Teaching from the Book
What bad exaple is this; to teach class from the book....mmight as well have students read the book
Hi William,
You make a good point about using the text. There is a big difference between reading from the text and teaching from the text. By teaching from the text you are able to make the content interesting and introduce your own personal experiences into the content of the chapters. This helps to make the course more interesting for the students.
Gary
I agree that reading from the book for the entire class is bad but teaching from the book, especially when this is the prescribed information that they must know is a good thing. It makes following along with the class easy, because you know what chapters you will be discussing in class for starters. I always hated if the teacher would go out of sequence even if they had a syllabus, this meant that I had to jump around the book and always check the syllabus to find out what we would discuss. I find that as a teacher, especially teaching a trade skill like mine, that you can explain what they mean in the book by following along in the book. So I think you have to approach it according to what you think will be best for the class, I actually find following, not reading from the book, to work well.
I teach through my projects and let the students know which chapter in the book will reinforce what they are learning. Since each class has a book that is required for the student to purchase, some of them complain that they did not use the book enough during class and feel it was a waste of money. But I am confident that they learned more through my hands on approach to teaching than they would have from just following the book step by step.
Hi Joseph,
You are right about the balance between using a text book as a reference and students complaining about how it isn't used in the course. Your method of referring to chapters and sections is the way to show how the text is relevant to the course. This way the students will see that the cost of the text is worth it.
Gary
I try not to read "from the book", however, there's a delicate balance. I hear repeatedly that students are miffed that they are required to buy a $40 textbook that the instructor never uses in the class.
What I try to do is reference the pages that the lecture is on, or lecture with the book open, making references to passages in the book, or discussing examples in the book. I keep that type of lecturing to a minimum, I have handouts and activities to fill the rest of the class time, all related to the same topic.
Hi Shane,
Right you are. The textbook is a support reference to give students additional background information. Additional resources such as handouts should be provided as needed to offer the latest information in the field.
Gary
I think that a textbook does provide valuable resources to the students; however, instructors should extend or expand on the content from the book to real life instead of just reading the content. Instructors should share experiences with their students about how they apply the principles from the book into their professions so the students can learn a more practical method to their work.
I think that a textbook does provide valuable resources to the students; however, instructors should extend or expand on the content from the book to real life instead of just reading the content. Instructors should share experiences with their students about how they apply the principles from the book into their professions so the students can learn a more practical method to their work.
I also think that the book should be the primary focus of the course. I think it is absurd to read the book to the class, but I do believe in reviewing key concepts in the class.
I assign the chapter that we are going to cover in class ahead of time, and then in class use the time to review and use activities and lectures as a way to solidify the information from that particular chapter.
As we know, not all students have the same learning style, so just assigning the text and then never discussing it in class seems like a dis-service to the students.
Hi Ryan,
Due to the high cost of textbooks they need to be used if they are going to be required. This is why you make such a good point. The textbook assignments can be made along with the course topics and the students can gain the needed content as they prepare for the next class. To never refer to the text after the first class is unfair to the students and as mentioned cheats them out of some very valuable information.
Gary
I have to agree with John on this one. Students are paying alot of money for textbooks and those texts have been chosen for important reasons (hopefully).
Why wouldn't you give reading assignments and make the students accountable in some way for completing the reading assignments. Most textbooks are more that just "supplemental resources", they are or should be treated as "course material".
I'm not saying that you should read from the book in class, or "teach from the book" but I think that students who observe instructors who are not referencing the book in meaningful ways, discount the importance of the text. And they are probably missing a ton of important material that may only be presented in one way in class.
Hi John,
I think your approach is a good blend of text and inclass support. This way the students have two opportunities to acquire the content in spite of some of them not being good readers.
Gary
Well, I think a little bit of it depends on what you mean by "teach class from the book." With some student populations, with some texts, it's realistic to assume the students will all "get" the reading. At others, it's not.
Most of the students at my current school are tactile or visual learners, and many are very poor readers. It's unrealistic to just give a reading assignment and expect them to internalize it, or even to always expect them to make all the connections between assigned readings and what I do in class.
I sometimes use assigned readings as prepatory material ... they read before class, and then in class I will take them back into the text to review and explain and expand on what they read.
Hi William,
Right you are. An old saying is "to prevent tedium change the medium". We need to do that to keep our students engaged.
Gary
I agree. Books should be used as reference tools and not lecture tools.
Hi Nagib,
Many colleges require that an instructor use a certain book. This is fine when the instructor takes that information and makes it personal for the students. He or she shows them how they can apply the course content to their career goals.
Gary
Hi Nagib,
I consider textbooks as guides to discussions. I rarely use the publisher provided power points for many texts. It seems so limiting.
I do like providing some relevant stories to show application of materials.
Cheryl
Reading from the book is boring to the students. Maybe just picking a topic from the book would be good and then you put it into your own words and make it your story. The students would rather learn it as a personal story from you than a boring page in the text.
Mark
