Is your subject irrelevant?

Curriculum experts have long argued that making learning relevant to students helps them engage with the subject, and therefore, learn more efficiently. In this article, the author argues that math is primarily taught in a painfully irrelevant way in most cases. Worthy, but irrelevant subjects, will go the way of Latin, the writer suggests. If we continue teaching math in an irrelevant way, it will become a Classic discipline, like Latin. You know how many Latin instructors we have on campus.

Of course, it is easy to extrapolate from this argument to other disciplines. At the very least, the point of view brings up some worthy points to mull over. Take a few minutes to read the article and consider the implications for your teaching.

Are textbooks really necessary?

Source: Domizi, Clouser, and Watson, University of Georgia, 2014

In a recent study, the University of Georgia asked students several questions about their textbook use. The particular question you see here caught my attention. The fact that more than half the students say in some cases they rarely use the textbook or think a text is unnecessary to be successful in a class makes me wonder about the role of textbooks in our courses and to ask the obvious question:: are textbooks really necessary?

I know that many subjects are very dependent on a textbook for conveying basic information to students, and I don't want to pick a fight with those instructors. But my guess is that there are probably some classes that could get by without a textbook; relying instead, on various open resources readily available online. Some of those resources may even be more up-to-date than the standard textbook and more interactive as well. And this approach could lead to some really positive outcomes.

The first potential outcome is that students may be more inclined to spend time reading/watching/interacting with resources that are specifically chosen because they clearly address learning outcomes of a particular course. Why do so many students not bother reading the textbook? Because they can get by without it. The textbook either doesn't address the skills or knowledge that are assessed in the course or the instructor delivers the content to them in some other way. My guess is that in many cases it is the former: the textbook is "extra stuff" on which instructors never assess students. Once students learn what is to be assessed, they don't bother with anything else assigned. If resources are chosen because they address specific learning outcomes more precisely than the "shotgun" approach of a textbook, students are more apt to "consume" them because they will learn that the resources are actually useful in mastering course content and doing well on assessments.

Second, because you have to intentionally choose individual learning resources in this approach, the potential is there to create a much more effective course. You choose this article for this topic; this video for that topic, etc., rather than relying somewhat blindly on a textbook that already has organized the topics (and chosen which topics are addressed and which are not). By not relying on a pre-organized textbook, instructors in some cases would be forced to think more deliberately about what learning outcomes should be in the course and what specific learning resources are necessary to achieve them. This could result in a course that has a more effective and efficient design. So one way to jump start a course redesign, or breathe new life into a course, or simply make it better might be to throw out the textbook and find the individual learning resources necessary for each of your learning outcomes. 

Is all this more difficult that just choosing a textbook and following along chapter by chapter? Well, yes. But the potential is there for the effort to lead to a much more effective course (not to mention saving students textbook money). And please remember that if you decided to experiment with this, we are here to help you find those resources.

See the Open Resources page.

David