Definition of a Teaching Aid for a Play School
A teaching aid is an object or material used in a classroom in order to stimulate education and illustrate key points of what is being taught. They range from visual aids to computer technology, and are often presented as a game. Unfortunately, some students can rely on these too much, so teacher may choose to give students various forms like globes, calendars, even a black board can operate as a teaching aid in today's advanced society.
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Function
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Teaching aids assist the teacher in relaying certain information that make the learning process more fun and easier to understand. A good example is the lesson of Christopher Columbus thinking the world to be flat. Thus, a globe is a wonderful tool that is tangible and "provides a representation of the earth and other terrestrial (and sometimes celestial) bodies that is true to scale, without the unavoidable distortions of flat maps," according to Bookrags.com.
Types
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There are many types of teaching aids, ranging from visual to technological aids. Visual aids include bulletin boards, globes, calendars, flash cards, and sometimes teachers use free art as a teaching aid. For instance, a painting or poster of a painting can teach children the use of lines, colors and math. The teacher can then instruct the students to use this lesson in order to create or recreate something that this artist painted or may have painted in the future.
Technological aides include computers, both audio and visual, including sound devices that help the teacher minimize noise pollution that can often be the barrier between relaying education to students. Flickr Pictures is an example of a technological, educational tool being distributed from Japan that enables one to recreate the building of Rome in one day.
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Misconceptions
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Most people believe teaching aids such as worksheets hinder the child's ability to create. Albert Einstein did most of his creative thinking when he performed tasks that did not require most of his brain, such as sitting in a coffee house staring into the street or maybe coloring worksheets. These tools can expand the mind and memory.
Quite often if you give a child a coloring worksheet they will doodle on it once they are done. According to the U.S. News & World Report's article "Take Note: Doodling Can Help Memory," United Kingdom researchers found that in a control group of subjects who listened to a recorded message, those that doodled had 29 percent better recall of the information they were exposed to than those who did not.
Benefits
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Teaching aids have many benefits. They can expand the education outlet for a child, and provide dual education. For instance, when using a computer, you learn to type. Flash cards and/or bulletin boards can teach a child objects, but also assist in teaching foreign language. The objects can be listed and then under the object, the Spanish or French equivalent word is provided.
Other benefits can also include as mentioned above, a more cognitive atmosphere in which the child absorbs more learning due to the elimination of outside distraction making the learning process more fun.
Effects
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Teaching aids can have a positive and long term effect on a child. Most can remember not being able to wait to go home, and tell their parents or grandparents about something they learned in school due to a teaching aid. Or maybe even recreate what they learned in the classroom at home. The long term effects of a teaching aid can provide positive stimulus for children and aid them in retaining education for years to come.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit globe image by Marek Kosmal from Fotolia.com
