"Which Principles of Material Design are most important for you? Why?"
I love minimalism and good design. I do hope my worksheets are eye-catching, but not over-stimulating. I have a background in graphic design, and am picky about fonts and layout.
Why? It makes for an easy-to-follow handout. Using graphics helps with retention. Using lines and boxes create a natural chunking of language tasks. Students often respond well to these things.
Content-wise, I cannot stand irrelevant fluff or busy-work exercises (for example, and no offence to anyone, after having used certain ESL course books for years, I have a dislike of filling in blanks, unfortunately). I also agree that handouts/materials need to be part of a holistic plan. Modules should be leading somewhere, and avoid isolating skills. Grammar materials should be in context, and task-based when possible (levels, curriculum and ages permitting).
Why? Adult students will engage with content more if their expectations are met, and feel like their time is being well spent (Andragogy 101, am I right?). They often report the difference they see outside the classroom when materials are aimed for real communication (often this "difference" is an increase in confidence AND language ability).
PS. I also really recommend having a colleague check your wording (questions and instructions) before making copies, if possible, as mentioned in the first session.
Hi Emel,
ReplyDeleteThan you for posting the first comment in this dicussion about principles and especially for such a comprehensive post. I agree with you about the importance of page design. Thinking of my own experience of being a student, a well-designed page in terms of layout is much more motivating. Design issues also help to guide the user through the materials. I’ve recently been Reading about the importance of white space or negative space as it is sometimes called.
No need to apologise for disliking gapfill exercises. The beauty of creating your own materials is that you get to decide what to include and what to leave out.
I have to admit that I’d never heard of Andragogy 101 so I had to look it up. Thank you for mentioning it because now I’ve learnt something new. It’s very much linked to ‘principles’ too. I’m sharing a link here to an article that explains Andragogy 101 in a clear way – just in case I’m not the only person who hadn’t heard of it.
totalsdi.com - Andragogy 101: Six Keys to Engaging Your Clients : TotalSDI
Ms.Emel I agree with you...the good design, minimalism, eye-catching and easy to follow materials are thr most important when creating teaching material. I also have that habit of showing material to a colleague for an opinion.
ReplyDelete'Four eyes are better than two', as we say.
ReplyDeleteYesss!!! 😃
ReplyDeleteAndragogy 101 is new to me, too. I think your point about materials needing to be easy to follow is a really good one. One thing that I see a lot (and try hard not to do myself) is materials where the instructions are more complicated than the language needed to complete the tasks. I'm not very good at design myself, but thankfully my boss is a pro. I counterbalance by being a decent proofreader.
ReplyDeleteI didn’t know about Andragogy, as well. Thank you for telling us about it. Its assumptions are very interesting and I’m sure anyone who’s taught adults has noticed (to a certain extent) some of these tendencies in their students.
ReplyDeleteEmel Ortac Thank you for this post. I think the combination of being a materials writer and having a background in graphic design is a perfect one. It does not only improve the way your materials look, but also how they work. If you have a good eye for graphic design, you will find it easier to arrange information in a way which is clear and easy to follow. I do not have the kind of background that you obviously have, but I pay a lot of attention to the choice of colours, font types and font sizes, etc. I do not like overloaded materials and I think many students find the distracting.
ReplyDeleteP.S.
Andragogy new to me, too :) Thanks!
+Katherine BilsborouKatherine Bilsborough a lot mentioned in this method of teaching adults is applicable in secondary school classrooms, I believe.
ReplyDeleteAlso new to me. Read a lot on Andragogy on the Net yesterday.
Looove being part of the community ❤️