LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Procedure to Develop Competency Based Self-Learning Materials

J. R. Nirmala, M.A. (Eng)., M.A. (Ling)., Ph.D.

Quality Issues in Elementary Education

The main indicator of the quality of elementary education can be visualized in terms of its product - the learners' achievement both in scholastic and co-scholastic areas. The factors associated with success in these areas, which relate to conditions of learning and learning environment, are also sometimes considered as indicators of quality of elementary education. Thus ensuring quality in the inputs and processes becomes necessary if quality achievement is aimed at.

Quality issues in elementary education will revolve around the quality of infrastructure and support services, opportunity time, teacher characteristics and teacher motivation, pre-service and in-service education of teachers, curriculum and teaching-learning materials, classroom processes, pupil evaluation, monitoring and supervision etc. Indeed improvement of quality in these parameters and its sustenance is a matter of grave concern for the whole system of education. There are many issues in this concern, out of those the crucial problem is the development of competency based and contextual teaching-learning material.

Teaching through Self-learning Materials

Teaching through self-learning materials is catching on throughout the world in the developed as well as the developing countries. Elementary education will continue to flourish only by using excellent self-learning competency packages. Considering this fact, this paper discusses the development of self learning material preparation.

Designing and producing an effective learning material is very important to create a great quality learning environment. Competency based self learning material provides an opportunity to learn the subject effectively. A flexible and good quality competency based self learning material provides better understanding of the subject.

There is a positive impact of using self learning materials in all subjects, particularly in language teaching; we could see the positive manifestation of self learning materials. Considering the importance of self learning material, the material production should be considered before Planning, Designing and Producing Materials. Competency based self-learning packages should solve the learners' need as well as it should bridges the gap between the conventional method of learning and self learning. The self learning materials may be in the form of CD ROMS and in the form of books but it should have the quality, user friendliness and flexibility.

Principles for the Preparation of Self-learning Materials

The following good quality principles are expected to follow while preparing the self-learning packages.

• Ground Work
• Range
• Structure and design
• Flexible delivery
• Ingress and Equity
• Content
• Evaluation & Feed Back.

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