Lesson 6

 USING AND EVALUATING INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

      The use of instructional material can be effective if it is properly selected depending on the topic and if it is properly used. It should be appropriate and satisfactory for the ultimate goal of facilitating learning. There are guidelines to be followed and the first is the selection of instructional materials.

These are factors to be considered as standards for the selection of instructional materials:

• Do the materials  give a true picture of the ideas they present?
• Do the materials contribute meaningful content the topic under study?
• Is the materials appropriate for the age, intelligence and experience of the learners.
• Is the physical condition of material satisfactory?
• IS there a teachers guide  to provide a briefing for effective use?
• Can the material in question  to make the students better thinkers and develop their critical faculties?
• Is the material worth the time, expense and effort evolved?

      The second guideline is the usage of instructional materials. After you have properly selected the material, you should as well effectively utilize it. According to Thomas Nagel, to ensure effective utilization of the instructional material, he advised us to abide by the acronym PPPF.

Prepare yourself - It simply means that you should know your lesson objective and your expectation from the class after the session. There should be a planning ahead on how you're going to proceed  the discussion and evaluate after.

Prepare your students - It implies setting class expectation and learning goals. This comes by throwing them guide questions and motivating them as a way of keeping them interested and engaged.

Present the material - It means you should rehearsed first the materials you are going to use before presenting them to the class. This is important especially if the materials you are using are mechanical in nature, for example, power points and other multimedia presentations. This is to avoid what they call as R.O.G. Syndrome of Running Out of Gas. This syndrome usually occurs due to lack of planning.

Follow Up - The main function of using instructional material is to achieve an objective and that is ultimately the learning of the students.Using this is not an end in itself but a means to an end so there is a need for follow up to know if you have attained your objective.