Materials Development Tutorial Task Week 2

Reflection

For this task, I was absent as I went to Labuan for a competition, in which, I got a lot of experiences. However, when I got back, I had to catch up on what I missed. I missed this task but was lucky enough to have my groupmates to brief and back me up. It’s great to have people that helps you pick up where you missed and I really am grateful. In the end, I got to be part of this tutorial task. Frankly, I was totally confused as I did not go for the class previously. A lot of things was obviously taught during that class. Why?? Cause I have zero, yes, zero understanding at all and I was practically a newborn baby thrown into the big leagues. As they brief me about it, I started learning bit by bit. It’s like crawling, then walking but definitely not at the running stage yet. So, this is my reflection.
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wait?? There’s more???
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What?? There’s questions too?
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awww man.
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How does it affect me as a pre-service teacher?

        In this task, I learned a lot through my friends’ guidance. What struck me first was the number of principles used in materials development. It’s like, facing Godzilla with only a rifle. So before I really get into the principles, I thought of the things I like to have in any materials as a student. To my surprise, the principles are actually linked to what I think a material should be. For example, The second principle in Tomlinson’s states that materials should help learners to feel at ease, which I agreed on as I think that I would extremely reject materials that stress me out in learning. As I start to link the principles, it also came to me that not all principles are suited to what I think. This is where I really started thinking.

        As a pre-service teacher, I should not wrap my mind around the fact that all students are the same. As the principles differ in certain ways, so are the students. Thus, I would train myself to not only look at one perspective but in multiple perspectives by using the guidelines to know what to expect before becoming a teacher (if I really am going to be one). There is also a fact that clashed with my thoughts as well which is the importance of the principles. I came to know that using principles as the guideline is not necessarily a must when it comes to developing materials. This is because humans are constantly adapting as well as there is no one of a kind. So materials should be adapted and suited to the needs of the students. The materials should not be one sided, but instead, try to be incorporated to suit most students needs. For those odd ones out, it’s the teacher’s task to help them to learn in order to catch up with the group.

Overall, this task really made me think about my views as a pre-service teacher for what I think is right.

How does it affect my current level of knowledge?

        It obviously affected my current level of knowledge as I always thought that things just fall into place for teachers especially when using materials. I would be like ‘cool, games,fun’ and never actually thought of all the work they put in especially when the numerous principles are involved. The principles that struck me the most was when it states that materials should be able to relate to the learners’ life or it should be authentic and real to the learners. Therefore, I have a whole new respect to teachers as they try to incorporate materials that are related for the learners as well as to help them teach effectively. It also changes my perspectives on how materials are actually developed. It has to follow all the principles (if possible) and be able to help the students as well. It is really mind blowing when I found out that all those years of learning is not as stressful as all these. So, this is what I signed up for? Whoa. I really need to pick up my pace and learn before it ends.

How can I use that knowledge to improve myself?

        The knowledge that I gained can be used to help me set my pace and really think about what I can really do in the future. It guides me to know the importance of using the principles to help in teaching learners to learn more effectively.  Being creative is one thing but following it based on the principles is another thing. By having the knowledge how materials are developed and how it should be like helps me to determine what is best suited for my students. It also helps me to think more about how my choices and actions can affect how learners learn.