Production of Social Studies Instructional Materials

Rey M. Arturo

CHAPTER 2
WHAT IS INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIAL
Desired Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this unit, you must have:

 Described educational materials, their functions, fundamental ideas, and advantages;

 Understood the various forms of educational resources;
 Explained the framework of materials and procedures, and talked about the variables
affecting the preparation of the materials.

ACTIVATE:

Answer the following based on experiences or own idea.

As a teacher, my materials are _____________________________________.

As a teacher, my instructional materials in teaching are
_______________________________________________________________.
As a teacher, instruction is
_______________________________________________________________.

Answer the following based on your experiences or own idea.

I prepare because _____________________________________________.

Things that hinders my preparations are __________________________________ .

I must anticipate things in my preparation such as

______________________________________________________ .

Lesson 10: Instructional Materials

The knowledge or content that is taught in a course is referred to as instructional materials. These
comprise the course's lectures, readings, textbooks, multimedia lessons, and other materials.
These resources can be utilized in both in-person and online classrooms, but some will need to
be altered or completely reworked for the online setting. The most effective learning resources
are coordinated with all other course components, such as learning objectives, assessments, and
activities.

Why Is It Important?

This is for academic purposes only.

Production of Social Studies Instructional Materials
Rey M. Arturo

The fundamental knowledge that students will encounter, discover, and use during a course is
provided by the instructional materials. They have the ability to motivate or disengage students.
This is particularly true for online courses, which depend on a thorough and deliberate collection
of educational resources that students will access, examine, absorb, and refer to as they move
through a course.

For the best results, these materials must be properly chosen, arranged, improved, and used in a
course. In order to maximize student learning, the planning and selection of instructional
materials should address both the breadth and depth of content.

How to Put Into Practice?

Casting a wide net and looking for a variety of materials to include in their course are two things
that instructors and/or instructional designers should do. They should also take their time making
these decisions to ensure that the course includes the right mix of educational resources. Here are
just a few examples of the kind of instructional materials that can be used in an online course.

Note: Select the plus sign or headings to reveal additional content.

 Accessibility & Universal Design

 Copyright
 Digital Media
 Lectures
 Open Educational Resources (OERs)
 Syllabi

Lesson 11: Principles of materials development

In terms of developing learning materials, we must think about two important issues: what
should be offered as learning resources, and how should they be delivered to learners. Materials
designers may claim that intuition or tacit knowledge, which they use to discern what will work
and what won't based on their experiences, is the key to material development. Although it
appears to be beneficial for creating materials, there is another aspect that should be considered:
subjectivity, particularly from conservative teachers who may be resistant to change. Therefore,
it would be wiser to pay attention to what professors and students have to say in order to
determine their areas of interest and how they feel about the contents.

Paul handed out small pieces of paper with one phrase on each at the start of class, and he asked
us to read and debate in groups what each statement meant. Different statements were given to
each group. The other groups had to then be informed about the statements we had.

These are all fundamental ideas of second language learning that Brian Tomlinson has compiled
into materials for language education, namely
1. Materials must have an impact. which implies that they should have interesting content
and interesting presentations for their student target audience.

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Production of Social Studies Instructional Materials
Rey M. Arturo

2. "Materials should make students feel comfortable," It implies that texts and images used
in instructional materials should uplift students and make them feel comfortable.
3. The statement "Materials should allow learners to acquire confidence" implies that they
ought to promote skill improvement and make students feel successful.
4. Learning should be viewed by students as valuable and relevant. in order to find out what
the students are interested in, teachers must find materials that persuade students that the
lessons being taught are worthwhile.
5. "Materials should demand and facilitate learner investment in self" which implies that
they should motivate students to devote their time, energy, and attention.
6. "Students must be prepared to understand the concepts being taught." which refers to
using things to get students focused on target language qualities they haven't learned yet
so they'll be attentive to pick them up.
7. "Materials should expose students to language in real-world situations." which implies
that teachers should give students guidance and directives for their tasks, spoken
language, and written content.
8. The linguistic components of the input should be brought to the learners' attention. It
means that materials should cover both grammar and actual usage of the language.
9. "Materials should give students opportunity to communicate in their target language,"
says the author.
10. Materials should support various learning styles, including those that are visual, auditory,
kinesthetic, scholastic, experiential, analytic, global, dependent, and independent.
According to this statement, materials should take into account the fact that students have
different learning preferences.
11. "Materials should consider that learners' affective attitudes vary." which implies that they
should offer various text and activity types and be conscious of the cultural sensitivities
of the target students.
12. Materials ought to provide for a quiet interval at the start of lesson. It suggests that
teachers shouldn't press students to talk before they're ready.
13. "Materials should optimize student learning potential by fostering intellectual, aesthetic,
and emotional engagement that activates both left and right brain functions."
14. Materials shouldn't respond excessively to controlled practice. hence they should
concentrate on language use.
15. Materials should offer opportunities for result feedback, especially feedback on language
use that is more focused on effectiveness than accuracy.

Paul instructed us to write down our own ideas about what we believe the best materials should
contain or resemble after going over all of these guidelines, share them with one another, and
have a group discussion. Then we had to group them with the principles and rank them to
determine which one we believed to be the most crucial principle of the high-quality materials.
We decided to divide them into three groups because we believed they were so crucial.

The first and most crucial group of principles was the following:

 Materials ought to be inspiring and enticing.

 The subject matter must be difficult.
 The subject matter need not be grave.

This is for academic purposes only.

Production of Social Studies Instructional Materials
Rey M. Arturo

 Materials should be simple and orderly, yet adaptable enough to encourage originality
and variation.
 The learning materials should give students opportunity to communicate in the target
language.
 Authenticity should be provided through the materials.
 The focus of the materials should be the students.

The second group of the principles was namely,

 A variety of strategies
 Diverse activities must be included in the materials to appeal to diverse types of learners
(visual, etc.)
 Materials ought to encourage pupils to interact and collaborate with one another.
 Learning materials should foster confidence in students.
 Materials ought to provoke thought.
 Materials ought to encourage and call for learner investment.

The last group of the principles which was important was namely,

 A variety of strategies
 Diverse activities must be included in the materials to appeal to diverse types of learners
(visual, etc.)
 Materials ought to encourage pupils to interact and collaborate with one another.
 Learning materials should foster confidence in students.
 Materials ought to provoke thought.
 Materials should encourage and support student self-investment.
 Materials should help students enhance their capacity for learning.
 Materials should encourage students to use their newly acquired talents outside of the
classroom.
 Updated materials should be used.
 Materials should give students the necessary knowledge.
 The linguistic components of the input should be brought to the learners' attention.
 Learning should be prompted by the materials.

We realized that everyone had varied experiences of teaching in various circumstances, and that
this conversation essentially acted as a process of course book evaluation in which we needed to
listen to one other's opinions. As a result, we needed to discuss and exchange our personal
opinions about what makes for good reading material. I'm planning to utilize this review
approach in the future when I work in a school or a language institution to select or create the
course materials for my lessons.

Lesson 12: What Is the Importance of Instructional Materials?

This is for academic purposes only.

Production of Social Studies Instructional Materials
Rey M. Arturo

The purpose of instructional materials is to facilitate content learning, promote concept

application, and enable evaluation. They are created to aid in learner comprehension.

Provides Facts and Information These resources offer a variety of information on various

subjects and give in-depth, fact-based information. Additionally, it provides background
information on the subjects and explains how the subjects link to other important pieces of
knowledge. Materials provide a place to begin learning new information.

Engages and Teaches Learners Using multimedia elements including sound clips, video,
graphics, hands-on activities, and interactive games, the teacher can support concepts and engage
students by incorporating these elements into the course's instructional materials. These products
have multiple presentations to help reach all pupils because there are several learner types, such
as auditory and visual learners.

Teaching Concepts Materials give students the chance to put principles into practice and create
something that shows how much they have learned. It's crucial to hear examples when learning
something new and put knowledge into practice right away. To help learners retain new
information, instructional materials offer model questions and answers in addition to a range of
examples.

Evaluates Knowledge As a result, those items are utilized to gauge learners' knowledge. The
use of instructional resources enables the instructor to offer additional assistance to students with
varied degrees of aptitude and foundational knowledge. There are examinations and quizzes in
these materials.

Importance of Traditional Instructional Materials Textbooks are a dependable and

established source of educational resources. These textbooks, which are produced by large
corporations, include a set of knowledge that has been peer reviewed and authorized by teachers
as well as instructions for learning particular topics.

Importance of Modern Instructional Materials Electronic textbooks are becoming more and

more popular in addition to traditional textbooks. Major publications, especially professional
journals, also make their studies and research articles available online. These digital resources
are more convenient for pupils to use and are simple to update.

Effectively Using Instructional Materials The success of the course depends heavily on the
teachers' selection of the appropriate learning resources. While textbooks are helpful, it is vital to
add other pertinent materials to the information. Additionally, not all teaching resources are
made equally. Some are more distinct than others, while others progress at varying rates. Select
the option that most closely matches the course's level.

For students to use the instructional resources effectively, they must have a solid grasp of reading
and reviewing material. The best approach to use these materials is to preview them before class
and then go over them with your notes afterward. Ask the instructor for additional sources of
information or look them up yourself if any of the concepts are still unclear.

This is for academic purposes only.

Production of Social Studies Instructional Materials
Rey M. Arturo

Disadvantages to Instructional Materials Instructional resources are crucial since they act as a

guide and a point of reference for learning new subjects. However, it is insufficient on its own to
successfully instruct students. It must be combined with an effective instructor who can expand
on the course materials. Additionally, it's important to approach the contents critically. The
easiest way to grasp new issues is to challenge the facts and conduct your own additional study
because all written materials are produced from a specific point of view.

Lesson 13: Instructional Strategy List by Category

Three categories—teacher instruction, student practice, and evaluation—are used to group the
instructional methodologies on this list. Comparing this list to the conceptual listing, it is more
linear in structure. Either "list" will provide you access to the identical teaching methods.

Teacher Instruction

 Building Meaningful Student Connections

 Concrete-Representational-Abstract Sequence of Instruction
 Explicit Teacher Modeling
 Teach Concepts/Skills Within Authentic Context
 abstract level
 concrete level
 representational level
 Scaffolding Instruction
 Teach Using Big Math Ideas
 Teaching Metacognitive Strategies

Student Practice

 Instructional Games
 Planned Discovery Activities
 Self-correcting Materials
 Structured Cooperative Learning Groups
 Structured Language Experiences
 Structured Peer Tutoring

Evaluation

 Mathematics Dynamic Assessment

 Continuous Monitoring/Charting of Student Performance

Lesson 14: Factors to Consider in Writing Instructional Materials

This is for academic purposes only.

Production of Social Studies Instructional Materials
Rey M. Arturo

To ensure that learning is effective, there are a number of things to take into account while
developing instructional materials. Ornstein gives us nine, including comprehension, structuring
or clarification, sequencing, balance, explanation, pacing, revisiting, and elaboration of learning.

1. Understanding

Understanding requires matching the materials to the learners’ abilities and prior

knowledge. When pupils struggle to comprehend the information, frustration builds in, which
makes learning more challenging. The instructor or writer needs to be aware of whether the
pupils' reading levels and comprehension levels match the materials. As a result, the teacher or
author must offer background information, check-up tasks, and exercises to gauge the students'
comprehension. This is crucial when teaching new concepts to students, especially those who are
younger and slower.

2. Structuring or Clarifying

Structuring /Clarifying involves organizing the material so that it is clear to the students.

When new material is introduced and when it is connected to earlier courses, it is very crucial.

 Directions, goals, and key concepts are made apparent. The content is summarized
both internally and at the end.
 There is a seamless and well-integrated transition between the key topics.
 Writing is precise.
 There are plenty instances given.
 New terms are defined.
 Suitable practice and review assignments support newly learned material.

3. Sequencing

Sequencing refers to the arrangement of the materials to provide for continuous and

cumulative learning where complex concepts are taken only after prerequisite skills and
concepts have been mastered. There are four basic ways of sequencing a material:

1. Simple to complex
2. Parts to whole
3. Whole to parts
4. Chronological arrangements

4. Balancing

Balancing materials require establishing vertical and horizontal balance or relationships. The

term "vertical relationships" describes how knowledge and experiences are built up at the lesson,
unit, and course levels. Third-grade language concepts are built upon by fourth-grade language
concepts, and so on. Horizontal connections create an interdisciplinary and unified vision of
several areas; for instance, the social studies course's content is related to English and science.

This is for academic purposes only.

Production of Social Studies Instructional Materials
Rey M. Arturo

5. Explaining

Explaining refers to the way headings, terms, illustrations, and summary exercises are
integrated with the content. Does the example clearly explain the key ideas? Are the chapter's
objectives and overview identifying the key concepts? Do the headlines show a logical
progression of the content? Do the materials demonstrate connections between subjects,
incidents, and facts to provide a thorough understanding of key ideas? Through the materials, the
students should be able to independently learn key ideas and facts and relate them to prior
knowledge.

6. Pacing

Pacing refers to how much and how quickly the lessons in the textbooks are presented. The
amount of information provided should be sufficient to produce an impact without overwhelming
the students. As children get older, the amount of resources, the length and complexity of the
presentation, and the breadth and depth can all be expanded.

7. Reviewing

Reviewing refers to the extent to which the material allows students to link new ideas to old
concepts in the form of a review. Less proficient learners would require more review or linking
than more competent ones because high-achieving and older students can accept more rapid
pacing than low-achieving and younger students.

8. Elaborating

By providing more detail, you may ensure that students learn in a number of ways. The goal is to
give students the tools they need in the textbook to change information from one form to another
and apply new information to old knowledge. These tools include comparison and contrast,
inference-making, paraphrasing, summarizing, and forecasting. Students are assisted in learning
new content by a number of elaboration techniques. The author needs to give the pupils a wide
range of queries (of comparing and contrasting, drawing, analogies, etc.)

9. Transfer of Learning

There are numerous techniques to transfer learning. Conceptual, learner, inquiry, learner-related,
or utilization-related transfer of learning are all possible. The first two organizers appear to
function best with students who are naturally motivated, whereas the second two appear to work
best with individuals who require extrinsic motivation. Learner-related and utilization-related
materials will be more successful with the majority of pupils because they need some extrinsic
motivation.

 Concept-related, strongly reliant on the subject's theories, concepts, or organizational

framework.
 Critical thinking techniques and skills used by learning theorists or experts in the subject,
which are inquiry-related.

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Production of Social Studies Instructional Materials
Rey M. Arturo

 Pertaining to the needs, interests, or experiences of the students as learners.

 Showcase how individuals can use or progress with them in real-world scenarios.

Lesson 15: What Is an Instructional Framework?

What is an educational framework, exactly? An instructional framework offers a cogent

foundation made up of tried-and-true elements, but it may be modified to cope with various
teaching methods, subject matter, and student demands (while maintaining the core structure of
the framework). With the knowledge that their students will succeed, teachers can use their
creativity freely.

Curriculum frameworks, lesson preparation frameworks, and occasionally programs are other
names for instructional frameworks. But there are significant variances.

 A collection of criteria known as a curriculum framework outlines the subject matter that
must be taught. It differs from other curricula since it specifies "what" should be taught in
the classroom. It is not "how" to put together a model lesson.
 Teachers organize, plan, and reflect on their ideas using a framework for lesson planning.
It differs from other approaches since it frequently focuses on broad concepts to let
readers interact with and study content rather than identifying particular, evidence-based
methods to carry out those concepts.
 A curriculum outlines what should be taught and how. It differs from other curricula
since teachers must adhere to the program rather than making accommodations for any
special needs of their students. It's crucial to realize that a program and an educational
framework are two different things.

Exemplary Schools Use Instructional Frameworks!

Therefore, it is not surprising that the usage of a similar educational framework is a pattern
observed in excellent schools (and not frequently in normal schools).

This ensures that all teachers are organizing and delivering the most effective instruction while
also ensuring uniformity and organization. Since their work is based on a shared vision of
excellent instruction, schools are no longer influenced by whatever trends emerge.

Effective professional development can also be facilitated by an instructional framework since it

allows teachers to collaborate, provide support for one another, and concentrate on enhancing
their practices over time. Students perform better and teachers perform better when schools
utilize a standard instructional framework to ensure that all teachers have a similar approach to
teaching and learning.

Goals for Implementing an Effective Framework

Just like kitchens must be customized to fit a family's unique demands, the best instructional
frameworks are adaptable enough to let schools concentrate on their unique objectives. For
instance:

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Production of Social Studies Instructional Materials
Rey M. Arturo

1. Teacher Lesson Planning: How teachers plan is one of the main disparities between normal
and excellent schools. The most effective teachers are those that consciously design courses that
link the best research-based approaches to guarantee that pupils achieve or surpass grade-level
expectations. Teachers can ensure success by using a framework for instruction.

2. Differentiating Instruction: The capacity to differentiate instruction such that all students

successfully meet grade-level learning requirements is one of the defining characteristics of good
teaching. An instructional framework guarantees that teachers acquire the information and
abilities necessary to consistently and extensively prepare and present differentiated lessons that
cater to the needs of every student.

3. Teaching in High Poverty Schools: It might be challenging to actively engage students who
are living in poverty; but, when teachers prepare particular connected tactics within an
instructional framework, student involvement greatly rises. With the help of instructional
frameworks, teachers are given the information and resources they need to forge deep
connections with their students, enliven lessons, improve the learning environment, instill
motivation and a positive attitude, boost cognitive ability, and advocate for high standards.

4. Effective Teaching at All Levels: It is very difficult for teachers to consistently and widely plan
and instruct at the levels necessary for all pupils to succeed without a framework especially
created for effective teaching. With a framework for teaching and learning, educators may better
organize and carry out outstanding sessions that motivate all students to grasp challenging
material.

5. Higher Order Thinking and Rigor: To ensure that all students are learning at the high levels
required by today's standards, teachers receive practical yet effective methods for planning and
delivering instruction with an instructional framework in mind.

6. Moving Beyond Remediation to Close Achievement Gaps: Using a framework, teachers may

predict when and where children could have trouble and implement strategies to deal with the
core causes of academic failure for many kids, which are the absence of prior information, skills,
vocabulary, and experiences necessary to acquire new knowledge and abilities. With the
assistance they need to demonstrate learning at the levels demanded by standards and
assessments, this framework provides teachers with the resources and framework they need to
organize and conduct instruction so that all students are learning at high levels.

7. Teaching with Comprehension in Mind for Literacy-Focused Schools: The need of

emphasizing literacy in all curriculum areas is emphasized by both the Common Core State
Standards and the new generation of state standards. It is difficult to make sure that every
instruction supports literacy development without a framework made especially for integrating
literacy. This makes it easier for teachers to deliberately design lessons that encourage all
students to advance in their literacy skills while also developing their comprehension of
academic material.

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Production of Social Studies Instructional Materials
Rey M. Arturo

A consistent instructional framework ought to be given top attention when it comes to teaching
and learning because we would never think of designing a kitchen without one.

APPLY:

If you are a teacher, what is your most preferred instructional materials? Why? How are you
going to use it?
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Give two factors affecting materials preparation and explain. Give also suggestion on how to
address the problems that exist within the factors affecting materials preparation.
______________________________________________________________________________
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ASSESS:

What are instructional materials?

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________ .

What are the roles, basic principles and benefits of instructional materials?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

This is for academic purposes only.

Production of Social Studies Instructional Materials
Rey M. Arturo

______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________ .

What are the different types or categories of instructional materials? Give one specific example
in each?
______________________________________________________________________________
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______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________ .

What do you think are the importance of Instructional materials? What are the factors affecting
materials preparation? How does it affects the materials preparation?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
__________________________ .

What is the framework of instructional materials and methods? What is the goal of the
framework of instructional materials?
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This is for academic purposes only.