ASSIGNING AND CREATING SELF-STUDY MATERIALS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE

Through fostering the use of self-study materials, the role of the educator changes from traditional (as a broadcaster of information, performer, entertainer) to a more modern and innovative one that aligns with digital education. That does not mean that the learners do not need the educator, but that the responsibilities for the learning process put the focus on learners themselves. To use the advantages of self-study materials and to achieve an active role for learners, the educator should be a manager and a facilitator, equipped with different skills. By creating self-study materials, educators are teaching learners how to teach themselves and re-allocating the responsibility of learning to the learner – from dependent to independent. 

The available literature (Chaudhary, 2005; Jayaram and Dorababu, 2015) suggests the following steps in designing self-study materials:

1) Define the access devices

Even though self-studying happens without the presence of an educator, access devices are helping you, the course creator, to come as close to your learner as you possibly can, and the learner to come as close to the content as they can. This makes the content more intimate to the learners and provides a substitute for a live educator. The main access devices are:

• Cover page – identify a suitable and attractive cover design for the course as the cover page also communicates a broader view of the course to the learner.
• Title of the unit – the appropriate title of the unit gives a clear idea about the content of the unit. Try to be as specific about the title so that your learners understand it clearly.
• Structure of the unit – the structure provides the road map of the unit as it contains main sections, sub-sections, and sub-sub-sections of the content. The structure shows what the learners are expected to learn to meet the objectives and shifts their attention towards the subject matter.
• Objectives – list the objectives of the unit in behavioural terms.
• Division of the content – indicate each section distinctly by bold capitals and each sub-section in smaller but bold typeface.
• Illustrations – support the content with different illustrations, diagrams, charts, graphs, photographs to make the course visually interactive and appealing.
• Glossary – create a glossary of keywords, new concepts, and technical expressions relevant to the content, preferably after the summary of the course.
• Instructions – precise instructions as to how to go through the unit, guide your learners.

2) Develop the unit – beginning, the main body of the unit, ending of the unit

Self-studying material should be effective without the direct support of an educator. Developing the unit is important because we have to integrate an educator into its content.

• Beginning of the unit (be clear and decisive on how your learners should approach the unit and guide them through what to expect from the unit):

a) Structure of the unit – distance teaching self-studying materials do not have just one table of contents. The list of the content applies to every unit itself. The list of learning items is called the structure. With the help of clearly defined and arranged sections, sub-sections, and sub-sub-sections, the material is more learner-friendly and easy to follow.

b) Introduction to the unit – you need to welcome, receive and motivate your learners in the introduction. Giving the learners the impression that what they are going to study is easy and manageable, encourages them to interact with the content.

c) Defining the objectives – objectives describe what should a learner be able to do after going through the unit. Defining the objectives is important because we need to identify the outcomes of instruction in terms of observable performance of learners – in pedagogy, we call them learning objectives.

• Main body of the unit (the main body is a place where your most important content is at home, and it consists of a sequence of materials explaining a topic, self-assessment questions, exercises, and different activities):

a) Small steps – divide the content into small manageable learning steps making it easier for the learner to move from one step to another.

b) Logical arrangement – arrange the content logically so that the learners can proceed from one learning point to another like they are climbing the stairs. State the learning points in the unit clearly and link them with others that follow them. This way, the content has continuity and consistency.

c) Order the content for optimal learning – from known to unknown (link the unit with the entry behaviour or previous learner’s experiences to make the learning meaningfully connected with things they already know), from concrete to abstract (start with concrete information and gradually introduce the abstractions using illustrations, demonstrations), from particular to general (discuss a few particular cases before generalizing it into wider concepts), from actual to representative (describe the actual objects or events, use charts, graphs or diagrams if needed).

d) Use a personalised style – write in simple, plain, and clear language! Address the learners by ‘you’ to create a feeling of being paid individual attention. Self-study material should give learners a feeling that they are being taught by an educator even though the educator is not in the room present physically. Make writing personal and interactive to influence the attention and interest, use personal pronouns, adequate humour, and illustrations. 

e) Assess – include in-text questions that include self-check questions, progress checks, exercises, activities, and assignment questions to reinforce learning and provide feedback.

• Ending of the unit (ending of the unit should contain a summary, a glossary, and suggested literature for further reading).