CBSE Teacher workshop on effective teaching aids

Teaching aids are an integral part of the classroom. These not only help reinforce a skill or concept but also relieve monotony by presenting information in an interesting way, engaging all the senses of the students.

To provide an opportunity to teachers to share their creative and innovative approaches of teaching, the CBSE held a School Teachers Teaching Aids Material Competition on 30 September, 2019 at The Indian Heights School, Dwarka. Ms Ishleen Saluja and Ms. P. Yogeshwari represented our School at the competition.

The event was inaugurated by six judges. One of them addressed the teachers with an inspiring talk which acted as a morale booster. The display of teaching aids and models started in two rooms an Open Hall for the teachers teaching the Primary level and the auditorium for teachers teaching the Middle and Senior levels. Teaching aids and models relating to the various subjects like Math, English, Hindi, Computer Science, Social Science, Science and Economics were presented by the teachers.

The topic chosen by our Ms Ishleen Saluja, was Action Words whereas Ms Yogeshwari decided to present Magnetic Force and Magnetic Field Lines.

Ms Yogeshwari demonstrated magnetic force, field lines and its properties by using Neodymium magnets, iron fillings, bar magnet and coins.

Magnetic field lines were formed by sprinkling iron fillings on a paper where the bar magnet was placed. A beautiful pattern of magnetic field lines was formed and their high density near the poles was proven. It could then be concluded that magnetic strength is the maximum at the poles. The pattern formed using more than one magnet was well defined.

She further showcased another activity using neodymium magnets and coins. The coins were held one below the other under the neodymium magnet, which proved the extent of magnetic field lines and the influence of field strength. She said that such experiments make a classroom dynamic and lend motivation to the students.

Ms Ishleen showed how teaching Action Words to the students of the Primary Department is easier with the help of games and a model. She displayed her creation in the form of a game titled Go Fishing where students would be asked to fish for Action words from inside a bag filled with naming words, describing words and action words. Small pieces of magnets were attached to cards stating Action words. A fishing rod with another magnet attached to it would be provided to the student and he would be asked to pull out the Action words from the bag.

The second teaching aid presented by her was the Moving Wheel with pictures of naming words and a pointer at the centre. The student was to guess the action words that the naming word could perform when the pointer stopped at the end of a spin. For instance, if the naming word was bee then the corresponding action words would be suck nectar, fly and sit.

The third teaching aid was a board game prepared with pictures of different Action words. A dice would be rolled and the tokens would be moved accordingly after which the student would be asked to enact the action presented on the board.

The objective underlying each of the teaching aids was to create an exhilarating and enriching experience for the students and add a fun element to help understand concepts.

The competition was positive, supportive and rewarding. The event wound up at 3.30 pm. The teaching aids that were displayed were vibrant, colourful and informative. The aids/models were made of inexpensive and reusable items which also came in for appreciation by the judges.