mathematics education

[mathsinsight]

Hi! I am a mathematics educator, not really a designer at all, but I am really interested in how the design of a resource, a worksheet, or a presentation might impact on its effectiveness. My web searching has not turned up much work in this area, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it could be important, and I would certainly like to think about it more deeply in relation to my own work. It seems to me that what I produce could be beautiful as well as functional.

Does anyone know if there are designers with a particular interest in the look of instructional materials? If so, I’d love to hear from you!

Thanks so much everyone!

Brian.

 

[Levi]

Does the design of a resource have an impact on effectiveness.... yes it does.

Does that mean you need to make it all pretty and decorative.... no, although adding imagery to represent things doesn't hurt obviously... just be careful with the way they're added.

Does it mean you should ensure a consistent, easily understood structure and layout... yes.

Basically think about it from a user perspective rather than the one presenting the work, you already know what's being put down but the user doesn't....do they need the distractions when trying to learn something new etc.

If I was doing something like this I'd be considering things like the choice of font and it's size, the colours being used (ie for the different variations of colour blindness). considerations for readers who might have dyslexia or other reading impairments (no huge blocks of text for example) and from a personal perspective if it's something I keep/own I'd like somewhere I can scribble notes about the resource material as I go through it.