Instructional Materials

Okogbuo (2000) classifies the types of instructional resources as follows:

Visual resources: pictures, diagram buildings, projectors, teacher themselves, charts, real objects, books,
newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, handouts, clock face, simple abacus, coloured objects, puppets, models and
chalkboard. Audio resources: tape recording cassette, radio, CD and dramatization. Audio-Visual Resources:
television, video recording, motion pictures with soundtracks, slides, films and multimedia, computer and DVD.
Graphics resources: charts, picture board, number cards, tracing paper, puzzles, matching cards, picture book,
reading board, cartoon books and stacking toys. Realia resources real objects like posters, flags, magazines,
plants, water, pictures, graphics, animals, sand, coins and seeds.

Okogbuo, A. (2000). Types of instructional resources. Retrieved from http://martinslibrary:blogspot.

Com/2012/12 types-of-Inst-Res-for.html

For the purpose of this study, instructional materials refer to resources available to, and used
by, a teacher for instructional purposes. This definition includes materials describing the
intended curriculum: what the teacher is expected to teach and the resources provided to
achieve that goal. Instructional materials also refer to resources obtained online, supplemental
textbooks and activity books, and materials provided by colleagues or from other sources. In
contrast, curriculum materials, or curricular programs, refer to a particular set of materials
developed by a single organization to be used together. For example, the Connected
Mathematics Project curriculum materials support the curricular program of the project
(Lappan, Phillips, & Fey, 2007).

Lappan, G., Phillips, E. D., & Fey, J. T. (2007). The case of Connected Mathematics. In C. R.
Hirsch (Ed.), Perspectives on the design and development of school mathematics curricula
(pp. 67–79). Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers of Mathematics.

Instructional Materials/ Learning materials in Math

For teachers, learning to enact lessons that allow them to assess and build on student
thinking, creating an environment that provides students with opportunities to share and
refine their understanding, is not only challenging, but frequently runs counter to teachers’
own experiences of learning mathematics and to school culture
Lortie, D. (1975). Schoolteacher: A sociological analysis. Chicago: University of Chicago
Press.

Many studies have shown the promise of such materials to support teachers in changing their
classroom practices. However, studies also show how teachers can use these materials in the
classroom in ways that reduce their cognitive demand (Stein, Grover, & Henningsen, 1996)

Stein, M. K., Grover, B. W., & Henningsen, M. (1996). Building student capacity for
mathematical thinking and reasoning: An analysis of mathematical tasks used in reform
classrooms. American Educational Research Journal, 33(2), 455–488.

Throughout the mathematics reform movement, instructional materials have been considered
crucial tools for supporting instructional change. Several of the curricula developed in
response to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics standards (NCTM, 1989)

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (1989). Curriculum and evaluation standards

for school mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.

Instructional Materials/ Learning materials in Math other subjects

Instructional materials refer to those alternative channels of communication, which a classroom teacher can
use to concretize a concept during teaching and learning process. Traditionally, classroom teachers have relied
heavily on the 'talk-chalk' method during their teaching.

before a teacher can design or produce an instructional material, he has to know what these instructional
materials are, their advantage and disadvantage, characteristics and limitations etc. Therefore, some types of
instructional materials could be outlined as thus- Graphic materials, Three- dimensional materials, still
pictures, still projected pictures, motion pictures and Audio materials (NAPTEA, 2003) etc

1. NAPTEA (2008) "Educational Toys and Games in Nigerian Nursery Schools". Journal of Childhood and
Primary Education, 5(1 July pp. 50-57, Abuja: NAPTEA publication.

Learner centered – teachers must have and act on their knowledge of individual 

learners’ backgrounds, culture, knowledge, skills and interests. 

 Knowledge centered – attention is paid to conceptual depth in content, assessing

understanding and application of ideas, beyond skills and teaching of meta-cognition. 
  Assessment centered – where assessment is used to provide opportunities for students
to revise and improve their work, monitor their own progress, and help teachers
become aware of the ideas (both correct and incorrect) that students bring to class or
develop in response to instruction. 
 Community centered – establishing a supportive community of learners within the
classroom and bridging connections to students’ home communities. 

Effects of Instructional Materials/ Learning materials in students

Orodho, Waweru, Ndichu & Nthinguri, (2013) advise that adequacy of instructional resources such as textbooks
enable learners to follow the teacher’s sequence of the lesson presentation and subsequently aids in the
understanding of the lesson.

Orodho ,A.J., Waweru ,N.P., Ndichu,.M., & Nthinguri,R.(2013).Basic education in Kenya: Focus on strategies
applied to cope with school-based challenges inhibiting effective implementation of curriculum.
International Journal of Education and Research.Vol.1.No.11 November 2013.www.ijern.com

Factors

The executive director (Nate, 2005) Tanzania in Mathematics Advancement Centre (TMC) asserts that many
schools do not have visual aids and other equipment necessary in teaching maths calculation. He also adds that
some schools ratio of sharing is (1:6) one textbook to six students. Students may not understand complex
mathematical concepts like such as multiplication, division and some abstract ones that require implication.
Similarly, they do not remember to build on the existing knowledge to help them master what they do not know
yet (Butterworth, 2003)

Nate, E. the Executive Director (2005) Tanzania Mathematics Advancement Centre. Kinondoni kwa manyama.

Adequacy and effective use of resources can make a big difference to a school and the learner (Fisher, 1995).

Past research provides evidence that teachers use materials differently, often because of
external and personal factors. External factors include pressure to prepare students for
standardized tests, parent pressure, and pressure from colleagues. Personal factors include a
teacher’s preparation, teaching experience, and understanding of the materials, as well as how
the instructional materials align with the teacher’s philosophy of mathematics education (e.g.,
Collopy, 2003; Remillard, 1999, 2000)
Collopy, R. (2003). Curriculum materials as a professional development tool: How a
mathematics textbook affected two teachers’ learning. Elementary School Journal, 103, 287–
311.

Teachers implement curriculum guidelines through the tasks they employ with their students.
They must evaluate the affordances and constraints of their instructional materials to select
those tasks that are most appropriate for their students (Howson, Keitel, & Kilpatrick, 1981)

Howson, G., Keitel, C., & Kilpatrick, J. (1981). Curriculum development in mathematics.
Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

“By analyzing and adapting a problem, anticipating the mathematical ideas that can be
brought out by working on the problem, and anticipating students’ questions, teachers can
decide if particular problems will help to further their mathematical goals for the class”
(NCTM, 2000, p. 53).

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school
mathematics. Reston, VA: Author.

Even outside the context of teaching, teaching and learning resources have their own value and a
different impact on individuals. For example, viewing a photograph or painting can evoke different
memories and emotions or encourage creativity in an individual

Paraphrase

This is because the availability of resources enables learners to use more senses which help to improve memory
and ability to recall different formulas

the teacher must consider not only the instructional materials available but also his or her
students’ backgrounds, mathematical knowledge, special needs, and culture in implementing
a particular curriculum. Regardless of the materials provided by the school, the teacher is the
ultimate decision-maker and curriculum developer in the classroom.

the process nature of communication implies that both the source and the receiver of a message are actively
involved in a communication encounter. Infarct, it means that both the receiver and the source share and
exchange ideas, feelings in any communication (Tyler, 1987, Dike 1989)

1. Dike, H. I. (1989); Strategies for producing instructional materials ,1 st edition, 1989

2.
Encouragingtheprocessofunderstanding,decoding,organisingand

synthesising the educational content, logical thinking and reasoning, communication and
interaction,

Results and Discussion

The study finding concurs with study finding by Talaka (2009) who posits that education has an intrinsic value
and is an instrument for social development, so schools need resources to improve the mathematics
performance.

Talaka, T. (2009).Roles of Education in Social Development. In Perspectives to Global Social Development

(edited by Perkiö, Mikko).Tampere University Press: 119-126.

 Instructional materials must make learning more real and meaningful to the learner.
 The materials should not be substitute for learning but must contribute to the learning process itself.
 It is suggested that the time spent on the use of instructional materials to facilitate learning should

commensurate with the lesion period,allowed. Instructional materials should be useable and not so '
complex

that the time is spent on just learning to use them (instructional materials).

 Instructional materials to be used must make learning more real and meaningful to the learner.
 And finally, the use of several kinds of instructional materials to explain one particular concept must
also take

cognizance of individual difference among the learners.

Importance
instructional materials help to provide variations in the ways in which messages are sent across.

1. The essence of producing instructional materials, is to facilitate the teaching learning process. The
essence is not to use such instructional materials as objects of decoration in our classroom or as
objects to be presented during award wining national exhibitions on improved instructional materials.
If the essence of producing instructional materials is to use such materials to facilitate teaching
learning, it therefore seems logical that the best approach to adopt in any production exercise is to
predict out production on research findings on how individuals learn. Besides, there are for instance,
many factors that affect attention of human beings. There are also ideas about how we perceive
objects. Hence, for a classroom teacher, who wants .to produce instructional materials, his production
has to be on sound principles.
2. While presenting various learning theories, one has to be sure that a classroom teacher is guided by
expert ideas during his production and utilization of instructional materials.
3. They supply a concrete basis for concept ional thinking and reduce meaning less work responses for
pupils as it makes learning more permanent.
4. Instructional materials have a high degree of interest for the learner; for they offer a reality of
experience, which stimulates self-activity on the part of pupils.
5. Instructional materials develop a continuity of thought, this is especially true of motion pictures, as
they provide experiences not, easily obtained through other materials and contribute to the efficiency,
department and variety of learning.

Therefore, the use of instructional materials in teaching/learning process exposes the learner to primary
experiences and this enriches learning.