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Tuesday, November 05, 2013

47. Models and its uses

Sometimes  serving as  examiners  for  the  Practical  Examination    of the BEd. degree course  can be  an enriching experience.   Many trainees  submit  painstakingly prepared  aids.  Most aids usually  serve a pedagogic purpose.  The  following  is   a  model of  the  Trivandrum Central Railway  Station made  by  a trainee this  year.




A mere look at the  model may not suggest any pedagogic purpose.  But real  learning  happens when  one  teaches  vocabulary related to   a Railway  station/ journey using a toy train which runs over the rails one sees in the model.

Well... some of you may still be sceptical... What follows is the theory related to  the use of models and  the  activity of making models:

“Language is a code restricted to those that are familiar with it. To non-users, it is mysterious and complex. For good understanding therefore, teachers must be aware that learners are abstracting. Meaning does not exist in isolation or in the words but in the context which the words are used. L2 users/learners must be well exposed to usages of words through teaching aids as guides to learning grammar, concepts, spellings and even pronunciation.”

[Asokhia MO (2005). What is a language. In: MO Omo- Ojugo, BN Egede (Eds.): Basic English Language Course for Tertiary Institutions. Ibadan Nigeria: Satmos Publishers, pp. 143-160.]


Rays and Thomas (1973) recommended manipulative materials as teaching aids. Manipulative materials here mean objects or things the children are “able to feel, touch, handle, and move.”
[Rays R, Thomas R 1973. Consideration for teachers using manipulative materials. In the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Laboratory. Inc. Virginia, pp. 101-108.]

According to Anyakoha (1992) the involvement of teachers and learners in improvising materials gives students and teachers the opportunity to concretize their creativity, resourcefulness and imaginative skills.
[Anyakoha EU 1992. Development and Utilization of Facilities for Home Economics Programmes in Nigeria Schools and Colleges for Manpower Development. Vocational/Technical Education and Manpower Development. Nsukka: NVA Publications.]


*There appears to be a relationship between  preparation of teaching models and  the trainee’s  own  pedagogical  acumen.    The model can  become a tapestry of the  trainee’s grasp of a particular pedagogic strategy.  In preparing a model, a trainee is putting an idea related to pedagogy to a new meaningful context... something visual and tangible to solidify the  pedagogic strategy in ones own mind.  Further,  in preparing  models, trainees are polishing  their fine motor skills- using  a pair of scissors, cutting  and folding  paper, learning  the abstemious use of glue etc. Sometimes   colouring and  painting  become essential which provides  an invaluable opportunity to  stimulate creativity. In fact, creating concrete or visual representations of information  provides scope for  developing  Visual-spatial intelligence.

Well...  are you  convinced of  the usefulness  of making models and using models for teaching?...


Please feel free to offer your comments...

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