This blogpost is inspired by my experiences of observing teaching processes in secondary school classrooms. Over a period of years I have observed the general tendency for teacher educators to repeatedly emphasise not relying on the textbook in the classroom. In sharp contrast lies the somewhat archaic method of teaching by reading and underlining text in the book. Teaching should lie somewhere in between. While the archaic method does little to capture interest and imagination of students, not opening textbooks in the classroom at all means that students go back home with no reference points of where they can read about what they have discussed in class. In a country where students are unlikely to have other reference literature at home, it is imperative that the textbook be used judiciously. Of course one can argue that with ‘digital India’, everyone has a smartphone and can access information from the comfort of home. The perils of relying only on the internet for learning need a separate blogpost altogether. Some strategies for using the textbook follow:
- Before going to the class, develop questions that students need to be able to answer by the end of the class. Explain the content in class or engage students in a discussion where possible. Post explanation, distribute the questions prepared earlier in the form of handouts, or write them on the board, or project them on a screen. Give students time to find out answers to the questions by reading the textbook and ask them to write answers in notebooks which you can check later.
- Give a brief explanation of the topic and then ask students to read from the text and make a concept map. Alternatively, you can give a half filled concept map on a handout. Students can fill it up as the teacher and student together read the text.
- Divide the text in several sections. Now divide the class into group of 2 – 4 students. Allot one section of the text to each group. Ask each group to make a set of questions that ensures coverage of the content of that section. Now ask the groups to exchange questions and find out answers to the questions that their peers have developed.
- Ask students to read the text before coming to the class. If that is not possible, choose a small portion of the text and ask them to read it in class. If they haven’t understood the text, ask them to discuss with their peers sitting next to them. The teacher can also facilitate silent reading in the class. Post reading and comprehension, ask students to list down the things that they are curious about or questions that have not been answered by the text. Use these questions to engage in further discussion or provide follow up references. Peers may have answers to some of these questions. Every question may not be answered in class and may required further reading.
The key point is to remember to use the textbook to go beyond it. As a teacher you should feel free to restructure the content within and across chapters. Your students’ needs and interests should be able to guide how content is covered in the class. The textbook serves as a valuable resource in secondary and higher secondary education to provide the key themes that you wish to address in that grade and the bare minimum that a student should learn. The textbook is thus best used as a base, a minimum level, not the outermost maximum.