Connecting the individual class to the larger institution and the larger community

1
Connecting the individual class to the larger
institution and the larger community

• The role of textbooks
• The importance of effective use of textbooks

2
Contact information

• Pat Byrd
• patbyrd_at_comcast.net
• Copies of the handout and inventory are online at
• http//www2.gsu.edu/eslhpb/PatByrd

3
The role of text books in connecting to the world
outside the classroom

• The external setting for individual classes
• A class a teacher and a collection of students
• A class is not a free floating unit separated
  from the rest of its environment.
• A class is part of a larger society and those
  students do not belong just to the individual
  teacher but are part of families and
  schools/programs/academic institutions and
  societies and cultures.
• That is, the students are not just my students
  but also other peoples and those other people
  have a reasonable interest in the content and
  purposes of the individual class.

4
Purposes of curriculum materials

• To give coherence to a program
• To give information to parents and sponsors and
  others with an interest in the development of the
  students

5
Creation of the curriculum and selection of the
texts

• Because of these important beyond-the-classroom
  connections, creation and maintenance of a
  curriculum with supporting materials is urgently
  important.
• And this important role means that teachers must
  learn to see ourselves not just as creatures of a
  single classroom but as educational professionals
  with responsibilities to the larger society.
• We need to learn about the program and system and
  institution processes and to understand how to
  become part of the processes by
• Finding out how the curriculum is designed and
  having a part in that process
• Finding out how textbooks are selected and having
  a part in that process

6
Two analytical processes

• Textbooks need to go through two types of
  analysis by teachers
• 1. Analyzing the textbook for its fit with the
  curricular purposes of the program and the
  classes that make up the program. That is,
  critical analysis for a buy/no-buy decision.
• 2. Analyzing the textbook for its use in a
  particular class with a particular set of
  students.

7
Mixing up the two processes

• The critical analysis process becomes
  disfunctional when applied to classroom use of a
  text
• When a text has been selected, then the issues
  change to the practical what am I going to do in
  class set of questions that drive most of our
  teaching.

8
An inventory for textbook analysis

• Figuring out how to use the assigned text
• Read the book from cover to cover.
• Go back through the book to make detailed notes
  about
• Table 1 what language is being taught
• Table 2 what content is used and being taught
• Table 3 What kinds of activities are provided?
• Table 4 What kinds of things might I do with
  those activities?
• Table 5 Whats provided for the teacher to help
  her/him implement the materials in the book?