What are learning materials, making and using learning materials: Part-2

What are learning materials, making and using learning materials: Part-2

 

Selection of teaching materials

 

Educational materials help students learn. But for this, it is necessary to select the right materials. For example, in the previous example, a poster is not an effective tool for a visually impaired student.

 

Again, audio recordings or listening materials are not conducive to learning for the hearing impaired student.

 

Similarly, not all materials are suitable for students of all ages. So it is necessary to select the right materials by understanding the needs of the students.

 

Factors to be considered in selecting teaching materials are as follows:

 

Learner’s Age and Comprehension:

The age of the learner varies in their comprehension. For example, various graphs, statistics, etc. are comprehensible to younger students. But it is not comprehensible to very young children.

They understand images, videos, etc. well. But images used for children also need to be simple rather than complicated.

Again, in the case of students of the same age, not everyone’s understanding is the same. In such cases, materials that all children can understand. In here different materials can be selected according to their level of understanding.

 

Consideration of special student needs:

Students may have a variety of disabilities in the classroom. Such as visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical disability, intellectual disability, etc.

Having such a disability creates special needs for the student. For example, if a person with visual impairment can be told the description or touch the material. It becomes easier for him to understand the content.

And if the hearing impaired is shown to him, it becomes easier for him to understand. Thus, materials need to be selected in response to the needs of students.

 

Consideration of learner differences:

We know the the theory of multiple intelligences. It says that not all students have the same learning style.

Some like rhythm, song, dance, etc., some like story, and some like narration.

So they need to be considered in the selection of educational materials. The selected materials should be able to respond to the diverse needs of students.

 

Attractiveness:

The material selected needs to be attractive to the students. But it will not be such that students’ attention is diverted from the content to the materials.

 

Relevant and helpful in achieving learning outcomes:

Using materials have a purpose. The purpose is to make the subject matter interesting. It is also used to make the subject understandable to the students.

 

Therefore, the selected materials must be relevant to the subject of the lesson. And that must be helpful in achieving the learning outcomes of the lesson.

 

Also, it is desirable that the message conveyed through the material is accurate.

 

Some materials that are not relevant to the lesson and convey the wrong message. And they are worthless learning. But no matter how interesting and considerate of learner needs and differences.

Availability and low cost: Materials selected should be readily available. Otherwise, it will be difficult to collect materials. For this reason, it is better if the materials are locally sourced and made of low-cost materials. By doing this, the necessary materials can be collected with little effort.

 

Ease of use and storage:

Materials selected should be easy to use. Let’s say a teacher writes in his lesson plan that he will use multimedia, but he does not have the skills to use multimedia.

 

Then the selection of such materials for lessons is futile. Similarly, the selected materials should be easily storable after use. Otherwise, later the teacher will not be motivated to use such materials.

 

Safe: Since the pedagogy has to be used and moved by both teachers and students, it is desirable that it be safe to use. It is advisable to avoid materials that may cause danger, such as cutting with sharp materials, electric shock, etc.

 

Visible and Audible in the Classroom:

Materials must be such that they are visible and audible from different parts of the classroom. For this reason, the image or text used should be large and the words used should be clear and loud.

 

Curiosity and thought-provoking:

The materials should be such that they arouse students’ curiosity about the content. And stimulate them to think about the content.

Appropriate materials should be selected keeping in mind these issues. At the time of selection, it should be noted whether the material is attractive and correct. Whether it is available and easy to use and whether it is available at low cost or free.