Developing a student centered inquiry based teaching approach at elementary level science in Pakistan-a three years implementation cycle

Abstract

National Curriculum, 2006 is one of the significant measures to improve the quality of education in Pakistan. For General Science, grades IV-VIII, "Student-Centered and Inquiry-Based (SCIB) learning" are a key concept of it. However the system for teachers' in-service training in the country at the Federal and the Provincial levels is pathetic and many of the teachers do not have chances to be equipped for the new ways of teaching science based on the new curriculum. To address this issue and help Pakistan in this significant task of national importance, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) undertaken the challenge of coping with the problem and help Pakistan through a technical cooperation project aiming at establishing a training model that ensures teachers to deliver SCIB science lessons. The purpose of this paper is to describe the SCIB project design and the basic policy of a three years implementation cycle that will support in development and sustainability of science curriculum reforms efforts in Pakistan. The process and achievements of the project outlines the development of teaching plans, master trainers training, teacher training, school cluster and baseline survey of schools and organization of forums at the Federal and the Provincial levels. The paper covers an analysis of some issues related to SCI B teaching model development in the perspectives of ground reality and the lesson learned from implementing such innovative projects in past. The concept of Teaching through Easily Available Material (TEAM) and SCIB teaching approach being practiced in Pakistan may be valuable for the developing countries of the region.