Do Textbooks Belong in the Classroom?

Betty E

7 years ago

Some of the most common complaints about textbooks include the fact that they&&num;8217&semi;re heavy, cumbersome, and often outdated&period; However, many of these complaints have more to do with how the school utilizes the texts more than to do with the actual quality of the content&period; The truth is that textbook authors are constantly revising the content and format of the books to keep pace with educational goals and emerging research of scientific principles, etc&period;&NewLine;The Advantages of Using Textbooks &NewLine;Teachers in traditional settings, including elementary schools and college courses, often choose textbooks to boost the learning of students in their classes&period; There are many reasons for this decision&period;&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li>New teachers may use lesson formats based on the design of the book&period; Questions, cross-curricular ideas, and additional information to be covered are often included in the text&period;</li>&NewLine;<li>The organization of textbooks often provides a convenient sequence of information for teachers&period; For example, from simple mathematics to more complicated equations or a chronological progression in history&period;</li>&NewLine;<li>Specific facts, dates, and stories are presented with a clear focus, including relevant questions and discussion prompts all in one convenient location&period;</li>&NewLine;<li>The information within textbooks generally comes from educators, college professors, or recognized experts in a specific field&period; The content is usually non-controversial and approved by a committee of professionals&period;</li>&NewLine;<li>Textbooks are formatted so students can easily find specific topics&period;</li>&NewLine;</ul>&NewLine;Many teachers, after hearing complaints about textbooks, agree that any given textbook is only as effective as the teacher presenting the information&period; Many educators recognize some relevant disadvantages to using textbooks&period; For example, there are many topics addressed in classrooms that could and should be presented from more than one viewpoint&period; However, disadvantages are easily addressed when teachers introduce other books and media as part of their curriculum&period; &NewLine;Tips for Using Textbooks Effectively &NewLine;Teachers and parents can improve the effectiveness of any textbook by viewing it as a tool, or as a single resource, in a collection of educational tools&period;&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li>Remember that no single textbook is perfect or all-inclusive&period;</li>&NewLine;<li>Refer to textbook sections for fact-based information and discussions&period;</li>&NewLine;<li>Modify, skip, and add to information from the books to suit educational goals&period;</li>&NewLine;<li>Supplement textbook work with hands-on activities, further research, and access to primary sources (such as copies of the Constitution for a history lesson on the document)&period;</li>&NewLine;</ul>&NewLine;What To Consider When Choosing Textbooks &NewLine;Consider this example&colon; Bentham science, technology, and medical texts offer science content that has been peer-reviewed, was published in relevant journals, and which coordinates with an increasing number of resources&period; The texts are geared toward students moving into modern career fields, such as biomedicine and engineering&period; Educators considering whether to purchase these textbooks may ask themselves the following questions&colon;&NewLine;<ul>&NewLine;<li>Is the content up-to-date, accurate, and appropriate for the classroom&quest;</li>&NewLine;<li>How does the readability rate&quest; Are new terms defined and chapters clearly marked&quest;</li>&NewLine;<li>What instructional approach does the textbook take&quest;</li>&NewLine;<li>Is there an appropriate ratio of written content to illustrations&quest;</li>&NewLine;<li>What other resources are available with the books&quest;</li>&NewLine;</ul>&NewLine;Prospective buyers should thoroughly review samples and the textbooks themselves, working with Bentham science publishers to fully understand the value of the text as a tool in the classroom&period; Perhaps of the greatest importance is the consideration of how well any text fits within the established curriculum&period; Too many teachers choose a textbook and attempt to create their teaching program around the text rather than establishing their program and then adding a textbook as one element of that program&period; &NewLine;The End Results &NewLine;Should textbooks be used as part of a healthy educational program&quest; They clearly have their place, and when teachers use the books as one tool in their arsenal of educational tools, textbooks offer crucial benefits to both students and educators&period; With a solid educational plan in place, these ubiquitous academic resources may still play an effective role in learning for many generations to come&period;&NewLine;