We explain what teaching resources are, what their functions, types and examples are. Also, why are they so important.
What are teaching resources?
Teaching resources, teaching materials or teaching aids are any type of material or technological support that facilitates or encourages the teaching and learning process . They are usually used by educators in pedagogical or training institutions, as a way to complement or make their work more efficient.
There is no strict and universal concept regarding what is and what is not a teaching resource. Basically because anything can be, as long as it fulfills the function of facilitating learning or adapting it to the specific needs of a certain type of student.
For example, some resources will allow significant learning, with high student participation, while others will serve more as communicative support for the teacher, or simply as reinforcement material.
Although there is no agreement regarding the nomenclature of these elements, some authors prefer to establish a difference between:
- Teaching resources. In some cases it is used to designate material elements that serve as auxiliaries in the teaching process, such as pencils, markers or the blackboard.
- Teaching materials. It is usually used to refer to the elements pedagogically arranged in advance to facilitate the learning process, that is, the resources expressly for teaching, such as textbooks, audiovisual presentations, etc.
However, in this text we will use them as synonyms.
Functions of teaching resources
Given the possible diversity of teaching resources, their specific functions can be many. Even so, they can be summarized in:
- Provide guidance. Especially in complex themes and topics, proposing alternative learning routes, mnemonic rules, etc.
- Simulate situations or events. To show in a controlled environment how they occur in real life.
- Motivate learning. That is, awaken interest in knowledge in the student.
- Evaluate student performance. In a specific topic or in the subject as a whole, in order to know how much of the learning was successful.
Importance of teaching resources
Teaching resources are essential in any educational model. On the one hand, because stimulate the transmission of knowledge and they allow this to occur according to different models and forms, which is vital if we consider that not everyone learns in the same way.
On the other hand, they usually incorporate technical and technological resources into teaching more modern, which allows the updating of teaching, allowing new dynamics and academic experiences.
Types of teaching resources
The teaching resources can be classified as follows:
- Permanent work material. Everything that is used daily in teaching, whether to keep a record of it, illustrate what was said or allow other types of operations.
- Informative material. Those materials in which the information is contained and that are used as a source of knowledge.
- Illustrative material. Everything that can be used to accompany, enhance and exemplify the content taught, whether visual, audiovisual or interactive.
- Experimental material. That which allows students to verify, through practice and direct experimentation, the knowledge taught in class.
- Technological material. These are electronic resources that allow the generation of content, its massification, etc., using especially the so-called ICT.
Examples of teaching resources
Some examples of resources and teaching materials are:
- Blackboard, chalk, erasable markers.
- Projectors (such as video beam), sheets, billboards.
- Learning software, audiovisual sequences, online encyclopedias.
- Scientific laboratory material, experimental practices, field exercises.
- Textbooks, dictionaries of various types, notebooks, pads of sheets.
- Rulers of different types, calculators, compasses, squares.
- Mockups, simulators, organization charts, graphs.
References
- “Teaching material” on Wikipedia.
- “The teaching resource. Uses and resources for learning in the classroom” by Isabella González at the University of Palermo (Argentina).
- “Teaching resources” (video) at Open University for Adults (Dominican Republic).
- “Teaching resources” by Sara Pérez Alarcón in Topics for education. Digital magazine for teaching professors (Spain).
