INFLUENCE OF VISUAL AIDS ON EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING OF SOCIAL STUDIES

CHAPTER TWO

REVIEW OF LITERATURE

If the war has taught us anything about teaching, it is this: Proper use of audio-visual aids helps to speed up learning. Col. M. E. Gillette, who was in charge of production of visual aids for army training, was quoted in a 1942 issue of Business Screen as saying, "These officers-whose business it is to know-assure me that training films, used intelligently in combination with normal methods, can cut the time for training up to forty per cent in some cases." Similar statements have been made by other military officials, by persons in charge of special war training programs in industry, and by executives who cooperated with the National Industrial Conference Board in a special objective survey of the use of visual aids in training. The effectiveness of audio-visual aids in teaching has been demonstrated in all subject fields.

The possibilities for improving instruction in the field of social studies, however, are especially good. Practically every aid to perceptual learning can be used profitably in the social studies field and the number of suitable films, photographs and other materials for use in social studies teaching is greater than in any other subject area. Teachers in all subjects depend too much upon the verbal approach to learning. Perhaps this is much more so in the social sciences than in the natural sciences where demonstration, experimentation, and observation are regarded as essential procedures. Some history teachers, for example, rely almost wholly upon lectures and the textbook. The result in many cases is meagre learning and considerable loss of interest on the part of the pupil. Textbooks and lectures have their place in teaching, but they should be supplemented with other aids which will give richer meaning to this verbal approach. Teachers must consider the experiences through which pupils learn as multi-sensory and must, therefore, employ methods and devices which enlist as many senses as necessary to provide the experiential background necessary for their work. Audio-visual aids (using the term in its broader sense)are the means of giving necessary concreteness to learning experiences. The various types of audio-visual aids may be classified under seven main headings. For purposes of discussion they are ranked in this review from the more concrete to the more abstract. Each has a place and a value in social studies teaching.

1. The Excursion. This method of visual instruction provides a better learning experience than any other. It brings the pupil into direct contact with the real world about him where he can study first-hand afunctional situation in which the various elements are in their proper setting. As a technique for teaching, however, it is usually overlooked although many profitable excursions could be made to places within a few minutes' walk of the school. Geography teachers, for example, can go with pupils out to a nearby hillside and teach a meaningful lesson on conservation by pointing out examples of erosion, improper land use, lack of cover for game, and the need for reforestation.

Think of the learning possibilities a first year high school class can have in a trip to the city hall or county courthouse, a type of excursion within the reach of nearly all civics classes. In certain locations farms, dairies, manufacturing plants, forests, hydro-electric developments, the ocean, historical shrines, and other places of interest and significance are within easy reach of the school and afford valuable learning experiences in such subjects as geography, economics, sociology and history. Where bus transportation can be provided, whole classes can visit places miles away and in one day get a rich, thrilling experience that will furnish the basis for much purposeful reading, writing, discussion, and library research for a period of several days or even weeks.

1. Objects, Specimens, Models.

Although it is desirable to take a class out into the world to observe an object in its natural setting, it may sometimes be preferable to bring the object into the classroom. This can be done with such things as old firearms, swords, Indian arrowheads, period costumes, and the like, but is impossible or impractical with such things as a prairie schooner, pioneer locomotive or blockhouse because of their size. Where such large articles are wanted for study, models are quite satisfactory and may be built by pupils. Their very construction is a valuable learning experience and promotes a great deal of purposeful use of the library.

Also, the models may be made with removable sections or may have sections made of some such transparent material as plexiglass so as to reveal hidden parts and to show the operation of moving pieces. The diorama is sometimes useful in depicting a habitat group process, or certain natural phenomena. These proportionally designed, three dimensional representations when used to show such scenes as an Eskimo igloo on the frozen wastes, a Congo village, a Swiss mountain chalet, or a desert village are especially helpful in teaching those fundamental concepts of geography involved in man's adaptation to his environment. In large schools materials of this nature may constitute a museum which should have special housing facilities, but where a museum is not possible social studies teachers should try to get small collections for the classroom, always seeking quality and integration with the course of study rather than quantity.

1. Television.

Within the course of the next few years pupils may be able to see and hear history in the making or visit the Grand Canyon for a lesson in geography taught by one of the world's great geography teachers. For more than six years now in the metropolitan centers good television programs have been available daily for a limited number of hours, many of them having educational value. Although these programs are only two dimensional black and white representations, they have qualities of immediacy, motion and correlated sound which create such a good illusion of reality that the pupil feels he is actually present at the scene. Experimental telecasting has already been done in color and it is expected that programs in color will soon be available. The coaxial cable, a device which will carry television programs in a manner similar to that in which regular sound broadcasts are carried over telephone wires, is now being installed between our larger cities. This will make network television programs possible, thereby bringing to all parts of the country the best programs produced. Rapid progress is being made. It is not too much to expect that within the next decade high school social studies classes will have ringside seats at history-making events comparable to D-Day in Normandy, the signing of the charter of the United Nations in San Francisco, or the dropping of the first atomic bomb at Hiroshima.

1. Motion Pictures.

Although motion pictures were experimentally exhibited by Edison before the turn of the century and have been quite commonplace in even small towns for more than a quarter of a century, this excellent teaching device has received comparatively little use in education. Wartime use of the film for training in the armed forces and in industry has already demonstrated its value as a tool for teaching. Also, the use made by such agencies as the OWI illustrates the power of the film in building attitudes, clarifying objectives, and overcoming language difficulties. Such utilization is emphasizing in the mind of the public and school people alike the necessity for providing suitable audiovisual equipment and materials for public school instruction. A start has been made toward equipping schools to use motion pictures. A North Carolina survey just completed by the writer shows that 397 of our 974, or 41 per cent, of our high schools have motion picture projectors. In the elementary schools 530, or 37 per cent of the 1,419 schools with five or more teachers have a motion picture projector available for use. During the next two or three years these figures should be increased rapidly. Projectors of the 16 mm. size used in schools are again available after several years of restricted civilian production.

Mechanical improvements in sound, projection, and simplicity of operation have resulted in machines that are highly satisfactory for school use. The price of 16 mm. sound motion picture projectors, which can run both sound and silent films, is within the reach of most schools. Good machines may be had for about $375 and film loan services are such that $100 a year will provide the average school with the films it needs. The most important development in the visual field, however, is the production of excellent instructional films. Literally thousands of good films have been made and future production levels and quality will undoubtedly be much higher. Since most films have been classified by subject, one may readily find those suitable for various courses and problems.

The social science area of the curriculum has been more thoroughly explored in the production of films than any other. Such films may be classified under three headings, the didactic, the documentary, and the industrial. The didactic film is usually the most valuable in social studies teaching because it was designed specifically for instructional use. Excellent examples of such films in the social studies field are Westward Movement and The Southeastern States, both produced by Encyclopedia Britannica Films, Inc. (Erpi). Such films are without musical background and make a rather coldly intellectual approach to a problem. Their chief function is to present subject matter, not to create a mood or attitude. They are a type of film that can be shown to the same class several times for analysis, discussion, and review. The documentary film treats a social situation, usually with the expression of some point of view. It is, therefore, not always without bias. However, it is a powerful force in molding opinion and in dramatizing social ills. Excellent examples of films of this type are The River (U. S. Government) and various issues of The March of Time (Time, Inc.) .

Films of this type are usually too advanced for the lower grades, but are excellent for such high school courses as Problems of American Democracy, U. S. History, World History, Economics, Sociology, World Geography, and Civics. The industrial film is nearly always produced by private enterprise to advertise a produce or to popularize certain types of goods or services. For that reason they must be carefully appraised before being shown to a class. Some such films are merely a mild sort of propaganda for which some gullible teachers fall because they are issued without cost. Not all are bad; some are excellent from a technical standpoint and have little objectional material in them. The CIAA film, Road to Cuernavaca, for example, is designed to stimulate tourist trade to Mexico and to improve Latin-American relationships. It is a beautiful film, creates a pleasant mood, and delights the spectators with its vivid color sequences and Latin music.

There is nothing objectional in the film, but it does not tell the whole story of Mexico and for that reason must be properly introduced and followed up by the teacher who has acquired a background of knowledge about Latin America. Alaska's Silver Millions (American Can Company) a film on the salmon industry, is another film of this type that has many good points. In the hands of a good seventh grade geography teacher it may be used with great profit if properly interpreted. In selecting a film for use in a social studies class the teacher should first get a good appraisal of the film or else preview it himself. The film should have direct bearing upon the course of study and the particular problem under consideration. It should be wholly accurate, up-to-date, and free from objectional material. Other factors that should be taken into account in making the appraisal are appropriateness to grade level, technical qualities, organization of subject matter, and general teaching value. The motion picture is the most versatile of teaching aids currently available to all schools. Intelligent use of this device insures more initial learning, longer memory of things learned, better understanding, and usually stimulates further learning activities. A wider and more purposeful use of the film will most certainly be made in the years immediately ahead.

The Still Picture.

Sometimes teachers are thwarted in their desire to use some of the most effective types of audio-visual aids because of the expense involved. No teacher, however, should be prevented from making a wider use of still pictures simply because of cost factors. Old magazines which can be readily collected from pupils' homes will produce a wealth of good pictures that can be organized for teaching certain lessons in the social studies field. Such magazines as Life, Think, and Building America, are profusely illustrated and have many excellent photographs that may be used in classes in geography, history, economics, and other social sciences. In many schools the librarian keeps a wellorganized picture file. The social studies teacher should see to it that this file is kept up-to-date, that obsolete material is removed, and that good pictures are constantly added. Every lesson can be enriched and pupils can be greajtly stimulated by a judicious use of pictures. The teacher must use them, however, with a specific purpose and must use considerable discretion if she is not to exceed the pupils' interest span. Merely showing pictures can be a rather desultory activity.

Time must be allowed for pupils to study the pictures, to make deductions, and to do follow-up work. In rooms that can be darkened sufficiently, the use of the opaque projector makes possible the showing of a single small picture to a whole class at one time. With very little darkening still pictures reduced to positive transparences on 35 mm. film strips can likewise be shown to groups. Commercial firms have produced large numbers of film strips composed of 25 to 65 pictures on the same topic. Projectors for film strips of this size are now made with attachments whereby 2" x 2" slides may be used. There is a growing library of good social studies pictures being produced for this use both in black and white and in color. In some schools teachers will find unused lantern slide projectors. These should be put to work. Series of lantern slides may be rented from various sources or purchased directly from the makers. 6. Radio. Of all electrical auditory and visual devices in use in the public schools radios are most numerous. In the audiovisual survey in North Carolina which was mentioned above, it was found that more than half of the 1,419 elementary schools had radios and that 45 per cent of the 974 high schools were so equipped. Although there is a scarcity of good educational programs during the school day, there are many good broadcasts that should be made available to special studies classes. The American School of the Air is a good example of the helpful programs which are broadcast during the school day. In the social studies field the use of radios makes it possible for pupils to hear at the moment of speaking such world personalities as Winston Churchill, King George VI, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as specialists in various subject fields, such as economics and international relations. Listening to such broadcasts is the means of increasing the range of interests of students and makes it possible for pupils to be ear witnesses to events which transpire thousands of miles away. The timeliness of newscasts and special appearances of celebrities are factors which create interest and stimulate further work in the social studies field. The use of radio in the public schools has not been so great as enthusiasts forecast twenty years ago. The reason has been a lack of suitable programs. Most high-powered stations have limited their broadcasts chiefly to material of adult interest and have devoted most of their time to commercially produced programs. In the standard waveband from 550 to 1500 kilocycles only a limited number of stations can operate. With the use of frequency modulation, however, this difficulty can be overcome.

In fact, certain sections of the ultra high frequency micro waves have already been set aside exclusively for school use. With the increased number of stations which this will make available, a more adequate number of suitable educational radio programs may be on the airways in the very near future. Furthermore, FM reception will be greatly superior to the static-laden programs which schools have frequently received in the past.

1. Graphic Materials.

Although considerably more abstract, there is a valuable place in social studies instruction for the use of cartoons, posters, maps, graphs, illustrations, and other types of graphic aids. A wider use of material of this nature will make it possible for teachers to develop concepts and understandings which frequently they have been unable to transmit to pupils. Special attention should be given to maps. Wider use of these neglected visual aids will bring greater meaning to many of the pupils' experiences which have to do with physical features and space relationships. For example, special purpose maps, such as polar projections are being produced in considerably greater quantities at the present time. Geographers and geo-politicians forecast a much more extensive use of visual aids to this type.

Using the Right Type of Perceptual Aid.

The teacher must intelligently appraise the various types of perceptual aids and choose the right aid for a given purpose if her teaching is to be most efficient. To teach location, for example, a map will suffice,but to teach a process a field trip may be best. Still pictures may be quite satisfactory for the study of different types of houses, but motion pictures would have greater teaching value in presenting material on transportation or manufacturing. In choosing a preceptual aid, it is also necessary to take into account the intellectual maturity of the learner. The dull pupil needs more concrete experiences than does the bright. The high school senior with an I.Q. of 150 can learn certain things through words or diagrams, but the grade school pupil with an I.Q. of 80 can learn little without pictures or experiences with real objects and situations. * All types of sensory aids are effective to the degree that they .approach reality. This may be merely an illusion of reality as in the motion picture, but it serves its psychological purpose just as well as objective reality if the illusion is perfect. ''Real experiences, whether objectively or subjectively achieved, are the bases of learning and are the stuff out of which our social studies curriculum should be builty Where the limitations of cost, time, and space prevent rich experiences with reality, objectively achieved, the socalled "audio-visual aids" are an excellent means of achieving these rich experiences subjectively, and should be used with increasing frequency and effectiveness.