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== Definition ==
== Definition ==


According to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textbook Wikipedia], retrieved 14:45, 8 August 2007 (MEST), {{quotation|a textbook is a manual of instruction or a standard book in any branch of study. They are produced according to the demand of the educational institutions. Textbooks are usually published by one of the four major publishing companies. Although most textbooks are only published in printed format, some can now be viewed online.}}
According to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textbook Wikipedia], retrieved 19:57, 8 August 2007 (MEST), {{quotation|a textbook is a manual of instruction or a standard book in any branch of study. They are produced according to the demand of the educational institutions. Textbooks are usually published by one of the four major publishing companies. Although most textbooks are only published in printed format, some can now be viewed online.}}


Textbook is a teaching tool (material) which presents the subject matter defined by the curriculum. A university textbook is required to contain the complete overview of the subject, including the theories, as well as to be of a more permanent character.([http://www.carnet.hr/referalni/obrazovni/en/iom/littextbook/def CARNet], retrieved 14:45, 8 August 2007 (MEST)).
Textbook is a teaching tool (material) which presents the subject matter defined by the curriculum. A university textbook is required to contain the complete overview of the subject, including the theories, as well as to be of a more permanent character.([http://www.carnet.hr/referalni/obrazovni/en/iom/littextbook/def CARNet], retrieved 19:57, 8 August 2007 (MEST)).


In this article we will try to synthesize out a few fundamental textbook writing principles. So far, we didn't include any textbook research.
In this overview article we just will try to explicit a bit the ''textbook'' genre and provide a few major links and references.
For further reading, see the related articles below.


== Principles of textbook writing ==
=== Related articles ===


In this chapter we argue that textbook writing is in a way "normal" instructional design problem, but that there are some specific issues.
* [[Textbook writing tutorial]] (I later may move some stuff of this article there - DKS)
* [[Textbook research]]
* [[Textbook genres and examples]]
* [[Electronic textbook]]


=== Textbook writing and pedagogical theory ===
== What is a textbook ? ==


Firstly, textbook writing is related to [[instructional design]] and therefore you should think in terms of some [[instructional design model]]s and [[instructional design method|methods]]. Probably most authors should use at least some kind of [[backwards design]], i.e. define what students are supposed to be able to do (e.g. solve problems) and then write the books that enables them to do so.
=== Textbook and instruction design ===


One also could argue that textbooks should respect some [[first principles of instruction]], e.g. let's recall Merril's:
We'd like to argue that textbooks are generally an element in a larger instructional design (e.g. a course). Therefore one must start by looking at the function(s) of a textbook.
* '''The demonstration principle''': Learning is promoted when learners observe a demonstration
* '''The application principle''': Learning is promoted when learners apply the new knowledge
* '''The activation principle''':  Learning is promoted when learners activate prior knowledge or experience
* '''The integration principle''': Learning is promoted when learners integrate their new knowledge into their everyday world
* '''The task-centered principle''': Learning is promoted when learners engage in a task-centered instructional strategy


However, textbook writing is a specific activity and one should not forget that textbooks are usually just an element in a given [[pedagogic strategy]] and must be planned together with possible pedagogical use cases.  
In other words, use and production of a textbook is related to a "normal" [[instructional design]] problems and one can rely on various [[instructional design method|design methods]] and
[[instructional design model]]s, based in turn on underlying psychological and pedagogical theory.  


E.g. Horsley and Walker (2005:265) identify a changing conception of textbooks
Textbooks are usually part of a pedagogical design, i.e. it can
that is related to chaning learning theories. Teaching and learning materials e.g. textbooks are used differently according to pedagogical theory:
be the center piece of a course syllabus, it can be used for self-study (students and professionals), teachers can assign just
* [[Direct instruction|Transmission]]: Source of information, Basis of transmission, Knowledge authority, Structure of a teaching and learning program
parts for reading. According to use contexts, functions of a textbook are not the same. But we do argue, that one can identify particular functional and structural questions related to production, structure, function, use, etc. of textbooks.
* [[Constructivism|Constructivist]]: Activity and inquiry source; Provision of multiple sources for students; student knowledge ;construction Multiple sources for teacher selection.
* [[Socio-culturalism|Sociocultural]]: Scaffolds learning; Enculturates students into disciplinary knowledge and practices; Source of inquiry activities; Basis of explicit teachings.
See also the related discussion around the pedagogical purpose of various kinds of [[Learning_object#Pedagogical_design_and_learning_objects|learning object]]s.


=== Genres ===
=== Cultural differences ===
 
According to the educational context and pegagogy adopted by a teacher, textbooks can have very different functions and probably need to be organized in a different way. There are different ways to look textbooks and it may not be easy to define a taxonomy based on good criteria. ([[User:Daniel K. Schneider|Daniel K. Schneider]] didn't find any).
 
; Textbooks and almost textbooks
 
* Introduction to methods
* Handbook of instructions
* Guidebook for the design of something
* Workbook
* Survey of literature text
* Analysis of literature text
* ...
 
; Usage contexts in higher education
 
* Small classrooms (with less than 20 students)
* Large classrooms (teacher can not monitor individual students)
* Large classrooms with attached seminars/labs run by teaching assistants
* Good distance education (tutored learning
* Low cost distance education (full self-learning)
* Rich / medium / poor context (students can/cannot afford textbooks)
 
; According to any sort of learning or pedagogical theory.
 
* Learning modes. E.g. Hayes (2005) uses Kolb's [[experiential learning]] modes: active / concrete learning, reflective / active learning.
 
=== Pedagogical objectives ===
 
There are several ways to manage objectives (each [[Instructional systems design|ISD]] model or extensions like the [[Kemp design model|Kemp]] will tell you more). Often, advise on writing textbooks suggests to plan book chapters in terms of desired learning level outcomes.
 
=== Lerning objectives ===
 
For example, the [http://epitome.ce.gatech.edu/iowa/ IOWA] writing assistant identifies 6 levels of emphasis based on Bloom's [[learning level#Blooms_taxonomy|taxonomy of learning]] that we reproduce here exactly as defined in [http://epitome.ce.gatech.edu/iowa/results.html Applying your results] (retrieved 20:03, 27 July 2007 (MEST)):
# Knowledge: rote memorization, recognition, or recall of facts.
# Comprehension: understanding what the facts mean.
# Application: correct use of the facts, rules, or ideas.
# Analysis: breaking down information into component parts.
# Synthesis: combination parts to make a new whole.
# Evaluation: judging the value or worth of information or ideas.
 
Depending on your objectives you may put different emphasis on each level. You then can then define '''objectives''', '''activities''', '''assessment''' for the book as a whole but also for each chapter.
 
Here is an example for ''Synthesis''. Target students are students in educational technology. They have to prepare an e-Text about e-learning standards as an activity.
 
* Objective: "By the end of this section, you (as a student) will be able to design a learning object that introduces key components of e-learning standards, and in particular modeling languages.
* Activities: Make your own summary of the most important concepts you can find in articles on [[Category:Educational modeling languages|educational modeling languages]] and then design of a course module with [[eXe]]
* Assessment: The course module
* Key Words: Design, formulate, build, invent, create, compose, generate, derive, modify, develop.
 
Objectives then can written out at the start of chapters and/or sections and activities inserted where appropriate. Hints for self-assessment can added too.
 
=== Language and organization of contents ===
 
According to Jones (2005), textbook writers have three choices: simplification, easyfication, or the scaffolding of concept knowledge. We shall summarize some prescriptions can be derived from this article.
 
; Simplification strategies - enhanced cohesion/coherence
* simplification of content: explain new technical terms as they arise
* simplification of form: make sure that the text has cohesive links and restores implicit relationships, e.g. when using general-specific of problem-solution progressions.
* simplification by including explanations and exemplifications
* using similar structures, i.e. syntactic repetition acts as a form of syntactic scaffolding.
 
Note that simplification may turn against learning. For example NcNamara et al. (1996) found that {{quotation| text coherence improved readers' comprehension, but also that giving readers with sufficient background knowledge an incoherent text that forced them to infer unstated relations engaged them in compensatory processing, allowing deeper text understanding than might occur with a coherent text.}}
 
; Easification strategies - enhancing structure
The purpose easification is to {{quotation|give learners an additional instructional appahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textbookratus by developing a kind of "access structure" around the text without his [sic] having gone through the intervening stages of simplified materials}} Bhatia cited by Jones (2005:9). Examples of such devices are:
 
* Provide introductory paragraph(s) to a text (or text segment)
* Provide a structural analysis ('tagging' sections) to a text (or text segment), e.g. as in [[Advance Organizer]]s.
* Provide a schematic representation of a text (or text segment)
* Add annotations/explanations to the text, e.g. marginalia
* Add metadiscursive commentaries (before, in the middle, or after)
* Add questions to encourage interactions with the text
 
; Scaffolding - providing domain knowledge
 
{{quotation|Scaffolding in the sense intended here means the provision of a series of carefully designed pre-task exercises (or ''activities'') which allow students to familiarize themselves with [[concept learning|concepts]] of increasing complexity and to explore these concepts in terms of their reactances and interrelations.}} Jones (2005:10)
 
Typical activities can be:
* filling in gapped texts
* complete sentences
* propositional clusters
* produce or complete tables and flow charts
* write summaries of various sorts, e.g. include critique, most things relevant, organize information, etc.
 
Note that these activities can be assigned by teacher, i.e. must not necessarily be part of the text itself.
 
== 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 {{quotation|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
 
 
=== Learning objectives ===
 
=== Organizers ===
 
=== Case studies, scenarios, vignettes ===
 
=== Quotations and epigrams ===
 
=== Pictures ===
 
=== Conclusion and summary ===
 
=== List of definitions ===
 
=== Review questions ===
 
=== Transfer aids ===
 
=== Self-assessment ===


=== Further reading ===
Functions of the textbook and ways they are written differ a lot within the few cultural systems [[User:Daniel K. Schneider|Daniel K. Schneider]] is somewhat familiar with:
* In the US, in particular in so-called teaching universities, the textbook is at center stage. It duplicates in a way the teacher since it it has a lot of built-in pedagogy and since chapters must be read in linear fashion.
* In Germany, Switzerland and France in the "normal" university systems there are few textbooks. Students are exposed to more lecturing and therefore many more teaching hours/week. Supplementary reading is often optional and concerns both introductory books or academic literature. There is a tradition of the "pedagogical manual" or "instructional book". Interestingly, the Wikipedia [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textbook textbook] translates in french to [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_scolaire school manual] or "pedagogical manual" (manuel scolaire) and in German to [http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lehrbuch instructional book] (Lehrbuch, "lehr" refers to teaching).


Let's have a look at the German definition of "textbook" in Wikipedia (retrieved 16:39, 10 August 2007 (MEST)).
{{quotationbox| A "Lehrbuch" (textbook) is a special form of a non-fiction book used for teaching. It contains didactically prepared learning matter and materials.}}
I wonder if there is a difference between "Lehrstoff" and "Lehrmaterial". Authors then further state that such books present dominant theory in simplified form, but also sometimes on-going debates. Furthermore the authors then define two special cases:
* Repetitorium, i.e. manuals that help to prepare exams
* Schulbuch (school books), i.e. textbooks used a school level.
* To this we can add lecturing scripts (in french, "polycopiés" in reference to the production process), i.e. a text written by professor and that contains his lecture.


== Typographic Design ==
The French translations are also interesting.
{{quotationbox|[http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trait%C3%A9_%28litt%C3%A9rature%29 Traité] (treatise) is an instructional manual or a standard book in any branch of study. They can be different according to target population and subject matter. "Traités" are usually edited by specialized printers [...] }}
{{quotationbox|The [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuel_scolaire Manuel scolaire] (Pedagogical manual) (from latin ''manus'', the hand), was considered in the XIX century a book that summarizes all other. It is didactic [instructional] book that has handy format and includes the essential knowledge of a given domain.}}


Pedagogical discourse should be reflected in layout.
It is also funny to see how different language versions are linked:


=== Titles ===
<code><pre>
en.wikipedia.org Textbook  -> de.wikipedia.org Lehrbuch
en.wikipedia.org Textbook  -> fr.wikipedia.org Manuel_scolaire


=== Marginalia ===
de.wikipedia.org Lehrbuch  -> en.wikipedia.org Textbook
de.wikipedia.org Lehrbuch  -> fr.wikipedia.org Traité (littérature)
de.wikipedia.org Schulbuch -> en.wikipedia.org Textbook
de.wikipedia.org Schulbuch -> fr.wikipedia.org  -


=== Strong text ===
fr.wikipedia.org Manuel_scolaire -> de.wikipedia.org Lehrbuch
fr.wikipedia.org Manuel_scolaire -> en.wikipedia.org Textbook
fr.wikipedia.org Traité (littérature) -> de.wikipedia.org Lehrbuch
fr.wikipedia.org Traité (littérature) -> en.wikipedia.org Textbook
</pre></code>


=== Crossreferences ===
Finally let's have a look at [http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textbook Textbook] in simple English Wikipedia. I like that definition almost better than the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textbook "normal"] one because it is functional, not structural.
{{quotationbox|A textbook is a book someone uses to learn. It is usually supplied in classrooms form primary school to post secondary school. People use it to learn from it about a certain subject. They might also teach other people about that subject.}}


=== Boxes ===
This short an informal discussion of Wikipedia definitions tells us the following: In the eyes of probably not so informed Wikipedia authors:
* (US) English only has one major genre: The textbook
* Germans and French make a distinction between university books and schoolbooks
* French consider university books to be expository (no built-in pedagogy), whereas the German authors just mentioned "didactically prepared contents".
* This difference between the US and German/French definition does not exist for schoolbooks. I.e. it is expected that schoolbooks look quite a bit like their US counterparts.


== Textbook research ==
There is also a difference in format. I noticed in particular that most German textbooks (at least for the humanities) are usually cheap and small pocket books, whereas in the US it is the opposite: Textbooks are huge (large and fat) and expensive. In France most textbooks (I believe) are sort of mid-sized softcovers, but there is also a series of [http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Que_sais-je Que sais-je], about 1200 little (128 pages) didactic books without illustrations for almost every domain that exists. They are usually written by a leading domain expert. On the other extreme (both in France and Germany) there also exist huge and large textbooks, but mostly restricted to domains like
medicine or law.


There are various strands of textbook research .... (this chapter needs to be completed some day, for the moment I just copy/pasted a few quotes and ideas - [[User:Daniel K. Schneider|Daniel K. Schneider]] 14:45, 8 August 2007 (MEST))
But then it gets more complicated, there is not just a difference between language cultures, but between national cultures. E.g. Belgium textbooks (e.g. DeBoek) are much more based on instructional design principles and do have a structure similar to typical US books, but in [[User:Daniel K. Schneider|Daniel K. Schneider]]'s opinion much less verbose and made in way that information can be found again (see the [[Textbook_genres_and_examples#La_d.C3.A9marche_d.27une_recherche_en_sciences_humaines|Depelteau example]]) I discussed.


=== How students deal with textbooks ===
=== The dumbing down question ===


....
There is also a debate in the U.S., but in some European systems belief that students should be exposed to "real literature" (academic or technical manuals) is very strong and just in France or Germany. E.g. {{quotation|The general sentiment, in Britain at least, seems to be that the knowledge in textbooks is in some way second-rate knowledge and that the teachers, the writers and the learners who engage with them in their different ways are somehow doing something second-rate}}. (Issit, 2005: 690)


=== Learning modes and styles ===
I.e. personally ([[User:Daniel K. Schneider|Daniel K. Schneider]]) in my technical courses, I leave it open to the students what books they want to buy and rather suggest O'Reilly books. Only when I am teaching at a local American teaching university I use these 600-1500 books, but then I noticed that students do no really work trough them as they should ... (there is whole literature on that).


Haynes (2005:295), in a study (based on Kolb's [[experiential learning]]) of three textbooks he concludes: {{quotation| In summary, we may say that Beginning Theory, Doing English and The English Studies Book all provide frequent prompts to abstract learning. Two of them - Beginning Theory and Doing English - do this too for concrete learning. Doing English provides more fully than either of the other two texts for reflective learning, though through its learning activities The English Studies Book also does this to some extent. The section in The English Studies Book is the only one that explicitly provides for active learning. None of the books offers balanced provision for all four modes of learning.}}
=== Use of textbooks ===


=== Linguistic organization ===
The question is how teachers and students make sense of the textbook within the context of wider learning environments and what function it has in relation to other teacher materials and other learning activities.


E.g. Lucas, 2005:57) concludes that {{quotation|Textbooks are representative of the didactic genre, which cross languages and epochs. This genre is based on explanation but also aims at active implication from the reader. It implies a very careful organisation and layout, in order to guide the reader and provide room for interaction. Exercises are the canonical form of interaction. Due to the many constraints of clear explanation and sufficiently detailed information on each topic, textbooks share many common features. Clear segmentation allows parallel progression between illustration discourse and text discourse. Overall progression through the book is marked by explicit checkpoints. Although textbooks are highly constrained, they still differ widely according to matter and grade, not to mention culture.}}
See the [[textbook writing tutorial]] and [[textbook research]] for more.


Aamotsbakken (2005:102) considers that textbook both contain open and closed texts (Eco). Open texts are open for interpretation because they challenge the reader with a spectre of explicit and implict codes, intertextuality and a complicated structure.
; From the teacher's point of view


=== Model readers vs. real readers ===
Examples:
* As major teaching aid with a lot of built-in pedagogy, e.g. review questions, self-assessment and workcases.
* To help the teacher prepare a class (and also to recover from not so efficient lecturing)
* As reading assignment to cover specific concepts
* As supplementary reading for various purposes (e.g. to help with term projects, to help preparing an exam, as references ...)


E.g. Aamotsbakken (2005: 106)
; From the student's point of view


=== Textbooks and educational reforms ===
[[User:Daniel K. Schneider|Daniel K. Schneider]] has the suspicion that a typical US student enrolled in a typical teaching university does not read and work through the textbook as the authors planned it, i.e. they rather use as complementary reading or reference and skip activities that don't seem to have a direct relation to quizzes administered by the teacher.
But I'd have to dig into [[textbook research]] to be sure about this.


{{quotation|Tools and media are ambivalent: as institutions they contribute to the stabilisation of the educational institution, but they also challenge the institution and they force it to evolve. The textbook is more than a simple tool. Because of the values that it transmits, and through the instrumentation that it offers to the master and the pupil, it highlights the professionalism of both, it testifies to their specialisation and becomes one of the factors of their social recognition. But, while the textbook officializes and consolidates, it also introduces changes, encourages innovations and facilitates reforms.}} (Moeglin, 2005:20).
It is also argued that textbooks, if available cheaply, would have bright future in the third world. However, one study made in Namibia found that textbooks are very much underused, i.e. {{quotation|The major uses of textbooks in class were for diagrams and data, and to verify factual information. Occasionally, questions in textbooks were used as homework to test and/or consolidate knowledge.}} (Lubben, 2003).


=== Cultural differences ===
=== Textbook genres ===


Textbooks are particularly important in the mainstream US Educational system that has strong roots in more traditional [[instructional design]].
* See [[textbook genres and examples]]
 
Most of Europe's higher education system is somewhat different
* On one hand more emphasis is put on "Bildung" (education) as opposed to training. Students are supposed to organize knowledge themselves and be able to cope with all sorts of more primary materials (e.g. real academic books and articles).
* Professors are supposed to develop their own lecture (and views). These actually may be considered "spoken textbooks" since often students are just supposed to reproduce contents at exams. University teachers also have a fairly low teaching load (e.g. about 6 hours) since their main job is to do research.
 
Both of these features (that are in contradiction) make textbooks not very popular in standard universities. However, in most European countries there are higher education institutions with little research and high teaching loads, such as the Swiss Universities of Applied Sciences and these have a lot in common with American "teaching universities".
 
=== Dumbing down questions ===
 
Critiques of textbooks often claim that there can be dumbing down effect, in particular since some textbook authors indeed overdo simplification. But one must clearly distinguish between (1) the general question whether systematic use of textbooks (as in teaching universities) can have a dumbing down effect and the (2) the question whether some textbooks are too easy and aim too low and whether this is a global trend in education.


== Links ==
== Links ==
Line 226: Line 116:
* [http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/ci/31/special/02sb_inet.html Internet resources for scientific writing] by Svetla Baykoucheva
* [http://pubs.acs.org/subscribe/journals/ci/31/special/02sb_inet.html Internet resources for scientific writing] by Svetla Baykoucheva
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textbook Textbook] (Wikipedia entry)
* [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textbook Textbook] (Wikipedia entry)
* [http://www.textbookleague.org/ttlindex.htm The Textbook League] (includes over 200 critical articles)


; Advice on writing textbooks
; Advice on writing textbooks


* [http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ Richard Felder]'s resources in science and engineering education.
See [[textbook writing tutorial]]
* [http://www.ischool.berkeley.edu/~hal/Papers/writing-economics.html What I've Learned about Writing Economics] by Hal R. Varian, University of California, Berkeley
* [http://www.writing.eng.vt.edu/index.html Writing Guidelines for Engine (Eco)ering and Science Students] by Michael Alley
* [http://www.sa2.info/HOW-TO/rees1.html Getting Started Creating A Textbook] by David Rees (goals and process). (also [http://www.mountainplains.org/articles/2000/opinion/writing_a_textbook.html here]).
* ([http://www.carnet.hr/referalni/obrazovni/en/iom/literature Instructional literature ], Development of Educational Material,  CARNet, retrieved 14:45, 8 August 2007 (MEST)).


; Examples of (technical) author guidelines
; Examples of (technical) author guidelines
Line 252: Line 139:
* [http://www.schoolchoices.org/roo/textbook.htm The Tragic Decline In Textbooks]. (actually a discussion about "decline of the school").
* [http://www.schoolchoices.org/roo/textbook.htm The Tragic Decline In Textbooks]. (actually a discussion about "decline of the school").
* [http://www.sa2.info/VOICES/2004/dumbing1.html Dumbing Down Revisited] by M.E. Lepionka, Society Of Academic Authors.
* [http://www.sa2.info/VOICES/2004/dumbing1.html Dumbing Down Revisited] by M.E. Lepionka, Society Of Academic Authors.
* [http://www.lekti-ecriture.com/contrefeux/Les-manuels-scolaires-et-la.html Les manuels scolaires et la fabrique en masse des non-lecteurs]
; Journals
* [http://www.gei.de/index.php?id=30&L=1 International Schulbuchforschung /International Textbook Research] (Eckert Institute). Abstracts are online.
* [http://faculty.ed.uiuc.edu/westbury/Paradigm/ Paradigm - the Journal of Textbook colloquium] appears twice a year and carries articles, notes, and reviews. The electronic version is free.
; Associations


; Organizations and conferences
* [http://www.iartem.no/ The International Association for Research on Textbooks and Educational Media]
* [http://www.iartem.no/ The International Association for Research on Textbooks and Educational Media]
; Conferences
* [http://www.caen.iufm.fr/colloque_iartem/acte.html The Eighth International Conference On Learning And Educational Media].  Caught in the Web or lost in the Textbook? (include online proceedings)
* [http://www.caen.iufm.fr/colloque_iartem/acte.html The Eighth International Conference On Learning And Educational Media].  Caught in the Web or lost in the Textbook? (include online proceedings)
 
* [http://alex.edfac.usyd.edu.au/LocalResource/TREAT/ics01/ The Future Of Textbooks] (2001)


== Software ==
== Software ==
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* [http://epitome.ce.gatech.edu/iowa/ IOWA, Instructional Objective Writing Assistant]
* [http://epitome.ce.gatech.edu/iowa/ IOWA, Instructional Objective Writing Assistant]
* [[SafaryU]] O'Reilly Media's on-demand textbook textbook system.


== References ==
== Bibliography ==


=== Textbook understanding ===
* Feynmann, Richard (1985). [http://www.textbookleague.org/103feyn.htm Book chapter] in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, W.W. Norton & Company.


* Conderman, Greg; Elf, Nanci (2007), What's in This Book? Engaging Students through a Textbook Exploration Activity, ''Reading & Writing Quarterly'', v23 n1 p111-116 Jan-Mar 2007.
* Hoskin Keith (1990) he Textbook: Further Moves towards a Definition, ''Paradigm'' No. 3 (July, 1990), [http://faculty.ed.uiuc.edu/westbury/Paradigm/hoskin2.html HTML]


=== Practical Textbook and book writing ===
* Issitt, John (2005) Reflections on the study of textbooks, ''History Of Education'', November, 2004, Vol. 33, No. 6, [[http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0046760042000277834 DOI]


* Alley, M. 1996 The Craft of Scientific Writing (3rd Ed.). Springer-Verlag New York, Inc. ISBN 0-387-94766-3
* Jones, Alan (2005) Conceptual Development in Technical and Textbook Writing: A Challenge for L1 and L2 Student Readers, Proceedings of the International Professional Communication Conference, Limerick, Ireland, 12-15 July, 2005. [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=1494246 PDF] - [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=1494246 Abstract]
 
* 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 [http://www.caen.iufm.fr/colloque_iartem/pdf/moeglin.pdf The Textbook and after... Pierre Moeglin]in Computer Science Education (Aarhus, Denmark, June 24 - 28, 2002). ITiCSE '02. ACM Press, New York, NY, 94-95. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/544414.544444 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. [http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/366413.364793 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. [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0018-2745%28199608%2929%3A4%3C455%3AMHTW%22P%3E2.0.CO%3B2-O JSTOR Bitmap/POF]
* Johnsen, Egil Børre (2001), Textbooks in the Kaleidoscope, A Critical Survey of Literature and Research on Educational Texts, Translated by Linda Sivesind, Digital Edition Tønsberg: Vestfold College, 2001 [http://www-bib.hive.no/tekster/pedtekst/kaleidoscope/forside.html HTML] (This on-line text also includes a good bibliography, up the early 1990's).
 
* Hatch, Mary Jo (2007). Writing From Teaching: A Textbook Writer's Tale, Journal of Management Education, Vol. 31, No. 3, 405-412 (2007). [http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1052562906298443 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 - [[User:Daniel K. Schneider|Daniel K. Schneider]])
* 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 - [[User:Daniel K. Schneider|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
=== Textbook research ===
* Aamotsbakken Bente (2005). The relation between the model reader/-s and the authentic reader/-s. The possibilities for identification when reading curricular texts, Eighth International Conference on Learning and Educational Media. [http://www.caen.iufm.fr/colloque_iartem/pdf/aamotsbakken.pdf PDF]
* Bhatia, V. K. Simplification v. Easification: The Case of Legal Texts. Applied Linguistics 4(1), pp. 39-78.
* Eco, Umberto. 1981. The Role of the Reader. Explorations in the Semiotics of Texts. London: Hutchinsons & Co.Ltd.
* Haynes Anthony, Textbooks as Learning Resources, Eighth International Conference on Learning and Educational Media. [http://www.caen.iufm.fr/colloque_iartem/pdf/haynes.pdf PDF]
* Horsley, Mike and Richard Walker (2005). Video Based Classroom Observation Systems for Examining the Use and Role of Textbooks and Teaching Materials in Learning, Eighth International Conference on Learning and Educational Media.
[http://www.caen.iufm.fr/colloque_iartem/pdf/horsley_walker.pdf PDF]
* Jones, Alan (2005) Conceptual Development in Technical and Textbook Writing: A Challenge for L1 and L2 Student Readers, Proceedings of the International Professional Communication Conference, Limerick, Ireland, 12-15 July, 2005. [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpls/abs_all.jsp?arnumber=1494246 PDF] - [http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/freeabs_all.jsp?arnumber=1494246 Abstract]
* Lucas, Nadine (2005). Textbooks as a research challenge in computational linguistics, Eighth International Conference on Learning and Educational Media. [http://www.caen.iufm.fr/colloque_iartem/pdf/lucas.pdf PDF]
* Montelongo, José; Lola Berber-Jiménez, Anita C. Hernández, and David Hosking, [http://www.nsta.org/main/news/stories/science_teacher.php?category_ID=88&news_story_ID=51462 Teaching Expository Text Structures] (needs paid registration).
* McNamara, D.S., Kintsch, E., Songer, N.B. and Kintsch, W. (1996). "Are good texts always better? Interactions of text coherence, background knowledge, and levels of understanding in learning from text", ''Cognition and Instruction'', v14 n1 p1-43.
* Mikk, Jaan. 2000. Textbook: Research and Writing. Frankfurt: Peter Lang GmbH. ISBN 3-631-36335-4
* Pierre Moeglin, The Textbook and after,Eighth International Conference on Learning and Educational Media. [http://www.caen.iufm.fr/colloque_iartem/pdf/moeglin.pdf PDF].
* Trail Mary Ann; Carolyn Gutierrez and David Lechner (2006)., Reconsidering a Traditional Instruction Technique: Reassessing the Print Workbook, The Journal of Academic Librarianship, Volume 32, Issue 6, November 2006, Pages 632-640. ([http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W50-4M93P9D-1/2/0ee35c9332ba03d259174db224262317 Abstract])
=== 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). [http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Columns/Objectives.html HTML reprint]
* Gronlund, N.E. (1991)- How to write and use instructional objectives (4th ed.) New York, Macmillan.
=== Textbooks and the evolution of the school system ===
* Apple, Michael W., and Linda K. Christian-Smith, eds. The Politics of the Textbook. New York: Routledge, 1991.
* Altbach, Philip G., Gail P. Kelly, Hugh G. Petrie, and Lois Weiss, eds. Textbooks in American Society: Politics, Policy, and Pedagogy. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991.


* Schlafly, Phyllis (1996). The Dumbing Down of America's Colleges, [http://www.eagleforum.org/psr/1996/apr96/psrapr96.html Eagle Forum] 29:9 (has to do more with a critique of the school system)
* See also and in particular: the [[textbook research]] article for a longer bibliography
* See also: the [[textbook writing tutorial]] for some practical advise


* Gionfriddo, Jeanne Jarema, The Dumbing Down of Textbooks: An Analysis of Six Textbook Editions during a Twelve Year Span. M.A. Thesis, Kean College of New Jersey.


[[Category: Instructional design methods]]
[[Category: Instructional design methods]]
[[Category: Instructional design models]]
[[Category: Instructional design models]]
[[Category: Writing]]
[[Category: Writing]]

Latest revision as of 19:07, 22 August 2016

Definition

According to Wikipedia, retrieved 19:57, 8 August 2007 (MEST), “a textbook is a manual of instruction or a standard book in any branch of study. They are produced according to the demand of the educational institutions. Textbooks are usually published by one of the four major publishing companies. Although most textbooks are only published in printed format, some can now be viewed online.”

Textbook is a teaching tool (material) which presents the subject matter defined by the curriculum. A university textbook is required to contain the complete overview of the subject, including the theories, as well as to be of a more permanent character.(CARNet, retrieved 19:57, 8 August 2007 (MEST)).

In this overview article we just will try to explicit a bit the textbook genre and provide a few major links and references. For further reading, see the related articles below.

Related articles

What is a textbook ?

Textbook and instruction design

We'd like to argue that textbooks are generally an element in a larger instructional design (e.g. a course). Therefore one must start by looking at the function(s) of a textbook.

In other words, use and production of a textbook is related to a "normal" instructional design problems and one can rely on various design methods and instructional design models, based in turn on underlying psychological and pedagogical theory.

Textbooks are usually part of a pedagogical design, i.e. it can be the center piece of a course syllabus, it can be used for self-study (students and professionals), teachers can assign just parts for reading. According to use contexts, functions of a textbook are not the same. But we do argue, that one can identify particular functional and structural questions related to production, structure, function, use, etc. of textbooks.

Cultural differences

Functions of the textbook and ways they are written differ a lot within the few cultural systems Daniel K. Schneider is somewhat familiar with:

  • In the US, in particular in so-called teaching universities, the textbook is at center stage. It duplicates in a way the teacher since it it has a lot of built-in pedagogy and since chapters must be read in linear fashion.
  • In Germany, Switzerland and France in the "normal" university systems there are few textbooks. Students are exposed to more lecturing and therefore many more teaching hours/week. Supplementary reading is often optional and concerns both introductory books or academic literature. There is a tradition of the "pedagogical manual" or "instructional book". Interestingly, the Wikipedia textbook translates in french to school manual or "pedagogical manual" (manuel scolaire) and in German to instructional book (Lehrbuch, "lehr" refers to teaching).

Let's have a look at the German definition of "textbook" in Wikipedia (retrieved 16:39, 10 August 2007 (MEST)).

A "Lehrbuch" (textbook) is a special form of a non-fiction book used for teaching. It contains didactically prepared learning matter and materials.

I wonder if there is a difference between "Lehrstoff" and "Lehrmaterial". Authors then further state that such books present dominant theory in simplified form, but also sometimes on-going debates. Furthermore the authors then define two special cases:

  • Repetitorium, i.e. manuals that help to prepare exams
  • Schulbuch (school books), i.e. textbooks used a school level.
  • To this we can add lecturing scripts (in french, "polycopiés" in reference to the production process), i.e. a text written by professor and that contains his lecture.

The French translations are also interesting.

Traité (treatise) is an instructional manual or a standard book in any branch of study. They can be different according to target population and subject matter. "Traités" are usually edited by specialized printers [...]
The Manuel scolaire (Pedagogical manual) (from latin manus, the hand), was considered in the XIX century a book that summarizes all other. It is didactic [instructional] book that has handy format and includes the essential knowledge of a given domain.

It is also funny to see how different language versions are linked: 

en.wikipedia.org Textbook  -> de.wikipedia.org Lehrbuch
en.wikipedia.org Textbook  -> fr.wikipedia.org Manuel_scolaire

de.wikipedia.org Lehrbuch  -> en.wikipedia.org Textbook
de.wikipedia.org Lehrbuch  -> fr.wikipedia.org Traité (littérature)
de.wikipedia.org Schulbuch -> en.wikipedia.org Textbook
de.wikipedia.org Schulbuch -> fr.wikipedia.org  -

fr.wikipedia.org Manuel_scolaire -> de.wikipedia.org Lehrbuch
fr.wikipedia.org Manuel_scolaire -> en.wikipedia.org Textbook
fr.wikipedia.org Traité (littérature) -> de.wikipedia.org Lehrbuch
fr.wikipedia.org Traité (littérature) -> en.wikipedia.org Textbook

Finally let's have a look at Textbook in simple English Wikipedia. I like that definition almost better than the "normal" one because it is functional, not structural.

A textbook is a book someone uses to learn. It is usually supplied in classrooms form primary school to post secondary school. People use it to learn from it about a certain subject. They might also teach other people about that subject.

This short an informal discussion of Wikipedia definitions tells us the following: In the eyes of probably not so informed Wikipedia authors:

  • (US) English only has one major genre: The textbook
  • Germans and French make a distinction between university books and schoolbooks
  • French consider university books to be expository (no built-in pedagogy), whereas the German authors just mentioned "didactically prepared contents".
  • This difference between the US and German/French definition does not exist for schoolbooks. I.e. it is expected that schoolbooks look quite a bit like their US counterparts.

There is also a difference in format. I noticed in particular that most German textbooks (at least for the humanities) are usually cheap and small pocket books, whereas in the US it is the opposite: Textbooks are huge (large and fat) and expensive. In France most textbooks (I believe) are sort of mid-sized softcovers, but there is also a series of Que sais-je, about 1200 little (128 pages) didactic books without illustrations for almost every domain that exists. They are usually written by a leading domain expert. On the other extreme (both in France and Germany) there also exist huge and large textbooks, but mostly restricted to domains like medicine or law.

But then it gets more complicated, there is not just a difference between language cultures, but between national cultures. E.g. Belgium textbooks (e.g. DeBoek) are much more based on instructional design principles and do have a structure similar to typical US books, but in Daniel K. Schneider's opinion much less verbose and made in way that information can be found again (see the Depelteau example) I discussed.

The dumbing down question

There is also a debate in the U.S., but in some European systems belief that students should be exposed to "real literature" (academic or technical manuals) is very strong and just in France or Germany. E.g. “The general sentiment, in Britain at least, seems to be that the knowledge in textbooks is in some way second-rate knowledge and that the teachers, the writers and the learners who engage with them in their different ways are somehow doing something second-rate”. (Issit, 2005: 690)

I.e. personally (Daniel K. Schneider) in my technical courses, I leave it open to the students what books they want to buy and rather suggest O'Reilly books. Only when I am teaching at a local American teaching university I use these 600-1500 books, but then I noticed that students do no really work trough them as they should ... (there is whole literature on that).

Use of textbooks

The question is how teachers and students make sense of the textbook within the context of wider learning environments and what function it has in relation to other teacher materials and other learning activities.

See the textbook writing tutorial and textbook research for more.

From the teacher's point of view

Examples:

  • As major teaching aid with a lot of built-in pedagogy, e.g. review questions, self-assessment and workcases.
  • To help the teacher prepare a class (and also to recover from not so efficient lecturing)
  • As reading assignment to cover specific concepts
  • As supplementary reading for various purposes (e.g. to help with term projects, to help preparing an exam, as references ...)
From the student's point of view

Daniel K. Schneider has the suspicion that a typical US student enrolled in a typical teaching university does not read and work through the textbook as the authors planned it, i.e. they rather use as complementary reading or reference and skip activities that don't seem to have a direct relation to quizzes administered by the teacher. But I'd have to dig into textbook research to be sure about this.

It is also argued that textbooks, if available cheaply, would have bright future in the third world. However, one study made in Namibia found that textbooks are very much underused, i.e. “The major uses of textbooks in class were for diagrams and data, and to verify factual information. Occasionally, questions in textbooks were used as homework to test and/or consolidate knowledge.” (Lubben, 2003).

Textbook genres

Links

General
Advice on writing textbooks

See textbook writing tutorial

Examples of (technical) author guidelines
Electronic textbooks
Discussions
Journals
Associations
Conferences

Software

See various writing tools for a longer list of tools and a discussion of various writing tool categories.

Bibliography

  • Feynmann, Richard (1985). Book chapter in Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!, W.W. Norton & Company.
  • Hoskin Keith (1990) he Textbook: Further Moves towards a Definition, Paradigm No. 3 (July, 1990), HTML
  • Issitt, John (2005) Reflections on the study of textbooks, History Of Education, November, 2004, Vol. 33, No. 6, [DOI
  • Jones, Alan (2005) Conceptual Development in Technical and Textbook Writing: A Challenge for L1 and L2 Student Readers, Proceedings of the International Professional Communication Conference, Limerick, Ireland, 12-15 July, 2005. PDF - Abstract
  • Johnsen, Egil Børre (2001), Textbooks in the Kaleidoscope, A Critical Survey of Literature and Research on Educational Texts, Translated by Linda Sivesind, Digital Edition Tønsberg: Vestfold College, 2001 HTML (This on-line text also includes a good bibliography, up the early 1990's).
  • 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)


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