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7 Producing Relevant Instructional Materials
Pages 156-170

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From page 156...
... . For example, in 2002, IRS applicants were invited to submit proposals to develop specialized materials for the languages of the Islamic nations of the Middle East and Central Asia. Similarly, in every NRC grant competition since 1996, applicants have been required to include teacher training activities -- activities that often involve creation of instructional materials.
From page 157...
... The description is based primarily on the commissioned analysis, supplemented by information obtained in site visits and from websites of select instructional materials development projects. The chapter also discusses the challenge of determining whether instructional materials are "relevant" and "meet accepted scholarly standards," and provides examples of recent efforts to ensure the relevance and quality of language instructional materials.
From page 158...
... •  eorgetown University used an LRC grant to develop professional development G materials for the instruction of teachers, including a monthly e-newsletter, The Language Resource, and development of the National Capital Language Resource Center's learning standards for Arabic K-16 in collaboration with the American As sociation of Teachers of Arabic, the Middle East LRC, and the National Learning Standards Collaborative. •  n NRC grant to Ohio State University's Center for Latin American Studies led to A development of two quite different types of instructional materials.
From page 159...
... This project created a set of interactive, multimedia, listening comprehension lessons designed to teach listening strategies, develop cultural and linguistic knowledge, and move students from the intermediate-low to the advanced level on the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL) listening proficiency scale (University of Wisconsin, 2007)
From page 160...
... , while the materials funded by other Title VI/FH programs focused on 69 different languages. In public comments to the committee, one expert stated that IRS grants dating back to the 1960s had yielded 740 sets of instructional materials. Among these, about 80 were in Chinese, 65 in various forms of Arabic, and 40 in Japanese, with much smaller numbers of materials in the least commonly taught languages, such as Pashto (about 16)
From page 161...
... Relevance The relevance of instructional materials may be measured by the extent to which the materials are obtained by intended users, the users actually apply and make use of the materials, and the materials prove to be useful for teaching and student learning. Some elements of the application process for Title VI/FH grants encour
From page 162...
... . No systematic, comprehensive information is available about the extent to which IRS, NRC, or LRC grantees may be responding to ED's directives by conducting needs assessments, reviewing existing materials, carrying out evaluations, or conducting impact assessments of the instructional materials they create.
From page 163...
... On the basis of these reviews, the author may be asked to make extensive revisions prior to publication. Although a commercial publisher may not be involved in the development of textbooks or other instructional materials for the less commonly taught languages, the author may nevertheless engage outside experts in review and pilot-test of the materials to identify needed improvements.
From page 164...
... Because many of the instructional materials developed with Title VI/FH funding are language materials, the following discussion focuses on foreign language materials. Strengthening Development of Foreign Language Materials Colleges and universities are currently working to strengthen the development of instructional materials as part of a larger movement to reform and improve undergraduate education.
From page 165...
... , a division of the Modern Language Association, has launched several efforts to strengthen undergraduate foreign language teaching, including instructional materials. The ADFL's 2001 statement of good practice emphasizes ongoing improvement of teaching practices, calling on language departments to value scholarship on teaching methods and assessment procedures equally with traditional forms of scholarship.
From page 166...
... Contribution of Title VI Programs to Strengthening Materials Development The Department of Education's application review process engages scholars in review of the activities proposed for funding under the various Title VI/FH programs. As noted above, the rating criteria for IRS applicants proposing to develop instructional materials are designed to enhance the quality of those materials by encouraging grantees to take a careful approach to materials development, including a survey of existing materials and pilot-testing of preliminary materials.
From page 167...
... State education agencies often engage expert panels in review of language materials in order to identify those most aligned with state language standards. For example, in 2003, the California Department of Education convened a panel of experts to review language instructional materials using a set of criteria that reflect the five elements of the ACTFL Standards for Foreign Language Teaching (California Department of Education, 2006)
From page 168...
... In addition, the LMP database links directly to a database of language teaching materials developed and maintained by the University of Minnesota's CARLA. The CARLA database of teaching materials for the less commonly taught languages includes two types of materials: (1)
From page 169...
... However, surveys, web access data, and site visit interviews provide evidence that at least some of these materials are being used by their intended audiences. Although there are no uniform scholarly standards for instructional materials, site visit interviews indicate that some federally funded teachers, faculty members, and curriculum developers follow approaches to materials development that incorporate efforts to ensure the quality and relevance of materials.
From page 170...
... If use of these criteria has actually resulted in pilottesting of materials and improved the quality of the resulting materials, ED may want to consider ways of incorporating these criteria in the review process for applicants who propose to produce instructional materials through other programs.


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