Every few months I carry out a survey of my website subscribers to get an idea of which resources are being used most and if subscribers would welcome any other resources, or more of the same. For this task I use Surveymonkey. Thank you to anyone who responded.
My latest survey got 79 responses over about five weeks. This is a typical response rate to my other surveys. I would like more, but it's not a bad sample. My site has around 1500 subscribers in all. I'll summarise the questions and responses below. Thank you to those who replied.
1. How often do you edit the resources you download?
58% of respondents said they often do this, 36% said rarely and 6% said never. Nearly all my resources are editable Word or PowerPoint documents, so they can be freely altered by schools.
2. Do you sometimes use the PowerPoints from Y7 to Y9?
Only 29% said they do, which surprised me a little. On the other hand, the Y10-11 and A-level resources are the most used on the site and course books already have plenty of resources, so the result shouldn't really surprise me that much. It has been a type of resource I have built up a lot in the last few years, especially on the Y7 page, which is also used by some primary teachers. My PowerPoints aren't flashy but are designed to be very clear and well sequenced, with a focus on chunked language more than isolated words.
3. Do you sometimes use sentence builder tasks?
77% said yes. This is no doubt owing to the growing popularity of substitution tables in general and the Conti-style methodology (EPI - Extensive Processing Instruction) which he and I have both shared in our books and blogs. You can expect to see more of these in the future. Requests for particular topics are welcome. Each resource comes with a suggested teaching sequence.
4. Do you use "video listening" worksheets from Y9-11?
62% said they do. Finding videos at the right level of comprehensibility is a continual challenge, since I strongly believe in showing material which is largely comprehensible (at least with reasonable scaffolding). Recommendations are always welcome. Weighing up video versus audio is interesting. On the one hand, video grabs attention, but risks creating divided attention (audio/video). On the other hand the "dual coding" effect comes into play, with images supporting comprehension. On the whole, I enjoyed using video in the classroom whenever possible.
5. Do you use "text with exercises" worksheets at any level?
94% said they do. I've always considered this type of resource as the "bread and butter" of the site. The fact that so many teachers use these resources is partly a reflection of the fact that form a significant part of all the resources, particularly from KS4 upwards.
6. Do you ever make use of the Teacher's Guide pages?
40% said they do. This reassures me that it's worth keeping those pages there.
7. Which sections do you often use?
In line with previous surveys, the most used sections are A-level and Y10-11 (GCSE). 82% said they use the A-level page, 74% the Y10-11 page. 8% said they make use of the Adult Learners page (the least used), with 23% saying they use the Y7/Primary page.
8. Do you ever use the narrow reading and narrow listening resources on the Y8 and Y9 pages?
53% said they do. In fact, these resources are quite new on the site and were written as a response to the demand for this style of exercise. Expect to see some more.
9. Which pages would you like to see further developed?
The most popular answer to this question was the Y10-11 (GCSE) page with 48%. This was followed by the A-level page and the Primary/Y7 page. Overall, the responses don't give me a particularly clear steer on where to put my future emphasis.
10. Which type of resource would you like to see more of?
The answers were very varied, with none standing out in particular.
I always leave space for individual comments. below are some I received. As regards literature, I won't be doing book or film-specific resourses, mainly because the time investment needed for the very small number of subscribers makes it unproductive from my point of view. There is also good stuff out there already, notably from Steve Glover and on TES.
In response to the bottom comment below, I have been adding some easier grammar worksheets recently and will continue to do so. I am aware that some schools find the resources on the challenging side.
I cannot do much more on AQA sample papers since I don't have the ability to produce the right type of listening material. In any case, by now there are a LOT of past papers out there from the three awarding bodies so there is no shortage of exam practice material.
Here are some comments:
In the adult learners section, lower level work beginners which would be more suitable for adults than Y7 and Y 8 materials.
Literature studies for A-level.
Model conversations similar to ones on the Adults page.
AQA reading and listening sample papers.
Teaching through storytelling.
Crosswords. More fun activities. Easier tasks. Your Y8 level is our Y9 at best. Topic worksheets. A lot of our students can’t do your grammar worksheets because they are very in depth.
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