12 Essential Questions

When Designing Materials

Teachers As Material Designers

D. Deubelbeiss

http://community.eflclassroom.com

The Language Of Design

It All Starts Here

1. Do I have to reinvent the wheel?

1. Do I have to reinvent the wheel?

Cut, Snip, Paste.

Remix.

Recycle & Reuse.

Refine.

Reinvent.

Repetition, form, shape

2. Is the material necessary?

learn the past tense /ed/

Correctly chooses between /ed/ and irregular forms.

Story cloze

Shape, material, form

3. Is it doable?

Getting RealStart today.

Just do it.

Design simply.

Don’t over complicate it.

Make sure your students will succeed.

Value, alignment, unity

4. Form: Is the material suitable?

Paper? Digital?

Quiz Video Game

Powerpoint Cloze

Audio Interactive

Lesson? Course? Shape, material, form

5. Do I have to make it?

When you get your students creating the exercises, you are teaching them more than what is to be known – you are teaching them that ultimately they alone are responsible for learning.

SCC: Student Created Content

6. Does the material have a front door?

Too much on the page will distract and bewilder students.

Design the material so it invites the students in, draws them in with empty spaces.

Leave room for students to

add content, personalize.

Balance, proportion, contrast

Too Much is Too Little

7. Does the material have an exit?

Extend

The material should offer students extra study.

The material should link to authentic sources if possible.

Extend for higher level students or those that finish quickly.

No material is an island!

8. Is the material personal?

Is everything only 1 correct answer?

Can students add their own thoughts, critically think?

Is there space for students to personalize? Draw, doodle, name.

Are the students’ lives part of the elements of design?

Be friendly

9. Is the material identifiable?

Who & How well?

Is there a place for the student name?

Is there a place for a student mark?

Is there a place for student reflection on their learning?

How will you find this material and track who did it and how well they did?

10. Is the material logical?

Sequence

Is the material easy to follow?

Do the elements link together and have coherency?

Is the material consistently designed?

11. Does the material have “soul”?

Your Voice

Does the material have your own special touch?

Is it something you are proud of?

Is it something others will love as a human product?

12. Is the material reproducable?

Can you recycle it?

•You will teach many classes over your teaching lifetime.

•Make sure you can adapt the worksheet easily.

•Use with different levels, different topics/themes.

•Is the material easily shareable?

•All materials are templates!