Faraday - The Science Course

An integrated science course (Physics, Chemistry, Biology & Geology) for learners (10 yrs & above)

Faraday - The Science Course

DreamNobel is an education initiative with a simple motto, “We want to drop that apple on every child’s head so that they can, on their own, discover their gravity”. We have developed a unique science course whereby a student can be broadly engaged on all the major theories of all the Science subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Biology & Geology) in an integrated manner. This is done following a problem-solving methodology, using the last 2,500 yrs history of sciences as the underlying foundation. In doing so we want to ensure that “independent thinking” and “empathy” become an integral part of student’s personality.

Key Features of Faraday

  • It is structured around curiosity, creativity, and empathy. This course uses science as a tool to strengthen these qualities in a learner.
  • All basic science subjects i.e. Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Geology are integrated into a single journey of exploration bringing out deep interconnections between them.
  • The course uses a storytelling methodology mixed with science theories/concepts to empower children to strengthen the superior problem-solving abilities that they are born with.

Faraday's Approach to Science Learning

Curiosity and more curiosity: Every student in the class has the right to ask any and as many questions as they want to ask. Curiosity is encouraged and enhanced by making it a priority.

Then what?

Curiosity is handled…not answered: As questions tumble out, we work on them with the learner in a way that helps them own their questions, thereby helping them develop a respect for their questions without a need to judge them upfront. This works wonders for their curiosity for Science becomes simple and accessible rather than a complicated subject.

How is that done?

Interconnections between subjects/concepts is the tool: Questions require scientific concepts to get answered. However, if concepts are presented in an isolated manner, then they make no sense to imagination. This is the key strength of Faraday. All the concepts across the subjects, and within subjects, are presented in an interconnected fashion thereby creating deep imaginations. In Faraday all the previous classes drive the future class. Towards the end of the course we draw a single chart that integrates all the classes/theories across all the subjects into a single visual framework. This not only helps kids make sense of this world in totality (and not in bits and pieces) but also triggers their curiosity in a way that they learn to use it to create solutions.

How does that help?

Independent Thinking & Empathy: Since all scientific concepts in this course take birth in an interconnected fashion in the context of learner’s curiosity, it helps them grasp the scientific concepts from the first principles thereby developing an independent thinking mind. Also, as children through their own independent thinking participate in creation of answers, they naturally develop an empathetic mindset to various viewpoints. An empathetic independent thinker is what the future demands.

In short, the Faraday course, uses Science as a tool to get children ready to face the world where change is more of a norm than an exception. While doing so it ensures that children understand the basic scientific theories in a way that they develop a natural inclination for Sciences. We dream of seeding Nobel laureates by tons while laying the foundations for an empathetic world.

Note of caution: If the above sounds too good to be true then rest assured that your inner voice is right. The above description of the course states our desire... the kind of education system we intend to create. However, we are still far away from our goal. Every now and then we commit mistakes, but then we try to learn from it and work hard not to repeat it. And the journey continues. So, if you are looking out for those perfect teachers we are surely not one of them.


Course Flow

  • Module1: This module involves developing a simple problem solving methodology using age old stories (Panchatantra, Jataka, etc.)
  • Module2: This module involves exploring the major theories of all sciences in an integrated manner using the problem solving methodology developed in Module1.
  • Module3: Visualizing the integrated framework of science on a single screen


Course Coverage

  • Physics :Mechanics, Gravity, Heat/Thermodynamics, Waves, Sound, Light, Electricity & Magnetism, etc.
  • Chemistry: Atomic Structure, Chemical Reactions, Periodic Table, Radioactivity, Nuclear Reactions, Organic Chemistry, Electrochemistry, etc.
  • Biology: Microscopy, Taxonomy, Cells/Tissues/Organs, Human Anatomy, Life Systems, Genetics, Evolution and Origin of Life, etc.
  • Geology: Size/Weight/Age of Earth, Earth Processes, Catastrophism, Uniformatism, Plate Tectonics, etc.

Target Audience

This course is for your child only if:

  • You as parents are OK with “learning” for its own sake…
  • Your child questions anything and everything…
  • Your answers sort of never satisfies your child…

If the above defines you and your child then MAYBE Faraday will meet your requirements.

In case you skipped the bold capitalized word “MAYBE” then let me tell you something – more than half of children who join Faraday, drop out unhappy… we fail so much and so often that now we have come to understand that for what we are trying to achieve, our failure is actually a good measure of our success.


Operational Details

  • Subject covered: Physics, Chemistry, Biology & Geology
  • Batch size: One batch will have around 5-10 kids
  • Session Duration: Around 1.5 hours
  • Session Frequency: Once/Twice a week.
  • Total No. of Sessions: Around 100-120.
  • Age bracket: Kids aged 10 years and above

All the above parameters are to give a rough estimate. We are open to modifications that suit requirements of learners without sacrificing the core purpose of learning/education.


Course Selection Process

  1. Step1: Detailed engagement with parents to understand their expectations and share the expectations of this course. Yes we have lots of expectations. Expect at least an hour long session. Also expect that during the session you will feel as if you are getting interviewed. However, the whole intent is to ensure that you walk into the course with a clear understanding. It's a very unlike the other science course that exist in the market today and thus we want to ensure that neither your money nor our time is wasted. We want to engage with only those parents who share our imagination of science and thus are very selective.
  2. Step2: Engagement with child of around an hour. The intent of this session is for the child to evaluate the teacher and decide if she will want to join the Faraday science course or not. This is the the only time when we actually make our sales pitch. In this course its the child who decides whether she wants to join or not. So even if the teacher and parents like each other, it really does not matter for us. This course is of child, for child and decided only by child.
  3. Step3: Batch formation and start of classes. We try to ensure to our best that it fits every child's calendar. We also seek a lot of support from initial parents to help us find more children for our past experience has shown us that birds of same feather flock together.

Parting Thoughts

1. If the first (or the only) question that springs to your mind is, "What's the course price?", then we would recommend you to ignore this course. We are not trying to demean you for we appreciate the fact that different people have different yardsticks for measuring value. We are saying so because we know from our past experience that in all probability joining this course will be a waste of money for you.

2. If your idea of education is centered around marks/grades/assignments/tests/etc. then Faraday is not the course for you. In Faraday there are no assigned readings, no class notes, no homework, no assessments... basically don't expect anything that you are used to seeing in schools or the science courses available in the market.

3. If after reading all this your conclusion is that this is idealistic notion of someone w.r.t. science education of children then the only thing we can thank you is for taking the pain to read up to this point and then making a conclusion, no matter how wrong it is. To each his own.


Contact Details

WhatsApp Mobile Number: +91 9167017254

Email: [email protected]

Reach out to us with the least of expectations and lots of hope.

DreamNobel is a hope… a hope that we will be able to drop that apple on every child's head so that they can, on their own, discover their "gravity".

Faraday is a journey and not a curriculum. In undertaking this journey with children we are painfully aware that we will fail more often than we succeed. But today we don't regret because over time we have understood that it's good that it's this way.


Our Online Presence

Please checkout our blogs on the following social media sites to learn more about our idiosyncrasies. And if you, by any chance, find a match of wavelengths then do follow us to help us spread our 'gyan'.

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/dreamnobel/

Medium: https://dreamnobel.medium.com/


"This course is not only for children who want to be scientists when they grow up. This course is for anybody who has questions about the natural world. It's for anybody who wants to go on a wild ride that exists in the innocent white space between the lines in science textbooks.

Sharad sir is a great storyteller. I personally loved the caricatures of famous and not-so-famous scientists and their backstories. There’s so much schools don’t teach us about the history of science. Sharad sir's eyes glint with pride every time I ask a question. He is flexible and lets our questions lead the class. I can tell his aim is to keep the flame of curiosity burning in the learner.

This journey of science taught me that textbooks state our discoveries as facts, but they are not facts – theories are fragile, and every theory is bound to be replaced eventually (at least that's what the history of science tells us). This course humanizes science and gives me the faith to say that every child will become a scientist if they learn to respect their own questions."

- Saanvi Mundra (Science course student during the period 2019-2022)

"The Science Class/course started on a very promising note and continued with the same spirit throughout its length. Sharad had a topic planned for every session. Sharad's meticulous research and preparation for each class is commendable, worthy of our praise. Children have noted the preparatory work, the homework that their Teacher completes before taking a class! that is inspiring! Very few Teachers will put this kind of effort to ensure their students get maximum benefit out of the Teacher's knowledge.

Every class had stories about science, history of science, scientists, their theories, counter theories, origin of concepts, their application - all discussed in an environment that encouraged children to participate in the discussion and to ask questions. Sharad encourages children to ask questions and to keep asking until they are convinced with the replies and have understood the topic to their satisfaction. Sharad has been very patient with the children and with their questions; he never termed children's questions as silly and that encouraged all children to participate equally. Whenever in doubt, my daughter continues to ask questions to all her teachers- some teachers are happy to have a student who is curious to learn and some may be annoyed, but my daughter is persistent.
All classes ended with a prompt update for the parents, giving a brief of the topics discussed.
The DreamNobel journey, in time length, was long, as these were originally physical classes that had to be converted to online due to Covid gap. Physical classes have certainly been more effective than online.
The course has no assignments or homework so children had no added pressure. There was always a recap of previous class and children referred their notes. However, online sessions did affect the seriousness of taking notes.
I would like to see some accountability from children's side, and coming from old school, I can only suggest some research based homework (by referring books only) that'll take, say 20-25 mins, during the week or the children can just pen down the highlights from previous class. I'm aware that DreamNobel is not built on this format and that is exactly the reason we opted for the course :)
My daughter connects a lot of dots in all subjects; I credit the course for this quality. The course is not designed as a supplement to science taught in school, hence the resultant benefits will be subtle and underlying, but notable.
Our most treasured takeaway, is to dream of Nobel! All children qualify for this dream! It's been an inspiring journey. Our gratitude.
I hope many more children benefit out of this course and Sharad's teaching."

- Nidhi Sharma (Mother of Tiana who was a Science course student during the period 2019-2022)

"I met Sharad uncle via my father and having spent some time with him and conversing with a few of his students, I realized there were a lot of things beyond school which we weren’t taught about and wanted to know more.

The first few classes were just the fundamentals of his method of tackling a question. At the end of each class, he would leave us with a question which I would toil with for the entire week. Later on, we started with the science part.

Very frankly, I remember little to nothing of what he taught, from a data/content perspective, and still have to refer to my notes. The classes were never about testing one’s memory. The focus was always on developing an important skill i.e. the ability to tackle questions from first principles. Even now, when I refer to my school textbooks and see a few things left or being out of portion, I still read about it from the internet, while applying the same basic principles. In my opinion it is a rather important skill to have.

Secondly, his classes didn’t follow a very strict rule of having to complete a specific portion in a specific timeframe. We would’ve spent entire classes discussing doubts or even things completely out of the portion like commerce or mythological stories, depending on queries or context. This was helpful in my growth as a person, for I developed the skill to converse on a wide spectrum of topics."

- Vedant Ahuja (Science course student during the period 2020-2023)


"Thank you, Sharad.

Vedant used to look forward to Friday class . .. It was not only science but also ability to think beyond obvious. It changed the way he approaches a problem. Thank you for your time and being so patient with the children.

We are here because we could see gradual change in our child's rational and critical thinking (much needed for further studies). Thank you so much for everything. For me you were more like a life coach to my children. They learned to see things beyond obvious through your teachings"

- Richa Ahuja (Vedant’s Mother)

"As a student of 10th Grade, who has chosen to not take science as a subject, I have a lot to say about my journey in this science course. I feel partly why I didn't like continuing with science wasn’t just because I didn’t like it or that I didn’t understand it, but because it wasn’t being taught, in the schools, in a way I would have liked it to. Sharad sir’s science course however I feel is the most genuine way to learn science, because it takes you on a topsy-turvy journey of how science progressed over centuries. The course starts with a module that guides the participants on how to think critically. I remember those earlier classes very well and how we went from problem-solving to understanding scientific thinking, using simple age old stories. I think the way this course takes its time to slowly reach the concepts we learn in the school curriculum actually helps us second-guess everything and really makes us think about what we are learning. I ask my friends now who take science and I ask them questions, they can tell me direct answers from what they have read in the textbook but even a single query questioning the concept itself and they don’t know how to answer it, because they just believe what they read, or what they are taught. This course took us through the history of science and helped me understand that what we learn in the classroom isn’t fixated, but can always be questioned. Because if Democritus can be laughed at about his atomic theory and be proven right centuries later then what is really science rather than just theories (i.e. approximate answers) about how the world works? I loved the progression of the atomic theory part the most because we first covered it earlier in the class and went back to it almost a year later, which made it truly feel like being on a scientific journey. The only thing I felt near the end of the course was that it felt stretched out too long and a little tiresome to remember those earlier classes. But there’s a lot I learned from the course and it made science exciting for me in middle school."

- Aditya Mathur (Science course student during the period 2019-2022)

"I really liked and identified with the reason for which Sharad started these science classes. As a parent and after looking back on my own childhood journey and relationship with subjects, I feel we learn and remember things that we are interested in. And we are interested in things because we understand them. And this is the big differentiator that Sharad brings to the table along with his unmatched passion, dedication and years of wisdom.

His curriculum is holistic in its approach and has the unique ability to tie the different streams of biology, physics and chemistry together. His strength is to clearly demonstrate that what is happening in a chemical reaction is exactly how it happens within the human body and exactly the same way appears in the outer world. He has all the traits (and more) of a good teacher - a parent can ask for. I am sure I would have become an engineer like I wanted to if I had him for my physics teacher in my childhood.

My only one input will be to have a mechanism, as a part of the course, to test the child (as in to demonstrate to the child themselves how much they’ve learnt and understood through the course)."

- Manisha Bansal (Mother of Ria who was a Science course student during the period 2020-2023)
"It is a bit of a conundrum because the course did do (and very well) what it set out to do- provide an introduction and explore science and initiate a process of creative thinking. I suppose the only drawback (if I may call it that) was that it felt a bit long sometimes, and children, unless they are exceptionally driven, could have trouble keeping the same level of interest all throughout.
I don’t know how to address that, but may be including some experiments that they could do during some of the sessions on their own would help? Or share a link for further reading and discuss in the next class?
It is such a brilliant idea and Siddhi loves science, so I honestly think the course did her a lot of good."
- Smita Dash (Mother of Siddhi who was a Science course student during the period 2020-2023)

Your Instructor


Sharad Mehta
Sharad Mehta

Pre midlife crisis: Around 14 years of experience in private equity investments, mergers and acquisitions, corporate strategy and business development across IT and infrastructure sectors. Working across such diverse profiles have given me a well-rounded perspective to not only evaluate problems from a much broader dimension, but also helped me strengthen my unlearning-relearning capabilities.

Post midlife crisis: Then life decided to show me what the word "experience" can mean. Truly for the first time while dealing with children on Sciences, I experienced an "Experience". They taught me the most important lesson of life and i.e., the happiness that accompanies the true realization, "I don't know". It is this realization that led to creation of DreamNobel, an education initiative that engages students in a way that independent thinking and empathy become an integral part of their personality.

Thus, over the years, first working in corporates across sectors and profiles and then with children, have taught me the real meaning of what it means to love one's work while living a meaningful life. Now I am on a journey to internalize these lessons while continuing to engage with children on Sciences.

I have done B.Tech (IIT) and MBA (IIM). I am married and am based out of Mumbai with my wife and two children.


Frequently Asked Questions


When does the course start and finish?
The course runs over 100 sessions of around 1.5 hour duration. The entire course is finished over a period of 1.5 - 2.5 years depending on the session frequency mutually selected.
What are expectations from the children who join the course?
Children are expected to ask as many questions as they can think of and share their thoughts/perspectives without any fear. There is no other expectation.
What are the expectations from the parents?
1. Parents are expected to let their wards join the course only when they (i.e. parents) have developed a certain degree of faith/trust in the teacher. 2. Ensure that their child attends the classes regularly and on time. The course is a highly integrated course and thus missing few classes will also mean that the child will lose context in future classes. 3. It is a serious course done in a different way. So join it only if science seriously interests your child. 4. During the duration of the course don’t try to test your child based on what all he or she remembers from the course. If at all you want to get a hang of the progress of this course, then I would suggest that you to sit through a couple of classes and try to watch for yourself the way the discussions happen during the sessions. 5. This is a very unlike course in every possible way. So, when in doubt call and seek clarification from us then trying to form some impression in your mind based on typical standards and then judge us or this course. Rest assured there will be many points, during the course, where you will doubt or get confused by our approach. Therefore, let’s keep the channels of communication open so that the trust remains.
What are the things parents must be aware of?
Though the entire course is full of experiments discussed and explored in detail, we don't actually do/perform experiments as a part of the course. Also in the entire course Maths is not used. Contact us to understand as to why we do this.
What is content coverage of this course?
In this course we will cover broadly all the major theories of Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and Geology that a child comes across in his school between Grade 6 and Grade12. The entire focus of this course is on deep conceptual understanding and not on memorising and data. To give an example, a typical science class will teach a child that digestion is a chemical process and then share with the child the long list of enzymes secreted in our body and the food component they help digest... further all this information is shared as facts of science by the authority called as teacher... so the role of a child is to just to understand, absorb and memorize this data. Not only that once the topic of digestion is over the teacher moves on to the next topic, and all these topics are more or less introduced as independent topics. We try to break all these approaches which are challenges to creating a meaningful scientific education. In our class the agency lies with the children and the teacher is not an authority but a fellow learner. We spend a lot of time exploring with the children as to how did mankind solve the puzzle that digestion is a chemical process and how did we learn about the existence of enzymes and the role they play... while doing so we explore theories and counter theories. Not only that we also understand what's the connection between these knowledge points and various other topics/subjects in science. In a nutshell, this course does not treat science as some subject to be mastered but as a tool that can help children strengthen their problem solving capabilities.
So in this course science is taught differently so that it becomes interesting for children?
No. We are not trying to make science interesting or entertaining for children. We are only try to bring the real spirit of science to the table. Whether the child finds it interesting or not is completely dependent on the interests and inclinations of the child. It has been our experience that people try too hard to make science fun and in the end it just becomes an entertainment. We don't focus on entertaining the child, rather we work hard to try and make science accessible to the child in a way that the child makes an individual choice as to whether its entertaining or not.
What can the parents expect as outcome from this course?
This course attempts to enhance the curiosity and creativity that a child is born with. Whether we will succeed or not is not something that we can't guarantee. However, we can surely commit one thing and i.e. no question of your child, asked in the class, will be left unattended (unattended is not equal to unanswered). Beyond this we don't make any commitment on an improvement in marks/grades/etc. of the child. In fact if that is the expectation we will strongly advise you to not even explore this course. However in no way we are trying to say that this course will not improve learning outcomes. We just don't make commitments, in order to remain true to the principles we hold dear to ourselves.
Since the course allows children to ask their questions freely will it lead to children having problem in their schools where such freedom is curtailed?
Well that's a possibility that can play out. However, we have in our experience till now not faced such a challenge with any parent complaining about it. Having said that we would also like to ask parents - is curiosity a priority for them or adherence to rules a priority - which one of them is a bigger priority? There are no right and wrong answers here... its just individual preference. If we have to choose among them we will clearly choose curiosity even if it brings trouble for us as parents in terms of complaints from school. We will put in extra effort and try to work with the child and the school to prevent such situations, but at no point we will try to kill a child's curiosity in trying to preserve some kind of adherence to some arbitrary rules. For us we are very clear... curiosity cannot be learnt later... a child is born with it and once its lost unlikely it will come back... however adherence to rules can and will be learnt later for there is no running away from it.
Since your course just focuses on joy of learning will my child lose interest in appearing in exams which unfortunately are required?
We don't expect that to happen but then we cannot guarantee it. Think this way... if you love eating pizza and someone comes and tells you that you will have to give an exam and post that you can eat as much pizza as you want... what will be your response? Would you not be more open to giving such an exam then as opposed to giving the same exam when you have no interest in eating pizza in the first place? That's the problem with our education system. Before striving to develop a child's interest and inclination for something we start testing them. In our course we endeavour to present science in the right spirit to the child and if the child develops an interest then we believe he or she will be far more inclined in giving any kind of exam. So we are in no way trying to discourage the child from any exam... on the contrary we are trying to get them ready in the right spirit. This course is designed to use science as a tool to let children strengthen their problem solving capability. Thus in every class of ours a child is getting tested against some or other problem and to that extent our course is a never ending exam like real life. However, please remember that we are only committing to do our best... whether the end result will be to your liking or not is beyond our control.
How is DreamNobel's experience in executing the Faraday course over the years?
Our experience is nothing sort of magical w.r.t amount of learning we have got from children. However we can't say the same thing with confidence w.r.t children's/parents' experience with us. Almost two-thirds of children who join our course drop out by the time course is around 25% over. Of the one thirds who finish the course, our best guess will be is that one thirds of them are able to appreciate the course in a way that we desire. So, in conventional terms we are not very successful. But today we don't regret this because over time we have understood that it's good that it's this way.
Why almost two thirds of the children drop out of Faraday course midway?
This is a difficult question to answer because the best we can give here is our understanding of the reasons for which two thirds of children drop out, because those who drop out rarely come back and shared honest constructive feedback. If at all they share its more to vent out their frustrations that listening to our side of story. Having said that let us share what is our analysis of this situation. About one thirds drop out because we fail in executing what we want to execute. Another one thirds drop because children by the time they are 10+ years of age are more like adults then like children, at least when it comes to their learning patterns. A superhero skill of a small child is simplistic thinking and it is this kind of thinking that ahs produced amazing discoveries. However, when we try encouraging that in our course, and we do it a lot, some children, like lots of adults find it a waste of time (in their thinking after all, are children not childish). The remaining one thirds drop out because their parents don't find our approach productive to the academic advancements of their children. So here we are... struggling to let children remain children when it comes to how to learn.
Can my child attend a live class to decide he she wants to join the course or not?
My standard response will be No and that's for a reason. The structure of the course does not allow one to understand the layout of the curriculum by doing one class or even few classes. Thus joining a live class will not give the child any idea about the course content and that's where the first problem happens. Typically in my experience children who attend a live class end up evaluating the content of that particular class they join, to decide whether they should join the course or not and that invariably leads them down the wrong road... so, I have seen that children who do a live class either conclude that the course is too difficult or too simple and thus not for them. It's a right answer but unfortunately to a wrong question. That's why I do a separate one to one with every child (who is interested in exploring the course) during which not only I explain the course but also give her a flavor of the way this course progresses. However, if you are insistent on your child joining a live class I would suggest that you explain to your child to focus on the execution of the class, instead of getting carried away by the content discussed.

This course is open for enrollment.