See and Say "Utilization of Teaching Aids"

My Target

At the end of this activity, you will gain competence in determining the appropriateness of teaching aids to learning tasks.

My Map

To teach you target, follow the steps below:

Step 1. Observe a class on its regular schedule.

Step 2. Note down the various teaching aids that were utilized in the teaching learning process.

Step 3. Comment on the appropriateness of the teaching aids to the learning asks.

Step 4. Reflect  on your learning.

My Tools

As you observe the class, use the activity forms provided for you to document your observations.

Class Observation Guide

Read the following statements carefully before you observe.

1. What is the lesson about?

2. What visual aids/materials/learning resources is the teacher using?

3. Observe and take notes on how the teacher presents/uses the learning resources.

4. Closely observe the learners’ response to the teacher’s use of learning resources. Listen to their verbal responses. What do their responses indicate? Do their responses show attentiveness, eagerness and understanding?

5. Focus on their non-verbal responses. Are they leaning forward showing their interest on the lesson and the materials? Are they looking towards the direction of the teacher and the materials? Do their actions show attentiveness, eagerness and understanding?

OBSERVATION REPORT School: ---                                Date of Observation:  26 November 2019 Subject: MATHEMATICS            Grade/Year Level:      Grade 8 I chose to observe a Math class for this task. Mr. Rolando Empinado taught parallel lines on this day.  To explain and discuss the topic, he primarily used the conventional instructional materials: the chalkboard/writing board, and textbooks. Along with these IMs, he also provided a video clip (digital tool) that further elaborated the discussions on parallel lines. At first, Mr. Empinado used the brainstorming approach and the inquiry based teaching method. Normally, for non-English speaking students, asking questions to start a discussion is unconventional for them but there are times that it gets them excited and motivated, like this class. Students eagerly gave their answers even in broken English. After which, the teacher combined all their answers and wrote the simplified meaning of parallel lines.  Figures were drawn to ensure better retention and effective learning on the topic. A better understanding is achieved when students see the object of the topic while listening to the explanation of the teacher. When the figure was drawn, the teacher them used the inquiry based teaching method. He used the figure as a problem and asked students the types of angles formed when parallel lines are cut by transversal line. Students responded by giving the diagram that represents each type of angle as they are not yet familiar with corresponding English translations of those angles. As the teacher showed the video clip, students immediately stopped taking down notes and focused their attention on the material shown on the Smart TV.  Various bodily movements may have differentiated indication. Some students slack on their chairs, others leaned forward, and few had furrowed forehead expressions on their faces.   These non-verbal responses can be interpreted in various ways. Slacking on the chairs may mean that students were paying not much attention and concentration on the clip shown to them. Leaning forward and showing furrowed forehead may mean attentiveness, concentration, eagerness, and understanding. All students looked towards the direction of the teacher and the teaching materials. No one was looking away. No one was doing other work and all of them were focused during the discussion. When it was time to answer the exercise on their books, they were able to do it on their own.

Utilization of Teaching Aid Form

Grade or Year Level of Class Observed: Grade   8

Date of Observation: 26 November 2019

Subject Matter: MATHEMATICS

Brief Description of Teaching Approach Used by the Teacher: Brainstorming Approach - in this strategy the teacher elicits from learners as many ideas a possible but refrains from evaluation them until all possible ideas have been generated. Inquiry Teaching - this learning approach emphasizes the roles of students in learning process. The students are encouraged to explore the material, ask questions, and share ideas.

Teaching Aids used (Enumerate in bullet form)	Strengths	Weaknesses	Comments on Appropriateness of the Teaching Aids used
Chalkboard or Writing Board	📌Easy understanding. In Maths, the use of chalkboard/writing board to draw figures or write problems is the only way of teaching students. 📌Ease of making notes. 📌Increased memory for a particular diagram. 📌Better vision.	📌It is time consuming in topic coverage. 📌Less appealing and attractive. 📌Virtual video presentation is not possible.	The teaching aid was appropriate to the subject matter. In Maths, the best way to further explain the topic is to write it on the board so that students will be able to take down notes later. Listening and seeing the explanation allow students retain lessons more effectively.
Textbooks	📌A resource for both the teacher and the student. 📌Provides organized units of work. 📌Provides a balanced, chronological presentation of information.	📌Designed as the sole source of information. 📌Questions in the textbooks tend to be low level or fact-based. 📌It has all the answers to all the questions. 📌Does not take students' background knowledge into account.	Textbooks are appropriate teaching materials because it supplements information from other teaching materials. It is used as a resource for the students, but not the only resource. It is used as a guide for instruction. Students use the textbook as their workbook material. Thus, they will able to review the questions they missed.
Video Clips	📌They are easy to be accepted by students. 📌They stimulate activities. 📌It brings more information. 📌It integrates the outside world into the classroom. 📌It is a very flexible medium of instruction as it creates experience, more immersive, and fun.	📌Students often ignore or reject videos that require them to do analysis or interpretation. 📌Unless videos are captioned with subtitles, it can be difficult for students whose primary language in not English or even for those who have hearing impairment. This results to the teacher explaining the content of the video.  📌It can be a distraction if the material is not aligned to what needs to be taught. 📌There is no direct contact and instantaneous response to the learners' needs.	It may be a challenge for teachers to look for appropriate video materials for instruction but once they found the right material, it will be a great enrichment for the learners. They will be able to find more interesting information that is not available on their textbooks. Also, it allows them to develop listening skills, critical thinking and attentiveness.

My Analysis

My Analysis 

What do you think prompted the teacher to choose the materials/learning resources that she/he used?

The teacher decided to use the instructional materials (chalkboard, textbook, video clips) because he believes that they are the most suitable for the subject the he is teaching. When choosing the teaching aids, the teacher also considers that topic that he is teacher. A few months back, he showed models of 3-dimensional figures to explain the concept of 3D objects, their surface areas and volumes. I believe that all the teaching aids that he uses for all his classes are well-planned, evaluated, and suited for his topic. More importantly, all these IMs are anchored towards specific learning objectives.

What difficulties, if any did the teacher experience? How can this be managed?

The teacher did not experience any difficulties when using the instructional materials and teaching aids. If there is any (on other occasions), it would be a technical problem like unreadable flash drive. This happens all the time. To avoid delays, all teachers always have a spare or back-up flash drive.  Another is to do a test-run with the Smart TV and check if the flash drive is usable and if the video is also readable and not corrupted.

Over-all, were the learning resources/materials used effectively? Why? Why not?

Yes. All learning resources and materials were effectively and appropriately used. These IMs allowed the teacher to deliver his lessons interactively, demonstrate concepts in a most fun and exciting way and create challenge that enabled his students to actively participate in class. The instructional materials all complement each other and they were all used to enhance teaching and learning process. They were used so that learning goals are achieved. Also, the use of both conventional and digital learning resource made the whole process holistic.

My Reflections

Put yourself in the place of the teacher. What would you do similarly and what would you do differently if you will teach the same lesson to the same group of students? Why?

Before teaching Social Studies, I first taught Mathematics Grades 7, 8, and 9 for three years. I have used exactly the same teaching approaches to my students before. Brainstorming is really effective even to those students who have limited English vocabularies.  It gives them confidence to speak up at the same time they get motivated if they are able to get simple compliments like “very good” or “great answer.”

Showing them a problem or a figure and letting them answer some questions (inquiry based) give students time to analyze and think. In Maths, answers are always exact and accurate. But asking a follow up question on “how” and “why” will help them defend their answers in relation to the concept taught on that specific topic. By doing this, their critical and analytical thinking skills are developed.

If there is something that I would do differently, that would be a performance tasks where they will be given a set of worksheets that they need to answer in a given specific time. This is to evaluate if they have understood the ideas of the topic at the same time a way to remember and recall the concepts used. 

Documentation

Grade 8 students show eager participation during class discussion.