Learning Outcomes
By the end of this session, you should be
able to:
Use the black-/white-board effectively,
Make the most of the overhead projector,
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Why use teaching aids?
Teaching aids are useful to:
 reinforce what you are saying,
 ensure that your point is understood,
 signal what is important/essential,
 enable students to visualise or experience something
that is impractical to see or do in real life,
 engage students’ other senses in the learning process,
 facilitate different learning styles.
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We Learn and Retain:
10% of what we READ
20% of what we HEAR
30% of what we SEE
50% of what we HEAR and SEE
Higher levels of retention can be achieved
through active involvement in learning.
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Practices for Effective Use of
Chalkboard
Chalkboard Techniques
11 Practices for effective use of the
Chalkboard:
1. Write clearly and legibly
2. Have a hard copy of your
diagram or outline.
3. Don’t crowd your notes
4. Make use of colored chalk to
highlight key points.
5. Do not turn your back to your
class while writing on the board.
6. Start writing from left to right side
7. Provide lines if needed
8. Look at your board work from all
corners of the room
9. The curtain on the window may
solve the problem on a glare on
the chalkboard.
10. Suggest to mount the chalkboard
a little concave from left to right
11. For saving the writing, write
“Please Save” and cover it with a
curtain.
Chalkboard Tips
1.Visual Reinforcement
1. Plan for your board work
2. Give student time to copy
3. Practice drawing diagrams or pictures
beforehand
4. Be selective
5. Correcting mistakes
6. Highlight important points
2. Hands-on Tips
Erase old chalk work completely
Structure your board work
Use the most visible parts of the
board
Follow the 1-10 rule
Avoid handwriting or cursive writing
Avoid using all capitals
Erase with up and down strokes
Evaluate Your Board Work
Ask students to let you know whether
or not your board work is clear.
Ask a sample students if they get the
important points of the class
Erase the board at the end of the
class
Chalkboard Techniques:
(James Brown)
•
•
•
•
•
Sharpen your chalk
Stand with your elbow high.
Use dots as “aiming Points”.
Make writing between 2 and 4 in.
high.
Use soft chalk
WHITE-/CHALKBOARD
Advantages
Disadvantages
 No advanced preparation
required,
 except when displaying a
complex table/chart/ diagram.
 Technology is not dependent
on electricity or other possible
glitches.
 Can be used by students for
problem-solving, etc.
 Time-consuming if you have a
lot to write.
 Handwriting may be difficult to
read (legibility, size, glare,
etc.).
 Turn your back on audience.
 Cleaning the board (chalk
dust, permanent marker, etc.)
 Can’t go back to something
you’ve erased.
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WHITE-/CHALKBOARD
TIPS
 Get to the lecture hall early to make sure that the board
has been cleaned.
 Bring your own chalk/markers and eraser.
 If you have problems with keeping your writing level,
draw horizontal lines in advance using a pencil and
metre stick.
 Draw complex diagrams, charts, etc. in advance and
cover with a piece of newsprint until needed.
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Chalkboard Techniques:
Don’t talk
to the
board
Provide lines if needed for writing exercise purpose
Wipe the board with dampen cloth once a week
Avoid using all capitals…
Explain the mistake before
correcting…
A little smile is
important in….
Have a hard copy for
your diagram…
Don’t lean on the board…
STICK FIGURE
A stick figure is a very simple type of drawing made of lines and
dots, often of the human form or other animals.
In a stick figure, the head is represented by a circle,
The arms, legs and torso are all represented by straight lines.
However, if one wanted to show emotion, simple additions can
provide facial expressions, such as inward-pointing
"eyebrows" showing anger, or widened "eyes" for fear, but
many stick figures lack noses, mouths, or have no facial
features displaying absent or ambiguous emotional
expression.
hunting
Groom Presents Ring to Bride
Stick Figure Groom with Garter
Chalkboard / Dry Erase Board / Whiteboard
Advantages: Inexpensive, easy to use,
widely available
Disadvantages: Chalk dust, may
require practice and prep work to use
effectively
OVERHEAD PROJECTOR
Advantages
Disadvantages
 Allows you to prepare all your
slides in advance.
 Particularly suited for complex
diagrams, charts and
illustrations.
 Can build up information
point-by-point through the use
of overlays.
 Don’t have to turn your back
on the audience.
 A blown bulb or power failure
can spoil all your hard work.
 Image quality can also be a
problem.
 Can be disorienting to
manipulate transparencies on
projector plate.
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OVERHEAD PROJECTOR
Preparing Transparencies
 By hand, or
 Computer application (eg. MS PowerPoint, MS Word,
HTML documents)
 Printing - colour or B/W
 Printer (laser or inkjet), or
 Photocopier
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OVERHEAD PROJECTOR
Selecting Text
 Avoid overcrowding
 Avoid continuous prose
 Bullet or numbered points preferred
 KILLS
Keep It Legible, Lean and Simple
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OVERHEAD PROJECTOR
Keep words to a minimum:
Please observe the rules
prohibiting the
combustion of vegetable
material and the
exhalation of noxious
fumes in this auditorium.
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NO SMOKING
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OVERHEAD PROJECTOR
Tables are best avoided:
East
West
North
DCU
1st Qtr. 2nd Qtr. 3rd Qtr. 4th Qtr.
20.4
27.4
90.0
20.4
30.6
38.6
34.7
31.5
45.9
46.8
45.0
43.9
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OVERHEAD PROJECTOR
Use Charts/Graphs instead:
200
150
North
100
West
50
East
0
1st Qtr
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2nd Qtr
3rd Qtr
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OVERHEAD PROJECTOR
Choosing a Font
Examples:
 Size - minimum 20pt
(5mm high)

14 pt Tahoma
 20 pt Tahoma
28 pt Tahoma
36 pt Tahoma
 Sans serif fonts preferred
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 Times New Roman
 Arial
 Comic Sans
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OVERHEAD PROJECTOR
Style Notes for Transparencies
 Allow a margin of 5 cm (2”) all round.
 Avoid TOO MUCH UPPERCASE TEXT
 For emphasis, use bold or underlining instead of italics
 Keep titles systematic and consistent
 Justification - left or centred
 Avoid light text on dark background.
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OVERHEAD PROJECTOR
Beforehand
During the Lecture
 Get to the room early to
make sure the OHP is
working.
 Check the aim and focus.
 Walk to the back of the
room to see whether the
smallest print is readable.
 Relax (if possible).
 Keep used and unused
slides in separate piles.
 Cover the slide with a
piece of cardboard and
slide it down to reveal
text as you go.
 Use a pen on the OHP
glass rather than pointing
to the screen.
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