Greg Goodmacher: MW-sponsored speaker at the Pan-SIG 2015

We have a 90-minute workshop at the Pan-SIG. Greg Goodmacher’s presentation will be highly motivational and interesting for materials writers looking to develop their creativity in writing. (May 16-17, see Pan-SIG 2015 website for details: https://sites.google.com/site/jaltpan-sig/.)

Greg will facilitate work- shop-style discussions about creativity and teaching materials. Accomplished materials writers will learn some new tricks from each other, and novices will gain much knowledge from their more experienced peers. The presentation will cover ways to make the average mass- produced textbook more affectively engaging, intellectually stimulating, and pedagogically effective. For example, the presenter will show how to turn reading sections into cooperative reading texts that involve oral communication and challenging tasks. Another topic is the creation of learning games that use the content of standard textbooks. Making and adapting teaching materials so that they appeal to students with differing learning styles will be discussed. We will also examine realia (maps, catalogs, newspapers, YouTube videos, government documents, etc.) and share our ideas on adapting them for our classes. Greg will show some examples of his work and ask the audience to critically analyze them. All participants will actively work together while sharing their ideas and experiences in creating teaching materials. The presenter has written typical textbooks published by Japanese publishers and has published and created materials that are too extreme (yet very effective) to be accepted by most book publishers. He believes that teaching materials are never really finished. They can and should be revised to better fit class needs and augmented to create more enriching learning and teaching experiences.