Learning and improvised aids...
ONLINE ASSIGNMENT
TOPIC: Learning
aids, Improvised aids, Textbook, Handbook, Source book, Workbook, Reference
book, Supplementary reading material.
Submitted by,
Kripa K. Nair
1st
Semester
Physical Science
KUCTE Anchal West
INTRODUCTION
A book in simple is a printed sheet of papers and
pages with some information. Its real value depends on how the reader value it.
The books are our real friends. These are our guides. The books can teach us
many things apart from our academics. They are not the tools to score marks in
the examination. These are something different. We can learn many things from
books. There are various books available on the subjects of moral value,
ethics, life style and many more where we can learn essential things which are
value added to our life. The books can encourage us when we are upset and gives
the real energy. The book readers are valuable than a wealthy people in the
knowledge circle. The books can enrich our experience and sharpen our minds.
Thus a good book is a true friend and it never let us go in loneliness. These
are always a good companion for our knowledge and in fact, these are the value
added companions. The importance of books cannot be expressed fully from a
single writer point of view and it differs from a person to person on how they
value it. But, it is damn sure that the wholesome value can be grasped by the
book readers. In a way to bring out the importance of books, Edubilla, the
global education and information portal has bring down the books in a digital
mode as ONBOOKS. With the Edubilla onbooks, we can learn and read about the
Tamil and English literatures, epic stories and the biographies of famous
people and even more. The best way to nourish our knowledge is reading books.
Books reading have many benefits include mental stimulation, stress reduction,
gain knowledge, vocabulary expansion, memory improvement, develop stronger
analytical thinking skills, improve focus and concentration, better writing
skills, tranquility, free entertainment etc. A reader lives thousand lives
before he dies …The man who never reads lives only one.
Teaching aids are tools that use in the classrooms. A
teaching aid is tools used by the teachers to help learner improve reading and
other skills, illustrate or reinforce a skill, fact, an idea and relieve
anxiety or boredom. By following points we can understand how teaching aids
helps in understanding. We remember 20% what we hear, we remember 30% what we
see, we remember 50% what we see and hear and we remember 90% of what we say
and do. The teaching aids are important because they create a visual and
interactive experience for the students. They assist the students in learning. These
aids consist of videos, audio and hands on tool to help involve the students
and enhance the learning experience. Teaching aids are an integral component in
any classroom. The many benefits of teaching aids include helping leaners in
improve reading comprehension skills, illustrating or reinforcing a skill or
concept. These tools are designed to involve students, promote interaction and
promote faster learning and better comprehension. Teaching aids can be used as
a basic as a blackboard or whiteboard. Audio and visual equipment, such as DVD
players and video projectors are commonly used as tools for learning with a
very effective output. Students tend to get more involved when learning if
teaching aids are implemented into the curriculum. Through teaching aids, the
teacher can clarify the subject matter more easily. They can facilitate the
proper understanding to the students which discourage the act of cramming.
Teaching aids helps to increase the vocabulary of the students more
effectively. It makes the classroom live and active. It avoid dullness. It
saves time, energy and money. It provides direct experience to the child. Audio
aids, video aids and audio-visual aids are the types of teaching aids. Teaching
aids facilitate different learning styles to the students.
LEARNING AIDS
A learning aid is something intended to enhance
learning and retention by the learner. They may include, but are not limited
to: written materials, visualizations, charts, diagrams, processes, strategies
or any other appropriate item. Learning materials are important because they
can significantly increase student achievement by supporting student learning.
For example, a worksheet may provide a student with important opportunities to
practice a new skill gained in class. This process aids in the learning process
by allowing the student to explore the knowledge independently as well as
providing repetition. Learning materials, regardless of what kind, all have
some function in student learning.
Learning material can also add important structure to
lesson planning and the delivery of instruction. Particularly in lower grades,
learning materials can act as a guide for both the teacher and the student.
They can provide a valuable routine. For instance, if you are a language art
teacher and you teach new vocabulary words every Tuesday, knowing that you have
a vocabulary game to provide the students with practice regarding the new words
will both take pressure off of you and provide important practice and fun for
your students. In addition to supporting learning more generally, learning
materials can assist teachers in an important professional duty that is the
differentiation of instruction. Differentiation of instruction is the tailoring
of lessons and instruction to the different learning styles and capacities
within your classroom. Learning materials such as worksheets, group activity
instructions, games or homework assignments all allow you to modify assignments
to best activate each individual student’s learning style.
Advantages of learning aids
Learning aids provides many benefits to the learners.
The major advantages includes helping learners to improve reading comprehension
skills, illustrating or reinforcing a skill or concept, differentiating
instruction and relieving anxiety or boredom by presenting information in a new
and exciting way. Learning aids also engage students other senses since there
are no limits in what aids can be utilized. Learning aids motivate the students
so that they can learn better. Through learning aids teacher clarifies the
subject matter more easily. It can facilitate the proper understanding to the
students to the students which discourage the act of cramming. The use learning
aids make the classroom live and active. It avoid dullness by decreasing the
lazy attitudes of students. It can provide direct experience to the students.
It creates the environment of interest for the students. The proper use of
learning aids helps to retain the concepts permanently. It provide complete
example for conceptual thinking.
Disadvantages of learning aids
The biggest drawbacks in the use of modern learning
aids is the investment of costs. These cost can be really huge as it is not a
question of simple setting up the equipment on a one time basis. Any
technological equipment needs to be maintained. The time needed for this is
large. That is it is a time consuming process. It requires effective strategies
for the successful application of learning aids.
IMPROVISED AIDS
Improvised aids are those teaching aids made quickly
from materials and sources available without previous planning. That is the
apparatus devised and made in the laboratory workshop or school by the teacher
or pupil is usually called improvised aids. An enthusiastic and resourceful
science teacher with some mechanical skill will be able to make a large number
of useful appliances. In this the teacher can get the help of the pupils having
an aptitude for mechanical work. These pupils will not only get a training in
elementary workshop practice but also an added interest in the subject. The
close co-operation between science teachers, would be very helpful in the
making of many valuable apparatus. Improvised materials enable research for
cheaper, faster method of making teaching and learning process easier for the
teacher and the student. This is because the student learn best when the
subject matter is brought practically to their senses, since the more the
senses are stimulated, the more a person learns and the more he retains. In
line with this science teacher should exhibit resourcefulness by improvising
materials in place of standard ones. Even the collection of these teaching
materials by the pupils themselves is in itself rewarding and stimulating
source experience. Instructional materials when used effectively present facts
and information, they arouse student interest and enthusiasm, principles and
processes, they impress pictures and images vividly in the mind and memory of
the learners and they help in the transfer of learning.
Improvised aids are low cost innovative science
learning aid. The children enjoy doing this experiment. Improvisation is
desirable in some circumstances, they include when the improvised material
would improve the lessons’ effectiveness, when the locally available materials
are available for use and when improvised materials would serve the same
function as the standardized one.
Advantages of improvised aids
It is based on the principle of psychology ‘learning
by doing’. The major advantages of improvised aids includes, it enables the
leaners and teachers to make the proper use of their environment, because in
improvisation we mainly make use of the available materials in the environment.
The use of local materials reduces the cost of financial expenditure in buying
readymade materials. The development of resource materials for instruction can
lead to discovery of new knowledge. It develop correlation of work and students
can develop skills in learning process. It enables the teacher to introduce
variety into the nature of experiments and made the application of science to
everyday life clear. It aids in securing motivation and creates interests and
the pupils get encouraged to device and construct apparatus as hobby. It helps
the students to appreciate the works and difficulties of great scientists and
has got recreational value and thus helps the problem leisure. When parent or
leaner or community members assists in improvising a resource material such as
donating personal material, this will improve school community relationship.
Improvised aids provide experiences not easily obtained through other means and
contribute to efficiency, depth and variety of learning. It bridges gap between
theoretical knowledge and practicability. The talents in the students can be
discovered through the use of improvised aids.
Disadvantages of improvised aids
The improvised aids have some disadvantages that include,
improvisation demands adventure, creativity, curiosity and perseverance from
the part of the teachers. The lack of fund is a hindrance for the realization
of objectives. Another disadvantage of improvised aids include one get
off-track; one does not use valuable time on the important topic; one sometimes
has mental brakes and teaches misunderstandings.
TEXT BOOK
Text book is any type of book that is used
academically. They are helpful for both teachers and students. Text books are
the most widely used of all instructional materials. Now a day’s text has
become a course of study. A set of unit plans and a learning guide as well. A
text book should really design for the pupils rather than the teacher. Text
book should stimulate reflective thinking and cultivate in students the
scientific attitude. In the teaching learning process, the text book occupies
an important place. There is a saying “As is the text book, so is the teaching
and learning”. A good text book can even replace class room teaching.
The science text books should aim at aiding the pupils
in the development of their personalities, in developing appreciation and
understanding of nature and not merely stuffing their minds with facts. Thurber
and Collette (1964) suggested six criteria for choosing a good text book, they
are content, organization, literary style and vocabulary, illustrations,
teaching aids, mechanical make up and appearances.
Advantages of Textbook
A textbook have
many important applications. It is used as a source of authoritative
information, a source of factual material in the preparation of assignments
both for the teacher and the pupils. Text book can provide motivation by
attractive presentation and self-testing exercises. It is used as a hand source
of illustrations of superior teaching value which serve as visual aid for the
understanding of facts and principles. Textbook can be used to supply
stimulating exercises, numerical problems and other devices which would serve
as a means of applying the knowledge again. Textbooks help the pupils improving
the subject systematic and fixing it in memory. Textbooks can act as an aid to
realize the cultural values of science.
HANDBOOK
The teacher’s handbook aims at helping the teacher to
monitor the programme. Handbook is a valuable teaching device suitable for a
wide range of interests and abilities. It contain list of teaching aids,
summation of learning, an exercise in organization, a medium for
self-expression, conceptual development of topics, statement of instructional
objectives to be realized, explanation of significant terms, facts, principles,
an indication of progress and assignments of various kinds. It also contains
precautions to be taken while demonstration is conducted. A bibliography of
relevant books and journal should be included. It is a ready reference material
for the teacher to supplement his classroom teaching. Evaluation tools,
assignments for pupils and teachers are also included in the handbook.
Advantages of handbook
Handbooks have so many important application. It is a
device for review work. Finding the learning experiences for each topic is
easy. It equips the teacher with sufficient theoretical knowledge about what is
to be taught. Handbooks helps in solving the problem of finding out suitable
learning experiences in teaching different lessons. It helps the teacher to
adopt appropriate methods to teach every topic. It also helps the teacher to
evaluate using relevant evaluation tools, after finishing every topic. Work of
the teacher is fostered using handbook. It can be used as a tangible evidence
for the progress of students.
Disadvantages of handbook
The main advantage of handbook include, the teacher
should form the habit of looking and referring the guide book before going to
class. This may reduce the use of other reference materials and also reduce
amount of knowledge acquiring. This affects both students and teachers.
SOURCE BOOK
A sourcebook is a collection of writings on a subject
that is intended to be a basic introduction to the topic. Richards (1993)
considers “Textbooks are source books rather than course book”. That is it is a
fundamental document or record on which subsequent writings, compositions,
opinions, beliefs or practices are based. Source book consists of activities
that encourage children to observe and analyze and have group discussions and
interviews; to engage in talk, anecdotes, evaluate each other’s work and give
constructive feedback; to prepare posters, school wall newspapers and
portfolios; and to read and critically examine texts. Science teachers will
find ready to use demonstrations, experiments, illustrations, games,
activities, puzzles, analogies, lessons etc. all these are included in a source
book.
Advantages of source book
Source book can provide wide range of information. Teachers
as well as students get a better idea of the topic. Since the source book consists of demonstrations,
experiments, illustrations, games, activities, puzzles, analogies, lessons etc.
the difficulty of the topic can be minimized with the aid of source book. The
cost can be reduced if it is available in the library. Vast information can be
obtained without wastage of time. The saving of time is the major advantages of
source book.
Disadvantages of source book
The books need to be revised according to the latest
research and teaching strategies. To give instructions and to design books
according to the latest teaching strategies are very important in the modern
age. Teaching strategies, teaching methodology and teachers guide work in a
triangle together. If one of them is poorly structured, or there are any faults
in them, then they will with a negative effect. Hence the source books need
revising according to the latest strategies of teaching and learning.
WORK BOOK
Work book vary greatly in content and organization. At
one extreme are work books that reprint pages of associated textbooks,
replacing key words with blanks that are to be filled in by pupils after
reading their texts. At the other extreme are workbooks that make provision for
many different types of activities, forms for reporting data, diagrams to be
labelled, blank spaces for sketches and clippings, suggestions for
supplementary work, study guides for reading assignments and self-testing
devices. Sometimes in addition, the teacher is provided with pads of tests, one
per pupil, to be used in evaluating pupil, to be used in evaluating pupil’s
achievement. Workbook of the latter type serve as a combined course of study, a
study guide and a record book. The content of the workbook is arranged
according to the order of the text book on which it is based. It contains
summaries of each chapters of the content in the text book, exercises of
different kinds, key to exercises, suggestions for improvements. The learner
workbook is comprehensive, workbook style document. It can be used for distance
and work-based learning modes as well as supporting face to face learning. The
learner work book provides an overview of the module and the learning outcomes
which will help you to plan and guide your learning. The content is divided
into topic areas providing information for you to read, topics for research,
activities that can be completed alone, in groups or in your workplace. A
glossary and a list of references and references are provided in each module.
Work books vary greatly in content and organization.
Advantages of Workbook
Work book have greater applications for teachers as
well as students. It help the pupils who are working under self-direction to
study more effectively. The heavily burdened teachers find the better workbooks
useful in saving time and energy. The use of workbook helps the pupils who have
missed time because of illness or from having left school permanently can make
up work without close supervision. The beginning teacher and the inadequately
prepared teacher also finds workbooks of value. It fosters scientific thinking.
Disadvantages of Workbook
Workbooks are relatively inflexible. In workbooks the
content are highly organized and it cannot be altered easily. There is a little
provision of inclusion of new material. Another drawback of workbook include
they are directed towards uniform outcomes; if they dominate the programme,
pupils have little opportunity to develop special interest and talents.
Similarly workbook deny pupils any participation in the planning process, any
incentive to do independent work, any practice in formulating their own
problems and any encouragement to do their own thinking.
REFERENCE BOOK
Reference books are effective aids to learning.
Dictionaries, yearbooks, annual reports, government reports, encyclopedia of
science etc. come under this category. Students must be given training in the
use of reference books. The utility of the reference material depends on the
extent it is used, the frequency of its use and the guidance provided to
pupils. Different types of reference material include bibliography, dictionary,
directory, encyclopedia, handbook, yearbook etc.
Bibliography: A systematic list or enumeration of written
words by a specific author or on a given subject, or that share one or more
common characteristics. When a Bibliography is about a person, the subject is
the bibliographies. A bibliography may be comprehensive or selective. Long
bibliographies may be published serially or in book forms. The person
responsible for compiling a bibliography is the bibliographer.
Dictionary: A single volume or a multivolume reference
book containing brief explanatory entries for terms and topics related to
specific subject or field of inquiry, usually ranged alphabetically. The
entries in a dictionary are usually shorter than those contained in an encyclopedia
on the same subject but the word dictionary is often used in the titles of work
that should be more appropriately called encyclopedias.
Directory: A list of people companies, institutions,
and organizations etc. in alphabetical or classified order, providing contact
information and other pertinent details in brief format, often published
serially. In most libraries current directories are shelved in ready reference
or reference stacks.
Encyclopedia: A book or numbered set of books
containing authoritative summary information about a variety of topics in the
form of short essays, usually arranged alphabetically by headword or clarified
in some manner. An entry may be signed or unsigned with or without illustration
or a list of reference in further reading. Headwords and text are usually
revised periodically for publication in a new edition. In multivolume
encyclopedia any indexes are usually located at the end of the last volume.
Encyclopedia may be general or specialized, usually by subject or discipline.
Handbook: A single small reference book of compact
size that provides conceptual information on a specific subject. Organized
systematically for quick and easy access. Statistical information is often
published in handbook form. Some handbooks are published serially.
Yearbook: An annual documentary, historical or
memorial compendium of facts, photographs, statistics, etc., about the events
of preceding year, often limited to a specific country, institution, discipline
or subject. Optional yearbooks are offered by some publisher of general
encyclopedias. Most libraries place yearbooks on continuation order and shelve
them in the reference collection. Yearbooks of historical significance may be
stored in archives or special collections.
Advantages of Reference books
The major advantages of reference books include it
supplements classroom instruction. The use of reference books instills in the
pupils self-study habits, and a spirit of self-effort. This help the pupils to
get confidence. Another advantage include it helps the child to work out
assignments. The use of reference materials stimulates scientific thinking and
inculcates the elements of scientific attitude.
Disadvantages of Reference book
The use of reference books for obtaining knowledge
about a particular topic is more time consuming than referred to a guide. Hence
the topic coverage is considerably small compared to other books such as
guides, handbooks etc. For obtaining a better knowledge about a topic students
or teachers need to consider more reference books.
SUPPLIMENTARY READING MATERIAL
Reading of supplementary readers is a method of
introducing student’s up to date information and of meeting varied needs and
interest of pupils. It stimulate additional reading in the same or related
topics, this develops initiation and self-direction. Development of critical
attitude in pupils and intellectual potentiality is made possible through
supplementary readers. It extends and deepens their scientific interest and
cultivates scientific attitude. Supplementary materials may come from authentic
sources like newspapers, magazine articles, videos etc. Supplementary materials
include skills development materials, grammar, vocabulary and phonological
practice materials, collections of communicative activities and teacher
resource materials.
Advantages of supplementary reading material
The use of supplementary reading material stimulates
scientific interest in pupils. It supplements and integrate the class room
learning. It helps to inculcates self-study habits and also promotes
independent thinking. It strengthen linguistic activity and helps to develop
literary tastes. It is used to add variety to teaching. It helps to give
learners extra languages or skill practice. It is used to provide suitable
material for leaners particular needs and interests.
Disadvantages of supplementary reading materials
It is important to make sure that the supplementary reading
materials provided should be fit to the learners, programme are suitable for
the class and match the aims of particular lessons. Sometimes it is very
difficult to find the suitable material for the learners. The equipments may
not always be available. They cannot totally replace course books.
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