Improvisation of Instructional Materials / Facilities in Vocational and Technical Education

Meaning of Improvisation of Instructional Materials

Improvisation of Instructional materials, also known as do-it-yourself (DIY), is the process of creatively utilizing existing resources within the environment or locality to improve or create new materials or facilities for the teaching of vocational and technical education in order to retain students’ interest and attention.

Facilities improvisation is a creative and innovative approach to addressing facilities’ vocational and technical education needs. By adopting improvisation strategies, institutions, students, and instructors can optimize resource utilization, enhance creativity and innovation, and improve the overall student learning experience.

This approach is essential when resources are limited, requiring institutions to think innovatively about providing quality education and training.

Similarly, improvisation of instructional Materials or facilities involves the local creation of alternative materials by the teachers, students, or an educational agency to substitute the original material or equipment used for teaching and learning.

The facilities, and materials used for teaching in vocational and technical education are often inadequate in most schools and, hence lack essential requirements for effective and successful teaching and learning. These materials or facilities include; Libraries, workshops, and Laboratories facilities.  Technicians or teachers often use these materials to facilitate teaching and learning processes. Some of these facilities or materials used in VTE are; printed, non-printed, and hardware.

However, some of these facilities or instructional materials are not readily available at the workshop, laboratory, and classroom, thereby limiting the effectiveness of teaching and resourcefulness of teachers.  This scarcity underscores the need for improvisation of instructional materials.

Raw Materials Can Be Modified To Produce Instructional Materials

The Raw materials that are available in the locality that can explored or modified to produce instructional materials include:

1. Cardboard Paper: in the improvisation of instructional materials, cardboard paper is vital material for the constrictions of various items used in teaching and learning. In every subject, cardboard paper can be modified as a valuable tool for improvising instructional material.
2. Clay Soil: This is another important material Raw materials that are available in the locality can explored or modified to produce instructional materials through improvisations. Since the clay soil can be molded or modified into any shape. It can easily be used to produce material vital for teaching and learning.
3. Plywood: in vocational and technical education, plywood is another raw material that is available in the locality that can explored or modified to produce or improvise instructional materials. The plywood can be cut into different shapes for the construction of items such as metal rule, pinhole-camera, and more.
4. Metal: metal also a raw material that are can that used to improvise instructional materials or facilities in vocational and technical education. It is cut and modified for the construction of saw blades, spanners, metal rule, and more

Importance of Instructional Materials Improvisation

The reasons for the Improvisation of instructional materials / Facilities in vocational and technical education are enumerated below:

1. Capture Student Attention: Improvisation of instructional material or facilities in VTE helps to capture or sustain students’ attention throughout the classroom session. Capturing student’s attention in teaching and learning is key in VTE because it involves the acquisition of practical skills. so the students have to see, touch, and experience the material needed for teaching and learning.  
2. Promote Student Participation: since the construction improvement of facilities in VTE, involves both the students and teachers, this enables them to participate in the classroom. More so, The classroom has many distractions that can pull students off the track of learning hence instruction enables students to participate fully in the actual classroom experience.
3. Make Learning More Engaging and Relevant: The improvisation of instructional materials in vocational and technical education helps to make learning more engaging and relevant for students and pupils. Carrying teaching without instructional /improvised instructional material makes learning look too abstract and boring.
4. It is cost-effective: Improvisation of instructional materials or facilities in VTE is less expensive compared to the real instructional materials.  These materials can be sourced from the environment with local materials such as paper, wood, metals, and clay soil. Students, teachers, and local education authorities can easily fabricate these materials from cheap environmental resources. 
5. Optimizes Resource Utilization: most of the resources used for the improvisation of instruction facilities are sourced locally. It therefore to make the most efficient use of available resources, reducing waste and inefficiency.
6.  Enhances Creativity and Innovation: since the materials to be created the from the imitation of the real image, Improvisation therefore encourages enhanced Creativity and Innovation. And a creative mind is problem-solving, thereby fostering a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship.
7.  Supports Sustainability: Improvisation promotes sustainable practices, reducing the environmental impact of facilities development and operations.
8. Improves Student Learning Experience: Well-improvised facilities can enhance the learning experience, providing students with hands-on experience and practical skills.
9. Provides a Framework of References: in vocational and technical education Improvisation serves as provides a framework of references on which students and pupils key their attention during teaching and learning activities.
10. Enhance Academic Performances: Improvisation of teaching facilities helps capture and retain students’ interest in learning. This ultimately leads to better academic performance for learners during tests and examinations.

Strategies for Instructional Material Improvisation in VTE

The following are Strategies for Instructional Materials Improvisation in VTE

1. Partnerships and Collaborations: the teacher/ instructor and the local education authority can partner with local industries, organizations, or communities to access resources, expertise, and funding for improvised instructional materials for effective teaching and learning.
2. Projects methods: teachers through project methods assigned to students- as assignments or practical work can creatively design facilities or instructional material which serve as improvised material serving as a hands-on experience and practical skills.
3. Repurposing Existing Spaces: in school where a functional laboratory or workshop is lacking or inadequate. Underutilized classes or spaces can converted into functional areas, such as converting an empty classroom into a workshop or laboratory.
4. Uses Low-Cost Solutions: in vocational and technical education low-cost solutions can be used as strategies for the improvisation of Instructional Materials for example waste materials like plywood, and cardboard paper can be used for the construction of building furniture from recycled materials.

Tools and Equipment that can be Improvised

Some of the materials that can be improvised in vocational and technical education include:

1. Metal rule
2. Screwdrivers
3. Spanner
4. Hand saw
5. Pin-hole camera
6. Computer
7. Keyboard
8. Mouse
9. Wheelbarrow
10. Scissors
11. Vehicle
12. Building
13. Knife
14. File
15.  Meter board

Limitations of Improvisation of Instructional Materials

The Limitations of Improvisation of Instructional Materials are enumerated below:

1. Limited Resources: limited resources such as insufficient funding, materials, or expertise pose serious challenges to the improvisation of instructional material. Limited resources hinder the efforts of students, teachers, and educational authorities in creating effective instructional materials. Some of the local materials required for the construction of improvisation material are inexpensive and easily available to teachers and students. The expertise in the construction of these instructional materials is also scarce.
2. Regulatory Compliance: improvised material should adhere to the rules and regulations. Material improvised must not be hazardous or harmful to the users.  These materials must follow regulatory requirements and safety standards to ensure the well-being of both the teacher and students.
3. Sustainability and Maintenance: improvised materials in vocational and technical education VTE should be durable and easy to maintain. The materials used for the construction of improvised materials should be such that the students and teachers can interact with them for a very long time.  The sustainability and maintenance of these improvised materials should be vital for the long term in the classroom or workshop.
4. Stakeholder interest: improvised materials should be able to gain the support of key stakeholders. If Improvised materials fail to capture stakeholder interest, may not be adopted for teaching and learning. Stakeholders such as administrators, teachers, and students engagement and approval are vital for the successful implementation of the improvised instructional materials.