In the field of education, TLM is a commonly used acronym that stands for “teaching/learning materials.” Broadly, the term refers to a spectrum of education materials that teachers use in the classroom to support specific learning objectives, as set out in lesson plans. Classroom teaching that uses only a teacher lecturing the class, perhaps writing on the chalkboard or whiteboard, is the classic example of not using any TLM beyond the chalk. Activity-based learning employs a variety of teaching/learning materials and focuses on student interaction to learn new concepts. Context-specific learning materials enhance the process.
My Experiences with TLM
Since my days in Gandhi Fellowship where I was supporting and facilitating the learning of students across 4 Government schools, I was made fun of by my co-fellows for seeing and creating a teaching-learning material (TLM) from anything and everything; one will often find my room full of paper, t
hermocol and sundry knick-knacks which one may not connect to how those can be used for learning, like ID card holder, cartons. Right now I have in my room plenty of tires, cold drink bottle caps, paints, wood pieces, seeds, nuts, matchsticks, etc. Yes, I was able to successfully use the variety of useful collectibles, and left-overs to catalyze the learning with the students. Actually, I was and am very fascinated by the idea of using various objects creatively as teaching-learning materials to conduct activity-based sessions. I see creative TLMs as a strong instrument to revolutionize the way learning happens in schools across India. When you use TLM, the learning automatically becomes activity based. TLMs also make the learning contextual and active. TLMs do bring in excitement, enthusiasm, energy, and engagement into the classroom. TLM can be said to be the language for engaging with kids. A lot of Government schools in urban spaces and a few in rural spaces do use a lot of TLMs like an abacus, weighing balance and flashcards. While these are relevant and useful, they still seem to be a very limited use of the idea of TLMs which has the capacity to bring the whole world into the classroom yet actually preparing the classroom for the whole world. We can have event-based TLMs like now we have the FIFA season going on, so we can build up TLMs to relate with FIFA which will give students an idea about various countries, flags, etc. and about a fantastic sport like football and its players.
Since my days in Gandhi Fellowship where I was supporting and facilitating the learning of students across 4 Government schools, I was made fun of by my co-fellows for seeing and creating a teaching-learning material (TLM) from anything and everything; one will often find my room full of paper, t
hermocol and sundry knick-knacks which one may not connect to how those can be used for learning, like ID card holder, cartons. Right now I have in my room plenty of tires, cold drink bottle caps, paints, wood pieces, seeds, nuts, matchsticks, etc. Yes, I was able to successfully use the variety of useful collectibles, and left-overs to catalyze the learning with the students. Actually, I was and am very fascinated by the idea of using various objects creatively as teaching-learning materials to conduct activity-based sessions. I see creative TLMs as a strong instrument to revolutionize the way learning happens in schools across India. When you use TLM, the learning automatically becomes activity based. TLMs also make the learning contextual and active. TLMs do bring in excitement, enthusiasm, energy, and engagement into the classroom. TLM can be said to be the language for engaging with kids. A lot of Government schools in urban spaces and a few in rural spaces do use a lot of TLMs like an abacus, weighing balance and flashcards. While these are relevant and useful, they still seem to be a very limited use of the idea of TLMs which has the capacity to bring the whole world into the classroom yet actually preparing the classroom for the whole world. We can have event-based TLMs like now we have the FIFA season going on, so we can build up TLMs to relate with FIFA which will give students an idea about various countries, flags, etc. and about a fantastic sport like football and its players.An excerpt from the National Curriculum Framework 2005
4.6.7 Organising and Pooling Resources
Teaching aids and other materials, as well as books, toys and games, help make school interesting for children. In some states of the country, good use has been made of the funding assistance through DPEP and other programmes for acquiring and developing teaching-learning materials. A lot of ready-made materials do exist, and teachers, cluster and block – level resource persons need to become better acquainted with the range of materials available and ways of using them. There are also many new kinds of printed materials for teachers and children being produced by NGOs and small entrepreneurs. In addition, there are locally available materials that cost little but which are very useful for keeping in a classroom, especially in the primary school grads. Teachers need to explore various types of raw materials that can be used to make teaching aids that will last year after year, so that the precious time they invest in making these things is put to good use. Styrofoam and cardboard are neither strong enough nor attractive for this purpose. Other materials such as rexine, rubber and cloth are interesting alternatives. Challenges and opportunities with TLM Today we might have a very grand understanding of TLMs, activity-based learning and, other terms but there are various hurdles in implementation. Who will plan, create and implement the dynamic TLMs for the 840,546 Primary Government schools (http://www.dise.in) and other private primary schools in India for the crores of students we cater to? The obvious answer is “teachers”. But do we have the environment or set up to support creation/collection of TLMs in the school? Does the current set-up support the teachers to have enough time, ideas, energy and interest to create, plan and implement student-centered and subject centered TLMs from local resources and by using technology? It is not just about creating TLMs, the implementation in the classrooms is also difficult where the student to teacher ratio is usually higher than the expected ratio, with students of various grades and levels sitting together at times (which can be a benefit and disadvantage as well for an activity) and in rural space we may not have electricity facility. When the number of students is high, creating sets of TLMs for all of them will consume a lot of time and energy. And more the numbers, more is the need for a perfect elaborate planning to conduct an activity based session. Without much help and motivation, teachers often fall back to the traditional methods of learning through blackboard or whiteboard. But we have enough examples like Arvind Gupta who have presented activity-based approach with TLMs to be useful and more effective with a large range of students. In the recent years, Education Programme of various State Governments have implemented various ideas successfully to bring in the activity-based approach in classrooms and there are organisations working with Government to create an environment for activity-based approach in classrooms like Teach For India, Kaivalya Education Foundation, Pratham, Magic bus, Azim Premji Foundation etc. to make learning more effective. In Gandhi Fellowship, we were trying our best to support the teachers to engage with students through TLMs with an activity-based approach. And it had better learning outcomes.But India being a country catering to crores of students through thousands of schools, we need more education entrepreneurs and more innovative ideas from both Governmental and non-Governmental spaces together to impart the effective education we dream of. Please do share your views. Thank you. – Siddharth Mishra, Learning Catalyst at Klorofeel Foundation
4.6.7 Organising and Pooling Resources
Teaching aids and other materials, as well as books, toys and games, help make school interesting for children. In some states of the country, good use has been made of the funding assistance through DPEP and other programmes for acquiring and developing teaching-learning materials. A lot of ready-made materials do exist, and teachers, cluster and block – level resource persons need to become better acquainted with the range of materials available and ways of using them. There are also many new kinds of printed materials for teachers and children being produced by NGOs and small entrepreneurs. In addition, there are locally available materials that cost little but which are very useful for keeping in a classroom, especially in the primary school grads. Teachers need to explore various types of raw materials that can be used to make teaching aids that will last year after year, so that the precious time they invest in making these things is put to good use. Styrofoam and cardboard are neither strong enough nor attractive for this purpose. Other materials such as rexine, rubber and cloth are interesting alternatives.
Challenges and opportunities with TLM Today we might have a very grand understanding of TLMs, activity-based learning and, other terms but there are various hurdles in implementation. Who will plan, create and implement the dynamic TLMs for the 840,546 Primary Government schools (http://www.dise.in) and other private primary schools in India for the crores of students we cater to? The obvious answer is “teachers”. But do we have the environment or set up to support creation/collection of TLMs in the school? Does the current set-up support the teachers to have enough time, ideas, energy and interest to create, plan and implement student-centered and subject centered TLMs from local resources and by using technology? It is not just about creating TLMs, the implementation in the classrooms is also difficult where the student to teacher ratio is usually higher than the expected ratio, with students of various grades and levels sitting together at times (which can be a benefit and disadvantage as well for an activity) and in rural space we may not have electricity facility. When the number of students is high, creating sets of TLMs for all of them will consume a lot of time and energy. And more the numbers, more is the need for a perfect elaborate planning to conduct an activity based session. Without much help and motivation, teachers often fall back to the traditional methods of learning through blackboard or whiteboard. But we have enough examples like Arvind Gupta who have presented activity-based approach with TLMs to be useful and more effective with a large range of students. In the recent years, Education Programme of various State Governments have implemented various ideas successfully to bring in the activity-based approach in classrooms and there are organisations working with Government to create an environment for activity-based approach in classrooms like Teach For India, Kaivalya Education Foundation, Pratham, Magic bus, Azim Premji Foundation etc. to make learning more effective. In Gandhi Fellowship, we were trying our best to support the teachers to engage with students through TLMs with an activity-based approach. And it had better learning outcomes.But India being a country catering to crores of students through thousands of schools, we need more education entrepreneurs and more innovative ideas from both Governmental and non-Governmental spaces together to impart the effective education we dream of. Please do share your views. Thank you. – Siddharth Mishra, Learning Catalyst at Klorofeel Foundation