A total of 4 teachers, 4 elementary school classes, and 124 students participated in the study conducted by the National Taiwan Normal University. The study first focused on visualizers as a teaching aid for elementary school teachers. Teachers noted that the visualizers effectively reduced the time needed to prepare lessons. The visualizer also helped to diversify their lesson plans and teaching methods. And they also helped clarify and enrich their teaching material.
As for the students, they felt that the visualizers motivated everyone to learn. The students became active participants who shared their work with others. Students were willing to spend more time looking over classroom material. “I understood the teachers’ lecture because I could easily see the graphics. There was more discussion in class,” one student reported.
The results of the study showed that the students were very positive about using the visualizers as a learning aid in the classroom. Around 83.3% of the students agreed that the visualizers helped them with learning, and 78.6% of the students pointed out that the visualizers improved their learning attitudes. In addition, 79.2% believed that using a visualizer as a teaching aid in class was more effective compared to a classroom without one.
Finally, the study also revealed that when using a visualizer as a teaching aid, a “student-centered” teaching strategy was more satisfying than a “teacher-centered” one. When a teacher chooses to use a visualizer as a teaching aid, it is better to separate students into small groups and ask them to help each other out rather than trying to teach one big class as a whole.
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