An Analysis of the Criteria and Effectiveness of Using Teaching Aids in Preschool Science and Technology Components in Malaysia

This research aims to identify the usage of teaching aids in the teaching of the Science and Technology component in preschools in order to increase the cognitive development of students to become creative, innovative and informative. This qualitative research is conducted in two phases involving 20 preschool teachers from 3 districts in the state of Perak, Malaysia. The data derived from this research is through observation and structured interview methods using the Hermeneutic method in analyzing the research data. The findings from this research for phase 1 concern the analysis of the need of an early draft of the content for a guidebook on the usage of teaching aids for preschool Science and Technology. The guidebook that has been come up with is distributed to the research respondents in order to test the effectiveness of its implementation in increasing the cognitive development of preschool students in the 2nd phase of the research. The overall findings of the research shows that there exists a variety of teaching aids which is made use of by preschool teachers in the Science and Technology component for both phases. Among the types of teaching aids used include computers, concrete objects, pictorial charts and flashcards. Nevertheless, preschool teachers are still seen to have a low level of skilled expertise in the aspect of choosing teaching aids and its implementation in a creative, innovative and informative way. Additionally, it is recommended that teachers be provided with sufficient training and skills in the aspect of the creation and usage of teaching aids in order to enhance the quality of the teaching process, especially in the preschool Science and Technology component.