As I was sitting in the classroom doing my observations, a question came to my mind. Do we use textbooks any more? My experience last year when I was a parapro for the 8th grade math classes was that the textbook were not used very often. I really only remember them being used a handful of times. The teacher had handouts for taking notes on and then worksheets for practice and homework. So now that I have the opportunity to watch the high school classes, I am noticing the same thing. The teachers are giving handouts for taking notes and then worksheet for practice. After talking with the high school teachers I discovered that they do not really like their current textbook. They have the same series of textbooks for Algebra I, Geometry and Algebra II. They have a different book for Calculus, which the teacher said is actually not that bad, but she still does not use it very often.
So now I am wondering if other school are doing the same thing? And is this the best way to go? Are textbooks now obsolete? I know that we are stuck in this place between the way we have been programed to teach math, which many refer to as the drill and kill method, and the lass used discovery method. As I think about the textbook situation and this more unknown way of learning math for me, I am also wondering were I stand on these issues.
I begin with the method of teaching. I think that I am right in the middle right now, but maybe slightly drifting toward the discovery learning. I think what scares me the most about the discovery learning is that it is not the way that I was taught so it is uncomfortable for me. I do like the idea of the discovery learning. I imagine that students are working together cooperatively, they are asking themselves questions, they are using their computers to find more answers and then I snap back to the reality of where I teach. Most of the students that I teach are not really concerned with digging deeper into understanding anything. So then I steer back to the drill and kill method and I see students drowning in piles of papers that they will never finish and turn in for a grade. So many students just do not even care enough to do their homework. I also know that there are many students that are on the other side of this coin and they would want to know more and dig deeper and if you drown them in handouts they will finish them all because they do care about they grades. I am also aware that this is the situation where I teach and may not be the case everywhere, but if I start teaching a math class it will be where I am currently teaching so that is what will drive my decisions in the end. I feel that being in the end the middle of these two teaching styles may be the best place right now.
Moving on to the textbook question...I think that this is actually the same problem as the teaching styles. Most math textbooks are mainly drill and kill and some of the new ones have gone all of the way to discovery learning. There really is nothing right in the middle where you could have the students discover something and then reinforce their knowledge with more practice. One of the teachers that I am observing mentioned that she thinks that there is so many resources available online that can be tailored to exactly what she wants, that she is not sure the school should adopt a new textbook. She thinks that the resources she is finding and using in her classes is better than a textbook. After hearing her talk about this idea, I found that I was liking it more and more. It would be a lot more work than just following the book, but you could make it into exactly what you wanted and needed for your students. Are the students high level? Low level? Ready to do some self discovery leaning? do they need a little drill and kill? All of these questions can be answered if you can customize!
So I do not think that I have a definite answer on my teaching style, but I know that I will be able to use the many resources available online to help. Now my big job will be to go and start collecting those resources. Maybe that will make for a great future post?
During my observations at Allendale High School, I also noticed the same thing. Teachers are posting their lectures online, use the internet in class for visual aids, and handing out packets for the students to learn. They still have textbooks, and the students still do bookwork, but the textbooks they have chosen are also all online. As for discovery learning, there is less of that, but the teacher encourages the students to use all the resources they have to figure out problems. Having both bookwork and resources for the students to see and discover for themselves, I think is the best of both worlds.
ReplyDeleteBut really students never used textbooks much except as lists of problems. Some interesting teacher projects have focused on teaching students to read the textbook. Work examples, reference, even something that might seem basic like using the index. (Student says, "it's like Google!" Really.) They've been more influential in sequencing lessons, and providing examples for teachers to use.
ReplyDeleteIf you do want students doing investigations, those are hard to for teachers to write, and then the text matters enormously. There are good series like this that can dramatically increase learning and inquiry at every grade level. Even if your students don't have them, I recommend that schools have at least a set of them to support teachers who want to do discovery learning. Often you can get a set free to evaluate for curriculum adoption.