Science on the Move: How Mobile Pedagogy Shapes Human Capital?

Providing quality education is a global challenge, particularly magnified in developing nations. The traditional teacher-centered approach has proven inadequate in developing higher-order skills – such as creativity, curiosity, and confidence – highlighting the need for alternative discovery-based pedagogical methods that better align with the benchmarks of quality education. To assess the effectiveness of discovery-based pedagogy, the researchers partnered with the Agastya Foundation and conducted a study in public schools in Uttar Pradesh, India. In the academic year 2022-23, the team randomly selected 68 treatment schools where middle school students (in 6th to 8th standard) received science lessons via discovery-based pedagogy, while 64 control schools continued with the traditional approach. The researchers evaluated the impact of the intervention on the learning outcomes and lifelong learning skills of approximately 12,000 students. Furthermore, they examined student engagement and socio-economic status as potential factors that could influence the intervention's impact.