CBSE assigns weightage to Value Education in Board Exams

This academic year onwards, the Central Board of Secondary Education will be assigning 5% of the marks for value education in each of the core subjects in Class Xth and XIIth Board Exams. The questions will be for five marks in a 100-marks paper and for 3-4 marks in a paper of 70-90 marks.

Eg- A potential question in Economics is: a father in his will gives 40% each to his son and daughter and 20% to his servant who has been with him for long. Why has he done it and what is the value addition? 8 marks

The answer to this would be based upon Gender equality and charity.
Besides class Xth and class XIIth, schools have also been asked to select such relevant questions to be asked during the final exams for classes IXth and XIth.

The education system in India has been for long under the wrong light for neglecting  the skill and value development of students and making them tunnel-visioned towards  academics. CBSE in recent times has been taking many positive steps to address this concern. School heads have also welcomed the move, saying that the holistic development of a child holds greater importance over only academic development in the long run.

Cheers!

Brush up your concepts with the new Summer Education Pack by Meritnation!

Meritnation launches a special pack for CBSE classes VI-XII to help strengthen your fundamentals in Maths & Science this summer! The Summer education Pack gives you a chance to brush up important concepts from topics covered in previous classes, and work upon the basics to help build a more thorough understanding of concepts in your present class.

Learn your way through these important topics with extensive videos, animations, tests, puzzles & interactive exercises.

So what are you waiting for? Subscribe to Meritnation’s Online Course now to get this exciting Summer Education Pack for your class absolutely FREE! We at Meritnation are confident that our latest offering will give you an edge over your classmates when the school re-opens!


Cheers!

Team Meritnation

Online education

How about studying the most difficult concepts in Physics of the luxury of sitting in your cozy room? Sounds interesting! If this entices you enough to try your hand at online education, hold on! You will be happy to know that this is only one of the several benefits of online education. There is a lot that online education has to offer to school students in terms of the quality and quantity of subject specific study content and a host of other related benefits. 

To elucidate on the benefits of online education to all you students in school out there studying under various boards such as CBSE, ICSE, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Matriculation Board, here are a few points.

• The anywhere, anytime factor! Unlike tuition classes which have fixed hours, students can study online anytime, as per their own convenience. All that a student needs is a computer and an internet connection. Once the necessary hardware components are in place, students can start surfing their way through the plethora of information available online. The advantage of round-the-clock availability of interesting study content has indeed made more students get inclined towards this medium in addition to using other conventional study mediums and methods such as books.
• A Student-centric teaching approach! Unlink the regular classroom teaching at schools and tuition centres, the online education follows an approach that is more student-centric rather than being teacher- oriented. Students not only have a say in the timing of their study schedules but are also equipped with the power to decide their own pace of learning. While studying online, students are under no pressure whatsoever to complete their studies within a stipulated time period. Online education is especially a boon for students tend to learn at a pace slower than most others in the class, as they can take as much time to understand and learn a concept well as they wish to. While studying online students need not feel shy in asking questions and wanting to read the said study material over and over again.
• Involvement of multiple media! Studying from simple black and white text is no more a compulsion for students studying under CBSE, ICSE, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Matriculation board. Online education offers a lot of interesting and innovative methods in teaching concepts to these school students. Apart from the regular study material, students can study using videos, animations, multimedia enriched puzzles etc. There are various websites that provide curriculum aligned study content for these boards using multiple media that can make studies very interesting and learning easy.
• Low cost! With very low cost involved, online education will not burn a hole in the pockets of students. Unlike study courses at tuition centers that involve a hefty monthly or a yearly fee, online education is a comparatively low cost affair. Apart from the subscription costs, there is no significant cost involved in studying online. Studying using online education, students can save a lot of money and time that is saved in doing away with unnecessary commuting to and fro schools, colleges, tuition centers etc.

I am positive that all these benefits of online education will help you understand and use this medium better and will also help you with your studies in school.

CBSE notes – A key to secure better marks

There is no one way to study. Some students go through the whole syllabus while preparing for exams while some students choose to just go through the key points. For some scoring good marks in exams is still a dream. The experts recommend preparing notes for each subject as it is an easy way to score high marks in all subjects. There are several good reasons as to ‘why one should prepare notes?’ And the list, believe me goes longer than thought.

For preparing CBSE notes one has to go through the entire chapter to find out the important concepts in the chapter. An exercise like this also helps in finding out the key points in the chapter. One can go through such notes just before the exam as they consist of key points. It makes revision easy and quick. Reading through one’s own notes helps in understanding and it is commonly believed that writing helps to remember better. Listed below are some important points that one should keep in mind before preparing notes.

• Be precise - While preparing notes one should know which points to include as the key points and which to summarize.
• Use visual cues - For some students it is easy to learn concepts with the help of figures, diagram, and flow charts etc. So while preparing CBSE notes one should always follow the style of learning that suits them and makes topics easy to learn. One can also use simple language while making CBSE notes as it makes learning easy.
• Cover all topics - Notes should be prepared in such a manner that it covers each and every topic, starting from the most important ones to the ones that are least important.

Extracting the important studying material should be done after going through the whole chapter. If the CBSE notes are prepared carefully then nothing can come in your way of attempting all the questions and getting good marks. If the CBSE notes are prepared in the correct manner, then a student need not to go through the whole chapter again at the time of revision.

Last minute revision should be avoided as it does not help improve recall but creates confusion. So it is advisable that students do not wait till the last minute to start revising using CBSE notes. All revision should be completed at least an hour before the examination.

Students who wait for the last few days for preparation, usually end up getting confused. It often results in poor recall at the time of attempting the question paper.

The message is clear for all the students. Start preparing your CBSE notes before it is too late. To walk on the path of success, one should follow the above mentioned points. Scoring good marks will no more remain a dream.

How to conquer Maths Anxiety?

Math anxiety is a concern for many students. Some students experience occasional problems in understanding the facts of mathematics while others have deep performance related issues in this subject. Many students all over the world tend to freeze during Maths tests, even if they known the procedure to solve the problems, understand all the formulae, equations and arrive at correct answers. So far it has been observed that fear of maths is the biggest obstacle in the path of learning Maths. 

Learning Maths is just like learning any other subject where true mastery can be achieved through practice. Students can outweigh the fear for the subject if they are honest and brave to make mistakes and learn from their mistakes.

Origin of Maths Anxiety
Maths anxiety generally occurs from a limited understanding of the subject. It also arises as a result of poor teaching that leads to unpleasant experiences. Most of the students who don’t understand the concepts, procedures and rules of the problem but try to memorize it, face the problem of anxiety.

Fear factor for Maths would no longer exist if the students follow few simple tips mentioned below:

Ask for early help:
If students face difficulty in a particular chapter, they can ask for tutorial help. Extra help can provide right boost to overcome Maths anxiety and add to their confidence to perform well in tests.


Cramming should be avoided:
Cramming for exams can often enhance Maths anxiety. So, students are advised to avoid cramming. They are suggested to break their study sessions into small portions. It is also advised to deal with problem areas as quickly as possible. All these would help minimize Math anxiety upto a large extent.


Emphasis on regular practice:
The best way to overcome Maths anxiety is to show a student that he/she can solve it correctly and can derive right answers. For the same, students should regularly practice problems related to their weaker sections. Rigorous practice and meticulous efforts would help the students get rid of their fear of Maths and side-by-side would also promote their conceptual understanding.  More and more practice ahead of an exam would help students identify their problem areas, rectify it and consequently boost self-esteem.

Learn Maths in an innovative way
Students who are tired of practicing problems from boring and mundane books can surely add a punch to their study schedule by practicing Maths from online puzzles, quizzes, graphics and animations. Students can go through various animated videos where problems are explained in a simple language for a complete understanding of concepts. These online study material and videos are available 24*7. Students have complete freedom to access this content at their own convenience.

Ask questions if confused:
Students should start learning Maths with a positive attitude and determination. They shouldn’t settle for anything less during the instruction sessions by tutors or teachers. In case of any confusion, they should ask for clear illustrations, demonstrations and simulations.

Teachers and parents of the students can play an important role to make certain that students understand problems in Maths presented to them without any confusion or ambiguity. They can also encourage them to work hard and get more practice. Once the students realize that they can learn Maths like any of the other subjects, the whole notion that Maths is a ‘tough’ subject and the resultant Maths anxiety can become a thing of the past.

Online CBSE Study Materials: Your Study Companion

The technology savvy world surrounding us is changing everyday. In this era, the traditional classrooms with chalks, duster and blackboards have been gradually replaced by online education and virtual class rooms. Online education is the most easy and comfortable way to learn. With an increase in accessibility of internet, online education has become the new education mode for both teachers and students.

In order to keep pace with the new mode of learning, CBSE has launched an online educational system to sort out students’ difficulties. The online study support has been thoroughly researched from CBSE question banks, model papers, research papers, test papers etc. and framed exactly as per CBSE curriculum. Students can now follow the online CBSE tutorials which are convenient for an easy learning process.

Online CBSE study material is a powerful resource that offers a stress free learning experience to learners. It not only ensures an improved conceptual understanding of important topics but also assists the students in scoring good marks in exams. The online CBSE study material is supported with multimedia that includes audio, attractive visuals and animation. These are also supported with relevant power point presentations, graphics and illustrations that are easy to understand, grasp, and remember and thus eventually a big help in scoring great marks in exams.

The multimedia-enriched content helps the students in grasping the concepts more effectively than dull and mundane books. Online education creates a learning environment for a student that is full of energy and excitement. Learners can judge their understanding of concepts by attempting online CBSE practice tests, online sample papers and time bound CBSE model papers. Through these CBSE study materials students can also identify their weaker areas and make these strong through meticulous efforts.

Online CBSE study material is offered by a number of websites. These are present in an easy-to-understand language and can help the students in improving their CBSE exam results. Students can benefit from virtual classes and can save a lot of money and energy that would otherwise be spent on commuting to and fro tuitions. They can also overcome the constraints of a busy lifestyle as the CBSE study material is available online 24*7 and can be accessed anytime anywhere.

CBSE study material is offered with sections that are dedicated to solving queries and are managed and administered by expert professionals round-the-clock. The online CBSE study material help the students prepare an efficient revision schedule. More and more practice help the students manage their speed and complete the questions within the allotted time limit.

If the students follow the online CBSE study material, they can get quality education in a cost effective manner and can surely come out with flying colors in their exams.

CBSE Notes

Preparing the right kind of CBSE notes is one of the most essential ingredients for scoring good marks in the final examinations. In order to gain the maximum out of this revision activity, it is very important for students to adopt the right technique for preparing the CBSE notes.

While preparing the CBSE notes students should keep in mind a few essential points to increase the overall relevance of their notes. 

• While preparing the CBSE notes students should take into account three vital points i.e. identify that which is important in the chapter, assess the current knowledge levels and try to fill the existing conceptual gaps. Rather than being a word-to-word reproduction of the major points from the chapter, the CBSE notes should be a customized document that briefly covers all the essential highlights and also helps in optimizing the understanding of the topic.
• Efforts should be made to prepare the CBSE notes in such a manner that they are a complete resource in itself. Apart from being comprehensive, enough care should also be taken to keep the CBSE notes brief. 
• The CBSE notes should be prepared in accordance to the preferred learning style. Learning styles can be defined as the preferred mode of learning for an individual that accelerates the pace of understanding. For example for a visual learner, components like illustrations, mind maps etc. will make understanding easy and fast. Therefore, a student should prepare the CBSE notes as per the learning style that suits them the best. CBSE notes prepared as per the learning style can increase the efficacy of these revision notes manifold.

While preparing and revising from the CBSE notes students often commit some common mistakes. In order to optimize the benefits from CBSE notes, students should aim to avoid such mistakes. Here are some pointers that you may keep in mind to avoid making silly mistakes:

• Last minute exercise! While planning the study schedule, students typically only focus on completing the syllabus within the available time and do not allocate time for the essential revision exercise. With less or no time in hand for revision, preparing the vital CBSE notes takes a back seat for students. Keeping in mind the benefits of preparing CBSE notes, students should prepare and plan their study schedule in such a manner that they do not miss out on preparing the indispensable CBSE notes. If students are experiencing a time crunch, instead of completely skipping this exercise of preparing revision notes, students should instead seek help from readymade revision notes available on various websites.
• Keep a check on your watch! Either students do not prepare these CBSE notes for revision and on occasions when they do, they tend to spend an excessive amount of time on preparing such notes, leaving them with little or no time for memorizing key points. Therefore, it is advised that students manage their time effectively while revising from the revision notes.
• Avoid over-revising! While preparing for the final examinations students usually get stressed out and start panicking as the examination date draws near and the preparation seems far from complete.  In order to compensate such extreme emotions, some students tend to over-revise from their CBSE notes. Extreme exam anxiety such as  this may also create a state of mental block and result in reduced recall leaving the student even more stressed. During such a situation, it is important for students to relax and stop studying for some time. They should resume their revision from the CBSE Notes only after they feel relaxed and refreshed.

I am positive that if all you students out there keep all these essential points in your mind while preparing and revising from the CBSE notes, learning will become fun and scoring good marks will be easy.

Learning is simpler with online study

Online study has become the preferred mode of education for students in India and overseas. Now students need not be physically present in the classroom to learn the difficult concepts in Maths and Physics. With the penetration of the internet and advent of online study, students can now relax in their cozy rooms and learn all the tricky concepts of Maths and Physics at their convenience.

Online study offers subject specific study content for various boards including, CBSE, ICSE, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Few of the benefits of online studies are listed below:

Studies anytime anywhere:

Unlike classroom-based learning, online study doesn’t put restriction on the learners of having to attend classes at a particular time and place. Regular studies involve travelling to the campus everyday at a fixed time requiring a heavy investment of time and energy both on the part of learners and teachers. While in online study, students just need a computer and an internet connection and they can browse through the courses comfortably whenever and wherever they feel like. In online study, interesting study support is available round-the-clock that is supported with visual and graphical presentations for a clearer and better understanding of concepts.

Teaching is student-centric:

Online study follows a student-centric teaching approach. Here the students have the authority to decide not only the time of learning but they are also free to choose the pace of learning. Fast learners can quickly move on to other chapters when they complete a chapter and those who need more time learners can take their own time to understand the concepts and revise it over and over again. Learners can freely submit queries and questions in discussion forums that are answered by knowledgeable tutors and experts.

No more mundane books:

For the students of CBSE, ICSE, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra Boards, studying from black and white text books is no more a compulsion. Students can access free solutions to NCERT questions, sample papers, model papers, innovative personality assessment tests and interesting multimedia enriched puzzles etc. through online study. In online study, students need not wait to clear their doubts. They can easily and effortlessly interact with their teachers and instructors through e-mail, online chats, newsroom discussions and video-conferencing facilities.

Affordable and cost-effective education:

Unlike regular education, online study is reasonably low cost, hassle free and a reliable mode of learning. Owing to these reasons, a majority of students are inclined towards it. Online study doesn’t involve a heavy monthly or yearly fee but only a nominal subscription cost. Students enrolled in online education can thus save a lot of money that is spent on commuting, staying away from home, tuitions etc.

User-friendy, accessibility, flexibility and quality education are a few of the features contributing to the charisma of online study.

Online Studies, the New Way to Study

As a student have you ever considered the option of pursuing online studies? It is not unusual for your parents to frown each time you log on to the internet, as you likely to spend far too much time networking with your friends on the various social networking sites. But I am certain that this will not be the case the next time you log on to the internet, ‘coz this time you will use the internet for improving your grades and not only for connecting with your friends online. Online Studies as an alternative, has been around for sometime in India, but it is only slowly gaining momentum with increasing internet penetration and broadband connectivity. 

Did you know that you can complete an ‘International Degree’ over the internet? Startled? Don’t be. You will get to know many more facts like this further in the article. So let me list down the advantages of Online Studies for you. Picture the following scenarios: 

• Scenario I:- Your body clock allows you to concentrate during the night time the best, but alas! There is no tutor available for help during that hour! There’s no point getting depressed as you can take recourse to Online Studies and learn at your own convenience anytime of the day. 
• Scenario II:- You shy away from asking questions in your class of superlatively intelligent students who sometimes grasp concepts far too fast! Don’t you worry. Seek help from online studies; understand and master concepts at your own pace. 
• Scenario III:- You spend hours at your tuition centre after your school and you wish you were left with some time after school hours to relax. Online studies can grant you your wish! You can complement your school studies with online study modules and learn all that you would in your tuition class, right inside the comforts of your own home and in a more time efficient manner.
• Scenario IV:- You continue to have some doubts on a particular topic even after an hour-long grueling class on the same.  You want to ask the teacher to explain again. Could you possibly risk doing so? The answer is sadly a ‘no’, unless you want to invite the ire of the entire class! However, in the world of online studies you can rewind and replay your entire online study class in any order and as many number of times as you choose to. This flexibility and ease of access to relevant study material helps in immediate clarification and better understanding of concepts.
• Scenario V:- After witnessing your bad grades despite several tuitions, your parents are likely to consider spending any more money on your coaching classes as a complete and utter waste.  Don’t lose heart.  With online studies you can amaze your parents with outstanding grades. And that too without burning a hole in their pockets! 
• Scenario VI:- You wished that you had some videos and animations to help simplify those difficult concepts for you in sciences and other subjects. Viola! Online studies come loaded with multimedia-rich content for a better understanding and that too at a nominal cost, if any.

I am positive that you now have enough reasons to want to experience the benefits of Online Studies for yourself. So what are you waiting for, start surfing!

CBSE board papers

The key to excelling in CBSE board papers is to effectively plan and structure your studies in order to make learning activity a thoroughly enriching one. Students usually do not take studies and related activity very seriously during the initial few months of the academic session. As a result, they miss out on some crucial time right at the outset. However, students are expected to complete their entire CBSE board paper syllabus within the stipulated time period as a result the remaining part of the year becomes very hectic and chaotic for students. To avoid such a situation, students are advised to plan and structure their studies right at the start of the academic session. Studying in such a planned manner will not only make it more manageable but will also make learning effective.

To help all you students out there preparing for your CBSE board papers to effectively plan and manage your studies, here are some pointers.

• Students should start their academic year or for that matter any activity they undertake by setting goals. The activity of setting goals helps students obtain a clear idea of the efforts required to achieve their targets. Students should start the activity of setting goals by first deciding on the long-term goals and then supporting them with short-term targets. Long-term goals can be understood to refer to all the major goals that one aspires to achieve. Whereas short-term goals or targets are immediate ‘battles’ that a student aims to win so as to move one notch closer to his/her long-term goals. To score great marks in CBSE board papers students should start their academic year by setting daily and monthly targets and preparing relevant schedules to achieve those targets. To do away with manual managing of studies, students can seek help from online planners available on a variety of websites. These online study planners will help students preparing for CBSE board papers with a series of steps that should essentially be followed to ensure a thorough understanding of all concepts. Not only this, but these planners also keep students updated with their progress in each topic. In case a student chooses to manually prepare his/her schedule, a student should make sure that their schedules are flexible, realistic, specific and incorporate essential timely breaks.
• Once through with setting goals, the next step is to actually start studying for the CBSE board papers. While studying, students are advised to first create a pool of study material from all relevant sources, go through the study material, highlight key points and then prepare their own crisp bulleted notes. Undertaking an exercise like this will help students arrive at study material that can be considered ideal for CBSE board paper. Alternately students can also refer to quality study material available on a variety of websites that provide CBSE aligned study content for board classes.
• The third and the last step is to revise for the CBSE board paper. Students can use a variety of means like flash cards, revision notes, tests etc to revise. While revising for the CBSE board papers, students should not miss out on practicing from previous years’ CBSE board papers.

Following these simple three steps can help students effectively plan and structure their studies for a great score in the CBSE board papers.

All the best!

Learning through Biology Animations

Biology Animations are certainly a boon for all biology lovers. Understanding the complex biological processes that take place inside and around the flora and fauna of a region and inside human beings becomes comparatively easy to understand. Now, you no longer need to make all those mental maps and strain your brain by trying to visualize how various biological processes such as photosynthesis work. You have Biology animations that you can turn to. 2D and 3D Biology animations make these processes come alive for you. Welcome to the world of animations!

Biology animations make it possible for all to view the dynamic processes through naked eyes. How the brain processes information, the working of different kinds of muscles in the human body, the process of metamorphosis of a butterfly, you name it and biology animations can bring to life any complicated and intriguing process through the use of graphics and animations. Thus, through Biology animations you can fast forward the growth process, rewind the development of plants, zoom-in to the deepest pores on animal skin and witness in-motion, a depiction of all that you have always read in those biology text books. 

Biology animations have been successful in re-infusing the element of practicality to the subject that was earlier missing sometimes due to infrastructural inadequacies and mostly due to the growing protests of animal lovers against the use of animals for research and scientific experiments. Now, you biology lovers need not hunt for  a microscope each time you want to study how tissues look , or have to go through those ‘not-too-pleasant’ dissection lab practices! Just play on the Biology Animations and you can view the entire process in detail.

The online medium is an interactive medium unlike the traditional print medium. Online biology animations thus make the whole process of studying Biology far more interactive. A mere click of a mouse can take you deeper into an image; animations rendered in 3-D also allow the user to view the same structure from different angles. Learning thus becomes more exploratory and therefore highly effective.

Biology as a subject requires a student to remember a multitude of names and a host of unique nomenclatures.  Students are also expected to remember concepts and processes over a period of time as most concepts taught in the higher classes are based on previously learnt concepts. Biology animations, through graphical representations, supporting audio and value-adding titles help simplify difficult concepts. Students are thus able to retain a particular biology concept for a longer period of time. 

So the next time you need to understand a complex process in biology, don’t worry! Just log on to the internet and browse through the whole new world of Biology animations. Happy Browsing!

How can CBSE class X students improve their reading skills?

A vast syllabus and poor reading skills are two main reasons that make CBSE class X students take to cramming while they prepare for their final exams. Right from the start, students are discouraged both by parents and school teachers from ‘mindless’ cramming and are advised to understand the meaning of the text before they actually try to memorize it. The intention is to improve their reading skills. Good ‘reading skills’ can help students read quickly and grasp the meaning from the written text. Good reading skills also helps develop a good command over the language which makes it easy for students to re-write in their own words. However, very little is actually done to improve the reading skills of students in school. Essentially, a focus towards developing sound reading skills should be maintained from the early years of primary schooling. However, it is never too late for students of CBSE class X to build on their reading skills and score great marks in final examinations.

Now that all you CBSE class X students out there understand the importance of good reading skills, here are a few tips that will help you improve your reading skills.

• Have clear reading goals! Before starting to read, students should set their reading goals clearly. CBSE class X students should first assess their reading objective/s and then should start reading the text. For example, while reading a novel, one is expected to read the entire sentence carefully so as to understand the story as a whole and ensure that he/she is not missing out on any important link. Where as in case of a newspaper report the objective usually is to gather a gist of the event. Likewise, the CBSE class 10 students should keep in mind the objective of the reading exercise and accordingly set their reading goals. The reading goals for a student could possibly range from quickly completing the syllabus to trying to understand the various aspects of a given topic or problem in detail.
• Choose the reading text carefully! While preparing for your CBSE class X board papers, students should practice caution while choosing the book that they are planning to study from. To improve reading skills students should first give the prescribed NCERT book a thorough read. Since the concepts in NCERT books are explained in a very simplified manner, it can be of immense help to students with relatively weak reading skills to make a framework for the concepts. After going through the NCERT book, CBSE class X students may then follow it up with books by publishers on the topic to gain further understanding of the topic.
• Choose your reading technique! While giving the chapter a read, student can choose the reading technique as per their reading goals. If a student needs to pick up details from the text then he/she may read through the entire text using scanning -a process wherein a student scans through the text in detail and then selects the information to study. Skimming, on the other hand is technique that can be employed when one has to read through quickly and efficiently. Under this technique, the CBSE class X student glances through all the text and obtains a quick overview of the topic. In order to improve reading skills, students should choose the reading technique according to the available time and proficiency level that he/she intends to achieve.
• Take notes!  CBSE class X students, who wish to improve their reading skills, should follow up a thorough read of the chapter with preparing personalized notes of the chapter in their own words. Preparing notebook in own words will not only help the student improve his/her understanding of the topic but will also help them learn how to express their thoughts in their own words.  Students can prepare their own revision notes and compare their notes for any inaccuracies with those made available online by a variety of websites.

Now that all you CBSE class X students know how to improve your reading skills, take a go at these tips for a great score.

How to study effectively from free NCERT Solutions?

The one thing that can help students score great marks in the final CBSE examinations is quality NCERT solutions. Students usually find the exercise of writing end-of-chapter NCERT solutions mundane and often try to keep away from it. Writing NCERT solutions with low interest levels can not only hamper the quality of NCERT answers but can also have an adverse effect on the marks obtained by the student in the final CBSE examinations. Therefore, it is very important for the students studying under the CBSE board to practice caution while attempting their NCERT solutions.  To make their NCERT solutions apt for the final examinations, students can also seek help from the free NCERT solutions available online by a variety of websites. These free NCERT solutions will not only help students frame complete and correct answers, but will also help them score great marks in the final CBSE examinations.

However, while referring to these free NCERT solutions it is very important for students to check their NCERT solutions against the ideal NCERT solutions for any inaccuracies. Students should also make sure that their free NCERT solutions have all these essential features to help make their solutions perfectly apt for the final CBSE examinations.

Here is a checklist of the essential features that all you students out there can refer to and ensure that your free NCERT solutions are complete and comprehensive.

• To make the activity of referring to free NCERT solutions quick and smooth, it is very important to first organize the solution sheets chapter-wise and within that page number-wise. To save time and effort, students should only seek help from those websites that provide free NCERT solutions in an organized and systematic manner. This will not only speed-up the process of referring to these NCERT solutions but will also make learning effective.
• While referring to free NCERT solutions available online, students should make sure that each answer is tailored as per the requirements of the question. Studying from NCERT solutions that are not customized as per the instructions in the question can not only hamper students learning process but often can have an adverse impact on their final marks. Therefore, it is very important for students to look out for ‘quality’ NCERT solutions that will make scoring great marks in exams easy.
• For your NCERT solutions to be ‘ideal’ it is very important that the solutions are supported with explanatory videos and value-adding graphics and illustrations, wherever necessary. Neatly drawn and appropriately labeled illustrations and graphics can further promote effective understanding that will enable students write quality answers to score great marks in final examinations.
• Grammatical and language accuracy is a pre-requisite for these solutions to be ideal. While referring to the free NCERT solutions, students should make it a point to check these solutions with respect to the grammar and language used. If students come across any error with respect to the above mentioned fields, it is advisable that students should suspect the accuracy of the solutions in general.

Having listed all the essential points to be kept in mind while referring to the free NCERT solutions, it is advisable that the next time students seek help from any free NCERT solution available online they look for these features and ensure a great score in the final examinations.

NCERT Science Books- Stressing on Sequential Growth

The driving philosophy of NCERT while drafting the NCERT Science curriculum and books has always been to provide students with education material that is ‘true to life, true to child and true to science’. The NCERT has been publishing NCERT Science text books with content that reflects this philosophy.

To make the process of conceptual understanding and learning systematic, NCERT has divided the entire NCERT Science curriculum from grade 1 to XII into various levels. These levels focus on the progressively incremental nature of the knowledge acquiring process that emphasizes a sequential building of concepts. A learning process that is sequential in nature helps students  understand the concepts easily and also leads to a better retention of the studied material as it fits into the knowledge schema that already exists with the child. This helps  students to efficiently master all important concepts particularly in the in sciences and maths.

At the first level, that is the primary level, the focus is on ‘exploration’. Here the students are encouraged to explore the world. Through the various activities and practical exercises in the NCERT Science books, the students are encouraged to gain knowledge through hands-on experience. For example in the primary classes while teaching about trees, the students are asked to collect different type of leaves and prepare a scrap book with the names of each of the leaves.

Once a student passes through the first level the next is the upper primary level. Here the stress is on learning by involving the students in group discussions with peers, performing simple experiments etc. Under the ‘Extended Learning’ activities in NCERT Science books, the students are guided to explore more information about the topics already studied. Once the required information is gathered a classroom discussion following it helps to concretizing the learning and fills the gaps. A group discussion facilitates easy exchange of information. For example, in the NCERT Science book for Class VII an activity in the Chapter ‘Nutrition in Plants’, asks students to visit a greenhouse and observe how plants are raised. They are also asked to collect additional information on the regulation of light, water and CO2 and discuss the same with the classmates.

The next level is the secondary level. Under this level the onus is on learning through advanced modules of learning in NCERT Science books. Various initiatives such as the National Talent Search Exam, National Science Exhibitions etc are also organized to assess the grasp of theoretical principles and their practical applications. For competitions like these, the entire syllabus is based on the NCERT Science curriculum.

Fourth and the last level is the higher secondary level. In this level, Science is promoted and taught as a discipline. Under this last level, Science as a composite subject is bifurcated into three to four different subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Biotechnology. Students studying NCERT Science take up their respective streams and combinations. The NCERT Science Books for these classes focuses on helping students master each subject individually so that students pursue higher studies in Science and may even take up the field of Science professionally.

NCERT Revision Notes

With NCERT revision notes in place, scoring great marks in final CBSE exams will not be that difficult! Preparing NCERT revision notes that are in sync with the ideal revision notes can not only make the act of revising easy but can also help in speeding up the pace of revision. However, it is very important for students to be cautious while preparing NCERT revision notes. Students should not only make sure that their NCERT revision notes are in the desired pattern but also ensure that are only referred to after the completion of the entire course.

Here are a few tips for all you students out there to help you arrive at NCERT revision notes that can be considered ‘ideal’.

• Keep it crisp! While preparing the NCERT revision notes, students should make sure that they are crisp and brief. The NCERT revision notes should include all the important points in the chapter in a very crisp manner. While preparing NCERT revision notes, students usually commit a common mistake of preparing lengthy and elaborate notes. NCERT revision notes like these won’t suffice the purpose for which these notes are actually made.  Essentially, these revision notes are prepared for a quick glance before the final examination. Preparing notes that are lengthy won’t help students with a quick look at the entire chapter. Therefore, while preparing the NCERT revision notes students should make sure that are brief highlights of the chapter only.
• Bulleted format works! NCERT revision notes that are in bulleted format will any day score over the revision notes in paragraph format. Students should practice enough care to make sure that these NCERT revision notes facilitate an easy read for quick understanding. The NCERT revision notes in bulleted format essentially lends an ‘any-time read’ feel to this written document, as a result one can glance through all the important points in the chapter even while on they are on a move.
• Keep it organized! Students should prepare NCERT revision notes on loose sheets rather than hard-bound thick note books. It will not only help make the activity of managing and organizing the NCERT revision notes easy for the students but will also enable them to refer to these notes quite often. Instead of carrying the entire notebook of NCERT revision notes, students can choose the chapters they wish to revise and only carry notes for the same.
• Seek help from online curriculum aligned notes! For students who have a lot of other academic activities to perform and are facing dearth of time can refer to the NCERT revision notes available online. There are a variety of websites that provide curriculum aligned NCERT revision notes. These NCERT revision notes are supported by videos and illustrations that can be easily downloaded as they are available in PDF format. Apart from these notes, these websites also provide CBSE aligned study material, practice tests, model tests, formative assessments, puzzles etc.

Ideally, students should only refer these NCERT revision notes once they are through with their studies. Students should seek help from these notes solely for revision purposes.

NCERT Questions

A study guide can give answers to the NCERT questions but seldom can it do justice to the length and breadth of the syllabus for a given subject! Students often consider writing the solutions to the NCERT questions as wasteful time-consuming and futile activity. However, a thorough understanding of the various aspects of the NCERT questions and its utility can change their existing notions.

NCERT questions are typically the questions printed at the end of the chapters in the NCERT text books. Sometimes, questions by other private publishers based on the content in the NCERT text books may also be referred to as the NCERT questions. The end-of-chapter NCERT questions are made available in array of formats with the purpose to accelerate students’ pace of conceptual understanding. Therefore, while writing answers to the NCERT questions students should try to attempt all the questions since doing so will help them gain a thorough understanding of all the concepts present in the NCERT textbooks and give them the opportunity to assess their understanding of the said topics.

Apart from the overall understanding of concepts in the chapter, most of the problems that are asked in the CBSE board papers too are either from these end-of-chapter NCERT questions or are based on the topics addressed in them. For subjects such as Social Sciences and for some topics in Science these NCERT questions are hot favourites for the examination paper setters. It has been further observed that for application oriented subjects such as Maths and Physics the questions posed in the CBSE board papers may be loosely based on the NCERT questions–often the core concept being tested remaining the same, with variations in the values therein.. Therefore, all the students out there who are preparing for their class X and class XII CBSE board papers better take these NCERT questions seriously!

Students should essentially start tackling these NCERT questions once they are through with the entire chapter. A thorough understanding of the concepts in the chapter will help students frame conceptually correct and complete answers. If possible students should try to support their answers to these NCERT questions with neat and well labeled illustrations. While writing answers to the NCERT questions, students should also stick to the prescribed word limit.

While attempting these questions, students can seek help from the readymade NCERT solutions booklet. However, students should be cautioned to use the solution booklet as a reference book only. Complete dependence on such readymade material could be detrimental for students learning as it could hinder the ability of students to comprehend text and write answers in their own words. While seeking help from these readymade solutions booklets for NCERT questions, students should look for the following factors: clarity in language, , relevance to the chapter, word limit etc. There are various websites that provide free NCERT solutions to the NCERT questions for classes VI- XII.

So go ahead and use these free NCERT solutions to improve your grades.

Wishing you all the very best for exams!

NCERT Online

NCERT goes online! The NCERT textbooks can now be viewed online. Even a decade back something like this would have been difficult to imagine.

The NCERT was set up way back in 1961 by the Government of India as an autonomous organization to assist and advise the centre and state on policies related to education and help in the implementation of the same. Over the years, the council has increasingly taken on the role of the introducing innovations in the field of education in areas of reforms and curriculum framework.

The NCERT online textbooks have made life easier for a lot of students. The availability of online NCERT textbooks has taken the student-focussed educational initiatives of NCERT to new heights. The NCERT as an organization is not new to initiatives in the area of educational technology.  The Central Institute of Educational Technology set up in 1984 is a constituent organization under NCERT that undertakes several technology-based educational initiatives. The knowledge explosion of the last decade has enabled a situation where the knowledge-base doubles every 2-3 years (source: UNESCO “ICT in Teacher Education”). The Council’s decision to introduce NCERT online textbooks can also be rightfully viewed as a first step towards weaving knowledge in a multi-disciplinary fashion.

With the introduction of online NCERT textbooks the Council has made an effort to make the source of learning more flexible than the traditional ones. The driving force behind a move like this may well be the increasing awareness that knowledge does not come from a central source, but that it actually emanates from all around us. The move to make available online NCERT textbooks is a step that recognizes the huge potential of the internet.

As expected, the NCERT online textbooks are a huge hit with both students and teachers. The students can now easily access the textbooks for all classes from class I to class XII. They are free to read these NCERT textbooks online or download them for free, as they are available in PDF format. Each chapter is available as a separate PDF file and can be opened by clicking on the chapter title in the table of contents. With the textbooks going online, students who were previously likely to use ‘non-availability of textbooks’ as an excuse for their poor performance in schools, now had no one to blame but themselves! So, it was time to dig in their heels and study. That is a good job done by NCERT online textbooks!

Cheers!

NCERT Maths Solution

If calculating and arriving at the NCERT Maths solutions is an uphill task for you then this article could make your life easy!  Students studying under the CBSE or for that matter any other board usually find practicing Maths problems a strenuous and challenging exercise. They may even often try to keep away from practicing Maths and calculating NCERT Maths solutions for the end-of-chapter questions for as long as they can. 

Here are a few tips for all you students out there on how to enjoy doing NCERT Maths by learning some fun and innovative ways that can help make the process of obtaining NCERT Maths solutions easy.

• Short-cuts can make your life easy! Students who have still not been introduced to the world of mathematical short-cuts have no idea what they are missing out on. These mathematical short-cuts are nothing less than magic that can do wonders with your ability of doing mental calculations. Within seconds you can perform complex divisional and multiplication calculations and leave your class and teachers awestruck. These short-cuts use some basic and not much popular principles that help in speedy and accurate calculation of questions to arrive at NCERT Maths solution. 
• Vedic mathematics can also help! Vedic mathematics is actually an ancient system of mathematical calculations, where functions are performed on the basis of sutras as propagated in this ancient system. While arriving at the NCERT Maths solutions, students can make use of the short-cuts available in this Vedic system of calculations. Once through with understanding the system of sutras students are also equipped to start inventing and devising their own new ways of simplifying complex calculations. This activity of learning and experimenting with simpler ways of performing complex calculations and arriving at NCERT Maths solution can make understanding and learning activity extremely fun. Apart from simplifying calculations, the interest level of students for a subject like Maths is likely to go increase manifolds.
• Music can make a difference for some! While tackling the Maths problems and arriving at the NCERT Maths solutions, some students choose to play some soft music in the background. Researches have suggested that listening to music before or while studying can considerably improve the pace of processing of information in the brain. Listening to music without lyrics i.e. ambience music while studying helps soothe and relax the mind and thereby enhancing learning. However, be warned! While listening to music works for some, it may not work for others. So do exercise your own honest judgement. 
• Surf for free NCERT Maths solutions! Students studying under the CBSE board can refer to a few websites that provide free NCERT Maths solutions. These free NCERT Maths solutions tackle all the end-of-chapter problems. The free NCERT Maths solutions by these websites not only explain the answer in textual format but are also occasionally accompanied with videos explaining the various steps involved in detail.

Now that all you students out there know how to make arriving at the NCERT Maths solution fun, go ahead and try out these interesting ways.

All the best for your exams!

A Closer Look at NCERT Delhi

CBSE students everyday come across NCERT books for almost all subjects. The last thing that occurs to anyone while flipping through the pages of these text books is ‘to think about NCERT Delhi- as the organization behind the books’! In this article I attempt to take you through a ride that will introduce the various aspects of the organization and try to showcase the vastness of its services.

NCERT Delhi has been working for over for over 48 years in line with its endeavour to provide students with quality educational material. NCERT Delhi was set up by Government of India as an autonomous organization for advising and assisting Central and State Governments on policies and programme related matters in the field of school education.

At present the NCERT Delhi has a host of departments and units, each of which perform their specialized functions. There is a department each for areas such as Elementary Education, Teacher Education, Arts and Aesthetic, Science & Maths, Social Studies & Humanities. The department of Educational Psychology and Foundations of Education under NCERT Delhi conducts an international level counselor training course in addition to undertaking psychological testing and other activities.  Interestingly, the NCERT Delhi also has specialized departments that are dedicated to the Special Needs group and to Women’s Studies! As you can guess, the department responsible for your school textbooks—the Publication department—is only one of the several departments housed within the NCERT!

From the time that it was set up to the present, a period of over four decades, has witnessed NCERT Delhi diversifying into various areas within the field of education. Apart from formulating policies and publishing NCERT Text Books, NCERT Delhi also publishes other material like journals, recreational books for children and non-curriculum based educational books. The National Talent Search Exam conducted by NCERT Delhi is very popular amongst school students. NCERT Delhi also prepares the curriculum for CBSE schools across the world, conducts periodic educational surveys and teacher training workshops. So you see, NCERT really does a lot more than just publishing your text books!

As per the recommendations of the National Curriculum Framework 2005, NCERT Delhi has taken a paradigm shift from a ‘teacher-centric’ design to a ‘learner-centric’ flexible process. Under this shift, efforts are also made by NCERT Delhi to take learning beyond the four walls of the classroom into a wider social context. As a result a host of innovative changes have been introduced in the NCERT text books. Features like ‘Activity and Project’, ‘Did you knows’, quizzes etc are some initiatives in that direction. Changes like these have given a fresh lease of life to the previously ‘not so interesting’ NCERT text books.

So the next time you open your NCERT text books, it will probably be easier for you to appreciate the team effort by the various departments in the organization towards making your school years fruitful. 

Fun-to-learn NCERT Books

I still remember the times in school when I used to line up before the Book Shop to buy a copy of an NCERT textbook. Even in those days a lot of reference and other books were available, but the NCERT Book was a ‘must have’.  And it amuses me to see that the scenario has still not changed much! Even today students queue up before the book shops at the start of each session to be among the privileged early birds to own a copy of the NCERT (prescribed) Books.

A little background about the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) is in place. The NCERT provides academic and technical support to Central and State Governments for all matters related to school and education. Each year NCERT comes out with NCERT Text Books for classes I to XII, Educational CD’s, Non-Text Books, a multitude of Journals and Childrens’ Books on a range of topics. NCERT through its host of books, attempts to cover all the essential topics and subjects for students studying under CBSE. 

Time and again efforts are made by NCERT to introduce innovative features in its books that make learning fun and schooling a happy experience. Its recent initiative to make the NCERT (text) books available online is one such endeavour. The latest editions of the NCERT Books for all grades are based on the National Curriculum Framework, 2005. These NCERT Books introduce fun and interactive ways of learning. Many features like ‘Boojho and Paheli’, ‘Extensive Learning-Activities and Projects’, ‘What You Can Do?’, ‘Talk About It’ etc in these NCERT books are some of things that catch my attention as I glance through these textbooks .  Simple practical activities suggested in these textbooks help to weave the concepts into the learners’ everyday experiences and makes learning integral to the entire process. Such an approach makes learning trouble-free and goes a long way to infuse a fresh dose of fervour in the entire teaching-learning process. This is a good attempt is to do away with the practice of tedious bookish learning.  

Additionally, I would also like to point out that the language in the latest NCERT Books is simple to understand and the concepts are presented in a manner that makes for effortless comprehension. The text in the NCERT Books is supported by colourful photographs, cartoons, illustrations, and interesting blurbs that do not necessitate the rote method of learning.

This is not all! Students have yet another very important reason to study from these exciting and fun-to-learn NCERT books—apart from the attractive features in NCERT Books, all the questions in the CBSE board exams are based on NCERT Books, or are built around the concepts in NCERT Books!

Wishing happy studying to all!