CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It is well known among educators that, the educational experiences involving the learner actively participating in concrete examples are retained longer than abstract experiences. Teaching facilities add elements of reality by providing concrete examples to learning. Many authors have written on the assessment of teaching facilities both in teaching Social Studies and other related subjects in order to enhance teaching for desired social and behavioural change. These authors include; Mcluhan (1964), Alaka (1978), Kochar (1986), Okafor (1988), Mkpa (1989), UNDP (1998), Heeks (1999), World Bank (1999), Aguokogbuo (2000), Koert (2000), Greenwood (2001), Bozimo (2002), Nwanna-Nzewunwa (2003) and Adekeye (2008). More specially, it was emphasized in the work of these authors that the assessment of teaching facilities is a sine qua non in affecting behaviour of learners of every field, especially social studies. It was equally shown by some of the authors that these materials are important catalysts of social re-engineering and change. It is obvious that social studies teaching and learning cannot be well accomplished without the assessment teaching facilities.
The reason is not far fetched. Advances in technology have brought teaching facilities especially the projected and electronic materials to the forefront as the most radical tools of globalization and social development which have affected the classroom teaching learning situation positively. Such technology or technological breakthroughs as networked and non networked projected and non projected, visual, auditory, audio-visual electronic materials are important landmarks in knowledge transfer. With them both teaching and learning become very pleasant experiences.
Teaching facilities possess some inherent advantages that make them unique in social studies teaching. For one thing, they provide the teacher with interesting and compelling platforms for conveying information since they motivate learners to want to learn more and more. Also, by providing opportunities for private study and references, the learners’ interest and curiosity are increasingly stimulated. Further, the teacher is assisted in over coming physical difficulties that could have hindered his effective presentation of a given topic. They generally make teaching and learning easier and less stressful. They are equally indispensable catalysts of social and intellectual development of the learners.
Bolick (2003) pointed to a good relationship between the teachings of the social studies and using of teaching facilities. He argued that while some educators have been fascinated by the potential of teaching facilities to enhance teaching and learning teachers’ lagged behind in using teaching facilities during teaching and learning. Others expressed doubts that teaching facilities will ever incite teaching reform in social studies. Teaching facilities are integral components of teaching learning situation. It is not just to supplement learning but to complement its process.
Teaching facilities are made up of objects such as printed materials, audio, visual that aid in the successful delivery of social studies lesson (Chuba 2000: 101). To this end, teaching facilities are said to be objects or things the teacher can use in the classroom while teaching in order to ease off his teaching activities. However, teaching facilities cannot address all the teaching learning problem but it can go a long way in solving them, simply because they are additional apparatus that can influence the reality of teaching and learning activities.
Joof (1995: 85) explained that, the concept of teaching aids has gone through several evolutionary stage from the simple aids, educational technology, media to communication and educational technology. This however, tells us that teaching facilities are not just objects or equipments used during teaching learning process but there those objects improvised by the teacher to make conceptual abstraction more concrete and practical to the learners. Teaching facilities are the relevant materials utilized by a teacher during social studies teaching process for the purpose of making the contents of teaching more practical and less vague. Teaching facilities are indispensable factors of in any teaching learning process. Ordinary words or verbalization has been found to be inadequate for effective teaching. Teaching facilities serve as a channel through which message, information, ideas and knowledge are disseminated more easily. They can therefore be manipulated, seen, heard, feet or talked about. They facilitate activities. They are anything or anybody the teacher turns to for help in his learning process (ESU & Umoren 1998).
Teaching facilities group the learners’ intellect and eliminated boredom. Some of the unique qualities of teaching facilities is speedy learning and accuracy. They make the work easier, more appeal, accurate, neater and boosting for clarity of social studies concept. If social studies is to be learned effectively, it must be experienced. Social studies is so close to the life of every child that no teacher needs ever be without teaching facilities for teaching of social studies. One of the biggest draw backs in the assessment of teaching facilities is inadequate supply of teaching facilities.