TI-AIE: Using local resources: life processes

What this unit is about

In this unit you will develop strategies that will help you make use of your local environment to enhance your teaching. You will be encouraged to think about how to make the learning environment as attractive as possible, how you can improvise scientific equipment, how to use your students as a resource, and what expertise you might be able to draw on in the local community.

Ask any science teacher, anywhere in the world, whether they think they have enough resources to teach science to their satisfaction and you will more than likely find that their answer is ‘No!’ This is particularly true of teachers working in rural areas. It is easy to focus on the difficulties, but good science teachers are resourceful. Even if they do not have access to scientific equipment, they can improvise and make use of local resources in order to teach science. They will also think about the learning environment in their classroom and how to make links between scientific ideas and students’ lives. Trying to teach science without access to resources can be very challenging, even for experienced and knowledgeable teachers.

This unit encourages you to think about what you do have in terms of resources rather than thinking about what you do not have. It shows you how to use locally available resources more imaginatively and effectively to become a resourceful teacher. The teaching topic used to demonstrate these strategies is life processes for Class X. All of the strategies shown can be adapted for use elsewhere in the science curriculum.

What you can learn in this unit