Page 205 - Making Instruction Work

chap 16 3/11/97 5:10 PM Page 191

tryout 191

8. When the tryout is finished, thank the tester profusely,
and be sure to add the tester’s name to the list of those
who helped in shaping the instruction. Be sure to spell
the name correctly.

For Instructor-Led Courses

If yours is mainly an instructor-led (lecture-driven) course,
the tryout pattern is somewhat different.

1. Find a colleague willing to help.

2. Ask the colleague to compare each of your lesson plans
to its objective and answer the following questions:

a. Will students be shown the module objective in terms
they will understand?

b. Will the importance of the module be explained or
demonstrated?

c. Is practice offered in the objective? Is feedback
offered?

d. Does there appear to be more content than needed?
Less? About the right amount?

e. Will students be doing something other than listening
to the instructor for more than 50 percent of the
time?
Notice that this procedure does not ask your colleague to
dictate or in any way interfere with your style or method of
instruction. It merely provides an external pair of eyes that will
help you to spot the holes you may have missed while putting
the modules together.