Principles for designing materials

1.2 Types of teaching learning materials
Teaching-learning materials are the materials, which render a significant contribution in facilitating the teaching and learning processes.⁴In the past, the materials were made use of to teach the students in class. But in the present existence, there have been changes taking place in the materials. There has been a change in the emphasis from teaching to learning in a learner-centred approach. The learners need to generate information in terms of more materials of various types to enhance their capacity to learn in groups or on an individual basis. Hence, the learning materials can be recognized as teaching aids. They are used by the students in learning and understanding. Whereas, instructors make use of them to impart information to the students. Therefore, these are known as the teaching and learning materials. When the individuals are in teaching jobs or they are pursuing education, in such cases, it is of utmost significance for them to be well-equipped in terms of teaching and learning materials.
When research is to be conducted on the teaching-learning materials, it needs to be found out that how these would be effective and meaningful to the instructors in performing one’s job duties well, facilitating student learning, achieving academic goals and objectives and up-grading the overall system of education. The implementation of teaching-learning materials need to be in accordance to various factors, i.e. grade levels of students, age groups, professional needs and requirements, academic goals and overall system of education. The instructors and the students need to augment their knowledge and be well-equipped in terms of utilization of teaching and learning materials. The instructors do not find their job duties tedious and learning of new concepts become manageable for the students, if they are informative in terms of teaching-learning materials. It is the integral job duty of the instructors to present the learners with new information. In addition, they impart them information in terms of utilization of teaching and learning materials in acquiring an efficient understanding of subjects and concepts. Therefore, when adequate and satisfactory information is possessed in terms of the teaching-learning materials, up-gradation will be brought about in the overall system of education. The teaching-learning materials vary at different levels of education (Unit 6, n.d.). For instance, in the stage of early childhood education, elementary education, secondary, senior secondary and higher educational institutions, the teaching and learning materials are different. The various materials relating to the desired objectives can play a vital and a positive role in breaking down the monotony of the teacher-centred classrooms, which in most cases put emphasis on rote learning. The presentation of these materials by the instructors before the students, enables them to utilize them in learning. In understanding a lesson plan and the associated concepts, the teaching and learning materials are required to play an important part. Therefore, the meaning and significance of teaching and learning materials is recognized, when the instructors incur the feeling of job satisfaction and the students too are able to acquire an efficient understanding of the lesson plans and academic concepts. Teaching learning materials (TLMs) are, therefore, tools, which are used by teachers to help learners to learn concept with ease and efficiency. TLMs have been in existence in our educational system since ancient times, (Lal, 2011). The role of TLMs in the classroom are to make learning real, practical and fun for children. Teachers use TLMs to illustrate or reinforce a skill, fact or idea. TLMs also help in bringing novelty and freshness in classroom teaching as it relieves learners from anxiety, fear and boredom. Teaching learning materials provide a range of learning experiences to learners from direct to indirect. Teaching learning materials are of various types and thus are classified and categorized in several ways. Edgar Dale’s cone of experience is one of the simplest ways of categorizing TLMs. He experimented with different TLMs and categorized them on the basis of type of experiences the learner acquires – from concrete to abstract. Another widely accepted and popular way of categorizing TLMs is based on the senses they stimulate in learners, which, in turn affect the effectiveness of teaching learning process. TLMs can broadly be classified into three categories.
i) Audio TLMs
ii) Visual TLMs
iii) Audio Visual TLMs
Let us look: into these categories in details.
i) Audio TLMs: These TLMs primarily stimulate the hearing sense of learner.
It includes – human voice, telephonic conversation, audio discs/tapes, gramophone records, Radio broadcast.
ii) Visual TLMs: These types of TLMs involve the sense of vision. They stimulate the visual impulses. These can be of various types as given below:
• Visual (Verbal) Print. (the text is the main instructional or teaching learning aid)
• Textbook, Supplementary book.
• Reference books, encyclopedia, etc.
• Magazine, Newspaper
• Documents and Clippings
• Duplicated written material
• Programmed material or SLM
• Case Studies/Reports etc.
• Visual (Pictorial- Non Projected )–
a) Non-projected two dimensional – Here the TLM is in form of an
image or picture explaining the concept. Examples of such type of
TLMs are blackboard writing and drawing Charts, Posters, Maps,
Diagrams, Graphs, Photographs, Cartoons, Comic strips.
b) Non-Projected three-dimensional – This category includes threedimensional representation of the real object or phenomenon. It helps learners in conceptualization. It includes – Models, Mock-up, Diorama, Globe, Relief Map, Specimen, Puppet, and Hologram.
• Visual (Projected but still) – Here the images are projected or displayed on a screen and thus are nearer reality than visual non-projected ones. It includes – Slide, Filmstrips, Over Head Projector (OHP), Microfilm, Micro card, etc.
iii) Audio Visual TLMs are the projected aids, which use both auditory and visual senses to enhance learning. The greatest advantage of these is they are the closest representation of reality. These include – Motion Picture Film, Television, Video discs/cassettes, slide – tape presentations, Multimedia Computer. The teaching-learning materials are primarily the materials, which are made use of in educational institutions at all levels and training centres. These are made use of by the instructors as well in order to impart information to the students and students also make use of them to up-grade their learning. In some cases, they are manageable to be made use of, whereas, in other cases, the individuals may experience problems and challenges. In some cases, they can be obtained in a manageable manner, whereas, in other cases, they are difficult to obtain. For the benefit of acquiring, storing and utilizing different materials within the classroom settings with the main objective of putting into practice the teaching and the learning activities, it is of utmost significance to classify the types of teaching-learning materials. The instructors are mainly vested with the job duties of classifying and making selection of the appropriate teaching and learning materials in order to facilitate the teaching and learning processes. The various types of teaching-learning materials are stated as follows: