Materials Development:Tutorial Task Week 2

Tutorial Task Week 2

A. Watch Jeremy Short’s presentation on his take of materials development.

Please take note on the reasons he created the materials and the characteristics of his materials.

Which principles for materials development did Short apply when producing his materials?

            Materials should achieve impact- Short created graphic novels or comics to attract learners because students get bored of the bulky textbook which does not arouse the interest of the learners to study the textbook.

Materials should require and facilitate learner self-investment- Short used graphic novels so that the learners focuses and pay attention to what is being presented and it helps them to acquire the knowledge.

      Materials should expose the learners to language in authentic use-Short uses graphic novels so that learners anticipated and in learning because the pictures and the style varies and changes due to different topics.

Materials should maximize learning potential by encouraging intellectual, aesthetic and emotional involvement which stimulates both right and left brain activities – Short created graphic novels or comics and create varied series of activities to make the learners analyse and creative and at the same time, be motivated to learn as it is not too easy or too difficult so that the learners just not blindly accept everything but to set their brains at work so that they can use their background knowledge to understand a new concepts.

B. Design and complete the following diagram.

As future language teachers, developing language learning materials will become as aspect of your teaching career. Design a diagramon the aspects influencing materials development using the provided key words.  You can use either all or some of the key words. Present and justify the completed diagram using informed literature. Upload your justification and the completed diagram in Schoology.

Our group has created this flowchart based on the key words above :-

          According to the flowchart above, we believe that one of our country’s visions or goal is to create students who were `Celik IT’ which can be explained as the integration of technology in education field.

          Based on the country’s vision, Ministry of Education modifies the curriculum goals and objectives and started to produce textbooks accompanied with CD-Rom which is the visual version of the textbook. It is perceived that the idea of using CD Rom for learning process in the classroom eventually helps teachers to activate schemata, stimulate the student’s interest to learn and helps to create active learning.

          School administration’s aims and objective also follows the government’s vision and started to improve the facilities in all classrooms by providing LCD, projectors, and laptop for teachers who need to use them for their teaching process.

          However, teachers have their own belief and rational which varies from one another. For instance, some teachers prefer conventional teaching methodology (chalk and blackboard) but some teachers believes that there must be an improvement and progress to be made constantly so that the daily teaching process becomes effective. Besides that, teachers also have to consider and determine about the difference in proficiency level of students because there are quick learners, slow learners, active learners and passive learners. Therefore, the teacher has to sort them out first in order to conduct their lesson effectively. Majority of teachers believe that the visuals are more attractive than the bulky textbook alone. Teachers found that the students really enjoy them and pay attention during lessons. Based on their belief and observation, teachers create the digital-based materials to teach a particular lesson. For instance, an English teacher who teaches Literature use videos to teach the story so that the students can get vivid imagination of the storyline and remembers them well.

         In addition, it is well known that the teachers have their own principles when it comes to teaching whether to use primary method or discover a new method to teach students. The teachers also need to fulfill the objective to be achieved at the end of the lesson. So, a teacher constantly needs more than a backup plan to make their lesson to be successful. The principles of second language acquisition are applied when teachers need to evaluate the textbooks and to understand the needs and ability of their students. If the textbook is unsuitable for the students, the teacher has to come up with solutions or modifications so that it can help the students to use the textbook and gain knowledge from it.

         Based on the principles of second language acquisition, the teachers conduct several school based examinations such as mid-term and final year examination to test the students understanding on the subject. If the teacher able to convey their lessons in a dynamic and interesting way, there are fat chances that the students able to grasp the knowledge and develop their skills.

        Learners or students are the targeted community for the entire education system or we can say that they are the nucleus of the entire education cell. The effectiveness of teaching, the relevance of the education system, the system of the school administration is measured and determined by the proficiency level of the learners based on the examinations. Meanwhile, parents have their own goals or desire that their children performance in examination as an accomplishment. For instance, if their children get straight A’s in PMR or SPM, the parents are proud and have thoughts such as that their children are smart, teachers taught well however, if it happens to be that their children obtain lower grades or marks, the parents think vice versa. Therefore, it is proven that the parents and learners share some inter-relationship when it comes to test and assessments.

        Finally, the students performance in the classroom as well as in the examinations affects the teacher’s belief and rational and it causes the teachers to change their perceptions of their existing teaching methodology. The teachers have to set their brains at work again to find a new method to approach and teach students.

Group Members :- 
Jeeivita D/O Kathirvelu Pillai,
Anasuhah binti Buyong,
Nur Nabilah Huda binti Hamdan 
Ainatul Mardhiah binti Manin