STEM Learning and the Power of Choice

C2C empowers girls with the skills and knowledge necessary for a successful, fulfilling future. Our mission includes an emphasis on STEM programming, which is especially pertinent in the wake of the pandemic as the worldwide demand for technology and digitization has risen dramatically. As a result, the tech industry in India provides increasingly advantageous opportunities for our proactive, engaged students. 

In strengthening the C2C curriculums, we have expanded our programs to address current IT issues, teach hands-on tasks, and encourage creativity. By combining tech programs with our life-skills training, we provide girls with the essential tools for gainful employment, personal safety and security, critical thinking, and overall well-being.

Cyber Security Workshop

On every level of society–from individuals to corporations–cyber security is a complex, ongoing concern. In late 2021, C2C provided our teenage students with a series of Powerpoint and video webinars to raise awareness about the ways in which their online activities–and areas of their personal lives–can be compromised. We addressed issues such as password and social media management, phishing, identity theft risks, and online payment methods. 

By knowing how to take necessary precautions while online, girls are better able to protect themselves from malicious cyberattacks. In addition to increasing their confidence in the digital world, this proactive awareness encourages the girls to use problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. 

Anatomy of PC systems

In December 2021, C2C provided girls aged 13-16 with workshops on assembling and disassembling PC-based computer systems, including the CPU. This activity is often used in computer labs across India as a training tool. By taking apart and putting together the computer, girls learned about the different components of the system and worked with specific tools and technical equipment. They also learned about software applications, such as how to install the Windows 10 operating system in PCs. This understanding of how systematic computer operations work adds yet another building block to the C2C girls’ educational and practical skills foundation.

Learning Programming via Gamification

Learning programming via gamification, an ongoing activity in C2C’s Techlab curriculum, strongly encourages the expression of ideas and creativity. Students employ Scratch, a free, easy-to-use, block-based programming tool. Used in many school systems throughout the world, Scratch is often a novel and innovative learning tool for the underprivileged girls served by C2C. Scratch users can create interactive stories, games, and animations, then share their favorite creations with a vibrant, global online community. 

By using Scratch, C2C girls learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively—all essential skills for the 21st century. To streamline the learning process, C2C provides notes, interactive projects, worksheets, and assignments for different levels. C2C girls use Scratch in a wide range of activities involving space, time, trigonometry, geometry, loops, conditional sequencing of tasks, etc. By understanding the intricacies of programming, girls develop a greater interest in technology-related careers.

C2C’s fusion of technology with life-skills training provides girls with both the knowledge and confidence necessary to pursue their future careers. C2C’s programs also align with the employment needs of the country, opening up a world of opportunities for girls and giving them the power to choose their own life’s path.

Young Women Pursue Medical Degrees, Empowered by C2C

Dhara, currently a pre-med student.

In a rural area of Gujarat on India’s west coast, nearly 200 adolescent girls are enrolled in Eklavya Model Residential School of Muni Seva Ashram (MSA), a C2C partner that serves poverty-stricken tribal communities. At MSA, nearly 100 girls participate in English language classes and C2C’s TECHLAB program, which is made possible by our donors and generous grant funding from the Guru Krupa Foundation. In these classes, students have the opportunity to develop strong reading, writing, and computer skills as well as to learn important life skills like confidence, creativity, communication, and critical thinking.

Dhara Rathva, 18, enrolled in MSA when she was eleven years old. After seven years at MSA, she is now on track to become a medical student, pursuing her MBBS (Bachelor of Medicine degree, equivalent to a pre-med major in the United States). Dhara aims to help disadvantaged people who live in rural villages, just as she once did. Her education with C2C empowered her to pursue her dreams and give back to her community. Like her parents, Dhara values education:

“It allows people to live their lives independently,” she says.  

With C2C’s assistance, young women at MSA step outside of their comfort zones. Seventeen-year-old Pragati Rathva participated in the Each One, Teach One program, where older girls teach and mentor younger students after school. Pragati initially found teaching younger students to be challenging, but ultimately it was incredibly rewarding and became her favorite of C2C’s programs. This community-driven approach is especially valuable because it allows younger students to see people like themselves succeeding and thriving. Pragati is grateful to C2C for uplifting her and other girls through education, saying, “[C2C] helps us and gives us a chance to shine.” She is now studying for the NEET, an admissions exam for medical school. 

Rakshaben Rathva has also chosen to pursue a medical school degree. Like Dhara and Pragati, she began classes at MSA when she was eleven years old. She enjoyed the English and computer classes, and she was especially excited to learn how to use the internet. She is grateful to her C2C teachers for teaching her good values and respect for her culture. She is also in university now, working toward her medical degree by pursuing a pre-med major.

Dhara, Pragati, and Rakshaben are three of many girls and young women who have had the opportunity to learn and thrive at MSA with C2C curriculums. All three of them are empowered to pursue higher education, with the hope of becoming doctors, and ultimately give back to their communities. 

“An educated girl has direction,” Pragati says. “She has hope. She will become a mentor to other girls.”

During a Pandemic, A Persistence for Knowledge

It is now over five months since the spread of COVID-19 has resulted in nationwide lockdowns and slow re-openings. 

 Many companies and programs have had to problem-solve and adjust to this pandemic, discovering ways to maintain productivity while ensuring the health and safety of individuals. We recognize that a long hiatus from the classroom could risk our students falling behind, and our staff and administrators have been working tirelessly to create solutions that will hopefully carry us through these trying times. In the transition to remote learning, Commit2Change has augmented curriculum delivery with audio conferences and when necessary, sending content via WhatsApp.

Still, in order to address the needs of all the girls C2C serves, a unique challenge has arisen: How do you continue to educate the entire student body on necessary technological skills when a portion of the students lack access to the tools?  

We frequently forget that we have a device with the power of a computer that fits into our pocket: the smartphone. In India, more than 500 million people have a smartphone, and many of the girls involved in C2C live in orphanages or households that possess one. Using WhatsApp, Zoom, and Google Meet, tutors can connect to the students along with passing along assignments and helpful apps the girls can download and play on their devices.

Still, there remains the challenge that a small group of girls do not  have access to a smartphone. So how do we teach students about technology without having the tool at hand? The answer is to go back to basics. The key to learning technology isn’t just in operating the system, but in curating the programming mindset.

To this end, C2C has sent students worksheets via WhatsApp, which they reproduce and complete at home. One worksheet called Decoder consists of two circles: one with the alphabet lined around the border circumference and the other with a variety of images. The girls cut out the two circles and place the smaller on top of the larger, creating their own “code.” With their new code created, they can write words or sentences in what would appear to be gibberish to the untrained eye. They can also send their code via WhatsApp to other girls to decode. While it appears to be a simple game, this practice helps the girls understand that coding is another language, one that they must become comfortable with so they can use it with ease.

As the pandemic continues to affect our daily lives, we must find ways to persevere. The accomplishments we’ve seen with our girls, despite numerous obstacles, have given us hope that we will weather this storm. We look forward to the day the girls return to TechLab in person and we can proudly announce that class is back in session!

Fostering Creativity with the Scratch App

Creativity. It’s that buzzword many employers are looking for in prospective hires. But how can someone demonstrate they are creative? Furthermore, how can they acquire this skill in a school setting?

It feels contradictory to pair creativity with education. For many of us, we entered school with flourishing imaginations and got bogged down with rules and instructions. We left school “educated,” able to color within the lines.  

For C2C, this issue is even more challenging within the educational structures in place for the girls we work with in India. In a society where numerous families perceive their daughter’s potential in terms of her marriageability, how can she explore her creative potential?

Girls in C2C not only have access to computer learning skills in TechLab, but they also are given free range to explore their technological and creative prowess through apps. The free app, Scratch, allows users to create music, videos, and games while also learning coding.

When using Scratch, the girls have used the app in imaginative and inspiring ways. During one class, the instructor assigned the students the task to upload a music file and remix it in order to practice playing with the different effects of sound. While everyone got to work, one girl decided to go a different route—using her own voice. She recorded herself singing a song and uploaded it to the app. Using Scratch’s features, she remixed her voice and published the song. The tutor was so amazed that she showed the song to Kuber Sharma, executive director of C2C in India. Needless to say, he was floored. “We didn’t know that was possible!” he exclaimed. 

Another student used Scratch as a storytelling platform. She drew a character, uploaded it into Scratch, and then began writing a story to go along with her creation. The story may have initially been inspired by an example project, but as the narrative progressed it became abundantly clear that this was a story all its own, birthed from her imagination.

Creativity is crucial to an adolescent’s development and yet there are no parameters for how to teach this skill. But when providing our girls with helpful technological tools, we witness them be more daring, ready to try new things, and problem-solve any difficulties. Our students have created songs, stories, animations and other media because we provide them the instruction that they don’t need to simply color inside the lines. 

The Power of an Interdisciplinary Education

The 11th grade girls file into the Techlab classroom and each take a seat at a computer. As class commences, the instructor assigns a task: working in pairs, the students must create an animation where a ball bounces down a flight of stairs, being sure to bounce once on every step as it descends. 

This particular class is made up of rural village girls in Gujarat, India. They have already received primers introducing them to computer programming, a curriculum they have progressed through over the year. Now with their partner, they are immersed in conversation, deliberating and testing methods to complete the task. 

In their formal education in India, most of these girls attend classes divided by subject. They acquire information through memorization. But as many educators already know, this archaic form of education is not the most effective way for students to learn deeply. Consider this with your own schooling. Do you recall the information from the Chemistry test you crammed for? Or do you remember the class days where the teacher assigned you an activity you had to complete? Chances are that you hold memories of the latter.

C2C addresses the educational aspect of the girls’ lives by implementing task-based assignments that focus on student interaction and engagement. In the TechLab activity, these students rely on their knowledge of a range of subjects: trigonometry, geometry, physics. Along with this, the students must practice soft skills: communication, problem-solving analysis, and teamwork. This reliance on multiple subjects is known as an interdisciplinary approach to education. Through this, students move out of the boundaries of single-subject learning and identify connections across disciplines.

In taking the driver’s seat in their learning, students have more confidence in themselves and behave more assertively. Students do not fear making a mistake. Instead, they experiment and embrace failure, giving them the drive to persist. These are the kinds of behaviors that cannot simply be taught in the standard school system. They must be nurtured and practiced with the right educational environment.

While it is obvious these girls require a solid education in STEM subjects in order to enter a career in technology, their competency in practicing soft skills will give them a leg up in adapting to the ever-changing economic landscape. They can demonstrate an ability to connect ideas across subjects. Creativity is not only for the arts. Problem-solving is not specifically for a math question.

By the end of the ball animation lesson approximately 80% of the students have achieved the task. They have used different strategies, some of them more efficient than others, but they have demonstrated their ability to face a task and devise a course of action.

At the end of class, the girls are abuzz with excitement at what they have achieved. Student Hetalben Mohaniya says it best: “Everyday I learn new things in computer lab.”