Instructional Materials

Objectives:
Differentiate between instructional materials and
instructional methods.
Identify the three major variables ( learner, task, and
media characteristics ) to be considered when selecting,
developing, and evaluating instructional materials.

Discuss general principles applicable to all types of media.

Identify the multitude of instructional materials--printed,
demonstration, and audiovisual media available for client
and professional education.
 Objectives:
.
Evaluate the type of media suitable for use depending on
such variables as the size of the audience, the resources
available, and the characteristics of the learner.
Identify where educational tools can be found.
Critique instructional materials for value and
appropriateness.
Recognize the supplemental nature of medias role in
client, staff, and student education.
 Instructional materials :
Are the vehicles by which information is communicated.
Often these terms are used interchangeably and are
frequently referred to in combination with one another as
teaching strategies and techniques.

Instructional materials provide: the health

professional educator with tools to deliver education
message creatively, clearly, accurately, and in a timely
fashion.
 General Principles
The following general principles regarding the effectiveness of
instructional materials:
1.The teacher must be familiar with the media content before
using a tool.
2. Printed, demonstration, and audiovisual materials can change
learner behavior by influencing cognitive, affective, and/or
psychomotor development.
3. No one tool is considered better than another in enhancing
learning because the suitability of any particular medium
depends on many variables.
4. The tools should complement the instructional methods.
5. The choice of media should be consistent with subject
content and match the tasks to be learned to assist the learner in
accomplishing predetermined behavioral objectives.
 General Principles
6.The instructional materials should reinforce and supplement---
not substitute for the educators teaching efforts.
7.Media should match the available financial resources.
8.Instructional aids should be appropriate for the physical
conditions of the learning environment, such as the size and
seating of the audience, acoustics, space, lighting, and display
hardware (delivery mechanism) available.
9.Media should complement the sensory abilities, developmental
stages, and educational level of the intended audience.
10.The message imparted by instructional materials must be
accurate, valid, authoritative, up-to-date, appropriate, unbiased,
and free of any unintended messages.
11.The media should contribute meaningfully to the learning
situation by adding and diversifying information.
 Choosing Instructional Materials:
- The role of the health profession educator goes
beyond the dispensing of information only; it also
involves skill in designing and planning for instruction.

The Three major Components of Instructional

Materials:

Characteristics Characteristics Characteristics

of the task. of the media. of the learner.
 Delivery System :
The delivery system includes both the software
(physical form of the materials) and the hardware used
in presentation of information.

Content :
The content (intended message) is independent of the
delivery system and is the actual information being
communicated to the learner.
 Types of Instructional Materials :

Cluttered appearance Better visual appearance

 Evaluation Printed Materials
When evaluating printed materials, educators should
keep in mind the following considerations:
1. Nature of The Audience: what the average age of the
audience. Children or clients who have low literacy skills,
on the other hand, like short printed materials with many
illustrations. In addition, does the audience have any
sensory deficits?

2. Literacy Level Required: The effectiveness of client

education materials can be totally undermined if the
materials are written at a level beyond the
comprehension of the learner.
 Evaluation Printed Materials
3. Linguistic Variety Available: Linguistic variety refers
to choices of printed materials in different foreign
languages. These may be limited because duplicate
materials in more than one language are costly.
4. Brevity And Clarity: In education, as in art, simpler is
better. Remind yourself of the KISS rule: keep it simple
and smart. Using simple graphics and minimal words.
5. Layout And Appearance: The appearance of written
materials is crucial in attracting learners attention,
spacing between sentences and paragraphs, small
margins, and numerous pages. Inserting a graphic in the
middle of the text can break up the print and may be
visually appealing. States that pictorial learning is better
than verbal learning for recognition and recall.
 Evaluation Printed Materials

6. Opportunity For Repetition: Written materials can

be read later, a simple question-and-answer format.
Questions demand answers and this format allows clients
to find information easily for repeated reinforcement of
important messages.

7. Concreteness And Familiarity : Using the active voice is

more immediate, directive, and concrete. A number of
studies indicate that clients understand medical term at a
much lower rate than health professionals.
 Audiovisual materials
Audiovisual materials support and enrich the educational
process by stimulating the sense of seeing and hearing adding
variety to the teaching-learning experience, and instilling visual
memories, which have been found to be more permanent than
auditory memories.

The term multimedia learning refers to the use of two or more

types of learning modes (e.g., audio, visual, or animation) that
can be accessed via a computer to engage the learner in the
content. Blended learning, a more recent term in education,
combines e-learning technology with more traditional
instructor-led methodology, such as a lecture or demonstration.
Audiovisual technologies often offer learners more control over
content as well as the sequencing, pacing, and timing of
learning that allows them to tailor their experiences to meet
learning objectives.
 Audiovisual materials can be categorized into five
major types:

1. Projected

2. Audio

3. Video

4. Telecommunications

5. Computer forms
 Projected learning resources :
- This category of media includes overhead transparencies,
PowerPoint slides, SMART Board systems, and other
computer outputs that are projected onto a screen. These
media types are appropriate for audiences of various sizes.

Microsoft PowerPoint :
- Microsoft's computer-generated slideshow software
program, PowerPoint, has replaced conventional slides
and overheads for instruction. PowerPoint slides are easy
to design, economical to produce, and an impressive
medium by which to share information with large or small
audience . the program allows for flexibility to make
changes in the slides whenever necessary as well as
flexibility during the presentation to repeat slides, add
new slides, or skip slides to move ahead to other content .
 Basic Advantages and Disadvantages of
Projected learning Recourses:
Advantages Disadvantages
-Most effectively used with -Lack of flexibility due to
groups static content for some
-May be especially beneficial forms
for hearing-impaired, low- -Some forms may be
literate clients expensive
-Good for teaching skills in -Requires darkened room for
all domains some forms
-Requires special equipment
for use
 Audio learning resources:
For educational purposes until recently. For years, it has been
useful tool for people who are blind or for those with serious
visual or motor impairment. However, with significant
advances in audio software and hardware, as well as the
adoption of audio technology for more than purely
commercial use, compact discs (CDs), digital sound players
(e.g.,Mp3 players ,iPods), radio, and podcasts have become
more popular tools for teaching and learning.
 These resources can be used to relay many different types
of messages, can help learners who benefit from
repetition and reinforcement , and are well suited for
those who enjoy or prefer auditory learning. They are also
useful adjuncts for teaching individuals who are illiterate
or low literate.

Audio materials are most appropriate for learners with

visual impairment, while projected video with captions
and computer resources most benefit learners with
hearing impairments.
 Basic Advantages and Disadvantages of
Audio Learning Resources:

Advantages
-widely available
-May be especially beneficial
for clients who are visually
impaired or low-literate
-may be listened or
repeatedly.
-most forms very practical,
cheap, small, and portable.
Disadvantages
-rarely only on sense of
hearing.
-some forms may be
expensive.
-Lack of opportunity
interaction between
instructor and learner.
 Video learning resources:
Digital video files and DVDs, along with camcorders, DVD
recorders, television sets, and computer monitors as electronic
devices with which to view them, have become commonplace
in homes.
Health professional educators are using these resources
extensively for teaching in a variety of settings. For example,
multimedia streaming video and webinar have satisfied the
increasing demand for new ways to educate professional and
paraprofessional staff in all types of healthcare and academic
settings.
Multimedia DVD and CD aids for educating consumers about
illness management and treatment decision making increased
their understanding of medical information and enable both
patients and their caregivers to take a more active role in
making healthcare choices.
 Advantages and disadvantages of
video learning :
Advantages Disadvantages
- Widely used educational - Viewing formats limited
tool depending on availability
- Inexpensive for the most of DVD and digital video
part file equipment .
- Use visual and auditory - Some commercial
senses products may be
- Flexible for use with expensive
different audiences - Some purchased materials
- Powerful tool for role may be too long or
modeling, demonstration inappropriate for audience
reaching psychomotor .
skills
 Telecommunications Learning Resources :
Telecommunications is a means by which information can
be transmitted via television ,telephone, related modes of
audio and video

Teleconferencing, and closed circuit, cable and satellite

broadcasting .

Telecommunications devices have allowed message to be

sent to many people at the same time in a variety of
places at great distances.
 Television :

- The television , ubiquitous in American

homes has been used for many years as an
entertainment tool.

- Today, there are more televisions than telephones in

private residence.
The TV is also well suited for educational purpose
and has become A popular teaching learning tool
in homes , schools business, and healthcare setting .

The power to influence cognitive, affective and

psychomotor behavior is well demonstrated by
television commercials, whose messages are simple
, direct ,and variously repetitive to effectively
influence the behavior of intended audiences.
 Cable TV:

it is legally obligated to provide public access programming

by offering channels for community members and
organizations to air their own programs .
Closed circuit TV:

Allows for education programs to be sent to specific

locations, such as patient rooms or staff units.
The learner can request a particular program at any given
time, much like a guest in a hotel can choose on demand
from a variety of movies day and night .
 Telephones :

- It is almost impossible to
imagine being without the
telephone as a daily tool.
Americans have come to
depend on their land-based
phone lines or cell phones as a
fundamental means of
communication. It is not
surprising , therefore that the
telephone can be used
effectively for education.
In recognition of this fact, many healthcare associations
have begun to provide telephone services with messages
about disease treatment and prevention .

The American Cancer Society , for example has established

a toll-free number for the public to obtain short taped
message about various types of cancer, hospitals , too ,
have set up call-in services about a variety of health-
related topics and sources for referral.
 Telecommunications:

as an instructional tool is becoming increasingly popular and

sophisticated , Many hospitals and healthcare agencies have
already established hotline consumer information centers,
which are staffed by knowledgeable healthcare personnel so
that information can be personalized and appropriate
feedback can be given on the spot.
 Advantages and Disadvantages of
Telecommunications Learning Resources .
Advantages Disadvantages
- inexpensive to wide - Complicated to set up.
audiences . - expensive to broadcast via
- widely available. satellite.
- Effective with database. - Time consuming.
- Free or low cost - Lack of computer literacy.
resources for students.
- Easly trak the level of
understanding.
 Computer Learning Resources :
- In this technological society , the computer has changed lives
dramatically and has found widespread application in industry ,
business , schools, and homes . The computer can store large
amounts of information and is designed to display pictures ,
graphics, and text.

Computer assisted instruction (CAI), also called computer

based learning and computer- based training , promotes
learning in primarily the cognitive domain ( Grunwald &
Corsbie-Massy 2006, Strib ,2003) and research has revealed CAI
increases both the efficiency instructional tool in that the
educator has more time to devote to teaching other tasks not
usually taught skills more research definitely needs to be done
to establish its usefulness to change attitudes and behaviors or
promote psychomotor skill development .
 Retention is improved by an interactive exchange
between the learner and the computer even though the
instructor is not actually present , applied current
learning theories related to instruction via computers and
found that illustrations ( visual information ) along with
narration ( verbal information ) increase learners, recalled
comprehension for example telemedicine technology has
found to be as effective an educational tool as in person
teaching for diabetes control .

The increasing use of interactive videodisc programs show

promise in improving retention and understanding of
information .
 Also Flash- based Web resources, available to educators
and students for free or at low cost, are high- quality
Internet materials for instruction.

CAI Has many unique advantages . Instruction can be

individualized to the learner, lessons can be varied readily
,and the learner can control the pace.

Computer are also a valuable instructional tool for those

with aphasia , motor difficulties, Visual and hearing
impairments, or learning disabilities .
 Choosing the right tools for client education calls for
judgment on the part of the health professional as
educator, who must take into consideration the variables
of the learner, the task, and the media. Decisions as to
which instructional materials are or are not appropriate
depend on the size and characteristics of the audience.

These three variables in combination with one another

result in the selection of different teaching tools by the
educator.

In particular, the evaluation of media involves appraising

the content, the instructional design, the technical
production.
When instructional materials are used that stimulate
multiple senses and modes of learning.
 State of the Evidence :
- There is broad recognition of the importance that healthcare
practice, based on supporting evidence of efficacy. Rather than
perpetuating practices because they have always been be done
that way.

In education, the focus is on both the processes and the

outcomes of teaching and learning.
It is only relatively recently that research has been conducted
to determine the impact of various types of tools on the
acquisition, retention, and recall of information and on the
satisfaction with learning.

Research studies exploring the effectiveness of printed,

demonstration, and audiovisual media that stimulate the
senses, increase active participation enhance critical thinking,
more rewarding, and more enjoyable learning experiences.
 Video recording and playback have become common
strategies to help health professional students and staff
improve clinical skills performance.

Learners with low literacy skills or intellectual disabilities

are particularly challenging for health professionals as
educators.
barriers to teaching and learning.

production of animated cartoons using marketing and

advertising techniques. The findings of this study show
that the animated cartoon was more effective in
delivering the same message as written instructional
materials.
 using pictorial manuals and accompanying audiocassettes
to teach basic child-care, health, and safety skills to
parents with intellectual disabilities.
to improve their parenting skills with these low-cost, low-
tech, self-directed materials.

It is essential to remember that instructional materials

should support learning, not merely be the learning
experience altogether.