BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT
The Physical Science department of the college was started in 1960. The department has succeed in imparting serious education effectively.
PREVIOUS MEMBERS OF STAFF
The first head of the department was Dr. C.T.Abraham. He coordinated the work of the department very effectively. Dr. K Anandan Nair took over the responsibility from 1978 onwards. During this period, the department flourished under his able guidance. Dr. Mariamma Mathew has been conducting the work of the department from 1995 onwards. She has been successful in inculcating scientific attitude and scientific temper in student teachers.
FINANCIAL SOURCE
The funds for conducting of the various activities of the department are provided by the University Grant Commission, Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment and the college.
Dr. K. Anandan Nair 1978 – 1995
Dr. Mariamma Mathew 1995
All activities of the department are held by the subject association which was formed 20 years back. It was called after different names and since 2009 (year of astronomy), it is named ORION. A secretary, joint secretary and a treasurer are the office bearers of the association. A variety of novel programmes are conducted every year in the department besides the academic activities.
Inter School Quiz Competition and Exhibition: This programme is conducted every year participating all practice teaching schools. This develops a healthy competition among school children and students of our institution.
Celebration of National Science Day: This is conducted every year by the last week of February to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect by Sir C.V. Raman. Workshops for school teachers and students are conducted based on the topic of each year. This is done in collaboration with the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment in collaboration with DST, Government of India. A CD including the works of famous scientists was released by the department.
UGC sponsored National Seminar was conducted on the topic ‘Emerging trends in science education’.
Students present seminars on various topics of the curriculum by making use of ICT which is followed by a discussion session. This improves the communication skills of the students.
Every student does an innovative work which is the most creative part of the programme. This includes dictionaries, puzzles, songs, games, poems and the like.
Practicum a form of Problem Based Learning is done by each student where they choose a problem, collect data, form hypothesis, analyse it and arrive at conclusions.
Microteaching sessions of all students are videotaped so that they can improve their teaching skills.
An exhibition of stamps, coins and currencies were conducted.
A book on Teaching Science was prepared by the department which covered the entire syllabus of the restructured B.Ed and M.Ed syllabus.
Field trips are conducted every year to places of scientific importance and it is reported.
Paper presentation, project competitions are held in the department where students from neighbouring colleges and schools participate.
Members of the department participate in all activities of the college and win prizes in the competitions conducted.
The subject association of the department is named ORION which is a constellation of stars. All students and teacher in charge are the members of the association. The association is keen in conducting novel programmes to develop scientific temper, interest, curiosity and positive attitude among school students and students of the college.
ORION INAUGURATION
“Orion constellation is one of the brightest and best known constellation in the night sky.”
Orion the physical science association inauguration was conducted on 4th February, 2016. It was inaugurated by Smt. Lynnette Joseph, Assistant Professor, Bishop Moore College, Mavelikara. She said that being an alumni of the College, she was extremely glad to inaugurate the association. And also shared her experiences as a student of this college and the pivotal role played by the teachers in moulding her as an educational practitioner.
Association secretary Ms. Reshma Krishnan delivered the welcome speech. Presidential address was given by Dr. Jibby George, Principal of the college. Programme was felicitated by Dr. Mariamma Mathew, Prof. Bobby Oommen Kurian, Anantha Krishnan K U, and College Union Chairman. They enumerated the scope of science in various fields. Also mentioned about the ongoing research works in physics and chemistry.
Vote of thanks was proposed by Soji S. Rajan, Association Treasurer. She thanked the management and others for being a great support in organizing the function.
The highlight of the day was a presentation on the topic “Space and Particle Physics” by the chief guest.The presentation included many interesting factors like the existence of dark matter, Higgs Boson, Large Hadron Collider, an idea about the string theory, cosmic rays, neutrinos etc. The session was very much informative, interesting and inspiration for all.
National Science Day Celebrations
“ONE SCIENTIFIC INVENTION CAN CHANGE THE WORLD FOREVER”
That is the power of scientific inventions. For this, a day is celebrated every year to widely spread the significance of scientific applications inthe daily life of the people, to display all theactivities, efforts and achievements in the field of science for human welfare. And that day is called “National Science Day”. We celebrated National Science Day in India on 28th February each year to mark the discovery of the Raman Effect by Indian physicist Sir Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman.
National science day is celebrated as one of the main science festivals in India every yearduring which students of the schools andcolleges demonstrate various science projects and national and state science institutions demonstrate their latest researches. This gives a fabulous opportunity to the scientific minded citizens in the country to encourage the people as well as popularize Science and Technology.
As a part of it, the Physical Science Association, Orion celebrated the National Science Day on the 25thof February, 2016. It was inaugurated by Prof. K C. Mathai, Principal, Mar Ivanious Arts and Science College, Mavelikara at 10.00am. Inauguration was followed by a presentation on the topic “Gravitational Waves and its Applications”.
The presentation included many interesting facts about the gravitational waves, Einstein’s theory of relativity and the predictions of Richard Feynman and Hermann Bondi about the gravitational waves. This session was very informative and useful for the young aspirants of science and technology and made them more interested in Gravitational waves.
A video presentation drew everyone’s attention and became a highlight of the day. It was the video of one of the epitomes in the history of Indian science and technology, Sir Chandra Sekhara Venkata Raman, a great Indian physicist, who carried out a groundbreaking work in the field of light scattering and got the 1930 Nobel Prize, which he richly deserved. In 1954, India honored him with the prestigious Bharatha Ratna for his meritorious work in the field of physics, the Raman Effect. The video included many other achievements of Sir C.V. Raman. Out of all, one point which said that Sir Raman resignedfrom his government job after he was appointed as the first Palit professor of physics at the university of Calcutta made everyone understand how much Sir Raman loved the field of physics and dedicated his life to it. The video presentation inspired everyone present over there.
In commemoration of Prof. A Cherian, the first principal of Peet Memorial Training College, a science quiz was also conducted on the same day. Students from many B.Ed. colleges took part in it. The participants showed competitive spirit and the quiz competition increased their knowledge in science and technology. The topics included were General Science, Physical Chemistry, Optics, Chemistry in everyday life, Visual round, Inorganic Chemistry and Rapid Fire which were divided into seven rounds. The quiz competition went very well and everyone gave a tough competition to the others. The first and second position holders (Kerala University Centre for Teacher Education, Kunnam and N S S Training College, Pandalam) in the quiz were awarded with cash prizes and certificates. Participation certificates were given to all the participants to motivate them to excel in the field of science and technology.
In conclusion, we can say that the National Day Celebration went off tremendously well and inspired many people.
EXHIBITION REPORT
With a view to encourage, popularize and inculcate scientific temper among everyone, “Orion”- the physical Science Association organized ascience exhibitionon the 28th of January, 2016 where the participants showcased their talents in science and its applications in differentareas related with our everyday life. It included teaching aids like working models, still models and charts. Along with these various interesting experiments like lemon volcanoes, artificial blood, etc. were also performed which generated curiosity among the students.
The exhibition was inaugurated at 10.00am. The high school and higher secondary students from nearby schools visited and gained a lot of knowledge. A feedback register was provided where the students could mark their suggestions and the excitement they encountered. One student said, he understood the fact that the experiments and theories which he was feeling tough weren’t really tough and he’s more interested in the field of science after coming to this science exhibition. In order to provide an ambience, space related videos, funny chemical reactions, etc. were also shown to the students.
The exhibition included the teaching aids like hydrogen atom model, separation of different components of air, symbols of elements, separating funnel, Dobereiner’s triads, electroscope, lithium atom model, dry cell, longitudinal and transverse wave models, volta cell, Bohr atom model of Calcium, fractional distillation model, states of matter, models of linear and cross- linked polymers, symbols of electric circuit components. It included charts like A/C generator, periodic table, neutralization, Newton’s laws of motion, suspension and colloids, Ohm’s law. Still models and working models such as elevator, ideal house (consisting of solar panel, windmill, rainwater harvesting), traffic signal light.
Various experiments such as refraction of light using a coin, artificial blood using ferric chloride, potassium thiocynate, lemon volcanoes using food colors, vinegar and sodium bicarbonate were also performed. In order to make the event colorful, various coloured solutions using chemicals like copper sulphate, potassium permanganate, potassium dichromate and thiocynate solutions.
Right from the inception, the experiement concentrated on providing a forum for children to pursue theirnatural curiosity andinventiveness to quenchtheir thirst for creativity;making children feel that science is all around them and they can gain knowledge as well as solvemany problems also by relating the learningprocess to the physical and social environment; and on laying emphasis on the development of scienceand technology as a major instrument forachieving goals of self-reliance and socio-economic andsocio-ecological development. It was a successful exhibition where the students got a lot of information and made science easy for them.
FACILITIES IN PHYSICAL SCIENCE CLASSROOM
Physical Science optional is one of the optional subjects in the college. Students who hold a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree in Physics or Chemistry and its allied subjects, are eligible for admission.
Facilities in the classroom are exemplary for the students to work in the class as well as in the schools. The facilities provided in the classroom for students are:
- Smart Class: The class is equipped with an Interactive White Board (IWB) Wi-Fi connection and projector. Students use the online resources for preparing notes as per the curriculum. Also it is used for preparing seminars, make presentations and also to teach various topics of High School syllabus to school students. It is also used to teach various topics of B.Ed. curriculum.
- Method Lab: A Method Lab is attached to the main classroom, where innovative strategies and methods are planned and designed for execution in the school classrooms. Different devices, learning aids are designed here. Besides, plan of action is started out which include both the individual and group work.
- Science Laboratory: A well-equipped science laboratory to conduct physics and chemistry experiments from primary to higher secondary level is maintained. There are facilities for the students to conduct experiments and rehearse it in advance before performing it before the school students. Here they can verify the theory they have learnt which brings out proper theory-practical integration. Individual and group work is possible here.
There is a stock register for physics and chemistry and chemicals, equipment, apparatus are purchased once in every year. A utilization register is also maintained and the items utilized by students in the laboratory are properly entered. Besides they can take necessary items to schools during teaching practice, so they can perform experiments in classrooms.
