C3STREAM Land Designs

We had a good experience in cultivating Palm sprout in Isai Ambalam last year along with school children. Understanding the benefits of Palm sprouts for health, this year we decided to cultivate them on our office campus. On Aug 3, 2024, we collected more than 150 seeds from different areas in Auroville and around the office. We created a bed for planting the seeds which was around 8×3 feet in area and then we sowed seeds on the bed. It may take more than 3 months for these to sprout and then we will harvest it to have a feast.

Here are the few reflections from our team members on their experience in planting Palm seeds:

Ajay:

My name is Ajay. I stand for happiness and self-awareness for myself and others. Last year, we planted palm sprouts at Isaiambalam School with the children, and we cultivated them in large numbers. This time, we planned to plant them in our office garden area. So, we went along with the children from Isaiambalam School and collected palm fruit/seeds for our garden. We planted those seeds in our garden with the help of our colleagues. While doing this activity, I noticed the interest and involvement towards our traditional practices. We will see the results of those seeds in a span of three months.

Sivaguru prasath:

My name is Sivaguruprasath and I stand for courage, full potential, and equanimity for myself and for others. Last year I felt that I hadn’t contributed to collecting and planting seeds for Palm sprout harvesting, but I delighted in and enjoyed eating the sprouts. This year I decided I should participate fully and along with my team collected and planted Palm seeds. Without team effort and planning, it wouldn’t happen at all. From this, I noticed that we are connecting with healthy things in our tradition, and I feel complete and whole being a part of this activity.

The team was really interested and involved planting the seeds; it felt more like a physical activity for us.

Saranya:

Teamwork and Bonding – Working together on planting helped us bond and improve teamwork. It was fun to share tasks and support each other in a different setting from our usual office work.

Environmental Awareness – The activity reminded us of the importance of taking care of the environment. It felt good to do something positive for nature, and it made us more aware of sustainability.

Stress Relief and Well-being – Being outside and doing physical work was a refreshing break from our daily routine. It reduced stress and made us feel more relaxed and happy.

Reflecting Organization Values – This activity showed that our company cares about teamwork, the environment, and employee well-being. It demonstrated our commitment to creating a supportive and engaged workplace.

Arunkumar:

My name is Arunkumar, and I stand for peace and equity for myself and others. I supported the Isai Ambalam children in collecting and sowing palm seeds for the second consecutive year. As part of C3SLD, where we have been growing some vegetables and flowers around the campus, we decided to plant the palm seeds. We started with only four members, and as we continued, it inspired others to commit to action, which led to the entire process of bed making and placing the palm seeds above it within a time span of 2 hours. The learning from this is that any complex issue can be solved if there is group commitment.

Rajesh:

My name is Rajesh, and I stand for care and integrity for myself and others. While seeding palm seeds for palm sprouts, I noticed that what we have been doing at school with children has become normative for us. That is why we took the initiative to do it at our office. I could see the bigger picture: of taking the importance of palm trees our homes, and community.

What we think are small actions may seem small, but each new initiative we undertake at Isai Ambalam School is something big and good for society.

Pratap:

The palm seed planting activity with the team member was successful done in the last week. I saw the team work while making the bed and collecting palm seeds. It served as a reminder of the importance of taking time for nature and each other, even in a busy office environment. I look forward to watch the palms grow and engaging in more such meaningful activities in the future.

Vasanth:

I am able to connect with what we learned in school by working with children to collect palm fruit and make palm sprouts. I helped with digging, which provided some physical exercise for me. I also noticed the group coordination and teamwork involved. We split into two groups to collect the palm fruits, dug the soil, and sowed the seeds. From this, I learned how to strive for a self-sustainable life by understanding the interdependence within a system and the value of working together to achieve sustainability.

Poonguzhali:

My name is Poonguzhali. I stand for courage for myself and others. When I contributed to planting palm seeds at STEM Land, I could see my value. This was a new experience for me where I could push myself to do more. By participating in the planting of palm seeds, I came to know more about the benefits of our tradition. By setting this up, I noticed the collaboration of our team and their full potential towards it. I also noticed full involvement, courage, perseverance, and teamwork.

NithyaSandhosh:

My name is Nithyasandhosh. I stand for kindness and equality for myself and others. When I was palm seeding, I noticed I was excited and happy to be working with my team mates again after a long time doing this type of hard physical activity. As I waited for the first green sprout to emerge, it was satisfying. It was a powerful reminder that with consistent care, kindness and patience, even the slowest progress can bring great reward.

-Mathegramming Team

A five day Science Technology Engineering Arts and Maths (STEAM) Camp was organised by all the Auroville schools from 27th May to 31st May to inspire and engage young children in STEAM activities. Children participated in STEM activities over a course of five days at different venues. STEM Land introduced children to electronics, Makey Makey, games, puzzles, programming, and craft work. Each day 25 children between the ages of 6 to 13+ from different schools in Auroville came to STEM Land.

We began the sessions by talking about the link between universal values (Monica Sharma, 2017) and technology, as the two are often assumed to be on opposite ends. We used examples of instances when technology was used constructively versus destructively to enable children to imagine the numerous ways in which technology can be imbibed with values. Sessions began with “Stand and Fear” a tool used in Radical Transformational Leadership to recognise our universal values and harness them to manage our fears.

The students were divided in five groups, and they were asked to think about a person they admire most, someone they look up to but not from their immediate circles, – maybe a character from a film, a celebrity etc. children were then asked to think about the qualities in that person that inspire them. The children began to think about their values and what they stand for. Then they shared their thoughts with their partners. The session closed with children affirming their universal values and sharing their insights about what they got to learn about themselves, children shared that this exercise made them feel proud and confident.

Hands-on Activities with Makey-Makey

After the leadership session, we divided the team into five groups. The children were introduced to Makey-Makey, before the session began children were asked to collect leaves or other conducting materials from the school campus. Children were not only excited but also curious to know why they were doing so. After the children got back to the classroom, the Mathegramming team explained how Makey-Makey works – the kit allows users to connect conducting materials like leaves, vegetables, water, etc. to the computer functions of arrow keys, mouse and space-bar using crocodile clips. When those objects are touched, they send signals to the computer, producing different sounds or elicit other responses (such as increase in the size of the sprite on Scratch) depending on the programs we put in Scratch.

Understanding Makey Makey

Basic Components: We showed the children the main components of the Makey Makey kit, including the circuit board, crocodile clips, and USB cables.

How It Works: We explained the concept of conductivity and how Makey Makey uses this principle to turn objects into touchpads. Children learned how to connect Makey Makey to a computer and set it up to work with different software programs.

Hands-On Activities with Makey Makey: Each group worked on a different Makey Makey project. Below are the highlights:

1. Banana Piano

 We connected alligator (crocodile) clips to bananas, each representing a different piano key. Using a Scratch program, we mapped each banana to a musical note.The children played their banana pianos, creating tunes by tapping the fruit. This activity was not only fun but also a great introduction to basic programming.

2. Dancing Console

We created a dance mat using foil and paper, connected to Makey Makey. The children programmed a dancing game where stepping on different parts of the mat would show different dance moves on the screen. The children took turns showing off their dance skills.

Additionally children also participated in the following activities:

• Games and Puzzles: children played many games and puzzles that helped them enhance their critical thinking and collaboration skills.

• Scratch Programming: Kids learned the basics of coding using Scratch, creating their own animations and simple games. This activity helped them think logically and apply their thinking.

• Math Materials: Children also explored math materials like Dienes blocks and fraction kits, they were briefly introduced to how these materials can enhance their understanding of mathematical concepts.

• Kirigami: Similar to Origami, kirigami is also a Japanese art that creates three dimensional designs. It helps them to understand how different folds and cuts can turn into 3D creations.

Conclusion

While children enjoyed the STEAM Camp, they were struck by wonder looking at how Makey-Makey works, everytime children were introduced to Makey-Makey at least one child in the group expressed their wonder using “How cool is that!”. As adults who want to instill values of collaboration in children, we at STEM Land were moved by how compassionate, responsible and fair children were when exploring materials including Makey-Makey, they all ensured that each child in the group is getting a chance to explore the materials.

The children were excited and inspired to adopt a new perspective about technology. We are looking forward to having more such sessions to continue sparking curiosity and creativity in young minds. 

• IlakyaArasi, soundhariya, Premkumar, Dinesh, Preethi and SandhiyaBala

The Mathegramming team visited Kanyakumari to conduct a three-day capacity building workshop with the teachers at Infant Jesus Girls High School in Mulagumoodu. The aim of the workshop was to engage with the teachers and help them understand how they can change the pedagogy of mathematical concepts by using materials and visualizing the metacognitive process adopted in solving math problems, and engaging in interactive storytelling. Additionally, the workshop also focused on building leadership skills in the teachers using Radical Transformational Leadership Tools (RTL) (Monica Sharma, 2017).

Day one opened with an introduction to help the teachers understand the context of Mathegramming, what we do, and who we are. We introduced ourselves using our universal values which made the teachers curious about the same. The introduction was followed by a session on using the Stand & Fear Tool where the teachers identified and enquired about their own universal values and how they can harness them to face their fears. After this brief induction on Mathegramming and our core values we proceeded to mathematical concepts.

The first session revolved around identifying patterns in numbers and how they change when added, subtracted, multiplied and divided, the same was done by visually showing these concepts using materials like the Cuisenaire Rods, Dienes Blocks and Ganith Rack. Multiplication of numbers was shown by the concept of area method using Dienes Blocks. We started with primary concepts to help the teachers get comfortable with the concept of visualization, this was done because basic clarity of the concept will help them deal with higher level concepts in higher grades.

In the afternoon the teachers were introduced to the four profiles i.e., an RTL Tool to understand different parts of our identities. While closing on day one the teachers came to share their insight about all the tools and activities they learned.

The second day started with two minute stillness and focused attention on breathing, then we introduced Deep Listening and Background Conversations to the teachers. The session incorporated time for reflection so that teachers can reflect on the past and apply what they learnt to think about what they could have done differently. This was followed by a session introducing square numbers using Dienes Blocks and square roots of perfect square numbers by understanding the pattern behind the square numbers.

We introduced addition and subtraction of integers using the Othello tokens. In the afternoon they learnt about System Principles (RTL) by watching a short film titled the Story of Stuff. After closing System Principles, we moved to visually explaining the concept of fractions using the fraction kit. Afterwards teachers were given time to explore the scratch projects related to the concepts they learnt about in the past two days, developed by the Mathegramming team. They were interested in showing theseprojects to their students. The day closed with four reflections.

 by the teachers highlighting the usefulness of background conversation and deep listening. Teachers also shared that they liked the concept of opening a session with two minute stillness and adding thought breaks. They are motivated to adopt the same in their practice with the students.

The last day began with the two minute stillness followed by introducing the Conscious Full Spectrum Response Model (CFSR). The teachers struggled to fill the sheet as it demanded them to think about different areas. We encouraged them to come up with an idea to fill the CFSR model using the examples from our own CFSR sheets.

After we closed the session on CFSR sheets we moved on to explore how to visualize decimal numbers and how to multiply decimal numbers visually. At first, they were hesitant and thought that multiplying following the usual method would be better, but afterwards they realized how their students could benefit from this technique. Then we introduced algebraic equations using weighing balance and algebraic tiles to differentiate the confusing terms. They all worked on the algebraic tiles on how to show different terms in their class. They liked the visual idea of the algebraic tiles and how to make them.

In the afternoon, we reconnected with RTL tools and explained about the three types of complaints. Then, we explored concepts of electronics such as resistance and how it works. We started with measuring our body resistance using the multimeter, then measured the body resistance with ultrasound gel. Then we explained how our body resistance plays a role in lighting up the LED light with a 9V battery.

Since the sessions were delivered in Tamil, the concepts were easily understood by the teachers and did not daunt them. The teachers had never thought of teaching Mathematics visually, they were inspired to do it with their students now. However, the teachers much like the students were hesitant in coming up and sharing their learnings but after doing this a few times they got comfortable with the process we adopted, and voluntarily came and shared their insights.

Mathegramming team is grateful for the opportunity to hold this session with the teachers and create a change in how mathematics is taught. It directly impacts our growth and pushes us outside of our comfort zones. We look forward to more such opportunities in the future.

Reflections:

My name is Premkumar I deeply care about courage and equality for myself and others. I have learnt that I can do more and I can change many things if I want to change. It was a nice journey with the teachers and I am looking forward for many events like this to develop my learning and give something valuable to others to make their life better.

My name is Soundhariya. I deeply care about courage for myself and for others. It was a great opportunity for me to work with the teachers. They were excited and curious to learn about mathematics and electronics and how these subjects are used in our daily lives. They shared their thoughts with the group while working on the RTL session and mathematical concepts. The session created values of equality, responsibility, and reaching our full potential.

My name is Dinesh. I stand for care and perseverance for myself and others. It was a new experience for me to train the teachers, and I had a great chance to share my learnings with them. On the first day of the session, I was the PC for my table and initially acted from my fear(judgment). I answered their questions and guided them on how to do the exercise, which brought confidence in me. I noticed that I acted from my stand, not from my fears. I realized that courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to act in spite of fear.

My name is Preethi. I stand for courage and kindness for myself and others.  It was a wonderful experience to work with teachers and get to share my learnings with them. When I work with teachers, I get to recognize areas where I can grow and develop my skills. I learnt how to be creative so that I can make them engage and understand the concept. It built confident in me to teach them effectively.

My name is IlakyaArasi. I stand for patience and courage for myself and others. I learned that training the teachers-to encourage them to do things differently, to make them act out from their comfortable space is a challenging work. This journey made me reflect to prepare myself differently for the further opportunities.

My name is Sandhiya Bala. I stand for courage, care, and happiness for myself and others. It was a new experience for me to teach the RTL (Stewardship tools) to teachers, and I had a great opportunity to share my learnings with them. It removed my fear while conducting the session with them. Personally, it gave me a chance to reflect on many aspects of my life, such as my career. I noticed that I acted from my values (universal values) while teaching the tools, and I learned how to manage work-life balance. It has built my confidence to teach them effectively

~ Jayabharathy, Sundaresan, Sivaguruprasath, Rajesh, SandhiyaBala

Jayabharathy

My name is Jayabharathy. I stand for care and courage for myself and for others. Every Saturday morning, we do insights or acknowledgements. This helps to review myself regarding what I have accomplished in the past week for my own growth and how I have supported others for their growth. I feel it establishes unity between different teams and we get to share what deeds of others have helped us move forward. When I receive acknowledgment from someone, it acts as a driving force for me to move forward with full potential and do even better next time. On the other hand, when I acknowledge someone, I feel I am grounded and appreciated for looking into the good qualities and values of the other person. I find this sharing of acknowledgements and insights is very unique to our organization. Sometimes we write down the acknowledgements after sharing it to the gathering. This helps me to keep reminded of my support to others and the support of others to me throughout the week. This in turn serves as a motivation for the entire week as I read it whenever I go to the ismart room.

It helps me not only to look into my own growth but also the growth of others. Sharing insights helps me to notice the gaps in what I do. Each time we share something, we start with “My name is…… and I stand for……”. This helps to keep me reminded of who I am from deep inside and what I care about the most. Sometimes, the insights that we have shared regarding gratitude in the past have helped me notice how gifted I am for the life and the environment I have around me. Being acknowledged even for the small deeds and support that I have provided over a week, makes me feel joyful. The other important aspect that I noticed while sharing either insights or acknowledgments is that, there is no senior or junior priority. I have seen even the senior most person in the organization acknowledging a trainee. I see the quality of equality and I admired it when I first came over here. Now, since I have also developed the same quality in me, it seems to be very normal to me.  I also notice the quality of interdependence among the team mates and how each one extends help to whoever is in need of help.

Sundaresan

The Saturday morning meetings helps bringing my office teammates together and to improve our communication. They also help me to get over my fear of speaking in front of others, which will help me in the future to speak confidently without hesitation.

Getting acknowledgments from others makes me feel more responsible and aware of myself. It also encourages me to support and acknowledge others, which builds good relationships with my colleagues. Writing our acknowledgments and sticking them on the board helps everyone see them, and sharing our accomplishments lets us know what others are working on. This can make us more interested and excited about our projects. Overall, these activities help me remember everything that happened in the past week.

Rajesh

My name is Rajesh and I stand for care and integrity for myself and others. Saturday morning meetings have always been a day to look for me as I can share my learning over the week. It makes me share my learning and learn from others when they share their insight. Weekly sharing as a group makes me aware of various activities and learnings in our organization.

Sivaguru

My name is Sivaguruprasath, and I stand for courage, full potential, and equanimity for myself and others. From the Saturday morning sessions, I learned that I am able to recollect what I have done for the week and who supported me in my work. It is also an opportunity to share my acknowledgment with them. It reminds me of being in my stand and being integrity for what I committed for.

SandhiyaBala

My name is SandhiyaBalaAnand, and I stand for courage, care, and happiness for myself and others. I have learned how to synthesize my insights and share them with others. When I practice acknowledgment and gratitude, I notice how much I involve myself with my team and the skills I learn from others.

~ Sivaguruprasath, Preethi, Nithyasandhosh, Poonguzhali, Ajay, Sri Bhavani

This year’s yoga marathon was organized by SAIIER, Auroville for a week to celebrate International Yoga Day on June 21, 2024. School children from Auroville and outreach schools were invited to register for the Yoga Marathon. Around 130 children participated in this event, which took place at Bharat Nivas over four days and fifth day is in Matrimandir, Amphitheatre.

Sanjeev was invited as a special guest for this event and inspired the children by saying, “We are here to learn how to correct our sitting posture to make ourselves better”. Two senior Aurovillians, Varadarajan Iyya and Shyamala Amma, were also special guests for this event. They sponsored yoga mats for the children.

Last year, in 2023, the yoga marathon was held in Matrimandir, Amphitheatre. This time, the team planned and arranged everything to the best of their ability. They organized yoga mats for the children’s use and arranged healthy breakfasts. The children were divided into three groups: below 10 years old, 11 to 14 years old, and above 14 years old. This arrangement helped manage the groups effectively when teachers taught asanas and pranayamas.

@Amphitheatre, Matrimandir on Yoga Day

Sri Bhavani’s learnings:

I was inspired by the Organizing team in handling the children from different age groups and they took an effort to make things workable in the present which are missing in the past. Ajay, Sivaguru, Preethi, Meganathan from our team also contributed their support in distributing breakfast for the children with the organizing team. Shifuians (NithyaSanthosh and Pachayappan) were supported the event arrangement. I acknowledge the team members whoever supported this event and make it happen. I see the quality of Care, Sincerity and Generosity in them, I will use it in my life.

What do I notice differently this yoga session?

Usually, all the children were invited to Amphitheatre for this yoga marathon session. Techers will be at the center; children will follow the instructions of teacher. For this massive gathering it was hard for the teachers to handle the children to move forward the session.

This time teachers separated the children into 3 groups. Each day teacher will go in the rotational order for each group. One teacher taught us Surya namaskar and standing asanas, other teacher taught us pranayama’s and another teacher taught us sitting asanas and some difficult asanas. Children as well as teachers get enough to do asanas perfectly.

From our team, this time number of person showed interest towards yoga had increased. I felt happy for everyone’s participation.

Group Gathering @Bharat Nivas

Ajay’s Learnings:

I participated in the yoga marathon with children, and it was an amazing experience. I learned different asanas and noticed that practicing the old ones has greatly improved my physical health. The marathon lasted four days, with the fifth day being International Yoga Day. On that day, many people from Auroville joined us, and we also experienced a sound bath, which was wonderful. I helped manage the children and provided snacks for them daily during the five days.

I felt that my body became more flexible, and starting my day with some asanas made me feel refreshed throughout the day. Practicing pranayamas helped me to feel their benefits, and I learned about their uses. After Yoga Day, we continued practicing some of the asanas from the marathon in our campus in the morning after meditation, which I believe inspired some of my colleagues to join us next time to keep themselves healthy.

Sound Bath on Yoga Day

Poonguzhali’s Learnings:

My name is Poonguzhali I stand for courage for myself and others. When I participated in the Marathon yoga camp, I learned different asanas that helped me make my body strong, flexible, and balanced.  I learned breathing techniques that calm my mind and give me more energy. While doing meditation I find out how to relax my mind and focus on the present moment to feel more peaceful. When I do yoga at Bharat Nivas and Mathirmandir, I feel close to nature. I enjoy hearing birds singing and feeling the cool breeze on my face. It feels like nature feels peaceful inside. I had a great experience.

Preethi’s Learnings:

My name is Preethi. I stand for courage and kindness for myself and others. My insight from the yoga marathon is that it felt good to wake up early morning and do something that good for my body and mind. When I did yoga, I felt calm and energetic the whole day.  I learnt different Asana’s and exercises that make my body feel good and strong. And I find out how well I can concentrate and how to improve my focus. When I attended this yoga marathon I get to meet and practice with lot of children, which is really fun and helped me to feel more connected to those around me. I felt calmer and more peaceful and felt more connected to the natural world around me. The natural setting helps me connect more deeply with myself and my inner thoughts. It’s a wonderful opportunity to attend this workshop and I really had good time and enjoyed it.

Sivaguruprasath’s Learnings:

On attending the Marathon yoga, I feel energetic and calm and also, I felt responsible on guiding children to do Asana’s properly. Children were provided with morning breakfast, yoga mat and transportations. More number of students were participated than the last year. It was one of the very great opportunities for us to practice yoga regularly.

We practiced different Asana’s in different days of the week which enhances the relaxation of the different parts of the body.

Nithyasandhosh’s Learnings:

My name is Nithyasandhosh. I stand for kindness and equality for myself and others. I noticed that, practicing for YOSA for one week, dedicating one hour each morning, can be incredibly beneficial. This focused time allows me to make significant progress with consistency and discipline. Morning practice can enhance my concentration and set a positive tone for the rest of my day. Each morning session brings me one step closer to achieving my goals and excelling in my performance.

As part of the Mathegramming team, we initially planned a summer camp for students at STEM land. However, there is a buzz of STEAM and we decided to collaborate with other school teachers, including those from Auroville and the bioregion in a collective STEAM event. We formed a core group with Aikiyam, Deepanam, Transition, and STEM land, along with SAIIER for this collective event. We planned, created posters, and invited children to register for the event. There were two different posters: one for team captains (> 12 years) and another for children aged 8 to 12 years old.

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We selected five topics: Forces, Magnetism, Electronics, STEM  Land (Makey Makey), and Biology, and named the event Auroville Schools STEAM Adventure! It took place from May 27th to May 31st. The goal was to foster collaboration between Auroville school children and those from the bioregion, break ageism, and create an environment where children of all ages could support and learn from each other. We reached around 140 children. Forces, Magnetism, Electronics, and Biology sessions were conducted in Bharatnivas, while Makey Makey was done in STEM land. The children were divided into five groups, named after colors: RED, YELLOW, ORANGE, PURPLE, and GREEN.

A special session was given to the captains before the event began. Each group had four captains (from different schools) and two facilitators from STEM land. An orientation program for team captains, volunteers, and facilitators was held on Saturday at STEM Land to prepare for the upcoming week.

Being a core group member of this program was a great experience for me, though it was a bit challenging to coordinate plans for facilitators from STEM land, especially with Tamil PC training and Tamil RTL sessions happening the same week. As a team, we supported each other and succeeded.

I supported the Mathegramming team in STEM land and conducted sessions where children explored who they are and what they deeply cared about, connecting these insights to their learning and how they wanted to apply their knowledge. During the session I viewed in that technology is value-neutral, and it is our choice to add values to it by knowing who we are and what we deeply care about.

I conducted the sessions in both English and Tamil, and it was interesting to see that even small children were able to articulate what they deeply care about and shared their insight on how to transcend their fears by reminding themselves of their universal values.

At the end of the STEAM fest children were so happy and they remembered each one us (even those who were not available for the closing) and thanked us by giving a small gift which made me feel more connected with them.

Saranya:

This event was well-organized, and the instructions were clear. The planning and execution went very smoothly. There were five stations, each focusing on one topic from STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). I was part of the Orange Team. The first station we went to was Biology.

Biology:

We were further divided into four groups. In the Biology station, there were three sub-stations: 1) Biology/Cells, 2) Leaf, and 3) Nest. We learned what an animal cell looks like and made an animal cell using crafts. At the Leaf sub-station, we imprinted leaves, identified the leaves around us, learned their names, and which family they belong to. Then, we moved on to making nests with natural materials found around us.

On the first day, we felt really happy about learning about the environment, and by the end of the session, we were able to make something to take home with us.

STEMLand:

Technology is value neutral and we talked about the values we will add in technology to make it a force of good. The session started with an activity called “What Do I Deeply Care About?” Children from different societal backgrounds and schools participated. They explored questions like “Who am I?” and “What is my socialized fear?” The children were able to identify what they truly care about and what their socialized fears are.

Then, the STEM Land facilitators conducted a session on Makey Makey, which was really interesting for both the children and the captains. The roles of the facilitators and captains were very clear, and we were able to guide the children effectively. The children understood how Makey Makey works.

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The children also found the caste puzzles intriguing and played various games in STEMLand. Most of the kids were fully engaged throughout the session.

Forces:

They started by asking what we understand by the word “forces” and where we have seen or experienced it. It was a basic question with a simple answer: push or pull. The children found it interesting, and we fully enjoyed and engaged with the session. There were both theoretical lessons and activities. The children found the activities very interesting, felt they learned something new, and made something from the activities to take home.

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Magnetism:

There were four stations, and the children went to all the stations and participated in the activities. They learned how generators produce electricity, how iron can act like a magnet, and how magnetic energy can be transferred to iron through exercises. They also learned that sand contains magnet and how to identify a magnet. The story about Magnes was particularly interesting.

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Electronics:

We learned how to use a multimeter. With the help of the multimeter, the children measured their body resistance and discussed why it is different for everyone. We explored the question: When an LED is connected through our body, will the LED glow?

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The children performed experiments with a given circuit, drew the circuit diagrams, and tested them. For some children, the LED light glowed, while for others, it did not due to differences in body resistance. The children concluded that when body resistance is low, the LED glows brighter, and when body resistance is high, the LED glows dimly or not at all.

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We repeated the same experiment with a potentiometer to adjust the resistance (R) value and control the brightness of the LED light.

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Sanjay:

My name is Sanjay and I stand for freedom and wisdom for myself and for others. As regards the STEAMFEST, I had the opportunity to volunteer only for one session, on Friday morning (May 31) in Bharat Nivas at Bhumika Hall for FORCES. I was in the purple group and was substituting for Poonguzhali who had to attend an all-day RTL PC training session on that day. The main topics covered were center of gravity and centrifugal force. I and the children found the center of gravity demonstrations to be the most fun

The most fascinating thing for me with regard to forces was a demo with regards to center of gravity that was similar to what was shown in this video, Balancing Toy 01 (CG below pivot) (youtube.com)

Another demo on center of gravity was similar to this though this was easier to understand than the previous one, This Weird Shape Rolls Uphill Instead of Down – YouTube

So this was quite a big learning experience from me even from a technical standpoint. The teacher was very friendly and passionate about her subject matter and freely engaged in a discussion with me as to why the object would not topple over. 

The children had a great time at the fest. There were some children who were truly wonderstruck by what was happening and seemed sceptical that some of the demonstrations were on the level. They really suspected some hanky panky and inspected the apparatus to verify that it was not rigged in some way. To me, this showed that the students were really engrossed and were not dozing off as happens in a formal instruction setting. It also showed a willingness to challenge and question the teacher, which is a pre-requisite for any one wanting to get to the bottom of things. I was very happy to see both these occurrences.

I hope that this experience goes some distance towards triggering a lifelong love for learning about natural phenomena. If that is the case for even one of the students who attended, then this FEST was a success

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Sohela:

Through my interactions with children and undertaking stand and fear exercise with them, I was moved by hearing how reflective children are. Children picked characters like Spiderman and while we adults are quick to dispose the comic characters and movie characters, children seem to connect with them through their universal values. It was even more inspiring to see how children were scaffolded to use their universal values and think about innovative technology that helps others, especially in today’s times when technology is becoming synonymous with danger. Children came up with ideas like making a box that can sense touch and ring the alarm. However, there were elements of playfulness and joy in everything children did which allowed me to slow down and observe how children learn, mostly by making and tinkering which is a process they adopted while playing games and while learning art + STEM.

The gradual change from children walking-in clueless to leaving with knowledge about makey-makey, and scratch allowed me to think of the impact that meaningfully engaging with children can unfold. I observed that even when children were not asked to be inclusive, they attempted to collaborate and make everyone feel included. This helped me to shift my perspective from believing that kids from diverse groups won’t comfortably mingle.

Apart from that, engaging with children was full of joy.

The camp also gave me opportunities to interact with and help my team members. Doing simple things like checking the LEDs that are working and the ones that aren’t was fun because it wasn’t just sorting LEDs but it was also preparing for the next day so that when children come and learn, the process is seamless.

Poonguzhali

I volunteered to support the STEAM fest. It gave me an opportunity to engage with children. I took part in many activities and I observed the quality of deep listening within myself. This camp helped me to learn a lot of new things and to exchange my thoughts with the kids I worked with. I feel grateful for being a part of the STEAM camp and thoroughly enjoyed the time spent supporting it.

Premkumar

My name is premkumar I deeply care about courage and equality for myself and others from the STEAM fest what I have learnt about myself is giving challenge to myself will make me grow more and give challenges to children will also help them to grow and I learnt that making an enabling environment for children to learn is must so that they can enjoy learning and they feel that the time they invest is not wasted. The best part of the programme is children come up with their own creative ideas which is appreciative and they enjoyed it the most. Children were at their at full potential which is the aim of the programme I am so glad to be part of this programme and I have enjoyed it throughout the whole process.

Tamilarasan

My name is Tamil, and I stand for courage and compassion for myself and others. Being the Team Leader of the yellowTeam at the five-day STEAM Fest in Auroville was an amazing experience. The event took place at Bharath Nivas and STEMLAND, featuring different activities each day such as Electronics, Biology, STEM Land, Forces, and Magnetism. This variety kept the children excited to learn something new every day.

In my role, I learned a lot about leadership. I made sure everyone was involved, helped resolve any issues, and kept things running smoothly so the children could learn without distractions.

On the last day, the children wore matching outfits to show our group’s unity. Organizing this camp taught me how much effort it takes to bring together many schools and facilitators to teach children.

Overall, the STEAM Fest was a rewarding experience that helped me grow as a leader

Choudery

My Name is Choudery, I stand for Justice and Equality for Myself and others.

In STEM FEST, I got an opportunity to support children with Electronics. A day strat with creating a team and then starts to explain the basics of electronics and components.

Topics chosen to teach children are

1. Find the Human body resistance

2. Identify the conducting and non – conducting material.

3.Glow LED using the body resistance.

4. Create a number using the 7 segment display.

When I start to work with children, they are very curious to learn electronics, they experience a taste of the small electric shock of a 9V battery. And then we ask them to find the body resistance, with the help of multimeter children set the multimeter to 2000 ohms and find their body resistance.This experiment was done in two ways with and without gel. In absence of gel the resistance value is high. Then children applied the gel in their hand tips and again checked the body resistance now the body resistance got reduced. This experiment gives the result that conductivity increases in the wet and decreases in dry surface. Then children start to find the conducting and non-conducting material inside the room using the multimeter in buzzer mode.This experiment helps the children to identify the  conducting and nonconducting material in the room. Then children start to do the experiment using the LED. The children like to find the polarity of LED terminals. Children find the difference in the LED and Identify the polarity of the terminal like longer is +ve and shooter is -ve. After that children start to make numbers in a 7 segment display.

My reflection about STEM FEST is I Learn new things from the questions raised from children.

Ajay.I

I had a wonderful experience as the Team Leader of the Green Team in the STEAM Fest event, which was held at Bharath Nivas and STEMLAND for about five days in Auroville. Each day, we had different activities such as Electronics, Biology, STEM Land, Forces, and Magnetism. Since each day featured new activities, the children in our group were excited to learn something new every day.

This was a new experience for me, where I could see my leadership qualities as a Team Leader by involving everyone, resolving any issues the children had, and ensuring there were no misunderstandings among them so they could learn effectively and not disturb the facilitators conducting the sessions.

On the final day, the children were asked to wear the outfits given to them the day before to symbolize unity among the group. From this summer camp, I learned about the effort and involvement required to organize an event that involves many schools and their facilitators to provide children with knowledge on specific topics.

Sivaguruprasath

My name is Sivaguruprasath and I stand for courage, full potential and equanimity for myself and for others. I recollected the concepts that were learnt during my school days, especially the explanation of concept using materials were very much understanding for children as well. The children were enjoyed a lot and had fun also learnt the concepts. The coordinators and facilitators have done their job at their best. Volunteering the children at STEAM fest was a wonderful opportunity to understand the children better. I felt it is better to have activity sessions for children at their classes to make better understanding of the concepts.

SandhiyaBala

My name is SandhiyaBala. I stand for courage, care and happiness for myself and others. I noticed that I have learnt many things in different topics like force, electronics, biology , magnetism and stem land. Mainly I learnt how to interact and engage children while teaching and doing activities.

Arunkumar

My name is Arunkumar I stand for peace and equity for myself and others. The STEAM camp helped me to realise my leadership skills and care towards others.The children explored topics like Magnetism, Electronics, Biology,Force and Makey Makey. While leading them I also had a chance to learn every activities through real life practices which is completely different from what I learned during my schooldays. Overall children enjoyed the camp and they were enthusiastic to explore new things.

~ Sundaresan

The two-week morning Vipassana sessions have significantly helped me restart my daily meditation practice. Before this course, I struggled to sit for extended periods and concentrate on my breath. I had also lost confidence in my ability to focus on my sensations and found it challenging to control my emotions.

During the first three days, I experienced body pain and back pain due to the sudden requirement to sit for long periods. However, I noticed a difference compared to other days; the sessions brought me a sense of peace and refreshment that lasted throughout the day. By the third day, my back pain subsided. This positive impact extended to my work and family life, boosting my confidence to undertake a 10-day Vipassana course.

Additionally, Anapana practice has become a valuable tool for me throughout the day. Whenever I feel bad or face difficult situations, my mind automatically prompts me to practice Anapana. I have observed that meditation has a unique power to transform the mind in a short period. Without it, overthinking negatively affects my mental and physical health. Currently, I am able to notice my breath, though I still struggle to fully perceive my body sensations.

~ Sanjay

I have previously talked about morning meetings and the role they play at C3SLD. There are two other activities that are common to C3SLDers. One is the RTL workshops that comprises Levels 1 and 2, SDGs and PC Training. The other is 10-Day Vipassana courses. Youth at C3SLD are all required to attend at least one 10-day course with subsequent 10-day courses being optional (though highly encouraged) based on the individual’s own perspective, needs and observations.

Sanjeev sets an example by attending one 10-day course every year. And it is now almost a cliché` that every time, he returns from one such course, he is bursting with ideas and insights on how C3SLD can do more and do it better. One such idea was that for one week (which turned into two weeks after the week was up), we would replace the usual routine of morning meetings with Vipassana for the entire week. This was the schedule for the 2 weeks

Monday – Friday

1. First 5-10 minutes: Short discussion on some Pali terms, some detail regarding the technique, posture, intentional breathing, review of the insights from discourses of the previous day, etc
2. First 30 minutes: Anapana/Vipassana
3. Next 30 minutes: GoenkaJi’s discourses
4. Last 5-10 minutes: Video of one of the old students at the conclusion of a 10-day course regarding why they keep coming back for more 10-day courses

Saturday: Half day Vipassana course from 8:00 AM – 12:45 PM with a 20-30 minute break for breakfast

Here I will share my own perspectives about this break of routine. Generally, I sit daily for an hour at the very least. The first hour is a breeze while I really struggle to make the next hour. We can say that Monday to Saturday, I manage about an hour and 20-30 minutes on average and with the 4 hours on Sunday, I am able to average a little less than 2 hours/day over a period of a week. 

However, these two weeks, because there was Vipassana every morning, meditating 2 hours a day was a breeze. The one hour I was able to sit by myself with ease and the next hour with the youth at C3SLD. Group meditation is always easier than sitting individually and being able to sit with the group really made 2 hours/day very easy. So, since I was able to sit 2 hours each day for the entire week, and with the two half day courses, it amounted to an average of a little more than 2.5 hours per week.

What changes did I see in myself during this week? Here were all the mundane benefits/changes I saw these two weeks

1. I usually struggle to exercise, however, this week, I was able to exercise every day for atleast an hour, either resistance training, or stretching, or Asanas or light movements and even some sports.
2. Much enhanced concentration and efficiency when working
3. Sometimes I joke (it may not be a joke) that I really moved to C3SLD because it would prevent me from whiling away my life in net surfing. This is something I still struggle with, though a lot less than 3 years back. However, this week, it was much diminished. I just did not feel like surfing the net at all. It felt much more fitting to take a walk, breathe the fresh air, stare at the trees or enjoy the scenery.
4. I also had several insights about how I can live a healthier life. I will have a post on this after 6 weeks if these insights really help me.
5. Much less getting carried away by my background conversations during walks or down time. I was able to detach from my background conversations, just allowing them to play themselves out without getting involved in them
6. Able to wake up every single day before the crack of dawn, and wake up feeling refreshed. Sleep time was diminished from an average of 7 hrs/day to 5.5 hrs/day, a gain of 1.5 hours every day just from sleep.
7. Was exquisitely and deliciously tired around 9:00 PM everyday. Body was tired but mind was fresh.

             All in all, a wonderful two weeks. Something I will remember years from now. I wish this could continue, but as an organization, we have a multi-disciplinary approach to personal development and personal growth such as book reading, RTL sessions and Learning sessions which we cannot neglect or ignore or reduce. Therefore, I feel very grateful for these two weeks. I feel very grateful that they happened and I feel very grateful for whatever caused Sanjeev to do this.

            I cannot wait for Sanjeev’s insights and changes he brings about when he returns from his 20-day Vipassana course.

~ Sanjay Tumati

At C3SLD, we start of the day by meeting together for approximately an hour every day Monday to Saturday. Much like an morning assembly they have the effect of keeping the group together. C3SLD is now a medium sized org with about 30 people spread over teams à Embedded Software, Drivers, Layout, Layout automation, Verification, Absolute and Mathegramming. With these many people, it is very easy to get into a silos and for members of one group to become isolated from those in other groups. Over time, an us Vs them mentality can also develop as seen in large organizations.

The morning meetings are a reminder as to what is common between all of us, why we are all in one team, what is our purpose as an organization, what is our purpose as individuals, how our purpose as individuals is aligned with our purpose as an organization among many other things. It is very well known that people come together over shared activities even more than over shared beliefs. The morning meetings are our shared activities and it is part of the glue that keeps us together as a team.

While keeping the team cohesive and connected is an important function of the morning meetings, it would be a tragedy if it was limited to that. After all, morning meetings could just have everyone playing board games and that would be enough to keep the group connected, however superficially. It would be better to utilize that time in a way that is wholesome, benefits the individual as well as the organization and also forms deeper connections between participants. It is my belief that the morning meetings at C3SLD do just that.  Here is our schedule during morning meetings

1. Monday: 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM à Vipassana and Metta
2. Tuesday
   1. 7:45 AM – 7:55 AM: Anapana
   1. 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Learning sessions, either technical or non technical. A sample of topics covered are TED talks, Unix OS, VI editor, Verilog programming, Mathematics, teaching effectively, Financial literacy, Social service etc
3. Wednesday
   1. 7:45AM – 7:55AM : Anapana
   1. 8:00 AM – 9:00 AM: Radical Transformation leadership (RTL) sessions choosing selected topics from the RTL workshop
4.  Thursday
   1. 7:45 AM – 7:55 AM: Anapana
   1. 8:00 AM- 9:00 AM: Book reading, currently RTL by Monica Sharma, Formerly Altered traits by
5. Friday: 7:50 – 8:00 AM, Anapana, Layout team meeting with Aura and Software team, Mathegramming code reviews
6. Saturday
   1. 8:00 AM – 8:10 AM : Anapana
   1. 8:10 AM – 9:00 AM: Weekly reflections
7. Sunday (Optional): 8:00 AM -12 Noon à Half Day Vipassana course to serve old meditators in the greater Auroville and Pondicherry area. All Shifuians and 2-3 C3SLD youth attend every week.

My own perspective on these morning meetings is that it is a good start to the day, a positive start to the day. I always enjoy and look forward to hearing Sanjeev speak during these meetings and his perspectives give my mind nutritious food for thought. The 10 minute Anapana focuses the mind and the rest of the sessions reminds us as to why we are doing what we are doing. C3SLD is a growing organization comprised of individuals who have made a commitment to their own growth and the growth of others. The role played by morning meetings in this growth is not little.

~ Poovizhi

Reporting period: 2023-24

This form is for reporting on the activities of a SAIIER Sub-unit over the last financial year. Please use as much space as you need for the report.

Please submit this report to SAIIER by April 30, 2024. For any questions or clarifications, please write to saiier@auroville.org.in.

1. Name of sub-unit: STEM Land (formerly Aura Auro Design)

2. Sub-unit executives: Sanjeev Ranganathan, Muralidharan, Vasanthraj

3. Report writer: Poovizhi.P

4. Introduction:

A few sentences. Why does the sub-unit exist, what are its aims? Were there any special goals this year?

STEM Land is a learning organization providing resources for anyone willing to learn in the fields of Science, Technology, Mathematics, Technology and English. The aim of the organization is to develop responsibility, equality and courage to create.

This year we started Mathegramming Academy to standardize the process of codifying STEM land. Worked with multiple schools Vasavi and government schools in the bio region. Conducted Hackathon event. Created Just In Time website to support teachers with math resources. We initiated Math intuition classes for children in the evenings where they discovered new patterns and logic and not just focus on answers. The team participated in the Inetegral Education workshop conducted in Auroville. We have partnership and collaborated with multiple schools.

We continued to support leadership working and training through being practitioner coaches for RTL (Radical Transformational Leadership) program to support individual and collective growth in Auroville and beyond.

5. Enrollment/beneficiaries:

For schools: number of students in each grade.

For other sub-units: who were the beneficiaries and how many people participated?

We work intensively with Isai Ambalam School and Udavi school

Around 10 youth have enrolled for BNB Shifu program which started in 2021.

We generally work with around 400 children across the schools either though our own Centers or supporting centers at Thamarai, Vasavi, Government schools in bioregion.

15 students have enrolled for B.Voc programme

87 students participated in the Mathegramming Hackathon tournament.

6. Activities of the year:

In general and/or highlights. Who, what, when…

Mathegramming Academy:

Mathegramming Academy aims to build Responsibility and Rigor in children and generate Results through Online mentoring of Mathematics through projects in programming, electronics, and through leadership in action. It is a unique blend of visual mathematics and programming. This approach not only makes mathematics more engaging but also helps students internalize abstract concepts by visualizing them through code. It also allows children to share something concrete with their peers adding a sense of responsibility to their learning, enhancing problem solving skills, and gives confidence and a sense of accomplishment. The team works towards the following shifts:

1. Mediocracy to excellence
2. From rote learning of concepts to looking at visualization of the concepts and encouraging critical thinking.
3. From Disempowering isms like classism, groupism, and genderism to a creative space.

They also conducted sessions for STEM land teachers on Geogebra that would step up their ability to interact and engage with children.

Hackathon tournament:

The Mathegramming team organized Hackathon tournament to foster creativity and learning. 94 students from 6th to 9th grade enrolled in this tournament from different schools in and around Auroville. On the day of the event, 87 students came. In addition, many youth and children who had been exposed to STEM land in the past including our B.Voc students volunteered as mentors to support each team. The session started by the enquiry of sourcing our inner capacities followed by introduction to the modules created by the Mathegramming academy which could make children code faster. We invited Judges from various organizations- Lopa from Ashram, Sanjay, Pratap, Vasanthraj, and Duraiswamy from C3StreamLand Designs, ShankarDevi from Thalam, Julian from Vaasavi International School, Arun from Aura semiconductor, Bridget from Thamarai, Bharani from AIAT and Chitralekha from Pondicherry University. It was enriching to see that we had reached out to so many children/youth in the past who were enthusiastic to support others learn. There was an equal mix of boys and girls at the hackathon and they all worked with each other harmoniously. The tournament showcased the values of equality, responsibility, and the courage to create. It demonstrated the transition from individual to group learning, with strong communication between mentors and mentees. The exchange of ideas between different age groups was a testament to the Academy’s commitment to holistic learning. It was heartening to see the breaking of barriers and the shift from silos thinking to interdependence.

Hackathon workshop on Electronics:

The Mathegramming team wanted Children to connect electronics to the world around them and they will relate Electronics to the Mathematics they have been learning. was set up to encourage creativity and learning at every stage. We conducted the workshop for around 40 children and the children were from different schools. Our team mixed the children from different schools. So that children got different perspectives, encouraging working together, increased their communicative skills. We introduced concepts such as batteries, resistors, LEDs, variable resistors, capacitors, and their symbols, enabling students to draw circuit diagrams. We also demonstrated how the sensor (LDR) works, and students provided different perspectives on how to incorporate LDRs into their circuits. We explained capacitors as being like buckets, where the battery acts as a reservoir of charge. Students learned that capacitors with higher capacity can hold more charge. They observed the capacitor’s functionality by charging it using the battery and discharging it through the LED. Children were also given some challenges on which worked in teams.

Partnering and collaborating with multiple schools:

1. Vaasavi International School

Mathegramming Academy and Vaasavi International School have partnered to enhance math learning for students. The partnership focused on using technology to create more engaging and interactive math lessons. Our learning modules synthesize the technical development of a teacher along with developing competence and supporting inner capacity with RTL (Radical Transformational Leadership) tools. This is because skill in itself is insufficient to create meaningful and sustainable change in society.

Vaasavi International School is a private CBSE school in Puducherry that offers a holistic education. The school has been selected to be a model school in Pondicherry for implementing NEP and this is where we are supporting them. For Mathegramming Academy reached out to 160 children in 7^th grade. Vaasavi International School will be able to offer its students more engaging and interactive math lessons. The partnership is a significant step forward for both Mathegramming Academy and Vaasavi International School and a sign of their commitment to using technology to enhance math and science learning.

• Government schools located in Edayanchavadi and Bommayarpalayam

Mathegramming Academy organized sessions in government schools located in Edayanchavadi and Bommayarpalayam. These training sessions aimed to equip students with the tools and techniques needed to create engaging and impactful learning experiences. Mathegramming Academy’s teacher and children training sessions in Edayanchavadi and Bommayarpalayam illuminated a path toward a brighter future for education. As we celebrate this remarkable endeavor, we continue to champion innovative approaches in education especially for those who do not have access to it.

• Arulvazhi school

STEM land teachers had a session with Arulvazhi school students who came for the first time to STEM Land.

Students’ insights after the session at STEM land:

          “In the beginning, we felt that we were in a place that had technical materials that would be difficult to handle and learn. But we felt connected to the teachers here and they explained in such a way that it was so clear and easy.”

          “When I was doing robotics on my own and made it work, it was so encouraging for me. I am becoming more confident in myself.”

• Smart vacuum cleaner with a child from Study International school

A child from the 7th grade from Study international school has come to STEM Land for making a vacuum cleaner robot as part of her school project and she wanted to make it by her own with some guidance from STEM land. At the beginning her parents were told to buy the required components for the project then Shivashankar a member of Mathegramming Academy has volunteered to help that student in the project and were able complete it. The vacuum cleaner robot project clearly shows that learning can be fun and creative and also interactive. The girl and her family were also happy after completing the project it also created a space for co-creation and we hope her project will also inspire other children to make one on their own and we hope it will make a great impact on Mathegramming and also in children lives by adding values to learning and application of that learning in life.

Just In Time Website:

We created a website called Just In Time (JIT) teacher – that supports teachers on new ways of looking at concepts and projects and activities with it. It contains projects and videos based on specific mathematical topics that support teachers to teach and introduce mathematical concepts visually and logically. Users can search for topics or even by grade level.

Yoga :

At STEM land we embrace unending education and constant progress. Auroville brings many opportunities for this. For the commencement of the Auroville festival in 2024, the Yoga gathering happened at Matrimandir Amphitheater, Auroville, from Feb 22 to Feb 26. From STEMland, a few teachers attended the Yoga session along with students from Udavi and Isai Ambalam schools. There were also children from other schools.

Every Saturday, our group from STEM land, goes to the Matrimandir amphitheater for yoga with around 150 children. We had also experienced a special sound healing yoga session conducted by Mr. Balu, an executive from Mohanam, with guidance from Muthukumari and her team.

Radical Transformational Leadership:

We have a team building session where everyone comes together to look at their leadership ability – leadership means “my ability to create new future grounded on universal values”. These RTL sessions helps to look at oneself within deeper and reflect on it. We see RTL program as both personal transformation and a team building program.

RTL for B.VOC and family members:

C3stemland organized a radical transformation leadership program in Tamil at Auroville SAIIER conference hall. It was a one-day program in Tamil, facilitated by Srilatha Juva, Professor at TISS. B.VOC students and teachers, SAIIER staffs, employees, volunteers and their family members were invited for the program. The primary objective of the program was to help participants identify their stand, fear, four profiles and gain a deeper understanding of their background conversations, system principles, and design from universal values. By participating in these sessions, participants were able to develop a new project that addressed their problem statement, focusing on self-growth or social issues, and using their potential to bring about positive change in themselves and their communities. Around 55 people took part of the program.

Poster presentation at International Commission on Mathematical Instruction conference:

The International Commission on Mathematical Instruction (ICMI) symposium is a major international conference that brings together mathematicians, mathematics educators, and researchers from around the world to discuss current issues and challenges in mathematics education.

Out team presented a poster presentation on how the Isai Ambalam School in India used cultural celebrations and festivals to promote universal values and environmental consciousness among its students. The research methodology employed the theoretical framework of interrupting disempowering ISMs (rigid and disempowering mindsets) and the wisdom profile that embodies universal values to address all ISMs simultaneously. The philosophy underlying the C3STREAM Land is based on the progressive and constructivist thinkers such as Bruner, Papert, and Sri Aurobindo, who emphasized self-knowledge and integral development. The interventions discussed in the poster include Aadi festival and garden, Maavoli, Christmas decoration and fair, and Pongal, which provided opportunities for students to learn about different topics, such as monsoons, environmentally conscious alternatives, and traditional games, and encouraged higher-order thinking skills. Overall, the poster emphasizes the importance of collective effort beyond silos of subject learning to promote universal values and create empowering narratives through festivals and celebrations.

Session on Data Privacy for Udavi  School teachers:

C3streamland organized a session on Data privacy for the teachers of Udavi School and STEMland. Dr. Sanjeev Ranganathan briefed on data privacy and some of the ways by which our personal data can be protected. As we teachers handle children, we must be aware of ourselves and educate children.

Sanjeev discussed the applications of Artificial intelligence and the intended and unintended consequences of technology. He also briefed on how to transcend it by self-awareness. The policies on data protection and the strong need to have data protection policies were also discussed. As a part of self-awareness, a few smart ways to have personal data protected by ourselves were discussed. Some of them are noticing our engagement with phones by turning on the digital well-being in the smartphones, turning off unwanted notifications, not just randomly accepting without even going through the privacy policies, cookies management, and software to protect passwords.

7. Outcomes:

What was created; how did participants benefit?

Mathegramming academy – Creates modules in Scratch to support children program faster and visualize mathematics. We were able to partner with Vaasavi school, collaborate with government schools in Edaiyanchavady and Bomayarpalayam and Arulvazhi school. Conduct tournaments and workshops for children to learn mathematics through programming and electronics while connecting with real life challenges from the space of their universal values.

At the same time codify STEM land and create Just In Time teacher support website.

8. Research highlights:

Please describe anything done in the last year which was especially research-oriented or innovative. What did you find out, and will you take it further?

Breaking Silos Through STREAM Education And Using The Wisdom Profile To Engage With Culture,  March 2023

We found out the importance of collective effort beyond silos of subject learning to promote universal values and create empowering narratives through festivals and celebrations.

9. Reflections:

What was most meaningful this year? What was challenging and what was learned?

Soundhariya:

When working with my team, I deliver my project at the correct time. But sometimes I am out of integrity. So, I want to fill the gaps with my universal values and plan my time before doing. While working with the team I felt creative thinking about different forms of support, generosity, and how to collaborate. It makes finding new ways to create positive changes in my project and life. When I was at my full potential, I noticed that I accomplished the things I planned to do. It also helped me to observe that when I work effectively, I can progress. It makes me find new ways to create positive changes in my project. When I work with my team, I feel creative thinking about various ways to support and collaborate. This helps me come up with new ideas for my project, and it makes learning programming easier. I noticed my integrity I felt happy and light but I am out of integrity I thought about how to narrow the gap with my universal values. Before starting a project, I try to understand how I can make it better. I talk to my team and listen to what they say. This helped me to make the project successful and also I learned how to acknowledge others with my universal values.

Premkumar:

My name is Premkumar I deeply care about courage and equality for myself and others. From the past one year I reflect on myself I learnt that I can also be part of children growth and I can help them to be at their full potential and as well as I also grow as an individual and it helps me to organize myself better. The most beautiful thing in working with children is that it is always interesting and something fresh so it always motivated me to be a better version of myself. I am grateful for the opportunities that I got to improve myself and help others to improve their lives as well.

Preethi:

            Before joining stem land, I never looked at whether I’m in integrity or out of integrity in what I’m doing. Now each day I’m reflecting whether I’m in integrity or not. And also, I’m speaking out when ever needed. I’ve learnt a lot about myself. One important insight is that challenges are opportunities to learn and grow my ability. When I face difficult in task, it pushes me to figure things out and become better at what I do. I’ve also realized the importance of feedback. Constructive feedback helps me see the areas where I can grow and do things better. And I’ve learnt that it’s good to keep learning new things. It’s not only helps me to grow my ability and also helps me to adapt to the new things. And also, I learnt that everyone will have some fear in their life. What more important is I have to be courage and work from my stand. Now a days even if I have fear, I’m working from my universal values. Instead of thinking about what will go wrong, I’m giving my best. I get to learn something new that I never learnt before. Even something I know; I learnt it again in different method. Whenever I learn new thing, I feel accomplished and I feel like it’s a stepping stone for me to grow. Last year I get to work lot with children, when I teach them math concept in different ways, I had been working patiently with them, trying different approaches to explain the idea. And when they understood the concept, it’s makes me happy and proud because it showed that the work, I do with children can make a big difference in their learning.

Dinesh:

            Noticing my gaps when things were not move forward by sourcing my universal values, I can narrow the gaps and I see the alignment when things move forward. Noticing when I am in integrity and out of integrity helps me to ask a clear committed request and with that I can give my committed request. In some cases, working as a team brought me solution quicker instead of overthinking by myself. Allocating time for myself helped me to improve my mental health. The Achievements and acknowledgement in the last year gave me confidence and to be motivated and helped me to be a better of myself in this year.

Ilakya:

            I learnt that mostly I do what I say, when I couldn’t do I fill the gap responsibly to the best I could. I noticed that there are many things that I learned here which I must have learned in the college and school, and it is not late to learn new things.

I noticed that when I accomplish something I feel good and I want to do more.

 From the above, I found that what kind of person I am in holding integrity. When I am out of integrity, it makes me to take action and fill the gap rather than feeling guilty about it. I am very grateful for the things I learnt after joining here. Though it is hard to accept that the way I learned everything is wrong and the inspiration that I got to continue my higher studies is actually nothing much. Now, I am moving forward with the things I learned and rather than blaming that I was taught wrong. I feel good to work on what I learnt.

Ajay:

            My name is Ajay, and I stand for love, happiness, and self-awareness for myself and others. I’ve been part of C3SLD for almost one and a half years, where everyone has opportunities to work with children and learn new things. I joined in 2022, participating in the Shifu program, which became a turning point in my life, surpassing the learning I gained during my four years of college. C3SLD provides a beautiful culture and environment where I collaborate with experienced individuals who have more experience than my age.

In the past year, I learned to hold my integrity, share my knowledge with others for the growth of myself and others, and support others during their unavailability. Practicing RTL has helped me perform at my best, notice myself where I can improve by using tools like feedback, integrity, etc. This practice guides me in addressing problems in much better ways.

Reflecting at the end of each week helps me to see my progress and what are all the gaps I need to fill in the upcoming week. These things encourage me to get more involved in activities and events, contributing to the organization.

Engaging in sports or going for a walk at the end of the day keeps me healthy, and I can see the difference compared to the previous year. I acknowledge Sanjeev Anna and seniors for their constant support towards everyone’s growth. I recognize the quality of care and progress I’ve witnessed, and I will apply these values in my life.

Arun:

            We are not individuals doing a single task. We work to support students in school and contribute to Aura’s multitasking. We also engage in spiritual growth, starting our day with meditation and participating in one hour of group sitting each week. During our morning meetings, we share our daily plans and any information that can be beneficial to our teammates. Learning sessions are included, along with reflection sessions based on the RTL Tool, which we practice every week.

Elamkathir:

I have had many opportunities to expand my knowledge, energy and skills as a part our organization that values learning, growth, work, and teaching. I have gained a deeper understanding of the values, as well as the importance of spiritual and personal development through participation in various activities and programs like RTL, Vipassana, and visiting Auroville communities, being a part of community life, IEPG,and PE training program. My learning experiences have led to a greater sense of purpose and direction, allowing me to approach my work with renewed energy and enthusiasm. I have also developed a stronger sense of community and shared my knowledge and experience with others, helping them to grow as well. Overall, my learning within this organization has been a transformative and rewarding experience, leading to personal growth and alignment with both the organization and the wider community. I am encouraged to keep learning and keep growing.

Jayabharathy:

C3SLD is a learning environment. When I first came in, I was very much worried about whether this would be the right place and what I am going to do here. As I started learning and doing things, this feeling of overwhelming completely went away. I have taken part in many programs organized here. This helped me to get connected with other people and work as a team. I came to know about RTL and Vipassana only after joining this organization. RTL has greatly helped me to understand who I am from inside and Vipassana has helped to control my emotions and be equanimous. I have also learnt a lot of technical stuffs over here with an open mind. Whenever I needed help, people over here supported me without judging me for not knowing something earlier. This increased my interest towards learning several things over the past year. On the whole, I feel I have joined in the right organization where I can grow as a person and also support others around me to grow.

Kugan:

My name is Kugan, and I stand for equality for myself and others. I have learned to uphold integrity in everything I do. In this organization, I have observed that I can learn, teach, work, and grow not only as an individual but also as a team member. We focus on innovating in mathematics concepts and material-based learning for children, as well as for ourselves. The environment is supportive of any initiative taken, providing feedback that helps me share what I learn with others during learning sessions.

I can handle multiple responsibilities as both an engineer and a teacher, which makes me more effective in my personal life as well. This environment supports me in leading a positive life by introducing and conducting various workshops, such as RTL, IE, etc.

Narmadha:

I am able to notice whether I am aligned with our values through creating blogs, and supporting teams. what I have learned is not only sticking with one domain should have diversity in learning for more exploration. This year I am able to focus on outcomes rather then output.

Santhosh:

This organization helped me to notice my actions and my purpose.  I notice gaps to fill, This organization helped me to be close to my purpose in life. I mingled with everyone in order to break group-ism and I Shuffled children into groups in order to break gender-ism also  I’m able to noticed my out of integrity and to change it with  being in integrity. I’m great full with the opportunities I have here to learn and grow as a team.  I published more blogs and started vlogs as a new initiative. I felt happy to participate in the all activities and programs, planning and term work came out very well and I learned how to solve mistakes without judging me

Sri Bhavani:

C3SL/SL gives me greater opportunity to see my growth through my learnings. This environment supported me to notice gaps in my actions and values, directed way to narrow that gap through the opportunities in different ways. I got opportunities to learn more about Integral education and interact with teachers from other Auroville schools and Auroville outreach schools.

 I started to respect others time when I work through integrity lens. It helped me to create healthy relationship with team members as well as in family. I am able to notice that when I am in integrity, I value others time and effort. When I am in integrity, I can see myself as whole and complete. It helped to narrow the gaps to make myself complete.

My effectiveness and efficiency are also depending on my interest and peaceful mindset. Apart from interest, I can also see my efficiency is depends on my rigor in doing things. When I feel accomplished in what am I doing, it improves my efficiency to achieve more in results. I am able to improve my efficiency through my achievements and accomplishments.

Also helped me to look back what I have done well and how can I do it differently in the upcoming opportunities.

Sundaresan:

Whenever I am in Integrity I feel accomplished. Integrity taught me importance of the time. A habit of integrity makes myself as more consistent person. Perseverance is most important thing to learn anything new. Sharing my learnings to others is helping to thinking about the concept more deeply. I learnt Whenever I see my full potential, I realise actually that is not my full potential, I have more than that.

Tamilarasan:

My name is TAMILARASAN. I stand for courage and compassion for myself and others. Being part of C3steamland makes me grateful, as the whole organization provides more opportunities to learn, grow, and teach. Here, children are getting more opportunities to learn with new technologies. As employees, we hold more responsibilities, which gives me more confidence to handle many things in social life as well.

Duraisamy:

My name is Duraisamy Pandurangan, and I am deeply care about dignity, wisdom, and freedom for both myself and others. Over the years, I have achieved meaningful milestones, particularly in supporting children’s education in electronics, microcontrollers, Python, machine learning, operating systems, and mathematics, integrating these concepts into their day-to-day lives. Through this effort, children have gained the ability to apply mathematical principles to real-time problems.

I have also contributed to the development of a new curriculum for B. Voc electronics in collaboration with AIAT, ensuring that these syllabuses align with industrial requirements to fulfill the needs of the students. Additionally, I have engaged in global interactions through RTL sessions, sharing new initiatives and problem statements with others. This collaborative approach has allowed me to articulate system shifts and cultural changes that I envision for the future, while providing technical solutions based on project statements.

Being an integral part of the STEM community, I actively contribute to the growth and development of youths and children. I eagerly anticipate new opportunities to extend this support to everyone.

Meganathan:

My name is Meganathan, and I deeply care about courage, love, and equality for myself and others. This year, I feel accomplished in moving forward with my growth to the next step and understanding real-time math problems. I worked with children to create materials for learning.

I see myself as part of the STEM landscape, supporting multiple people and children for their growth.

Muralidharan:

Last year I have been part of many things like handling finance, Mentoring shifuians and BVOC students, supporting kitchen related tasks, research paper, contributions for Au53xx, Au55xx, Au5328, Au56xx, Au5010, Au1901 and absolute project and RTL PC training and workshop organizing. Working and being with many new people helped me learn new skills from them and also teach them what I knew. For this year also, I hope to retain the things that have helped me grow in all aspects. I noticed how much I have contributed by being in integrity to the growth of our organization and would like to improve in the areas where I lack integrity as an individual and as a team. Revisiting the time spent and things I learnt last year, I realized that I should increase the time for learning and focus on things to learn that are relevant to my area of work or interests me personally and also on sports and health.

Poovizhi:

            I am able to notice that, the more I am being responsible the more I take initiatives. The alignment with my values and the organization helps me to take responsibilities and feel whole. I was able to notice the gap in taking care of my health and I need to work on it.

Sandhya Bala:

My name is Sandhiya Bala Anand, and I deeply care about courage, care, and happiness for both myself and others. I specialize in automating batch processes and ensuring the timely delivery of testing documentation for various projects and clients. I have acquired skills in C code testing, project regression testing, and website development. In addition to my technical expertise, I actively engage in personal development through meditation, workshops, and courses.

I collaborate with my team members, support mentees, and contribute to the development of school software features. I have successfully managed diverse responsibilities, including handling Aura’s work, supporting mentees in Shifu, training BVOC students, and caring for my family.

I am eager to delve into Python scripting and excited about taking on new responsibilities while anticipating upcoming challenges in the coming year. I look forward to embracing these new responsibilities and dedicating time to engage with my learning, preparing for the challenges that lie ahead in the upcoming year.

Pratap:

Over the past year, I achieved significant milestones across various dimensions. I successfully published two research papers in MES12 and had the privilege of representing the organization at the ICMI conference, where I also presented at the symposium and published an abstract. Professionally, I actively contributed to diverse projects such as au4693_revA, au4693_revA1, au4693_revB, au4851kA2, au5070, au6316, and Au4852. These projects involved crucial tasks, including making changes to sub-blocks and contributing to tape-out procedures.

In terms of technical skills, I participated in RTL book readings and  I played a key role in setting up and enhancing the office infrastructure, including internet and Ethernet cables. This involved communication with the Arinoco team to improve internet connectivity. I also took on responsibilities for office networking, which included organizing routers, switches, and procuring new equipment.

On a personal growth level, I dedicated time to activities such as meditation, Vippasana, and regular reflection practices. This holistic approach to well-being supported my overall growth. I took new responsibilities, including managing the Shifu Program, FCRA Finance, and office network. I also actively engaged with the Isai Ambalam school by organizing events like Karthigai and Christmas celebrations and contributing to environmental efforts by planting palm sprouts and turmeric plants. I learned the importance of making responsible decisions and doing things for the benefit of others’ growth. I emphasized integrity in both personal and professional aspects. Overall, the year was marked by accomplishments, personal and professional growth, and a commitment to contributing positively to both the workplace and the community.

Saranya:

To be part of C3STREAMLand This is my 6th year with this organization. I see myself getting better and better in many ways. Whatever the decision I take that come from my consciousness not influenced by others. This environment made me to be independent and to take correct or wrong decision but it always come from me. Whatever the interpretation I make I have to face the consequences. Lot more to work with myself independently. Being here is my lifetime cherishing moment. I love working with younger kids and would like to continue with them. I am being true to myself and this organization. When I am being true, I expect the same thing from the person or the organization, when this is not happening, I am able to accept it and move forward. I can only change myself not the others. I feel this is very good realization for me. The work I do with love and care and I use RTL tools often at work. I feel this organization supported for my growth and I valued all the opportunity I received.

I believe I am at the correct place. I spent most of my time here and those times are very valuable and this learning never going to end. This environment gave me wonderful support to be at my full potential. Every moment and every opportunity I get, I valued them all and used it wisely. I can see my continuous growth and support towards others, At school I spend my time with children those were my grateful moments. I love being with the kids and learn a lot from them. I am being in integrity with this organization and with myself. This is the right place for me to be here and work, and support the children.

Vasanthraj:

When I am working on the Palm and Monsoon projects with children, I looked for the alignment of values, system shifts and the actions. The values are responsibility and creativity, system shift as unorganised to work in a group, the actions are chart work and notes preparation. When children work in groups, I always make sure that the group is a mix of boys and girls and interrupt ISMs.

Support the initiative started by the organization which includes Mathegramming team (supporting on taking RTL in schools) and Shifu program (Mentoring Prem Kumar).

I have been involved in the verification process of various SPS variants, including au4851k revA4, au4851k revA5, au4851k revA6, au4851k revB, au4991k revA3, and au4852k revA. I identified the causes of my ineffectiveness and began working on them, which include distributing my work with Sundaresan, turning off mobile internet during work hours, handling financial tasks in the evening, engaging directly with the Aura team, and maintaining an Excel sheet with project status and debug issues and started documentation of my work.

Recognizing that manual waveform checking is time-consuming, I have started automating waveform using Ocean scripting and skill scripting. Additionally, I am investing time in learning the XRUN tool, simvision tool options, Spectre commands, vim and sed commands too.

10. Conclusion:

Any final remarks, and/or intentions for next year.

We will continue the codification of STEM Land as well as look to offer workshops with partners

11. Links and attachments:

Photos (please attach as separate files), links to videos and websites, any other supplementary material that you would like to share.

Research: https://www.auraauro.com/research/BREAKING_SILOS_THROUGH_STREAM_EDUCATION.pdf

Blogs and about the unit : https://www.auraauro.com/

JIT website: https://stemlandjit.pythonanywhere.com/