Study Guides for Textbooks

Source:
Meacham, E. D. 1982. Distance Education: Selecting Textbooks and Writing Study Guides. Riverina College of Advanced Education, Division of External Studies, pp.1-3, 5-9.

Copyright:
Reproduced with permission.

The main problem in producing such guides is to link the author's knowledge of the field of study with the lecturer's knowledge of the student and the prescribed course of study.

Textbooks are rarely written for the precise group being taught and never for the individuals who are being taught. Therefore, the material in the text must be referred to in a manner which makes it palatable to at least the group being taught and preferably to individuals within that group. This can be achieved by considering the following functions of the learning material. The suggestions offered are by no means exhaustive; they are a sample of ideas which may help make standardised texts more appropriate for your particular students.

1. Arouse the student's interest and provide motivation for further study

   The design and layout of the materials have already been fixed by the publisher, so the lecturer should focus on personalising the materials for his particular audience.

   Suggestions:

   1. Point out why the text is relevant to both the professional concerns of the student and the course content (especially the assessment procedures).
      
      
   2. Ask the student to relate general ideas in the text to his own experiences or pre-existing knowledge.
      
      
   3. Explain which parts you found stimulating and why.
      
      
   4. Add information linking Australian conditions and the perspectives of the text.
      
2. Clearly define what is expected of the student

   It is helpful to make clear why it is necessary for the student to study the text, and more specifically what will be expected of him in terms of knowledge, behaviours and attitudes.

   Suggestions:

   1. Make a checklist of knowledge skills and attitudes that the student can use to monitor his own progress.
      
      
   2. Outline what the student should focus on in each section of the text.
      
      
   3. Summarise what the student should have learned after each section.
      
      
   4. Relate the content of the text to the formal assessment.
      
3. Make clear the overall structure of the material to be studied

   Ideally the text chosen will have an appropriate structure, however, it may need to be classified and related to the relevant course or subject structure.

   Suggestions:

   1. Draw up structures based on both the description of the subject and the contents of the text. Then link them together.
      
      
   2. Explain the logic of sectionalising the text.
      
      
   3. If the structure of the text is inappropriate, provide a better one, in which the content of the text may be located.
      
      
   4. Ask the student to make a diagrammatic representation of the conceptual network of the subject.
      
4. Guide the student carefully through the subject matter in the text

   This involves guiding the students through the subject. The degree of prescription of the signposting procedure may vary greatly, both in response to the type of student and the nature of the subject.

   Suggestions:

   1. Provide a study schedule showing order and duration of study for each section.
      
      
   2. Offer suggestions as to how each section may be best dealt with.
      
      
   3. Link together contents, objectives, assignments and activities.
      
      
   4. Relate all physical components of the subject e.g. notes, readings and texts.
      
5. Give the students something to do other than read

   The majority of texts require only passivity on the part of the learner. Hopefully this passivity is an illusion, as the learner is supposedly actively relating new knowledge to pre-existing conceptual frameworks. Nevertheless, in many cases learning will be enhanced if a text is accompanied by some device meant to promote more obviously active learning.

   Suggestions:

   1. Test the student's recall and comprehension.
      
      
   2. Ask the student to analyse parts of the text and write a personal synthesis.
      
      
   3. Encourage evaluation of the text.
      
      
   4. Require the student to relate ideas in the text to concrete examples and personal experiences.
      
      
   5. Make outrageous or controversial statements and demand reactions.
      
      
   6. Present fallacious arguments for the student to verify or refute.
      
      
   7. Require the matching of case studies with sections of the text.
      
      
   8. Present cloze exercises for completion.
      
      
   9. Ask for diagrammatic representations of verbally expressed material.
      
      
   10. Ask for matrices of concepts.
       
       
   11. Arrange postal simulations.
       
       
   12. Provide problem solving exercises.
       
6. Keep the students informed about their progress

   Students require feedback in the areas of tuition, academic, administrative and personal counselling.

   Tuition and academic counselling are the lecturer's main responsibility and are unlikely to be catered for by textbooks.

   Suggestions:

   1. Encourage regular contact.
      
      
   2. Provide numerous self testing exercises to check progress through the text.
      
      
   3. Include easily-marked quickly-returned assessment items.
      
      
   4. Demonstrate remedial feedback loops related to self testing exercises.
      
      
   5. Provide feedback on audio tape in the form of comments on any work attempted.
      
7. Help students retain information and transfer it to novel situations

   It is unlikely that the chosen text relates to the experiences and needs of your particular group of students.

   Suggestions:

   1. Set work to link experiences with text.
   2. Ask for additional examples.
   3. Attempt to empirically support or refute arguments in the text.
   4. Ask repetitive questions, building up complexity.
   5. Demand problem solving approaches, using textual information.
8. Be aware of student progress and the worthwhileness of your subject

   Such considerations are rarely included in texts, yet we need to know about the student's level of competence and the effectiveness of the course.

   Suggestions:

   1. Ensure assessment is based on content of the text, i.e. is it valid?
      
      
   2. Begin with short easily-completed, easily-marked, lowly-weighted assessment items.
      
      
   3. Use variety of assessment procedures all based on the same content.
      
      
   4. Consider assessment in relation to student's total workload.
      
      
   5. Ask questions about degree of difficulty and perceived relevance of sections of the text.
      
      
   6. Ask for suggestions for improvement.
      

The most cost-effective package would consist of:

1. 10 page subject outline
   • contact addresses
   • assignments and self-assessment
   • residential schools
   • criteria for marking
   • objectives
   • conceputal framework
   • rules and regulations
   • important dates and schedule.
2. Text(s)
   • cost $30.00
   • easily obtained
   • relevant and comprehensive
   • readable
   • having appropriate difficulty
   • appropriately laid out.
3. Tape(s)
   • personal introduction
   • study guide
   • commentary
   • self-assessment.
4. Correspondence
5. rapid and comprehensive feedback on assignments and queries
6. tapes and written comments for each piece of work
7. standardised replies (depends on numbers) if possible.