Teachers as teaching aids??

Although we are now living in ICT world and have access to different types of resources and materials to be used as teaching aids, there is one aid which is convenient, portable, functions even in the dark and available at anytime. Curious?? The answer is the teacher him or herself.

A teacher can involve pupils more in classroom discussion and activities by following these simple steps:

1. Sitting behind a desk creates a "distance" between the teacher and the students. Try to have an aisle and enough space between the rows so that you can easily reach those at the back. This way you can talk to individual students, allow the shy ones to ask questions quietly without the fear of embarrassment, as well as check their work and help them . Stepping forward to emphasise a point, small steps towards different sides of the class lets the student feel that the teacher is taking genuine interest in what he or she is saying.

2. Make an effort to keep eyes lively, aware and interested. Fix them on specific students, but not for so long that they become uncomfortable! Avoid focusing on the worst or best students.
Knowing that the teacher demands eye contact keeps the students alert. It also gives the teacher a feedback on the impact of what he or she is saying. This is particularly important in large classes, where "distance" between the teacher and learner is greater, and individual attention is more difficult.

3. Gestures that involve arms and hands are a very expressive visual aid. They can be used to describe shapes, actions, movements etc. but, remember to keep still while listening to a student . Otherwise the message sent to the student is that he is being longwinded or boring.
Habits such as fiddling with notes and books, playing with pens , key chains, or doodling with chalk on the black board can be both distracting and irritating for the student.

4. A smile can make wonders. It encourages the student to participate more actively and dispels the notion that the teacher is over critical. Also, try to look interested while a student is speaking. A smile, a grimace, a curl of the lips, raised eyebrows etc. at appropriate moments will send messages as needed.

5. Give students plenty of time to talk! It will keep them alert. Make small jokes, be friendly.
at the same time, call students by their name. It sounds warmer and friendlier and lessens the distance between the teacher and learner.

So, do all these make sense? We need to make use various types of teaching aids in order to develop pupils cognitively and aesthethically...but...there is no teaching aids that could take over teachers' role...:)