TOPIC 3:

EVALUATION AND EXPLOITATION OF

COURSEBOOKS AND MULTIMEDIA
MATERIALS
 SYNOPSIS
It is the responsibility of various
stakeholders to provide an instructional
programme and learning resources that
promote the enjoyment for the pupils to
learn.
Pupils thus become critical and creative
thinkers as well as effective users of
information in all formats and media.
 SYNOPSIS
Resource-based learning and a
collaboration among all members of
the school community is the way.
The purpose of this topic is to explain
the general criteria for selection of
learning resources and the specific
selection criteria which teachers in
different teaching and learning
contexts may have to evaluate their
teaching and learning resources.
 LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of the course, the students
should be able to:
To identify the instruments to evaluate
and exploit the teaching materials
To state the ways in which the
instruments can evaluate teaching
materials
To analyse the criteria to evaluate
teaching materials.
To state and justify additional criteria to
evaluate teaching materials
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK OF
THE TOPIC
 INTRODUCTION
There are various criteria used when
evaluating resources.
Not all of the criteria, however, can be
met by every learning resource.
GENERAL CRITERIA IN CHOOSING
TEXTBOOKS
Brown (1995) lists five major categories to
consider in choosing a textbook:
authors and publishers reputation;
fit to the curriculum (meeting needs, goals,
etc.);
physical characteristics (layout,
organisation, etc.);
logistical factors (price, auxiliary aids,
workbooks); and
teachability (especially the usefulness of a
teachers edition)
 TEXTBOOKS EVALUATION
Robinett (1978) has provided an abridged
evaluation form that can be a practical set
of criteria for:
(a) choosing a textbook for a course, or
(b) evaluating the textbook you are using.
This checklist can be used as a guideline
for teachers especially to create an
evaluation checklist for textbook or
coursebook.
 TEXTBOOKS EVALUATION-
CHECKLIST
1. Goals of the course
2. Background of the students
3. Approach
4. Language skills
5. General content
6. Quality of practice materials
7. Sequencing
 TEXTBOOKS EVALUATION-
CHECKLIST
8. Vocabulary
9. General sociolinguistic factors
10. Format
11. Accompanying materials
12. Teachers guide

(Taken and adapted from Robinett, 1978, cited in Brown, 2007, p. 192)
GENERAL MATERIAL SELECTION
AND EXPLOITATION
Questions to be considered:
What does the resource contribute to
developing meaning-making and
interpretation, awareness of language and
cultures and their relationship?
What opportunities to explore language and
culture does the resource provide?
How does the resource allow learners to
make connections between their own lives
and experiences and the target language and
its speakers?
GENERAL MATERIAL SELECTION
AND EXPLOITATION
Questions to be considered:
What opportunities for exploration does the
resource afford students?
How does the resource connect to other
resources, or how do the components of a
resource connect with each other?
What sort of learning will the resource
enable? What will it build on and what could
be done next?
What more will be needed to use the
resource to its fullest effect?
 CONCLUSION
There are many instruments that teachers
can refer to.
These instruments are incorporating
pertinent criteria in selecting and
evaluating learning resources to ensure
effective implementation of teaching and
learning processes in the classroom.
 CONCLUSION
Different set of criteria may be adopted to
fit the different nature of each school.
The criteria and information provided in
this topic may serve as guidelines for
teachers especially to create their own
instruments which may be more relevant to
the contexts they are in.
TUTORIAL TASKS (GROUP WORK)

1. Choose a teaching material you would

use in a primary ESL classroom.
2. Evaluate the material using the
instrument of your choice.
3. Justify your choice of the instrument and
its effectiveness in evaluating the
teaching material.
4. Present your findings to your classmates.
THE END