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Sonaleeca Das

Ms. Sonaleeca Das is a science teacher at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in Tenughat of Bokaro district in the state of Jharkhand. She has been teaching science to middle-school learners for eighteen years. She has an integrated bachelor’s degree in science and education from Regional Institute of Education, Bhubaneswar.

She is actively involved in planning and organizing science exhibitions, exposure visits to science centres, mentor talks, and workshops on nurturing design thinking among the middle-grade learners for their successful participation in national-level science competitions. In 2016 she received the Navodaya National Incentive Award for her contributions in the field of teaching learning in one of the remote north-eastern regions of India.

During her participation in the Fulbright DAI program, Sonaleeca plans to explore methods to nurture, develop, and scaffold reflection as a skill among the middle-school learners in science. She believes that the skill of reflection should help the current generation of learners to listen to their internal voice, to make meaning of their experiences and develop the ability to receive comments, suggestions, evaluations, and feedback. The learning and findings from her project will guide her to redesign the experiential learning process in her school. She plans to disseminate learnings from this project through research publications and workshops with fellow teachers.

Bhavna Sawnani

Ms. Bhavna Sawnani is Officer on Special Duty (OSD) at the head office of the Directorate of Education, Delhi and Lecturer of Biology. With master’s degrees in zoology, education, and English, Ms. Sawnani has worked in the field of education for the past 21 years and as a mentor teacher for six years.

During her tenure as a teacher, she worked on several science projects and her models were recognized at the state level for their innovative approach. She was awarded the State Teachers’ Award – Delhi and Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan Award for her significant contributions in the field of education. Ms. Sawnani is Editor of Dilli Shiksha magazine and quarterly school science magazine; in-charge of the social media team of the Delhi Directorate of Education and alumni projects; and coordinator of all delegates from India and abroad. She has also represented Delhi at several international conferences and has served as a panelist in several educational programs. As a mentor teacher, Ms. Sawnani observed her colleagues’ classes, offered feedback for improvement, conducted staff meetings and workshops for teachers, developed curriculum for the Delhi Board of Education, and designed several books.

During her Fulbright TEA program, Ms. Sawnani is learning pedagogical tools used by teachers to make classrooms accessible and inclusive. She further intends to work with parents of children with disabilities and bring them together as a community. She aims to disseminate insights gained from her stay in the U.S. to parents and teachers in her communities back home.

Rinchen Angmo

At the Ladakh Public School in Leh, Ms. Rinchen Angmo oversees the science department and serves as the high school coordinator. In her present role, she works as student-mentor and teacher-trainer and designs lesson plans and other pedagogical tools. She has a bachelor’s in science and education and a master’s in plant biotechnology.

Ms. Angmo is a member of VIBHA (Vijnana Bharati) and works relentlessly to propagate the participation of students from Ladakh in science and technology competitions and seminars. She is also a member of the Royal Society of Chemistry and has attended workshops to change the science teaching-learning methodologies practiced in schools for decades.

Through her participation in the Fulbright TEA program, Ms. Angmo is looking forward to expanding her pedagogical knowledge and skills by interacting with a global network of teachers. She is determined to empower the teachers in her community through her global exposure. She aims to take forward her belief in “compassion in education” for the holistic development of students.