Instructional materials are basic channel of communication especially in teaching and learning. It is one of the best teaching method or technique to get students attention and also pass the message or the subject under discourse properly. Every teacher desires for their students to participate actively in class and have a better understanding of the subject or topic; this desire extends to the student academic performance in terminal examination, undergraduate projects, seminar and paper presentation. Active participation of learners will also increase motivation and also minimize abstraction associated with teaching and learning, thus increasing learning experience. However, all of these can be facilitated by making use of instructional materials and resources which can minimize abstraction associated with some subjects such as Mathematics. Teaching can only be effective when adequate and relevant instructional materials are used. Many educators have reported the importance of instructional materials in teaching. Teaching and learning cannot be effective without adequate and relevant use of instructional materials especially in rural schools where assimilation can be quite difficult as a result of the environment and lack of adequate teaching materials.
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Instructional materials in the classroom are very important for the purpose of bringing about effective teaching and learning. Instructional resources in teaching and learning make students to learn more and retain better what they have been taught and also promotes and sustains students’ interest in the subject been taught. It also allows the learners to discover themselves and their abilities. Instructional materials have a way of also enriching learners’ knowledge and reinforcing verbal instruction.
Students learn best if they are given the opportunity to see and to make observation of what they are taught. A good instructional material might be a substitute for real life objects in the classroom as against the use of exploratory method.
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
Instructional Materials, also known as Teaching/Learning Materials, are any collection of materials including animate and inanimate objects and human and non-human resources that a teacher may use in teaching and learning situations to help achieve desired learning objectives. Instructional materials refer to those alternative channels of communication, which a classroom teacher can use to concretize a concept during teaching and learning process. Traditionally, classroom teachers have relied heavily on the 'talk-chalk' method during their teaching. But recently, instructional materials help to provide variations in the ways in which messages are sent across. In using instructional materials teachers and students do not only extend the range of sense organs we use but also extend the range of materials used for convening the same message through the same organ. For instance, in teaching a topic a teacher can manipulate real objects or use their stimulators. Instructional materials therefore constitute the media of exchange through which a message transaction is facilitated between a source and a receiver. In addition to extending the range of materials that can be used to convey the same instructional message to learners’ instructional materials also facilitate the 'process' nature of communication. In this passage, the process nature of communication implies that both the source and the receiver of a message are actively involved in a communication encounter. Infarct, it means that both the receiver and the source share and exchange ideas, feelings in any communication
THE NEED FOR INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
A) IT BOOST STUDENTS ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE
One of the reasons for the need for instructional materials is because it boosts students’ academic performance. Most students tend to learn faster, comprehend and retain what they are taught when instructional materials are used in those teachings thereby leading to an improved academic performance.
B) IT IMPROVES STUDENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT A SUBJECT
Another need for instructional materials is that it improves students’ knowledge about a particular subject or subjects. Students’ knowledge about subjects improves when instructional materials are used in teaching and learning. Reason been that there are some subjects that are so abstract and therefore difficult to learn or even retain. But with the use of instructional materials, such subjects can be brought to life and students can gain a better understanding and retain for a long time.
CONCLUSION
Conclusively, Instructional materials are materials which assist teachers to make their lessons explicit to learners. They are used to transmit information, ideas and notes to learners. Therefore, in order to use instructional materials and aid more effectively, Instructional materials used must make teaching and learning more real and meaningful to the learner. The materials should not be substitute for learning but must contribute to the learning process itself. Teachers must also e conscious of the time spent in teaching and; learning especially when using instructional materials they must ensure the time spent commensurate with the lesson period allowed.
However, not all instructional materials are suitable for teaching and learning as some instructional materials can be so complex that the learners end up more confused than they were even before the use of the instructional materials that is suppose to bring to life what is in theory. Therefore, Instructional materials should not be so complex that the time is spent on just learning to use them but should make learning more real and meaningful to the learner.
And finally, the use of several kinds of instructional materials to explain one particular concept must also take cognizance of individual difference among the learners especially for those in the rural areas of the country.