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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I am probably one of the few lone voices in textbooks are over-rated camp, because IMHO, as a math and science engineer, textbooks are really effing over-rated. I can assure you that when you learn something from doing the problem vs. reading the example, the doing of the problem is more effective than the textbook. In fact there was a recent study from Harvard, that extensive usage from a textbook doesn't give improved results. (https://cepr.harvard.edu/files/cepr/files/cepr-curriculum-report_learning-by-the-book.pdf) And if we're talking stem: who remembers that cool chemistry experiment or dissecting that animal more than what was on page 15 of Gen. Chem.? I certainly don't remember anything from my textbooks, but math team problems: YES. Yes I do. And we're seeing that in a 3D learning advocacy in STEM because it provides deeper learning to learn the actual science in real life: (https://start-engineering.com/start-engineering-now/2018/12/6/teaching-stem-with-no-textbooks-why-ngss-makes-it-so-tempting)

My opinion of textbooks is that it's a backwards way of learning. And I'm not the only one with this view. Textbook publishers are going digital as well-- in order to teach our students at the pace that they are at. They have developed software to teach our kids math and all kinds of subjects that we don't see in school, and pace the education as needed. And as most kids respond very well to video games (oh the dopamine response is so very important vs. textbooks). They can even fill in the gaps and analyze what the kids need to learn individually: which your teacher can't do as quickly and by doing so can identify learning gaps and adjust for each kids needs. (https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/03/the-death-of-textbooks/387055/)

Teachers are seeing this too. "Textbooks are like crutches: although they may save you some pain, you''ll never truly run." (https://achievethecore.org/aligned/lessons-learned-after-teaching-without-a-textbook/) Teachers think that textbooks are not as robust and dynamic as needed in the ever evolving CC standards. But also, we're seeing that teachers are able to teach more without textbooks. I know for a lot of you, that's mind-boggling, but it's also a pre-conceived notion. Textbooks are the past. And usually, the white washed ones. (http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/finding_common_ground/2013/03/do_textbooks_still_have_a_place_in_schools.html)

And finally: I know a lot of you are like: WE NEED TEXTBOOKS!!!! My recent visit to my DD's school showed me where the textbooks are: on tablets and computers. Just because we don't see them, doesn't mean they're not there. They've just got AI working for a blended education. Which is great. I mean, honestly, some kids just open a textbook and their eyes glaze over. This is really engaging them and helping them.

Finally, if you don't want to read any of the informative links above, I leave you with this WAPO article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/class-struggle/post/why-our-textbooks-dont-work/2012/02/25/gIQAvI16ZR_blog.html  [b]Textbooks don’t work well. Research shows that with rare exceptions they do not help improve student achievement much. They are not effective because effectiveness doesn’t sell.
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Remember: textbooks publishers, Kumon and Mathnasium, are FOR PROFIT CORPORATIONS. When your kids go to college and you're shelling out 2k for their textbooks, you too will be screaming the phrase: "Textbooks are effing overrated!" Because some of them are very expensive door stops.

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This could work but it would require outstanding teachers who work together well as a team. From the same article where you quoted the "textbooks are like crutches", they also caution: [i]"On the other hand, the overhead required to teach without a text can be high, and failing to commit fully can leave students in a worse position than if they had a textbook"[/i] I think the problem is that a lot of people feel that the teaching in the area is not as strong overall as the high school ratings suggest. While it's definitely true that many textbooks are overrated, in cases where a teacher cannot effectively teach with whatever materials they're using, a textbook can be a life saver for a kid who is confused in class. And we can agree that a school provided textbook that the kid and their parent could work together at home is a lot cheaper than having to go to Mathnasium, and other outside tutoring places.

College students have many options for figuring out how to get course textbooks, they don't have to shell thousands of dollars. There are tons of options nowadays including buying used, working with an older edition, or renting in digital format, all of them being much cheaper than paying full price.[/quote]

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