SOCIAL SCIENCE LABORATORY

          SOCIAL SCIENCE LABORATORY👩‍🏫

          It has been observed that if all the subjects of a class are taught in the same room, it cannot be considered as an ideal situation.  Every subject has its specialities and to make teaching effective it is essential to create an environment accordingly. The Social Science teacher has to make use of various teaching aids while transacting the curriculum.  It may be a globe, a model, a picture, maps, projector etc. To keep them in a safe custody, and to ensure easy availability, it is necessary to have a separate room for Social Science. This special room is known as the Social Science laboratory, which is meant to create the proper environment that would stimulate learning.

NEED FOR SOCIAL SCIENCE LABORATORY

    Most of the Social Science teachers adopt text book method for teaching Social Science.  Therefore, they do not feel the need for having a special room, for Social Science instruction.  They consider a black board, some piece of chalk, a few maps and charts as the only accessories needed for teaching Social Science.  Since these could be easily made available in the ordinary class room, such teachers do not appreciate the need for a Social Science laboratory.  The effectiveness of the Social Science lesson will be very much increased if all these aids together with other science will be vary much increased if all these aids together with other supporting materials and facilities are made available for use in a separate laboratory.

📌Creates a special environment

    A special laboratory creates a special environment conducive for effective curriculum transaction, it would also create interest among learners.  A special room creates a proper social climate, which helps in developing a stimulating learning environment.

📌Ensures proper and safe storing of Audio-Visual aids

   The teacher needs various kinds of audio-visual aids for teaching Social Science.  It has not only to be procured but also to be kept under safe custody.  This is the responsibility of the teacher for which he can seek the co operation of the students.  It develops a feeling of belonging among students

📌Makes all aids readily available at one place

    If the different audio-visual aids some of which may be hard wares-are stored in different places. The Social Science teacher have to get these collected from the various places while teaching. But if all these are stored and arranged systematically in a Social Science laboratory, the pupils can be brought to this spot and the items can be demonstrated as and when required in the course of the class.

📌Saves time and energy

   If all the audio-visual aids are available in the Social Science room itself.  It will save valuable time and energy of the teacher.

📌Creates and maintains an effective atmosphere

   A laboratory well-equipped with equipment and material for teaching Social Science, will help in creating and maintaining a much-needed conducive atmosphere for Social Science learning.  

📌Facilitates the use of various teaching methods

   In Social Science various teaching methods like problem solving method, project method, play way method, discussion method etc are used.  All these methods require special articles or specific seating arrangement, which is possible only in a special room.

REQUIREMENTS OF A SOCIAL SCIENCE LABORATORY

    There is no fixed specification for the area of a Social Science laboratory.  The only requirement is that it should be spacious enough to contain all the instructional aids and to accommodate the students of a class. It should have a few basic essentials such as good lightening and ventilation, adequate number of convenient book cases and other storage facilities, tables and chairs to accommodate the students and teachers who are to work in it.

FURNITURE

The necessary items of furniture in a Social Science laboratory are working tables, chairs, shelves, stands, map racks, almirahs, black boards and white boards etc.  

The tables should be small and flat and these could be easily rearranged for group work.

Seating arrangement should make for comfort, health and efficiency of the pupil

It is better that seats -individual desks or tables and chairs are movable

Furniture should be provided with storage facilities for books, pictures, etc

A permanent projection screen may be fixed above the black board, which can be easily lowered for projection work any time.

AIDS AND EQUIPMENTS

     A Social Science laboratory should possess the following essential aids and equipment

MAPS: Different types of charts -generating charts, flow charts, tabulation charts, time charts, relationship charts etc. need to be provided.  

TIME LINES: Every Social Science laboratory should be provided with a time line which should run half way along the wall.  It should be painted or made of either the hard board or card board.

TIME GRAPHS: These may be provided to show the gradual and incidental rise and fall of dynasties, the progress of rival powers, ideas and cultures, personalities and movements.

MODELS: Social Science laboratory should have models depicting dams and projects, the solar system, motion of earth, changes of seasons etc. And relief models on life in different parts of the world, sculptures of great personalities, models of important structures etc also are helpful

SLIDE ALBUMS: Slides showing nations of the world ay be provided with explanatory notes.

FLAG: Flags of different nations of the world may be provided with explanatory notes

METEROLOGICAL INSTRUMENTS: Rain gauge, barometer, tube barometer, wet and dry bulb thermo meter etc are few among these

SURVEY INSTRUMENTS: Plane table, spirit level, box compass, tripod, poles, flags will be required for providing practical exposure to surveying

GRAPHS AND DIAGRAMS: Statistical data regarding climate should be diagrammatically represented by means of the wheel diagram and bar diagram

PROJECTED AIDS: The film projector, film strip projector, epidiascope etc should also be provided.

REFERENCE BOOKS: Provision should be made for good historical novels, dramas, pictorial books etc 

BULLETIN BOARDS: It is necessary piece of equipment in a Social Science laboratory because relevant cutting and pictures, cartoons, new paper reports related to the curriculum material being handled in the class room, can be displaced on the bulletin board with a caption.

     It is of utmost importance that the Social Science laboratory becomes the hub of Social Science teaching and related activities in a school. It will enable the teacher to produce dynamic, and lively interaction among physical things and students