This document provides 12 essential questions for teachers to consider when designing materials. The questions address whether the material reinvents existing content, is necessary, and feasible to implement. Additional questions focus on choosing an appropriate format, whether students could create the content, and if the material has clear introductions and extensions. Further questions examine how to make the material personalized, trackable to individual students, logically sequenced, and something the teacher is proud to share. The final question considers how reusable and adaptable the designed material may be.

1. 12
Essential Questions
When
Designing Materials
Teachers As Material
Designers
D. Deubelbeiss
http://community.eflclassroom.com

2. The Language Of Design

3. It All Starts Here

4. 1. Do I have to reinvent the wheel?

5. 1. Do I have to reinvent the wheel?
Cut, Snip, Paste.
Remix.
Recycle & Reuse.
Refine.
Reinvent.
Repetition, form, shape

6. 2. Is the material necessary?
learn the past tense /ed/
Correctly chooses between /ed/
and irregular forms.
Story cloze
Shape, material, form

7. 3. Is it doable?
Getting
Real
Start today.
Just do it.
Design simply.
Don’t over complicate it.
Make sure your students
will succeed.
Value, alignment, unity

8. 4. Form: Is the material suitable?
Paper? Digital?
Quiz Video Game
Powerpoint Cloze
Audio Interactive
Lesson? Course?
Shape, material, form

9. 5. Do I have to make it?
SCC: Student Created
Content
When you get your students creating
the exercises, you are teaching
them more than what is to be known
– you are teaching them that
ultimately they alone are responsible
for learning.

10. 6. Does the material have a front door?
Too Much is Too Little
Too much on the page will distract
and bewilder students.
Design the material so it invites the
students in, draws them in with
empty spaces.
Leave room for students to
add content, personalize.
Balance, proportion, contrast

11. 7. Does the material have an exit?
Extend
The material should offer students
extra study.
The material should link to authentic
sources if possible.
Extend for higher level students or
those that finish quickly.
No material is an island!

12. 8. Is the material personal?
Be friendly
Is everything only 1 correct answer?
Can students add their own
thoughts, critically think?
Is there space for students to
personalize? Draw, doodle, name.
Are the students’ lives part of the
elements of design?

13. 9. Is the material identifiable?
Who & How well?
Is there a place for the student
name?
Is there a place for a student mark?
Is there a place for student
reflection on their learning?
How will you find this material and
track who did it and how well they
did?

14. 10. Is the material logical?
Sequence
Is the material easy to
follow?
Do the elements link
together and have
coherency?
Is the material consistently
designed?

15. 11. Does the material have “soul”?
Your Voice
Does the material have your own
special touch?
Is it something you are proud of?
Is it something others will love as
a human product?

16. 12. Is the material reproducable?
Can you recycle it?
•You will teach many classes over your teaching lifetime.
•Make sure you can adapt the worksheet easily.
•Use with different levels, different topics/themes.
•Is the material easily shareable?
•All materials are templates!