Why it is named so? Well, for starters it is ‘black’. In addition to its black color, it is characterized by its board surface that may be comprised either of wood or fiber. Generally, chalks are deployed to write on a black board, therefore justifying its second name i.e. chalk board. Chalkboards have a long history dating back to 1801.
What Is Its Function?
Now instead of going into dreary details of how was black board introduced etc. (which are nonetheless important in their own right), let us directly cut to the functions of black boards and the very vital role played by them in classrooms.
Blackboards serve as a crucially important teaching aid. They not only facilitate learning in classrooms but also make it interesting and interactive. The important question though is,
How Do Blackboards Make Teaching Effective?
Teaching is effective only when it involves all the students and brings them onto a uniform learning platform. Blackboard helps in making this possible and reinforces cooperation between the teacher and student.
- Management Of Class
Teachers can deploy this teaching aid to help them in managing their classes. They can present their materials sequentially onto the board so that the students can grasp it and become involved in it. Since the students would be actively participating, therefore the discipline of the class would be maintained automatically. On the other hand, if there is no black board present or visual instruction of information, it is very likely that their attention would waver and as a consequence, discipline problems emerge. Bluntly put, black board is that vital tool which intermediates the discussion between a teacher and a student.
- Controlling The Class’s Learning Pace
Black board is also very important in the sense that it helps the teacher to control the students’ learning pace and to move accordingly. This cannot be said to be true for other visual aids such as tapes etc. which might be above or beyond the students’ grasp. However, since teacher is the one working the black board, therefore he/she can manipulate it according to the student’s progress.
- Natural Slides In The Class
Think of black board as a power point presentation devoid of any electronic support. It is like a natural slide which enables the teacher to interact with the class and present them visual information simultaneously.
- Adaptive To student’s Varying Learning Styles and Abilities
Every student has a distinctive learning pace and style. Black boards adhere to these individualities. Some pupils learn by listening, others by seeing or touching etc. Blackboard is that singular teaching aid which adapts to all these learning styles.
- Flexibility Of Blackboards
Blackboards are pretty flexible since they allow things to be written, corrected and rubbed several times, which is just the way a classroom works.
- Black boards Serving To Enhance Students’ Comprehension
The notes jotted down by teachers onto the black boards serve as an important guide for the students and enhance their comprehension skills. This chalk board also makes it feasible for the teachers to get immediate feedback from their students and then make improvements likewise.
Final Word:
The above discussion reinforces the idea that blackboards/ chalk boards are multi-purpose teaching aids. The dark background of these boards makes the writing stand out vividly to the students and helps serve all the purposes mentioned formerly in the article. Therefore, blackboards or chalkboards are indispensable parts of a classroom.