Three - Dimensional Aids : Objects

THREE - DIMENSIONAL AIDS

Direct, purposeful experiences are not always available and if available, are not always usable or applicable in making the teaching very effective. To teach a concept of wild life and its preservation, it may not be possible to visit all the wild life resorts and show all those animals to the students. Some experiences belong to remote past or future and so it is not possible to experience them in reality. A real human eye or any other human organ may be available but for a detailed study, they may prove to be useless as their handling may be awkward. Thus, sometimes, the real things are too large or too small for easy handling.

In these circumstances contrived experiences help to simplify

teaching by editing the realities. Some complicated or distracting details are omitted, and some new ones are added and the sizes are changed for the sole purpose of better understanding of the original things. Such contrived experiences are provided through objects, specimens, models, mock-ups, mobiles and puppets.

 OBJECTS

lNames of cooking methods can be learnt without the help of Objects are actual real things such as furniture, toys, refrigerators, pressure cookers, fruits, flowers, books etc. Many objects are easily available in the home or from friends, local markets, educational institutions and museums. The use of objects must be encouraged for classroom teaching as they -make teaching more effective by making the explanations very clear, example - ways to make self-help children's garments through the actual garments, give opportunity to students to touch, experience, investigate and study in the class.

You can present the objects in the class, either by displaying them in a show case, specially those which are rare, expensive and delicate or by placing them on tables for the whole class to see. You may pass them around among the students for closer view and study, if the objects are small, unbreakable and safe. Make a collection of objects for your teaching, whenever possible, for use in future to save time and energy in hunting for them when needed. Store objects either in cardboard boxes or in cellophane bags or display them in enclosed glass show cases permanently like we find in museums.

Sometimes, objects are not usable in the class as they may

not:

1.     Be suitable to classroom situation; examples-

2.     if they are too large, like an elephant, and aeroplane, they cannot be brought in the room.

3.     if they are too small, like insects and household pests, they are not convenient to see and conduct detailed study.

4.     if they are dangerous, like snakes and wild animals they are not safe to bring in the classroom.

5.     if they are soft and slippery they are inconvenient to handle, like a human eye.

if static, like buildings and gardens, they cannot be brought to the class

1.     Some may be highly perishable, examples green leafy vegetables.

2.     Some are not available easily in the local communities, examples - expensive costumes or food items of other countries, objects depicting past centuries, architecture of the remote past or future.

3.     Some are not affordable due to high cost, example - machines, real ornaments, blue pottery.