Visual aids used in the metal shops of the Houston (Texas) high schools, 1948-1949

Problem. Primarily, the purpose of this study is to compare the use of visual aids in the metal shops of the Houston Public Schools with what is believed to be the best practices in the use of visual aids in teaching and, ultimately, to present instructions and information that will help teachers in general metal work to prepare and to use such suggested aids as posters, exhibits, models, and blackboard stencils, and to use properly such photographic aids as motion pictures and film strips. Procedure. The plan for carrying out the study involves three steps. First, an attempt is made to trace the historical development of instructional aids by presenting, in a chronological order, evidences that help to prove that teaching done with concrete aids is superior to teaching done through employing abstract and verbal methods. Second, data obtained from questionnaires sent to all metal shop teachers of the Houston Public Schools furnished the information needed to determine the extent of the use of visual aids in these shops. Third, a series of twenty photographs and twenty blueprints of suggested posters, exhibits, models, and blackboard stencils, together with lists of motion pictures and film strips, are included. Conclusion. Visual aids of some form are used by all of the metal shop teachers of the Houston Public Schools. However, the data indicates that not enough teaching aids are being used by most teachers to do a well-rounded job of teaching. Recommendations. It is the belief of the writer that visual aids of the types suggested in Chapter IV can be adapted to the teaching of chemistry, biology, physics, history, English, mathematics, reading, and other subjects of the curriculum. For example, a working model of an electromagnetic crane could be used in general science classes while the students are studying electro-magnets. Posters and blackboard stencils can be used in biology to aid in the study of flowers, insects, or frogs. An exhibit showing the types of soil of a community would be well suited to a unit in agriculture, while an exhibit of the types of lettering media would be well adapted to a lettering unit in commercial art. These and an almost endless number of similar adaptations can be made.