8 Conventional Teaching Aids

Ms. Nishat Farooq

Content Outline

•  Introduction
•  Objectives
•  Importance of teaching aids for adult learners
•  Definition of teaching aid
•  Uses of teaching aid
•  Types of teaching aids
•  Qualities of good teaching aid
•  Some conventional teaching aids
•  Care to be taken while using teaching aids
•  Conclusion

Introduction

Usually teachers use different types of materials like twigs, leaves, stones, posters, charts, flash card, models, globes, etc. to make their teaching interesting, simple and methodical. They use these things as teaching aids. Teaching aids are used to create learning environment in the classroom and make learning process interesting and effective. These aids play very important role in teaching learning process. In the present module, we will learn about importance of teaching aids, their usefulness for teachers and adult learners, types of some conventional teaching aids available and method of preparation of some of these.

1. Objectives

After completing the module, the learner will be able to:

• State importance and uses of teaching aids
• Narrate definition of teaching aid
• Explain characteristics of teaching aids
• Cite examples of some conventional teaching aids and describe method of their preparation

2. Importance of teaching aids for adult learners

Life of adult learners is usually very busy and full of struggles. They don’t have much time for entertainment and leisure. Therefore, while teaching it is important to keep in mind that:

• Teaching method should be interesting and simple.
• It should be effective.
• Daily some innovation should be done in teaching method to attract learners attention.
• Whatever is being taught should be clear to them.
• The learners should not sit ideal. They must participate in learning process.
• Teaching must be permanent. Whatever they learn, they should be able to remember for a long time.

All this can be made possible with the use of appropriate teaching aid.

While using teaching aid learners use two of their senses – hearing and visual. They not only use their hearing and visual capacity but also use their hands and while doing so they come to know about the subject. There is a Chinese saying –

If I hear it – I forget it

If I see it –  I remember it

If I do it –  I know it

It means learners learn best when they take an active part in finding out things that are new to them.

• A class in which learners take part in discussion is more interesting than a class in which they just listen lecture.
• A class in which learners can see for themselves what things look like and how they work is more interesting than a class in which teacher only talk about things.
• A class in which learners not only talk and see, but actually do and make and discover things for themselves is exciting. When they learn by finding things out for themselves, by building on experiences they already have, they do not forget. What they learn through discovery becomes a part of them.

It is therefore evident that learning is more effective when sensory experiences are stimulated. Audio-visual teaching material make learning more permanent since students use more than one sense. The visual instruction makes abstract ideas more concrete to the learners. In addition, studies have shown that there is significant advantage of using audio-visual material in teaching and learning.

It supports an old Chinese saying depicted in the following figure.

3. Definition of teaching aid

According to the Webster dictionary, teaching aid is defined as “an object (such as a book, picture, or map) or device (such as a DVD or computer) used by a teacher to enhance or enliven classroom instruction is audio-visual teaching aids”.

Webster dictionary defines audio-visual aids as “training or educational materials directed at both the senses of hearing and the sense of sight, films, recordings, photographs, etc. used in classroom instructions, library collections or the likes”.

The concept of audio-visual aids is not new. In seventeenth century John Amos Comenius (1592-1670) introduced pictures as teaching aids in his book Orbis Sensualium Pictus (“picture of the Sensual World”) that was illustrated with 150 drawings of everyday life. Jean Rousseau (17122-1788) and JH Pestalozzi (1756-1827) advocated the use of visual and play materials in teaching. There are various types of audio-visual materials ranging from poster, charts, flashcards, puppets, filmstrips, microforms, slides, projected opaque materials, tape recording, etc. In the current digital world, audio-visual aids have grown exponentially with several multimedia such as educational DVDs, PowerPoint, television educational series, youtube, and other online materials.

The goal of teaching aid is to enhance teacher’s ability to present the lesson in simple, effective and easy to understand for the students. It may be said that ‘Teaching aid’ is material used by a teacher to supplement classroom instruction or to stimulate the interest of students.

4. Uses of teaching aid

Teaching aids are useful for both, learners as well as teachers. It strengthens teacher’s skills in making teaching learning process more effective. It attracts and retains learner’s attention and help generate interest in learning across different levels of students. It makes class more interesting and interactive.

4.1        Usefulness for teachers

The teachers have to play many roles in the class. Teaching aids help and enhance their abilities in playing those roles effectively. They may use teaching aid for following purposes:

• To make teaching learning process more effective, interesting and simple.
• To make class more interactive and interesting.
• To explain things, their point of view more efficiently.
• To attract and retain attention of learners.
• To develop lesson plans that are simple and easy to follow.
• To make teaching systemic and methodical.
• To clarify the subject matter more easily.
• To explain complex issues, things, concepts easily. The literacy level of adult learners is low but they have to learn complex subjects like legal literacy, electoral literacy, financial literacy, health, environment, etc.

Explanation of such complex issues and various processes become easier with the help of teaching aids.

• To provide direct experience to the learners.
• To stimulate learners to relieve anxiety, fears or boredom since many teaching aids are like games.
• To easily motivate learners for discussion.
• To improve pace of learning of learners.
• To use learner centred approach in the class.
• To easily create learning environment. Teaching aids make the classroom live and active.
• To assess the pace and level of learning easily in interesting and non-threatening manner.

4.2        Usefulness for learners

Teaching aids are useful for learners in following ways:

• It helps in sustaining the interest of learners.
• Learners take interest and pay attention in class.
• It becomes easier to understand complex and difficult concepts and issues.
• Learning process becomes easier.
• Teaching aid can facilitate the proper understanding and discourage the act of cramming.
• Audio-visual aid makes learning more permanent since learners use more than one senses. Retention becomes easier and Learners can remember things for longer duration.
• Things become clearer and pace of learning gets improved.
• Learners get an opportunity to do thing themselves. It helps in better understanding of the subject.
• It helps in improving social skills. Games and teaching aids are usually used in groups. While doing so they get an opportunity to understand each other and develop bonding among them.
• It helps in peer learning. While using teaching aid in groups learners learn from each other.

Types of teaching aids

Teaching aids may be classified as follows-

1. Visual Aids –The aids which use sense of vision are called visual aids, e.g. actual objects, models, pictures, charts, maps, flash cards, flannel board, bulletin board, chalkboard, overhead projector, slides etc. Out of these black board and chalk are the commonest ones.
2. Audio Aids -The aids that involve the sense of hearing are called audio aids, e.g. musical instruments, radio, tape recorder, etc.
3. Audio – Visual Aids -The aids which involve the sense of vision as well as hearing are called audio- visual aids, e.g. puppets, television, film projector, film strips etc.

5. Qualities of good teaching aid

Qualities of good teaching aid used for adult education are as follows:

• It should be attractive for adults.
• Writing should be clear so learners don’t have difficulty in reading.
• Should be in bright colours.
• Should be light and easy to transport.
• Should be simple, easy to use and doesn’t require much equipment.
• It should be cheap and durable.
• Teaching aids prepared by teachers themselves by using low cost local material, and involving learners are more effective. While making teaching aids they may use and build on skills students already have.
• Use of real objects is better than drawing things e.g. while teaching numeracy use of coins, currency, weights and measures etc is more effective.
• Use of such teaching aids that call for doing as well as seeing are more effective. It provides an opportunity to the learners to handle or put together things like flash cards, literacy games etc.
• Teaching aid should be fascinating and fun to see/handle.
• Teaching aids that help learners to think through things and discover solution for themselves are better than teaching aids which simply show or explain something. It means teaching aid must exercise the learners’ power of observation and reasoning.

6. Some conventional teaching aids

The usual conventional teaching aids are blackboards, charts, posters, maps, atlases, globes, flash cards, flip charts, worksheets, models, games, story-telling, dramatization, dictionaries, encyclopaedias, learning toys and abacus etc. following are some teaching aids which are commonly used for adult education:

6.1        Blackboard and chalk

Blackboard and chalk are most important and useful teaching aid. Black board is very old and most used aid. It is usually black. Now a days blackboards are made in different colours with different materials. But function of it remains same. It may be very effective if used properly. Chalks also come in different colours. Teachers use them to emphasise their points.

6.2        Poster

Poster is a large sheet of paper containing a title, short message and picture/pictures. Posters can visually present a message to many people at a time. A poster is a powerful and easy way to give messages. Posters may be used to encourage/stimulate discussion.

6.3        Chart

A chart is an effective way to demonstrate a concept, scheme, message in a sequence to a group of learners. Its messages are more complex than poster. It has more pictures and messages then poster and need more attention of learners to understand it. It is used to start discussion, demonstrate schemes, health and agriculture problems, legal issues, providing instruction about certain concept or messages, etc. (Pic of chart)

6.4        Flannel board

Flannel board is a display board on which pictures can be easily placed and moved. It consists of a firm surface made of board, plywood. fibreboard, Masonite or cardboard. A large sheet of flannel or soft cloth is stretched over the frame. A stand is used to hold it up. Stand is made of three sticks tied together. Even a blanket may be folded on back a chair and used as display board. It is a very handy teaching aid. Pictures for flannel board may be cut from magazines, posters, newspapers, etc. or drawn by teachers and learners. Glue Velcro, flannel, sandpaper or soft cloth on back of pictures so they may stick on flannel board.

If classes are held in a particular place outdoors, a low cost ‘billboard’ of mud, bamboo or sticks can be made to hold up a flannel sheet. A small roof over the board may be built to protect it from rain and bad weather.

6.5      String board

String board are also used as display board. It is better than flannel board as it prevents pictures from falling off or blowing away. Imaginative low-cost string board can be made by using locally available material and expertise.

6.7        Flash card

Flash cards are series of cards showing a series of alphabets, words, numerals, pictures, etc. It may be used to tell stories or skills step by step. The cards are not attached together in any given order so they may be arranged in different ways as per requirement. It may be used to teach basic concepts of mathematics, language like recognition of alphabets, word making, sentence making, etc. flash cards are usually drawn on chart paper or cardboard. (Pic of flash card)

6.8        Flip charts and other ways to tell stories

Flip charts are used to tell stories, clarify concepts or teaching skills step by step. Flip charts may be hand drawn, silkscreened, or mimeographed. In flip chart, charts may be separate or joined together. It is easier to use if pictures are joined. To make it easier to read a flip chart story to a group, write the part of story that goes with each picture on the back of the page before or at the foot of picture. This depends how teacher is going to use the cards.

Foldable flipcharts and posters may also be drawn on thin plastic sheets. Pictures may be drawn on old plastic sheets with waterproof marking pens. These posters may be easily folded, carried about and washed.

6.9        Games like puzzles, jigsaw puzzles, snake and ladder

Games are fun learning materials. Through games active participation of learners can be ensured. Snake and ladder game can be made on various issues such as health and nutrition, women’s right, environment, pre and post-natal care, etc. Similarly, jigsaw puzzles and puzzles are being used as educational games. Students can help teacher to make Jigsaw puzzle by pasting pictures or writing/numerals on cardboard, wood, cloth, etc. and cutting them in to fit together in certain ways. Jigsaw puzzles may be used to teach literacy skills as well as discus and clarify some other issues like health, financial literacy, etc.

Mathaparchi (use your brain) is a game similar to snake and ladder. On snake and ladder game positive instructions are written on ladder and negative messages are written on snake. In mathapachchi positive and negative messages are written on folded slips of papers and not visible to players till they reach at that position. It is prepared on a sheet of chart paper or a piece of paper. It may be used to teach literacy skills or develop awareness about certain issues.

Teachers have adapted many indigenous and traditional games with some innovation for educational purposes. Many exciting discussions can result while playing such games.

6.10             Puppet

Puppet show is a popular form of folk media. Audience enjoy seeing the movements of puppets and hearing them talk. Puppets are also being used as teaching aids. While enjoying the puppet shows the learners assimilate the information and messages that teacher wants to convey. With the help of puppets teachers can narrate stories, say dialogues, sing songs and even initiate discussions.

Simple puppets can be made with resources available at local level such as old cloth, old socks, newspaper, broken umbrella, coconut shells, bamboo etc. Expertise and practice is required to prepare and play puppets. Therefore, its use is not very popular in literacy classes.

6.11             Sentence and word making diary

1. Sentence making diary- is used to make sentences with the words given in the diary. Teachers can themselves make sentence making diary based on the words they are teaching in different lessons. Cover of diary is made up of cardboard and pieces of paper are used to write different words. The words are written clearly in bright colours. It may be used individually or in groups.
2. Word/number making diary – word making diary is also made on similar pattern, with only difference that in place of words, letters/numbers are written on pieces of paper. The learners practice word making with the help of word making diary. It can also be used for recognition of alphabets and numerals also.

6.12             Literacy chakri (circle)

Literacy circles are used for many purposes like identification of letters, making two or three letter words, use of matras, etc. It is made up of cardboard or chart paper.

6.13             Napier multiplication strips

It is used to understand the concept of multiplication and create interest of learners in multiplication table. With the help of these strips learners can create tables of any denomination by themselves by using logic behind it. Each of Napier’s strips is simply the multiplication table for that number. The digits in the units place and the tens place are written separately. While using Napier’s strips, one need not make the effort of recalling multiplication tables.

9. Care to be taken while using teaching aids

Proper use of teaching aid improves the teaching learning process but if not used judiciously it may be a wastage of time, effort and resources. For effective use of teaching aids teacher must take certain precautions like:

• Use of too many teaching aids at a time can result in boredom.
• It is important to know that all concepts may not be learned effectively through teaching aids.
• Teaching aids are useful only if it is implemented effectively.
• It needs a lot of time of teacher to prepare lesson to have interactive classroom session. Teacher has to properly understand the use of particular teaching aid she/he is going to use. Teacher should practice use of the aid, prepare lesson plan.
• Teacher should not leave all teaching load on teaching aid. Teaching aid is just to help teacher.
• Improper and unplanned use of teaching aid can have negative effect on the learning outcome.

10. Conclusion

Teaching aids are important tools for teaching learning process. It helps teacher to present lesson effectively and motivates learners to take interest in learning. Learners learn better and retain the concept for longer duration. For adult education, such teaching aids are required which help in developing self-reliance in thinking as well as acting. Appropriate teaching aid encourage observation and improves critical and analytical thinking. Teaching aid is to enhance the abilities of teacher. Therefore, all teaching load can’t be left on teaching aid. For effective use of teaching aid teacher has to plan and learn the method of its use. Improper and unplanned use of teaching aid can have negative effect on the learning outcome. Teachers should use their imagination to prepare low/no cost teaching aids from locally available material with the help of learners and community.