Development Of Resource And Materials In Teaching Strategies

29th April 2021

Resource and material development are one of the most important aspects of teaching effectively. As it happens, teaching involves the use of multiple resources in the form of learning material, technology, and many other things. It is worth noting that effective teaching is not just the function of proper communication by the teachers, but it is also shaped by the use of the right type of technology, learning materials, reading texts, work sheets, and many such resources.

At the same time, teaching material development is a very extensive process, and requires a lot of knowledge and understanding of the learners’ preferences and current educational trends. Typically, an international teaching diploma program happens to place a lot of importance on effectual resource management and material development.

In this blog we will consider some of the main factors to keep in mind when developing materials for your classroom. 

Clear Instructions:

Whether it is a work sheet, an online activity, or a video, each and every resource must carry clear instructions around what the students are required to do with the respective learning materials. In other words, if you share a news article with your learners, then there must be clear instructions guiding them in terms of which sections of the article are important and what they must do after having read the article. This renders a clear sense of guidance and avoids confusion.

Relevant to the learners:

Each learner possesses their own set of backgrounds, culture, and identities. That said, they tend to relate more with learning materials and resources that are aligned with their personal traits and beliefs. Hence, teachers must make an effort to study the learners and engage in teaching material development accordingly. 

Helps build knowledge:

In some cases, the urge to design interesting and appealing materials distract the teachers and they end up paying less attention on the material’s ability to stimulate actual learning. Hence, while it is crucial to make the materials exciting and reflective of the learners’ requirements, they must also play a significant role in relaying the required knowledge and building the learners’ in terms of the topics or syllabus being covered in the sessions.

Engaging resources:

In addition, the resources must be highly engaging so that the learners’ attentions can be captured and retained throughout the sessions. This is a crucial part of effectual teaching strategies. Furthermore, if the learning materials are colourful, appealing, and easy to understand, then the learners will feel motivated to engage with the materials. In fact, interactive materials used through online platforms can escalate the learners’ engagement levels.

Assessment:

It is important to remember that the purpose of learning resources is not just to convey the content, but to also assess the learners’ progress and their understanding of the topics covered. Thus, the learning materials must be highly interactive wherein the learners can give their inputs, which can then be studied by the teachers to keep a track of the learners’ progress.

Learning and teaching material development and management is one of the prime responsibilities of every teacher. Not getting it right can severely affect their effectivity as a teacher with an international teaching diploma program, and therefore attending the international teaching diploma program is highly important in order to learn more about effective and efficient resource management.

Written By : Shivangi Chakraborty