Source - SADC-REEP€¦ · Source book 4: Development, ... Nazmeen Parbottea, Khemraj Sooknah and Rajendri Vythelingum-Kistnasamy (Mauritius); Augusto Dimande (Mozambique); Graeme

Development, adaptation and use

of learning support materials

In support of environmental and sustainability education processes

COURSE DEVELOPERS’ TOOLKIT

Sour

ce B

ook

4

ISBN: 1-919991-34-4

Southern Africa is challenged by many environmental and development issues. Education has been identifi ed as an important response to environment and

development issues. These source books have been developed to support course developers to strengthen aspects of course development in support

of environmental and sustainability education processes.

There are fi ve source books in this series:

Source book 1: Deliberating curriculum frameworks in adult learningSource book 2: Supporting adult learning and tutoring Source book 3: Course materials development for adult learning Source book 4: Development, adaptation and use of learning support materials Source book 5: Course evaluation in adult education programmes

The sourcebooks draw on the experience of a range of course developers in southern Africa, and are an output of the SADC Course Development Network, established by

the SADC Regional Environmental Education Programme in 1999, and funded by Sida. The Course Development Network was strengthened with additional partnership

funding and technical support from Danida between 2001-2004. Course experiences informing the books are drawn from a range of southern African country contexts including: Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mauritius and South Africa (amongst others). The source books therefore provide a regional

vantage point on issues of transforming education to address Africa’s socio-ecological and development questions.

The source books are produced at the start of the United Nations Decade on Education for Sustainable Development, and aim to provide inspiration and

support to other course developers who are trying to mainstream environment and sustainability into universities, colleges and other life-long learning courses.

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DEVELOPMENT,ADAPTATION AND USE

OF LEARNINGSUPPORT MATERIALS

In support of environmental andsustainability education processes

Source Book 4COURSE DEVELOPERS’ TOOLKIT

SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY

REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION PROGRAMME

2006

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This sourcebook was compiled by:

The Southern African Development CommunityRegional Environmental Education Programme

Compiling authors:

Vladimir Russo, Heila Lotz-Sisitka

Case stories and comments provided by:

Joaquina Caetano (Angola); Doreen McColaugh and Emmanuel Otsogile (Botswana); Bontle Mokotso (Lesotho);Andrew Chipanga (Malawi); Asha Hurnath, Soobeeraj Locknauth, Nazmeen Parbottea, Khemraj Sooknah andRajendri Vythelingum-Kistnasamy (Mauritius); Augusto Dimande (Mozambique); Graeme Wilson (Namibia);Lyn Bastienne, Mariette Esparon and Jeanette Larue (Seychelles); Sibonelo Mbanjwa, Nomalungelo Nduna,

Edgar Neluvhalani, Rob O’Donoghue, Janis O’Grady and Ingrid Timmermans (South Africa);Steven Dlamini (Swaziland); Bartholomew Tarimo (Tanzania); George Muwowo and

Justin Lupele (Zambia); Naison Bhunhu and Philip Manyaza (Zimbabwe);and other environmental education practitioners from the SADC region.

Other contributions by:

Mumsie Gumede, Elizabeth Martens, Lausanne Olvitt and Jim Taylorfrom the SADC Regional Environmental Education Centre

The SADC Regional Environmental Education Programme is grateful to theSwedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) for their ongoing support.

A small part of this research was also supported by the South African National Research Foundation (NRF),through its Environmental Learning and Curriculum Programme.

Suggested reference:

Lotz-Sisitka, H. and Russo, V. 2003. Development, Adaptation and Use of Learning Support Materials.In support of environmental education processes. SADC Regional Environmental Education Programme

Course Developers’ Toolkit. Howick, Share-Net.

ISBN: 1-874891-83-4

First published in April 2003 bySADC Regional Environmental Education Programme, Howick, Republic of South Africa.

This edition published in 2006.

Any reproduction of this publication in full, or in part, must mention the titleand credit the above mentioned publisher as copyright owner.

Further copies may be obtained from the SADC Regional Environmental Education Centre.

Proofreading by Kim Ward

Cover design by Katie Farrington

Pencil illustrations by Leslie Brink

Composition and layout by Dudu Coelho

Printed by Share Net

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Environmental Education Programme (REEP) is a project of the SADC Secretariat’s Food,Agriculture and Natural Resources (FANR) Directorate. The Programme is funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)

and the Danish International Development Agency (Danida), and is being implemented by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA).

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Contents

Preface v

1 Learning support materials and environmental learning

How have approaches to materials development changed? 1

How are learning support materials being used? 3

Why should we consider environmental learning processes? 5

2 Developing and adapting learning support materials

Learning support materials and environmental learning 7

How can research contribute to the materials development process? 8

Can adaptation of existing materials enhance the materials development process? 10

Evaluating materials for re-development 12

How does purpose and context influence the design of learning support materials? 13

How can a consideration of language influence the development of learning 17support materials?

How can one foster participation in the development of learning support 20materials?

How can pilot testing, monitoring and evaluation contribute to materials 24development?

Conclusion 25

3 Using learning support materials

How can the design of learning support materials influence learning? 27

How can the use of learning support materials influence learning? 32

How does the educator’s choice influence the use of learning support materials? 34

How can we monitor the use of learning support materials? 38

Conclusion 39

4 Technical aspects

How can one approach the editing of texts? 41

How can one approach illustration of the text? 43

How and when should one consider layout, printing and costs? 45

How does one deal with copyright issues? 48

How should one acknowledge other contributions? 49

How should one consider distribution and access to the materials? 49

What is an ISBN and an ISSN? 50

Conclusion 51

Appendix A: Budget Framework 53

References 55

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Preface

In 1993, the Southern African Development Community’s Environment and LandManagement Sector (SADC ELMS) initiated a programme to support environmentaleducation processes in the southern African region. The SADC Regional Environmen-tal Education Programme (REEP) was established in 1997 at Umgeni Valley, in SouthAfrica. The purpose of the programme is:

To enable networking partners, at all levels, to strengthen environmental educa-tion processes for equitable and sustainable development in the SADC region,through improved networking, resource material production and increased train-ing capacity.

The SADC REEP has hosted hundreds of visiting practitioners, and has run numeroustraining programmes. It has an established networking process and has supported thedevelopment of a wide range of learning support materials. Through a Course Devel-opers Network, the programme also supports a number of course developers workingto change learning programmes and curricula in formal and non-formal adult educa-tion settings.

Regional source books

Since 1999 the programme, mainly through its Course Developers Network, has beenworking to develop a series of source books that have a regional focus and function.These source books share experience from across the southern African region andprovide openings and starting points for new environmental education practitionersjoining the activities of the SADC REEP or other environmental education networks orprogrammes.

This book forms part of a series of source books. Its particular focus is on the develop-ment, adaptation and use of learning support materials. In producing this source book,the SADC REEP acknowledges the important role that learning support materials playin supporting environmental learning in the SADC region; in including it in the CourseDevelopers Toolkit, the SADC REEP acknowledges the important role that learningsupport materials play in contextualising learning in courses.

The regional source books have two important features:

They are regional, in the sense that they draw on the experience of a wide rangeof environmental education practitioners in the SADC region. The frameworksfor the books have been developed through deliberations hosted by, or at, theSADC REEP. They draw on case examples of practice from practitioners in thesouthern African region.

They provide a synthesis of existing experience. The books are therefore repre-sentative of the theory and practice in environmental education in the southernAfrican region at a particular time. This theory and practice is, however, open tochange. The source books therefore remain open-ended, in that they provideopen questions to guide ongoing practice. New experiences can be developedthrough using the source books and these experiences can be shared with theSADC REEP for inclusion into the books next time they are revised.

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DEVELOPMENT, ADAPTATION AND USE OF LEARNING SUPPORT MATERIALS

vi

SOURCE BOOKS IN THE SADC REEP’SCOURSE DEVELOPERS TOOLKIT

Source book 1: Deliberating curriculum frameworks in adult learning

Source book 2: Supporting adult learning and tutoring

Source book 3: Course materials development for adult learning

Source book 4: Development, adaptation and use of learning supportmaterials

Source book 5: Course evaluation in adult education programmes

These source books all support environmental and sustainability education processes.

The source books are supported by a Monograph, which reports on cases of environmental and

sustainability education course development in southern Africa.

Developing this source book

The source books draw on the experiences of many environmental educators in theSADC region. Through its work in the region, the SADC REEP has been able to collecta wide range of case stories, which were used to compile the first draft of this sourcebook. These were shared, discussed and expanded during a three-day workshop heldat the SADC REEP in November 2002 and involving participants from thirteen coun-tries. Further inputs were sought through e-mail and in a range of other forums. Thecontent and framework of the book have therefore been widely deliberated in theregion.

The book also draws on experience and research in the development, adaptation anduse of learning support materials in southern Africa. This experience and researchpointed to a tendency to neglect a clear focus on learning support when developingmaterials. With research recommendations all pointing to the need for a strongerfocus on the learning processes that take place (see for example Parker & Murray, 1999;Bakobi & Russo, 2000; Janse van Rensburg & Lotz-Sisitka, 2000; Mbanjwa, 2002;Lupele, 2003), the SADC REEP focused its attention not only on the development ofmaterials, but also on the way in which learning support materials are used. Thisinterest in enhancing both the development and use of learning support materials inenvironmental education provides the rationale for the development of this sourcebook.

Objectives of the source book

The main objective of this source book is to provide an enabling framework for thedevelopment, adaptation and use of learning support materials that foster and en-hance environmental learning within different educational programmes and con-texts.

A further objective of the book is to provide insight into participatory approaches tolearning support materials development, and how learning support materials can beenhanced through the ongoing monitoring and evaluation of their use.

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Through the sharing of case stories, the source book also serves as a networking toolfor environmental education practitioners in the region. Readers are encouraged tomake contact with others working on similar questions, and to share experiences andmaterials where appropriate.

Intended users of the source book

This source book is intended for use by a cross-section of adult learners and teachersof environmental education in southern Africa. This includes teachers, practitioners,academics and educationists, as well as environmental education officers at variousinstitutions (if, for example, they have materials development tasks to complete, or ifthey are trying to support the use of materials for learning).

The source book is also intended for use by course developers, who are working withadult learners. The book can also be used by textbook writers and publishers, andothers involved in the production and dissemination of learning support materials.

How to use the source book

There are many different ways of using this source book. The following are someideas that might be useful.

Use the book for resource-based learning in courses

Resource-based learning in courses simply means using learning support materials tofacilitate and support learning in courses. For example, in developing a teacher educa-tion course in the National University of Lesotho, Tsepo Mokuku developed a set oflearning support materials that could be used by his students to complete their field-work and to explore biodiversity issues. When designing courses, therefore, it is oftenuseful to identify resources that can be used to supplement and extend normal coursematerials or course notes. The benefit of this approach is that learners learn how to usea range of learning support materials in their own teaching. It also provides variety, aswell as scaffolding for key concepts or themes, and helps to foster active learning. Forexample, in Grahamstown, South Africa, Ingrid Timmermans used some water qual-ity test kits to encourage students to investigate water pollution in their environmen-tal issues module. The book can also be used to assist adult learners on courses todevelop learning support materials.

Use the book to run a course on the development,adaptation and use of learning support materials

The book can also be used as the basis for a course, or professional developmentprogramme, on the development, adaptation and use of learning support materials.For example, at the SADC REEP, a one-week attachment has been run on materialsdevelopment, and the source book has provided guidelines and information that couldbe used in this course. The structure of the book provides a useful framework for sucha course. It covers (a) trends associated with the development and use of learningsupport materials, (b) practical aspects of developing and adapting learning supportmaterials, (c) insights into how to plan for better use of materials, and (d) technicalinformation on how to produce materials. The many case studies and practical ‘tips’can provide useful advice for those wanting to learn more about the development,adaptation and use of learning support materials.

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Use the book to guide the development, adaptationand use of learning support materials

Use the book when planning a materials development project. It provides many ideasand insight that can usefully inform materials development initiatives. Similarly, ifyou have located some materials (e.g. posters or pamphlets) and want to use them tosupport learning, you could consult the book (see for example, the section on how toplan for better use of materials).

Structure of the source book

This source book is divided into four sections. Users can start with any section accord-ing to their needs or concerns. Educators developing learning support materials can,for example, consult the technical section (section 4) to consider the technical aspectsof the materials. At the same time, they may need to consider the potential use of thelearning support materials (section 3) and some of the issues they will need to con-sider when developing the materials (section 2).

For those developing learning support materials for the first time, it is advisable toread all sections and to consider the different questions in relation to own practice.

Section 1 provides a brief introduction to key trends associated with the developmentand use of learning support materials. It provides a useful starting point for thinkingabout some of the broader issues associated with learning support materials. All edu-cators are encouraged to read this section.

Section 2 covers the development and adaptation of learning support materials. Itfocuses on research, context, purpose and use of appropriate language and learningprocesses, and how these influence materials. Participatory approaches to developinglearning support materials, as well as the need for pilot testing and ongoing monitor-ing and evaluation, are also discussed.

Section 3 considers ways of using learning support materials to foster environmentallearning. Selection of materials, how educators mediate learning, and choice of learn-ing support materials is emphasised. Monitoring the use of learning support materialsis also discussed.

Section 4 focuses on the technical aspects that need to be considered in the develop-ment and adaptation of learning support materials. These include editing, layout,printing and the use of illustrations and photographs. Other important aspects dis-cussed here include copyright legislation, acknowledgements, the financial implica-tions of printing and distributing materials, and the importance of registration forbiographical listing.

Open-ended source books

The source books are open-ended: we invite course developers and environmentaleducation practitioners in the region to continue sharing their experience, by addingnew experiences and examples of practice to this collection. This source book is per-haps best seen as providing the initial capital for ongoing deliberation on the subjectof developing adapting and using learning support materials in environmental educa-tion.

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BRIEF ORIENTATIONTO THE SECTIONS IN THIS SOURCE BOOK

Section 1: Broad orientation to key trends associated with thedevelopment and use of learning support materials. (see page 1)

Section 2: Issues to consider in the development and adaptation oflearning support materials. (see page 7)

Section 3: Considering the use of learning support materials for fosteringenvironmental learning. (see page 27)

Section 4: Clarification of technical aspects of materials development. (seepage 41)

Each section has a set of questions that can guide deliberation. The questions also help to link the ideas

in the source book to practice.

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1 LEARNING SUPPORT MATERIALS AND ENVIRONMENTAL LEARNING○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

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1Learning support materialsand environmental learning

In this source book the term ‘learning support materials’ is used to highlight the im-portance, when developing materials in the field of environmental education, of con-sidering how these materials can be used to foster or support environmental learning.This section provides insight into trends associated with the development and use oflearning support materials. It also includes a brief discussion on environmental learn-ing processes.

How have approaches tomaterials development changed?

Early methods of developing learning support materials included ‘top-down’, ‘expert-driven’ and ‘package-centred’ approaches which almost exclusively emphasised therole of the expert in deciding what had to be included in different materials, and howthey had to be used. These approaches are still in use today (and are sometimes —but not always — appropriate). They assume that materials development is an activ-ity conducted only by ‘experts’ and are based on a narrow view of what counts asvalid ‘expertise’ in materials development work.

The RDDA (Research-Design-Disseminate-Adopt) approach (Robottom 1987) proposesthat materials should be developed by experts and disseminated to schools, commu-nities and centres, where they are to be adopted and used by educators and learners.While it is often criticised for social engineering, the RDDA approach is often the mostcost- and time-effective.

In attempting to respond to some of the issues arising in RDDA-style materials devel-opment initiatives, educators started exploring more participatory approaches. Par-ticipatory orientations to materials development became popular in southern Africanenvironmental education in the 1990s (see, for example, McNaught et al 1990;O’Donoghue & McNaught 1991; Lotz 1996; Taylor 1997; Mbanjwa 2002; Lupele 2003).The rationale for this shift was based on the fact that prevailing approaches to mate-rials development showed a lack of consultation and often imposed a ‘recipe’ thatwas not sufficiently responsive to context or to learners’ needs. These approaches did

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not provide room for users to evaluate and critically review the materials in adaptiveuse with groups of learners (O’Donoghue & McNaught 1991).

Another response to the dominance of RDDA approaches to materials developmentin southern Africa was the establishment of Share-Net, an informal and collaborativenetwork for the development of learning support materials (Taylor & Janse van Rensburg2002). This network currently supports the production of low-cost learning supportmaterials for the SADC Regional Environmental Education Programme. Its aim is tobe responsive to diverse environmental issues and risks, and to provide a supportiveenvironment in which learning support materials can be developed.

Valuable lessons have been learned over the past ten years, key amongst them beingthe manner in which participatory orientations to materials development enable learn-ing support materials to become more relevant to learners and more responsive tocontext. Through these processes, more people have become involved in establishingframeworks for learning (Taylor & Russo 2002). This has enabled environmental edu-cation in the region to become more deliberative, interactive and action-centred.

Some problems may occur, however, when participation is overemphasised, and whenparticipatory materials development is based on a somewhat blind faith in ‘participa-tion’ as an end in itself. In some cases, participation in the materials developmentprocess becomes a priority and a key focus; yet it appears that when participatoryprocesses are overemphasised, other key issues in learning support materials devel-opment are marginalised — such as the importance of considering how the materialswill foster learning. Similar problems occur when there is an excessive emphasis onthe final product and on its technical details, without enough consideration of associ-ated learning processes.

The trend towards overemphasising participation has led to problems associated withthe quality, purpose and use of learning support materials. Problems relating to qualityand purpose arise when attempts to incorporate everyone’s ideas and comments(while helpful in creating focus, relevance and contextual substance) lead to dilemmasas to how to represent many different viewpoints — which, paradoxically, often leadto a lack of focus in the materials. Time constraints can also become a problem, asparticipatory processes are often very time-consuming.

These and other problems arising in participatory materials development processeshave led to a search for greater rigour in participatory approaches. The role of theexpert is being reconsidered as different kinds of expertise are recognised and clari-fied (for example, language and editorial expertise, local knowledge expertise, histori-cal or scientific expertise, artistic expertise, management expertise, etc.) within thematerials development process (see Lupele 2003). The pursuit of greater rigour inparticipatory approaches is also being expressed in the need for clear goals to be setcollaboratively, at the start of materials development projects, with clear time framesand expectations.

There is also evidence of a ‘mixing’ of RDDA approaches and participatory approaches,particularly when large-scale dissemination strategies are complemented with locallyrelevant interactions and adaptation strategies. The search for greater rigour in par-ticipatory approaches and the ‘mixing’ of various approaches require a clearer viewof the different roles that different people might play in developing and adaptinglearning support materials.

A review of materials developed in the context of the SADC REEP work and otherprofessional settings — undertaken to identify cases for this source book — indicatesthat a number of contemporary trends are evident in the field of environmental edu-cation learning support materials development and use.


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The development of learning support materials has emerged in response to en-vironmental issues, opportunities and articulated needs in particular situations(e.g. School Environmental Policy Pack in South Africa and Soil Erosion booklet inMozambique);

There is ongoing review and revision of learning support materials based onfield-based research and use with a view to improving them (e.g. Year of SpecialDays booklet in South Africa and Angola);

Partnership orientations to the development and use of learning support materi-als are emerging in many countries (e.g. Chongololo materials from the Wildlifeand Environmental Conservation Society of Zambia and the Cholera Test Kits inSouth Africa);

There are attempts to use materials available in the local environment morewidely, and in combination with printed and nationally distributed materials(e.g. the Hands On series and How To series produced by Share-Net);

Learning support materials are beginning to reflect broader perspectives on en-vironmental issues and risks, and support action-centred approaches to environ-mental learning (e.g. Enviro Picture Building games produced by Share-Net andby Rossing Foundation/Ministry of Basic Education and Culture in Namibia); and

There is a broadening of views of what can be regarded as learning supportmaterials.

The above trends provide perspectives on how one might approach the developmentof learning support materials. Of significance too, are trends associated with the wayin which the materials are used.

How are learning support materials being used?

The review of materials development processes conducted to inform this source book,and the range of cases of materials development initiatives collected for the book,provide evidence that materials development processes tend to neglect considerationof how the materials will be used. Learning support materials are often viewed asproducts that are detached from the learning process. This may lead to acommoditisation of learning support materials, where they are seen as ‘objects’ or‘commodities’. The relationship between product and process is often neglected.

Problems associated with a lack of clarity about how learning processes take place —and with a lack of reflexivity in considering the role of learning support materials inthose processes — have led, in some cases, to the trivialisation of materials. An exam-ple is the ‘adoption’ of existing materials without a clarification of the learning proc-esses associated with their use. A further example is the ‘adoption’, in the developmentof new materials, of ready-made diagrams and illustrations without appropriatelyadapting them to the intended learning processes. This could lead to the reification ofdiagrams and illustrations.

Learning support materials are often ‘adopted’ and used in ways that are inappropri-ate to the context for which they are intended. Content may also be misunderstood,or learning support materials may not be appropriate for a particular learner group.Adoption without meaningful and careful adaptation can be problematic.

There is little research evidence that illuminates and reflects on how learning supportmaterials are used in environmental education (see Mbanjwa 2002). Mbanjwa’s re-search (2002) into the use of learning support materials in environmental educationfound that issues related to the role of language in learning, and the significance of

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meaning-making interactions — such as processes of dialogue, encounter, reflectionin contexts of action taking — need to be explored by those involved in materialsdevelopment. His research also points to the important role played by the educator asmediator of learning processes. In particular, the educators’ ability to select appropri-ate learning support materials, and their ability to recognise the need for adaptive useof materials in context with different learner groups, appears to be an important di-mension of the educators’ mediation role (Mbanjwa 2002). In a research study con-ducted for the Department of Education in South Africa, Lotz-Sisitka and Raven (2001)found that educators tended to select ‘easy’ materials, leading to learning outcomesof poor quality.

Critical engagement with issues associated with the use of learning support materialsin environmental education indicates the need for an in-depth understanding of learningprocesses and the development of reflexive orientations to the use of materials. Thismeans that educators should develop the skills to review the way in which they areusing the materials. Another way of considering how learning support materials areused is through observing how environmental education practitioners use differentmaterials in different contexts or situations. In one case, an environmental educationpractitioner used a digital camera to ‘capture’ different facets of a learning processwhere learners were using learning support materials. These pictures were sharedwith the learners, enabling reflection on how the materials were being used (Olvitt2002).

Mobilising prior knowledge and experience

What do we alreadyknow?

What do we need tofind out?

Who can we contactfor help?

How will weinvestigate the issue?

What can we report onthe issue?

What can we do?

Developing insights and competence for making better environmentalmanagement and lifestyle choices

Tuning in

Focusing

FOCUSQUESTION

12

3

Resourcing REA

iInf

ormation Seeking

Enquiry

Enc

ounte

rs Reporting Ideas

Action Taking

Prob

lemConcern

Risk

FOCUSFOCUS

Makingconcludingconnections

What do we now know and what have weachieved towards sustaining alternatives?

Figure 1:Figure 1:Figure 1:Figure 1:Figure 1: Active learning framework (adapted from O’Donoghue 2001)


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A focus on resource-based learning approaches is assisting environmental educators toconsider how learning support materials are used to foster environmental learning(Czerniewicz et al 2000; Janse van Rensburg & Lotz-Sisitka 2000; Lotz-Sisitka & Raven2001; Ringdahl & O’Donoghue 2002). This approach involves adaptive use of learn-ing support materials in context. It also involves ongoing reflexive review of how thematerials foster or enhance environmental learning.

Why should we considerenvironmental learning processes?

The above trends associated with the development and use of learning support mate-rials in environmental education draws attention to the importance of developing aclear understanding of environmental learning processes. According to O’Donoghue(2001), environmental learning involves a balance of cultural induction and criticalreflection. This takes place within open processes of active learning that involve find-ing out about environmental issues and risks, undertaking investigations in the envi-ronment, and taking action in response to environmental issues and risks (see Figure1). Reporting on information seeking, enquiry and action taking encounters is animportant dimension of this process (ibid). These non-linear, open-ended learningprocesses can be supported and enhanced with the use of relevant learning supportmaterials (Taylor & Janse van Rensburg 2002).

O’Donoghue and Janse van Rensburg (1995) drew attention to the trend towards moreparticipatory, more local and more action-centred approaches to environmental edu-cation (see Figure 2). They noted that methods associated with this trend involvelearners in diverse encounter (hands-on), dialogue (discussion) and reflection (think-ing) processes.

Language, interaction and meaning-making in context are important dimensions ofenvironmental learning associated with this trend towards active learning. When de-veloping and using learning support materials, therefore, language, context, and theway in which the materials may foster interaction and meaning-making in context,are important questions to consider in both the development and use of learning sup-port materials (see sections 2 and 3).

The trends outlined in this section provide a ‘backdrop’, or historical context, for therest of this source book. These trends will be expanded upon and clarified throughoutsections 2, 3 and 4, with reference to different case stories.

Figure 2:Figure 2:Figure 2:Figure 2:Figure 2: Dialogue–Encounter–Reflection (O’Donoghue and Janse van Rensburg 1995)

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KEY QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHEN DEVELOPINGOR USING LEARNING SUPPORT MATERIALS

How have approaches to materials development changed? How does this influence

my plans?

How are learning support materials being used? How does this influence my plans?

What environmental learning processes should I consider in planning my materials?

2 DEVELOPING AND ADAPTING LEARNING SUPPORT MATERIALS○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

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2Developing and adaptinglearning support materials

In this source book, learning support materials are viewed as any educational re-sources or materials — such as books, booklets, CD ROMs, posters, science kits andcomputer-based materials — that may be used to foster environmental learning indifferent contexts. When used effectively in the context of learners and local environ-mental issues and/or risks, learning support materials should provide an adequateframework for guiding teaching and learning interactions. They can also provide astructured framework for planning and implementing learning programmes(Czerniewicz et al 2000).

Learning support materialsand environmental learning

The process of developing and adapting learning support materials is often viewedsimply in technical terms. While technical issues are important in their development,so are a range of other issues. When attention is given to the technical aspects of mate-rials development the focus tends to be on the end product. In the SADC REEP, atten-tion has been given to the processes associated with materials development initiatives.

Processes of planning, acting and reflecting on how and why the materials are devel-oped in certain ways enable a reflexive orientation to the development of learningsupport materials. These processes encourage materials developers to think abouthow the learning support materials are likely to be used. Lotz-Sisitka and Raven(2001:48) emphasise the importance of considering how and why the materials aredeveloped in certain ways — rather than focusing only on the technical aspects of thefinal product — in relation to learning processes. They note that a focus on process inmaterials development is likely to enable environmental educators to better under-stand the pedagogical assumptions and approaches which inform and underpin thelearning support materials they use (ibid).

This section describes how environmental educators in southern Africa have consid-ered the process of developing materials. The case stories illustrate the importance of

See Section 4 for more details ontechnical aspects of materialsdevelopment.

See Section 3 for some examplesof how EE learning supportmaterials are being used insouthern Africa.

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‘planning, acting and reflecting’ in materials development processes, and indicatehow some environmental educators in SADC have considered how:

research contributes to the materials development process;

purpose and context influence the design of the materials;

language issues (including translation) influence the design of the materials;

participation can be fostered in the materials development process; and

pilot testing, monitoring and evaluation can form part of the process.

How can research contribute tothe materials development process?

Relevant research — be it ‘formal, academic’ research or more ‘informal’ and less‘academic’ — contributes greatly to the materials development process. Some mate-rials developers, for example, would undertake a formal ‘needs analysis’ prior to thedevelopment of a set of materials. In a regional context, WWF Zambia conductedresearch to compile ‘contextual profiles’ of two communities to inform the materialsdevelopment work being undertaken in these communities (Lupele 2003). These con-textual profiles provided useful insights into the issues being confronted by the com-munities; the social dynamics of the communities; language and literacy issues; andother useful historical insights. This process assisted with the materials developmentwork. Research can also assist materials developers to move beyond their own (some-times blind or narrow) assumptions. Research can take place in many different ways,and for different purposes, as illustrated by the cases below:

Research and planning

Research is an integral part of planning in materials development; both are impor-tant to ensure high quality materials that are useful and relevant. Research informsand shapes the content of the learning support materials. A good start is to conductthorough research into the area or topic that forms the focus of the materials. Forexample, if the materials are to focus on deforestation, it would be important to findout as much as you can about deforestation before you start. Research also involvesundertaking an audit of available information and materials in order to avoid duplica-tion. If a good booklet already exists on deforestation, it would seem superfluous todevelop another, similar one.

Research should also consider the scope of the materials. Will your booklet have anational scope (i.e. be useful nationally), or a place-specific scope (e.g. deforestationin a specific village context)? Research also involves considering more practical,logistical issues — who is available to assist you; how much funding is available; arethere any printing groups that could assist with the printing, etc. This research in-volves considering human and financial resources (see Appendix A – Budget).

Research as an ongoing process

Research is not, however, confined to the start of the materials development process,as we are able to learn from a case story in Mozambique. The Mozambican Ministryfor Coordination of Environmental Affairs identified the need for a booklet on soilerosion. In the beginning, all the materials developers involved in this project con-ducted research in all provinces in Mozambique. No structure or guidelines were pro-vided to guide their research, and each individual used different approaches to research


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soil erosion in their particular province. Most of the research conducted in the earlyphase of the project focused on the biophysical aspects of soil erosion. Through ongo-ing research, the materials developers were able to broaden their research to con-sider how social and economic factors contributed to issues of soil erosion in theirprovinces. As they progressed, they were also able to define a common framework toguide their research into the issue.

Research to find out what is needed

Besides contributing to the content of the materials, research can also assist withidentifying which materials are needed. In Zimbabwe, Naison Bhunhu from Action,an environmental, health and development education project, works with educationofficials in the region to identify priorityareas for incorporation into the magazinesthat Action produces (see Figure 3). Ac-tion also conducts research with schoolpupils and teachers to brainstorm the top-ics to be covered by the magazine, as wellas the content (such as text, illustrations,relationship to the current syllabi). Thisresearch informs the development of themagazines.

Research to find out moreabout a learner group

Research can provide useful insights intothe learner groups that are likely to usethe materials. Action Magazine in Zimba-bwe develops materials for upper primaryand lower secondary school pupils, rang-ing from 12 to 15 years, and their teach-ers. They conduct research on an ongoingbasis to find out more about these learnergroups and how they are responding to the materials. In this process, they learn moreabout the social, emotional, physical and intellectual characteristics of their learnergroup — and this, in turn, informs the development of their materials.

Research to establish why materials are needed

Research can help to clarify if there is need for the particular materials that you havein mind, and how the materials will ‘fit in’ or extend the curriculum, course pro-gramme, campaign or professional development activity. For example, Graeme Wilson,in Namibia, was asked to develop booklets to support educational programmes intwo Namibian parks. In his research, he firstly identified why the materials wereneeded in the two parks (to assist with educational interpretation). He then researchedthe needs of the parks (large mammals for Etosha and plant life for Waterberg Pla-teau), and how the materials could be used in learning programmes within theNamibian school curriculum.

Sharing the research work

The way one approaches research is often influenced by the topic or focus of theresearch. In a South African case, Elizabeth Martens, from the Wildlife and Environ-ment Society of South Africa (WESSA), was commissioned to develop an eight-page

Figure 3:Figure 3:Figure 3:Figure 3:Figure 3: Action magazine

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booklet for World Wetlands Day, for a gov-ernment department (see Figure 4). Thedepartment wanted the booklet to includeindigenous stories on wetlands and to fo-cus on the cultural value of wetlands. Dueto the complexity of the issue, she dividedthe research amongst the four people in-volved in developing the booklet. In thisway she was able to draw on their differ-ent expertise. The areas of research in-cluded wetlands, indigenous knowledge,agriculture and tourism in South Africa.The research was conducted before andthroughout the process of developing thebooklet and the researchers were able todiscuss the ongoing collaborative devel-opment of the materials.

All of the examples outlined above illus-trate the need for research at the start ofthe materials development process (dur-

ing the planning phase) and for ongoing research while developing or adapting thematerials. They also illustrate the fact that research is an integral part of the materi-als development process. Research can provide insight into the learner groups youmay work with; the content of the materials; how the materials ‘fit in’ a bigger pic-ture/s, and what materials are needed in particular contexts.

How the research is conducted may also influence the materials, as seen in the exam-ples of the Mozambique soil erosion booklet research, and the research conducted forthe World Wetlands Day booklet. Taylor notes that ongoing collaborative research canprovide “… an opportunity to critically discuss the material being produced in a fo-cused, tangible way,” a process that enhances learning (Taylor 1997:108).

Can adaptation of existing materialsenhance the materials development process?

A common myth in materials development work is that all materials are developed‘from scratch’. Most materials developers will, at the start of a materials developmentinitiative, look around for other materials that are similar in focus or style, or materialsthat have been developed for a similar learner group. Materials developers often adaptideas from other materials and contextualise or adapt them in relation to the particu-lar focus of their own materials. Sometimes materials developers will adapt morethan the ideas, using the original text as a basis for developing a new text, as illus-trated in the cases below.

Adapting copyright-free materials

When Geoffrey Tobedza, from the Kalahari Conservation Society of Botswana, at-tended a training course at the SADC Regional EE Centre, his initial idea was to de-velop a manual that could support the development of environmental clubs in schoolsin Botswana. As part of the initial planning process he discussed his ideas with othercourse participants and looked for available information in this area. Instead of ‘start-ing from scratch’, Geoffrey drew on existing information in Share-Net’s How to start a

Figure 4:Figure 4:Figure 4:Figure 4:Figure 4: Wetlands booklet


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wildlife club guide and planned to adapt this for his purposes. In this case he did nothave to worry about copyright issues, as all Share-Net publications are copyright-free.

In planning the development of his booklet, he used Share-Net’s guide for some ideasand planned not only the development of the booklet, but also where he could accessinformation and how the book was going to respond to environmental and othercontextual issues in Botswana. In his planning he also considered how the materialswould be trialled, and later printed. By doing this, Geoffrey had carefully planned thewhole process of developing his manual for the development of environmental clubsin Botswana.

Using an idea to open up new possibilities

A very common example of drawing on existing materials in the SADC Regional Envi-ronmental Education Centre is the development and adaptation of the Share-Net Yearof Special Days booklet to suit the needs of different learners and contexts. Developedinitially in 1997, theSouth African booklethas already beenadapted for Angola,Tanzania, Zambia andZimbabwe (see Figure 5for some examples).The concept of a book-let focusing on environ-mental days has beenused as a starting pointand the existing infor-mation has enabledmaterials developers toopen up different pos-sibilities. For example,the South African book-let has been used tohighlight different environmental days, with the purpose of introducing educators tothe main partner groups providing support. It has also been used (in another form) tointroduce religious links to these special days. In Kenya the booklet was adapted tofocus on biodiversity conservation issues.

Adopting or adapting?

A problem associated with the adaptation of materials arises when materials aresuperficially adapted, or simply ‘adopted’ with little thought given to the context inwhich the materials are likely to be used. Computer technology makes it easy to ‘copyand paste’ and to put together a material that is technically sound. Adapting resourcesto different context requires more work than simply adopting a set of ideas/exam-ples, as the following cases illustrate.

In one case, an educator came across a number of learning support materials andsources of information on soil erosion. Because these materials were readily avail-able, he used them to develop a fact sheet on soil erosion. The main issue in hisregion, however, was illegal hunting and not soil erosion. In another case, an educatordeveloped materials for coastal issues, when his particular province was land-locked.Other examples of uncritical ‘adoption’ include the adoption of models, frameworksand diagrams without considering their meaning or relevance to the text and purposeof the material. Evidence of this comes from one of the island states in the Indian

See Section 4 for moreinformation on copyright issues.

Figure 5:Figure 5:Figure 5:Figure 5:Figure 5: Year of Special Days booklet, Angola and South Africa

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Ocean. A poster developed for use on this island state used illustrations of marineturtles from the Atlantic Ocean, which are quite different from the ones in the IndianOcean.

Evaluating materials for re-development

Making decisions about the adaptation of materials for different contexts usually re-quires careful evaluation. An important dimension of this is checking all the sourcesof information. It is also important to update outdated information and to providemore contextually relevant information. A case story that illustrates some of the proc-esses associated with evaluating materials for adaptation in another country is pro-vided by Doreen McColaugh, an environmental consultant in Botswana. The storyhighlights not only issues related to the adaptation of learning support materials, butalso the importance of deadlines, task distribution, research, use of the materials, therole of the editorial team and some unexpected problems associated with the initia-tive to adapt a set of materials for another country.

In 1991, the Curriculum Development Division of Botswana’s Ministry of Educationaccepted the mandate to infuse environmental education (EE) into the national curricu-lum. At that time there were no trained EE practitioners and no EE learning supportmaterials readily available in the country. Therefore, adaptation of existing, relevantmaterials from the region seemed to be the most efficient way to quickly address notonly the lack of materials, but also the training of a core of EE practitioners through theirparticipation in the process of adapting of materials, and later using those materials.

The EnviroTeach series of resource books had been produced at the Desert ResearchFoundation of Namibia (DRFN), with the sponsorship of Sida. When approached aboutadapting those materials for Botswana, Sida was delighted that the materials wouldhave wider regional use and facilitated the process, in which the DRFN was involved.The University of Botswana’s Environmental Education Project (UBEEP), as the initiatorof the project, organised an adaptation team. Since the original materials were pre-pared for Namibia’s teacher training colleges, we kept the same goal and selected theadaptation team with two participants from each of the six teacher training colleges inBotswana. In addition, the two UBEEP staff, two education officers from the Ministry ofEducation’s Curriculum Development Division and Teacher Training and Development,as well as the director of Mokolodi Nature Reserve’s educational centre filled out theteam.

A week’s workshop for the adapting team was held, with one of the authors of theoriginal EnviroTeach series as the facilitator. Adapters were given the choice of whichbooks they wished to work on. Books and chapters were chosen and specific deadlinesset. The booklets with the fewest changes necessary were finished in a month or twoand printed within another month. This rather speedy process gave inspiration to theteam to work hard and meet their deadlines. Some of the books required extensiveadapting and so were given appropriate deadlines. One of these had about 90% newmaterials and another one was completely new. These were given to the more experi-enced people to do, who worked in teams of two. The adapting team was frequentlycontacted by the UBEEP team to check their progress during the four month deadlines.If they were having trouble in getting the relevant information (for example, how manydams are in the country, where are they located, what is the capacity, etc.), they weregiven additional time to come to Gaborone to get the needed information.

Once the material came into the UBEEP office, the staff of two checked them for cor-rectness of data, language, etc. UBEEP’s responsibility was to prepare camera-readyprintouts of the books, and Teacher Training and Development had them printed atGovernment Printers under the Ministry of Education’s budget. Delays occurred, suchas when the book Tools of the Trade was ready to be picked up on the day that theGovernment Printers building burned to the ground, along with the 2000 copies of thebook. Not only did we lose all copies but the printers were closed for months. However,we did have the series ready for use in the intensive EE training courses and workshopsthat took place in 1999/2000. They formed the core of the training materials.


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In the process of adapting the books we tried to stay within the framework, changingonly those things that needed to be changed to fit the Botswana situation. We did nottry ‘to fix what was not broken’. We kept the original artwork where possible, includingthe covers, and had additional artwork done by the UBEEP staff and by a textbook artist— all as much in the style of the original artwork as possible. These principles, associ-ated with team spirit and clear roles and deadlines, have enabled us to adapt ninebooks of the EnviroTeach series in two series, with some of the UBEEP staff doing it inaddition to their regular schedules and College of Education lecturers doing it in theirspare time.

(Written by McColaugh, November 2002)

The case stories above point to the value of adapting existing materials for use in adifferent context. This often saves time, avoids ‘re-inventing the wheel’, and helps toshare expertise and experience across the region. One issue that needs to be carefullyconsidered when adapting existing materials, however, is that of copyright. GeoffreyTobedza adapted materials that were copyright-free, while in the case of the UBEEPinitiative copyright permission was requested from the original materials developers.A further issue to consider is the difference between adaptation and adoption, particu-larly the uncritical adoption of materials. Evaluation of existing materials to establishhow they need to be adapted provides a useful starting point for the adaptation ofexisting materials.

How does purpose and context influencethe design of learning support materials?

One of the objectives in developing learning support materials is to provide learnerswith information and possibilities for action and participation that can enable them tobetter understand and respond to environmental issues and risks. The purpose of thematerials is thus often closely associated with the context in which they are going tobe used, and this often influences the way in which they are designed.

Purpose and learning support materials design

To understand how the purpose of learning support materials influences their designwe can look at different kinds of materials produced for different purposes, presentedin six ‘categories’ below:

Posters, flyers and fact sheets

This category refers to posters that are often developed and used to create or raiseawareness and to spread information or messages about environmental days, ac-tivities and issues. Examples are the National Water Week, the Water Cycle or theWorld Environment Day posters developed in many countries. For these posters tobe used educationally — not decoratively — some educators have considered dif-ferent designs for them. For example, a Namibian poster on recycling used thereverse side to explain how to use the poster to encourage recycling activities inschools. Once the poster was put on the wall, however, this ‘educational’ informa-tion was lost. In Botswana, educators photocopied the information on the back ofthe poster so that it could be used in teaching and learning interactions. In Mauritiuseducators found that a poster on its own offers limited learning opportunities, andtherefore printed a booklet to complement the poster. These go out to teachersthrough workshops where teachers are introduced to the posters.

The aim of flyers is usually to provide brief and accessible information about envi-ronmental issues, concerns, problems or projects. Produced in different formats,

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they tend to be clear, informative, educational and to the point. Often a great dealof information needs to be consolidated into a small space.

Fact Sheets are similar to flyers in that they are concise and to the point. Theinformation is, however, more factual and refers basically to the nature of an issue,the underlying causes of the issue, its impacts or consequences and possible solu-tions. Fact sheets can also raise questions about what can be done to solve a par-ticular problem or issue.

Posters, flyers and fact sheets are popular with government departments, as largenumbers of people need to be reached through their educational ‘campaigns’ andactivities. The Ministry of Environment in Mauritius, for example, has been involvedin environmental education activities aimed at raising public awareness of environ-mental issues. A massive public awareness campaign was organised which includesthe development and distribution of posters and flyers. They include, for example,a flyer to inform the public on the importance of air quality and the activities whichare being undertaken by the Ministry in this field. A brochure was produced anddistributed to the public during the introduction of the Ambient Air Quality Monitor-ing equipment. The public has access to the flyers at the Ministry’s Resource Cen-tre.

Environmental Games

Games include those materials that engage groups in ways that involve an elementof competition or fun. Games do not necessarily mean outdoor activities. Theyoften provide useful introductions to environmental issues, raise topics for debateand enable people to understand the environment and its problems better. Theycan also encourage learners to seek or find solutions.

A game commonly used in southern Africa is the Enviro Picture Building gamedeveloped by Share-Net in South Africa. Two versions of this game were developedin Namibia to suit the Namibian context. The southern African version has alsobeen adapted to be used in a multimedia format (UNESCO/SADC CD on Teachingand Learning for a Sustainable Future). The purpose of this game is to introducelearners to the language of environmental issues and risks. It also encourages them

to explore solutions to problems. This hasled to a design involving two sets of pic-tures — issues and solutions. The picture-based design of the materials allows for alllearners, literate and non-literate, to partici-pate in the game.

Booklets and books

Booklets or books can be designed to beinformative (Year of Special Days), practi-cal (Hands-On) or exploratory (Guided Walksand Water Audit booklets), depending ontheir purpose. With more space than flyersor fact sheets, booklets (Figure 6) allow formore detailed information, for a topic tobe addressed from different perspectivesor for more than one topic to be addressedand discussed. Booklets and books are acommon format for learning support ma-terials in southern Africa, and thereforeform the main focus of this source book.Figure 6:Figure 6:Figure 6:Figure 6:Figure 6: Booklet


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The Tools of Science

Tools of Science refer to science-based materials that are used in hands-on or otherpractical activities. These materials can help learners to explore the underlyingcauses of environmental problems through science experiments and activities (‘in’and ‘about’ the environment). They also support critical thinking and the seekingof solutions (‘for’ the environment). They require materials developers to design‘tools’ for use in the field and in classrooms (such as audit sheets and experimentkits, a well-known example being the Water Test Kits developed by Share-Net). Thesematerials promote the use of learning support materials by learners, rather thansimply providing educators (or learners) with information. They are often usedsuccessfully in combination with information-based materials such as fact sheetsor flyers.

Computer-based materials

These materials are relatively new, but are developing rapidly as computer technol-ogy becomes more readily available and less expensive. With computer-basedmaterials, learners and educators can share information and findings working on acomputer in a school or organisation, often using the Internet. These materials canenable learners to relate what they have seen in practical activities to ‘technical’information; to network with other learners doing similar projects in different partsof the world; or to work ‘interactively’ with information (for example,www.riverhealth.co.za, e-info CD ROM). However, some computer-based materialsare designed in ways that reduce learning opportunities in the ‘real’ world.

Packs combining different materials

This category includes sets of different materials that can be used separately ortogether. Materials from all the above categories relating to one or several issuescan be grouped together in ‘packs’. For example, the School Environmental Policypack includes information resources, audit sheets and materials for teachers. TheCreative Solutions to Waste pack of materials combines fact sheets, audit sheets andideas for action. Developing new material does not necessarily mean designing acompletely ‘fresh’ learning support material; it can also entail combining two ormore materials and making them work in a meaningful way according to theirpurpose.

Context and learning support materials design

Undertaking research to find out more about the context in which the materials are tobe used can contribute to their development (see section on research, above). Adapt-ing materials often involves the inclusion of information or examples that are relevantto the context of the learner groups who will use them (like in the case of UBEEPabove). This can be done by providing local examples, using appropriate languageand illustrations or making connections between international, regional and nationalenvironmental issues. For example, in developing a booklet on large mammals inNamibia’s Etosha National Park, Graeme Wilson tried to make it contextually relevantto Etosha by including only those animal species found in the park. Years later therewas a need to nationalise the booklet, and this lead to a complete reworking of itscontent to make it relevant to a broader community.

In another case example, the NGO Ecological Youth of Angola developed a bookletentitled Making Connections: Environment and Sustainable Development, to be used byits members in various training courses and workshops. Although some thought wasput into researching the concepts of environment and sustainable development in

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terms of the purpose of the booklet, not enough information related to the Angolancontext was included. This led to a situation where learners were being introduced toabstract concepts without making connections to their context. A similar case hasbeen reported in the Seychelles, where, according to Jeanette Larue, foreign authorswho have no knowledge of local environmental issues, and little contact with localteachers, developed materials for marine education that did not have links to thecurriculum and had illustrations that were irrelevant to the marine context in theSeychelles. This reduced the usefulness of the materials in that context.

Another dimension of context influencing the design of materials involves the abilityto adapt to changes in context. For example, rapid changes in the curriculum in SouthAfrica have led to the need to constantly adapt learning support materials so that theyare ‘aligned’ with the most current curriculum discourse. This has frequently requiredthe complete reworking of the materials.

Institutional frameworks andlearning support materials design

Learning support materials do not stand alone. They are developed for specific situa-tions and used in particular contexts. Therefore, when thinking about purpose, con-text and relevance in the design of materials, it is often helpful to consider issues ofpolicy, country strategies and protocols. Documents addressing such issues can pro-vide background information and support to make the materials relevant to the coun-try context and its priorities.

The purpose and context of learning support materials can also be informed by insti-tutional priorities at a more local level (for instance the vision or mission of anorganisation). A case example of how institutional frameworks may affect the designof materials comes from Philip Manyaza, in Zimbabwe. He works for the Departmentof Natural Resources and has been involved in developing a farmers’ diary and guideto help with natural resource management. In the process of developing these mate-rials, the Department established a number of partnerships to help with an analysis ofall the stakeholders to involve in researching the topic. The stakeholders includedexperts in crop cultivation and livestock farming, environmental extension educatorsand representatives from farmers’ organisations. One of the main reasons for such adiverse group was to make sure that the materials developed would be relevant to thefarmers while remaining aligned with environmental legislation and natural resourcepolicies in Zimbabwe.

The South African case above provides a further example of how institutional frame-works (national curriculum policies, in this case) influence the design of learning sup-port materials.

Environmental perspectives andlearning support materials design

Environmental issues and risks are both global and local in nature. Therefore, learningsupport materials may frequently contain both local and global perspectives on is-sues. In the southern African region, environmental educators have recognised thatenvironmental issues and risks are often social, economic or political in origin andimpact (O’Donoghue and Janse van Rensburg 1995) (see Figure 7).

The following case story illustrates how perspectives on environmental issues andrisks may influence the design of learning support materials. Friday Mazoeka, fromZimbabwe, adapted the South African Year of Special Days for crane conservation in


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Zimbabwe. He con-ducted some researchinto issues associatedwith crane conservation,drawing on informationthat already existed inhis organisation, as wellas from other sources.He focused on issues re-lated to the life of cranes,such as their habitat, cul-tural value and maincauses of death. Hemade links to the situa-tion in Zimbabwe andwith a number of international environmental conventions related to the cranes, suchas the Ramsar Convention.

According to his perspective on the environment — which is reflected in the design ofthe booklet — the problems associated with the loss of cranes are not only caused bybiophysical factors (like loss of habitat), but also by political factors (such as lack ofappropriate legislation), economic instability and unemployment. Friday’s bookletalso provides a log sheet for people to record the monthly appearance of cranes. Thisis used as a monitoring tool to assess crane biodiversity. The booklet reflects both thelocal and global dimensions of the issue he is addressing. It further considers the wayin which political and economic factors impact on biodiversity. By providing the toolsto participate in monitoring the cranes, it also presents learners with opportunities totake local action.

The above case stories illustrate how the design of learning support materials is influ-enced by a range of factors, most importantly the purpose of the materials. Theirpurpose and design are often influenced by the context in which they are to be used,as well as by institutional factors. An educator’s or an organisation’s perspectives onenvironmental issues and risks may also influence the way in which materials aredesigned.

How can a consideration of language influencethe development of learning support materials?

Language influences the development and adaptation of learning support materials inmany ways. Some of these influences are discussed below, particularly in relation tothe use of language in picture-based materials and the translation of learning supportmaterials.

Language and the developmentof learning support materials

There are many different vernacular languages in southern Africa. A number of lan-guages have been brought to the region by colonialism, and in contemporary societylanguages are influenced by trade and the media. Developing materials in a multilin-gual environment requires materials developers to carefully consider language issuesfrom a number of different perspectives. Questions they would normally ask include:Which language is most widely spoken by the learner group? What is the language ofinstruction? Are these the same?

Figure 7:Figure 7:Figure 7:Figure 7:Figure 7: Environment (O’Donoghue and Janse van Rensburg1995)

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Language also forms the basis of learning, in that concepts and ideas are formedthrough language, and human beings use language to express what they know, com-municate and learn. Thus materials developers may also need to consider the role oflanguage in learning in the materials development process. Some of the more basicdecisions relating to a consideration of language in the development of learning sup-port materials would involve decisions about the language to use in the materials. Forexample, in researching learning support materials for young learners in primary schoolsin South Africa, Sibonelo Mbanjwa noted that when the materials were provided inEnglish, the young learners were unable to use them, as they had not yet developedthe necessary language or reading skills in English. He recommended that learnermaterials be translated into isiXhosa, and that the teacher materials could stay inEnglish (Mbanjwa 2002).

Another issue to consider is the level of language used. This requires some research toestablish what the ‘literacy level’ of the majority of users in the learner group wouldbe. For example, when developing the Enviro Fact Sheets in South Africa, Linda Paxtontried to design them so that they could be used by both children and adults. Shedesigned them to be aimed at the reading age of an average 12 year old (reading inEnglish first language), thus making them useful for upper primary age learners, highschool learners and adults. In second language environments, the teacher would playa stronger mediation role and assist learners to use or summarise the materials.

Including a glossary of terms is often a way of clarifying complex language used in thetext. This approach was used in a South African booklet, The State of the Environmentfor Schools (see Figure 8), where complex concepts underlined in the text were ex-

plained at the back of the booklet in a glos-sary. One can also integrate the descriptionof terms throughout the text or include sidenotes. These can enable learners to under-stand and clarify the concepts and ideaswithout interrupting the reading, althoughexplanations of terms already familiar toreaders can also hamper the reading pro-cess. In multilingual environments, keyideas and concepts are often included astranslations in side notes.

Picture-based materials andflexibility in multilingual contexts

Picture-based learning support materialsare most commonly used in campaign ap-proaches to environmental education, buttheir usefulness in other situations shouldnot be overlooked. Posters with well-cho-sen images that convey clear, simple mes-sages can support work with readers with

low levels of formal literacy. On the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Tanzania, for ex-ample, environmental educators used clearly illustrated posters to engage fishing com-munities in discussions about over-fishing and the size of fish to be netted. They usedsimple images to stimulate discussions amongst the fishing community, and as astarting point for deliberations on better ways of managing scarce resources.

Although these types of materials can provide some flexibility in multilingual contextsbecause they are picture-based, it is still important for materials developers to remainsensitive to the context of the learner groups and to use good quality images and

See Section 3 for a more detaileddiscussion on the role of language

in learning support materials.

Figure 8:Figure 8:Figure 8:Figure 8:Figure 8: SoE Booklet


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illustrations. Bartholomew Tarimo, from Tanzania, alerts us to the fact that picturesand illustrations can provide space for different interpretations. In developing suchresources, therefore, one should be cautious about ambiguities.

Well selected, picture-based learning support materials can be useful in overcominglanguage barriers. In Zambia, for example, there are over 70 local languages and learningcan be inhibited if materials exist in only a few languages. Picture-based materialscan alleviate some of these challenges by providing a visual rather than vocabulary-based text. The Enviro Picture Building games have been helpful in creating situationsfor non-English speaking learners to respond to pictures that depict local environmen-tal issues. Through the more accessible medium of pictures, these learners gain theconfidence to articulate their ideas without having to interact with written texts.

Translation of learning support materials

There are a number of issues to consider in the translation of materials that cannot befully discussed in this section. In the process of translation, meanings can be misinter-preted or lost. Inadequate translation can also give rise to issues of racism, or beinappropriate in terms of gender, religious and cultural sensitivities.

Translation should not only be restricted to language, but also to the type of discourse— for instance, from technical to plain or simple language. It can also involve theexpression of written words in another form of representation, such as cartoons, illus-trations or diagrams. Developing materials that are likely to be translated requirescareful planning to allow for flexibility and adaptability — for instance, planning enoughspace for bigger words.

There are other intricate issues and dimensions to consider in designing and produc-ing materials that are to be published in two or more languages. Sometimes the trans-lation is anticipated and therefore planned, but in most cases translation arises fromthe success of a particular material. In this case, special attention should be given tothe initial purpose and context of the original material, and the assumptions about itsuse to foster environmental learning should be considered anew in the context inwhich the translated text will be used.

Considering translation at the start of the materials development process influencesnot only the contents and the illustrations, but also the format of the learning supportmaterials — usually in translation from one language to another the number of wordsincreases or decreases. This also requires making provision for time and funds. Forexample, when EEmail, the SADC REEP newsletter, is translated from English to Portu-guese the font size is usually reduced from 12 points to 11.5 points, in order to accom-modate the increased number of words. In some cases, recognising that the text willincrease in the translation, the original English text is planned in such a way that itdoes not fill a page. Some of the most important issues to consider when translatingmaterials are listed below:

technical issues (layout and printing);

expertise is often required in terms of mastering both language and technicaldimensions (publication and translation), and the translator needs to be able towork with a range of language ‘levels’, including technical and layman’s lan-guage;

budget influences translation possibilities — if the budget is limited, so is thenumber of languages a material may be translated into. This is particularly im-portant in multilingual societies;

there is need to consider the context in which the translations would be made —translations need to be contextual and relevant to the learner groups;

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it is important to look at the actual focus of the materials with regards to the levelof language and the intended learner group.

Translation is a very complex endeavour, as language is interpreted in different waysaccording to local context. Other factors, such as culture and politics, may also influ-ence how language is read. It is often advisable to include a disclaimer at the front ofthe materials that recognises that there may be different spellings or meanings andthat every effort has been made to find the correct spelling and represent the correctmeaning. This approach was used in the World Wetlands Day booklet developed byWESSA.

The above cases present some insights into the way in which language issues mayinfluence the development of materials. In the case reported by Mbanjwa (2002)materials should ideally have been developed in two languages. In cases where lowlevels of functional literacy are prevalent, picture-based materials have proven to be auseful way of interacting in multilingual environments. However, these materials re-quire as much careful thought as text-based materials. As already stated above, thetranslation of materials is a complex issue, particularly since language and meaningmaking are influenced by factors such as history, culture, access to literacy skills andlocal context. Language forms the basis of learning, and all materials developers needto consider language issues in the design and development of materials.

How can one foster participation in thedevelopment of learning support materials?

As indicated in Section 1 of this source book, participation has been an importanttrend in environmental education materials development. Participatory processes canbe very challenging, and often quite problematic. On the other hand, participatorymaterials development can also be very productive. There are many different ways ofparticipating in materials development initiatives. These involve consultation, the shar-ing of responsibilities and collaborative authorship (although usually one needs oneperson to be the main editor or writer). Different roles in participatory materials de-velopment processes can be discussed in some detail at the start of an initiative. Rolesand responsibilities are likely to change during the development process, and newroles may emerge.

Identifying stakeholders in the process

A stakeholder analysis may be a useful activity to establish who should be involved ina learning support materials project. Through this process a range of partners can beidentified and established, such as people with subject/contextual knowledge, editors,artists and desktop publishers. The analysis should also establish the potential usersof the materials (for example, teachers and other educators) and how the proposedlearner groups may become involved in the materials development process — forinstance, by providing feedback on materials in use.

Working with others

What is important in participatory processes is to work with potential users of thematerials, rather than simply assuming that the materials can be developed for them(Lotz 1996; Taylor 1997). In his research, Taylor (1997) reflected on the need to de-velop collaboration and partnerships in order to create opportunities for people tobenefit from and contribute to educational processes. Taylor (1997:167-9) suggested

Section 3 provides further insightinto the role of language in

learning.


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that learning to work with people rather than for people, supporting the developmentof opportunities rather than seeking to address people’s needs, and inviting people tobe part of the activities during workshops transformed the ‘power gradient’ from“those who know transmitting information to others that do not know” into moreparticipatory and engaged discussions.

Developing learning support materials through collaborative work and meaningfuldebate enhances understanding of the issues being discussed. When learning supportmaterials are developed with people rather than for them, a sense of ownership isdeveloped among participants and the learning support materials are likely to bewidely used and relevant to people’s needs. For example, the materials developed byWWF Zambia with members of the Chiawa community, in a participatory materialsdevelopment process, were used by a range of different people in the communityonce the project was completed. In a snap survey to determine how the materialswere being used, WWF Zambia educators found that local community members werespontaneously using the posters for discussions with each other in clinics and in regu-lar community gatherings.

Too much participation and no action

Sometimes educators are so concerned with participatory processes that nothing isever produced. The assumption that large groups of people can collaborate to writematerials is often unrealistic and may lead to little or no material being produced.Paralysis through participation may also be caused by one or two people who haveconflicting perspectives which dominate, so that no agreement is reached and thelearning support material is never produced.

Another problem of participatory processes arises when everyone is expected to doeverything, but no one takes responsibility for anything. The size of the group shouldalso be manageable, so that realistic outcomes are possible. Often it is only when oneor two competent and dedicated persons take responsibility for ensuring high qualityinteractions and participation — and ensuring that the materials are produced — thatthey actually get produced.

Pseudo-participation

Because participation is such a powerful shaping idea in contemporary EE discourse,participation is often ‘promoted’ at all costs, even in contexts where it may not beappropriate or realistic. This can lead to pretence at participation that may not bemeaningful at all. People are invited to workshop to ‘validate’ materials, but partici-pants may not have a meaningful opportunity to contribute at all. Rahnema (in Sachs1992:116) notes that “… more often than not, people are asked or dragged into opera-tions of no particular interest to them, in the very name of participation”. This drawsour attention to the need to consult and work with others in materials developmentprojects in authentic ways; do not just co-opt a group to work with you if they are notinterested.

Identifying and sharing roles and responsibilities

Different tasks should be agreed upon and shared amongst different people, withguidelines and deadlines to ensure coordination and shared responsibility — and thatdiverse skills are used effectively amongst team members. The distribution of rolesand tasks has increasingly been used in participatory approaches to materials devel-opment. In the case where WWF Zambia developed posters with the Chiawa commu-nity, an artist was tasked with the elaboration of the illustrations and poster design;the community members drew up the art briefs in deliberations with each other and

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with WWF education officers; and technical experts contributed technical knowledgeto the process. In the case of the EnviroTeach materials in Botswana, different peoplewere tasked with various activities such as editing, researching, writing and illustrat-ing.

Different contributors should be encouraged to liaise closely with each other. This isespecially important at the stage of final production, when there is need to ensurethat the desktop publishing (DTP) expert represents the views of the writing groupaccurately and does not produce a material that may look bright, colourful and attrac-tive but does not meet the objectives of the development group.

Forming partnerships

The most important partnership within participatory materials development wouldprobably be with the learner group that will use the materials. Drawing on their exper-tise and experience can not only help to improve the materials but will also provideuseful insights into how the materials may be used. Other partnerships that maycontribute to the materials development initiative include, for example, the Ministryof Education, private educational institutions and environmental organisations. A goodexample of a successful partnership is that of WESSA and the Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife who, in the 1980s, developed the Hands-On series together with theobjective to support educators “… so as to enable them to conduct their own field-work with confidence” (Taylor & Janse van Rensburg 2002:113).

Asking for feedback

Enough time should be allowed to circulate draft copies for critique, discussion andfeedback. The Lesotho Environmental Education Support Project (LEESP) has beendeveloping teacher guides for the syllabus. One of the materials is a Hands-On bookleton soil erosion for the primary and secondary curriculum. The draft booklet was sentto twenty model schools from different districts for feedback and comments by theteachers and learners. Before sending the materials out, LEESP staff provided theteachers with suggestions on how to use them in relation to the syllabus. They alsorequested specific feedback on the materials, notably how they had used them andhow they might be usefully adapted. Guidelines to help people in providing focusedfeedback can be developed.

Participation is not always easy!

Again we draw on a case story from Doreen McColaugh to illustrate some of thecomplexities associated with forming partnerships. This time her story presents abrief summary of the challenges arising in participatory materials development pro-cesses, and the relationship between materials, policy and institutional management.This case story focuses on the adaptation of the South African School EnvironmentalPolicy and Management Plan to the Botswana context.

The adaptation of fifty pages of the School Environmental Policy and Management Plan(SEP&MP) pack has taken over three years. In contrast to the EnviroTeach series of books,which was known to only a few people in Botswana and selected and introduced by theUBEEP staff, the SEP&MP pack was introduced to Botswana at the 1998 EnvironmentalEducation Association of Southern Africa (EEASA) conference held in Gaborone. TheMinistry of Education sponsored 200 teachers to the EEASA conference and many ofthem attended the SEP&MP presentation. Many were excited about what SEP&MP of-fered in assisting with the implementation of EE at the school level in all parts of thecountry. Several teachers bought the pack on their own and started their own adaptationprocess to be able to apply parts of it to meet their particular needs. One educationofficer took the implementation of the SEP&MP in a series of schools in her district as

Section 4 provides insights intodifferent kinds of expertise needed

in the development of learningsupport materials.


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her assigned project from one of the EE trainer of trainers courses. This subsequentlybecame a successful trial of SEP&MP in the Botswana context.

When Botswana was chosen as one of the five countries to participate in the Networkingand Capacity Building (NETCAB) environmental policy development project, there wasdiscussion on what Botswana’s project should be. Botswana already had a National Con-servation Strategy (Policy), an Environmental Education Strategy and a five year Envi-ronmental Education Action Plan — as well as a multitude of other environmental policiesand strategies — in place and operating. It was therefore decided by the National Envi-ronmental Education Committee, the umbrella group for EE based at the National Con-servation Strategy Agency (NCSA), that during the 1999/2000 period of intensive EEtraining, adapting the South African developed SEP&MP would best fit Botswana’s needs.A Memorandum of Understanding was signed. NCSA and the Ministry of Lands, Housingand Environment agreed that the project would be carried out with the cooperation ofthe Ministry of Education’s Curriculum Development Division.

The SEP&MP project was presented to the EE Advisory Panel at the Curriculum Develop-ment Division (CDD). The head of the EE department of NCSA, where the National Envi-ronmental Education Committee was based, was also the chair of the EE Advisory Panelat CDD. The Panel were given copies of the SEP, reviewed it over several months andcome with their comments and suggestions. A workshop was held to incorporate theirsuggestions for adapting the SEP. Then major restructuring of ministries occurred, withthe Ministry of Lands, Housing and Environment being divided into the Ministry of Landsand Housing and the Ministry of Environment, Wildlife and Tourism. The head of the EEdepartment at NCSA was promoted to a training position, and months passed beforeanother member of staff was even named as acting head. During that time things cameto a standstill.

Major changes also occurred at Curriculum, when the EE officer resigned and moved onto a position as the coordinator of the University of Botswana EE programme. The EEofficer position at Curriculum remained vacant for several months until, following pres-sure from various NGOs and other government departments with EE interests, anotherCurriculum officer was moved into the position.

While gregarious and likeable, the person assigned to the EE post was, in his own words,“overwhelmed by the job”. The fact that he was new to Curriculum, new to the EE officer’spost and new to EE was also compacted by poor organisational skills and time aware-ness. The EE officer was hardly ever in office, as he took every opportunity to attend EEand other workshops around the country and the region, and even overseas. Even thoughhe was learning a lot about EE, the principal task which had a time frame to finish — theadaptation of the SEP&MP — was not looked after properly and fell far behind schedule.

(Written by McCoulagh, November 2002)

Combining participatory processes and expert inputs

While participatory approaches to materials development bring a range of new per-spectives, one sometimes needs to draw on specific expertise to inform the materials.This can be done by asking an expert to write or research for you.

In the case of the Enviro Fact Sheets, the series editor Linda Paxton drew on inputsfrom different specialists in the particular field in order to get accurate, relevant andup-to-date information. She then edited the information so that it would suit thelearner groups likely to use these materials. Once the fact sheets were compiled andedited, she tried them out with different learner groups in order to refine them.

Taylor (1997) provides some general advice for materials developers by proposing thefollowing perspectives for the development of learning support materials: a participa-tory approach rather than an expert-driven approach; flexibility and adaptability ofthe format of the material; materials should be adapted to diverse contexts and indifferent ways and should be relevant to local issues; and essentially materials shouldbe responsive to the needs of learner groups.

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How can pilot testing, monitoring and evaluationcontribute to materials development?

Pilot testing, monitoring and evaluation help to improve the development of learningsupport materials and their use. The results of pilot testing, monitoring and evaluationpractices can help to improve practice and the effective implementation of learningsupport materials in different contexts. Planning for ongoing follow-up will help toimprove the materials — even after their final production. ‘Measuring’ the effective-ness of educational materials is a difficult process! Pilot testing, monitoring and evalu-ation strategies need to be carefully planned so as to provide information or indicatorsthat will lead to improvements in the way that the learning support materials aredeveloped and/or used.

Pilot testing or trialling

Pilot testing or trialling are often used to inform possible changes and improvementsduring the development phase of the learning support materials. This can be done bysetting up a small-scale pilot project with school teachers or environmental groups. Itcan also form part of an action research project. The results of the pilot tests cancontinuously shape materials in terms of text, illustrations and language. Involvingdifferent learner groups — such as educators, community members or students — inthe processes of pilot testing and trialling can contribute towards the effective use ofyour learning support materials.

Pilot testing is frequently used in small-scale projects, while trialling is used for large-scale, national level projects involving a large number of pilot tests. These processescan be applied at different phases of the materials development; and to differentcomponents — such as illustrations, text and format — or the whole material.

Pilot testing was very critical in a WWF project in Chiawa, Zambia. During the pilottest of a number of posters with the local communities, materials developers wereable to get feedback on the illustrations and their relevance to the local context, inorder to make the necessary changes. There was, for example, a poster that wronglydepicted tennis as the communities’ favourite sport, and whose illustration was changedfrom a tennis court to a soccer field. In a case example from Botswana, a WorldEnvironmental Day poster was presented to a number of educational practitionersbefore being finalised. Their suggestions, which helped to improve the poster, wererelatively easy to incorporate as the poster was being designed on a computer. How-ever, no-one checked if the printing company used the same computer as the artist,and this led to a delay in the printing of the posters. The poster had to be quickly re-designed in the computer programme used by the printing company. This resulted inpoor quality posters and delays in their printing and distribution.

Some of the materials developed by environmental educators at the SADC RegionalEnvironmental Education Centre are considered drafts until they have been pilot testedor trialled in their own countries. Changes arising from pilot testing or trialling can bemade before the final version is printed for use in different programmes or courses.Some of the materials that have been improved through this process include theMozambican Soil Erosion and Bush Fire booklets, Tobedza’s booklet on How to start anenvironmental club in Botswana, the Year of Special Days booklet for Angola and, morerecently, an Environmental Reporting Manual for journalism students in Zambia.

Monitoring in materials development

Monitoring the development and use of learning support materials can also providegood indicators to help you adapt or modify your materials to suit the needs of learn-

See Section 3 for more insight intomonitoring of learning support

materials.

Section 4 provides moreinformation on the compatibility

of computer technologies betweenmaterials developers and printing

companies.


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ers, different contexts, and the purpose of the material. This can be done by develop-ing flexible time-frames and indicators, according to the purpose and context of yourmaterials.

Ongoing monitoring of the process can enable the development of a number of skillsrelated to monitoring and evaluation, such as critical thinking, reflection and under-standing. Share-Net’s School Environmental Policy and Management Plan pack providesa very useful example of ongoing monitoring. The pack has been pilot tested andmonitored over the past eight years. This process has enabled the constant updatingof the information in the pack, making it more and more relevant to learners’ needsand context, and ensuring that it reflects the changes in the South African curriculum.In another case, the Ecological Youth of Angola drew on monitoring strategies notonly to improve the use of its Environmental Glossary booklet, but also to inform itsdevelopment. Lessons learned from the results of monitoring — such as dealing withproblems of imposing participatory processes in schools, the use of oversimplifiedlanguage, decontextualised examples and how to use illustrations to clarify text —have informed the development of other environmental materials in Angola.

Evaluation in materials development

Evaluation of the development and use of learning support materials requires ongo-ing reflexive review of these processes as they take place. This means that changesshould be made through ongoing dialogue and reflection with others as the materialsare being developed. Evaluation strategies can be linked to the purpose, context andcontent of the materials. Sometimes it is useful to evaluate a particular aspect of thematerials (for example, to establish whether the language used in the materials isappropriate; or whether the materials are aligned with the national curriculum re-quirements). Evaluation can be a participatory process that may include a combina-tion of internal and external methods. Educators using the materials can be encouragedto evaluate the materials-in-use (during pilot testing, for example), and to providefeedback.

As a materials developer, you may implement an evaluation strategy which considersspecific aspects of the materials — for instance, you may develop an evaluation ques-tionnaire about the style, or the illustrations. Normally a combination of evaluationmethods will provide the best results. For example, before Action Magazine is pub-lished, it is submitted to the Zimbabwean Ministry of Education and Culture for evalu-ation, which takes at least six weeks. This is a good example of how materials can beevaluated before they are used. Action has conducted both internal and external evalu-ations to inform how the magazine should be developed and used, and they regularlyinteract with teachers to get evaluative feedback on the materials.

Conclusion

This section has considered a number of questions that are relevant to the process ofdeveloping materials. It introduces the role of research in materials development andindicates that research can be undertaken for a number of different purposes withinthe materials development process. As can be seen from the case examples, researchis an integral part of developing materials. Normally research will be an ongoing di-mension of the materials development process.

The section also considers some of the aspects of adapting materials, noting theimportance of considering copyright issues. Adaptation of materials can range fromthe adaptation of an idea to the use of existing text in a specific issue. The differencebetween adopting and adapting is highlighted, as is the need for careful evaluation ofexisting materials before re-development or adaptation.

See Section 3 for more insight intomonitoring of learning supportmaterials.

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The relationship between purpose, context and design in materials development ishighlighted, again through a number of case examples. There is discussion on typesof materials and how they can be used for different purposes. The context of use alsoinfluences how materials are developed. The source book suggests that considerationof context is an important dimension of the materials development process. Closelyassociated with context is language. The source book highlights the need to considerlanguage issues in materials development, particularly in multi-lingual environmentsin southern Africa. Issues of translation are also discussed.

Participation has become a significant trend in materials development processes.Case examples highlight the value of, and some of the issues associated with partici-patory materials development, emphasising roles and responsibilities, partnershipsand feedback. Pilot testing is a participatory approach to monitoring and evaluatingmaterials. Monitoring and evaluation of materials is as important during the develop-ment process as when the materials are in use.

KEY QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER WHEN DEVELOPINGAND ADAPTING LEARNING SUPPORT MATERIALS

What research will I conduct to inform the development of my materials? When will

I conduct this research?

Are there any materials that I can adapt, rather than ‘starting from scratch’? If so,

how will I request and obtain permission to use these materials?

How will the purpose of my materials influence their design? How will the context in

which the materials will be used influence their design?

What language issues do I need to consider in the development of my materials?

Will I need to translate the materials? If so, how will I approach this?

Will I involve others in the materials development process? If so, who will I involve,

and why?

Will I be pilot testing my materials? If so, how will I do this?

Will I evaluate any specific aspect of the materials? If so, how will I do this?

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3Using learningsupport materials

As indicated earlier in this source book, the use of learning support materials is oftenneglected during materials development, with little thought being given to the learn-ing processes — what the learners will be doing, and how they will be supported bythe educator — that may be possible when the materials are used in teaching andlearning interactions. We also indicated that an explicit consideration of learningmotivated us to focus on the notion of learning support materials rather than simply‘materials’ in this source book.

This section will share case stories of how learning processes are influenced by learn-ing support materials; and how different ways of designing learning support materialscreate different opportunities for learning. The case stories also provide some insightinto how one set of learning support materials may be used in different ways withdifferent learner groups, emphasising the mediation role of the educator. The signifi-cance of language in learning and ways of monitoring the use of learning supportmaterials are also considered in this section.

How can the design of learning support materialsinfluence learning?

One of the most important areas in the process of materials development for educa-tional purposes is the consideration of the educational process itself. An educationalprocess usually involves interactions between learners, educators, materials and/orreal objects. These interactions are normally purposeful, and are normally planned byeducators, sometimes in partnership with learner groups.

An important facet of planning for these interactions involves considering which learningsupport materials to use. Sometimes educators select learning support materials fromthose that are already available, and use them in teaching and learning interactions.In other cases, educators adapt learning support materials to be more contextuallyrelevant, or to be more appropriate for the learner groups. Educators also developlearning support materials, which they then use in the context of their programmes tofoster learning.

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Most environmental education learning support materials are intended to foster envi-ronmental learning in some way or other. The materials may provide learners withadditional or new information on an issue/risk/habitat/special species (for example,the Enviro Fact Sheets). Some materials are designed to encourage learners to exploreor investigate their environments. Examples here would be audit sheets or simplewater quality tests. Materials may also be designed to support action taking (for exam-ple, a pamphlet on how to plant indigenous trees or how to recycle paper). Materialsmay also be designed to encourage critical thinking or critical assessments of what ishappening in a particular context (for example, a resource pack containing differentviews on air pollution issues in the South Durban basin).

Environmental learning processes involve both cultural induction (learning aboutwhat is already known) and critical reflection (critically reviewing, assessing andreflecting on what is known). They incorporate interactive processes of meaningmaking, involving dialogue (talking about and reading about things), encounters (in-vestigating/exploring issues/environments), and reflection (critically reviewing andassessing what is known, what has been read, what has been discussed and what hasbeen found out through investigations/explorations).

Thinking about learning

The choices materials developers make when designing learning support materialsoften influence the potential learning opportunities. In a case from South Africa, IngridTimmermans was commissioned to develop a set of learning support materials forschools, to encourage them to participate in a national campaign to reduce alien inva-sive vegetation. She was asked to produce the materials on an A2 sheet, double-sided,so that it could be printed and distributed through a national newspaper, and reach allschools in the country.

Ingrid could have opted for the ‘campaign’ route, and developed a large poster toraise learners’ awareness of alien invasive plants — which would have met the objec-tives of the national campaign. Instead, she considered how the materials she wasgoing to develop could support active learning in the context of the Outcomes-BasedEducation curriculum in South Africa. She drew on the active learning frameworkdeveloped to guide learning processes in the National Environmental Education Pro-gramme (see Figure 1 in Section 1).

In planning the materials she developed a fact sheet on alien invasive species; anaudit sheet with the ‘10 most wanted’ alien plants, which the learners could use toidentify alien invasive plants in or near their schools; and she presented some ideasfor taking action. She also provided teachers with an outline of a learning programme,giving them suggestions on how to use the materials. Through thinking carefully aboutthe possible learning opportunities, Ingrid was able to develop a set of learning sup-port materials to support information finding, local investigations and action taking.The materials also encouraged learners to report on their investigations and actiontaking.

Thus, instead of developing an awareness poster, Ingrid developed a set of learningsupport materials that were better able to foster active learning in local contexts. Thematerials were printed on the A2 sheet, and sent out to all schools around the country.All the teachers had to do was cut them into smaller units — a fact sheet, an auditsheet, a learning programme and an action sheet — and they had a full ‘Hack-AttackPack’ to use on ‘Hack Day’. This case story illustrates how the way in which the mate-rials were designed provided learners with different learning opportunities.

In another case, Rob O’Donoghue and Edgar Neluvhalani reviewed the way in whicha series of indigenous knowledge materials had been developed over a period of time

Figure 2 in Section 1 illustrates theinteractive processes of learning.


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(see O’Donoghue & Neluvhalani 2002). We use a case story compiled by EdgarNeluvhalani:

This case reports briefly on years of struggle in efforts to develop useful methodologiesand tools for enhancing environmental learning by mobilising indigenous ways of know-ing in the context of the Nguni culture (south-eastern part of South Africa), and nowextending to other South African cultures, through school and community based re-search work. Current research in indigenous knowledge (IK) (Neluvhalani 2002) extendsfrom the work done initially as a joint initiative by Rob O’Donoghue and Mba Manqele(O’Donoghue & Neluvhalani 2002), which resulted in the first Share-Net resource mate-rials on indigenous knowledge. This early work “… provided methodological insightsthat then shaped other materials and methods for teaching and learning as well as fur-ther resource development and research by Lynette Masuku” (O’Donoghue & Neluvhalani2002:127; see also Masuku 1999).

Interest in this work has also emerged out of a history which shows patterns of appro-priation and reorientation of environmental knowledge in southern Africa. O’Donoghue(2002:40) notes that these developing processes of appropriation came to marginalizeindigenous peoples, to exclude them from developing knowledge institutions, a processthat was compounded by the apartheid system of separate development and Bantueducation. This sad story of marginalization laid a foundation for a growing need to findways of mobilising indigenous knowing in curriculum contexts of environmental learn-ing.

Initiatives to develop and trial learning support materials and methodologies that re-spond to social processes of marginalization and appropriation in eastern southern Af-rica emerged in the 1990’s (O’Donoghue 2002). A total reliance on prescribed text booksand the school syllabus in the past educational dispensation has meant that teachersand learners have become blind to the relevance and value of local ways of knowing informal teaching and learning contexts. Even with policy changes towards more locallyrelevant teaching and learning processes and resource materials, such perceptions stilldominate our educational arena, and indigenous knowledge is ‘included’ in curriculumdocuments but remains largely a rhetorical strategy to enhance curriculum relevanceand meaningful learning.

Recent work with teachers (Masuku 1999) has shown how learning support materialsbrought in from the outside served to enhance the search for, and re-appropriation ofindigenous knowledge in a local community context. Such school and community basedresearch processes, aimed at enabling relevant methodological perspectives, are begin-ning to examine ways of mobilising, acknowledging and supporting processes of contex-tual meaning making in the schoolcurriculum. Simple and accessible teachingand learning support materials such as the‘IK and Today Series’ (see Figure 9) are in-creasingly proving useful and easy to adaptto other South African cultural contexts, bychanging to local mother tongue or by sim-ply developing more locally relevant stories.The design of these learning support mate-rials incorporates the following capital ofideas:

‘Indigenous knowing’ as told in mothertongue (for example Zulu, Venda);

‘Interpretative text’ that probes im-plicit and underlying wisdom (this in-volves inter-epistemological dialogue— it brings scientific knowledge intoplay with indigenous knowing);

Contemporary perspectives/text (afocus on ‘today’) that challengeslearners to begin to use the capital ofindigenous knowing, by using whatthey know today to make sense of Figure 9:Figure 9:Figure 9:Figure 9:Figure 9: IK and Today series

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what they see and do in the world around them (contributing to better environ-mental management and improved lifestyle choices).

Through the design of these learning support materials, a number of stories have devel-oped which focus on a variety of environmental issues which teachers and learners areable to deal with using a range of skills and knowledge from the different learning areas(subjects). Through work with teachers some of the stories, which were originally devel-oped and used in a Zulu context, are being adapted and re-oriented within the Vendacultural context. For example, the Nguni (Zulu context) story of ‘Sweet Water/AmanziMnandi’ involves interesting insights into traditional water collection practices. In thisstory, scientific processes of environmental health and safety wisdom that underliesordinary everyday local ways of knowing and doing things are illuminated.

This work is being extended to develop other such resources, which explore the ‘right toa healthy environment’, as outlined in the Constitution and the Revised National Cur-riculum Statement. Such stories focus on issues of sanitation (hand washing and thespread of infectious diseases like cholera) and cattle farming and land management(Nguni/Venda cattle and sustainability). O’Donoghue (2002:42) explains the developingeducational perspectives from these research processes as follows:

work ‘into context’ with examples and at the same time ‘in context’ to bring forthlocal nuances and what might be unique in a given context; and

use both mother tongue centred on contextual authenticity and English as inter-pretive text.

This can create a multi-cultural curriculum context within which cultural significanceand sustaining insights might come to coexist in ways that promote identity and mutualrespect.

(compiled by E. Neluvhalani; see Lotz-Sisitka, Russo, Neluvhalani & Lupele 2003).

These case stories provide insight into the importance of thinking carefully about theintended learning processes during the design of materials. In his study on the use oflearning support materials in schools, Mbanjwa (2002) notes that the use of the activelearning framework (used to guide the design of the Creative Solutions to Waste Mate-rials) influenced the learning processes and outcomes. For example, one of the activi-ties required learners to go out and investigate the waste found in the school grounds.Learners also collected waste and used this to create items made from waste. Byproviding a worksheet that could be used at the local landfill site, learners were able toinvestigate waste management issues at the landfill. Mbanjwa’s (2002) research find-ings indicate that, in order to foster environmental learning processes, a range ofactivities and associated materials are required that provide a ‘mix’ of materials thatcan be used to find out more about, and investigate local issues in context.

Thinking about learning and the contextin which the materials will be used

Thinking about learning also involves thinking about the context in which the learn-ing interactions will take place. For example, if you are developing materials for schools,you would need to think about how learning interactions are ‘organised’ in schools.This would involve considering the curriculum requirements, time tabling, assess-ment practices and so forth. In South Africa, Rob O’Donoghue — working with SiboneloMbanjwa, Bridget Ringdahl and Selwyn Jacobs — was asked to develop a set of mate-rials that would assist the Department of Water Affairs to respond to cholera out-breaks in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. In developing these materials, theteam considered:

how the materials could foster active learning processes;

how the materials could assist teachers to further the aims of the curriculum/learning areas/subjects;

See the active learning frameworkin Section 1, Figure 2.


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how teachers could assess the activities; and

how the materials could be used within the structural constraints in schools (e.g.time-tabling, separate teachers for separate subjects).

In considering both the learning processes and how the materials could be used in theschool context, they decided to develop a resource-based learning pack called ‘Sanita-tion Works!’ This resource pack included:

an activity to mobilise learners’ prior knowledge and the knowledge availablein the community (through a focus on indigenous health practices);

activities to encourage investigations (these were specifically designed as in-vestigations for the science learning area/subject; the life orientation learningarea/subject; and the social sciences learning area/subject). For example, learn-ers could undertake a science-based ‘clean hands test’ to establish whether theyhad E-coli bacteria on their hands (for science); they could undertake a commu-nity health survey to establish if members of the community were experiencingdiarrhoeal diseases, and a school health audit (for social sciences); and an activ-ity to calculate the rate of bacteria growth (for maths and science);

activities to encourage using and finding new information — for example, learn-ers could play a ‘disease risks information word game’ (for life orientation andlanguages); and

activities that encouraged action taking — for example, learners could make abottle hand washer or design a toilet (for technology).

To make things easier for the teachers, each subject area/learning area’s activitieswere printed on a different coloured sheet (e.g. yellow for social science; green forscience; blue for technology). Supporting materials — such as the card games andinformation sheets for learners — were included as part of the pack. The resource-based learning pack therefore contained both materials for the teachers (the lessonplans) and materials for the learners to use (the games, information sheets, etc). Toencourage educators and learners to ‘investigate’ the issues, all activities were framedby using key questions like ‘What are the disease risks?’; and ‘Are unwashed hands aproblem?’. This questioning approach helped to make the learning processes more‘open-ended’ and exploratory, rather than prescriptive and closed. Learners couldtherefore start their investigations using the questions and available materials, butcould have expanded the investigations using other materials.

All three of the case stories reported above illustrate the importance of thinking aboutthe learning processes that may take place, when developing the materials. All threeof the case stories highlighted aspects that are particularly significant to the fosteringof environmental learning. These include:

assisting learners to learn about what is already known — for example, by givingthem information sheets and by encouraging them to find out what is known inthe community;

assisting learners to find out what is happening in the local context — for exam-ple, by using audit sheets; undertaking local surveys; identifying plants/animalsin the environment; etc; and

encouraging action taking and critical reflection on the actions — for example,by suggesting different possible actions; and by asking questions about, andreporting on the actions.

While it is possible to consider these aspects in the design of materials, it is only whenthey are actually used that environmental learning takes place.

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How can the use of learning supportmaterials influence learning?

We often assume that learning support materials can ‘stand alone’ and that they can‘teach’. However, it is only in using the materials in teaching and learning interactionsthat the materials become ‘useful’ and meaningful. If the materials developer has avery fixed view of how the materials should be used, the materials are unlikely to beused in other ways. Materials developers need to be open to other potential ways ofusing the materials. Approaching the development of materials with ‘multiple possi-bilities’ for their use is likely to make the materials more flexible and useful in abroader context.

One of the challenges for materials developers is to provide some guidance on howthe materials may be used, but to be wary of ‘over-instructing’ or ‘over-structuring’the use of the materials before they are used! Instructions that are ‘overdone’ canlimit the use of materials. Pilot testing materials is a useful way of making somejudgements of how much guidance to provide in the materials. New and differentways of using the materials may arise in the pilot testing phase which you may nothave considered when developing the materials.

Using the same materials differently

Learning support materials can be used differently by different educators and learn-ers in different settings. For example, the Year of Special Days booklet in Angola wasused with learners in schools and with journalists. Each group used the booklets dif-ferently. The Enviro Picture Building games have been widely used with different learnergroups. The games are picture-based materials, and therefore appropriate for multi-ple uses with different groups (different languages, different age groups, differentcontexts). Vlady Russo (2002) observed and commented on how the materials wereused to foster environmental learning amongst different learner groups:

In Case 1 the Enviro Picture Building game was used with a small group of adult learnersduring the first course session of their B.Ed programme. Since the activity was onlyplanned to be an introductory one, the educators had limited time available for it. Usingthe game in the context of the B.Ed course had two purposes: to introduce environmen-tal issues and to provide educators with an explanation of how they can use the gamewith their own learners. As there were less than eight learners, the game was playeddifferently to the way suggested in the instructions (eight participants are normally neededto play the game). This resulted in some of the learners experiencing problems under-standing the instructions of the game, as they tried to work out how they would use thegame with learners in their schools (the second purpose). The limited number of learn-ers affected the dynamics of the game, particularly in terms of encouraging competitionand team challenge. Given the constraints, the second part of the game — which re-quires participants to discuss some of the issues in relation to their own context — wasthe part that worked best.

In Case 2 the game was played on the third day of an in-service course at the SADCRegional Environmental Education Centre. Participants already knew each other, andthis enabled them to be more at ease when playing the game. There were 18 learners,who divided easily into the two groups needed for the competitive first part of the game.Enthusiasm and a spirit of competition characterised the game, although some of thelearners did not understand the instructions and were somewhat confused. Score keep-ing was also not clearly communicated to the group. In this case, the competitive envi-ronment drew participants’ attention away from the questions being asked, focusing iton the scoring and on the competition. Not all the ‘solution’ pictures were very clear, andone participant indicated that the solution given on the card was not consistent withassociated solutions in her particular context. This opening for a discussion on differentsolutions to issues in different contexts was not taken up, as the competitive element atthe game tended to dominate.

See Section 2 for more details onpilot testing and trialling.

For more details on picture-basedmaterials see Section 2.


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In Case 3 the game was used differently. Some of the pictures were used as a startingpoint for deliberations in two different contexts: curriculum and community. The objec-tive of the activity was to use a particular picture illustrating an issue relevant to eachparticipant, in order to identify and describe the economic, social, biophysical and politi-cal dimensions of the problem. Learners used the pictures as a springboard to describesimilar issues in their own context, thus opening up the language needed to discussenvironmental issues and risks in more depth.

(compiled by Russo 2002)

The above three cases illustrate that the same materials can be used differently byeducators with different learner groups. In all three cases, the materials were beingused to introduce learners to environmental issues and risks; and to ‘open up’ thelanguage needed to discuss those issues and risks in the learners’ own context. As isillustrated, the time allocated to the game (Case 1), having ‘dual purposes’ in usingthe game (Case 1), the way the game is played (Case 2) and how appropriate focus isprovided for the activity (Case 3) all influence the way in which the game is used; andthe resultant learning. The three cases also illustrate that enough time needs to beallocated to maximise the potential of learning support materials, and that carefulattention should be given to the way in which the materials are used to achieve theparticular purpose/s.

Language, learning support materialsand the learning process

Language is the main medium through which learners learn. It is also the mediumthrough which teachers scaffold learning. Learners’ conceptual development is throughlanguage. They also learn through vision and touch, but need language to make mean-ing of this experience. Language is central and crucial to all learning, as it is the me-dium for meaning-making. Environmental educators need to use language in such away that it supports meaning-making and learning. This provides numerous chal-lenges to environmental educators working in multi-lingual settings.

In the case of the Creative Solutions to Waste Project, Sibonelo Mbanjwa observednumerous instances of how the use of language in learning influenced the learningprocess in five primary schools in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. In one case, forexample, he noted that the ‘Sweet Water Story’ — provided in English and used withGrade 2 isiXhosa speaking learners — was “too long” and learners lost concentration.In two of his observed cases, he noted that the teacher had to mediate the materialsfor the learners, as they were unable to read the worksheets (which were provided inEnglish). Teachers therefore had to translate the worksheets for the learners. This wasdone verbally, so learners were still unable to read the instructions on the worksheets,and had to remember what they had to do, based on the teachers’ translations.

Language issues are, however, not only confined to written text. In two of the casesobserved by Mbanjwa, learners were unable to ‘read’ the pictures, as they were unfa-miliar with the animals in one set of pictures, and with the waste issues in the second.In both cases, the teacher had to mediate the learners’ interpretation of the picturesand to assist them to develop the necessary vocabulary (language) to interpret thepictures (see Mbanjwa 2002).

By mobilising language, learners are able to interact with one another in meaning-making ways, to describe the issues and, through engagement in situations, to com-municate their ideas and share their knowledge. Exploring the use of the Enviro PictureBuilding games, Janis O’Grady notes that “in using the game to explore new methodsin our programme, Bonginkosi and I were able to, through language, probe each oth-er’s ideas, share what we already knew, and deliberate on how to proceed”.

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Lausanne Olvitt, observing learners using the Hands On booklets, noted that when theZulu speaking facilitator, talking with a group of Zulu speaking learners, “re-explainedthe use of the Hands On booklets in isiZulu, his explanations were more confident anddetailed than they had been a few minutes earlier in English”. The discussions thatfollowed, almost entirely in isiZulu, were animated and appeared to contain muchdetail. However, when the group returned to the centre to report back on their find-ings, their reports were delivered in English. The reporting was reserved and anxious,and the group struggled to present any sort of informative report-back, after whichthe English-speaking facilitator intervened and continued with the proceedings.

In another case observation, Olvitt reflects on how a group of learners with high levelsof language competence and exposure to written texts in English — their first lan-guage, and the language in which the materials were presented — were able to “easilyand confidently” work with the booklets to scaffold and extend their prior knowledgeof the organisms they were investigating. She notes that, in the case that she ob-served, familiarity with the language of instruction lead to high levels of articulationwith prior knowledge and confidence in using the learning support materials.

In another case in Zambia, WWF faced challenges surrounding which language to usein the production of their materials (there are 74 dialects and 7 principal languages inZambia). In the materials development process, community members were encour-aged to use the language they were most comfortable with. Experience in this contextalso indicated that the use of Goba as the preferred language on the posters wasclosely linked to the preservation of cultural identity. Goba, in the Chiawa community,was not taught in schools since it is not one of the seven national vernaculars. Com-munity members thus felt that, by using Goba on the posters, children would be ableto learn to read the language.

On closer probing, however, WWF materials developers found that, while many peo-ple in Chiawa could speak Goba and Chitonga, very few could read and write eitherlanguage. Therefore, both English and Goba were used on the posters so that thelearners at school, and those with some levels of literacy, could read the posters, asmost were literate in English and Chinyanja (the medium of instruction in schools).This indicated that a consideration of language issues in materials development shouldencompass a consideration of literacy levels, as well as other more complex cultural/social issues (see Lupele 2003).

The cases noted above all draw attention to the importance of considering languagein learning processes and in the design and use of learning support materials. Themediation role of the educator, providing learner materials in the language in whichthey are most familiar, and providing the space for learners to grow in confidence whenusing a second language in the learning situation are all aspects that can be consid-ered in materials development and use. Levels of literacy, and the languages in whichthe majority of people are literate are also important considerations in materials de-velopment, particularly when developing materials in community contexts.

How does the educator’s choice influencethe use of learning support materials?

The influence of the educators’ choice on the use of learning support materials in-volves educators ‘getting to know’ the materials and making decisions about howthey can be used in teaching and learning interactions. It also involves choosing whetherthe materials need to be used in combination with other materials, and how they willbe considered in a sequence of interactions. These choices are often related to thepurpose of the materials and to the context in which they will be used.


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Deciding on which materials to use

In a case from South Africa, Janis O’Grady and Bonginkozi Ntshiza, from the CraneFoundation, considered whether they would use a particular set of materials for usewith farm worker communities. They wanted to use the Enviro Picture Building mate-rials, and were confronted with a choice of using a puzzle-based or a card-basedversion of the game. In exploring the puzzle-based version, they decided to build thepuzzle together before making their choice:

Neither of us had ever played the game before. Slowly, we realised that the game de-picts a rural situation wherein lie many issues or social and environmental problems: aswe placed the puzzle pieces and a picture started to form, we realised that the puzzlepieces were different to the original picture that comes with the pack, being the pictorialsolutions to the problems illustrated in the picture of Madlusuthe’s Farm. Once all thepuzzle pieces were placed and a new picture had been formed, we discussed the issuesin the two pictures and how they relate to similar issues in our own lives, and we madesuggestions as to how these could be resolved.

Bonginkozi and I decided that the best way to play the puzzle version of the EnviroPicture Building game would be to first discuss the picture showing all the social andenvironmental problems as a group, and relate these to our lives through asking thefarm workers questions about the issues in the pictures. The next step would be to giveeach participant about two puzzle pieces, each one numbered on the back. We wouldthen place on the table a white grid in the puzzle format, with each puzzle piece spacealso numbered. As facilitators, we would then call out the numbers in order, so that thefarm workers could place their pieces into a ‘growing picture’. We would then ask themto compare the new picture with the original one, again leading the discussion withquestions.

In the end we did not take it to farm workers to test how it would work, as we were notsecure in our own minds about the best way to play or use the game … Bonginkozi andI wanted to see for ourselves if the puzzle version of the Enviro Picture Building gamewas suitable and beneficial for use by farm workers, with whom we are expected towork closely in our biodiversity conservation context. After playing and discussing thegame, we lacked the courage to take it to farm workers as it seemed to lack clarity ofpurpose, and we thought that it had been designed for young school pupils.

As educators mediating learning, we needed to examine the potentials in the puzzleversion of the Enviro Picture Building game, looking for obvious practical errors —including the appropriateness of the pictures to our context; whether the suggestedEnviro Facts or other links to the game were outdated; and how we could use thematerials.

(compiled by O’Grady 2002)

The Enviro Picture Building games come in four different versions. Selecting a versionis part of considering the context in which the learning is likely to take place. Thus, inworking with farm workers in rural areas, Janis and Bonginkozi concentrated on work-ing with the ‘Madlusuthe’s Farm’ version of the game, which focus on environmentalissues and risks in rural areas. In another case, Brian Wright reports on how educatorsworking at an environmental education centre along the coast selected the ‘Catch-ments and Coast’ version of the Enviro Picture Building game, as the majority of learn-ers visiting the centre were from coastal regions and it therefore provided forcontextualising of the learning.

Combining materials and sequencing their use

The way materials are combined and sequenced significantly influences the learningprocess. The following observations by Lausanne Olvitt, at Share-Net, on the use ofthe ‘Hands On’ booklets illustrate how different educators chose to use the booklets indifferent ways, and how this influenced the learning process.

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In Case 1, student teachers visited the Umgeni Valley Field Centre to conduct a grass-land study. Prior to the visit, they were given a reading called ‘Grappling with Grasslands’.On site (in the grassland), they were given a brief sensory activity to do, and an on-siteorientation by the field officer explaining landmarks in the area, to help them get abetter understanding of the landscape they were in. The student teachers formed groupsof three, with each group receiving a copy of ‘Hands On Grassland Life’.

Using the reading they were given prior to the visit, they rotated tasks over a period of90 minutes to investigate the topography, soil, plants, animals and influence of humanson the grassland ecosystem. Although each group had a copy of ‘Hands On GrasslandLife’, their study was further supported by equipment (1m rulers, compass) and otherShare-Net booklets (Beginner’s guide to Spiders; Soil and Compost Life). Little structurewas provided for the group, but they remained focused throughout the activity. After theactivity they returned to the lecture room, where they reflected on different approachesto fieldwork.

In Case 2, the ‘Hands On Booklet: Soil and Compost Life’ was used with a group of adultlearners in the Rhodes University/SADC International Certificate Course in Environmen-tal Education. The booklet was used as part of a session to investigate ‘ecology’ as anenvironmental learning process. The session drew attention to the differences betweenindigenous ways of knowing about interdependence in the environment and the morewestern-oriented, rational knowledge of the ecological sciences.

A practical investigation into soil and compost life took approximately 25 minutes, andwas used to highlight ecological principles and ways of finding patterns in nature, ratherthan equipping participants with knowledge about particular species. The study of or-ganisms living in compost took place indoors. Before commencing the study, the grouplearned a song about ‘The patterns in nature’ — providing orientation to the activity,which was to search for patterns/interconnections. Participants worked in groups offive. Each group was given a reference sheet copied from a booklet on Ecology by Irwin,the centre page from ‘Hands On: Soil and Compost Life’, a magnifying glass, a pile ofcompost and a sheet of A3 white paper. After listing their findings, participants wereencouraged to compile a food web with scraps of paper, the organisms drawn on them,and cut into shapes to represent ‘producers’, ‘consumers’ and ‘decomposers’. Withthese basic tools, learners could then build all sorts of ecological models. One groupfound a pseudo-scorpion — an unusual find. Participants then referred to the ‘Hands On’booklet to find out more about pseudo-scorpions.

In Case 3, the ‘Hands On’ booklets were used with a Grade 6 group of learners. Theactivities started by giving the learners two of the booklets (Hands On Grassland Life andHands On Forest Ecosystems). Learners were tasked with looking at the static display ofstuffed animals in the hall, identifying those they could expect to encounter in a forestor grassland habitat. They were then taken to do an interpretive trail. The field officerstopped regularly to draw the learners’ attention to certain plants or to point out certaincharacteristics of the landscape. Learners were then divided into groups of 4 and eachgroup was given a copy of the Hands On Grassland and Hands On Soil and Compost Lifebooklets.

After a somewhat vague introduction, learners were told to use the centre pages to “findthe different types of grasses” and “find the organisms that live in the soil”. The intro-duction lacked an explanation of why the studies were to be conducted. Even thoughlearners were instructed not to remain seated, but to walk around and explore the area;they were reluctant to leave the shade to investigate the grassland. The day was hot,and they had already walked two kilometres in the sun. The groups that conducted thegrassland study remained seated in the one shady spot, and sent individuals out tocollect specimens and return them to the group for identification. The field officer wasreluctant to make the learners move from the shade and have a hands-on experience inthe grassland — and the exercise thus became mechanistic, rather than investigative.Later, the learners used the Hands On Forest Ecosystems booklet to discuss characteris-tics of a woodland that they visited during an interpretive walk in a forest.

(compiled by Olvitt 2002)

From the three cases above we can see that the three educators had different pur-poses in mind, and that this influenced the way that they used the ‘Hands On’ book-lets. In particular, it influenced the way in which the booklets were combined with


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other learning support materials in support of the broader purposes of the lesson/activity. In two of the three cases, the booklets were used in professional developmentprogrammes for educators. In one case, the booklets were used to encourage studentteachers to consider different approaches to fieldwork. In another, they were used toconsider different ways of knowing and practical ways of teaching ecology. In thethird case, the booklets were used to guide fieldwork with a group of learners in anenvironmental education centre.

In all three cases, the booklets were used to scaffold (support) learning interactions,thus making them learning support materials.

The above cases illustrate the need for a flexible approach to using materials. Materi-als developers should not expect all educators to use their materials in the same way.Designing materials so that they can be changed/adapted for use in different con-texts; encouraging educators to use the materials in combination with other materi-als; and providing clear guidance on how the materials can be used are some of thefactors that can shape or influence the way in which educators may choose to use thematerials.

The role of the educator inteaching and learning interactions

The important role that the educator plays in the learning process is illustrated by thiscase in South Africa. Nomalungelo Nduna, an official in the Department of Education,observed and described a teacher using learning support materials. The teacher, work-ing at a farm school, was introduced to the School Environmental Policy (SEP) pack.She realistically selected only one aspect of the SEP pack, the folder on ‘school groundsand fieldwork’, to help her plan a lesson for her class of multigrade learners. While, inthis case, the teacher referred to the School Environmental Policy pack only in theplanning stages of her lesson, without it she might not have been able to develop theactivities for the lesson.

The hour-long lesson was developed as an active-learning process. The focus of thelesson was ‘plants’, with emphasis on investigating plants in the school grounds. Learn-ers were asked to collect different kinds of plants from the grounds, in bottles and tinswith water to keep them alive, noting their ecosystems and habitats. This investiga-tion and plant collection was followed by an in-class discussion and information gath-ering. The learners referred to their teacher, each other, posters and available books togather more information on some of the plants they had found. They then had toselect and organise these findings before reporting them to their groups. To extendthe lesson, learners then moved outside to work on the permaculture garden recentlystarted by the school and some parents.

The case illustrates that the role of the educator in mediating an active learningprocess such as this is significant and should not be overlooked. The value of learningsupport materials in scaffolding the learning process is also of great importance. Fromthe initial stage of reading the SEP pack, the teacher had to consider and respond tothe following dimensions of the learning process:

Planning a lesson that would be contextually relevant and academically sound— she needed to plan activities that were appropriate to her learners’ level andthe chosen area of study (natural sciences); and

Selecting which materials would best support the learning process — in thiscase, the teacher chose to make use of posters and books related to plant typesand habitats. Without this prior selection of learning support materials, the learners

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could have been overwhelmed or confused by a mountain of material, somerelevant and some not.

The case also indicates that the role and effectiveness of learning support materialsneed not be confined to supporting learners directly in their activities; they can alsosupport the educator in conceptualising and planning learning opportunities.

How can we monitor the use oflearning support materials?

As indicated above, the use of learning support materials is an important dynamic inthe materials development process. Considering, observing and monitoring the useof learning support materials provides numerous useful insights which can help toimprove the development of the materials.

In this section we provide some case examples to illustrate how different educatorshave developed approaches to monitor the use of learning support materials. Fromthe preceding examples, it is clear that observing the materials in use is probably thebest way to gain in-depth insight into how the materials are used. Interviewing educa-tors who have used the materials, or getting feedback through discussions or ques-tionnaires are also helpful strategies for monitoring the use of materials. Where possible,these strategies should be combined with first-hand observations.

In the case of the Creative Solutions to Waste project, Sibonelo Mbanjwa worked witha team of educators, who assisted him with the observations in five schools. All mem-bers of the team conducted observations in the classes, noting which materials wereused and how, and how the learners responded to them. To guide the observations,the team developed an observation sheet which included questions such as:

What evidence is there of using the materials to prepare the lessons?

What were the main activities taking place?

What was the purpose of the lesson?

How were the learners involved in the activities?

Which materials did the teacher use?

Which materials did the learners use?

What did the teacher expect the learners to do with the materials?

Did the learners ask any questions related to the materials? Were the learnersable to use the materials successfully? If not, why?

After the observations were concluded Sibonelo discussed them with the teachers. Hewas able to ask them other questions, such as: Did you find the materials useful? Ifnot, why? Why did you select certain materials and not others?

From this case story, we can see that the two approaches to monitoring how thematerials were being used were complementary. One approach provided insight intohow the teacher and learners were using the materials in the classroom or the field;and the second allowed Sibonelo to find out why the teacher had made particularchoices. From these observations he was able to learn a lot about the materials andhow they could be improved in future (see Mbanjwa 2002).

In the case of WWF in Zambia, a snap survey was undertaken amongst communitymembers to find out how they were using certain posters, six months after the posters


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had been developed. The survey indicated that, contrary to earlier expectations, theposters were being used in churches, schools, village meetings, clinics, social gather-ings, clubs and court cases. Educators discovered that, rather than using the materialsin a pre-determined way, members of the community were “seizing opportunities asthey arose in these gatherings” to share some of the insights they had gained aboutenvironmental issues during the materials development process. In one case, the anti-AIDS club had adapted the posters to suit their needs (see Lupele 2003).

To observe how the ‘Hands On’ materials were being used in different fieldwork activi-ties, Lausanne Olvitt, from Share-Net, took digital photographs of the learners usingthe materials in the field. She then printed each picture in an A4 page and, in asummative session at the end of the day, she asked the students to write commentson the pages about their recollections and opinions of each activity. This picture-based monitoring technique was used both to document how the materials had beenused and to gain insights into how the learner groups had experienced the teachingand learning interactions using the materials. Through the printed digital pictures, shewas able to prompt the learners’ memories and elicit reflective responses from them.In this way, they were able to participate in the monitoring process.

Lausanne is now experimenting with video-based monitoring, and hopes to invite theteachers to reflect on the video footage with her. Monitoring approaches like the onesused in this example require access to high-tech equipment. The same results can beobtained using an ordinary camera, or simply by making field notes to documentwhat you have observed.

The three cases above indicate the value of undertaking formal monitoring activitiesto follow up on how the materials are being used. In the case of the Creative Solutionsto Waste project, observations were conducted formally and regularly. Teachers’ per-spectives were sought, to add to the classroom observations. In Zambia, a snap surveywas conducted six months after the production of the materials. In the case of Share-Net, a monitoring technique was developed that involved the learner group in themonitoring process. All three cases indicate

Conclusion

This section has raised a number of areas for consideration in materials developmentwork. They all pertain to the way in which learning support materials are used tofoster environmental learning.

The section makes the point that the design of the materials may influence learning indifferent ways. For example, providing the tools to encourage active learning proc-esses of information seeking, investigation, action taking and reporting can fosterenvironmental learning. The context in which the learning support materials are to beused is also an important factor to consider when designing the materials. If the ma-terials are for use in schools, for example, then a consideration of how they might beused in the ‘normal life’ of schools would seem to be important. Providing materialsfor the different subjects or learning areas, providing ideas for assessment, and schooltimetable requirements are some of the aspects to consider.

The way in which the learning support materials are used also influences the learningprocess. Through drawing on a case example of how one material was used in differ-ent ways, the point is made that the way in which learning support materials are usedis often associated with the purpose that the educator has in mind, but is also influ-enced by the time available, good planning and the provision of a clear focus for theactivity.

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Language and literacy are also important factors that influence both the developmentand the use of learning support materials — and therefore impact on the learningprocess. Language issues need to be considered, as language provides the medium formeaning-making, and for interactions between educators and learners.

Educator’s choice also influences the way in which materials are used. The case sto-ries in this section illustrate the importance of making careful selections and of con-sidering how the materials may be used in combination with other materials. Theway in which the learning activities — and the associated use of the materials — aresequenced also influences the learning process. The role of the educator in mediatinglearning is emphasised through a case story. This role involves both planning for theuse of learning support materials, selecting appropriate materials for the learners touse, and scaffolding (supporting) the use of the materials in the lesson.

Various strategies for monitoring the use of learning support materials are introduced,noting that these may be fairly formal. Normally a combination of approaches willprovide the best insights into the way in which the materials have been used. Innova-tive strategies to involve the educators and learners in monitoring the use of the ma-terials can also be developed.

A consideration of the use of learning support materials can add depth and rigour tomaterials development processes. Often pilot testing of the materials provides a use-ful way of carefully considering their use.

KEY QUESTIONS TO CONSIDERWHEN USING LEARNING SUPPORT MATERIALS

Have you thought about how the design of your materials will influence the learning

process?

Have you thought about the context in which the materials will be used?

Have you considered whether the materials can be used in different ways?

Have you considered how language issues may influence the use of the materials?

What guidance have you provided for educators using the materials? Is this

prescriptive or open-ended?

Have you made some suggestions on how the materials may usefully be combined

with other materials?

Have you planned how you might monitor the use of the materials?

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4Technical aspects

In planning the development of learning support materials, it is important to considera number of technical dimensions that could make the materials more accessible,readable, attractive and useful in particular contexts. This section deals with a numberof the more technical issues to be considered in the development, adaptation, pro-duction and distribution of learning support materials. It draws on insights from anumber of case stories and provides advice on issues such as editing, illustrations,layout, printing, budgeting and marketing. There may be other technical issues thathave not been discussed here; these can be further discussed and explored by thoseenvironmental education practitioners developing materials.

How can one approach the editing of texts?

Editing is the (often lengthy) process of getting written material ready for publishing.Experience in the SADC Regional EE Programme indicates that it is important to iden-tify a competent editor who is familiar with the topic — particularly the content andfocus of the learning support materials — and with the language used. Editing canfocus on conceptual/content issues, on language and phrasing or, preferably, on both.Two different people may sometimes be needed to do the editing. It is always advis-able to edit more than once, because there is always room for improvement.

In the editing process, it is vital for the editor to have access to the whole manuscript(text and illustrations) rather than simply parts of it (chapters, sections or units). Thiswill give the editor a complete picture of the contents of the material and the logicalflow of information. There are a number ways of working with the text, some ofwhich are briefly explained below.

Ask the editor to edit everything — text and illustrations. For example, whenShare-Net was developing an environmental page for The Teacher newspaper inSouth Africa, Lausanne Olvitt was constantly checking the appropriateness ofthe illustrations in relation to the text. Her work as the editor enabled her toimprove the text so that it could be more relevant to the illustrations available orto suggest changes to the illustrations.

Give the editor specific tasks, such as checking the grammar, consistency, logicalflow of information and relevance. For example, after a group of environmental

See Appendix A for an example ofa budget framework.

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education practitioners from Mozambique had developed a draft of their book-let on Soil Erosion, they asked an environmental expert to check specifically ifthe statistics in the booklet were accurate and up to date. They also asked theireditors to consider whether the information was not too specific for use in anational context. This enabled them to obtain more accurate data for the book-let.

Develop some guiding questions to assist the editor to edit with focus. Thesequestions should guide the editor to focus and analyse specific issues in thelearning support materials. For example:

Readability — Is the text user-friendly (appropriate language, illustrations,logical flow of information)?

Contextuality — Is the text contextually relevant for the intended usergroup?

Approach — Does the text allow for the use of different teaching and learn-ing approaches?

Contents — Are the contents clear enough; accurate; too simple?

It is possible to combine the above options in order to obtain effective results.

Editing can be a long and painful process, especially when there are contradictoryperspectives on some issues. In a national workshop to discuss the draft of the Na-tional Environmental Education Strategy for Mozambique, participants were dividedinto two groups to provide comments for the improvement of the strategy. Due to thediversity of backgrounds of the participants in each group, not everybody understoodor accepted the proposed changes in the document. To resolve this issue, an editorialcommittee was formed from representatives of the group to analyse the suggestions,edit the document and propose the final environmental education strategy. The com-mittee was able to work on the proposed changes and finalise the document withinthe agreed deadlines.

Editing can also be an expensive exercise. It needs to be planned and budgeted care-fully in advance, particularly if you plan to use more than one editor. In addition tobudgeting for the editorial work, you should consider the guidelines (terms of refer-ence) you will give the editor. Clear guidelines will help the editor understand what isrequired of him/her and also helps both you and the editor to consider scheduling anddeadlines. The guidelines should include at least the following:

Background information — This information will provide the editor with a clearpicture of the objectives of the learning support material and why is it beingdeveloped.

Purpose of the learning support materials — This will enable the editor toknow where and how the materials are going to be used. Providing clear andspecific information will help to avoid ambiguity, and will help the editor to editfor a particular purpose/learner group.

Task clarification — It is important to clarify what needs to be edited — forexample, do you want the editor to edit the content, the language, or both? Thisshould assist the editor to concentrate his/her work on a particular aspect.

Deadlines — Providing realistic deadlines will ensure that the process of print-ing and distributing the learning support material is not delayed. If there are anumber of phases in the editing process, it is important to know when the learn-ing support materials are expected to be complete.


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The editing process can also be used as a monitoring tool throughout the process ofplanning, developing and producing learning support materials. Below are some tipsrelated to the editing process.

Including and leaving out information — This is often a difficult decision tomake. Materials developers are often tempted to include everything they knowabout a particular topic. Writing more than necessary is always a good exercise.Writing is likely to be more fruitful, however, if a map of ideas is followed, or if a‘tentative’ contents page is drawn up at the start of the writing process. Planningwriting carefully will assist you to write with a clearer focus, and will help toframe the text. Editing to suit the purpose of the materials and the learner groupcan also help to reduce or extend the materials.

Editing on computer or on hard copy — Editing on computer is useful as itallows you to make immediate changes, and avoids wasting paper and ink. Tryto do as much of the editing as possible on computer. However, it is also useful toprint out at least one copy and read the ‘whole text’, as one can easily miss outsome things when editing on computer. Computer spell-check options can bevery useful to correct spelling. Make sure that the computer has the right diction-ary for the language being used — for example, the British English is differentfrom the American English; the Brazilian Portuguese is different from the Stand-ard Portuguese.

Choosing a writing style — There are many different writing styles. These areoften specific to different types of publications — i.e. a newspaper has a differ-ent style to a magazine, different magazines also have different styles. Differentstyles are often used to communicate with different audiences, and are influ-enced by the purpose of the publication. Discuss the style of the learning sup-port materials early on in the process.

Making information accessible — This involves clarifying concepts and ideas,especially those that are likely to be new to the learner group. Try to replacedifficult words (like ‘contextual’) with easier ones (like ‘relevant to local context’)without oversimplifying or losing the meaning. New vocabulary can be challeng-ing and interesting, but can also put people off.

Explaining new concepts — Some strategies used by educators include compil-ing a glossary of terms at the back of the text; including footnotes or a textboxclarifying a concept or idea; or explaining the concept or idea in the text.

How can one approach illustration of the text?

Illustrations include pictures, graphics, drawings and diagrams that are included inthe learning support materials to illustrate something or to add meaning to a particu-lar issue, concept or topic. They are often used as ‘access’ mechanisms, to make a texteasier to read and use. Commissioning and/or selecting illustrations can often be acomplex task. Below are some common ways of dealing with this issue.

Use or re-use available — and copyright free — illustrations by drawing on illus-trations used in previous materials or materials developed for an organisation orinstitution. Photographs can also be used to illustrate materials. Before usingillustrations or photographs, you should consider the printing process to ensurethat you will obtain high quality results. Line drawing illustrations normally workbest in low cost printing processes, while photographs normally require more‘high-tech’ printing. Cost is a further factor to consider. Printing photographsmay require additional costs, particularly if they are to be printed in colour.

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Download illustrations from the Internet or use illustrations available in differentcomputer software packages. These are free of charge, but are often very genericor stylised, and may not be relevant to the topic or specific aspects of your textthat would be enhanced with illustrations. The website www.discoveryschool.comhas some useful illustrations, and you may be able to identify others.

Where possible, identify an artist to produce illustrations relevant to the topic.This will be the best way to obtain illustrations that are relevant to the materialsbeing developed. If possible, identify an artist and budget for artwork at the startof your materials development initiative. This option can be expensive, particu-larly if you commission artwork and the artwork turns out to be wrong! One wayof avoiding this problem is to ask the artist first to produce rough sketches andthen to discuss them carefully with the artist before giving him/her the go-aheadto finalise the artwork.

Try other ways of generating artwork for your materials, such as organising draw-ing competitions and selecting the best illustrations for inclusion in your text.For example, in a publication for the Botanical Environmental Education Projectin South Africa, the author of the book used children’s work — produced duringthe life of the project — to illustrate the publication that was developed for teach-ers.

It is evident that the choice of using any of the above will depend on the availability offunds, access to computers and the Internet, or the availability of illustrative material.Whatever options are available, certain steps should be followed to avoid problemswith the type of illustrations being used. Below are some suggested steps.

Pilot test artwork with learner groups. This will provide relevant feedback tochange or adapt the illustrations to suit the needs of the learner group. WWFZambia successfully used this approach when developing posters with the Chiawacommunity in Zambia. A number of meetings were held with community mem-bers to identify and describe the most suitable and relevant illustrations for thedifferent posters. An artist was commissioned to produce draft artwork for theposters, which was then pilot tested in the community. The artist attended themeetings where the artwork was discussed. Feedback from the community onsome of the pictures, and observations in the local context, assisted the artist toimprove the illustrations and ensure that they were more contextually relevant.

Avoid bias and stereotyping. When obtaining or developing illustrations it isimportant to not give preference to a particular race or group, or to stereotypecharacters. An example from Namibia alerts us to how these issues might arisein the production of artwork. In this case, the artist was part of a particularreligious grouping that did not allow him to draw women, and therefore womenwere never portrayed in his drawings. An editor noticed this aspect of the illus-trations, and appropriate changes were made.

Ensure consistency in the style of the artwork. Each artist has his/her ownartistic style —such as realistic line drawing, detailed drawing, cartoon drawings,pen and ink drawing, charcoal illustration, etc. If you are planning to use morethan one artist’s work, the styles should be clearly differentiated, and carefullyused in the text. Where possible, try to use the same style throughout.

The style of artwork often adds a new dimension to a text. For example, cartoon-type illustrations may lighten a text and make it more accessible; realistic linedrawings may add ‘additional content’ to the text and make it more ‘scientific’or ‘factual’. Selecting a particular style for the artwork is therefore an importantpart of the decision making process in materials development


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Consider the potential of the illustrations for being photocopied. For exam-ple, the Share-Net Hands On series used accurate black and white line drawings.A centre-page with different organisms or plants is included in each book. Edu-cators can photocopy these pages, and give them to learners to use in fieldwork.Learners use these pictures to identify different species of animals and plants.

Make links between the text and the illustrations. The pictures used in learn-ing support materials should be able to illustrate something mentioned in thetext — not just fill space or provide decoration. Illustrations have a role in clarify-ing the meaning of the text. For example, the Ecological Youth of Angola devel-oped an Environmental Glossary for educators and learners and included drawingsthat illustrate certain concepts such as ‘the water cycle’, ‘green house effect’ and‘photosynthesis’.

How and when should one considerlayout, printing and costs?

The editing process is often linked closely to the design and layout of the materials.Layout can be revised during the editing process. In planning this source book, forexample, layout and printing costs were considered early on, which helped to providea structure for the writing and editing.

It is often useful to develop a design sample at the start of a project, as this helps withfurther planning and writing. When planning learning support materials, you maywant to consider the following layout issues:

Format — There are two main standard size formats for the low-cost productionof books and/or booklets: A5 (148 x 210 mm) and A4 (210 x 297 mm). They aremost commonly used because they are much easier to photocopy and paper inthese formats is cheaper. Flyers normally consist of an A4 or A3 sheet, folded inhalf or as a Z-fold. For posters, depending on the technology available, the mostcommon formats are A3 and A0.

Number of pages — For booklets or books, it is advisable to plan numbers ofpages that are in multiples of four (e.g. 16, 32 or 48). This will avoid unnecessaryblank pages at the end of the material — although you can always use the lastpages for notes or bibliography. Using a layout mock-up, or page planner, to mapout the contents of each page helps to plan for an ideal number of pages. Flyersare always composed of four pages (if middle-folded) or six pages (if Z-folded).

Type of paper — The type of paper used is often related to cost, as well as toplans for how the materials will be used. There are a number of options, such asdifferent colours, different weights (80 grams, 160 grams, etc.), different fin-ishes (glossy or matt), recycled paper and chemical free paper. Printing compa-nies are normally very helpful with the selection and costing of different types ofpaper. Glossy paper, though often the most attractive option, is also more expen-sive and can make your book/booklet heavier (which increases your distributioncosts!).

Readability of text — All desktop publishing (DTP) software packages include awide range of fonts. Try to be consistent in terms of the font sizes and font stylesused. Different font sizes or font styles can be used for headings, main text orcaptions, but they should be consistent throughout the material. Avoid font sizesand styles that will make reading difficult. Consider also the amount of text perpage and the length of the paragraphs from a readability perspective. You mayneed to ‘test’ this out with your learner group before finalising the material.

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Illustrations — Consider the positioning of the illustrations in relation to thetext. Placing graphics, photographs, or diagrams on the same page as the relatedtext will enhance the reading of the illustrations (see Figure 10). Look also at thesize of the illustrations in relation to the text and to the page format.

For flexibility, print quality and better management try to have the illustrations,photographs, graphs and diagrams in electronic format, such as jpeg or jpg (jointphotographic experts group), tiff (tagged image file format) or gif (graphics inter-change format). You should, however, watch out for creating electronic files withtoo many images, as the files may crash! Saving your document to a CD Rom isoften helpful.

Colour — If you are planning to print your materials in more than one colour,you should consider how colour will be used during the layout of the materials.Using colour is often linked to available technology and printing budget. Fullcolour publications cost much more than those printed in a single colour. Theuse of two colours — as is the case with this source book — is a relatively cheapalternative.

User friendliness — Checking the appropriateness of the language with theparticular learner group, checking whether the text has been adequately illus-trated and checking the logical flow of information are all strategies that canenhance the user-friendly nature of the materials. The use of the materials islikely to influence their layout — for example, materials that will be used infieldwork would need to be more flexible and easy to manage.

Headings, subheadings, footnotes, endnotes and side notes — These stylescan be used to make learning support materials clearer and to improve the struc-turing of the text. Headings and subheadings are usually used to structure thematerials. They should be clear, to the point and provide enough information(see Figure 11).

Figure 1Figure 1Figure 1Figure 1Figure 10:0:0:0:0: Keeping illustrations near the related text

Environmental issues around schools in urbanareas in our city include an increase in wateruse and pollution by agriculture, industry andthe home. These generate high levels ofpollution and waste.

Figure 1Figure 1Figure 1Figure 1Figure 11:1:1:1:1: Clear headings and sub-headings enhance the text

Biological Resourcesincluding plants and animals

Biodiversity, or biological diversity, describes thevariety of life in an area, including the number of

Biological Resources


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Footnotes, endnotes and side notes included in or next to the text are useful forproviding extra information or references. In this source book, side notes areused as links to other sections containing additional information on the issuesbeing covered.

Technology — Various desktop publishing programmes can be used for the lay-out of learning support materials. The most common and easy to use, especiallyfor beginners, are Microsoft® programmes, namely Word (the most widely usedword processor) and PowerPoint. However, they have limitations when it comesto including illustrations. Common professional DTP programmes include AdobePageMaker® and CorelDraw®. These programmes have various advantages anddisadvantages and can be used for different purposes (text, graphic illustrationand layout work).

Use a scanner to turn hard-copy illustrations into digital files that you can incor-porate into your materials layout. A number of computer programmes are avail-able that can help improve the quality of illustrations and pictures. Some ofthese programmes are capable of producing various effects.

Computers — When using computers and design programmes beware of thesize of your files, as very large files can ‘freeze’ the computer. You could loosethe entire work! Make sure that you always have more than one copy of the filesstored in different media (e.g. hard disk, floppy disk or CD-ROM) and that youmake regular backups.

Verify what processor you are using (e.g. 386 or Pentium 4) and how much spaceyou have in your hard drive (e.g. 200 megabytes or 20 gigabytes). The fasteryour computer and the bigger its capacity, the better it will perform for DTPwork. Currently, an appropriate file size for a 60 to 80 pages booklet with text,illustrations and photos is between 20 and 40 megabytes. This source book wasproduced with PageMaker® and its file is just over 30 megabytes.

Protocols — When producing your material layout, consider the protocols andthe compatibility between your DTP programme and the ones used by the print-ing company. Some of the programmes use different tools, colours, language orprotocols, which might delay the printing process or even cause significant, un-wanted changes to your work.

Scanning and digital photographs — Different printing processes can enhancethe quality of illustrated materials. Good quality images are obtained with high-resolution scanning. If you need to use large pictures in your text, you shouldscan at high resolution. Such scans do, however, create bigger computer files.Always scan illustrations and photos using the colour option — they can easilybe changed later, if necessary, to greyscale or black-and-white.

Digital cameras can produce high-quality photos. Some digital cameras take pic-tures with a higher resolution (a greater number of pixels) than others. Discussthe resolution required for your illustrations with the printer or the person assist-ing with your layout.

The layout issues discussed above need to be considered at the same time as youthink about issues related to printing. When planning learning support materials, itmay be useful to consider the following printing issues:

Available printing technology — When you start planning your materials, de-cide on whether to use available in-house printing technology — for example aphotocopier or low-cost Duplo printer — or, if there is need, to contract profes-

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sional printers. The cost factor associated with in-house versus outside printing,as well as full-colour versus one-colour printing, will probably influence yourdecision.

Another factor is the number of copies of the publication. For piloting materialsin small numbers, it may be more cost-effective to print the materials in-house.For large print runs, it may be more desirable to have the materials printed by aprofessional printer. The size of the print run is related to the purpose of thematerials, as well their use and distribution.

A further option, often used by institutions and organisations that have in-houseprinting technology, is the ‘print-on-demand’ (POD) approach. This means thatthe printing of materials based on low print runs is guided by the demand fromusers and learner groups. In South Africa, Share-Net has successfully used thisoption, which helps to control its printing jobs according to the needs of theeducational ‘market’. This approach avoids wasting paper and reduces the needfor storage space. It also allows for more frequent revisions and changes to thematerials.

Internet — Publishing on the Internet is becoming a viable and cheaper option.This alternative is appropriate if the information is currently relevant and is aimedat a broader public. While accessibility is rapidly increasing, however, bear inmind that not all of the users you need to reach have access to the Internet. ForInternet publishing use programmes which — like Corel® or Adobe® products —can easily convert your files into pdf (portable document format for Adobe®Acrobat®Reader) or html (internet-based) files.

How does one deal with copyright issues?

Copyright is the legal right, normally held by the author or publisher of a particularwork, to withhold permission to copy that work freely. It protects published and un-published literary, scientific and artistic works, whatever the form of expression —e.g. books, simple text, music and artwork such as logos or illustrations. This meansthat these works need to be in a tangible or material form.

The correct way to place a copyright notice is as follows: Copyright © (name of owner),(first date of creation) — for example, Copyright © SADC REEP, 2003. It is also commonto use Copyright © 2003 SADC REEP.

If you are planning to reproduce anything directly from copyright-protected materials,you must first apply for permission, which may involve some payment to the authoror publisher of the original work. Failure to obtain such permission can result in legalaction and in heavy fines. Sometimes authors or publishers will waive copyright — i.e.grant you permission to copy the materials free of charge — if you write and indicatethat you are using the materials for educational purposes that are not for profit. Somecopyright holders may also allow the reproduction of their work in other publicationsprovided they are acknowledged.

Some materials, like those produced by Share-Net, are copyright free. Using text orpictures from copyright free materials means that you do not have to apply for copy-right, and that there are no costs associated with using the original work — althoughyou may still need to acknowledge the original sources.

To avoid copyright problems in the development and adaptation of learning supportmaterials, it is important, therefore, to consider the following:


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Obtain copyright permission where this is required — If you are planning touse the materials for educational purposes, request that the author/publishergrant permission to use the materials free of charge (although this does notalways happen!). Indicate the period that you plan to use the materials, as somepublishers will only grant copyright for a fixed period — for example, one year. Itis advisable to ask for use of the material for a period of, say, three to five years,as this will save you having to re-apply for copyright every year.

Avoid plagiarism — If you draw on someone else’s writings, illustrations or ideas,acknowledge and reference them accordingly. Be careful not to copy and useother people’s work as if it were your own. There are serious fines and penaltiesfor plagiarism.

How should one acknowledge other contributions?

During the research and development process, make notes of all the people, institu-tions and publications that provide relevant information and support for the produc-tion of your materials.

Acknowledge different contributions

When acknowledging the various contributors there might be a need to be specificand describe the different roles they played. For example, acknowledge those thathelped with the editing of the material, those involved in the compilation of the infor-mation, the artists, the research team and those involved in the translation. If photo-graphs are used in the materials, acknowledge the photographers. Materials developersoften forget to acknowledge their own team! If teachers or other groups have assistedyou to pilot test the materials, remember to acknowledge them too — their input is asimportant as any of the other more technical contributions!

Acknowledge institutional and financial support

Some institutions might support the development of materials by allowing you to useequipment or by donating paper for printing. Others may provide more direct finan-cial support. Acknowledge both support in kind and financial support. It is often ap-propriate to highlight the main sponsor/s by including their logo in the cover of thematerials. Always check with the institutions and organisations that provide support ifthey want to be acknowledged, and how. Make sure that their most recent logo isavailable, as institutions may sometimes change their logo or use a different logo forcolour printing.

Publications that have been used as sources of ideas, information and illustrationsneed to be acknowledged and referenced properly in the bibliography or list of refer-ences. Where appropriate, include also the contact details of the organisations re-sponsible for the production of the material — such as the editors and the printingcompany — as this will help others to make use of their skills.

How should one considerdistribution and access to the materials?

Learning support materials are often produced without consideration of how they aregoing to be distributed and used. They are also frequently inaccessible to many users(Czerniewicz et al 2000; EEASA 2002). This tends to lead to a situation where materi-

See front and back covers for anexample on how logos were used.

See page ii for an example of howto acknowledge people involved inthe development of LSM.

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als end up on shelves or in store rooms, reducing their potential to support learningprocesses (Taylor and Russo 2002). For example, an (unnamed) environmental or-ganisation produced a number of magazines and publications for its members andthe general public. Members did not pay their fees as expected, so the publicationsare not being circulated. As a result, large quantities of publications with valuableinformation are kept in a store room as no marketing strategy was put in place. Effec-tive marketing, production and distribution planning at the start of the initiative mayreduce problems such as these.

The distribution of materials can also be costly and should be included in the budget.Through regional networks, or by writing articles and reviews, you can inform othersof the existence of recently produced materials, thus assisting with their distribution.For example, the EEASA Bulletin, a publication of the Environmental Education Asso-ciation of Southern Africa, often includes reviews of new materials. Share-Net, in SouthAfrica, has developed a catalogue and order form for the materials they have avail-able. The order form is widely distributed in southern Africa (Olvitt 2002).

Local networks and organisations can also be contacted and informed about newlearning support materials. A number of materials developers also use the media and,increasingly, the Internet, to disseminate information about materials.

A very good way of demonstrating how materials can be used is to run workshopsbased on them. This approach has been widely used to show potential users andpartner groups how materials can be used to foster environmental learning.

Distributing copies of the learning support materials to the various municipal anduniversity libraries can help to ensure that the materials are easily accessed by a largenumber of readers, particularly learners and educators. Increased accessibility canalso be achieved by issuing the materials with international code numbers such asISBN and ISSN.

What is an ISBN and an ISSN?

The International Standard Book Number (ISBN) is a ten-digit number given to booksand other book-like publications that are published nationally and internationally. Itspurpose is to establish and uniquely identify one title, or edition of a title, from aspecific publisher. The ISBN identifies the individual book in a series or a specific yearfor an annual or biennial. The number is divided into four parts, namely:

Group or country identifier, which identifies a national or geographic groupingof publishers;

Publisher identifier, which identifies a particular publisher within a group;

Title identifier, which identifies a particular title or edition of a title;

Check digit, the single digit at the end, which validates the ISBN.

For more information on the ISBN visit http://www.isbn.org.

ISSN stands for International Standard Serial Number, an eight-digit number whichidentifies periodical publications as such (including electronic publications). The ISSNidentifies the ongoing series, or the ongoing annual or biennial serial. For more infor-mation visit http://www.issn.org.

If a publication has both the ISSN and the ISBN, both should be printed on the copy-right page.

See Appendix A for a samplebudget.


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Conclusion

This section outlined the different technical aspects of relevance to the developmentof learning support materials. It provided some ideas and advice on editing the textand illustrating your publication. Other technical issues, such as layout, printing, mar-keting, distribution, copyright and access to the publication, have all been discussedin some detail. These technical aspects often need to be considered simultaneously.

Developing learning support materials involves making many different decisions re-lating to the purpose of the materials, the intended learner group, available technol-ogy, financial and other support, and available expertise. In developing your materials,other decisions you will need to make range from whether to use material from otherpublications (which may require copyright permission!) to the colour of the cover.

KEY QUESTIONS TO CONSIDERWHEN LOOKING AT TECHNICAL DETAILS

How will you approach the editing of your text?

How will you approach illustrating your text?

How will you approach design and layout of your text?

Have you considered copyright issues?

Have you acknowledged others who have been involved in the development of the

materials appropriately?

Have you considered marketing and distribution of your materials? How will others

be able to gain access to the materials?

Have you drawn up a budget for your materials development initiative?

Have you applied for an ISBN or ISSN for your publication?

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Appendix A —

The following budget framework provides a broad suggestion of some of the itemsthat need to be considered in materials development projects. In practice, it should beadapted and/or extended according to project-specific needs, objectives and scope,and to the availability of funds.

ITEM/DESCRIPTION UNIT COST UNIT/PERSON UNITS/DAYS

1. Research Cost per activity Number of Number of days or

a) Site visits activities or people hours needed for

b) Libraries involved this activity

c) Internetd) Bookse) Other

(e.g. contextual profile)

2. Workshops/Meetingsa) Venueb) Resource peoplec) Stationeryd) Accommodation/mealse) Transportf) Other

3. Pilot testing/Triallinga) Venueb) Resource peoplec) Printing draftsd) Data analysise) Other

4. Translationa) Language expertb) Editorc) Dictionary

5. Artworka) Artistb) Triallingc) Photosd) Art briefse) Competitions

6. Desktop publishinga) Designb) Editingc) Scanningd) Lay out

Budget framework

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7. Printinga) Black-and-whiteb) Colour (e.g. cover)c) Collating and bindingd) Extras

(e.g. flyer, catalogue)

8. Distributiona) Marketingb) Networksc) Workshopsd) Conferencese) Internet

9. Evaluationa) External evaluationb) Internal evaluationc) Monitoringd) Other

10. Final editinga) Proof-readingb) Desktop publishing

11. Communicationa) Telephone/E-mailb) Postage

12. Travela) Ground transportb) Regional travel

13. Expert supporta) Resource peopleb) Editorc) Guest writersd) Researcherse) Other

14. Equipmenta) Computerb) Digital camera

TOTAL

Note: You do not need to budget for all the items listed above. Use this budget frame-work as a reference to draw up a budget that is appropriate and relevant to yourproject and your context.

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References

Bakobi, B. & Russo, V., 2000: Issues of Sustainability. SADC REEC. Howick, Share-Net.

Czerniewicz, L., S. Murray & M. Probyn, 2000: The Role of Learning Support Materialsin C2005. Pretoria, Department of Education.

EEASA, 2002: The Gaborone Declaration. Howick, EEASA.

ICAE, 1993: Environmental Education for Sustainable Societies and Global Responsibil-ity: Some principles of environmental education for equitable and sustainable societies.Rio de Janeiro, ICAE.

Janse van Rensburg, E. and H. Lotz-Sisitka, 2000: Learning for Sustainability: An envi-ronmental education professional development case study informing education policyand practice. Johannesburg, Learning for Sustainability Project.

Lotz, H., 1996: The Development of Environmental Education Resource Materials forJunior Primary Education Through Teacher Participation: The case of the We CarePrimary Project. Unpublished D.Ed thesis. Stellenbosch, University of Stellenbosch.

Lotz-Sisitka, H. & G. Raven, 2001: Active Learning in OBE: Environmental learning inSouth African schools. Research report of the National Environmental EducationProgramme – GET pilot research report. Pretoria, Department of Education.

Lotz-Sisitka, H., V. Russo, E. Neluvhalani & J. Lupele, 2003: Trends Associated with theDevelopment and Use of Learning Support Materials in Southern African Environ-mental Education. Unpublished workshop paper. First World EnvironmentalEducation Congress in Espinho.

Lupele, J., 2003: Action Research Case Studies of Participatory Materials Development inTwo Community Contexts in Zambia. Unpublished M.Ed. thesis. Grahamstown,Rhodes University.

Masuku, L., 1999: The Role of Indigenous Knowledge in/for Environmental Education:The case of an Nguni story in the Schools Water Action Project. Unpublished M.Edthesis. Grahamstown, Rhodes University.

Mbanjwa, S., 2002: The Use of Environmental Education Learning Support Materials inOBE: The case study of the Creative Solutions to Waste Project. Unpublished M.Edthesis. Grahamstown, Rhodes University.

McNaught, C., J. Taylor & R. O’Donoghue, 1990: “Participatory Evaluation: The case ofthe Natal Primary Science Project of the Urban Foundation”. In The Southern Afri-can Journal of Environmental Education. Howick, EEASA. Vol 11, 1990.

Nduna, N. 2002: M.Ed research assignment. Grahamstown, Rhodes University.

Neluvhalani, E., 2002: Ph.D research proposal. Grahamstown, Rhodes University.

O’Donoghue, R., 2001: Environment and Active Learning. NEEP guidelines for facilitat-ing and assessing active learning in OBE. Howick, Share-Net.

O’Donoghue, R., 2002: Indigenous Knowledge and Education: A collection of occasionalpapers. Grahamstown, Rhodes Environmental Education Unit.

O’Donoghue, R. & E. Janse van Rensburg, 1995: Environment and Methods. Howick,Share-Net.

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Development, adaptation and use

of learning support materials

In support of environmental and sustainability education processes

COURSE DEVELOPERS’ TOOLKIT

Sour

ce B

ook

4ISBN: 1-919991-34-4

Southern Africa is challenged by many environmental and development issues. Education has been identifi ed as an important response to environment and

development issues. These source books have been developed to support course developers to strengthen aspects of course development in support

of environmental and sustainability education processes.

There are fi ve source books in this series:

Source book 1: Deliberating curriculum frameworks in adult learningSource book 2: Supporting adult learning and tutoring Source book 3: Course materials development for adult learning Source book 4: Development, adaptation and use of learning support materials Source book 5: Course evaluation in adult education programmes

The sourcebooks draw on the experience of a range of course developers in southern Africa, and are an output of the SADC Course Development Network, established by

the SADC Regional Environmental Education Programme in 1999, and funded by Sida. The Course Development Network was strengthened with additional partnership

funding and technical support from Danida between 2001-2004. Course experiences informing the books are drawn from a range of southern African country contexts including: Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mauritius and South Africa (amongst others). The source books therefore provide a regional

vantage point on issues of transforming education to address Africa’s socio-ecological and development questions.

The source books are produced at the start of the United Nations Decade on Education for Sustainable Development, and aim to provide inspiration and

support to other course developers who are trying to mainstream environment and sustainability into universities, colleges and other life-long learning courses.