Christina Cavage is professor of ESL at Savannah College of Art and Design. In this article, Christina discuss her process when selecting course materials for her classes.
With the summer brings thoughts of new courses, syllabi, lesson plans and material choices. Even if we aren’t teaching in the summer, we often spend a good bit of time contemplating what would work best in our Fall classes. What textbook should I use? What materials can I bring into the class? How can I best meet student need and help them master the course’s student learning outcomes?
These are questions many of us ponder over the summer. Even though for those of us with a quarter of century teaching behind us, we still find ourselves questioning our material choices, and read through catalog after catalog on new products and innovative tools. Over the years, this very predictable process has forced me to sit back and really reflect on what I should be looking for. I know first and foremost, I need materials that align with the student learning outcomes of the course, and must be ‘on-level’ for the program I am teaching in. That aside, there must be other considerations. I have come to the conclusion that I need three things from the materials I choose—flexibility, a sound pedagogical approach, and ancillary tools to enhance and extend the content in the book.
Flexibility
After I have confirmed that the objectives of the text align with the student learning outcomes of my course, I then dig into the pages of the text. Has it been created in a manner that requires me to move from page 1 in the first unit to page 20 in the first unit with few or no detours? If so, that text is not for me. I want a text that allows me to connect my own authentic materials directly to the lessons in the text.
I want to adapt the content to really meet the needs of my students, in my university, in the city where they live. So, I am looking for a text that I can move from page 3 to page 15 and back to page 10. I want to use the text as one tool, but not the only tool, or the be-all, end-all tool. Flexibility to build upon what’s there is critical; flexibility to adapt the book to my learners is even more critical.
Pedagogical Approach
The diversity in pedagogical approaches in texts today is very similar to sitting in a teacher’s meeting—there are great differences in how teaching and learning is approached. I applaud that diversity, and understand that learners learn differently, as teachers teach differently. Many new teachers will seek out advice from their seasoned mentors. I find those mentors just saying “Use this text; it’s great.”
While some novice teachers might greatly appreciate their guidance, we have to ask ourselves if we are really helping or hurting. I encourage teachers to find a text that fits them. No one tells them which pen to use, so why choose an important tool like a textbook for them? Teachers need to spend time flipping through texts to find the one they click with.
Ancillary Tools
Having support materials like sample lesson planners, teaching tips, PDF handouts, and a vibrant learning management system are essential. I often want to extend what we do in the classroom, out of the classroom. I want my students to see the teaching point in different contexts, with different types of activities. Using the extras with the core text, really opens up my toolkit as a teacher. It makes for engaging learning, and teaching.
So, if you are like me when reflecting on the tools you plan to use, consider their flexibility, pedagogical approach and ancillary tools. Read Christina’s last blog where she reflects on past experiences to improve digital tools in a new academic year.