Exhibit is very important in teaching and learning because it adds the realism of the concept

under study. It is the evidence which substantiates the existence and functionality of that which is
under study. There is not even one learning area that can be taught successfully without an
exhibit. An exhibit in teaching and learning is gives learners motivation and engage them in
various learning activities. Exhibit can be a video, audio, an object or a picture. In the teaching
and learning of English language concepts such as composition, exhibit comes in as media to
support that which is described or explained. In this essay, a concept of descriptive composition
will be taught step-by-step using a three dimensional model of a house. The topic of the
composition to be taught is ‘my house’. Key terms to be defined are; exhibit and descriptive
composition.

An exhibit, in a criminal prosecution or a civil trial, is physical or documentary evidence brought

before the jury (Amadi, 2002). The artifact or document itself is presented for the jury's
inspection. Examples may include a weapon allegedly used in the crime, an invoice or written
contract, a photograph, or a video recording. In education, the term exhibition refers to projects,
presentations, or products through which students “exhibit” what they have learned, usually as a
way of demonstrating whether and to what degree they have achieved expected learning
standards or learning objectives (Adebimpe, 2005). An exhibit can be an object or collection of
objects on public display in an art gallery or museum or a trade fair. In this case, an exhibit is
simply media that a teacher can use to convey meaning of the concept such that learners can
quickly understand.

A model of a house can be used as an exhibit to teach English composition (Eniayeju, 2005).
Lesson introduction can be developed from the model by simply asking learners to explain their
ideal house or their dream mansion. Learners may find it difficult to explain the appearance of
their dream mansion. This confirms that it would be better if they are given pictures from which
to choose their ideal home. The teacher can then declare that the lesson is based on “my dream
mansion”.

Lesson development step one will focus on describing the model in terms of shape, aesthetic
value, size, colour, texture of walls, size of rooms, uniqueness of the house and the advantages of
such a house. The teacher will place the model as an exhibit at the centre of all learners, ask them

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to describe it and explain the functionality of every feature on the model. Learners would be
asked to describe its outward appearance first, before going to describe its interior features.

On lesson development step two, the teacher will ask learners to sketch their dream mansions
and label every part of it. The labelling will include a launch, bedrooms, ceiling, floors, pillars,
walls and a verandah, to mention a few. They will be expected to use adjectives which explains
beauty. Learners will be required to explain the location of their dream mansion and to justify the
reason of loving such a structure.

On step three of lesson development, learners will be asked to develop their sketches into
models. They will be asked to use provided models to make models to exhibit. Glue, papers and
card boxes will be used to make models. They will consider elements and principles of design as
they design their models. They will be assisted to create balance, emphasis, variety, movement
and contrast as they engage in that activity. Such principles of design will have to make it easy
when they describe their house.

On step four, learners will be asked to write their compositions. In the introduction, they talk
about habitation as something that applies to both humans and animals. They explain the
importance of habitation and what makes it good or bad. In the same paragraph, they express the
origins of human habitation and its development from primitive to modern day time. The last
statement in their introduction will pin-point what the writing is all about. Their introductions
should have five to six lines. In the body of their composition, they describe both the interior and
exterior appearance of their houses. They conclude their descriptive compositions by
emphasizing that their ideal house is and remains the most beautiful place on earth.

Although such a model as an exhibit is instrumental in developing the vocabulary bank of

learners, it has its weaknesses. Models are human inventions, based on an incomplete
understanding of how nature works. Models use, as a comparison, something that is familiar to
explain or describe something that is unfamiliar (Bassey, 2002). Consequently, most models are
limited or "wrong" in some key aspect. Keep this is mind, as learning problems may arise if your
students take a different meaning from the model than the one you intended. For example,
students may learn the model rather than the concept it is meant to illustrate. Likewise, they may

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lack awareness of the boundary between the model and the reality the model represents. They
may lack the necessary visual imagery to understand the model, or they may fail to distinguish
between a mental image and a concrete model (Eshiet, 2001).

In conclusion, an exhibit is important as it gives evidence to that which is taught. It is the media
to convey message and to make concepts realistic. Learning is not feasible without media and it
remains abstract if not supported with concrete objects. This essay has explicitly explained the
use of a house model to teach a composition.

References

Amadi, R. (2002). Harnessing Educational Resources in the teaching of history of sustainable

development. Journal of Teacher Education (1) pp 140-141

Adebimpe, A. O. (2005). Improvisation of Science Teaching Resource. Science Teachers

Association of Nigeria (STAN) 40th Annual Conference Proceeding, 55-60

Bassey, U. (2002). Science and Technology and Mathematics (STM) Education. As a Basis for
Sustainable Industrialization. 43rd Annual Conference of Science Teachers Association of
Nigeria (STAN). 111-113.

Eshiet, I. T. (2001). Using Local Resources in Teaching. Journal of the Royal Society of
Chemistry (RSC). London 25, 718-120.

Eniayeju, I. E. (2005). Improvisation of Effective Learning of Physics: The Asaba Education

Technical and Science Education Journal, 1 (1), 92-93