Dr. V.K. Maheshwari, Ph.D

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

Children are greatest national asset and resource. Children should be allowed and provided opportunity to grow up to become robust citizens, physically fit, mentally alert and morally healthy, endowed with skills and activations needed by the society. Children are expected to be obedient, respectful and imbibe virtues and good quality in them. Due to various reasons children do not follow settled social and legal dictum.

In recent years, it has become very clear that juvenile delinquency is the most important aspect of the subject matter of criminology. Delinquent behaviour has assumed serious forms among the juveniles, which is a sign of sick society. The disorder and destruction due to deviant behaviour, a worldwide phenomenon, is assuming alarming proportions.

The word delinquency is derived from the Latin word “delinquere” meaning de i.e. away and linquere i.e. to leave thus, meaning to leave or to abandon. Originally, the word had an objective meaning as it referred to parents who neglected and abandoned their children. In present day, it is used and applied to those children who indulge in wrongful and harmful activities.

Juvenile can be defined as a child who has not attained a certain age at which he, like an adult person under the law of the land, can be held liable for his criminal acts. The juvenile is a child who is alleged to have committed /violated some law which declares the act or omission on the part of the child as an offence.

Juvenile and minor in legal terms are used in different context. Juvenile is used when reference is made to a young criminal offenders and minor relates to legal capacity or majority.

In India, until passing of Children Act, 1960 there was no uniformity regarding age limitation of juvenile delinquent. Bombay Children Act 1948 defined “Child” to mean a boy who has not attained the age of sixteen years or girl who has not attained the age of eighteen years

Definition of Juvenile

The age criteria for being a juvenile vary from country to country, state to state. In ancient India, a parent was supposed not to punish a child who is under five years of age for any offence. As per the law then prevailing a children of such tender age should be nursed and educated with love and affection only. After the age of five, punishment may be given in some suitable form such as physical chastisement or rebuke by the parents, towards the later half of the childhood, punishment should be gradually withdrawn and replaced by advice. From the age of sixteen upwards sons and daughters should be treated as friends by the parents. Some Smritis, like the Brahd-Yama and the Sankha say that a boy over five and less than eleven, if guilty of some Patakas such as drinking Sura, has not to undergo penance personally but his brother, father or other relations or friends have to undergo for him and that if a ‘child is less than five, then whatever the act may be, it is not deemed to be a crime nor a sin and the child is consequently not liable to any punishment or prayaschita.

Definition of Delinquency

Delinquency is an act or conduct of a juvenile which is socially undesirable. Juvenile delinquency generally means the failure of children to meet certain obligations expected of them by the society.  The juvenile delinquent has even been defined as “a child trying to act like a grown up”.

In fact there is a haze of vagueness and confusion surrounding the definition of juvenile delinquency and there is no single definition that may be acceptable to all.

The juvenile delinquency is expression of unsatisfied desires and urges. For a delinquent, his deviant act is a normal response to his inner desire. Like a non delinquent a delinquent is also conditioned by various attending and prevailing circumstances around him. A juvenile delinquent is a person who has been so adjudicated by a judicial court though he may be no different from other children who are not delinquent. Delinquency is an act, conduct or interaction which is socially undesirable.

The concept of delinquency also varies with the point of view of the people who feel challenged by it.

According to a social worker, “delinquency consisted of socially unaccepted acts”. A psychiatrist suggests that delinquent behaviour is activity which deviates from the normal. And a lawyer would say juvenile delinquency is what the law says it is.

In the words of W.H. Sheldon, it is “behavior disappointing beyond reasonable expectation”.

Cyril Burt says, delinquency occurs in a child ‘when his antisocial tendencies appear so grave that he becomes or ought to become the subject of official action.

According to Robison Holt, “we use the term delinquent as we sometimes use the term ‘love’ as though it were a simple concept whereas it actually embraces complex patterns of behaviour.”

Delinquency, it is clear, is many things to many people. The man in the street is concerned chiefly with behaviour that interferes with his property, his person and his rights. He believes that the official label of delinquency is attached only when the behaviour is really harmful and has occurred repeatedly.

Frederick B. Sussmann presents a summary list of acts or conditions included in delinquency definition or description, viz, violation of any law or ordinance, habitual truancy, association with thieves, vicious or immoral persons, and incorrigible beyond control of parent or guardian and so on.

Thus the term delinquency does not have a fixed meaning. However, there are two generally accepted approaches to the interpret ation of the term, viz the sociological and the legal.

The sociological view gives a liberal interpretation to the term delinquency. This view is well expressed by the definition given by Clyde B.Vedder who says, ‘juvenile delinquency refers to the anti-social acts of children and of young people under age. Such acts are either specifically forbidden by law or may be lawfully interpreted as constituting delinquency, or as requiring some form of official action. It means deviation from the normal behaviour.

According to Robison the legal term “delinquency” is an umbrella for a wide variety of socially disapproved behaviour that varies with the time, place and the attitudes of those assigned to administer the law. This behaviour may include such acts as , incorrigibility, disobedience, lying, running away from home, frequent visits to the cinema, visiting places of ill repute and coming home late at night, habitually remaining truant from school, habitually using vile, obscene or vulgar language in Public Place, immoral conduct around school.

It will also include a child who is homeless, destitute and neglected. In short, delinquent in the sociological view is a child whose activities cause concern and alarm to parents and teachers and others responsible for his care and education.

Classification of Juvenile Delinquency

Different classifications of the juvenile delinquency and delinquents have been given by various authors. A few important classifications are noted below.

Hirsh delineated the following kinds of juvenile offences:

(1) Incorrigibility, which includes keeping late hours, disobedience,and so on.

(2) Truancy, which can be from home or school.

(3) Destruction of property, which includes both public and private property.

(4) Violence which is perpetrated against the community by using such means as knives and guns.

(5) Sex offenses which can range from homosexual activity to criminal assault and rape.

Eaton and Polk classified the delinquents by the following types of offences they have been involved in:

(1) Minor violations which include disorderly conduct and minor traffic violations.

(2) Property violations which include all property thefts except automobiles.

(3) Major traffic violations which include automobile theft and drunk driving and any other offence that would involve an automobile.

(4) Human addiction which includes sex offenses as well as alcohol and drug addiction.

(5) Bodily harm which includes homicide offenses that involve sexual deviation,; such as rape, and generally, all other acts of violence against a person.

Ferdinand presented two categories of juvenile offenders as under:

(1) Neurotic Offenders-They are the offenders whose delinquency is the result of powerful unconscious impulses which often produces guilt which in turn, motivates them to act out their delinquency in their community so that they will be caught and punished. The delinquent act is sometimes considered symbolic. For example, if they steal, it is done for love and not for a material gain. To such delinquents, delinquency is a way of handling their internal problems by externalizing the problem within the environment.

(2) Character Disorder Offenders- This type of offenders feel very little guilty when they commit the acts of delinquency. Because of a lack of positive identification models in their environment, they have failed to develop self-control and do what they want to do when they feel like doing it. They are unable to sublimate their impulses in a socially acceptable manner. They have not developed an adequate conscience structure or superego. They come from disorganized families and have had a barren environment in their childhood. They are self-centered and feel to be aloof and have difficulty in forming meaningful relationships.

Schafer emphasized on psychological typologies and psychological dynamics of personality as the basis of classification of juvenile delinquents. The following types have been envisaged by him.

(1) Mentally Defective- This is an individual who has an organic problem and who has difficulty in controlling himself because of it. This category also includes mentally retarded youngsters.

(2) Situational Offenders- They are similar to the accidental offenders but, in these cases, there are more contributing factors. Their delinquency is precipitated by a crisis or by some external event which they are unable to handle. In other words, they do not necessarily go out looking for trouble but because of tempering circumstances, they do not use good judgment.

(3) Psychotic Offenders- A small number of youngsters do not have contact with reality. They may be classified as schizophrenic or may be given some other psychiatric label. As a result of dysfunctional thought patterns, they may hallucinate, have delusions or “hear voices” that command them to become involved in certain types of delinquent behaviour. The incidence of psychotic oriented delinquency is minimal in relation to the other forms.

(4) Cultural Offenders- Youngsters in this category have either emulated a faculty identification model or they live in an economically and socially deprived environment. Cultural offenders are considered normal members of a deviant sub-culture and their patterns of behaviour are often accepted and called normative in their own environment.

 

 

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

Individual variation is a universal phenomenon. It is  said that no two individuals are exactly alike they differ from each other in some way or the other. Such a similarity or difference between persons reveals individual differences in the early 1800s. The science of psychology studies people at three levels of focus captured by the well known quote: “Every man is in certain respects

(a) like all other men,

(b) like some other men,

(c) like no other man”. Individual differences psychology focuses on this second level of study.

It is also sometimes called Differential Psychology because researchers in this area study the ways in which individual people differ in their behavior.

According to the dictionary of education

1-Individual differences stand for the variation or deviations among individuals in regard to a single characteristic or number of characteristics.

2. It is stand for those differences which in their totality distinguish one individual from another. So, we can say that individual differences is the differences among humans that distinguish or separate them from one another and makes one as a single unique individual.

The study of individual differences helps  to understand not only what makes humans similar to one another, but also what makes them different. By considering the variations that can occur from one person to another, one can best understand the full range of human behavior

Children develop at different rates. This, in turn, creates variations among individuals (i.e., individual differences). Again, these differences can be either qualitative or quantitative. For children in any preschool classroom setting, the differences in temperament, personality, intelligence, achievement, and physical factors such as height and weight, are noteworthy and reflect a wide range of normal variation. Some children grow rapidly and others grow more slowly. There also are racial and gender developmental variations.

It is important to understand that the concept of individual differences is the basis upon which one child is compared to another. An understanding of individual differences provides the foundation for recognizing normal variations as well as extreme differences among children and, thus, for identifying those who may have special needs. In general, understanding of the various developmental levels is enhanced by familiarity with the concept of individual differences

Each student is a unique individual, different in cognitive and affective development, social maturity, ability, motivation, aspiration, learning styles, needs, interests and potential. Apart from this, there are other factors underlying student differences. These include innate differences in intelligence, differences in social and economic background, variations in past learning experiences, and perhaps variations in the level of congruence between the learner and the curriculum. In view of these factors, catering for individual differences is intended neither to narrow the gap between individuals nor to even out their abilities and performance. It should aim for understanding why students are able or unable to learn well and finding appropriate ways to help them learn better.

The aim of education is to enable each student to attain all-round development according to his/her own attributes. To achieve this, students should be provided with suitable assistance and guidance in accordance with their abilities and learning needs, so that they can develop their potential to the full.

Causes of Individual Differences:

There are various causes which are responsible in bringing individual differences.

Heredity:

Some heretical traits bring a change from one individual to other. An individual’s height, size, shape and color of hair, shape of face, nose, hands and legs so to say the entire structure of the body is determined by his heretical qualities. Intellectual differences are also to a great extent influenced by hereditary factor.

Environment:

The environmental influences are those which act upon the organism, at the earlier stages development within mother‟s womb and later external environment which operates from the time birth. The social psychological environment in which, child is born provides social heritage. The customs, socio-economic status, family environment interaction amongst the family members and later peers and school environment cause variety conditions to determine individual differences.

Environment brings individual differences in behaviour, activities, attitude, and style of life characteristics. Personality etc. Environment does not refer only physical surroundings but also it refers the different types of people, society, their culture, customs, traditions, social heritage, ideas and ideals.

Though environment in any home may outwardly look alike but it has different impact on each individual based on interaction patterns, personality and emotional responses of the individual. No two human beings even belonging to the same family, having similar schooling, will have same environment. The psychological environment is determined interpersonal relationship amongst parent child and other members of the family.

Sex:

Due to sex variation one individual differs from other. Men are strong in mental power. On the other hand women on the average show small superiority over men in memory, language and aesthetic sense. Women excel the men in shouldering social responsibilities and have a better control over their emotions.

Age:

Age is another factor which is responsible in bringing individual differences. Learning ability and adjustment capacity naturally grow with age. When one grows in age can acquire better control over our emotions and better social responsibilities. When a child grows then this maturity and development goes side by side.

Education:

Education is one major factor which brings individual differences. There is a wide gap in the behaviors of educated and uneducated persons. All traits of human beings like social, emotional and intellectual are controlled and modifies through proper education.

This education brings a change in our attitude, behaviour, appreciations, Personality. It is seen that uneducated persons are guided by their instinct and emotions where as the educated persons are guided by their reasoning power.

Self:

Individual differences are also due to the particular constitution of self the individual himself. Though all siblings are common heredity and environment, yet no two siblings in a same family are alike . This difference is due to the different genes inherited by the individual as well as differences environment.

Culture:

There has been a tendency in psychology to ignore the experiences of people from different cultures. Two of the studies in this section attempt to explore the experiences of Black People within the Western world. The first study by Gould (1982) is a review of the use of IQ testing. Gould demonstrates how psychological arguments have been used to support racist arguments of White superiority. The study by Habra and Grant (1970) investigates the identity of American Black children. Their study demonstrates that there has been a change in consciousness of Black children from 20 years previously.

Abnormality:

A further issue that is often included in the section of individual differences is what psychologists refer to as abnormality. However the concept of abnormality is also a highly controversial issue. The judgment that somebody is abnormal is relative and is based on factors such as culture, class, religion, sexuality and so on.

Classification of Individual Difference

Broadly individual difference may be classified into two categories such as inherited traits and acquired traits:

Alfred Binet’s (1857-1911) contributions to individual psychology also are immense. His intelligence tests (1905) helped to find out mental differences in degrees of brightness or dullness, in the levels of development as represented by average capacities of children of various ages. Various traits in which individuals may differ. The old classification of traits is threefold – physical, mental and moral.

A more comprehensive classification is given by Gates:

(a) Physical traits:

Height, weight, built, appearance, facial expression, health.

(b) Mental traits:

Intelligence, as a measure of general endowment, and more specific forms of mental activity as in memorizing, perceiving, reasoning, imagining.

(c) Special capacities:

Musical, artistic, mechanical, loco-motor and social aptitudes.

(d) Acquired interest:

Knowledge and technical skill.

(e) Temperament:

Emotional tendencies and behaviour like nervous stability.

(f) Volition:

Characteristics relating to voluntary control of all forms of actions, e.g., strength of will, tenacity, lethargy, etc.

(g) Character:

Reaction tendencies towards situations involving moral, ethical and religious codes and other socially approved standards of conduct, e.g. honest, decent, humane, unselfish, etc.

Combination of traits within the individual:

A human being is made of an exceedingly large number of different traits, each present in some degree Individual differences in combinations of traits – Actual achievement in any line depends on a combination of traits.. And there are an infinite number of total combinations and patterns.

Each is unique. It is more important for an educator to know the individual’s characteristics individually, i.e. the individual as a total perso­nality, which is not always possible to deduce from the group data, and graphs, representing group characteristics and individual positions with reference to a group. It is; therefore, always wise to draw a psychograph of an individual to understand him.

Theories of Trait Combination

There are theories  to explain the way in which traits tend to be combined.

Theory of Compensation:

According to the theory of compensation, strength in any one trait tends to be compensated for by weakness in others and vice versa. The effect of this tendency for strength to be balanced by weakness, and weakness by strength would be to make individuals approach an average.

The result would be that despite wide differences among pupils in each single trait, the average or combined equipment for learning arithmetic would tend towards equality. Thus, from the point of view of practical competence, pupils would not differ so greatly.

Theory of Correlation:

The results of many careful studies of the inter­relations of traits have not been in harmony with this view of compensation. “Instead, it has been found that there is a marked positive correlation or coherence, in the amount of all mental traits possessed by an individual.”

“The fact is, correspondence among desirable traits rather than compen­sation, is the rule.” These facts then tend to emphasise the significance of individual differences in combination of traits rather than to minimise them. According to Thorndike the possible causes of variations are the influences of sex, remote ancestry or race, near ancestry or family, maturity and environment.

Areas of individual differences  in Learner

Here are few important areas of individual differences:

Difference in Attitude

Difference in attitude is psyche related to some specific area. Few learners have positive attitude towards a specific topic, subject, and profession than other.

Differences in Interest

interest means you observe some students like a particular subject, teacher, hobby or profession than other.Interest may refer as a motivating force that impels us to attend to a person, a thing, or an activity. So in educational field differences in.

Difference in Psychomotor Skills

Psychomotor Skill is related to some skill acquisition. Some students differ in this area also. Some students easily learn operating a machine and some may not. A wise teacher should diagnose students’ psychomotor skills abilities and encourage them in proper desirable direction.

Difference in Values

Values be given importance by every learner. Some learners value materialist life style other moral or religious life style etc. So education must mould the mind of young generation to have a balance values between materialism and spiritualism.

Difference Study Habits

Some students markedly differ from other students in study habits. Some students are studious and study all the subjects with interest but other may not. Some study in isolation and some in group.

Difference in Self Concept

Difference in self concept is the totality of attitudes, judgment, and values of an individual relating to his behavior, abilities, and qualities. Some students have positive self concept than boost their confidence level and perform better against those who have negative self.

Considering the above  areas of individual differences  in Learner, the first is for any teacher  is to know the abilities, capacities, interests, aptitudes and other personality traits of individual pupils. For this purpose, request assessment in the form of intelligence tests, cumulative record card, interest inventories, attitude scales, aptitude tests and measures for assessing personality traits shall be carried out. In the light of results derived from various tests of knowing individual differences in various potentials, the students in a class can be divided into homogeneous groups. The curriculum should be as flexible as possible. It should have the provision for a number of diversified course. Considering the varying individual differences adjustment with regard to the adaptation of methods of teaching is very effective.

Educational Implications of the Psychology of Individual Difference

• The notion that individuals differ in various abilities, capacities and personality characteristics necessitates the adoption of individual tendencies in education. It compels the teachers to realize following facts:
• Aims of education, curriculum, method of teaching should be linked with individual differences considering the different abilities and traits individual.
• All students can not be benefited by one particular method of instruction and a uniform and rigid curriculum The teacher has to adopt different types of methods of teaching considering individual difference related to interest, need, etc.
• Some co-curricular activities such as Drama, music, literary activities (Essay & Debate Competition) should be assigned to children according to their interest.
• Every teacher should try to have the desired knowledge of the abilities, capacities, interests, attitudes, aptitudes and other personality traits of his pupils and in the light of this knowledge should render individual guidance to children for maximum utilization of their potentialities.
• Teacher uses certain specific teaching aids which will attract the children towards teaching considering their interest and need.
• Various methods such as playing method, project method, Montessori method, story telling methods are to be used considering/discovering how different children respond to a task or a problem.
• It is wrong to expect uniformity in gaining proficiency or success in a particular field from a group of students. On account of their subnormal intelligence, previous background, lack of proper interest, aptitude and attitude some students have to lag behind in some or other area of achievement.
• Curriculum should be designed as per the interest, abilities and needs of different students.
• In any group there are individuals, who deviate from the norms of the group. Along with the average, the presence of very superior and extremely dull is equally possible in his class.
• The division of pupils into classes should not be based only on the mental age or chronological age of children but the physical, social and emotional maturity should be given due consideration.
• In case of vocational guidance the counsellor is to plan the guidance technique keeping in view the needs and requirements of the students.

Provisions for ‘individual differences’ in Schools:

Realization of the above facts or some more of their nature makes us think that we must have some provision for the wide individual differences among our pupils in our schools. Emphasizing this need Crow and Crow (1973) write –

“Since we supposedly are teaching individuals, not groups of individuals, it is the function of the school within its budgetary personnel and curricular limitations to provide adequate schooling for every learner no matter how much he differs from every other learner.”

How can we accomplish this task is a pertinent question to be asked at this stage. In fact, to provide adequate schooling or learning experience for every learner according to his individuality is not a simple task. However, the following suggestions can be helpful for any teacher –

1.            Proper knowledge of individual personalities: The first step in making provisions for individual differences is not how abilities, capacities, interests, aptitudes and other personality traits of individual pupils. For this purpose, frequent assessment in the form of intelligence tests, cumulative record card, interest inventories, attitude scales, aptitude tests and measures for assessing personality traits shall be carried out.

2.            Ability grouping: In the light of results derived from various tests of knowing individual differences in terms of individual potentialities in various dimensions, the students in a class or area of activity can be divided into homogeneous groups. Such divisions can prove beneficial in adjusting the method of instruction to varying individual differences.

3.            Adjusting the curriculum: To meet the requirement of varying individual differences among the pupils, the curriculum should be as flexible and differentiated as possible. It should have the provision for a number of diversified courses and curriculum experiences so that the pupils may get opportunity to study and work in the areas of their own interests and abilities. It should provide adjustment to suit the local requirements and potentialities of students of different groups.

4.            Adjusting the methods of teaching: Considering the varying individual differences, adjustment with regard to the adoption of methods of teaching is very effective. Every teacher should be somewhat free to formulate his own plan and strategy and adopt different instructional procedures which he finds most suited to different pupils. He should follow different procedures or methods of instruction to suit the requirements of varying ability groups of his pupils.

5.            Adopting social programs or methods for individualizing instruction: Schools may also adopt some social programs or methods of teaching like the Dalton plan, the Winnekta plan, project method or use programmed learning material for enabling students to learn at their own individual pace.

6.            Other causes of individualizing instruction: For the purpose of individualizing instruction a few practical measures can also prove beneficial :-

•             The student strength of the class or section should be made as small as possible.

•             The teacher should try to pay individual attention to the group under instruction.

•             The teacher should keep in view the individual difference of his students while engaging them in drill or practice work in the class-room or assigning home-task.

•             In case where ability grouping is not possible and more specifically under the prevalent system of class teaching, special coaching and guidance program for both the dull and the gifted children are most helpful.

Thus, the problem of individual differences can be tackled with multi dimensional tasks. The teacher, school authorities, the parents and the government as well as voluntary agencies – all should join hands to meet the individual requirements of children who possess tremendous individual differences.

Instructional Strategies for Individual Differences

In general, there are three different approaches for developing instructional strategies with individual differences among students.

First,  develop events of instruction that take them into account as part of the instructional process. This is the approach used by Bernice McCarthy, developer of the 4MAT system.

The second approach is to provide some sort of grouping, either between classes or within the classroom itself, in order to reduce or accommodate for the variability with respect to student background, achievement, ability or some other characteristic. Levelling or tracking, classroom grouping, cooperative learning, and individualized instruction are examples of this approach.

Third,  modify the conditions within which instruction is taking place. This is the approach used in mastery learning.

Modifying Events of Instruction

One strategy for dealing with individual differences is to develop or modify the events of instruction so that they specifically address individual differences. This is exemplified by the 4MAT    system developed by Bernice McCarthy. The 4MAT system is a direct instruction approach to teaching that utilizes research on brain lateralization dominance and learning style to identify specific instructional events that will be attractive to a specific type of student. The 4MAT system seems to have considerable face validity.

Grouping

There are four major approaches to grouping: Between-class Ability Grouping  (often referred to as leveling or tracking), within-class ability grouping, cooperative learning, and individualized instruction.

Between-class Ability Grouping. With respect to Between-class Ability Grouping , research does not support this strategy in terms of learning for all students. Students assigned to the top level (perhaps the top 10 to 15%) seem to benefit from this type of grouping, but middle- and lower-ability students do not.

The major problem with between-class ability grouping may lie more with the method of grouping than with the concept itself. For the most part, ability groups are determined by a composite score on a standardized test of basic skills or on the subtest scores for reading/language arts and mathematics. However, student knowledge and aptitude may not be uniform across all areas of the content being studied. Perhaps multiple regroupings based on specific prerequisite skills might provide a different picture of the viability for between-class grouping.

Another problem that research has found with between-class grouping is that teacher expectations and the quality of instruction are often lower for lower-track groups. Researchers have observed the same teachers in both lower- and upper-level groups and have observed a measurable difference in the performance in these classes. Teachers are generally not as well organized and they use different strategies for questioning when they have entire classrooms composed of lower-ability students.

A final problem with between-class grouping is that students may begin to lower their own expectations when they are placed in a lower-level class. This in turn impacts there achievement which in turn impacts their self-concepts with respect to academic achievement (particularly in that specific class) which consequently negatively impacts the teacher’s expectations and so on. It is this cyclical nature of the impact of ability-grouping that may be most detrimental.

Within-class Ability Grouping. On the whole, research tends to support within-class ability grouping as beneficial to the learning of most students. It seems to be more flexible and, consequently, less stigmatizing. However, this research is based on a small sample of classes (mostly mathematics) and, therefore, needs considerable additional research. In addition, the specific method seems to be important. The ability-grouped active teaching (AGAT) discussed by Slavin is an example of an effective method. In general, if within-class ability grouping is going to be considered, the teacher may want to have only two groups since it will make the grouping process easier to manage.

Cooperative Learning. Cooperative Learning is an instructional strategy in which students are placed in heterogeneous groups.  Cooperative learning is one of the best researched educational innovations of the last two decades. When implemented properly, it can have dramatic effects on student achievement.

Individualized Instruction. While individualized instruction is logically the best way to deal with individual differences, in practice it is very difficult to accomplish. One innovation that may change that is computer assisted instruction    . On the whole, CAI has not yet delivered on its promise to revolutionize teaching and instruction. However, with the more powerful computers now available at reasonable prices we will begin to see an impact on achievement in the near future.

Mastery Learning. A third strategy for dealing with individual differences among students is to change the system within which instruction is provided. This is the strategy used by   mastery learning . In mastery learning, the teaching environment is structured so that students develop mastery of prerequisite skills before they begin a new lesson. In practice, mastery learning has not demonstrated any superiority over traditional instruction when it is implemented on an individual classroom basis.

Measurement of Individual Differences

Measuring the individual differences is very important. After knowing the capability, aptitudes interest, the person can make suitable goals in learning and vocation, which in turn would help him adjust better in the society.

One of the methods used in educational psychology to measure individual differences is psychological tests A psychological test is a structured technique used to generate a carefully selected sample of behavior. A psychological test is an objective and standardized measure of a sample behavior to compare the behavior of two or more persons. Observations are made on a small carefully, chosen sample of an individual’s behaviour.

Psychologists have developed tests to measure different human characteristics. In schools, we use achievement tests which measure what people have learnt. Psychologists frequently use tests of ability and personality. The tests of ability tell what an individual can do when he or she is at his/her best. Ability tests measure capacity as potential rather than achievement. Tests of intelligence and aptitude come under this category. Aptitude refers to the ability to learn a particular kind of skill required in a specific situation. Personality tests measure the characteristic ways of thinking, feeling or behaving.

In order to be useful for the purpose of drawing inferences about the person being tested, it is necessary that the test should be reliable, valid and standardized. A test is reliable if it measures a given characteristic consistently. If a test tells two different values while assessing the object on two occasions then it will be called unreliable. A test of intelligence can be called reliable only when a person scores high or low consistently on both the occasions.

The validity of a test refers to the degree to which it assesses what it intends to assess. A valid test of personality gives a measure of a person’s personality and predicts behavior in situations where that aspect of personality is pertinent.

Finally, an assessment tool should be standardized. Standardization involves establishing the procedure of administration of a test to all persons in the same way under the same conditions. It also involves establishing group norms so that an individual’s score can be compared with those of others in a defined group.. Standardization ensures uniformity and objectivity in administration and makes the results interpretable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

An approach is a perspective (i.e. view) that involves certain assumptions (i.e. beliefs) about human behaviour, the way they function, which aspects of them are worthy of study and what research methods are appropriate for undertaking this study. There may be several different theories within an approach, but they all share these common assumptions.

The major perspectives represent fundamental assumptions that underlie the research questions and methods that are used in order to answer the questions of psychology. Most all perspectives define psychology as the discipline interested in studying human behavior and mental processes, but that covers a lot of ground and the causes of behavior and mental processes are not always clear.

Each perspective has its strengths and weaknesses, and brings something different to our understanding of human behavior.  For this reason, it is important that psychology does have different perspectives to the understanding and study of human and animal behavior.

There are various different approaches  / perspective  in contemporary psychology.

Bio-psychological Perspective:

The biological perspective is a broad scientific perspective that assumes that human behavior and thought processes have a biological basis. We are essentially complex biological systems that respond to both hereditary and environmental influences. Behavior is determined by brain structure and chemicals, and by inborn responses to external cues for survival and reproduction.

Biological psychologists explain behaviors in neurological terms , includes investigations into biochemistry of behavior associated with neurotransmitters and hormones, genetics and heritability, and the psycho-physics of sensation and perception. Examines the physical basis of psychological phenomena such as motivation, emotion and stress.

Theorists in the biological perspective who study behavioral genomics consider how genes affect behavior. Now that the human genome is mapped, perhaps, we will someday understand more precisely how behavior is affected by the DNA we inherit. Biological factors such as chromosomes, hormones and the brain all have a significant influence on human behavior.The biological approach believes that most behavior is inherited and has an adaptive (or evolutionary) function..

The biological perspective reduces humans to a set of mechanisms and physical structures that are clearly essential and important (e.g. genes).  However, it fails to account for consciousness and the influence of the environment on behavior. Because the biological perspective relies on scientific methods, its scope of investigation is limited to variables that can be controlled. Research methods are quantitative and seek to produce findings that can be replicated and that are generalizable across populations.

Psychoanalytic/psycho-dynamic  Perspective:

The approach that has been most popularly associated with the discipline of psychology for the past century is the psycho-dynamic, psychoanalytic perspective. Sigmund Freud, who was medically trained in neurology, developed a theory of personality that made the assumption that human motivation was propelled by conflicts between instinctual, mostly unconscious, psychological forces.

Freud,  explained the human mind as like an iceberg, with only a small amount of it being visible, that is our observable behavior, but it is the unconscious, submerged mind that has the most, underlying influence on our behavior. Freud used three main methods ,free association, dream analysis and slips of the tongue.

He believed that the unconscious mind consisted of three components: the  Id, Ego,and Super Ego ‘  The ‘id’ contains two main instincts: ‘Eros’, which is the life instinct, which involves self-preservation and sex which is fueled by the ‘libido’ energy force. ‘Thanatos’ is the death instinct, whose energies, because they are less powerful than those of ‘Eros’ are channeled away from ourselves and into aggression towards others.

The ‘id’ and the ‘superego’ are constantly in conflict with each other, and the ‘ego’ tries to resolve the discord. If this conflict is not resolved, we tend to use defense mechanisms to reduce our anxiety. Psychoanalysis attempts to help patients resolve their inner conflicts.

However, it has been criticized in the way that it over emphasizes of importance of sexuality and under emphasized of the role of social relationships. The theory is not scientific, and can’t be proved as it is circular. Nevertheless psychoanalysis has been greatly contributory to psychology in that it has encouraged many modern theorists to modify it for the better, using its basic principles, but eliminating its major flaws.

Psycho-dynamic Perspective sees behavior as arising from unconscious needs, conflicts, repressed memories, and childhood experiences. Psycho-dynamic theory sees behavior as arising from unconscious needs, conflicts, repressed memories, and childhood experiences.People’s actions are determined by the way their thoughts, feelings and wishes are connected in their minds.Many occur outside of conscious awareness. The mental processes may conflict, leading to compromises among competing motives (ID ‘now’, ego ‘reasoning’, superego ‘conscience’).Sigmund Freud emphasised on unconscious mental forces.Many of the associations between feelings and behaviour or situations that guide our behaviour are done unconsciously.Uses dreams, free associations, sexuality, subconscious mind .

Evolutionary Perspective:

This perspective believes that behavioural tendencies in humans have evolved because they helped our ancestors to survive and rear healthy offspring.    It supports Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection – the most adaptive behavioural traits are those that helped our ancestors adjust and survive in their environment. Behavior is determined by natural selection.

The Evolutionary approach explains behavior in terms of the selective pressures that shape behavior. Most behaviors that we see/display are believed to have developed during our environment of evolutionary adaptation to help us survive.

Observed behavior is likely to have developed because it is adaptive. It has been naturally selected, i.e., individuals who are best adapted survive and reproduce. Behaviors may even be sexually selected, i.e., individuals who are most successful in gaining access to mates leave behind more offspring.The mind is therefore equipped with ‘instincts’ that enabled our ancestors to survive and reproduce.

Humanistic/Existential Perspective:

The humanistic perspective arose in reaction to the deterministic and pessimistic psychoanalytic view and the mechanistic behavioral perspective, to support more optimistic views that humans are motivated by their potential to be creative and productive in response to their social and environmental conditions. Humanism is hopeful, focuses on subjective, conscious experience, tries to solve human problems and emphasizes the human potential to grow in a positive manner. . Humanistic perspective focuses on the influence of self-concept, perceptions, and interpersonal relationships, and on need for personal growth. It focuses on the individual and assumes people are motivated to reach their full potential The humanist philosophy respects diversity and confronts reality as it is, both the painful and pleasurable, the good and the bad. The humanistic perspective centers on the view that each person is unique and individual, and has the free will to change at any time in his or her lives.

The humanistic perspective suggests that we are each responsible for our own happiness and well-being as humans. We have the innate (i.e. inborn) capacity for self-actualization, which is our unique desire to achieve our highest potential as people.

Because of this focus on the person and his or her personal experiences and subjective perception of the world the humanists regarded scientific methods as inappropriate for studying behavior.

Behavioral Perspective:

Behavioral Perspective  is different from most other approaches because they view people (and animals) as controlled by their environment and specifically that we are the result of what we have learned from our environment. Behaviorism is concerned with how environmental factors (called stimuli) affect observable behavior (called the response).

The behaviorist approach proposes two main processes whereby people learn from their environment: namely classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical conditioning involves learning by association, and operant conditioning involves learning from the consequences of behavior.

Behavioral Perspective also believes in  scientific methodology (e.g. controlled experiments), and that only observable behavior should be studied because this can be objectively measured.  Behavioral Perspective rejects the idea that people have free will, and believes that the environment determines all behavior. Behaviorism is the scientific study of observable behavior working on the basis that behavior can be reduced to learned S-R (Stimulus-Response) units. In an attempt to bring scientific method to bear on the understanding of human behavior, John B. Watson, using ideas he had gleaned from the likes of Ivan Pavlov and others, decided to declare that psychology should only concern itself with observable behavior. A science of behavior was built on only observable behavior. Assumptions about underlying psychological causes of behavior were not admitted. The unconscious was declared fictitious and its study, a waste of time. Serious psychology would focus on observable, controllable, behavior.

Behavioral Perspective is  an attempt to bring scientific method to bear on the understanding of human behavior, John B. Watson, using ideas he had gleaned from the likes of Ivan Pavlov and others, decided to declare that psychology should only concern itself with observable behavior. A science of behavior was built on only observable behavior. Assumptions about underlying psychological causes of behavior were not admitted. The unconscious was declared fictitious and its study, a waste of time. Serious psychology would focus on observable, controllable, behavior.

Focuses on the way objects or events in the environment come to control behaviour through learning (E.g. Classical or Operant Conditioning). :  Behavior is primarily shaped by learning. In accordance with the laws of behavioral learning, we respond to stimulus cues and to our history of rewards and punishments.

It is based on the observation that behaviour can be controlled by environmental influences that either increase (reinforce) or decrease (punish) their likelihood of occurring. Uses observations of environment and is focused on the short term change.

Behavioral Perspective has been criticized in the way it under-estimates the complexity of human behavior. Many studies used animals which are hard to generalize to humans and it cannot explain, for example the speed in which we pick up language. There must be biological factors involved.

Cognitive Perspective:

It is an extremely  scientific approach and typically uses lab experiments to study human behavior. The cognitive perspective suggests that much of human behavior is significantly influenced by cognitive processes and is thus amenable to our thoughtful control. In response to the empty organism theory of behaviorism, the cognitive perspective developed explanations for human behavior that suggest that human behavior is at times thoughtful and can be controlled by thought processes. Human behavior is mediated by thought processes like memory and attention, belief systems, attitudes and language. Cognitivists believe that humans bring scanning tools that are at the leading edge of neuroscience.

Cognitive Psychology revolves around the notion that if we want to know what makes people tick then the way to do it is to figure out what processes are actually going on in their minds. In other words, psychologists from this perspective study cognition which is ‘the mental act or process by which knowledge is acquired.’

The cognitive perspective is concerned with “mental” functions such as  memory, perception, attention etc. It views people as being similar to computers in the way we process information (e.g. input-process-output). For example, both human brains and computers process information, store data and have input and output procedure.

This had led cognitive psychologists to explain that memory comprises of three stages: encoding (where information is received and attended to), storage (where the information is retained) and retrieval (where the information is recalled).

People are information-processing systems.Behavior is the result of our mental interpretations of our experience. . Belief systems, value systems, thought processes, reason and intelligence have a significant impact on why we do the things we do and act the way we act. It focuses on the way people perceive, process and retrieve information. Rene Descartes’ early philosophical questions led many cognitive psychologists to emphasise the role of reason in creating knowledge.Modern-day cognitive psychologists use experimental procedures to infer the underlying mental processes in operation.

Socio-cultural Perspective:

Socio-cultural perspective tries to distinguish universal psychological processes from those that are specific to particular cultures. The environment and all its factors had a great impact on the development of higher order functions

The social/cultural perspective in psychology suggests that People are social animals, so human behavior must be interpreted in its social context behavior is heavily influenced by culture, by social norms and expectations, and by social learning.

Human behavior is influenced by social context, environmental cues, social pressures and cultural influences. Anyone who has attended a football game will recognize that human behavior is susceptible to influence of the crowd mentality. We are all shaped by the context of our environment and influenced by the perception of authority in our social order. Social psychologists suggest that these forces are very powerful and explain a great deal about the causes of human behavior and thought processes.

Conclusion

There  are  many different perspectives in psychology to explain the different types of behavior and give different angles.  Only with all the different types of psychology, which sometimes contradict one another , overlap with each other or build upon one another can we understand and create effective solutions when problems arise so we have a healthy body and a healthy mind.

The fact that there are different perspectives represents the complexity and richness of human (and animal) behavior. No one perspective has explanatory powers over the rest.

The biological perspective reduces humans to a set of mechanisms and physical structures that are clearly essential and important .  However, it fails to account for consciousness and the influence of the environment on behavior A scientific approach, such as behaviorism or cognitive psychology, tends to ignore the subjective  experiences that people have.

The humanistic perspective does recognize human experience, but largely at the expense of being non-scientific in its methods and ability to provide evidence.  The psycho-dynamic perspective concentrates too much on the unconscious mind and childhood. As such, it tends to lose sight of the role of socialization  and the possibility of free will.

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Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

Test is used to gather information. That information is presented in the form of measurement. That measurement is then used to make evaluation. It is the process of obtaining a numerical description of the degree to which an individual possesses a particular characteristic. Measurement answers the question, “How much?”.

The English word measurement originates from the Latin mēnsūra and the “The action of measuring something: “accurate measurement is essential”.

The size, length, or amount of something, as established by measuring verb metiri through the Middle French mesure.

This  is  a  broad  term  that  refers  to  the  systematic  determination  of outcomes or characteristics by means of some sort of assessment device. It is a systematic process of obtaining the quantified degree to which a trait or an attribute is present in an individual or object. In other words it is a systematic assignment of numerical values or figures to a trait or an attribute in a person or object.

Brief Historical Retrospect of Testing and Measurement

Testing  is essential as its feedback helps in increasing the learning and `performance of children. This is why, the history of testing started very early, it has grown from the test of individual differences to almost all aspects of education .

There is no aspect of life that can be mentioned where there is no form of measurement . This is because test form the best means of detecting characteristics in a reasonable objective manner. They help to gain the kinds of information about learners and learning that is required to help students learning.

The history of measurement can be traced with the invention of tests to measure individual differences in skills . In January 1796, the astronomer royal of Greenwich observatory in England – Maskelyne, was recorded to have dismissed his assistant, Kinnebrook, for recording the movement of stars across the telescope with eight-tenths of a second later than his. According to Tuckman (1975) between 1820 and 1823, a German astronomer –Bessel improved on the work of Maskelyne by demonstrating the variability in personal equations and observations. He argued that fluctuations existed from situation to situation  and from individual to individual, as there is a variation in the simple reaction time or a measure of the time required to react to a simple stimulus.

In 1863, Sir Francis Galton worked onthe testing of individual differences. His work was regarded as the beginning of mental tests.  In 1884, Galton opened an anthropometric laboratory to collect the characteristic measurements of individuals . Mckeen Cathel, an American Psychologist was also studying individual differences in primary physical terms. These were the earliest recorded history of testing. But  the early measurement approaches in history both written and oral, were informal. The first written tests were the informal examinations used by the Chinese to recruit people into the civil service. This was about 2200BC.

The oral examinations conducted by Socrates in the 5th century B.C was also  informal. In America, before 1815, educational achievement tests were used for assessment through oral examinations. Galton, James Cattel plays significant  roles in the development  of test . There are others, like Karl Pearson,who developed the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient which is useful in checking the reliability and validity of standardized tests.

By 1904, Alfred Binet studied the differences between bright and dull children. In 1904, he developed a test for measuring intelligence of children . This test is called Binet – Simons intelligence test. In 1916, Louis Terman and his associates at Stanford University revised the Binet-Simon scale and brought out the Stamford-Binet version. Group-tests development started during the World War I when the need to measure the intelligence of soldiers. As a result group of psychologists including Yerkes, R.M and Otis, A. developed the Army Alpha, which is a written group intelligence test, and Army Beta, which is the individual nonverbal intelligence test.  David Wechsler also developed series of individual intelligence scales from 1939 to 1967.

George Fisher, developed the first standardized objectives test of achievement in 1864 and J.M. Rice,  developed the standard spelling objective scale in 1897.The above references are not the total contributers in the field of testing,they are actually the pioneers.

Within the last few decades, educational evaluation has grown into a separate, independent discipline, though with some leanings on the ideas of psychologists, psycho-metricians and statisticians. In recent  years, its development into a complex art and technology had taken place. Efforts of educational evaluators have been directed specifically towards using precision, objectivity and mathematical vigour of psychological measurement in ways directly related to educational institutions, educational processes and purposes.

Definition of Measurement

Measurement may be defined as follows:

Measurements act as labels which make those values more useful in terms of details Values made meaningful by quantifying into specific units.

Measurement is an act or a process that involves the assignment of a numerical index to whatever is being assessed.

Measurement is collection of quantitative data. A measurement is made by comparing a quantity with a standard unit.

In education,  the  numerical  value  of  scholastics  ability,  aptitude, achievement etc can be measured and obtained using instruments such as paper and pencil test. It means that the values of the attribute are translated into numbers by measurement.

Measurement, beyond its general definition, refers to the set of procedures and the principles for how to use the procedures in educational tests and assessments.  Some of the basic principles of measurement in educational evaluations would be raw scores, percentile ranks, derived scores, standard scores, etc.

The process of obtaining a numerical description of the degree to which an individual possesses a particular characteristic.

• Test is used to gather information.
• That information is presented in the form of measurement.
• That measurement is then used to make evaluation.

As a result of a test, a measure is obtained. An observation, a rating scale or any other device that allows us to obtain information in a quantitative form is a measurement.

Types of Measurement:

Generally, there are three types of measurement:

(i) Direct; (ii) Indirect; and Relative.

Direct;  To find the length and breadth of a table involves direct measurement and this is always accurate if the tool is valid.

Indirect; To know the quantity of heat contained by a substance involves indirect measurement for we have to first find out the temperature of the substance with the help of a thermometer and then we can calculate the heat contained by the substance.

Relative ; To measure the intelligence of a boy involves relative measurement, for the score obtained by the boy in an intelligence test is compared with norms. It is obvious that psychological and educational measurements are relative.

Levels and  Classification of Educational Measures

A students’ achievement may  be viewed at three different levels:

1.  Self-referenced how the student is progressing with reference to himself/herself.

2.  Criterion-referenced how the student is progressing with reference to the criteria set by the teacher. Criterion-referenced – individual scores are interpreted in terms of the student’s performance relative to some standard or criterion

3.  Norm-referenced how the student is progressing with   reference to his/her peer group. Norm-referenced – individual scores are interpreted relative to the scores of others in a well defined Norming group.

Classes of Educational Measures

There are three  classes of educational measures

1.            Cognitive or Non-cognitive

a.            Cognitive measures focus on what a person knows or is able to do mentally.

b.            Non-cognitive measures focus on affective traits or characteristics (e.g, personality traits, attitudes, values, interests, preferences, etc.)

2. Locally Developed Measures

c.            Commercially prepared measures are developed for widespread use with a focus on technical merit.

d.            Locally prepared measures are developed by a researcher for specific situations with some, but not extensive, concern for technical characteristics.

3.            Self-report or Observations by others

a.            Self-report measures require the subjects to supply the response (e.g., tests, questionnaires, interviews, etc.)

b.            Observations by others require subjects to be observed by others who record the data (e.g., observations, unobtrusive measures, etc.)

Classification of Educational Measures

There are three main classes of measurement

1-Cognitive or non-cognitive.

a-Cognitive measures focus on what a person knows or is able to do mentally.

b-Non-cognitive measures focus on affective traits or characteristics (e.g, personality traits, attitudes, values, interests, preferences, etc.)

2-Commercially prepared or locally developed.

a-Commercially prepared measures are developed for widespread use with a focus on technical merit.

b-Locally prepared measures are developed by a researcher for specific situations with some, but not extensive, concern for technical characteristics

3-Self-report or observations by others.

a-Self-report measures require the subjects to supply the response (e.g., tests, questionnaires, interviews, etc.)

b-Observations by others require subjects to be observed by others who record the data (e.g., observations, unobtrusive measures, etc.)

Types of Educational Measures used in Quantitative Research

There are four types of educational measures used in quantitative research.

Tests

A test is an instrument that requires subjects to complete a cognitive task by responding to a standard set of questions.

Score Interpretation

Norm-referenced - Individual scores are interpreted relative to the scores of others in a well defined norming group (e.g., John’s scores places him in the 95^th percentile; Sally’s score is in the bottom quartile).

Standard scores are transformations of raw scores into easily interpreted standard metrics.

Z-score – the difference between a raw score and the mean in standard deviation units (i.e., z = (raw score – mean) / standard deviation).

Z-scores are algebraically transformed to standard scales such as percentiles, grade equivalents, SAT, ACT, GRE, etc.

All standard scores are interpreted relative to the scores of others in the norming group.

SAT score of 700 is very, very good relative to the scores of the norm group because it is two (2) standard deviations above the mean (i.e., in the 99^th percentile).

Grade equivalent score of 3.0 is poor given that he is in the 6^th grade and has scored at a level equal to that of third graders taking the test.

Criterion-referenced - individual scores are interpreted in terms of the student’s performance relative to some standard or criterion (e.g., Jeanne passed the Louisiana High School Graduate Exit Exam; Sammy did not make the cut off for being promoted to the 7^th grade).

Standardization

a-Standardized tests have uniform procedures for administration, scoring, and interpreting test scores

Types of standardized tests

1-Achievement – tests of content knowledge or skills

2-Aptitude - tests which are used to predict future cognitive performance

3-Standards-based - criterion-referenced tests based on established standards

4-Domain-referenced

Standardized tests V/S  Informal Teacher-made tests.

Standardized tests assess broad, general content while teacher-made tests tend to focus on specific objectives related to the instruction in a class

Standardized tests are more technically sound than teacher-made tests

Standardized tests are administered in “standardized” manners while teacher-made tests tend to be administered informally

Standardized tests are scored in consistent, reliable manners and produce sets of standard scores; teacher-made tests are scored in less reliable manners and generally are scored as the percentage of correct responses

Questionnaires

A questionnaire is an instrument containing statements designed to obtain a subject’s perceptions, attitudes, beliefs, values, opinions, or other non-cognitive traits

Personality inventories

Personality inventories are concerned with,Psychological orientation (i.e., general psychological adjustment) and Educational orientation (i.e., traits such as self-concept or self-esteem that are related to learning and motivation)

Attitudes, values, or interests

Attitudes, values, or interests  are  affective traits that indicate some degree of preference toward something.

Scales

Scales are  continuum that describes subject’s responses to a statement.

Likert Scales

Response options require the subject to determine the extent to which they agree with a statement

An odd number of options provides for a middle or neutral response (e.g., strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, or strongly disagree)

An even number of options eliminates a response of neutral (e.g., strongly agree, agree, disagree, or strongly disagree)

Statements must reflect extreme positive or extreme negative positions like”I hate my teacher.The textbook has been a valuable resource.”A subject’s response positions them on a continuum. Strongly agreeing with the statement “I hate my teacher” indicates a very negative attitude. Strongly agreeing with the statement “The textbook has been a valuable resource” indicates a very positive attitude.

Semantic Differential

Response options reflect a continuum of bipolar adjectives related to some aspect of the trait being measured

Fair: __ __ __ __ :Unfair

Interesting: __ __ __ __ :Boring

Aspects of the traits being measured are usually stated in a few words (e.g, My teacher is … ; the textbook is … )

A subject’s response positions them on a continuum.Responses of “fair” and “interesting” to the statement “My teacher is ….” indicate a positive attitude.Responses of “unfair” and “boring” to the statement “My teacher is ….” indicate a negative attitude.

Checklists

Checklists – responses require subjects to identify specific options from which they choose those options that appeal to them.

Ranked items

Ranked items – responses require students to place a limited number of items into sequential order.

Problems with Measuring Non-cognitive Traits

Difficulty in  clearly defining what is being measured (e.g., self-concept or self-esteem).

Response set – a tendency to respond the same way to all items (e.g., strongly agreeing with each statement).

Social desirability – a tendency to respond to items in a way that is socially desired or accepted.

Faking – a tendency to respond inaccurately (e.g., agreeing with statements because of the negative consequences associated with disagreeing).

Controlling problems

Equal numbers of positively and negatively worded statements. Alternating positive and negative statements and/or bipolar adjectives. Providing confidentiality or anonymity to respondents

Observations

Direct observation of behaviours in natural or controlled settings,structured or unstructured observations and detached or involved observers

Inference in Observation

Low inference – involves little if any inference on the observers part. Children are in their seats. Teacher uses math manipulative.

High inference – involves high levels of inference on the observers part. Children are happy. Teacher lectures effectively.

Laboratory Observation- Specified environment. Use of structured forms and procedures. Concern with demand characteristics.

Structured Field Observation is carried out in natural setting. Use of structured forms and procedures are generally in the form of frequency counts ,duration ,interval ,continuous and in  time sampling.

Advantages of Observations

• Yields firsthand data without the contamination that can arise from tests, inventories, or other self-report instruments
• Allows for the description of behavior as it occurs naturally
• Allow for the consideration of contextual factors that can influence the interpretation and use of the results

Interviews

Interviews involve orally questioning of subjects and recording their responses.In interview the types of questions used are of ,structured ,semi-structured,unstructured and leading type

Sources of Concern

Sources of concern in Interview are, ,bias, contamination, interviewer characteristics (e.g., age, race, gender, etc.), conduct of the interview and response recordings

Advantages

ü  Establish rapport

ü  Enhance motivation

ü  Clarify responses through additional questioning

ü  Capture the depth and richness of responses

ü  Allow for flexibility

ü  Reduce “no response” and/or “neutral” responses

Disadvantages

v  Time consuming

v  Expensive

v  Small samples

v  Subjective

Criteria for Evaluating instruments

v Validity evidence /Reliability evidence

v  Descriptions of the instruments

v  Administration procedures

v  Norming information for norm-referenced tests (NRTs)

v  Standards for criterion-referenced tests (CRTs)

v  Meaningful scores and score interpretations

v  Avoidance of response problems in non-cognitive measures

v  Training observers and interviewers

v  High standards for observers using high inference observations

v  Minimum interviewer effects

Scales of Measurement

A basic understanding of scales of measurement is essential in order to know something about presenting, interpreting and analysing data. . What a scale actually means  depends on what its numbers represent. Numbers can be grouped into 4 types or levels: nominal, ordinal, interval, and ratio.The scales are distinguished on the relationships assumed to exist between objects having different scale values The four scale types are ordered in that all later scales have all the properties of earlier scales plus additional properties. Nominal is the most simple, and ratio the most sophisticated…

Categorical or qualitative variables tend to be reported in nominal and ordinal scales and Quantitative variables are reported in interval or ratio scales.

Nominal

Not really a ‘scale’ because it does not scale objects along any dimension, It simply labels objects. Categorical data are measured on nominal scales which merely assign labels to distinguish categories

Nominal is hardly measurement. It refers to quality more than quantity. A nominal level of measurement is simply a matter of distinguishing by name, e.g., 1 = male, 2 = female. Even though we are using the numbers 1 and 2, they do not denote quantity. The binary category of 0 and 1 used for computers is a nominal level of measurement. They are categories or classifications. Nominal measurement is like using categorical levels of variables,.

Nominal basically refers to categorically discrete data such as name of your school, type of car one drive or name of a book. This one is easy to remember because nominal sounds like name.

In nominal measurement the numerical values just “name” the attribute uniquely. A nominal scale tells you to which group a unit/individual belongs. A nominal scale can be used to categorise. For example, gender can be categorised as male or female, and religion can be categorised as Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, and ‘other’. Sometimes a numerical code is assigned to nominal variables (e.g. 1 = female, 2 = male) but the code does not imply order.

Ordinal

Ordinal refers to order in measurement. In ordinal measurement the attributes can be rank-ordered. Here, distances between attributes do not have any meaning Ordinal refers to quantities that have a natural ordering. For example, we often using rating scales (Likert questions). This is also an easy one to remember, ordinal sounds like order.  An ordinal scale indicates direction, in addition to providing nominal information. Low/Medium/High; or Faster/Slower are examples of ordinal levels of measurement.” Many psychological scales or inventories are at the ordinal level of measurement.

An ordinal scale extends the information of a nominal scale to show order, i.e. that one unit has more of a certain characteristic than another unit. For example, an ordinal scale can be used

•             to rank job applicants from the best to the worst,

•             to categorise people according to their level of education, or

to measure people’s feelings about some matter using a measure like ‘strongly agree’, ‘agree’, ‘neutral’, ‘disagree’, ‘strongly disagree’

Interval

An interval scale is a scale on which equal intervals between objects, represent equal differences.

Interval scales provide information about order, and also possess equal intervals. Equal-interval scales of measurement can be devised for opinions and attitudes. Constructing them involves an understanding of mathematical and statistical principles. But it is important to understand the different levels of measurement when using and interpreting scales.

Interval data is like ordinal except we can say the intervals between each value are equally split. The most common example is temperature in degrees Fahrenheit. The difference between 29 and 30 degrees is the same magnitude as the difference between 78 and 79 .With attitudinal scales and the Likert questions,  are rarely interval, although many points on the scale likely are of equal intervals.

Interval scales are not simply ordinal. They give a deeper meaning to order. An interval scale is a scale of measurement in which the magnitude of difference between measurements of any two units is meaningful. If weights are measured in kilograms (kg), then the difference in weights between two people whose weights are respectively 82 kg and 69 kg is the same as that between people whose respective weights are 64 kg and 51 kg. That is, the ‘intervals’ are the same (13 kg) and have the same meaning. Further, someone who weighs 100 kilograms is twice as heavy as someone who weighs 50 kilograms. Consequently, most interval scales are also meaningful on a ratio scale.

Ratio

A ratio scale is a special form of interval scale that has a true zero. For some interval scales, measurement ratios are not meaningful. For example, 40° C does not represent a temperature which has twice the heat of 20° C because the zero on the Celsius scale is arbitrary, and does not represent an absence of heat. However, when we consider the metric system for temperature (known as ‘degrees Kelvin’), then there is a true zero (called ‘absolute zero’). Therefore, a measure of 40K (i.e. 40 degrees Kelvin) is twice as hot as 20K.

Finally, in ratio measurement there is always an absolute zero that is meaningful. This means that you can construct a meaningful fraction (or ratio) with a ratio variable. Weight is a ratio variable.

In addition to possessing the qualities of nominal, ordinal, and interval scales, a ratio scale has an absolute zero (a point where none of the quality being measured exists) Ratio data is interval data with a natural zero point. Using a ratio scale permits comparisons such as being twice as high, or one-half as much. Reaction time (how long it takes to respond to a signal of some sort) uses a ratio scale of measurement — time. Although an individual’s reaction time is always greater than zero, we conceptualize a zero point in time, and can state that a response of 24 milliseconds is twice as fast as a response time of 48 milliseconds.

The Relationship between Numbers , Nominal, Ordinal, Interval and Ratio scales

It’s important to recognize that there is a hierarchy implied in the level of measurement idea. At lower levels of measurement, assumptions tend to be less restrictive and data analyses tend to be less sensitive. At each level up the hierarchy, the current level includes all of the qualities of the one below it and adds something new. In general, it is desirable to have a higher level of measurement (e.g., interval or ratio) rather than a lower one (nominal or ordinal).

Numbers can be used to represent measurements on any of the four scales mentioned in this section. However, the relative values of these numbers have a deeper meaning as the scale goes progressively through nominal, ordinal, interval and ratio scales. For example, suppose the numbers 1, 2, and 3 represent 3 measurements on any one of those scales. On a nominal scale, the numbers could have been replaced equally by the same numbers in a different order such as 3, 1, 2 or three arbitrarily chosen different numbers such as 6, 4, 8. On an ordinal scale, the order of the numbers 1, 2, 3 is important, but the order tells us nothing about the magnitude of difference between 1 and 2 and 2 and 3. However, on an interval scale, the difference between 1 and 2 is the same as that between 2 and 3 and half of that between 1 and 3.

Applications

The level of measurement for a particular variable is defined by the highest category that it achieves. For example, categorizing someone as extroverted (outgoing) or introverted (shy) is nominal. If we categorize people 1 = shy, 2 = neither shy nor outgoing, 3 = outgoing, then we have an ordinal level of measurement. If we use a standardized measure of shyness  we would probably assume the shyness variable meets the standards of an interval level of measurement. As to whether or not we might have a ratio scale of shyness, although we might be able to measure zero shyness, it would be difficult to devise a scale where we would be comfortable talking about someone’s being 3 times as shy as someone else.

Measurement at the interval or ratio level is desirable because we can use the more powerful statistical procedures available for Means and Standard Deviations. To have this advantage, often ordinal data are treated as though they were interval; for example, subjective ratings scales (1 = terrible, 2= poor, 3 = fair, 4 = good, 5 = excellent). The scale probably does not meet the requirement of equal intervals — we don’t know that the difference between 2 (poor) and 3 (fair) is the same as the difference between 4 (good) and 5 (excellent). In order to take advantage of more powerful statistical techniques, researchers often assume that the intervals are equal.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

The present higher education curriculum does not impart the necessary skills that would make the students employable adequately. There is a lack of Interdisciplinary approach as well as there is a very little scope for value based courses to be taught. In addition the evaluation methods are largely based on memory recall processes. In addition the students don’t learn to think and analyze on their own. Also, the system is not effective enough in meeting/ empowering students to think or or matters/issues independently

According to National Knowledge Commission (NKC), the Present System is based on Teacher centric approach. But the teacher never asks, “why am I teaching this, what will students do after this exposure?” and what are the kinds of activities student should be engaged to have “learning opportunities”?

In the present system there is no inter-disciplinary mobility is possible.  There is a  lack of multi-disciplinary opportunities ,It  has a closed isolated environment in which the student has no choices and have no opportunity  to walk out and walk in to earn a certification

No scope to introduce latest knowledge in the curriculum, and learning goals of the course and learning objectives of the units/submits never enunciated. matters/issues independently.

There are no opportunities for – Group work – Individual work – Data collection – Field work – Quizzes – Class tests – Community involvement.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) has initiated several measures to bring equity, efficiency and excellence in the Higher Education System of country. The important measures taken to enhance academic standards and quality in higher education include innovation and improvements in curriculum, teaching-learning process, examination and evaluation systems, besides governance and other matters.

The ultimate goal is to bring reforms in higher education so that students develop thinking as well as analytical ability, he/she gets equipped with necessary skills ultimately making him/her suitable for an employment and to integrate values of our culture with education.

The academic reforms recommended by the UGC in the recent past have led to overall improvement in the higher education system. However, due to lot of diversity in the system of higher education, there are multiple approaches followed by universities towards examination, evaluation and grading system.

While the higher education institutions must have the flexibility and freedom in designing the examination and evaluation methods that best fits the the curriculum, syllabi and teaching–learning methods, there is a need to devise a sensible system for awarding the grades based on the performance of students. Presently the performance of the students is reported using the conventional system of marks secured in the examinations or grades or both. The conversion from marks to letter grades and the letter grades used vary widely across the HEIs in the country.

The grading system is considered to be better than the conventional marks system and hence  it is desirable to introduce uniform grading system. This will facilitate student mobility across institutions within and across countries and also enable potential employers to assess the performance of students. To bring in the desired uniformity, in grading system and method for computing the cumulative grade point average (CGPA) based on the performance of students in the examinations.

The credit system

A credit system is a systematic way of describing an educational programme by attaching credits to its components. The definition of credits in higher education systems may be based on different parameters, such as student workload, learning outcomes, entrepreneurship skills, contact hours, innovation and Creativity talents, etc.

Choice enables a learner to pursue any area of knowledge domain depending upon his / her interest. Choice also widens the horizon of learner’s intellectual insight as rigidity of present system does not allow pursuit of areas of interest as well as widening the educational horizon of the learner, and provision of choice is an essential condition for broad-based learner’s profile across areas of knowledge.

The Choice Based Credit System (CBCS)

A “cafeteria” type approach in which the students can take courses of their choice, learn at their own pace, undergo additional courses, acquire more than the required credits, and adopt an interdisciplinary approach to learning.

Transformation from the traditional teacher-centered  education to a student-centered education. CBCS provides greater flexibility with multiple exits, multiple pathways, vertical mobility.

The main objectives of CBCS are:

To provide broad based education;

To provide students with greater flexibility in choice of courses;

To provide students multi-disciplinary curriculum;

To enable students to choose courses at basic/advanced level/inter-disciplinary;

To enable students to acquire job oriented skills;

To enable students to progress at their own pace;

To enable highly motivated students gain extra credits; and

To Bridge the gap between professional and social exposure to provide a holistic education.

Learning by Earning Credits

Credits offer flexibility of learning at one’s own pace.

Credits can be earned in a shorter or expanded period depending upon the capacity of the learner.

Provision of transfer of credit is a facility for students to move from one branch to another.

Possibility of doing majors in more than one subject if provision of earning credit is available in the coursework, and

In interdisciplinary courses, credits can be earned by taking courses across departments and institutions.

Advantages of CBCS

Represents a much-required shift in focus from teacher-centric to learner-centric education since the workload estimated is based on the investment of time in learning, not in teaching. Segments learning experience into calibrated units, which can be accumulated in order to gain an academic award.

Helps to record course work and to document learner workload realistically since all activities are taken into account -not only the time learners spend in lectures or seminars but also the time they need for individual learning and the preparation of examinations etc.

Respects ‘Learner Autonomy’. Allows learners to choose according to their own learning needs, interests and aptitudes. Affords more flexibility to the learners allowing them to choose inter-disciplinary courses, change majors, programmes, etc. Affords more flexibility to the learners allowing them to choose inter-disciplinary courses, change majors, programmes, etc.

Represents a much-required shift in focus from teacher-centric to learner-centric education since the workload estimated is based on the investment of time in learning, not in teaching.

Helps to record course work and to document learner workload realistically since all activities are taken into account -not only the time learners spend in lectures or seminars but also the time they need for individual learning and the preparation of examinations etc.

Helps self-paced learning. Learners may undertake as many credits as they can cope with without having to repeat all the courses in a given semester if they fail in one or more courses. Alternatively, they can choose other courses and continue their studies.

Makes education more broad-based. One can take credits by combining unique combinations. Facilitates Learner Mobility. Offers the opportunity to study at different times and in different places. Credits earned at one institution can be transferred to another.

Is beneficial for achieving more transparency and compatibility between different educational structures, and helps to round off valuation errors.

Grading provides a more realistic assessment of the learner.  Advantages of moving away from numerical marking to grading.Stigma of “fail” is minimized in grading.

Grading enables the use of both “absolute” and “relative” grading depending upon the context. Relative grading provides possibilities of placing students in comparable categories regardless of their relative achievements in different subjects, and

The grading system is considered “better” and “desirable” because this will facilitate student mobility across institutions within the country and across other countries, and also enable potential employers to assess the performance of students.

Applicability of the Grading System

To make the things more comprehendible it is essential to know the meaning of the key words used in U.G.C. document related with guidelines applicable to all undergraduate and postgraduate level degree, diploma and certificate programmes under the credit system awarded by the Central, State and Deemed to be universities in India.

Definitions of Key Words:

1. Academic Year: Two consecutive (one odd + one even) semesters constitute one academic year.

2. Choice Based Credit System (CBCS): The CBCS provides choice for students to select from the prescribed courses (core, elective or minor or soft skill courses).

3. Course: Usually referred to, as ‘papers’ is a component of a programme. All courses need not carry the same weight. The courses should define learning objectives and learning outcomes. A course may be designed to comprise lectures/ tutorials/laboratory work/ field work/ outreach activities/ project work/ vocational training/viva/ seminars/term papers/assignments/ presentations/ self-study etc. or a combination of some of these.

4. Credit Based Semester System (CBSS): Under the CBSS, the requirement for awarding a degree or diploma or certificate is prescribed in terms of number of credits to be completed by the students.

5. Credit Point: It is the product of grade point and number of credits for a course.

6. Credit: A unit by which the course work is measured. It determines the number of hours of instructions required per week. One credit is equivalent to one hour of teaching (lecture or tutorial) or two hours of practical work/field work per week.

7. Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA): It is a measure of overall cumulative performance of a student over all semesters. The CGPA is the ratio of total credit points secured by a student in various courses in all semesters and the sum of the total credits of all courses in all the semesters. It is expressed up to two decimal places.

8. Grade Point: It is a numerical weight allotted to each letter grade on a 10-point scale.

9. Letter Grade: It is an index of the performance of students in a said course. Grades are denoted by letters O, A+, A, B+, B, C, P and F.

10. Programme: An educational programme leading to award of a Degree, diploma orcertificate.

11. Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA): It is a measure of performance of work done in a semester. It is ratio of total credit points secured by a student in various courses registered in a semester and the total course credits taken during that semester. It shall be expressed up to two decimal places.

12. Semester: Each semester will consist of 15-18 weeks of academic work equivalent to 90 actual teaching days. The odd semester may be scheduled from July to December and even semester from January to June.

13. Transcript or Grade Card or Certificate: Based on the grades earned, a grade certificate shall be issued to all the registered students after every semester. The grade certificate will display the course details (code, title, number of credits, grade secured) along with SGPA of that semester and CGPA earned till that semester.

Types of Courses:

Courses in a programme may be of three kinds: Core, Elective and Foundation.

1. Core Course:-

This is the course which is to be compulsorily studied by a student as a core requirement to complete the requirement of a programme in a said discipline of study. There may be a Core Course in every semester

2. Elective Course:-

Elective course is a course which can be chosen from a pool of papers. An elective may be “Generic Elective” focusing on those courses which add generic proficiency to the students. An elective may be “Discipline centric”or may be chosen from an unrelated discipline. It may be called an “Open Elective.”   It may be:

 Supportive to the discipline of study

 Providing an expanded scope

 Enabling an exposure to some other discipline/domain

 Nurturing student’s proficiency/skill.

3. Foundation Course:-

They are mandatory for all disciplines.

Elective Foundation courses are value-based and are aimed at man-making education.The Foundation Courses may be of two kinds: Compulsory Foundation and Elective foundation.

“Compulsory Foundation” courses are the courses based upon the content thatleads to Knowledge enhancement.

Examination and Assessment

There is a marked variation across the colleges and universities in the number of grades, grade points, letter grades used, which creates difficulties in comparing students across the institutions. The UGC recommends the following system to be implemented in awarding the grades and CGPA under the credit based semester system.

Letter Grades and Grade Points:

Two methods -Relative grading and Absolute grading–

The relative grading is based on the distribution (usually normal distribution) of marks obtained by all the students of the course and the grades are awarded based on a cut-off marks or percentile.

Under the absolute grading, the marks are converted to grades based on pre-determined class intervals. To implement the following grading system, the colleges and universities can use any one of the above methods.

The UGC recommends a 10-point grading system with the following letter grades as given below:

Table 1: Grades and Grade Points

Letter                 Grade            Grade Point

O                     (Outstanding         10

A+                    (Excellent)               9

A                     (Very Good)             8

B+                    (Good)                      7

B                     (Above Average)      6

C                    (Average)                    5

P                       (Pass)                        4

F                       (Fail)                          0

Ab                   (Absent)                    0

A student obtaining Grade F shall be considered failed and will be required to reappear in the examination.

For non credit courses ‘Satisfactory’ or “Unsatisfactory’ shall be indicated instead of the letter grade and this will not be counted for the computation of SGPA/CGPA.

The Universities can decide on the grade or percentage of marks required to pass in a course and also the CGPA required to qualify for a degree taking into consideration the recommendations of the statutory professional councils such as AICTE, MCI, BCI, NCTE etc.,

The statutory requirement for eligibility to enter as assistant professor in colleges and universities in the disciplines of arts, science, commerce etc., is a minimum average mark of 50% and 55% in relevant postgraduate degree respectively for reserved and general category. Hence, it is recommended that the cut-off marks for grade B shall not be less than 50% and for grade B+, it should not be less than 55% under the absolute grading system. Similarly cut-off marks shall be fixed for grade B and B+ based on the recommendation of the statutory bodies (AICTE, NCTE etc.,) of the relevant disciplines.

Fairness in Assessment:

Assessment is an integral part of system of education .Thus, it becomes bounden duty of a University to ensure that it is carried out in fair manner. In this regard, UGC recommends the following system of checks and balances which would enable Universities effectively and fairly carry out the process of assessment and examination.

i. In case of at least 50% of core courses offered in different programmes across the disciplines, the assessment of the theoretical component towards the end of the semester should be undertaken by external examiners from outside the university conducting examination, who may be appointed by the competent authority. In such courses, the question papers will be set as well as assessed by external examiners.

ii. In case of the assessment of practical component of such core courses, the team of examiners should be constituted on 50 – 50 % basis. i.e. half of the examiners in the team should be invited from outside the university conducting examination.

iii. In case of the assessment of project reports / thesis / dissertation etc. the work should be undertaken by internal as well as external examiners.

Computation of SGPA and CGPA

The UGC recommends the following procedure to compute the Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) and Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA):

i. The SGPA is the ratio of sum of the product of the number of credits with the grade points scored by a student in all the courses taken by a student and the sum of the number of credits of all the courses undergone by a student, i.e SGPA (Si) = ∑(Ci x Gi) / ∑Ci where Ci is the number of credits of the ith course and Gi is the grade point scored by the student in the ith course.

ii. The CGPA is also calculated in the same manner taking into account all the courses undergone by a student over all the semesters of a programme, i.e. CGPA = ∑(Ci x Si) / ∑ Ci where Si is the SGPA of the ith semester and Ci is the total number of credits in that semester.

iii. The SGPA and CGPA shall be rounded off to 2 decimal points and reported in the transcripts.

8. Illustration of Computation of SGPA and CGPA and Format for Transcripts

i. Computation of SGPA and CGPA

Illustration for SGPA

Course    Credit Grade   letter   Grade point   Credit Point(Credit x Grade)

Course 1    3         A            8             3 X 8 =                24

Course 2    4         B+          7             4 X 7 =                28

Course 3   3          B            6              3 X 6 =               18

Course 4   3          O          10             3 X 10 =             30

Course 5   3          C             5              3 X 5 =               15

Course 6   4          B             6              4 X 6 =               24

20   139

Thus, SGPA =139/20 =6.95

Illustration for CGPA

Semester 1 Semester 2 Semester 3 Semester 4

Credit : 20    SGPA:6.9

Credit : 22    SGPA:7.8

Credit : 25    SGPA: 5.6

Credit : 26    SGPA:6.0

6 | P a g e

Semester 5 Semester 6

Credit : 26    SGPA:6.3

Credit : 25    SGPA: 8.0

Thus, CGPA = 20 x 6.9 + 22 x 7.8 + 25 x 5.6 + 26 x 6.0 + 26 x 6.3 + 25 x 8.0

_________________________________________ = 6.73

144

Transcript (Format): Based on the above recommendations on Letter grades, grade

points and SGPA and CCPA, the HEIs may issue the transcript for each semester and a

consolidated transcript indicating the performance in all semesters.

 

 

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

“When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative assessment; when the customer tastes the soup, that’s summative assessment.” Paul Black

The assessment of teaching and learning can be viewed as two complementary and overlapping activities that aim to benefit both the quality of student learning and the professional development of the instructor. Assessing learning alone is not sufficient because the ultimate success of students is also dependent upon their motivation and commitment to learning. Similarly, assessing only teaching behaviors and course activities is not sufficient because qualities of the instructor may be appreciated by students but not optimally helpful to their learning and growth. Done in tandem, assessing teaching and learning can help instructors improve and refine their teaching practices and help improve students’ learning and performance.

The research indicates that improving learning through assessment depends on five, deceptively simple, key factors:

• the provision of effective feedback to pupils;
• the active involvement of pupils in their own learning;
• adjusting teaching to take account of the results of assessment;
• a recognition of the profound influence assessment has on the motivation and self-  esteem of pupils, both of which are crucial influences on learning;
• the need for pupils to be able to assess themselves and understand how to improve.

Classroom assessment is a complex undertaking that means something different to different audiences and in different situations. And so it should. Assessment has many purposes that sometimes support one another and sometimes compete or conflict with one another. As Wilson (1996) noted, teachers engage in a broad range of assessment roles, and keeping them straight is a challenging task .

The process of gathering information to monitor progress and make educational decisions i. As noted in  definition of test, an assessment may include a test, but also includes methods such as observations, interviews, behavior monitoring, etc.

Assessment is the process by which  data  is collected and used to evaluate an individual. Infect it is a fact finding activity describing present conditions. In education, assessment is concerned with the desirability of a process/program /performance and it provide a base for  recommendations for actions. It focuses on a numerous factors like interpretation of performance, present situation, developmental history, extra personal factors.

Definitions and explanations of assessment in Education.

The term assess is derived from a Latin word “asoidere” meaning “to sit by” in judgment

The International Dictionary of Education defines Assessment as “In education, the process by which one attempts to measure the quality and quantity of learning and teaching using various assessment techniques, assignments, project continuous assessment, objective type tests.”

According  Rowntree (1977): Assessment in education can be thought of as occurring whenever one person, in some kind of interaction, direct or indirect, with another, is conscious of obtaining and interpreting information about the knowledge and understanding,of abilities and attitudes of that other person. To some extent or other, it is an attempt to know the person.

iii.According to Erwin, in Brown and Knight, (1994). Assessment is a systematic basis for making inference about the learning and development of students… the process of defining, selecting, designing, collecting, analyzing, interpreting and using information to increase students’ learning and development.

Characteristics of Assessment

Any of a variety of procedures used to obtain information about student performance includes traditional paper and pencil tests as well as extended responses (e.g. essays) and performances of authentic tasks (e.g. laboratory experiments). Assessment answers the question, “How well does the individual perform?”

Thus Assessment is-

• Assessment is a human activity.

• Assessment involves interaction, which aims at seeking to understand what the learners have achieved.

• Assessment can be formal or informal.

• Assessment may be descriptive rather than judgment in nature.

• Its role is to increase students’ learning and development

• It helps learners to diagnose their problems and to improve the quality of their subsequent learning.

Functions of assessment

Assessment serves many functions .the major functions of assessment are:

v  Decision making,

v  Screening students for various activities,

v  Prognosis.

v  Diagnostic,

v  Programme teaching –learning process, programme evaluation,

v  Identification of talents and abilities of students.

Clearly, these roles overlap, and watching teachers try to manage the assessment activities and juggle them to satisfy the various goals shows how complex the process of classroom assessment really is. Also, tensions are embedded in these various roles and goals that cause concern for teachers. These tensions become more visible and understandable after  describing three different approaches to classroom assessment that have guided the role of classroom assessment in my preferred future.

The two approaches are:

Assessment of Learning,

Assessment for Learning

It is important to understand them all, recognize the inevitable contradictions among them, know which one we are using and why, and use them all wisely and well.

Assessment Roles and Goals

Role Goal

Teacher as mentor- Provide feedback and support to each student.

Teacher as guide -Gather diagnostic information to lead the group through the work at hand.

Teacher the accountant- Maintain records of students’ progress and achievement.

Teacher as reporter- Report to parents, students, and the school administration about student progress and achievement.

Teacher as program director- Make adjustments and revisions to instructional practices.

Assessment OF learning and  Assessment FOR learning

Assessment OF learning is about proving that you have learned something that can be measured. Assessment FOR learning is about using information produced by rich forms of assessment to enhance instruction and improve learning.

“When the cook tastes the soup, that’s formative assessment; when the customer tastes the soup, that’s summative assessment.” Paul Black

Assessment of Learning or Summative Assessment

Summative  Assessment or   Assessment of Learning is the commonly known type of evaluation. The predominant kind of assessment in schools is Assessment of Learning. Its purpose is summative, intended to certify learning and report to parents and students about students’ progress in school, usually by signalling students’ relative position compared to other students. Assessment of Learning in classrooms is typically done at the end of something and takes the form of tests or exams that include questions drawn from the material studied during that time.

The  Assessment is carried out at the end of a course or programme  for grading, certification and placement. This is the type of Assessment carried out at the end of the course of instruction to determine the extent to which the objectives have been achieved. It is called a summarizing   Assessment because it looks at the entire course of instruction or programme and can pass judgment on both the teacher and students, the curriculum and the entire system.   Assessment OF learning involves looking at assessment information at the end of the teaching and learning process to rank students’ achievement levels against a standard. It is summative in nature and typically involves standardized tests. Assessment OF learning scores are often used to rate teachers’ or schools’ ability to move student achievement based on the results of single, point-in-time tests.

Assessment of Learning is the assessment that becomes public and results in statements or symbols about how well students are learning. It often contributes to pivotal decisions that will affect students’ futures. It is important, then, that the underlying logic and measurement of assessment of learning be credible and defensible.

It  involves  a  formal testing of learner’s achievement. Annual examinations and  half yearly examinations  in schools, public examinations are the example of such evaluation.

Purpose of Summative  Assessment

The purpose of this kind of assessment is usually SUMMATIVE and is mostly done at the end of a task, unit of work etc.

“It is designed to provide evidence of achievement to parents, other educators, the students themselves and sometimes to outside groups (e.g., employers, other educational institutions).”

A-               To grade, rank, classify, compare and  promote the pupils.

B-                  It is also used for  the  purpose  of  certification

C-               For  selecting students for scholarships or for admission to particular courses

D-                Prediction regarding the success of students in  their future endeavours can also be made on its basis.

E-                 It is used in making decisions regarding the future of the students teaming or the programme being developed; whether it should be continued or terminated, replicated or disseminated.

F-                 The goal of summative assessment is to measure the level of success or proficiency that has been obtained at the end of an instructional unit, by comparing it against some standard or benchmark.

G-                Involves judging pupils’ performance against national standards (level descriptions).

H-                 Test results also describe pupils performance in terms of levels. Carried out for the purposes of grading and reporting.

I-                 Allocation to a level or standard or allocation of a letter or numerical grade, which might later appear in a report.

J-                A rationale for undertaking a particular assessment of learning at a particular point in time

K-               Clear descriptions of the intended learning

L-                Processes that make it possible for students to demonstrate their competence and skill

Teachers’ Roles in Assessment of Learning

This is the kind of assessment that still dominates most classroom assessment activities, especially in secondary schools, with teachers firmly in charge of both creating and marking the test. Teachers use the tests to assess the quantity and accuracy of student work, and the bulk of teacher effort in assessment is taken up in marking and grading. A strong emphasis is placed on comparing students, and feedback to students comes in the form of marks or grades with little direction or advice for improvement. Teachers maintain voluminous records of student achievement that are used only for justifying the grades that are assigned.

Teachers have the responsibility of reporting student learning accurately and fairly, based on evidence obtained from a variety of contexts and applications. Effective assessment of learning requires that teachers provide. Teachers often make these judgments at the end of a unit of work, year or key stage.

The outcome of a summative assessment can be used formatively, however, when students or faculty take the results and use them to guide their efforts and activities in subsequent courses. Teachers’ Roles in Assessment of Learning:

1-a rationale for undertaking a particular assessment of learning at a particular point in time

2-clear descriptions of the intended learning

3-processes that make it possible for students to demonstrate their competence and skill

4-a range of alternative mechanisms for assessing the same outcomes

5-public and defensible reference points for making judgements

6-transparent approaches to interpretation

7-descriptions of the assessment process

8-strategies for recourse in the event of disagreement about the decisions.”

9- maintain voluminous records of student achievement that are used only for   justifying the grades that are assigned.

10-a rationale for undertaking a particular assessment of learning at a particular point in time

11-clear descriptions of the intended learning

12-processes that make it possible for students to demonstrate their competence and skill

13-Teachers often make these judgments at the end of a unit of work, year or key stage.

In Assessment of Learning, the results are expressed symbolically, generally as marks across several content areas to report to parents.These kinds of testing events indicate which students are doing well and which ones are doing poorly. Typically, they don’t give much indication of mastery of particular ideas or concepts because the test content is generally too limited and the scoring is too simplistic to represent the broad range of skills and knowledge that has been covered. But  this lack of specificity hasn’t presented a problem because the teachers’ perceived purpose of the assessment is to produce a rank order of the students and assign a symbol to designate the students’ position within the group, whatever group it might be.

Placement  Assessment

Somewhat similar to Summative Assessment this is a type of  Assessment carried out in order to fix the students in the appropriate group or class. As in some schools for instance, students are assigned to classes  according  to their  subject science,    arts,  Commerce  etc.  before  this  is  done  a test is carried out. This is in form of pre-test or aptitude test. It can also be a type of   Assessment made by the teacher to find out the entering behaviour of his students before he starts teaching. This may help the teacher to adjust his lesson plan. Tests like readiness tests, ability tests, aptitude tests and achievement tests can be used.

Assessment for Learning OR Formative Assessment

This is a type of  designed Assessment to help both the student and teacher to pinpoint areas where the student has failed to learn so that this failure may be rectified. It provides a feedback to the teacher and the student and  thus  estimating  teaching  success  through  weekly  tests,  terminal examinations etc. Evaluation within or during the development of a course or programme.  It  is used in improving the performance of both the teacher, the student and curriculum developer.

Formative  Assessment , on the other hand, is inbuilt with the process of teaching and learning.  It is  done  during  the  course  of  instruction  with  a view to  improving  students’  learning. It is a quality control . Assessment for Learning happens during the learning, often more than once, rather than at the end.

Formative  Assessment  is  done continuously throughout the  course  period.  It  can  be done  by  means of  unit tests which can  be  given  after teaching each  unit,  informal class tests, assignments and other class room activities, Unlike summative which is Assessment formal in nature, formative  Assessment  is informal and can be undertaken by   using numerous techniques like observation, oral tests, written tests, etc.

Purpose of formative Assessment

Activities associated with formative assessment (Assessment for Learning) do not result in an  assessment . Information about what a student knows, understands and is able to do is used by both the teacher and the learner to determine where learners are in their learning and how to achieve learning goals.

The  Assessment is done during the formulation of instructional  objectives.  It is used to decide the entering behaviours of the learner in a particular course or programme. It takes place before the commencement of the programme.

The goal of formative assessment is to gather feedback that can be used by the instructor and the students to guide improvements in the ongoing teaching and learning context. These are low stakes assessments for students and instructors.

A-Formative Assessment   provides the teacher feedback regarding the efficiency of the teaching methods, so that the teaching can  be improved.

B- To provide clues  to the effectiveness of the course content and teaching materials.

C- It is used in determining the mastery level of the learner and the remedy to make.

D-. To provide feedback  regarding the students’  progress,  by  finding out the  learning gaps  and the weak points.

Assessment FOR learning embeds assessment processes throughout the teaching and learning process to constantly adjust instructional strategy. While it can include test data, it also addresses other quantitative and even qualitative data, and even encompasses a great deal of anecdotal and descriptive data.

Teachers’ Roles in Assessment for Learning:

In Assessment for Learning, teachers use assessment as an investigable tool to find out as much as they can about what their students know and can do, and what confusions, preconceptions, or gaps they might have.

The wide variety of information that teachers collect about students’ learning processes provides the basis for determining what they need to do next to move student learning forward. It provides the basis for providing descriptive feedback for students and deciding on groupings, instructional strategies, and resources.”

Teachers also use assessment for learning to enhance students’ motivation and commitment to learning. When teachers commit to learning as the focus of assessment, they change the classroom culture to one of student success.

Assessment for Learning offers an alternative perspective to traditional assessment in schools. Simply put, Assessment for Learning shifts the emphasis from summative to formative assessment, from making judgments to creating descriptions that can be used in the service of the next stage of learning.

When they are doing Assessment for Learning, teachers collect a wide range of data so that they can modify the learning work for their students. They craft assessment tasks that open a window on what students know and can do already and use the insights that come from the process to design the next steps in observation, worksheets, questioning in class, student-teacher conferences or whatever mechanism is likely to give them information that will be useful for their planning and teaching.

Marking is not designed to make comparative judgments among the students but to highlight each students’ strengths and weaknesses and provide them with feedback that will further their learning. Clearly, teachers are the central characters in Assessment for Learning as well, but their role is quite different from that in the prior approach. In Assessment for Learning, they use their personal knowledge of the students and their understanding of the context of the assessment and the curriculum targets to identify particular learning needs.

Assessment for learning happens in the middle of learning, often more than once, rather that at the end. It is interactive, with teachers providing assistance as part of the assessment. It helps teachers provide the feedback to scaffold next steps. And it depends on teachers’ diagnostic skills to make it work.

Record keeping in this approach

Students and teachers decide (often together) about the important evidence of learning and how it should be organized and kept. Students routinely reflect on their work and make judgments about how they can capitalise on what they have done already. Comparison with others is almost irrelevant. Instead, the critical reference points are the student’s own prior work and the aspirations and targets for continued learning.

Record keeping in this approach may include a grade book, but the records on which teachers rely are things like checklists of student’s progress against expectations, artefacts, portfolios of students work over time, and worksheets to trace the progression of students along the learning continuum.

Teachers also use assessment for learning to enhance students’ motivation and commitment to learning. When teachers commit to learning as the focus of assessment, they change the classroom culture to one of student success.

Class room activities for promoting  Assessment for learning

There are a number of classroom strategies that are particularly effective in promoting formative assessment . Assessment for Learning activities are:

• Effective  questioning
  Questioning is used not only as a pedagogical tool but also as a deliberate way for the teacher to find out what students know, understand and are able to do.
• Providing effective teacher feedback
  Effective teacher feedback focuses on established success criteria and tells the students what they have achieved and where they need to improve. Importantly, the feedback provides specific suggestions about how that improvement might be achieved.
• Establishing peer feedback
  Peer feedback occurs when a student uses established success criteria to tell another student what they have achieved and where improvement is necessary. Again, the feedback provides specific suggestions to help achieve improvement.
• Encouraging self-assessment
  Student self-assessment encourages students to take responsibility for their own learning. It incorporates self-monitoring, self-assessment and self-evaluation.

Assessment for Learning and student

Through this process students are able to learn about themselves as learners and become aware of how they learn – become mega cognitive (knowledge of one’s own thought processes.

Students reflect on their work on a regular basis, usually through self and peer assessment and decide (often with the help of the teacher, particularly in the early stages) what their next learning will be.

Students understand exactly what they are to learn, what is expected of them and are given feedback and advice on how to improve their work. Through this process students are able to learn about themselves as learners and become aware of how they learn – become megacognitive (knowledge of one’s own thought processes).

Students reflect on their work on a regular basis, usually through self and peer assessment and decide (often with the help of the teacher, particularly in the early stages) what their next learning will be.

Diagnostic Assessment

Diagnostic Assessment   is another kind of evaluation which is more closely related to formative than  the summative Assessment  . In  fact  it  is  to  be  carried  out along  with formative evaluation in  the class.

This type of assessment    is carried out most of the time as a follow up Assessment   to  formative Assessment  .  As  a  teacher,  you  have  used formative Assessment to identify some weaknesses in your students. You have also applied some corrective measures which have not showed success. These diagnostic tests can be in the form of achievement tests, performance test, self rating, interviews observations, etc.

The   purpose  of diagnostic  Assessment

A- find  out the  underlying cause  of weaknesses in  a student’s learning, prior to instruction  in order to prepare the student properly for higher level of achievement.

B-It is relevant to know the entering  behaviour of the students i.e, to know the  readiness to  learning

C- To know about the basic skills and information required  for  continuing the new  learning. Secondly,  which will help  in  knowing  the level  to  which  the students  already have learnt a particular unit.

D- Helping the teacher to decide whether the instruction she  is going to impart will  turn out to be mere repetition, or will  be an advance in  knowledge.

E- To know that advanced learning  prove  to  be  interesting for the students whereas repetition  may  distract them, causing indiscipline in class.

E- Helps  the  teacher to classify students according to their  level of mastery  , which help  him/her  to  work  out a  remedial   programme for the low achievers and slow learners.

F- To pinpoint  the symptoms  of  the learning disorders in physical, emotional or  social areas

Difference between Formative and Summative assessment

Formative    is essential  assessment  for taking a decision in the pre-active phase, while summative  assessment  is conducted at the end of the educational programme it is retro-active in nature and provides a basis of accountability.

With reference to educational achievement, the difference between formative and summative assessment   is very clear. In formative assessment   the evaluation of achievement  of a student is done regularly ,and it provide feedback to both student and teacher .On the contrary, in summative    assessment a teacher conducts the evaluation through six monthly or annual examination for the entire achievement .

Formative  assessment  is helpful in taking short-term decisions, while  summative assessment   is helpful in taking long term decisions.

Under formative  assessment  a teacher  plays an active role in every aspect of educational programme in terms of construction of test etc, while in summative assessment   teacher does not involve himself in any sort of construction of test programme

Formative assessment   is used to locate different merits and limitations of different areas of educational programme. By summative assessment , students are discriminated on the basis of their achievement results and their relative position is determined on the basis of their ability and quality.

 

 

 

 

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

An “open book examination” is one in which examinees are allowed to consult their class notes, textbooks, and other approved material while answering questions. The conventional memory testing examinations must give way to examinations that test the intellectual skills of the student. This is where open book examinations come in. An open book question provides the candidates with the theory the question is examining and then asks them to demonstrate their ability to apply the theory to a scenario.  Radical and puzzling though the idea may sound to those who are used to conventional examinations, it is ideally suited to teaching programmes that especially aim at developing the skills of critical and creative thinking.

An “open book exam” is a test that allows to bring the text or material one has been studying. This may sound at first that all one will need to do is look up the answer the day of the test–and thus a very easy type of test to take. However, this is not how this sort of test typically works. In fact, these are often quite difficult, as an open book exam requires a genuine understanding of the material and be able to interpret, think critically, and present an organized and well written answer. But with a bit of preparation, note taking skills, and test taking strategies, one can succeed your next open book exam.

In order to justify the use of open book examination and to appreciate its merits it is first of all necessary to understand the nature of teaching programmed in general. Majority of people think of the central objective of teaching as the “dissemination of knowledge”. This approach to education treats the information content of a subject to be the most essential. The teacher’s role is viewed as facilitating the transfer of information from the textbook to the students’ minds and the student is expected to do is to understand this information, retain it, and retrieve it during the final examination.

Based on the above approach, most conventional examinations test, students memorise the information in class notes and textbooks, and transfer it to answer books during the examination. In this type of examination, success depends on the quantity of information memorised, and the efficiency with which it is reproduced .

An alternative view regarding teaching programme is that teaching should not be transferring information from the library or textbooks to the students’ minds. Rather, in this teaching approach  students are expected to learn. That is, teaching should equip students with the ability to acquire knowledge, to modify existing knowledge on the basis of new experience, to build new knowledge, and to apply available knowledge to solve problems and make intelligent decisions.

If this view of education is accepted, then the main focus of teaching will be on the skills of acquiring, modifying and creating knowledge, that is, on processing information, rather than on the information content itself. In other words, the focus shifts from rote learning to the development of certain mental faculties

This can be done by activating learning through questions, exercises, projects, assignments, and so on, and sustaining and guiding it by providing comments, criticisms, and other forms of feedback.

In order to achieve this goal, conventional memory testing examinations must give way to examinations that test the intellectual skills of the student. This is where open book examinations come in.

If the purpose of an examination is to test the information that students have memorised, open book examinations are inappropriate, since students can easily transfer the information in the textbook or lecture notes to the examination paper.

On the other hand, if the examination tests the skills of problem solving and critical thinking, then there is no harm in students consulting their text books and class notes. If students have to evaluate a conclusion that crucially involves their understanding of the concept, reproducing what the text book says would be pointless

In an open book examination, it is meaningless to ask memory oriented questions ,since all that the student has to do is copy the relevant information from the textbook directly into the answer book. In a closed book examination, the student first copies the information from the textbook to his memory, and then copies it into the answer book. This intermediate stage of memorization is what open book examinations attempt to eliminate.

The basic difference between closed book examinations and open book examinations is that the former can still be used to evaluate how much the students have memorised, while the latter cannot.

Understand the rationale behind an open book exam. Open book exams do not rely on learn-and-regurgitate learning. Instead, you will have the information in front of you, but what you will be asked is typically quite involved. Open exams are meant to teach students how to take information and apply it in a thoughtful, deep manner. In an open book exam, the focus is not on memorizing information but applying that information. What this means for you is that you will not simply be summarizing material from a textbook. You will be interpreting it in the context of specific questions and scenarios.

Types of open book exams:

There are generally two types of open book exams:

1- Restricted type

2- Unrestricted type.

In a restricted exam material is limited to specific documents, such as a single set of notes or single textbook.In the restricted type of open book examinations, students are permitted to bring into the examination room one or more specific documents approved by the course instructor.

In the restricted open book examination, students may be permitted to consult printed documents but no handwritten material or printed documents which have not had prior approval. The printed documents that students bring do not contain any scribbles on the margin. In this type of examination, the approved documents function more or less as appendices to the question paper itself. These examinations are not radically different from closed book examinations.

In an unrestricted exam, there is no limit on what can be brought into the exam room or take-home test. In the unrestricted type of open book examinations, students are free to bring whatever they like. There are no restrictions on what the students can bring in an unrestricted open book examination. They may bring any books (with or without scribbles on the margin), lecture handouts, or hand written notes. The use of such examinations demands that the course focuses on a set of intellectual skills, rather than on the information content , and that no content based questions be asked in the examination. When used properly, it will be pointless for students taking the unrestricted open book examinations to consult any material they have brought, because the questions will be designed in such a way the answers will not be found in the textbooks, handouts or class notes.

Preparing for exam

•             As memorization is largely unnecessary for an open book exam. Focus is shifted to  comprehending the material rather than simply being able to memorize and recite it. Locate and mark key information beforehand. Organize your textbook beforehand to locate key information quickly .

•             Highlight  key terms, historical dates, equations, and other difficult to remember material that you might need to draw from for questions. For this flip through your book to easily spot the highlighted sections.

•            Majority of people dog-ear important pages, but simple folding can be easy to miss. Try investing in multi-colored sticky notes.  Color coordinate any passages you’re marking, using different colors to indicate different areas of focus.

•             As you’ll be tested primarily on interpretation, write down your own commentary and insight in your notes. This helps hone your critical thinking skills.

•             Team up with other students. While study groups are great for any type of exam, they can be especially helpful for an open book. This helps you learn how to apply the information you learned.

•            Use a system of enumerating and indenting your notes. Many people use roman numerals, using capital letters for headings and lower case for subheadings. Keep your class notes separate. Use a three-ring binder or notebook to separate one class’s notes from another or use a different notebook for each class.

•             Write legibly. If you know your handwriting is sloppy.Focus on the important things. We’re sometimes tempted to transcribe more or less entire books or entire lectures when prepping for open book exams. However, this method is not only incredibly time consuming it’s ineffective. You’ll end up scrambling through pages and pages of notes and run down the clock during exam time.

Taking the Exam

 

•             Know the time and place of the exam and give yourself extra time to get there. Getting lost or running late can increase anxiety and affect performance.

•             Get a good night’s sleep before the exam. Anything that affects you physically can affect you mentally, so make sure you’re rested and refreshed before entering the exam room. Stop studying an hour before the exam and use this time to take care of yourself. Take a walk or eat something light.

•             If you start to feel nervous during the exam, take a moment to stop. Do not hesitate to stop, close your eyes, and take several deep breaths to calm yourself before continuing. Stay calm. Exam anxiety can affect performance, so make sure you know good strategies to keep your nerves in check in the exam room.

•             Answer any questions you can without notes first. This will save you time by allowing you to get through certain questions without fumbling with your notes. This also gives you more time with the questions where you might have difficulty and need to consult your notes.[23]

•             If you’re really struggling with a question, treat it like you would on any other exam. Simply leave it and come back at the end of the test when you’ve had time to calm down and gather your thoughts. Review your answers, if there’s time. If you have time left at the end of the exam, go through the questions one more time using your notes to your advantage.

•             Don’t transcribe too many notes as this can make it difficult to locate information during the exam.

•             You can’t simply copy information word-for-word from your textbooks: this is plagiarism, and could make you fail the exam or even the course, as well as incur disciplinary action or penalties. Make good use of time .Quickly review the number of questions and note how much time each could take. First answer the questions that you are confident of and/or for which you will not need much time checking out the resources .Leave more complex and difficult questions for later. Don’t over-answer. Aim for concise, accurate, thoughtful answers that are based in evidence.

Impact on teaching and learning

Advanced countries are restructuring their educational systems and preparing to make changes in the human to intellectual capital for meeting the demands of the 21st century. Educationalist considers it necessary to build a young community who are able to think independently and creatively and able to process the information analytically. Scholars opined that in order to develop creative and independent thinkers, more open-ended tasks that reflect real-life situations should be incorporated in examinations. It is generally accepted that open book examinations create an enriched environment, offering the student an opportunity to better understand and respond to a particular question.

The Central Board of Secondary Education’s (CBSE) proposal for an open-book exam from 2013 within its class X and XII board assessments is appreciated. It makes a better option than the present one which reflects a fresh, borne in mind innovative spirit, reshape education in India.

Open book examinations have a tremendous impact on promoting the right mental sets in both learning and teaching. The open book examinations can restore the true meaning of the word education for both teachers and students.When combined with the mode of teaching that focuses on thinking skills,they will make education an exciting and enjoyable intellectual adventure, the beginning of a lifelong quest for knowledge.

Most students used to think of “studying” as the mechanical memorization of information in textbooks and class notes in order to reproduce it in examinations. Open book examinations will effect a fundamental change in this attitude. . The most immediate result on students will be that they will stop “mugging” or rote learning. It implies that studying should not be equated with memorizing; instead, it should be understanding concepts, and using these concepts (along with available information) to practise the skills of modifying and building knowledge, thinking critically, and solving problems. In acquiring the right strategies of studying, nothing is as effective as the shocking realization that mugging is of no use in the examinations. Given open book examinations, there will be no more mugging. Once the burden of mugging is taken away, education can be a pleasurable activity, not a painful drudgery.

The effects of open book exams on teaching strategies will be profound.  The nature of the examination questions will change. Questions will have to be designed carefully and intelligently to test the students’ understanding, and the skills of applying that understanding. If the nature of the examination questions changes, strategies for preparing students to take those examinations will also have to change. It will no longer be enough to  simplify the content of the text books in the classroom. Teachers will have to design tasks that will provide exercises for the appropriate mental skills required in each subject. Instead of the teacher talking all the time and students taking down notes, classes will have discussions, questions, and other active processes. In other words, teaching will no longer be the transfer of information from the teacher to student: it will be the training of the mind in certain intellectual skills.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

Until recently, biodiversity was a subject of purely academic discussions in narrow scientific circles.But the signing of the Convention on Biological Diversity by more than 190 countries at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 put this subject at the top of international environmental agenda and brought a sense of urgency to the issue of biological conservation.

In the Convention on Biological Diversity explains biodiversity as follows:

“Biological diversity” means the variability among living organisms from all sources including terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.

Biological diversity – or biodiversity – is the term given to the variety of life on Earth

across all of the different levels of biological organization. On a smaller scale, biodiversity can be used to describe the variety in the genetic makeup of a species, and on a larger scale, it can be used to describe the variety of ecosystem types.

Biodiversity comprises all the millions of different species that live on our planet, as well as the genetic differences within species. It also refers to the multitude of different ecosystems in which species form unique communities, interacting with one another and the air, water and soil.

The dictionary defines biodiversity as:

1. The number and variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region.

2. The variability among living organisms on the earth, including the variability within and between species and within and between ecosystems.’

The most common definition of biodiversity agreed upon by many experts in the field is:

Biodiversity is the variety of all life forms including animals & plants that can be found either in just one location, or on the whole planet.

Actually Biodiversity is the variety of plant and animal species present in the natural environment and Biodiversity is the number of species in a given habitat

The more formal definition is “the the variability among living organisms from all sources including inter alia, terrestrial, marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are part; this includes diversity within species, between species and ecosystems.”

The importance of biodiversity

Biodiversity comprises all the millions of different species that live on our planet, as well as the genetic differences within species. It also refers to the multitude of different ecosystems in which species form unique communities, interacting with one another and the air, water and soil.

The biodiversity is a result of 3.5 billion years of evolution. Unfortunately, due to humanity’s over-exploitation of natural resources, our unsustainable development and the resulting disturbances to the environment, it is undergoing the  extinction crisis on this planet and degrading natural ecosystems at an unprecedented rate. It is estimated that the current species extinction rate is between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than it would naturally be.

The future of biodiversity signifies the future of humankind. Its pathways to restoration or destruction are for humans to choose. It can be closely related to:

The loss of just one species can have different effects ranging from the disappearance of the species to complete collapse of the ecosystem itself. This is due to every species having a certain role within an ecosystem and being interlinked with other species.

Experiencing nature is of great importance to humans and teaches us different values. It is good to take a walk in the forest, to smell flowers and breath fresh air. More specifically, natural food and medicine can be linked to biodiversity.

Biodiversity is important not only for the variety of beautiful and interesting species it offers us, but it is also very important (and vital) to the stability of an ecosystem and our entire planet. It has been shown that biodiversity of an area has a large impact on the ecosystem stability of that area.

Biodiversity performs a number of ecological services for humankind that have economic, aesthetic or recreational value.

The intrinsic value of biodiversity is the idea that humans are part of nature. As humans are and were part of nature, they benefited from the evolutionary process.

Environmental ethicists also stress that humans should protect biodiversity because they are the cause of most of the loss of biodiversity through loss of habitat, overexploitation and other perturbations.

Biodiversity Ethics value

The protection of the environment is morally good, philosophy and religion have not incorporated the concept of nature conservation; it is not yet included in our ethical framework. The process of inclusion of these issues is one of social evolution.

Some people suggest that the idea of biodiversity reaches towards oneness, toward a unity of all living and non-living things. It is pointed out that humans, while removed from nature, still need to be surrounded by nature and they respond to this fundamental need by visiting natural parks and bringing nature into their daily lives with pets and plants.

Biodiversity Anthropocentric Value

Biodiversity, encompassing genetic diversity, species, populations, communities and ecosystems, and landscapes and regions, provides countless benefits to humans at all these scales. Some of these benefits include:

Biodiversity Economic benefits

Some benefits come in the form of goods that can be directly valued and costed because they provide something that can be extracted and sold. These goods include everything from all the domesticated agricultural crops that form the basis of the world’s food supply, to medicines that protect and cure us to the fibres that make up the clothes we wear. Thus biodiversity is widely valued as food pantry, genetic storehouse for biotechnology and a place to retreat to when we need to get away from our hectic urban existence.

Biodiversity also provides critical indirect benefits to humans that are difficult to quantify because we have never had to put a price tag on them. These benefits encompass ecosystem services , such as air and water purification, climate regulation, and the generation of moisture and oxygen.

Vegetation helps recycle moisture into the atmosphere. A single corn plant (1 lb dry weight) can transfer 60 gallons of water from soil to atmosphere in a few months. A single rainforest tree, in its 100 year lifespan can transfer approximately 2.5 million gallons from soil to air. Their role in the hydrologic cycle is crucial.

A multiplicity of organisms is required to create soils and maintain fertility through complex cycles and interactions. Plant roots break up rock to create soil particles, small animals like earthworms, mites, insects and millipedes help give soil its texture and fertility and are crucial to its aeration. Even tinier soil microorganisms and fungi are responsible for cycling essential nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur and making them available to higher plants.Natural ecosystems also help absorb the wastes we create and render them nontoxic. Wetlands are large filters which purify freshwater and remove heavy metals and other contaminants from it.. Soil organisms can slowly decompose food items, paper products and other wastes produced by human activities.

Biodiversity Aesthetic value and recreation

Indigenous organisms live undisturbed give people a sense of satisfaction. Natural and wild landscapes are aesthetically pleasing and provide opportunities to get away from human-dominated landscapes. They also provide opportunities for recreational activities such as hiking, canoeing, bird watching and nature photography.

Factors  affecting biodiversity:

1. Latitude

2. Altitude

3. Depth

4. Shapes of Landmass

Latitude:

1. Biodiversity increases from the polar areas to the equator. The peak of biodiversity is in the 20-30°N. The gradient increases rapidly from the north to the equator then declines slowly to the south.

In the oceans, the pattern increases from the north, then a sudden increase in the temperate zone after which the pattern return to normal.

The tropics have a large surface area thus increased rates of speciation The availability of energy – there are more food available in the tropics.The equator is less likely to be affected by large scale phenomena like ice age giving the organisms more time to evolve.

Altitude

The Earth is three dimensional so altitude is a key player in biodiversity. Temperature change due to altitude change also affects biodiversity. As elevation increases, biodiversity decreases.

Depth

Depth plays a huge part in the biodiversity of marine systems. As depth increases, temperature decrease, pressure increases, and light and nutrients decline.

Shapes of Land Masses

The shapes of land mass also affects biodiversity. An example of this is the shape of peninsulas and bays. Species richness declines towards the tip of the peninsulas (the peninsula effect). Marine species richness in bays “declines across bays with distance from the open sea (the bay effect)

Types of Biodiversity

 

Biodiversity is a generic term that can be related to many environments and species, for example, forests, freshwater, marine and temperate environments, the soil, crop plants, domestic animals, wild species and micro-organisms.

Basically it can be classified according to three types of diversity:

1. Animal, plant, bacterial species (species diversity)
2. Genes (genetic diversity)
3. Ecosystems and landscapes (habitat diversity)

Species Diversity

Species diversity is a measure of variety of all living species in a given habitat. This is the type of biodiversity most people are familiar with. Species diversity is defined as the number and abundance of different species that occupy a location. A general encyclopedic definition of this term usually includes two aspects:

1-Species richness: Species richness is a simple tool that helps us compare several communities in respect of their species’ numbers. Species richness is a straightforward count of identified living species in a certain community,

2-Species abundance: the number and the weighted presence of each species within this community.

All these species are further categorized into the following kingdoms of living organisms

Scientists estimate that the number of species yet to be described ranges from 4 million to 40 million.

Genetic diversity is the amount of variation in genetic material within a species or within a population. It deals with a number of genetic parameters which are present in a certain species and which determine all possible genetic variations within this species.

Ecosystem Diversity

Ecological diversity, is the variation in the ecosystems found in a region or the variation in ecosystems over the whole planet. Ecological diversity includes the variation in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, such as deserts, forests, grasslands, wetlands and oceans

Ecosystem diversity usually refers to a variety of such environments found on our planet, including among others the following types (also often referred to as biomes):

• Coastal environments
• River & inland water environments
• Uplands & mountain environments
• Savannas
• Deserts
• Tropical forests
• Temperate forests

Each ecosystem creates a unique living environment for certain kinds of species which may only be found within that specific ecosystem.

In a way, such a macro-ecosystem defines species & genetic diversity of a certain geographical area as it effectively forms the basis of all life of that region.

The processes that regulate species diversity

Biodiversity is a process that involves three basics:

1. Diversification – a period on increase in the number of species

2. Stabilization – a period of stasis in the number of species

3. Extinction – a period decrease in the number of species

These pattern produces an S-shaped graph involving a small increase, a rapid increase, then an

approach to an asymptote.

The patterns of species diversity in an area or at any one time are set by some combination of three factors: chance, history and necessity.

Chance: random processes of birth, death and migration.

History: correlation through time as a function of reproduction. In other words, if a species was abundant in the near past, chances are that it will be abundant today.

Necessity: The laws of growth, competition and interaction. Different species flourish in different conditions. The number of species that can coexist will depend on how complex the environment is and on how strongly they compete with one another.

In order to understand the processes that drive biodiversity, it must be recognized that there is diversity in space and diversity over time. Both scenarios are addressing patterns of species biodiversity.

In the long term, the total number of species belonging to any particular group will be governed by processes of speciation and extinction. Immigration may be a source of new species to a given area.

Speciation

Speciation is, for all practical purposes, a historical factor, can occur gradually via geographic speciation (allopatric) or competitive speciation (sympatric) or through mechanisms such as polyploidy(sympatric).

Geographical Speciation

This dynamics of speciation will depend on two processes:

1)  Rate at which geographical isolates are formed

2)  Rate at which these isolates evolve into separate species.

1. Rates of isolate formation are influenced by spatial factors

a) Geographical circumstance: archipelagos and mountain ranges are very effective isolating barriers.

b) Geographical range: size of the geographical range of an organism makes it more or less likely to include a barrier. A range can be too small, making it unlikely that a barrier will pass through it.

2. Rates of speciation following isolate formation are influenced by two factors:

a) Sexual divergence: the isolates may evolve different mating behaviour, for example, by flowering at different times of the year

b) Ecological divergence: natural selection will cause different isolates to evolve differently because no two places are exactly alike.

Competitive speciation

Competitive speciation occurs when one portion of a population exploits a new ecological niche or opportunity (food, life history attribute, habitat, etc.) that was previously unexploited and becomes sufficiently different as to be considered a new species.

Polyploidy

Most familiar organisms have two sets of chromosomes, inheriting one set from each parent. Such organisms are called diploid. Polyploid individuals have more than two sets. They arise through cytological irregularities during cell division or through the fusion of abnormal gametes. Once formed, they are often sexually isolated from their parent population.

Neutral processes that regulate species diversity

Neutral processes are those that occur independently of any differences among species, as though the species were genetically identical.

Immigration

Immigration provides a continual source of new diversity for a region. The importance of immigration increases as the size of the area decreases.

Extinction

Extinction of a species or a population will occur for one of two reasons: as a result of accidents (environmental fluctuations) or because of population interactions.

The probability that environmental or population fluctuations will cause an extinction depend on how abundant the organism is and how large its range is.

a) abundance: if the chance that any given individual will die in a given period of time. Small populations are thus at high risk of chance extinction.

b) range: disturbances that kill all the individuals in a given area happen all the time. Smaller and more localized disturbances are more frequent than large and widespread A species that is restricted to a few small sites is therefore at higher risk of being extinguished by an environmental fluctuation than one that occurs at many sites over a large area.

Processes in variable environments

Neutral theories that assume species to be ecologically identical provide a simple explanation of basic patterns such as species-area relationships. However, they are by no means completely satisfying because we know that there are often obvious and important differences among species.

Competition within Functional Types

The Principle of Competitive Exclusion, states that if two species are competing for the same limiting resource, they can’t coexist and one will outcompete the other and drive it to extinction, given sufficient time.

Spatial Heterogeneity

Most landscapes and larger areas are spatially and temporally heterogeneous. Some species are better adapted to one habitat, some to another. Moreover, being well-adapted to one way of life may mean that they are necessarily less well-adapted to another.

Disturbance

Disturbance regimes, therefore, play an important role in the maintenance of regional species diversity, mainly by preventing, or slowing down competitive exclusion by one dominant species by causing mortality or by slowing down growth rates.

Measuring Biodiversity

There are two elements of “measuring biodiversity.”

1. The number of entities

2. Degree of difference between those entities

Methods for Measuring Biodiversity

Currently, there are two methods that scientists resort to, to measure biodiversity.

1. Genetic Coding – catalogue variations in the genes of different species to study their differences.

2. Counting of species present in a certain area – the global standard for biodiversity.

Studying Past Biodiversity

There are two ways how scientists study past biodiversity.

1. Molecular Evidence- The comparison of molecular data of different organisms that enables the generation of evolution trees -

2. Fossil Record- Fossils – Remains left behind by past organisms

Due to the fact the biodiversity is measured by counting the number of species present in a certain area, there are five main methods used by scientists to measure biodiversity.

1. Estimation of the overall numbers of species based on the opinions of experts.

2. Patterns of species description

3. Proportion of undescribed species

4. Well-studied areas

5. Well-studied groups

Quantifying Biodiversity

- As the area increases, the species number also increases. The relationship for this is:

S = cAZ

Log S = Log c + Z Log A

where S is the number of species, A is the area, and Z and c are constants and known as the Arrenhius relationship.

There are 4 reasons why such a relationship exists.

1. More species are documented from larger areas because typically more individuals live there.

2. Larger areas have more diverse habitats thus allowing more varied species to exist.

3. The number of species in an area forms a balance between those species that colonized the area and those that have gone extinct.

4. The larger the area, the higher the potential geographic range of the species existing there which means that if a certain species has a high rate of speciating due to geographic boundaries they also tend to have lower extinction rates due to their numbers which helps the species thrive. Although this relationship covers most aspects it doesn’t mean it’s always true if other factors are considered.

The species richness of a local area is not independent of the region where it can be found. There are two possible relationships.

1. “Local richness may be directly proportional to but less than, regional richness.”

2. “As regional richness increases, local richness might attain a ceiling above which it does not rise despite continued increases in regional richness.” The majority of areas exhibit the first relationship.

Biodiversity Loss

Biodiversity loss damages essential services provided by the nature, and results in reduced variety of foods and other products,   poorer gene pools for animals & plants leading to weaker crops & livestock,  climate change due to rainforest destruction, and a lot more.

Biodiversity Loss & Species Extinction

Species extinction is usually treated as one of the most important components of biodiversity loss. Species declines and extinctions have always been a natural part of evolution, but there is something disturbingly different about current extinction patterns. Many experts are worried that the current species extinction rates are much higher than historically recorded (background or natural) ones.

The current situation are that at least 1,000 species are lost a year – an extinction rate 1,000 times the natural rate even with the most conservative assumptions.

Biodiversity Loss: Mammals, Birds, Fish & Other Species

Some estimates suggest that 25% of all mammal species may become extinct in the near future. As many as 50% of primates, 37% of hoofed mammals and 26% of bats and carnivores  are currently at high risk of total disappearance.

As for the fish, they are not doing better than other species – it has been assessed that 30% of all known fish species are now threatened with extinction as well,a similar pattern with other species such as reptiles (20% threatened) and amphibians (25% threatened).

Causes of Biodiversity Loss

Causes of biodiversity loss have become all too apparent and it is really painful to realize that we – the human race – are one major problem as far as biodiversity preservation is concerned.

Biodiversity Loss: Habitat Loss

Habitat loss is not only a physical destruction of natural treasures, it is also an egregious violation of animal rights.

Habitat loss is by far the leading factor [of biodiversity loss]: At least three-quarters of all threatened bird species are in trouble because human activities have transformed and fragmented unique habitats. Forests, wetlands, and grasslands have been altered by intensive agriculture, heavy livestock grazing, commercial plantation forestry, and suburban sprawl.

More than 40,000 large dams and hundreds of thousands of smaller barriers plug up the world’s rivers, altering water temperatures. Engineering projects alter river inflows, and agricultural and industrial pollution of waterways further reduces fish habitat.

Biodiversity Loss: Deforestation

Deforestation is of course a big part of the habitat loss issue since forests are homes to thousands and thousands of animal & plant species.

We single this problem out because rainforests are by far the biggest and most important storage of our planet’s natural treasures .

Biodiversity Loss: Excessive Exploitation of Wild Animals

Excessive exploitation of wildlife by humans is truly a sad reality of our times.

Wild animals, especially those inhabiting rainforests, are exploited for pet trade, bushmeat trade, for their furs and body parts and for biomedical research.

Biodiversity Loss: Alien Species Invasion

Species which are taken from one habitat and introduced into another (i.e. alien species) often end up exterminating some native species that were present there before.

Historians claim that many alien species, ex. dogs, pigs, cats and Macaques, that were introduced to the island by humans, plundered the dodo nests thus causing dodo populations to collapse and ultimately become extinct.

Biodiversity Loss: Environmental Pollution

Although effects of environmental pollution on animals have not been measured in as much detail as its effects on humans, we are pretty safe to assume that animals suffer just as much from pollution as the human populations.

While excessive ultraviolet radiation coming through the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere can cause skin cancer in animals, ozone in the lower atmosphere may damage their lung tissues.

Extreme pollution cases, as well as slow but steady rates of pollution, may also unfortunately lead to biodiversity loss and animal extinction.

Biodiversity Value & Effects of Biodiversity Loss

While we attempt to assess the effects of biodiversity loss (with the emphasis on rainforest biodiversity), let’s also have a look at the value and benefits that we all derive from biodiversity.

Biodiversity conservation

Conservation biology as a scientific discipline has grown enormously over the past few decades and has increased our awareness and understanding of the great extent to which humans depend on natural ecosystems and biodiversity. Biodiversity conservation is about saving life on Earth in all its forms and keeping natural ecosystems functioning and healthy..

General reasons that support adequate conservation of biodiversity;

1.            From a utilitarian point of view, elements of biodiversity as resources are of great use to humans. As such biodiversity is of economic and scientific benefit

2.            Moreover, a choice for the conservation of biodiversity is an ethical one. Human beings are part of the ecological system and should therefore respect this system.

3.            The value of biodiversity can be characterised in aesthetic, intrinsic and ethical ways. The way in which nature inspires is celebrated by painters, poets and musicians around the world and bears witness to human attachment to these intangible merits.

Challenges of biodiversity conservation

•             Economical - including biodiversity into macro economical indicators of countries, economical asset of biodiversity

a) as real value (medic and genetic engineering),

b) profit for activity – eco-tourism, cost of restoration of damaged biodiversity

•             Management – creation of partnership by involving governmental, commercial organisations, navy and military, NGOs, local populations and general public.

•             Legislation - including biodiversity aspects into all relevant laws, designation of legislation support of biodiversity conservation

•             Scientific – formalization of decision-making procedure, looking for biodiversity indicators, cadastre of biodiversity, development of monitoring

Scientific Approaches :

1.            In-situ approaches include methods and tools that protect species, genetic varieties and habitats in the wild. It is a favourable approach amongst ecologists and conservationists to protect habitats and ecosystems.

2.            Ex-situ approaches include methods that remove plants, animals and microbial species and genetic varieties from their environment.

3.            Restoration and rehabilitation approaches include methods that draw upon in-situ and ex-situ tools to re-establish species, genetic varieties, communities, populations, habitats and ecological processes.

4.            Major land-use approaches include tools and strategies in forestry, fisheries, agriculture, wildlife management and tourism.

5.            Policy and institutional approaches include methods that limit the use of land resources. The establishment of easements and the arrangements between public agencies and private interests that are seeking to establish landscape characteristics favourable to biodiversity are also important.

Economic incentives

Economic incentives comprise of a subset of all possible incentives for biodiversity conservation. Economic incentives tend to use market mechanisms to influence decision making. The focus is directly or indirectly on prices.

Types of economic incentives:

•             Positive incentives: any monetary (direct payments, cost sharing, tax advantages) or non monetary (such as recognition and awards for outstanding performance) inducement, which incites or motivates governments, local people, and international organisations to conserve biodiversity.

•             Disincentives: any mechanism that internalises the cost of use and/or damage to biological resources in order to discourage activities that deplete biodiversity.

•             Indirect incentives: any mechanism that creates or improves upon markets and price signals for biological resources encouraging the conservation and sustainable use of biodi-versity.

•             Perverse incentives: an incentive which induces behaviour leading to the reduction in biodiversity. Perverse incentives are the result of government intervention failure. Most “perverse” incentives are designed to achieve other policy objectives and the perversity is thus an external factor, or an un-anticipated side effect of the policy.

Social strategies

Two important types of social strategies are:

1.The use of indigenous knowledge; and

2.Strategies for local participation.

Local legislation should thus emerge from internationally co-ordinated conventions.

Like the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, humanity now finds itself in the midst of a mass extinction: a global evolutionary convulsion with few parallels in the entire history of life. But unlike the dinosaurs, we are not simply the contemporaries of a mass extinction – we are the reason for it. John Tuxill, Chris Bright.

 

 

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

A mineral is pure inorganic substance that occurs naturally in the earth’s crust. More than two-thousand minerals have been identified and most of these are inorganic, which are formed by various combination of elements. Mineral are naturally occurring elements or compounds that have been formed through slow inorganic processes. These are more than 3000 minerals species, most of them having chemical composition, crystal, hardness, colour and opacity

Our civilization is based on mineral resources. All materials (fuels, metals, water, etc.) needed for modern society are derived from the earth’s crust, whether directly or indirectly. The naturally occurring materials (in form of ore) obtained below the earth’s crust having a definite structure and chemical composition are called minerals.

The minerals from which metals and non metals is extracted are known as ores. Rock is formed naturally by mineral deposition. According to their origin, rocks are divided into three types:

(i) Igneous rock

(ii) Sedimentary rock

(iii) Metamorphic rock.

The ores yield metal like iron, copper, aluminium, gold, silver, platinum, while non- metallic materials like cement, sulphur, phosphorus, diamonds and chemical by products of petroleum refining are vital to industry.

Classification of minerals:

On the basis of predominant anions or anionic group minerals can be classify as : (i) Silicates minerals (ii) Native elements (iii) Sulphide minerals (iv) Oxide minerals (v) Halide minerals (vi) Hydroxide minerals (vii) Carbonate and nitrate minerals (viii) Sulphate minerals (ix) Borate minerals (x) Tung state, chromate and molybdate minerals (xi) Phosphate, Arsenate and Vanedate minerals.

All the minerals are non renewable and valuable because they are stronger than any other materials, and they can be melted and cast into shape with a good conductor of electricity.

Marine mineral resources

The deep sea basins are found to contain enormous quantities of minerals such a manganese, cobalt-nickels and copper. The salt, magnesium and bromine are also discovered from marine Marine mineral resources in India are of three types:

1. Terrigenous minerals: In Maharashtra, Kerala and Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Orissa with Ilmnite, monazite.

2. Biogenous deposits: In Kerala, Gulf Kutch, A & Nicobar with calcium, carbonate.

3. Chemogenous deposits: Manganese nickel, cobalt and copper.

Categories of Mineral Resources

Mineral resources can be divided into two major categories:

•             Metallic Mineral Resources

•             Non-metallic Mineral Resources

Characteristics of Metallic Minerals

Metallic Minerals are metals that are hard substance and conduct heat and electricity with a characteristics of luster or shine. For example: Gold, Silver, Tin, Copper, Lead, Zinc, Iron, Nickel, Chromium, and Aluminum.

Metallic minerals contain metal in raw form .Metallic Minerals present a metallic shine in their appearance. They contains metals in their chemical composition and are potential source of the metal that can be got through mining.

Metallic minerals are further classified into  Ferrous metallic minerals and  Non-ferrous metallic minerals.

Ferrous Minerals are those mineral that contains iron, for example: Iron ore, maganese and Chromites.

Non-Ferrous Minerals are those minerals which do not contain iron, for example: gold, silver, copper and lead.

Non-metallic minerals

Non-metallic minerals are a special group of chemical elements from which no new product can be generated if they are melted. For example: sand, gravel, gypsum, halite, Uranium, dimension stone.

Non-metallic minerals are minerals which are either present a non-metallic shine or lustre in their appearance.These minerals do not contain extractable metals in their chemical composition.

Use of Minerals

The earth’s resources have been used by all cultures throughout history. The earliest uses of the earth’s resources involved water, salt and simple tools made from rocks. The quantities of various mineral resources used by particular societies vary widely but generally correspond per capita to the nation’s degree of development and standard of living

The use of minerals depends upon its deposits. Some countries are rich in mineral deposits, while others have no deposits. The greatest use of minerals depends on its properties. Minerals are used in almost all industries. Gold, silver and platinum are used in the jewelry industry. Copper is used in coin industry and for making pipes and wire. Silicon obtained from quartz is used in the computer industry. Aluminum is light, strong and durable in nature, so it is used for aircraft, shipping and car industries.

The Indian Scenario

A variety of minerals are found in India .On the basis of properties, minerals are broadly classified into metallic minerals and non-metallic minerals. Manganese, copper, aluminium, zinc, iron, bauxite, gold, lead, etc are metallic minerals. Metallic minerals are mainly occur in igneous and metamorphic rocks. Diamond, gypsum, mica, kainite, stones, potash, etc are non metallic minerals.
Manganese- Manganese is used in steel industries and in making paints, glass, insecticides, batteries, chemicals, bleaching powder, etc. India stands second in the reserves of manganese in the world. Manganese ore is exported from India.

Iron ore- Iron ore is used in the manufacture of steel and iron. Haematite, limonite, magnetite and siderite are the varieties of iron ore. Iron ore is a basic and important raw material of most of the manufacturing industries.

Mica- Mica is used in electrical and electronics industries. It is also used in production of medicines, paints, etc. Mica has an insulating property.

Copper- Copper is a good conductor of electricity. Copper is used for making alloys, electric wires and utensils. It is also used in the manufacture of medicines. The demand of copper is always more due to its non-rusting property.

Lead- Lead is a heavy and soft metal. It does not conduct heat. It is used in the manufacture of ammunition, glass, rubber, paints, etc.

Bauxite- Bauxite is used in industries as raw materials. India has large deposits of bauxite ore. It is used in industries which manufacture ships, aeroplanes, automobiles, electric wires, etc.

Mining of minerals

Mining refers to the process of extracting metals and minerals from the earth. Gold, silver, diamond, iron, coal, and uranium are just a few of the vast array of metals and minerals that are obtained by this process. Mining activities require the clearing of large areas of land.

In fact, mining is the source of all the substances that cannot be obtained by industrial processes or through agriculture. Mining reaps huge profits for the companies that own them and provides employment to a large number of people. It is also a huge source of revenue for the government.

Mining involves the physical removal of minerals from the crust of Earth. The mineral materials may be used as such or used for extraction of elements. As minerals are exhaustible resources, it becomes essential to conserve these resources.

There are three major stages in mineral extraction exploration, mining and mine reclamation.

The Steps of Mining:

Generally these are  the stages of mineral exploration

Area Selection:

The most important stage, it is important to choose an area that is possible to find ore deposits easily, cheaply and quickly

Target Generation:

This stage involves investigation of the geology throughmaps, geophysics, and testing the surface and subsurface minerals of the area.

Resource Evaluation :

This stage lets you know the quality and quantity of the mineral in the area. This is achieved mainly by drilling.

Reserve Definition:

Converts an ore resource to a mineral reserve. Similar to  resource evaluation, except a lot more detailed and thorough

Profit Planning :

This step involves planning out a mine to evaluate the economically recoverable portion of the deposit.

Mine Construction:

This step is physically making the mine. You have to make itso there is access to an ore body.

Mining:

This step is the actual excavation of minerals from the ground. This is achieved in many different ways, depending on what type of mine it is and whatyou want to take out of the ground

Ecological Rebuilding:

This means returning the land as much as you can to its former self, after all the mining is done.

Mining and quarrying methods-

The method used to extract minerals depends on the deposit size, shape, depth beneath the surface and grade. A choice is made between surface mining and underground mining.

Surface mining is less expensive, safer and involves fewer complications with air, electricity, water and rock handling. However, surface mining has a greater environmental impact than underground mining. Thus, surface mining operations disturb the surface more seriously.

In open pit mines, extraction proceeds by drilling, blasting, loading, transporting and dumping the ore out of the pit. In strip mining of coal, clay, bauxite, tar sands, phosphates, iron ores, etc., overburden is removed and dumped to the rear and the ore is scooped up and loaded into trucks.

Deep mines are extracted using underground minining methods. In most mines, ore extraction and mine development involve drilling and blasting, and removal with mechanical diggers onto underground railway cars or dump trucks that reach the surface through a shaft.

Hydraulic mining uses high-pressure water jets to wash soft sediments down an incline toward some form of concentration plant, where dense mineral grains (such as gold) and soft mineral grains (such as clay/kaolin) are separated.

Solution mining (leaching) involves dissolving the ore (Au, Ag, U, S, NaCl, etc.) with a liquid (water, cyanide, etc.). If the ore is extracted on site with solution mining, it is called in-situ leaching.

General Impacts of mining on the environment:

Energy Consumption:

Mining requires vast amounts of energy. The ore and rock has to be transported great distances by large vehicles, which require a large amount of energy in the form of gasoline. Underground mines need extensive hoisting systems to transport the minerals, which also require energy. Controlling the temperature of mines deep underground is very energy consuming as well. Pneumatic equipment, which is used a lot in the mining industry, also takes energy. Smelting ores and metal requires lots of energy

Air:

Mining has a great effect on the quality of the air. Since mines need to blast through rock to get to an ore, dust may be produced in the process. Coal mines release methane, which contributes to environmental issues because it is a greenhouse gas. Non-vegetated or uncapped tailing dams release dust, and when radioactive elements are found in the ore, radiation is emitted. Heavy metals, such as sulphur dioxide, may be polluted into the air by unsafe smelter operations with insufficient safeguards. The gold mining industry is one of the most destructive industries in the world, because of all of the toxins that are released into the air. Acid rain and smog are also some side-effects of mining.

Water:

Mines use a lot of water, though some of the water is reusable. Sulphides-containing minerals negatively impacts groundwater. This happens from both surface and underground mines. Another way surface and underground water are affected is through tailing dams and waste rock heaps, because they are a source of acidic drainage water. Leftover chemical deposits from explosives are usually toxic, and increase the salinity of mine water, as well as contaminating it. Groundwater can be directly contaminated through “in situ” mining, in which a solvent seeps into un-mined rock, leaching minerals. Release of toxic chemicals into the water is obviously harmful for the flora and fauna of the water bodies. Besides the pollution, mining processes require water from nearby water sources. For example, water is used to wash impurities from the coal. The result is that the water content of the river or lake from which water is being used gets reduced. Organisms in these water bodies do not have enough water for their survival.

Previously buried metal sulfides are exposed during mining activities. When they come in contact with the atmospheric oxygen, they get converted into strong sulphuric acid and metal oxides. Such compounds get mixed up in the local waterways and contaminate local rivers with heavy metals. Chemicals like mercury, cyanide, sulphuric acid, arsenic and methyl mercury are used in various stages of mining. Most of the chemicals are released into nearby water bodies, and are responsible for water pollution. In spite of tailings (pipes) being used to dispose these chemicals into the water bodies, there is always a possibility of a leak. When the chemicals slowly percolate through the layers of the earth, they reach the groundwater and pollute it.

Land:

There are many environmental concerns about the effects mining has on the land. Trees need to be cut down in order to have a mine built, and whole forests could be destroyed. Mining involves moving large quantities of rock, and in surface mining, overburden land impacts are immense. Mining activities also may lead to erosion, which is dangerous and bad for the land. It destroys river banks, and changes how the river flows, where it flows, what lives in it, etc. Despite measures being taken to release the chemical waste into the nearby rivers through pipes, a large amount of chemicals still leak out onto the land. This changes the chemical composition of the land. Besides this, since the chemicals are poisonous, they make the soil unsuitable for plants to grow. Also, the organisms that live in the soil find the polluted environment hostile for their survival.

Large-scale deforestation

Mining requires large areas of forest area to be cleared so that the land could be dug into by the miners. For this reason, large-scale deforestation is required to be carried out in the areas where mining has to be done. Besides clearing the mining area, vegetation in the adjoining areas also needs to be cut in order to construct roads and residential facilities for the mine workers. The human population brings along with it other activities that harm the environment. For example, various activities at coal mines release dust and gas into the air. Thus, mining is one of the major causes of deforestation and pollution.

Ecosystem Damage:

Mines are highly damaging to the ecosystems surrounding them. Many different types of mines affect many different types of ecosystems. Many of the toxins and tailings that are discharged from the mines can disrupt and disturb the way animals live, and their health. Mining can completely destroy ecosystems by adding or taking out something from the animals’ everyday lives, therefore throwing the whole thing out of balance.

Loss of Biodiversity
The forests that are cleared for mining purposes are home to a large number of organisms. Indiscriminate clearing of the forests leads to loss of habitat of a large number of animals. This puts the survival of a large number of animal species at stake. The cutting down of trees in itself is a big threat to a number of plants, trees, birds and animals that dwell in the forests.

Health and Safety:

Mining can be very safe, but often it is extremely dangerous.Underground mining is usually more unsafe than surface because of the poor ventilation and visibility, as well as the rock fall hazards. The biggest health risks are from dust,which can cause breathing problems. Sometimes the liquid waste that is generated after the metals or minerals have been extracted is disposed in a mining pit. As the pit gets filled up by the mine tailing, they become a stagnant pool of water. This becomes the breeding ground for water-borne diseases causing insects and organisms like mosquitoes to flourish.

Impact on environment  of mining

Much of the impact of mining is obvious. The disruption of land otherwise suitable for agricultural, urban or recreational use; the deterioration of the immediate environment through noise and airborne dust; and the creation of ore of the most dangerous environments for workers and potentially hazardous for the public are all environmental problems associated with mining. However, mining is a relatively short-term activity, and much can be done both to limit environmental damage during mining and to restore the land when mining operations are complete. Today, in many countries, legislation has been enacted at nearly all levels to ensure that extreme restrictions could make mining completely uneconomical. Unfortunately, the absence of adequate controls over some mining activities in the past has left numerous scars on the surface of the earth and led to resistance among many members of the public toward new mining activities in their areas.

Fortunately, many underground mines leave little evidence of their presence, even after mining operations have ceased. They are usually filled by percolating ground water over time, but the rocks are usually strong enough to hold in spite of abandoned mine openings and passageways. Sometimes the old mines can be put to very good use. Old underground mines can be used as storage areas for grains, seeds, burial of nuclear wastes, and truck parking.

When an open pit mine closes, a large hole remains with no readily available waste rock to fill it. The pit slopes are often too steep for plantation. If the water table is high enough, the bottom of the pit may flood, creating an artificial lake. Therefore, very large open pit mines are difficult, if not impossible, to reclaim. Smaller open pits may be filled with waste rock. In some places, surface mines can be reclaimed to form small lakes and wetlands mat support fish, birds and other wildlife. Underground mines do not lead to such drastic disruptions of the surface as open pit and strip mining, but a new hazard known as subsidence can be encountered. Subsidence under towns and roads can leave homes uninhabitable and transportation severely disrupted.

In addition to the impact that mining activities may have on the, landscape, the environment may be disrupted over a wider area by changes İn the distribution and chemistry of surface waters or ground water. Water passing through the mines or dumps becomes acidified, later finding its way into rivers, streams or the local groundwater system. Many streams can be affected by abandoned mine works.

Disposal of mining wastes

Nearly all mining operations generate waste rock, often in very large amounts. Strip mining waste can be used in reclamation, but an alternative method of disposal must be found for underground mining operations and most kinds of open pit mining. Usually, this simply involves dumping the wastes İn piles at the surface next to the mine workings.

Sometimes, die waste rock is put back into me openings created by the mining . Piles of waste rock may be dangerous because of the possibility of sliding. Alternatives to the dumping of mining wastes, such as the use of them to fill land, are likely to be expensive and impractical in most cases. Waste dump slopes can be lowered and re-vegetation can be achieved.

Dredging and ocean mining

Dredging involves removing unconsolidated material from rivers, streams, lakes and shallows seas with machines such as bucket-ladder dredge, drag-line dredge or suction dredge. There is no mechanical pollution from dredging, but the process disperses large quantities of fine sands and silt having severe effects on fish and other wild life that require clean water to survive. Ocean mining for Mn nodules involves significant disruption to ocean water and biological system. Currents, sedimentation patterns and erosion patterns are changed by ocean mining operations.

Well drilling and production

Drilling wells are used to explore and produce oil, gas, brine, geothermal fluids. Blow out and fire hazards can create severe pollution. Oil and brine spillage and seepage must be carefully controlled.

Affects of used resources on  the environment

The burning of fossil fuels in power stations, homes and automobile engines results İn gases, particles and excess heat being emitted into the environment. The use of nuclear fuels generates toxic radioactive waste products requiring special disposal. Oil refining and metal/mineral production also generate wastes and pollutants.

Acid pollution

The most important pollutant of the hydrosphere is acid in the form of acid rain and acid mine drainage. Acid mine drainage formed by dissolution of pyrite dissolves more pynte, thus accentuating the effects.

Burning fossil fuels

The burning of fossil fuels in automobiles, power plants and heating systems creates air pollution. The burning of solid waste and smelting also generates air pollution.

Disposal of nuclear wastes

The mining and processing of uranium ores, the manufacture of nuclear fuels, the use of fuels in nuclear power stations, and nuclear weapons manufacture all generate waste products requiring disposal. The long-term disposal of radioactive wastes is still an unresolved problem.- Low-level wastes generally have radioactivity less than 1000 times the acceptable level in the environment. Large quantities of this type of waste are produced at uranium mines.. High-level radioactive wastes from the nuclear power industry account for roughly 95% of the radioactivity.

Possible Solution for decreasing negative impact

To decrease negative impact on the environment without significantly disrupting the supply of minerals.We believe this objective can be attained through a method of mining known as“sustainable mining. Sustainable mining is an effective way to reduce the impact of mining on the environment. It is a huge step towards becoming more environmentally and ecologically-friendly.  They will meet society’s needs for minerals and metals, while demonstrating responsibility to social, economic and environmental issues. They demonstrate these traits through exploring, discovering, developing, producing, distributing and recycling the products. The mining companies should keep contributing to the protection of the employees, communities, customers and the natural environment by promoting the safe and environmentally-friendly production,use and recycling of metals and minerals, minimizing effects on the environment through all stages of the mine’s development, from exploration to closure, working with communities about the issues of abandoned mines, and using new technology and innovations to practice continuous improvement.One of the chief problems of sustainable mining is that the mining companies simply don’t have enough money to implement sustainable mining without outside financial assistance.  All non-essential mining must be reduced in size to the absolute minimum possible.

As for the treatment of abandoned mine sites that contaminate the environment, there are several different treatments for the different types of pollution .

Acid Mine Drainage: Acid mine drainage is currently treatable with several different chemicals that neutralize the acid: calcium carbonate, calcium hydroxide, calcium oxide,sodium carbonate, sodium hydroxide, and anhydrous ammonia.

Tailings: The disposal of tailings has always been difficult. In the past, they have been disposed in numerous ways, almost none of them environmentally friendly: stored in ponds, dumped into rivers, dumped into oceans, etc. However, there are two more eco-friendly and less unsightly methods that can be used. The first is disposal into underground caverns or voids left from mines. This method is good because it leeches fewer minerals into the water table, because it reduces the risk of the cavern collapsing ,and because it hides the ugly tailings from view. The other method is depositing tailings into abandoned open pit mines. The main advantages of this method are that it gets rid of the sight of the tailings, and fills up the hole left from the open pit mine

Air pollution: Unfortunately, there is little we can do about pollution already in the atmosphere. All we can do is prevent more from getting into it.

Land Pollution : Land pollution can be rectified through standard reclamation efforts;however it must be made mandatory to reclaim abandoned mines.

Water Pollution: The majority of water pollution can be treated through neutralization. Other acidic chemicals in the water can also be treated by being pumped to treatment plants

Conclusion

Mining Supporters includes mine employees, mining companies, investors, mining lobbyists, civilians in favour of mining, and politicians in favour of using the “current methods of mining”.Mining Companies: Mining companies support the current methods of mining for obvious reasons. Mining is how they turn a profit. They believe that the benefits of mining [think money] far outweigh the disadvantages.

Mining companies believe that what they do is worth it. They do not care about the environment; their sole value is profit. They believe that environmentalists are wrong, and that what they do is for the greater good. They think that economy outweighs the environment. They know that the things they are mining (for the most part) are necessities that are used in everyday life, so they think it is vital to keep mining and extracting those materials, even if it means risking the health of the planet.

Mining Opposition includes environmentalists, civilians against the current methods of mining, and politicians against the current methods of mining .Environmentalists: Environmentalists are people who are “concerned for the preservation, restoration, or improvement of the natural environment, such as the conservation of natural resources, prevention of pollution, and certain land use actions.”As such, they are opposed to the current methods of mining when they harm the environment. By definition, all people who oppose the current methods of mining are environmentalists. They believe that the environment comes first, that the current methods of mining are wrong because they harm the environment, that there are more eco-friendly ways of mining to retrieve minerals, and that the public should be aware of the degradation of the environment caused by these methods of mining. These people are the backbone of the opposition to mining.

Minerals are formed by inorganic processes of long duration. Minerals are exhaustible and non-renewable resources. Extraction of minerals has increased at large scale to meeting the ever increasing population of country. Due to improper and excessive use, minerals in certain regions are on the verge of extinction. Hence, there is a need of conservation of minerals. Avoid use and acceptance of minerals which are not essential. Modern technology plays an important role in the conservation of minerals. Recycling is the perfect form of mineral reuse.

As a result, miners have to exploit and use minerals in an environmentally friendly way because the globalization of environmental concerns presents complex ethical problems that we have just begun to address. Today, miners cannot ignore the concern that the earth is reaching its limit of mineral-related pollution.

 

 

 

 

 

Dr. V.K.Maheshwari, M.A(Socio, Phil) B.Sc. M. Ed, Ph.D

Former Principal, K.L.D.A.V.(P.G) College, Roorkee, India

A nation that destroys its soils destroys itself. Forests are the lungs of our land, purifying the air and giving fresh strength to our people.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

The common idea for many people is that forests are just a collection of trees. However, they are much more than that. They are a complex, functional system of interacting and often interdependent biological, physical, and chemical components, the biological part of which has evolved to perpetuate itself. This complexity produces combinations of climate, soils, trees and plant species unique to each site, resulting in hundreds of different forest types around the world. Logically, trees are an important component for the research in forest ecosystems, but the wide variety of other life forms and abiotic components in most forests means that other elements, such as wildlife or soil nutrients, should also be the focal point in ecological studies and management plans to be carried out in forest ecosystems.

The word forest comes from  from Old French forest (also forès) “forest, vast expanse covered by trees”; first introduced in English as the word for wild land set aside for hunting^[14] without the necessity in definition for the existence of trees. . Uses of the word “forest” in English was introduced by the Norman rulers of England as a legal term (denoting an uncultivated area legally set aside for hunting by feudal nobility.

Forests as one of the top 5 natural resources on earth. This is rightly so, and today, we shall look at how wonderful our forests are to us, and why we should immediately stop its’ destruction.

There is more to forests than just a massive collection of trees. It is a natural, complex ecosystem, made up of a wide variety of trees, that support a massive range of life forms.

Apart from trees, forests also include the soils that support the trees, the water bodies that run through them and even the atmosphere (air) around them. Forests of the world are a natural wonder that humans have sadly taken for granted

A forest can be defined as a biotic community predominant of trees, shrubs or any

other woody vegetation usually in a closed canopy. It is derived from latin word ‘foris’

means ‘outside’.

A forest is best defined as  ecosystem or assemblage of ecosystems dominated by trees and other woody vegetation.

The living parts of a forest include trees, shrubs, vines, grasses and other herbaceous (non-woody) plants, mosses, algae, fungi, insects, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and microorganisms living on the plants and animals and in the soil.

These interact with one another and with the non-living part of the environment – including the soil, water, and minerals, to make up what we know as a forest.

There are three broad categories of forest definitions in use:

Administrative -  Administrative definitions are based primarily upon the legal designations of land, and commonly bear no relationship to the vegetation growing on the land: land that is legally designated as a forest is defined as a forest even if no trees are growing on it

Land use – Land use definitions are based upon the primary purpose that the land serves. For example, a forest may defined as any land that is used primarily for production of timber. Under such a land use definition, cleared roads or infrastructure within an area used for forestry, or areas within the region that have been cleared by harvesting, disease or fire are still considered forests even if they contain no trees

Land cover - Land cover definitions define forests based upon the type and density of vegetation growing on the land. Such definitions typically define a forest as an area growing trees above some threshold. These thresholds are typically the number of trees per area (density), the area of ground under the tree canopy (canopy cover) or the section of land that is occupied by the cross-section of tree trunks (basal area )Under such land cover definitions, and area of land only be defined as forest if it is growing trees. Areas that fail to meet the land cover definition may be still included under while immature trees are establishing if they are expected to meet the definition at maturity.

Importance of Forests

India’s Forest Cover is 6,76,000 sq.km (20.55% of geographic area). Scientists estimate that India should ideally have 33% of its land under forests. Today we only have about 12% thus we need not only to protect our existing forests but also to increase our forest cover.

Forests and biodiversity are key to all life forms. The richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development and adaptive responses to such new challenges as climate change.

Forests are hugely important for life on earth. This is because it serves as an ecosystem, and sustains life for millions of animals, birds and animals that live in the rivers and streams running through these forests. It also does a lot of good to the atmosphere in climate control, as well as supplying oxygen for human sustenance.

Below are some more importance of forests:

Watershed- Forests serve as a watershed. This is because almost all water ultimately comes from rivers and lakes and from forest-derived water tables. Some rivers running through forests are also kept cool and from drying out.

Habitat and Ecosystems- Forests serve as a home (habitat) to millions of animals. Think of the many types of reptiles (snakes and lizards) wild animals, butterflies and insects, birds and tree-top animals as well as all those that live in the forest streams and rivers.

Animals form part of the food chain in the forests. All these different animals and plants are called biodiversity, and the interaction with one another and with their physical environment is what we call an ecosystem. Healthy ecosystems can better withstand and recover from a variety of disasters such as floods and wildfires.

Economic benefits- Forests are of immense economic importance to us. For example, plantation forests provide humans with timber and wood, which is exported and used in all parts of the world. They also provide tourism income to inhabitants (people living in or close to forests) when people visit to see the best of nature. 

Climate Control – Climate control and atmosphere purification are key for human existence. Trees and soils help regulate atmospheric temperatures through a process called evapotranspiration. This helps to stabilize the climate. Additionally, they enrich the atmosphere by absorbing bad gases (example CO2 and other greenhouse gases) and producing oxygen. Trees also help to remove air pollutants

Function of forests:

Sr.No.	Particulars	Functions
1	Productive	They provide timer, fuel, charcoal, beedi , leaves, was and resins, fruits, tanning, materials, manure leaves, grass, bamboo, gums, lac etc.
2.	Protective	Forests protect water sheds, catchments of rivers and streams against erosion.
3.	Aesthetics	Forests add good appearance, landscaping and a thrilling atmosphere to the locality.
4	Recreational	Forest provides picnic resorts and opportunities for sport like hiking, trekking, wild life watching, bird watching.
5	Scientific	Study of ecological process can be made
6	Ameliorative	Forests improve climate and reduce pollution
7	Hygienic	Forests improve the environment and help in reduction of noise, purify the air and give out oxygen to the atmosphere.
8	Industrial developments	Forest meet the need for raw material for industrial development such as Paper pups, rayon grade pulp, saw milk ply wood, hard board etc.

Types of Forests

Tropical rainforests

• Hugely dense, lush forest with canopies preventing sunlight from getting to the floor of the forest.
• All year high temperatures and abundant rainfall.
• Located near the equator.
• A vital storehouse of biodiversity, sustaining millions of different animals, birds, algae and fish species.

Sub-tropical forests

v  Located at the south and north of the tropical forests.

v  Trees here are adapted to resist the summer drought.

v  Mediterranean forests

v  Located at the south of the temperate regions around the coasts of the Mediterranean, California, Chile and Western Australia.

v  The growing season is short and almost all trees are evergreen, but mixed with hardwood and softwood.

Temperate forests

• Located at Eastern North America, Northeastern Asia, and western and eastern Europe.
• Mix of deciduous and coniferous evergreen trees.
• Usually, the broad-leaved hardwood trees shed leaves annually.
• There are well-defined seasons with a distinct winter and sufficient rainfall.

Coniferous forests

ü  Located in the cold, windy regions around the poles.

ü  They come in both hardwoods and conifers.

ü  The hardwoods are deciduous.

ü  The conifers are evergreen and structurally adapted to withstand the long drought-like conditions of the long winters.

Montane forests

• Known as cloud forests because they receive most of their precipitation from the mist or fog that comes up from the lowlands.
• Usually found in high-elevation tropical, subtropical and temperate zones.
• Plants and animals in these forests are adapted to withstanding the cold, wet conditions and intense sunlight.
• Trees are mainly conifers.

Plantation forests

• Has around 7% of global forest cover (140 million hectares).
• Produces more sustainable timber and fibre than natural forests.
• Plantations produce around 40% of industrial wood.
• Plantation forests are on the increase.

Ecological significance of forests:

1. Balances CO2 and O2 levels in atmosphere.

2. Regulates earth temperature and hydrological cycle

3. Encourage seepage and reduces runoff losses, prevents drought

4. Reduces soil erosion (roots binding), prevents siltation and landslides thereby floods

5. Litter helps in maintaining soil fertility

6. Safe habitat for birds, wild animals and organisms against wind, solar radiation and rain.

Forest Degradation and Deforestation

Forest degradation is different from deforestation. Degradation is used to mean the destruction or reduction in quality of specific aspects of forests. Prolonged degradation can wipe out a forest. Degradation can result in a decrease in tree cover, changes in their structure or a reduction in the number of species that can be found there. If acid rain destroys trees in a vast area, it can be called forest degradation.

Forest degradation is the changes within the forest which negatively affect the structure or function of the stand or site, and thereby lower the capacity to supply products and/or services. FAO (2001) – Global Forest Resources Assessment 2000

Forest degradation can be caused by factors such as

Forest fires: In many forests such as in boreal and dry tropical forests, fires are usually expected from time to time. They may be caused by humans, accidents or natural factors. Forests fires wipe out many thousands of acres each year all over the world. This has effects on biodiversity and the economy as well.

Climate Change: Extreme climates can also cause degradation. Prolonged droughtsand dry conditions reduce the tree cover and dry out water bodies running through them. They force many animals to migrate and reduce the quality of forests ecosystems.

Pests and diseases: Pest or disease outbreak can also destroy the vegetative cover in forest lands.

Degraded forests can often be restored. The Global Partnership on Forest Landscape Restoration (GPFLR, undated) suggested that more than one billion hectares of deforested and degraded forest land worldwide are suitable and available for restoration.

Deforestation:

Deforestation occurs around the world, though tropical rainforests are particularly targeted. NASA predicts that if current deforestation levels proceed, the world’s rainforests may be completely in as little as 100 years.

Deforestation refers to the loss of forest cover; land that is permanently converted from forest to agricultural land, golf courses, cattle pasture, home, lakes or desert. The FAO ( Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN) defines tropical deforestation as “ change of forest with depletion of tree crown cover more than 90%” depletion of forest tree crown cover less than 90% is considered forest degradation.

Deforestation is when humans remove or clear large areas of forest lands and related ecosystems for non-forest use. These include clearing for farming purposes, ranching and urban use. In these cases, trees are never re-planted.

Since the industrial age, about half of world’s original forests have been destroyed and millions of animals and living things have been endangered. Despite the improvements in education, information and general awareness of the importance of forests, deforestation has not reduced much, and there are still many more communities and individuals who still destroy forest lands for personal gains.

Effects of Deforestation

Looking at the importance of forests and trees in the previous pages, you can deduce the massive effects of deforestation and tree-cutting activities. Let us see a few below:

Soil Erosion Destruction.- Soils (and the nutrients in them) are exposed to the sun’s heat. Soil moisture is dried up, nutrients evaporate and bacteria that help break down organic matter are affected. Eventually, rain washes down the soil surfaces and erosion takes place. Soils never get their full potential back.

Water Cycle.- Trees are important to the water cycle. They absorb rain fall and produce water vapor that is released into the atmosphere. Trees also lessen the pollution in water, by stopping polluted runoff. When forests are destroyed, the atmosphere, water bodies and the water table are all affected. Trees absorb and retain water in their roots. A large part of the water that circulates in the ecosystem of rainforests remains inside the plants. Some of this moisture is transpired into the atmosphere. When this process is broken, the atmosphere and water bodies begin to dry out. The watershed potential is compromised and less water will run through the rivers. Smaller lakes and streams that take water from these larger water bodies dry up.

Loss of Biodiversity.- Seventy percent of the world’s plants and animals live in forests and are losing their habitats to deforestation, according to National Geographic. Loss of habitat can lead to species extinction. Many wonderful species of plants and animals have been lost, and many others remain endangered. More than 80% of the world’s species remain in the Tropical Rainforest. It is estimated that about 50 to 100 species of animals are being lost each day as a result of destruction of their habitats, and that is a tragedy. Many beautiful creatures, both plants and animals have vanished from the face of the earth.

Climate Change.- Plants absorb Carbon Dioxide CO2 (a greenhouse gas) from the atmosphere and uses it to produce food (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins that make up trees). In return, it gives off Oxygen. Destroying the forests mean CO2 will remain in the atmosphere and in addition, destroyed vegetation will give off more CO2 stored in them as they decompose. This will alter the climate of that region. Cool climates may get a lot hotter and hot places may get a lot cooler.

Life quality.- Soil erosion can also lead to silt entering the lakes, streams and other water sources. This can decrease local water quality and contribute to poor health in populations in the area.

Causes for Deforestation:

There are many causes of deforestation. The WWF reports that half of the trees illegally removed from forests are used as fuel.

The biggest driver of deforestation is agriculture. Conversion of forests to agricultural land to feed growing numbers of people raising cash crops for increased economy Farmers cut forests to provide more room for planting crops or grazing livestock. Often many small farmers will each clear a few acres to feed their families by cutting down trees and burning them in a process known as “slash and burn” agriculture. Cutting of trees for fire wood and building material, the heavy lopping of foliage for fodder and heavy grazing of saplings by domestic animals like goats.

Commercial Logging operations, which provide the world’s wood and paper products, also cut countless trees each year. Loggers, some of them acting illegally, also build roads to access more and more remote forests—which leads to further deforestation   which supplies the world market with woods such as  teak, mahogany and ebony) destroys trees as well as opening up forest.

Increase in population. Urbanization & industrialization Forests are also cut as a result of growing urban sprawl and make more land available for housing and urbanization

Mining  Mineral exploration and construction of dam reservoirs and. Infrastructure development

Not all deforestation is intentional. Some is caused by a combination of human and natural factors like wildfires and subsequent overgrazing, which may prevent the growth of young trees.

Environmental effects of deforestation

•             Increasing CO2

•             Floods leading to soil erosion. Heavy siltation of dams

•             Changes in the microclimate

•             Loss of biodiversity.

•             Heavy rainfall and high sunlight quickly damage the topsoil in clearings of the tropical rainforests. In such circumstance, the forest will take much longer to regenerate and the land will not be suitable for agricultural use for quite some time.

•             The stress of environmental change may make some species more susceptible to the effect of insects, pollution, disease and fire

•             Most humid regions changes to desert Dessication of previously moist forest soil.

•             Global warming

Suggestions for Forest Conservation

1. Restraining cutting of trees and submerging the forests

2. Reforestation

3. Afforestation

4. Control forest diseases and forest fire

5. Recycling forest products

6. Replacing forest products

7. Avoids diversion of forest lands for other activities through acts like Forest Conservation Act and Wild life (protection) Act

8. Bringing awareness among people eg: Chipko movement, Appiko , Narmada Bachao Andolan

9. Implementing people’s participatory programmes. Ex: Joint Forestry Manangement (JFM)

Counteracting deforestation

Many believe that to counter deforestation, people simply need to plant more trees. Though a massive replanting effort would help to alleviate the problems deforestation caused, it would not solve them all.

Reforestation would facilitate ,   restoring the ecosystem services provided by forests including carbon storage, water cycling and wildlife habitat,reducing the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and rebuilding wildlife habitats

Reforestation won’t completely fix the damage, though. For example, Daley points out that forests cannot sequester all of the carbon dioxide humans are emitting to the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels and a reduction in fossil fuel emissions. It is still necessary to avoid buildup in the atmosphere. Reforestation will not help with extinction due to deforestation, either.

In addition to reforestation, some other tactics are being taken to counteract or slow deforestation. Some of them include shifting the human population to a plant-based diet. This would lower the need for land to be cleared for raising livestock.

Global Forest Watch has also initiated a project to counteract deforestation through awareness. The organization uses satellite technology, open data and crowdsourcing to detect and alert others of deforestation. Their online community is also encouraged to share their personal experiences and the negative effects of deforestation.