Where would you like to see yourself 12 months from now, in terms of being a materials writer?
I would like to be a better materials writer, and be able to draw on a more thorough knowledge of good quality research relating to learning. When designing materials, I want to take advantage of the knowledge about how people tend to learn best so that the skills or language I’m aiming to teach have a better chance of being understood, remembered and used successfully.
I’m also aiming to explain more about why I’m teaching something to students and why I’m using a particular method or format. Using more research to inform my materials and their design will mean I can justify better what I’m doing. Furthermore, I’ll be operating in the same way that my students should as members of an academic community, justifying what they research, how they research, and being open about it.
Wonderful! I'm a huge fan of research-bases teaching (and writing). Do you know this website? Clare is a friend and colleague and was on this course two years ago. She sometimes writes and speaks about using research to inform materials writing. Good luck Andrew! eltresearchbites.com - Clare Maas – ELT Research Bites
ReplyDeleteAndrew Dobbie Katherine Bilsborough - yes, that's the direction I would also like to head in so that there are sound pedagogical bases for how we write and develop materials from each activity, to series of linked activities, to a lesson, a unit/chapter, and course.
ReplyDeleteKatherine Bilsborough Many thanks for the link - appreciated!
ReplyDeletePhil Brown Thanks for the comment. If there's any research you've read which you'd recommend, do let me know - there's so much to learn! I recently read an article by Dunlosky in the American Educator from back in 2013 which reviewed research on learning techniques (freely available on the Internet), emphasising the importance of testing in learning, and now my students are experiencing a lot more 'test' style activities ...
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