etc. the topic
furniture‟s, laboratory facilities are very essential for seems to be very easy to learn. But there are few
teaching and learning. Since the schools do not have schools which provide such equipments.
laboratory facilities with Laboratory equipments, it iii) This may suggest that not all teachers are
is not possible to impart “practical base knowledge confident in their ability to use available laboratory
in electricity” to the students. They just go through equipment. The survey administered to seventy-nine
the usual process i.e. black board and text book, thus science teachers asked if they are comfortable using
making the learning process monotonous which is the following: microscopes, Bunsen burners,
also reflected in the survey which shows that 55% of balances, thermometers, autoclaves. The data
the students are able to understand the subject matter reveals that teachers are comfortable with some
clearly. This is a big loophole. On the other hand, types of equipment, but not others.
only a few teachers have attended carrier iv) Although all science teachers are qualified,
enhancement course / orientation course. As a result but in absence of proper training of modern methods
teachers are not aware of modern methods of of teaching, their competency level has remained
teaching. No additional tools (computer/ study tour/ static. These aspects need to be looked into.
practical / others) are used by the teachers to make Teachers must be able to evaluate students learning
the subject matter interesting & interactive. and competence level beyond the school text book.
(v) The quality of the text book both in terms of
Three vital areas of improvements were material and content is not sufficiently good. Paper
identified in the text book. There are - & quality, diagram, definitions etc. needs to be
(i) Most of the teachers are not satisfied with improved and made simple. Al most all teachers
the various definitions and explanation have acknowledged that the absence of a library
given in the text book. So, the definitions hamper the teaching process.
should be very clear in simple language so
that children can easily understand the Recommendations:
subject matter.  A good, well equipped laboratory is one of
(ii) Secondly, printing and paper quality. the very basic needs of science department
Printing & paper quality must be improved of a school. There for a science laboratory
to make it more attractive which 90% of is a must for each school.
teachers suggested. And  A good library acts a reservoir of
Also emphasize should be given in proper information. Emphasize must be laid to
labeling (specifically in pictorial depiction provide library facility to each school.
or in diagrams) to make things crystal clear  There is a need to evaluate students
to the students. Lastly, surprisingly not learning and competence level beyond the
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4. DEBNATH D., BARUAH R.S. / International Journal of Engineering Research and
Applications (IJERA) ISSN: 2248-9622 www.ijera.com
Vol. 2, Issue 5, September- October 2012, pp.1603-1606
school text books. Therefore at least 30% of AUTHORS
the annual marks must be based on student First Author–Debabrata Debnath, M.Sc.
activity in laboratory, project work, Associate Professor, Dhing College,
participation in science exhibition etc. Dhing,Nagaon,Assam.
 The quality of text book needs to be looked Second Author- Rabindra Sarmah Baruah,
into especially paper quality, illustrations, M.Sc. Associate Professor, Dhing College,
ray diagrams, definitions etc. The text book Dhing,Nagaon,Assam.
needs to be scientifically and professionally
reviewed.
 The other important basic needs of schools
are –
Drinking water facility
Ideal teacher- student ratio
Class room infrastructure and desk-
bench
Well equipped laboratory facility
Power supply in class room
 Other issues, directly related to science
teaching process –
(a) Mandatory participation of the students
in different projects, science exhibition
etc.
(b) Establishment of periodic and
compulsory feedback mechanism by the
students about teaching methods.
(c) Organizing regular science quiz,
preparation and handling electric circuit
and devices and science related tours to
create interest in science.
(d) Publication of annual school science
magazine with the involvement of
students will help create an interesting
learning environment.
(e) For nightly holding a “Science
awareness day and exhibition”.
Final Word:
Teaching electricity in primary classes with
the usual & monotonous way of teaching is of no
help. The simplest way of teaching is the
demonstration of electrical phenomenon with the
help of lab equipment‟s and electrical devices.
REFERENCES
1. Brijlal N.S. 1989.Electricity and Magnetism
Vasudeva D.N. 1983.Fundamentals of
Magnetism and Electricity Chaudhury, A.
1998.Elements of physics.(459-577)
2. Chattopadhyay D. and Rakshit P.C.2003.
Electricity and Magnetism Barnett Berry,
Mark Smylie & Ed Fuller, Barnett Berry,
Mark Smylie & Ed Fuller, Centre for
Teaching quality, November,2008.
3. Jackie Baldwin and Kate Dudding,
www.storytellinginschools.org,2007.
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