To reinvent the education system and give students a break from traditional classroom learning, there is a dire need to revive the quiz culture in schools and colleges. And technology can act as a facilitator by bringing innovation to quizzes and ensuring active participation among students. Quizzes redefine the education system in significant ways. Students gain knowledge, seek opportunities to excel beyond academics. It changes scope of learning as questions are based out-of-syllabus and require critical thinking and extensive research, students get into the habit of innovative learning from an early age.
The Society for Promotion of Science and Technology in India (SPSTI) has been conducted quizzes on scientific topics since 2010. In times of Pandemic, students from all over the India participated in many online activities conducted by the Society.
Support and Association
With support from Haryana State Council for Science, Innovation and Technology (HSCSIT) and in association with Chandigarh Chapter of National Academy of Sciences India (NASI), the online science quiz was organized for the students of classes 9th to 12th of all schools of Haryana.
Invitations
The event was announced through online circulars. The Directorate of School Education, Government of Haryana was requested to issue the circulars to District Education Officers of all the districts. District Science Specialists of various districts were informed.
Participation
The response was excellent and one hundred twenty three (123) schools from twelve (12) districts of Haryana submitted their entries. Each team consisted of three students from classes 9th to 12th. Out of 123, thirty-three were Private Schools and rests were Government Senior Secondary and Government High Schools.
Preliminary Round
The Online Preliminary Round was conducted on March 24, 2021 at 11:30 AM. The students were asked to join on Zoom and appear in the test on Google Forms with a link provided to them. There were thirty questions in all related to Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. Students actively attempted the screening exam. Eight top scoring teams were shortlisted to appear for the final round of the Quiz. The shortlisted teams were:
- Yaduvanshi Shiksha Niketan, Narnaul
- Delhi Public School, Kurukshetra
- Wisdom World School, Kurukshetra
- Suraj School, Gurugram
- Army Public School, Chandimandir, Panchkula
- IPS Sultaaanpur, Hisar
- Tagore Senior Secondary School, Narnaund, Hisar
- Model Senior Secondary School, Sector 4/7, Gurugram
- Suraj School, Kosli, Gurugram
- The Heights Senior Secondary School, Khudan, jhajjar
Final Round
The Final Round of the Science Quiz was held on March 25, 2021. The eight shortlisted teams along with stand-by teams attended the final round. The following Quizmasters were involved for the Quiz:
- Miss Rajni Bhalla, Principal (Retd.), Department of Higher Education, Haryana
- Iqbal Singh, Assistant Professor in Chemistry, Government College for Women, Shahzadpur
- Priyanka, Assistant Professor in Physics, Government College, Ambala
- Sarika Dhupar, Lecturer in Bio-Sciences, Government Senior Secondary School, Sector-19, Chandigarh
The Quizmasters in their respective subjects put thought provoking questions among the students with the help of slides. There was a time limit for every response. The Jury Members were eminent scientists as mentioned below:
- Alok Srivastava, Department of Chemistry, Panjab University Chandigarh
- Suman B. Beri, Dept. of Physics, Panjab University, Chandigarh
- Keya Dharamvir, General Secretary of SPSTI.
Students were asked more than 100 questions in all subjects, in which they responded carefully. The first position was held by Etti Agarwal, Iqleen Kaur and Gulshan of Yaduvanshi Shiksha Niketan Narnaul. The second position was held by Navya, Ayush and Tanishka of Wisdom World School, Kurukshetra while the third position was held by Harshvardhan, Abhishek and Shanu of Suraj School, Gurugram.
All the participants were awarded e-Certificates and winners were awarded cash prizes.