Textbooks are useful tools for learning. However, there are instances when instead of helping, textbooks can cause confusions and humdrums. Well, it couldn’t be worse if somebody tried to make them that way.
When you analyze Whole Word (a way to teach reading) and Reform Math (widely used to teach math) as presented in various textbooks, you may find then presented in inferior approaches but are still embraced even there is huge evidence against them.
Sad fact is that there are textbooks that can only make students feel good about themselves. The exercises in the books solicit opinions and feelings instead of information. What these textbooks offer are the basic tactic to talk around a topic, throw in everything, and jumble it up with lots of hardly-relevant pictures and sidebars. Like in Reform Math, when you jump about from topic to topic, which is called “spiraling,” hailed as superior pedagogy, it causes confusion and prevents mastery.
As teachers, we should equip ourselves with the perseverance to check out the books we are using and supplement them appropriately. Also, finding methods and learning platforms that can help enhance our students’ knowledge, skills, and abilities are crucial. Do lots of research because there are many available options today.
Have you heard about the Khan Academy? It offers more than 3000 educational videos. This is a huge interactive website that provides almost a complete education from k-12 and beyond particularly in science and math. What is more interesting is that its database can respond (24/7) to each student’s progress. It simply ignores all the bad textbooks and starts over with new-tech solutions.
Knewton is another “adaptive learning platform” although it is more corporate and formal. There are millions of students who use Knewton every day. Khan and Knewton are huge contiguous means that can enhance change in academes.
According to William Bennetta, authors and publishers may not reform but that does not mean you cannot go around them to make your teaching more worthwhile for your learners.
By: BERNARDITO B. CADATAL | Teacher II | Sta. Rosa Elementary School | Sta. Rosa, Pilar, Bataan
