Textbook writing tutorial

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Definition

This article deals with how to write a textbook, i.e. tries to formalize a few recipes.

Disclaimer: I am not a textbook writer. This is just a summary of some literature and a superficial analysis of some textbooks - Daniel K. Schneider 16:46, 9 August 2007 (MEST).

See also (and maybe before):

• Textbook (Introduction)
• Textbook genres and examples
• Textbook research

Textbook chapter elements

Most textbooks are written with a sort of direct instruction model in mind. However, this is not an obligation. On the other hand, teachers engaged in other pedagogical approaches do not necessarily use textbooks, but rather a combination of manuals and "normal" academic texts.

But in any case, chapters should be planned also in terms of various functional elements and that also may show visually. This chapter is partly based on Lepionka (2003), chapters 8-10.

Overview and introduction

Lepionka (2003:117-118,123) distinguishes four major elements:

Openers

Express “subject, theme, aims, topics, and organization of a chapter [... readers should] know at the outset what they are reading and why or to what end” (Lepionka 2003:117). E.g. if you follow Gagné's nine events of instruction then you should include

something to motivate and gain attention (step 1), something to help the frame and organize (step 2) and something to recall prior knowledge (step 3).

Closers

Give students opportunities to review, reinforce, or extend their learning, i.e. help with transfer (Lepionka 2003:118)

Internal Pedagogical Devices

Feature Strands

Typographic Design

Pedagogical discourse should be reflected in layout.

Links

• Richard Felder's resources in science and engineering education.
• What I've Learned about Writing Economics by Hal R. Varian, University of California, Berkeley
• Writing Guidelines for Engine (Eco)ering and Science Students by Michael Alley
• Getting Started Creating A Textbook by David Rees (goals and process). (also here).
• (Instructional literature , Development of Educational Material, CARNet, retrieved 19:57, 8 August 2007 (MEST)).

References

Practical Advise

• Alley, M. 1996 The Craft of Scientific Writing (3rd Ed.). Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. ISBN 0-387-94766-3

• Ben-Ari, M., Walker, H. M., Redvers-Mutton, G., and Mansfield, K. 2002. Writing a textbook. In Proceedings of the 7th Annual Conference on innovation and Technology The Textbook and after... Pierre Moeglinin Computer Science Education (Aarhus, Denmark, June 24 - 28, 2002). ITiCSE '02. ACM Press, New York, NY, 94-95. DOI 10.1145/544414.544444 (Summary of a panel discussion).

• Dale, N., Mercer, R., Koffman, E., and Savitch, W. 2001. Writing a textbook: walking the gauntlet. SIGCSE Bull. 33, 1 (Mar. 2001), 408-409. Abstract (summary of a panel discussion)

• Forbes, David J., (1996), Make History Textbook Writing "A Puzzlement", The History Teacher. Vol. 29, No. 4 (Aug., 1996), pp. 455-461. JSTOR Bitmap/POF

• Hatch, Mary Jo (2007). Writing From Teaching: A Textbook Writer's Tale, Journal of Management Education, Vol. 31, No. 3, 405-412 (2007). DOI 10.1177/1052562906298443

• Lepionka, Mary Ellen (2003), Writing and Developing Your College Textbook, ISBN 0-9728164-0-2. (This practical book gets good reviews. I bought it and find it useful - Daniel K. Schneider)

• Lepionka, Mary Ellen (2005), Writing and Developing College Textbook Supplements ISBN 0-9728164-1-0

• Silv (Eco)erman, Franklin H. (2004), Self-Publishing Textbooks and Instructional Materials, ISBN 0-9728164-3-7

• Thirlway, M. 1994 Writing Software Manuals: a Practical Guide. Prentice-Hall, Inc. ISBN 0-13-138801-0

• Ranking, Elizabeth, The Work of Writing: Insights and Strategies for Academics and Professionals, Wiley, ISBN: 978-0-7879-5679-0

Instructional objectives

See also: instructional design and instructional design method in particular.

• Felder, Richard M. and Rebecca Brent (1997). Objectively Speaking, Chemical Engineering Education, 31(3), 178-179 (1997). HTML reprint

• Gronlund, N.E. (1991)- How to write and use instructional objectives (4th ed.) New York, Macmillan.