Availability of teaching aids

Teaching aids include all objects or devices “used by a teacher to enhance or enliven classroom instruction” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). Different classifications exist, but the most common one is the following: audio aids (e.g., tape recorder, radio, disc player); visual teaching aids (e.g., posters, pictures, charts, maps); audio-visual teaching aids (e.g., television, films). Computers and electronic services are sometimes classified in the audio-visual teaching aid category or treated separately (see, for example, Nemejc, Smekalova, and Kriz, 2019).

Formal definitions, abstract explanations, and descriptions may not be enough for students to understand and retain information (Petty, 2014; cited in Nemejc, Smekalova, and Kriz, 2019). In this regard, teaching aids are important tools that serve illustration or demonstration purposes and facilitate teaching and learning processes. They have the following properties and advantages:

• “They are the source of the didactic information;
• They have an immediate link to the curriculum and especially to learning objectives;
• They contribute to easier memorization of the curriculum;
• They motivate the students and arouse their interest in the subject matter;
• They fulfill the role of feedback – inform the students about how they understand the subject matter and specify the learning process;

They support the self-study since students can study on their own and out-of-school on the basis of observations, their own experience from the lessons” (Nemejc, Smekalova, and Kriz, 2019: 94–95).

Promising policy options

Exploit the variety of available resources

Teacher talk is the most widely used teaching method. Although convenient and indispensable, it is a teacher-centered method that involves little active student engagement and for which student concentration span is shorter (Petty, 2009). For this reason, relying on teaching aids is key to enhancing lesson delivery by providing visual, auditive, or audio-visual illustrations of the teacher’s speech. Tools as basic as a chalkboard can be used, but the variety of resources that can be turned into teaching aids should be exploited to deliver vivid presentations. Notably, ICTs are particularly useful tools that can offer infinite possibilities to support teaching, both in face-to-face instruction and distance learning (Lombillo Rivero, López Padrón, and Zumeta Izaguirre, 2012). It should, however, be borne in mind that the usefulness of a teaching aid does not depend on the teaching aid itself but its integration into an appropriate teaching strategy and its alignment with the other components of this strategy (GPE, 2019; Lombillo Rivero, López Padrón, and Zumeta Izaguirre, 2012). In other words, good materials can also be used badly. Despite this vast array of options, it is essential that the teaching aids selected be relevant to the nature of the task and the background of the classroom (Ahmed, Clark-Jeavons, and Oldknow, 2004).

Create teaching aids

In resource-constrained contexts, teachers do not have a wide range of options available to them, or materials like textbooks may be irrelevant to the local context (Hawes, 1976). Individuals or groups of teachers sharing knowledge could compile lists by category (e.g., written, cultural) of the resources available at the national level, at the local level, and for individual schools (Hawes, 1976). This can help appreciate the richness of the available local resources and substantiate the need for financial and material support from authorities and schools (Hawes, 1976).

In remote areas, resource persons in the communities can assist with poems, chants, or handicrafts (Hawes, 1976). Teachers can also create their own teaching aids with locally available materials. Self-made posters with drawings or a combination of clippings from magazines, brochures, newspapers, or book illustrations are an example of low-cost options (Petty, 2009). Although improvisation, creativity, and resourcefulness become essential parts of the teaching job in such contexts, teachers must be supported in this exercise by authorities, communities, experienced colleagues, training teachers, and school leadership through advice, financial, technical, and material assistance (UNESCO and International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, 2019). Additionally, when they are expected to produce their own teaching aids, since it takes time and skills, this preparation should be reflected in their working hours (UNESCO and International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, 2019).

Provide training in making and using teaching aids

Some teaching aids may require developing specific skills. Typically, as ICT tools have become a norm in today’s world, they are also constituting an integral part of teaching-learning interactions in some contexts; for instance, interactive digital whiteboards have replaced the traditional chalkboards (IIEP-UNESCO, 2021). Among other benefits, ICTs can increase higher-order thinking skills and better prepare students to apprehend technological changes in society and the workplace (IIEP-UNESCO, 2021). This is on the condition that teachers are digitally literate and are trained to use ICTs for collaboration and interaction purposes in the classroom (IIEP-UNESCO, 2021).

As mentioned above, teaching aids do not work in a vacuum. Rather, regardless of their level of sophistication, their effectiveness depends on how they are used and integrated into a teaching strategy. A case study shows that some teachers find it hard to integrate available inexpensive tools due to lack of training (Idiogbe, 2012). Adequate teacher training should aim at ensuring that teachers use active learning methods (World Bank, 2018), are able to improvise and mobilize available resources depending on the school context (UNESCO and International Task Force on Teachers for Education 2030, 2019), and are confident enough to adopt alternative teaching methods (UNESCO Bangkok Office, 2016). Experience-sharing with colleagues, continuing professional development, feedback from students, and evaluation of the effectiveness of teaching aids should all contribute to improving the integration and use of teaching aids (Nemejc, Smekalova, and Kriz, 2019).

Ensure the pedagogical suitability of teaching aids

Increasing the number of teaching aids is not sufficient by itself. Using teaching aids can turn ineffective or counterproductive if they are not integrated properly into teaching, do not result in interactions with the students or fail to trigger their interest, and if students are overwhelmed by too many materials and end up being distracted (Nemejc, Smekalova, and Kriz, 2019).

Emphasis should be put on the appropriateness of teaching aids for the educational process and student ability and background (Nemejc, Smekalova, and Kriz, 2019; World Bank, 2018). It is also necessary to reflect on how they can increase teacher-learner interactions. In addition, it should also be taken into account that the specificities of the subjects taught imply that for each of them, certain aids will be more relevant and effective than others (e.g., globes and maps in geography, number charts in mathematics).

Overall, teachers should have an adequate level of classroom autonomy and flexibility to tailor their teaching to the needs of their students, using the means they judge most effectively to produce meaningful learning (World Bank, 2018).