Chapter 6 of Daniels and Zemelman
discusses the use of textbooks and provides strategies for using them
effectively. Although we have learned
how important it is to use supplementary text in classrooms, I still believe
that textbooks are significant resources that cannot just be forgotten
about. However, in order to get the best
use out of this resource, the textbook cannot just be given to students with a
certain number of pages assigned to read each day. Daniels and Zemelman provide some great
strategies for using textbooks in the classroom and describe how important it
is for us as teachers to not only be masters of our subjects, but also masters
of our textbooks. We have to know
exactly what these resources have to offer so that our students can get the
best use out of them.
I took a zoology class in high
school when it was a brand new science elective to the school. I remember receiving the textbook and the
teacher telling us that it was a college level book that we may have some trouble
with. The book was large and overwhelming, with so much information we never
even touched throughout the course. The
books were very nice and probably would have suited an undergraduate college
course just right, but this was clearly the wrong choice of text for this high
school zoology class. It seemed as though
they chose this book just to have a textbook for this new elective. After reading this chapter it is kind of sad
to think back on the fact that this textbook was just a waste (of money, time
spent trying to read it, effort put into lugging it around…). With some of the strategies provided by Daniels
and Zemelman, maybe we would have been able to dig into these zoology textbooks. However, the class, teacher, and probably the
school budget would probably have benefited from using a different textbook, or other sources of reading material altogether.
In chapter 7, Daniels and Zemelman
state that “school needs to be a place where kids feel some ownership and
control, where they have the confidence to recognize and work on their confusions,
where they take responsibility and learn how to help one another and why it’s
important to do so, and where they inquire into the big questions that matter
for them,” (pg. 205). In order to
achieve this in a classroom, teachers need to create a sense of community where
students feel safe and supported.
Without this, they can go through the phases, but it is likely that they
will not be able to learn to their fullest potential. I enjoyed reading this chapter because I
believe it is vital to have strong teacher-student relationships and to create
a supportive classroom community. This
is definitely something I hope to achieve with my own classes when I become a
teacher. In this type of environment,
students will look forward to coming to class and it will make both learning
and teaching better experiences.
Hi Gemma,
ReplyDeleteI think you're intuition is right- I'm sure one of the requirements for creating that zoology course was that there needed to be a textbook. You bring up a good point about the budget, too. And then it becomes something like, well, we bought these so... we have to use them for the next 10 years. In hindsight, what would you recommend instead?
Paige, that's a good question. I did a quick search just to see if there are zoology textbooks out there designed for high school classes and I found that there are some. I'm not sure why the school chose the particular book that they did for the course, but it looks like they could have found something more appropriate. There are also other resources available that could have been brought into the class in place of the textbook such as various articles from scientific journals or magazines.
DeleteThats too bad about the zoology textbook. I think you could have met the challenge had the teacher used the right tools to get you all through it. I remember taking AP Anatomy and using a college textbook. It gave me this sense of pride and achievement even though it was tough. I felt somehow like I was smarter because the teacher thought we were capable of using the book. I may not have always understood every nuance, but I just asked for clarification. I think we are seeing more watered down textbooks so the students can get through the class as easily as possible so the teachers can meet whatever standards placed. I feel that if the teacher challenges the students, they can soar. But it can be a slippery slope if done incorrectly.
ReplyDeleteHey Gemma - I think it is great how you were able to tie in a personal experience. My AP history textbook was a college level book, too, and we were only in 9th and 10th grade. Do you think that textbook could have worked out better for you if it were approached differently? Or do you think the textbook should have just never been used?
ReplyDeleteHi Calla, Considering it was an elective course and had students from different grades and a range of reading levels, in my opinion, the textbook should not have been used. From what I remember in high school, our core subject classes (math, social studies, ELA, science) were separated into different levels that they called skills, college-prep, and honors (kind of sad to think about it now...were they not expecting students in the "skills" level classes to be prepared for college?), but the electives and language courses had students from all levels and different grades. Maybe for an AP or honors level class this textbook would have been more useful. Perhaps with the right strategies it could have worked out better for the class, but a totally different resource would have probably been the best option.
DeleteHey Gemma,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that if your teacher would have had the Subjects Matter textbook he/she could have used the strategies from there to analyze the text. Especially since Vygotsky has taught us that with the right support and encouragement students can learn the information. It seems like your class would have been superb if your teacher would have received the educational strategies that you now have!