Hello and welcome. My name is Renee and together we'll be exploring the topic of
resources. Having worked in teaching and training since 1983 I've had the
opportunity to deliver training and work with teachers in Asia, Africa and Europe.
I've been lucky enough to observe teachers giving lessons by making use of whatever
they had at hand in under-resourced schools, and watching teachers who were
resource rich and spoilt for choice. What I've learned is that no matter where you
teach,
a carefully selected and well-used resource can make all the difference to
the learner and it definitely makes us better teachers.
In these videos I'll be sharing with you some of what I've learned and why I feel so
passionately about the topic. Currently I live and work in the Czech Republic but
I'm originally from South Africa where we like to say, 'Eat your elephant with a
teaspoon.' I should point out that we don't actually eat elephants but we find
it helpful when faced with a big task to think of it in smaller, manageable
bite-size chunks.
Our topic is vast so in these six short videos I'll be guiding you through the
topic of resources in easy, manageable bite-size chunks. I'll be giving you some
guidance, sharing some practical and easy to implement resource ideas, as well as a
little theory, and hopefully giving you some food for thought.
Teachers most frequently ask me, 'Are resources really necessary? How do I know
if a resource is good or bad? How do I know if it will work with my class?
How can I cut down on the time I spend preparing resources?
How do I get good use out of a resource I spent time preparing? And can you
recommend some resources I can use with a variety of classes?'
So in the videos I'll be mainly addressing these. In video two I'll be
defining for you what a resource is, and in video three we'll explore how resources
support learning. In video four we'll look at what a good resource is,
and in video five I'll share how to use a resource portfolio. In video six I'll be
giving you some versatile ideas for activities with resources that you can
easily replicate. Remember to watch out for my top tip at the end of each video.
Broadly speaking a resource is anything that can be used to aid teaching and
learning in our classrooms. So, anything that complements or is supplementary to
our core or prescribed books or materials. If you look carefully you'll see that
resources are all around us and within reach, no matter where or who we are, or
teach. It isn't about having costly things or even access. It's about using what you
have at hand and turning it into a meaningful activity or task. Ultimately,
anything can become a useful resource, which is one reason why I'm such a
passionate advocate. It just takes a bit of imagination or some smart adaptation.
What I like about resources is how versatile they are. We can use them for
presenting new language or a skill, as well as for practising. In fact, we can
use them for all four skills: reading, writing, speaking and listening. And for
all our learners, no matter their age or level.
I find some resources very helpful for classroom management and establishing
cohesion and team building as they allow my learners to work together and support
each other, while other resources are good for fostering independence, creativity and
critical thinking because they allow my learners to work at their own pace, solve
problems and make connections.
Resources help my planning and support my teaching because they engage my learners,
ensuring my lessons are more targeted and by allowing the learning to be more
exploratory. They allow my students to make the personal connections so necessary
for their learning. And a well-chosen resource saves me time during class,
allowing me to spend more of my lesson monitoring and giving feedback, two things
that are essential to good teaching and support learning. Ultimately for me then,
resources make teaching more effective, efficient and fun, which makes the
learning so much more motivating. And if every lesson is essentially about
something taught and something learned, then resources help me meet my lesson aims and
outcomes.
So, hopefully you are now ready to learn more about managing resources. Thank you,
and enjoy the rest of the videos.