Ignite Stem Passion, A STEM Initiative for Srinagar Science Teachers championing for Critical Thinking, Climate Change Literacy, Robotics and AI at CSIR–IIIM under “CSIR Jigyasa” out reach programme

SRINAGAR: With a clear focus on what truly works inside real classrooms, over 200 science teachers from Srinagar schools participated in Teachers’ Upskilling Workshop hosted by CSIR–IIIM Srinagar under the  “CSIR Jigyasa” program, in association with Compassionship Edu-Tech Foundation (CET Foundation) and supported by the  J&K School Education Department.

The educator-centric workshop was convened by Dr. A.P. Jayaraman, eminent nuclear scientist and Mentor, CET Foundation. Sh. R.N. Sharma, IAS, Secretary, School Education Department, J&K, graced as The Chief Guest, alongside Er. Abdul Rahim, Head, CSIR–IIIM Srinagar.

Dignitary Remarks : 

• Sh. R.N. Sharma, IAS (Secretary, School Education Department, J&K):
  “We welcome these outcomes and will reflect them in curriculum updates—especially on climate and disaster management.”
• Dr. A.P. Jayaraman (Convenor; Mentor, CET Foundation):
  “When teachers model scientific temper and evidence-based practice, children grow into conscious, climate-aware citizens.”
• Er. Abdul Rahim (Head, CSIR–IIIM Srinagar):
  “Our labs and scientists are open to schools—so science becomes a lived experience, not just a chapter.”

What Teachers Learned—and Can Use Tomorrow

• Critical Thinking & Science Communication: Practical routines to make students’ reasoning visible, improve questioning, and build everyday scientific temper.
• Climate Change & Disaster Management: Ready-to-run classroom projects, school-level action checklists, and student-led community communication ideas.
• Robotics, AI & Generative AI: Hands-on pathways to integrate emerging technologies without labs, heavy prep, or steep learning curves.

Teachers Remark : 

“Every session translated into Monday-morning practice,” said a participating teacher. “We’re leaving with evidence-based strategies, not extra burden.”

Session Snapshots (Educators’ Perspective)

1) Foundations & Assessment Literacy — Dr. A.P. Jayaraman

• PISA, NGSS & NEP—decoded: Core ideas were demystified and contrasted with current practices, giving teachers a practical alignment roadmap.
• In-attentional Blindness Demo: A live sociology-biology activity helped teachers spot observation gaps and biasin classroom assessment.
• Creativity & Design Thinking: The COIN experiment surfaced teachers’ creativity index and design-thinking potential—models they can replicate with students.
• Applied PISA-style Items: All teachers attempted model questions; results were discussed to model feedback strategies and next steps.

2) Robotics Made Classroom-Simple — Mr. Rajesh George, NanoSkool

1. Time-Saving, Seamless Integration: Modular, plug-and-play kits + block-based coding fit into regular periods—no dedicated lab required.
2. Higher Engagement & Clarity: Physical builds make abstract STEAM/coding tangible and memorable.
3. Holistic Alignment: Projects connect robotics with math, science, art, and language, reinforcing multiple standards at once.
4. Efficient Upskilling & Collaboration: Intuitive tools enable quick teacher training and cross-discipline co-teaching.
5. Future-Ready Skills: Students naturally develop computational thinking, creativity, teamwork—a pipeline to AI, IoT, robotics.

3) “Teachers with AI are Smart Teachers” — Akhil & Vivek, SciAstra

• AI augments teachers: Global examples showed AI shifts work, it doesn’t replace educators—teachers using AI will outpace those who don’t.
• Productivity in Practice: Workflows for automated grading, lesson planning, time management, and content creation were demonstrated.
• Toolbox to Start Today: Magic School, Canva, GPT-Zero, Gamma, Consensus, AudioPen—making teaching creative, data-driven, and effortless.
• Core message: Adopt AI to amplify your impact and inspire the next generation of scientists.

4) Machine Learning and Generative AI - Er.Sandeep Tripathi 

• AI Tools that teachers can used to improve their teaching skills.
• How to use these AI Apps to generate desired results 
• Live demonstrations of basic coding for teachers to remain relevant with smart students. 

5) Climate Change in the Himalayas — Dr. Shahid Rasool, Principal Scientist, CSIR–IIIM Jammu

• A clear overview of climate trends and extremes in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, long-term environmental/ecological impacts, socio-economicand geopolitical dimensions, and adaptation/mitigationstrategies and policy interventions.
• Teachers co-created immediate school actions—from climate audits and project-based learning to student communication drives.
• Policy Alignment: During the interaction, Sh. R.N. Sharma, IAS assured the introduction of climate and disaster-management topics in upcoming school curricula—boosting system-level support for teacher action.

Teacher-Led Outcomes

• Monday-Ready Toolkits: PISA-aligned question frames, AI-assisted planning templates, and plug-and-play robotics lesson flows.
• Assessment with Insight: Strategies to reduce bias, improve feedback, and track creativity/design thinking.
• Whole-School Movement: Cross-subject collaboration plans for STEAM and climate resilience, aligned to NEP goals.

“We now have the confidence and tools to make every lesson hands-on, inquiry-rich, and future-ready,” noted another teacher participant.

About the Organisers

CSIR–IIIM Srinagar (Branch Lab, CSIR–Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine)
Advances research and outreach to nurture scientific temper among educators and youth; a key node of the national “Jigyasa” student–scientist connect program.

Compassionship Edu-Tech Foundation (CET Foundation)
An education-innovation non-profit enabling teacher capacity-building, STEM mentorship, and future-skills integration in schools.