Under the project 'Reading to Learn', the following two books were brought out during 1996-97:

1. Pracheen. Bharatiya Ganit Ki Aitihasik Awam Sanskritik Jhalkian

2. Madhyakalin Bharatiya Ganit, Ki Aitihasik Awam. Sanskritik Jhalkian.

Manuscript of books (i) Solar Energy (Saur Urja), (ii) Hamara Akash Maila Kyon?, (iii) Marusthal Jeevan Awam Vigyan were also prepared. Under the project 'Some Interesting Topics in Chemistry', a module on 'Heavy Metal Pollution' was developed and disseminated.

On the occasion of celebration of the, National Science Day on 28 February 1997, an Open House for school children was organised. Lectures on 'Wonders of New Biology' and 'Primary Mathematics' were delivered.

The twenty-third Jawaharlal Nehru National Science Exhibition for Children was organised at Bhubaneswar from 13 to 19 January 1997 in collaboration with the Government of Orissa, The main theme of the exhibition was 'Science and Low Cost Technology for Development'. Earlier, the state level science exhibitions were organised in 28 states/UTs and in the schools of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. The NCERT provided grants-in-aid amounting to rupees 12.05 lakh for organisation of these exhibitions.

Under the project 'Environmental Orientation of School Education' as a part of capacity-building among the educational functionaries, training for curriculum developers from school education boards of the states and NGOs has been an on-going exercise in the NCERT for the last three years. It is being enlarged to cover SCERTs and other in- stitutions. A National Resource Centre for Environmental Education (NRCEE) was set up in the Department of Education in Science and Mathematics (DESM), NCERT to promote more intense interaction among the

school system, educational planners, curriculum developers and teacher trainers on the one hand and specialised institutions on the other. The Centre is also developing Environmental Education Data Bank on various aspects of environmental education.

Education in Social Sciences and Humanities

A status study of overall position of social sciences was completed and the draft report was finalised. Subject-wise status studies in social science subjects and commerce are in progress. A study on the status of Hindi as a medium of instruction for social science subjects in Classes IX and X of the Navodaya Vidyalayas was completed. A study on 'Evaluation of Linguistic Competencies in Hindi Acquired by Students of Arunachal Pradesh at the End of Class V' was initiated. Some textbooks in social sciences and languages were revised on the basis of their evaluation and feedback received from teachers and stu- dents. In the area of art education, two monographs for teachers on music and clay modelling were prepared. Instructional materials in consumer education and human rights education are being developed. The aspect of human rights has been included in the programme of evaluation of textbooks from the standpoint of national integration. A sample of materials on value/moral education was evaluated. The report of empirical evaluation (try-out) of four textbooks of WERT in social sciences (one each in history, geography, economics and civics) in the four Demonstration Schools attached to the RIEs is being finalised.

The twenty-ninth National Prize Competition for Children's Literature was organised in 19 languages. Twenty-eight books/manu- scripts were selected for the award. An all India essay competition for students of the secondary and higher secondary classes was organised in the context of the birth centenary celebration of Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose. A biography of Subhas Chandra Bose was also brought out.

A study on 'Young People's Understanding on Human Rights' was conducted as a part of the four-country study sponsored by the Centre for Multi-Cultural Studies of the University of London Institute of Education. The Indian part of the study included review of curriculum and materials, and survey of students perception of human rights.

Educational Psychology

Studies on (i) Guidance Research in India, (ii) Counsellor in the Making: Status and Development, (iii) Predictive Potential of the Se- lection Procedures for Performance in the Counsellor Training Programmes and On-the-Job Performance, (iv) Research Trends and Indigenisation of Educational Psychology in India, and (v) Adolescent's Perception of Social Norms are in progress. An analysis plan was prepared for evaluation of science textbooks of secondary school stage of the NCERT. Under the project, 'A Critical Study of Educational Psychology Curriculum of Elementary Teacher Education in India', the content analysis of the existing courses from a variety of dimensions was done. The first phase of the case study on 'Schooling in Mirambika', a school based on Sri Aurobindo's philosophy, was completed. Twenty-one Indian and foreign tests were procured for the National Test Library. Manuscripts of two Indian Mental Measurement Handbooks, one on 'Personality' and the other on 'Values, Attitudes and Interests' were finalised. A manuscript of the book 'Building Personal and Career Consciousness in Girls' was prepared. Steps are being taken to prepare a book 'Career Development in India: Resource Book for Counsellors'. A manuscript of a resource book on 'Guidance Principles and Practices' has been prepared for the use of counsellor trainees, counsellor educators, teacher trainers and teachers. Cases have been identified for inclusion in the book 'Counselling Case Man- agement: A Practical Guide'. The thirty-fifth post-graduate diploma course in Guidance and Counselling was conducted. A Career Information Corner, set up in the Department of Educational Psychology and Foundations of Education, NCERT, is being used by the students of diploma course as also by the faculty of the WERT and other institutions/ organisations. Two monographs on 'Careers in Biotechnology' and 'Computers' are nearing completion. An enrichment course in psychology for teaching-learning of DIETs personnel was organised. Twenty-nine self-learning modules developed in three areas of elementary education-(i) Indian Scenario, (ii) Understanding the Child, and (iii) The Teacher and the Teaching Process-formed the basis of teaching in the enrichment course.

Examination Reform

Subject-wise reports of the qualitative

analysis of Pupils' Errors in the Boards' Examinations of Class XII in Biology, Physics and Chemistry were prepared and disseminated to the Boards of School Education/Secondary. Education. The scheme of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in schools was tried out. The draft of the Handbook of Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation was prepared. Orientation courses for paper setters and evaluation personnel were organised for Meghalaya and Madhya Pradesh. The first issue of the Examination Reform Bulletin was brought out and disseminated. Among other things, developments in examination reforms have been highlighted in the bulletin.

Teacher Education

Quite a large number of programmes of the constituents of the NCERT are devoted to orientation/training of teachers. The Regional Institutes of Education (RIEs) are organising both pre-service and in- service training of teachers. The RIEs, as pace-setting institutions in pre-service professional education of teachers, are conducting four-year pre-service teacher education course in science education and one-year M.Ed course with specialisation in elementary education. Other pre-service teacher education programmes like four-year B.A., B.Ed.; one-year B.Ed. in science and commerce and M.Sc. (education) in life sciences, physics, chemistry and mathematics are being phased out by stopping fresh admission from the 1996-97 session. The RIEs provide academic and resource support in all aspects of school education related programmes to the states and UTs under their geographical jurisdiction.

As regards in-service education of teachers, the constituents of the NCERT, including RIEs, generally undertake programmes related to identification of training needs of teachers, development of training packages, and training of key persons/resource persons from the states for transmission of training through cascade mode, and through distance mode. An overview of academic inputs to the in-service teacher education programmes provided by the Department of Teacher Education and Extension (DTEE) and the RIEs during 1996-97 is given below.

A self-instructional package for the faculty of DIETs was reviewed and finalised. An in-service training programme for the Principals of the DIETs of 11 states and induction level in-service training programmes for the faculty of DIETs of 12 states were organised. A National Conference on the theme 'Strengthening of SCERTs' was organised in which recommendations for strengthening of state level R and D Centres in School Education were made. After holding a couple of workshops to identify the training needs of the faculty of the SCERTs, a training design with training package was developed, and an eight day orientation programme was organised.

National level competitions are organised under the programme 'Promotion of Innovations in School Education and Teacher Education'. In the context of 'Innovative Experiments and Practices in School Education', a panel meet of evaluators to evaluate the innovative papers of school teachers that were selected at the state level for the 1994-95 competition was held. Forty-seven papers were recommended for the award at the pre-school and elementary level and 14 papers were recommended for the award at the secondary level. A panel meet of evaluators was organised to evaluate innovative entries from the elementary and secondary school teachers for the 1995-96 competition. Two hundred and twenty innovative entries from elementary and secondary school teachers were received for the 1996-97 competition.

In the context of 'Innovative Experiments and Practices in Teacher Education', 17 innovative papers were selected for the award. The papers presented by the awardees in a national seminar were discussed and suggestions for improvement of the papers were given. In the 1996-97 competition, out of 63 innovative papers from teacher educators, 10 papers in elementary teacher education and seven papers in secondary teacher education were selected. These papers were discussed in a national seminar.

An All India Survey of Teacher Education has been undertaken as a collaborative venture of the NCERT and the NCTE (National Council for Teacher Education). Questionnaires for the survey are being finalised in consultation with the NCTE.

A Code of Professional Ethics for Teachers was finalised. A draft curriculum and syllabi for M.Ed (Elementary Education) for the Regional Institutes of Education was developed. A task force has developed a model code of service conditions of teachers. A study of DIETs with special reference to HRD climate is in progress. Based on the case studies of

eight primary school teachers of Rajasthan, a paper 'Empowerment of Primary School Teacher: Profile of Selected Innovative Teachers' was prepared.

The RIE, Ajmer developed training packages for elementary stage on (i) Modalities of Conducting Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) in Hindi, Mathematics and Environmental Studies, including non-scholastic areas at primary stage, (ii) Teaching of Social Studies at upper primary stage, (iii) Teaching of Science at upper primary stage, and (iv) Teaching of English at upper primary stage. An Evaluation Tool for selected MLL-based Competencies in Environmental Studies (1) was developed, field tested and finalised. For the secondary stage, training packages were developed for (i) Teaching of Social Studies (for Himachal Pradesh), and (ii) Teaching of Urdu (for Jammu and Kashmir).

The developmental programmes at the senior secondary stage include development of content enrichment packages on selected topics of (i) Mathematics (for Rajasthan), (ii) Chemistry (for Rajasthan), (iii) Physics (for Rajasthan) and (iv) Biology (for Himachal Pradesh). The practice sets in Book Keeping on the entire syllabus of Accountancy (Vocational) of the Board of Secondary Education of' Rajasthan, developed earlier, were fieldtested. A training package on specific units in Mathematics and Chemistry at +2 level (for Haryana) was developed and key resource persons from the state were oriented. A training package on specific units in Physics was also developed as per the syllabus of the Haryana State.

In the context of the elementary teacher education programme, training in Action Research of the faculty of DIETs of the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Jammu and Kashmir was organised. The curriculum of Elementary Teacher Education of Rajasthan was modified and updated in collaboration with the SIERT, Rajasthan, Udaipur.

The programmes for identification of primary teachers' training needs in Environmental Studies (I and 11), Hindi (mother tongue) and Mathematics were undertaken for developing training packages and their field testing.

The RIE, Bhopal is conducting research studies on (i) Experimentation and Try-out of Multi-grade Teaching in the primary schools of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, (ii) Case study of DIETs of Gujarat - Structural and Functional Analysis and Evaluation, (iii) Analysis of answer scripts of science at secondary level of the Madhya Pradesh Board for identification of common errors, and (iv) Analysis of answer scripts of social studies of the Madhya Pradesh Board at secondary level for identification of common errors. Diagnostic test material to identify learning gaps in science and mathematics at secondary level was developed.

The training programme conducted during 1996-97 include: (i) Training of DIET"s faculty in technique of writing question papers and evaluation, (ii) Training of DRU faculty of DIETs in NFE, (iii) Training of supervisory personnel at block and district levels in effective implementation of DPEP and MLL-based teaching-learning process, (iv) Training of DIET personnel in CMDE in Gujarat, (v) Orientation of DIEI"s staff of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Goa in designing action research proposals, (vi) Orientation of key resource persons to operationalise psychological laboratory in CTEs/IASEs, (vii) Induction training of DIETs personnel in CMDE in Maharashtra and Goa, (viii) Training of DRU faculty of DIETs in alternative schooling including NFE and ET, (ix) Orientation of key resource persons in content/methodology in science at B.Ed. college level, and (x) orientation of' DIET's faculty in elementary education.

The curricular activities under the DPEP include: (i) Documentation of researches done and materials developed in the area of multigrade teaching, (ii) Documentation of researches and good practices in the areas of Reading and Mathematics learning in early grades, (iii) Identification of numeracy and reading readiness level of Class I entrants, (iv) Development of exemplar material (textbooks, workbooks and teacher's handbooks) in language and mathematics for Classes I and II, (v) Development of supplementary learning material in mathematics for Classes I and II, (vi) Evaluative study of the instructional material developed by various states, and (vii) Development of RACE packages for field-testing.

The DPEP activities under the teacher training components include: (i) Documentation of in-service training practices, (ii) De- velopment of training design for primary school teachers and other functionaries (at NCERT level), (iii) Collection and evaluation of training material available in different

states, (iv) Development of exemplar materials, (v) Finalisation of training materials for field staff, and (vi) Field testing of identified innovative in-service training practices. The DPEP research studies completed during 1996-97 include: (i) Development and validation of needs assessment survey technique for the identification of training needs of primary school teachers in the DPEP district, (ii) Development and field-testing of competency based teaching- learning strategies and materials suitable for two-teacher primary schools, (iii) A study of the incidence and nature of learning disabilities at the end of Class 11 and evolving preventive strategies, (iv) Developing and field-testing of readiness programme for students of Class I incorporating basic cognitive abilities, (v) identification of local-specific teaching-learning materials for Classes 1, 11 and III in language, mathematics and environmental studies to nurture perceptual abilities, (vi) Developing a motivational strategy to enhance the enrolment of working out-of- school children in the age-group 6-14 years, (vii) Study of DPEP teacher training programmes of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra, (viii) Study of the mistakes committed by students in the application of different mathematical skills and developing preventive and remedial teaching strategies using meta-cognitive approach for qualitative improvement in teaching of mathematics. Under Special Orientation Programmes for Primary Teachers (SOPT), a teleconferencing programme was conducted in which 20 participants from the SCERT, RIE and Demonstration School participated. Fiftysix participants including DIETs faculty attended the third phase of SOPT programmes.

A workshop was organised for production of learning materials on adolescence education for the secondary school children. Two training programmes for the DRU faculty of DIETs of Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat were organised. The institute is working on the development of an alternative schooling system suited to rural and tribal areas. Formative evaluation of alternative schooling projects was conducted in six districts of Madhya Pradesh at the instance of the Rajiv Gandhi Primary Siksha Mission. A study on try-out of MLLs was conducted.

The RIE, Mysore developed, tried out and finalised the training materials for the primary, secondary and senior secondary levels for improvement of quality of education at these levels. Teacher training programmes in Population Education, Work Experience, Educational Research Methodology, Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE) were conducted. Action research projects in primary education in the context of UEE were undertaken. Academic inputs and support was provided to 'One-way Video and Two-way Audio' interactive mode of training primary school teachers. A large-scale training of mathematics teachers of primary schools of Karnataka was conducted through Telemaths programme. A project on 'Impact of SOPT Training Programme on Classroom Practices' in Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh is in progress.

In the context of the DPEP, the reading and numeracy readiness levels of Class I entrants were assessed. Curricular and training materials developed by the states were evaluated and necessary feedback was given to the states. Exemplar textbooks, workbooks and teacher's handbooks in mathematics and Kannada for Classes I and II were developed. The programme of try-out of instructional materials in the DPEP district of Karnataka is in progress.

With the help of training package developed by the Institute, the RIE, Mysore provided training to DIET's faculty in the areas of teaching of Language and Mathematics, Special Education, Environmental Education, Multi-grade Teaching, Evaluation, Action Research and Educational Technology. A training package on Remedial Instruction to Slow Learners in Mathematics, Sample Survey Methods, Competency-based Teaching of Environmental Studies and Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation have been developed. Training material was developed to help teachers to identify children with special disabilities in learning, and the classroom strategies to be used with them. A training package on Remedial Instruction in Mathematics at Upper Primary Level was developed for slow learners. A refresher course for +2 level teachers in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biology was organised. After identification of hard spots in the teaching of Class X textbooks of Mathematics of Karnataka, a teacher training package was developed. A training package based on revised curriculum of Mathematics of Kerala State for Class X was developed. Research studies to identify the common errors made by pre-university students of Karnataka in