Today is an era of digitization. As early as two years, children are exposed to smartphones and
internet. They tend to grasp and understand what they see much better that what
they hear. Likewise, the process of teaching - learning depends upon the different
type of equipment available in the classroom.
Visual aids such as flash cards, storyframes, story boards as
well as other supports, in preschool/kindergarten lessons can help your little
learner pick up new concepts, get a jump start on literacy lessons and make new
connections.
Even if a student is
unable to understand the spoken word, the visual aid may help them to better
absorb information. The biggest advantage of using teaching aids is that it can
help make the difficult into something more understandable. They provide a
change from just listening, and pictures typically stimulate interest more
easily than words.
Because visuals
enable you to appeal to more than one sense at the same time, the students'
understanding and retention level is increased. They tend to concentrate much
better and participate in the class. Also visual aids improve the independence
and self-esteem of all people with learning difficulties.
A recent study
concluded that people who use visual aids are 43% more persuasive than those
who don't. The study also established that visuals can improve:
• Communication effectiveness
• Student’s perceptions of the
presenter
• Teacher’s confidence
There are also
numerous studies conducted by educational researchers that show that the
average teacher who uses visual aids will come across as better organized, more
reliable, more vibrant, and more influential than a teacher who does not use
visual aids.
Make it bright and colourful:
Your child's preschool/kindergarten
teacher may use visual cues to help the kids understand their classroom better.
At this stage, the classroom atmosphere is unfamiliar to these little kids. On
the look of the class, make sure it enlightens and wakens them up to their new
school space. Visual aids such as classroom rhymeboards or numberschart can help kids to recognize new vocabulary.
Emotions:
Recognizing and expressing emotions are difficult
for the preschooler. That said, an accompanying visual aid can add another
layer to the learning. By using a poster that features faces showing different
feelings or individual pictures of kids who are clearly happy, sad, angry or
frustrated can help preschoolers to recognize and point out specific feelings
during emotional times. You can also get creative and create personalized
emotions of the child using customizable expressions cards.
Encourage Social Behaviour:
It's not always easy for
preschoolers to remember how to treat everyone kindly all of the time. While
preschoolers/kindergarten kids are gaining skills when it comes to making
friends and understanding that other people have feelings too, it's also
perfectly normal for a young child to have trouble sharing or taking turns.
Photos, or drawings and illustrations, of kind acts such as helping a friend
who is hurt or sharing a toy can serve as lessons on pro-social behaviors.
Importance of
Teaching Aids:
No child today enjoys
a class where there seems to be one-way communication. Activities, fun,
audio-visual aids are all different factors that play an important role in
Teaching- Learning process. Here are a few advantages:
1) Motivation
Teaching aids
motivate the students so that they can learn better. They show more interest
when they have aids they can touch, feel and look at.
2) Clarification
While children may
come up with various doubts, through teaching aids, the teacher can clarify the
subject matter more easily using such aids.
3) Increase the
Vocabulary
Teaching aids helps
to increase the vocabulary of the students more effectively. When they see a
word quite often, they tend to learn it quicker.
4) Classroom Live and
active
Nobody likes a
sleeping classroom. Teaching aids make the classroom live and active. They
encourage participation. Kids are more likely to participate better in a class
making use of visual aids.
5) Direct Experience
Teaching aids provide
direct experience to the students. They don’t just see the aid but can also
engage in activities using those aids and leaves them with a lasting
impression.
Written
by Fathima Khaja
