Evaluating ELT materials, with specific reference to Colleges of Applied Sciences General Foundation Programme in Oman :
[Thesis]
Kashoob, Muna
towards a viable checklist
Kashoob, Muna
University of York
2018
Thesis (Ph.D.)
2018
The main question and purpose of this study was to pinpoint a sustainable method on developing an evaluation checklist for teaching materials in the English language programmes. The answer of the main question is rejoined through three sub-questions about the sources for the checklist, identifying the design guidelines and offering a validation method for the developed checklist. Design-based research methodology was utilized through three main phases: analysis and exploration, design and construction and evaluation and reflection where the last phase comprised cycles of formative review of the developed checklist. The participants were purposefully sampled from the six Colleges of Applied Sciences in Oman and other higher education institutions. A report is written after each cycle of formative review (expert review, one -to-one, small group, and field testing) with the recommended changes which led to four revisions and redesigns of the checklist prototype. The results of this study were fourfold. First, a conceptual framework was designed that can be used to develop checklists for the evaluation of teaching materials in the English language programmes. Second, a verified checklist is developed that can be used as both an evaluation & selection instrument as well as a professional development tool. Third, formative review is perceived to be a powerful validation tool for reviewing the developed teaching materials evaluation checklists. Finally, guidelines on how to develop teaching materials evaluation checklists are yielded through the different phases of this study. The use of design-based research facilitated the design and the assessment of the checklist which indicates the necessity of such methodology in the complicated educational milieus with its focus on research, design and setting in unison. Besides the practical results, findings comprised adding new visualization of sources, content and use of teaching materials evaluation checklists. It is concluded that teaching materials evaluation is the main contributor to the students' progression, the practitioners' professional development and the success of the English language programmes as a whole.