Textbook Usage vs. Real-Life Experiences
I had the privilege of attending a Faculty training a few weeks ago. The Facilitator stated that books should be minimally used, if possible not at all, but to use other sources instead. It may be easier to do that with classes such as Photography. On the other hand, with Sociology classes there are many theories to cover and not many real-life experiences to apply to it.
I do believe that real-life experiences are a crucial ingredient to teaching, but I do not believe it should replace the textbook.
I cannot begin to stress how important textbook usage is in learning a technical field. Although the majority of the information is covered during classroom instruction, there are some topics that are only "grazed" upon during class. I always encourage my students to do as much reading as possible because they'll be doing the same once they enter their respective field. I also stress that information is constantly changing and they need to keep their skills sharp.
Our program for instructing surgical technologists in the operating room is classroom instruction with prescribed textbooks written by an accredited agency. Then a hands-on laboratory to develop surgical skills. Even though we read from our book, expanding on the material with personal stories and real-life experiences in the operating room helps to bring balance to our program. We found the key to doing this successfully is to inject experiences that mirror the instruction for the week, ie; pediatric experience with pediatric lesson plan. I believe that each college course given is very different from another and template teaching is not in the best interest of the students.
Textbooks seem more effective when you use them along with real life experiences. We use power point presentations that follow along with our course books. This helps the students in aguided way to go over the onformation. We also add real life experiences so that we can cover more than just whats in the book.
I typically lecture and or discuss course information in the order that it is arranged in the book and advise students to follow along. I do this so that when I want to elaborate on some topics that I think they need to make notes about there won’t be a scramble find the page etc. to make appropriate notations. Some students feel that if you don’t use the book at all that they are not getting their moneys worth. By using it and referring to it but also incorporating a group discussion it seem to cover all bases.
Hey La'Keisha,
Nursing students would be so happy not to have a text book. Most of the medical students I teach don't even buy one but use study guides. Thus, this is such a hot debate item. Don't know what the solution is though. Good thinking!
Cheryl
Given the differemt learning styles, using the text book, real life experiences & your summation of the material are all important to learning of the entire group.
Good points, Judy. Depending on what the subject is, books can be unnecessary, a necessary evil or crucial. I teach nursing, and a good textbook is crucial. Students need background information and theory to guide their clinical understanding. My biggest challenge is to get students to really read (and UNDERSTAND) what's in their text. Some students want you to somehow "download" the textbook information in class so that they do not have to do the reading. These students usually struggle with the course content.
I enjoy my textbook and I use it well in my clases. They pay for the book and I show them the value of it. There are 16 chapters in the textbook and, on the first day, I tell them that they would have read the entire book by the end of the class. On the last day, I again point out that they have completed the entire book and most of them are satisfied. We, of course, do not touch on everything in the book, but we review a great deal of the information. I do not read the book in class, but address the content and guide them to where I am in the book. Their homework assignments are based on both lecture and the book, allowing them another opportunity to use the book.
Even if you cover an entire chapter without ever opening the text book it is a good idea to then "open the book" and at least run through and hit the high points. At the very least it will reinforce what you have just covered but it will also bring credibility to what you just taught them no matter how you originally delivered the material.
The text book should be used as a vehicle to write important notes and learning’s that will be used later in the field. Failure to do so is only a waste of time and resources that can’t benefit the student later.
I agree - I get complaints from students all the time - saying - "I didn't even use the required book, so why did I have to spend the money for it."
That's why I feel it's so important to check the book out carefully for delivery of concepts and variety of examples
