Evaluation of instructional materials Essay

Introduction As a teacher, it is your responsibility not just to teach but to guarantee that the students are learning and you must create an active and motivating learning experience for the students. The Worldwide web gives choices of wide variety of instructional resources that you could use as your teaching tool. In choosing instructional materials, the teacher must consider not just its availability or the ease of use but more on its learning outcomes. An instructional resource should meet the purpose and the objectives of the lessons and flexible to the students’ differences such as ability, interests and learning style. The objectives, the students, learning environment and the availability of the resources are some factors to consider in choosing an instructional material (Morton, 2003). Design â€Å"The content is accurate, logical and well organized, objectives are clearly defined, and the content helps to achieve the necessary objectives. † The resource should be well planned and concrete to maximize the available learning materials and to save time. The objectives should be attainable with regards to the students ‘grade level making sure that after the instructional process, learning outcomes are anticipated. It should foster critical thinking, problem-solving and decision-making (Alto). â€Å"Examples are meaningful and helpful, questions are presented clearly. † Ease of communication is important so that the students would easily grasp the information or ideas relayed by the teacher. â€Å"Important points are emphasized, the amount of information presented is comfortable and the instructional material is free of gender, race, religion or ethnicity bias. Media elements fairly represent composition of career fields in terms of gender and race. † It is also important to consider the cultural backgrounds of each student. Each student has the right for equality in learning therefore the teacher should make some adjustments to the students with different customs from the rest of the class. † Information is clear and current, facts come from reliable source which are clearly define. † Instructional technologies should be incorporated in the learning experience to enhance student understanding. Digital libraries, computational tools, virtual environments, modeling and visualization and connectivity are among the up-to-date learning process that students should be familiar of. â€Å"Content moves learners beyond the basics and encourage high level of thinking, students are engaged in applying what they learn. Lay-out is consistent. † The projects should have relevant application that the student will look forward to make after the learning process. â€Å"The Content is culturally diverse; product accommodates unique learning styles and various ability levels. Assessment methods are challenging, appropriate and suitable to learning goals. † The instructional materials should be appropriate to student differences such as interest, ability and learning style. â€Å"Teachers can easily assess students’ progress by evaluating the outcomes provided within the product, reading level is appropriate for target audience and the product is suitable for the age and grade level. † The evidence of learning should be evaluated as to determine the extent to which the goal and objectives are achieved. The development process, the reliability of implementation, the students learning as well as the teacher development should be attained. Procedures Students must make the most of his or her senses such as touch, sight, auditory, and smell in doing activities that will develop not just the intrapersonal learning but the interpersonal development as well. Interaction among students will make the learning process easier and more enjoyable and the teacher must have the means of motivating the students in order for them to finish the activity, instruction or the discussion. Clarity Readings and visual aids should be able to attract the attention and interest of the students. The teacher should have user-friendly visual aid that will further enhance the students’ imagination and thinking. Computer softwares have options for making the presentation more attractive such as colorful backgrounds, animations and sound effects that will be helpful for the students learning process. Efficiency Instructions should focus on the topic to avoid confusions to the students and maximize the time allotted for the learning process. Too much information could lead to â€Å"information overload† that the student will tend to disengage from the learning process. Instructional Material Evaluation. I chose to use the preschool program of the HighReach for they guaranteed that the programs are aligned with the states and federal standards. Moreover, they clearly stated and specified their objectives as to what learning skills they intend to develop upon the students.They also have programs that will develop not just the intrapersonal development but also the interpersonal learning. Works cited: Alto, P. Designing Learning Space Project- Designing a Preschool Highschool [Electronic Version]. Morton, D. J. B. (2003). Selecting and Using Instructional resources to Enhance Instruction [Electronic Version].