How to Use Audio/Visual Aids in Teaching

The teaching profession is filled with countless opportunities to enrich the academic lives of students. While some concepts and educational objectives will be easy for students to grasp, others will require you to think creatively to ensure that important learning objectives are met. Using audio/visual aids in teaching is one way to enhance lesson plans and give students additional ways to process subject information.

Instructions

1 Bridge the gap between the different types of learners by adding audio/visual aides to your teaching techniques. Since most people are visual learners, it's important to go beyond "spoken words" when educating students. Students are also more likely to learn material is they're exposed to it in a variety of ways. Always look over your lesson plans to find ways to inject different teaching styles.

2 Implement "show and tell" sessions to promote student involvement. This will also help you assess each student's overall understanding of the desired learning objectives. There are many ways to use show and tell sessions such as asking students to bring in modern items that still demonstrate colonial values.

3 Provide audio/visual aides to demonstrate mathematical concepts to students. This will help students learn to think of complicated material in a practical way. For example, concepts like fractions and proportions can be better visualized through the use of audio/visual aids such as marble representations and pizza models.

4 Watch videos and movies that reinforce lesson plans. Authors such as Shakespeare may be easier to understand when the material is seen as well as read. Use film clips to highlight historical events and to provide expert analysis of current situations.

5 Invite guest speakers to help students learn concepts. The use of real people can make subjects such as social studies seem more relevant to daily life. The visual and auditory information conveyed to the students can make a lasting impression. Ask guest speakers to bring in items for the class to pass around or to tell stories in their native languages.