Classroom Trends
Use of Instructional Materials Weekly or More Often
66%
Materials developed by you or staff at your school
62%
Materials found free on the internet (other than OER)
Digital intructional materials (videos, games,
apps, etc.) — regardless of source
55%
51%
Commercial materials provided by your
school/district/state
44%
Materials developed by your district or state
19%
Open Education Resources (OER)
0
teachers. Almost half of teachers (47%)
surveyed never use OER.
Time Spent on Research
Since teachers are producing their
own instructional materials, they spend
considerable time on this task. The
majority of teachers spend four or more
hours per week on each of these tasks:
creating instructional resources, and
searching for paid and free classroom
resources.
In total, teachers spend more than
12 hours each week creating or search-
ing for materials. This is a significant
time commitment that positions teach-
ers, schools, and districts as competitors
for published products. Publishers need
to understand why educators have the
need to create their own materials and
work with teachers to address their
concerns.
Summary
Classroom Trends — Teachers as
Buyers of Instructional Materials and
Users of Technology is part of MDR’s
State of the K-12 Market Report 2016
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series. This report offers a deep perspec-
tive into teachers’ sphere of influence in
the classroom and school buying process
and their expanding roles and responsi-
bilities in deciding what to develop and
purchase. Teachers are most interested
in products that are easy to use, have
worked for other teachers and have the
potential of being effective classroom
tools for learning. Ultimately, it is to both
the publishers’ and the teachers’ advan-
tage for school suppliers to create curric-
MDR’s State of the
Market Research
Order MDR’s State of the K-12
Market Reports at MDR Research
Reports: call 800.333.8802, or email
[email protected]. Other reports
in the series address technology and
curriculum trends as viewed from the
district level, as well as a school trends
report based on principals’ perspec-
tives. Reports are based on wide-scale
market research surveys and are
written by industry experts.
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ulum so teachers can focus on teaching
to improve student achievement through
personalized learning. n
ANNE WUJCIK has more than 35 years
of education research and publishing
experience. She is Managing Edit or of MDR’s
EdNET News and supports MDR’s EdNET
Insight market
intelligence
service. Anne
began her career
as a classroom
teacher at the
primary level.
MDR is an inte-
grated marketing
services agency
with unique
digital, creative,
and branding capabilities. MDR leads the
industry in helping clients achieve their
business goals by connecting with targeted
audiences through research and market
intelligence, a world-class school database
and these multi-channel digital communi-
ties: WeAreTeachers, WeAreParents, School
Leaders Now, Schooldata.com, and EdNET.
essentials | www.edmarket.org 9