Teaching Tools
I am taking a course at the local college on teaching adult learners. Today's session was on teaching tools. The study covered the traditional teaching tools, current and future educational technologies and selecting and utilizing the appropriate teaching tools. The main point of today's session was that training is really about the message. All the technology in the world can help you deliver the content, but obviously, it cannot replace the content itself. Our instructor mentioned a quote that I didn't get the author of; "A good aid is like a window; it should not call attention to itself; it should just let in the light." This made great sense to me and put the topic into context.
So what is a teaching tool? Simply put, it's anything that is used to assist in the delivery of training. Sometimes we use teaching tools to add variety to an existing lesson plan, while other times, it clarifies or enhances the lesson. Traditional instruments include chalkboards, whiteboards, overhead projectors, textbooks, flip charts, audio, video, PowerPoint, etc.
Selecting a teaching tool can be a difficult task. It's easy to say that I will choose a teaching tool such as a SMART Board to deliver my lesson. However, since a SMART Board can cost thousands of dollars, it may not be within your ability to provide such a tool. In addition to cost, some of the other factors that enter into selecting a teaching tool are considerations such as the domains of learning (cognitive/affective/psychomotor), learning styles (visual/auditory/kinesthetic), availability, time constraints, classroom size, facilities, your ability to use the teaching tool.
Another consideration is Edgar Dale's Cone of Experience, which suggests that we learn...
10% of what we READ
20% of what we HEAR
30% of what we SEE
50% of what we SEE and HEAR
70% of what we SAY
90% of what we SAY and DO
I’ve since learned that Edgar Dale’s model did not include percentage numbers as is often represented, and even Dale considered this somewhat anecdotal.
You will notice that Dale's cone of experience starts at the top with relatively passive learning and ends at the bottom with much more active learning. Ideally, you want to choose teaching tools that will bring you closer to the bottom of this cone to keep your students engaged and more participatory.
We spent most of the day discussing the various tools and how they could be utilized. I won't repeat all of these details, but to summarize, you need to consider each tool's strengths and any limitations and plan for contingencies.
For example, my group studied in detail the use of flip charts. We discovered that flip charts offer the following advantages as a teaching tool:
Easy to use
They are a great backup to PowerPoint
Excellent for group work
Relatively inexpensive
Easy to see
We considered the following disadvantages as well:
Difficult to use if you have poor handwriting
No spell check
Perceived as not as professional as other methods (low tech)
It can be awkward to work with
We came up with some tips for use as well:
Prepare your pages in advance
Group participation
Use a variety of colour
Make sure you have a method to display (easel or masking tape)
Make sure you have additional markers
These types of considerations should be made when you consider any teaching tool. Of course, something simple like flip chart paper probably does not require many reviews. However, using a laptop and LCD projector for a PowerPoint presentation may be challenging when you need to consider where this equipment will be, What room you will be training in, and whether or not the room even has a surface you can project onto. Make sure you spend the time asking yourself the advantages, disadvantages, and other considerations you should be making when developing your lesson plans.
