Extension Education and Communication
Extension Education and Communication
This domain tests extension teaching methods, communication elements, audio-visual aids and barriers. Expect questions on choosing a method for a target group.
Core rules and concepts
- Extension education is informal, out-of-school education for rural families; it aims at behaviour change through learning by doing.
- Teaching methods: individual (home visit, farm visit), group (demonstration, method demonstration, group discussion, field day), mass (radio, TV, poster, exhibition, social media).
- Communication process: sender, message, channel, receiver, feedback, noise. Effective communication is clear, accurate, timely and two-way.
- A-V aids: projected (slides, video) and non-projected (charts, posters, models, puppets). Select according to audience literacy, cost and message.
- Barriers: physical, semantic, psychological, cultural, organizational.
Worked example
You must teach illiterate women to prepare ORS. Reasoning: a lecture is unsuitable. Use a method demonstration with a real sachet, a measuring cup and a poster; let each woman prepare ORS; ask return questions for feedback. This uses group method, visual aid and two-way communication.
Traps
Choosing mass media for a skill; treating communication as one-way; ignoring feedback; using English terms with a rural audience.