Textbook Development (6552)

Semester: Spring, 2022

ASSIGNMENT No. 1
Q. 1 What is the procedure of textbook development in Pakistan? Highlight some of the flaws in the
development of AIOU textbooks.
Ans:
1) The procedure of textbook development in Pakistan
It is considered as an essential element of educative process. Textbooks determine the level of
education, level of its teachers and the standard of the system of education. Textbooks translate the objectives of
education policy into reality and set the standard of education required for the development and progress of the
country.
Development of textbooks is an evolutionary process. It continues with the new development and changes in the
society and around the world. New information is incorporated in the textbooks, making them useful for the
system of education.
For the development of textbooks, government has set up textbook boards in all the four provinces. Subject
specialists have been appointed in these Boards, who continuously work for improving the textbooks, written by
the authors.
The books developed by the Textbooks Boards are further evaluated by the expert committees in different
subjects constituted by the Curriculum Wing in the Ministry of Education. After the evaluation and approval of
the government, these books become part of educational system and are taught in the educational institutions
throughout the country.
 The three themes culture, religion and gender were chosen for they pertain to diversity. These potentially
controversial topics are important aspects of inclusive education and can help shape educational practice in
schools. The toolkit is made available online and is published in English, French and Arabic.

Different stages are involved in the development process of curriculum. For example, the committee that is
designated to create, develop and evaluate the curriculum make sure the process of curriculum development
easy.
Different kinds of problems we face in Pakistan and these are political interference or economic hazards. Lack
of teaching material or lack of awareness about national philosophy stop us to have brand new curriculum.
There are minority’s issues as well whenever we talk about the development of curriculum.Curriculum
development is the process of curriculum planning and preparation by curriculum developers and activities

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undertaken so that the resulting curriculum can become teaching materials and references used to achieve
national education goals.

2) flaws in the development of AIOU textbooks.

A textbook is only as good as the teacher who uses it. And it's important to remember that a textbook is
just one tool, perhaps a very important tool, in your teaching arsenal. Sometimes, teachers over-rely on
textbooks and don't consider other aids or other materials for the classroom. Some teachers reject a textbook
approach to learning because the textbook is outdated or insufficiently covers a topic or subject area.
As a teacher, you'll need to make many decisions, and one of those is how you want to use the textbook. As
good as they may appear on the surface, textbooks do have some limitations. The following table lists some of
the most common weaknesses of textbooks, along with ways of overcoming those difficulties.

Weakness Student Difficulty Ways of Overcoming Problem

The textbook is Students only see one perspective on a Provide students with lots of information
designed as a the sole concept or issue. sources such as trade books, CD-ROMS,
source of information. websites, encyclopedias, etc.

Textbook is old or Information shared with students is Use textbook sparingly or supplement with
outdated. not current or relevant. other materials.

Textbook questions Students assume that learning is Ask higher-level questions and provide
tend to be low level or simply a collection of facts and creative thinking and problem-solving
fact-based. figures. activities.

Textbook doesn't take Teacher does not tailor lessons to the Discover what students know about a topic
students' background specific attributes and interests of prior to teaching. Design the lesson based on
knowledge into students. that knowledge.
account.

Reading level of the Students cannot read or understand Use lots of supplemental materials such as
textbook is too important concepts. library books, Internet, CD-ROMs, etc.
difficult.

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The textbook has all Students tend to see learning as an Involve students in problem-solving
the answer to all the accumulation of correct answers. activities, higher-level thinking questions,
questions. and extending activities.

Q.2 Discuss the role of textbook publisher in development of textbook.

Ans:

Curriculum and the Publishing Industry

Publishers of curricula play a powerful role in the kinds of texts and official knowledge available in
schools, as textbooks are often the dominant textual resource used by teachers and students. As textbook
production becomes an increasingly privatized and globalized process, the influence that publishers have on
what counts as knowledge in schools increases. The authors argue that attention should be given to who makes
consequential decisions about the production and codification of knowledge in the form of curricular materials,
and who is benefiting – economically, politically, and culturally – from these globalized and unequal processes
of production and consumption.
Co modification
Curricular control
Deskilling
Global market
Knowledge production
Publishers
Standardization
Textbooks
Educational publishers play an important role in supporting teachers by way of workshops, training,
teacher resource material, lesson plans, digital content, web support, question papers, worksheets, etc.
The role of good quality textbooks in the formative years of a child is one that cannot be ignored. With
an estimated 95% of the publishing industry in India directly catering to schools, colleges, universities and
research – including technical, medical, and professional education. Education publishers publish a wide-
ranging variety of materials on subjects for schools, colleges and other levels of learners. With the need for
quality in text books and learning materials on the one hand and the accelerated momentum in digital education

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especially in online learning , education publishers play a critical role in research, compilation, design, printing,
distribution and now in digitizing their contents while ensuring that high quality standards are being maintained.
As the adoption of the ed-tech platform and digital learning increases over the years and the pandemic COVID-
19 acting as an accelerant causing a seismic shift to online learning. National and international publishing
houses are exploring newer ways to ride the change. Physical books and online learning will go hand in hand
and the future of learning is hybrid, claims the industry. The impact of this shift to digital is likely to last
beyond the COVID crisis, availability of educational contents digitally will be the new norm and educational
publishers must adapt to the change. Infact most publishers have made their online libraries available for digital
access and have also adopted innovative methods to stay relevant during the Corona virus pandemic and
beyond.
Educational publishers also play an important role in supporting teachers by way of workshops, trainings,
teacher resource material, lesson plans, digital content, web support, question papers, worksheets, etc. Besides
this, the publishing industry is an important employment generator, employing editors, content creators and
developers to create international quality content. Apart from that, they create employment for authors, graphic
designers, data entry operators, artists, visualizes etc. Also, it may be well noted that the publishing industry
also drives direct employment for a large number of people in the printing presses, paper manufacturing,
logistics and supply chain functions in various roles such as, machine operators, binders, supervisors, etc. They
also play an important role in augmenting the government’s education initiatives by supplying educational
books at low prices. Despite the government publishing their own text books, textbook prices in India are
amongst the lowest in the world, even lower than some developing nations. The large number of students in
India and the volumes enable private publishers to provide textbooks at fairly low prices.
Role of educational publishers has evolved beyond traditional printing of books to include offerings
such as tailor-made learning experience to the unique needs of individual students based on a process of
continuous feedback and evaluation through adaptive learning. This approach to learning provides an efficient,
effective and engaging path to learners that is constantly customized based on the progress and learning
outcomes achieved by the individual learners. AASOKA - the learning app by MBD group is driven by the
latest research in pedagogy and innovations in teaching methodology provide animated content for Grades K-
12. Video lectures using multimedia-rich 2D and 3D content engage students’ attention and curiosity,
encouraging and motivating them to study more. The Adaptive Assessments feature of the app customizes
assessments for each individual student based on their competency level derived from the result of the most
recent test taken.
Self-learning through online contents including educational videos offers learners immense flexibility in
learning at a time and place of their convenience and also in repeating the module as often as desired.

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Educational publishers have themselves developed such digital platforms or tied up with ed-tech companies to
provide necessary contents and offer customization option. Educational publishers
have also digitized contents that offer homework help for students and have introduced semester or term books
in the digital format. Homework assignment portals provided by some publishers enables teachers to easily
assign and evaluate at-home projects.
Another contribution of educational publishers that has a huge impact but is often overlooked is their
role in improving employability, industrial progress, and economic growth. A well-researched and curated
educational book often transcends the boundaries of a classroom and is a potent self-improvement tool in the
hands of a willing learner. While English continues to dominate the educational publishing scene, publishers are
well aware of the huge demand for educational contents in regional languages and are developing a vibrant
market for the same. With the all-important role of furthering the cause of learning and education, educational
publishers are adopting a blended approach not only in language and format but also an integrated approach
through both online and offline publishing.

Q.3 Explain effectiveness of textbooks and its advantages and disadvantages in today context.
Ans:
As you visit classrooms, you probably notice that most, if not all, of those classrooms use a standard
textbook series. The reasons for this are many, depending on the design and focus of the curriculum, the
mandates of the administration, and/or the level of expertise on the part of classroom teachers.
A textbook is a collection of the knowledge, concepts, and principles of a selected topic or course. It's usually
written by one or more teachers, college professors, or education experts who are authorities in a specific field.
Most textbooks are accompanied by teacher guides, which provide you with supplemental teaching materials,
ideas, and activities to use throughout the academic year.
Textbooks provide you with several advantages in the classroom:
 Textbooks are especially helpful for beginning teachers. The material to be covered and the design of
each lesson are carefully spelled out in detail.
 Textbooks provide organized units of work. A textbook gives you all the plans and lessons you need to
cover a topic in some detail.
 A textbook series provides you with a balanced, chronological presentation of information.
 Textbooks are a detailed sequence of teaching procedures that tell you what to do and when to do it.
There are no surprises—everything is carefully spelled out.

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  Textbooks provide administrators and teachers with a complete program. The series is typically based
on the latest research and teaching strategies.
 Good textbooks are excellent teaching aids. They're a resource for both teachers and students.
Some textbooks may fail to arouse student interest. It is not unusual for students to reject textbooks simply
because of what they are—compendiums of large masses of data for large masses of students. Students may
find it difficult to understand the relevance of so much data to their personal lives.
Use Textbooks Wisely
A textbook is only as good as the teacher who uses it. And it's important to remember that a textbook is just one
tool, perhaps a very important tool, in your teaching arsenal. Sometimes, teachers over-rely on textbooks and
don't consider other aids or other materials for the classroom. Some teachers reject a textbook approach to
learning because the textbook is outdated or insufficiently covers a topic or subject area.
As a teacher, you'll need to make many decisions, and one of those is how you want to use the textbook. As
good as they may appear on the surface, textbooks do have some limitations. The following table lists some of
the most common weaknesses of textbooks, along with ways of overcoming those difficulties.

Weakness Student Difficulty Ways of Overcoming Problem

The textbook is designed as a Students only see one perspective Provide students with lots of information
the sole source of on a concept or issue. sources such as trade books, CD-ROMS,
information. websites, encyclopedias, etc.

Textbook is old or outdated. Information shared with students Use textbook sparingly or supplement with
is not current or relevant. other materials.

Textbook questions tend to Students assume that learning is Ask higher-level questions and provide
be low level or fact-based. simply a collection of facts and creative thinking and problem-solving
figures. activities.

Textbook doesn't take Teacher does not tailor lessons to Discover what students know about a topic
students' background the specific attributes and prior to teaching. Design the lesson based
knowledge into account. interests of students. on that knowledge.

Reading level of the Students cannot read or Use lots of supplemental materials such as
textbook is too difficult. understand important concepts. library books, Internet, CD-ROMs, etc.

The textbook has all the Students tend to see learning as Involve students in problem-solving

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answer to all the questions. an accumulation of correct activities, higher-level thinking questions,
answers. and extending activities.

Think of a Textbook as a Tool

I like to think of textbooks as tools they are only as good as the person using them. A hammer in the
hands of a competent carpenter can be used to create a great cathedral or an exquisite piece of furniture. In the
hands of someone else, the result may be a rundown shack or a rickety bench. How you decide to use textbooks
will depend on many factors.
Remember, no textbook is perfect, and no textbook is complete. It is but one resource at your disposal. Use it as
a blueprint, a guidebook, or an outline.
I would like to add a personal note of caution here: do not make the mistake of basing your entire classroom
curriculum on a single textbook. The textbook needs to be used judiciously. A carpenter, for example, doesn't
use only a hammer to build a magnificent oak chest. She may use a plane, chisel, saw, sander, or any number of
tools to create the masterpiece she wishes to build. A great classroom program, just like a great piece of
furniture, needs many tools in its construction.
When thinking about how you want to use textbooks, consider the following:
 Use the textbook as a resource for students, but not the only resource.
 Use a textbook as a guide, not a mandate, for instruction.
 Be free to modify, change, eliminate, or add to the material in the textbook.
 Supplement the textbook with lots of outside readings.
 Supplement teacher information in the textbook with teacher resource books; attendance at local,
regional, or national conferences; articles in professional periodicals; and conversations with
experienced teachers.

Q.4 Compare AIOU's model of textbooks publishing to any other model of textbooks publishing.
1. Rule of frameworks
Memory and understanding are promoted by the use of a structure that mimics the structures we all use within
our minds to store information. Before we can use or master a subject, we have to have a mental road map that
allows us to navigate within and through the subject domain. The text can best aid understanding by making this
framework visible early on within each section or topic. The extent to which the student understands that they
are using a framework, and knows what that framework is, is important as they internalize and make use of the
material presented.
2. Rule of meaningful names

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Everything we know is tagged with an index or a title. These indices are critical to the ability to recall or
retrieve the things we know and remember. Each concept, process, technique or fact presented should aid the
student to assign a meaningful name for it in their own mental organization of the material. To be most useful,
these names shouldn’t have to be relearned at higher levels of study. The names assigned by the text should be
useful in that they support some future activities: communication with other practitioners, reference within the
text to earlier mastered material, and conformity to the framework used for the subject. Each unique element of
the subject domain should have a unique name, and each name should be used for only one element.
3. Rule of manageable numbers
When we learn from an outline, an illustration, or an example, most of us are limited in our ability to absorb
new material. As we become familiar with part of a subject domain this number expands, but for new material
four to six new elements is a reasonable limit. If a chapter outline contains twelve items, the student will have
forgotten the outline before getting to the last item. When a text fails to support this rule, it requires even a
diligent student to needlessly repeat material.
4. Rule of hierarchy
Our mental frameworks are hierarchical. Learning is aided by using the student’s ability to couple or link new
material with that already mastered. When presenting new domains for hierarchical understanding, the rules
for meaningful names and manageable numbers have increased importance and more limited application. A
maximum of three levels of hierarchy should be presented at one time. The root should be already mastered, the
current element under consideration clearly examined, and lower levels outlined only to the extent that they
help the student understand the scope or importance of the current element. This area is supplemented by two
more rules within this rule: those of Connectivity and Cohesion. Connectivity requires consideration of what the
student likely knows at this point. The more already mastered elements that one can connect with a new
element, the easier it is to retain. Cohesion requires that the characteristics of new elements as they are
presented be tightly coupled.
5. Rule of repetition
Most people learn by repetition, and only a few with native genius can achieve mastery without it. There is a
pattern of repetition that aids in promoting the elements of a subject from short-term to long-term memory.
Implementations of this rule may mean that frameworks and important hierarchies are repeated as many as five
or six times, while frequently used elements are repeated three or four times, and elements of lesser utility may
not be repeated at all. The first repetition should normally occur within a day of first presentation, followed by a
gradually decreasing frequency. Exercises and review sections are ideally contributing to a designed repetition
pattern.

5 Rules of Textbook Development long description:

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1. The rule of frameworks means maintain a consistent structure. The text can best aid understanding by
making this framework visible early on.
2. The rule of meaningful names means create and use consistent titles and terminologies. The names are
critical to the ability to recall or retrieve the things we know and remember.
3. The rule of manageable numbers means limit the amount of new information introduced at one time.
4. Rule of hierarchy means new knowledge builds on learned knowledge. The student needs to understand the
foundational knowledge before being introduced to a new concept. When new concepts are introduced the
should be explicitly connected to the foundational material.
5. The rule of repetition means repeat important concepts. There is a pattern of repetition that aids in
promoting the elements of a subject from short-term to long-term memory.
Textbooks provide you with several advantages in the classroom:
 Textbooks are especially helpful for beginning teachers. The material to be covered and the design of
each lesson are carefully spelled out in detail.
 Textbooks provide organized units of work. A textbook gives you all the plans and lessons you need to
cover a topic in some detail.
 A textbook series provides you with a balanced, chronological presentation of information.
 Textbooks are a detailed sequence of teaching procedures that tell you what to do and when to do it.
There are no surprises—everything is carefully spelled out.
 Textbooks provide administrators and teachers with a complete program. The series is typically based
on the latest research and teaching strategies.
 Good textbooks are excellent teaching aids. They're a resource for both teachers and students.

Q.5 Explain the concept of structure writing. Discuss the system of textbook analysis.
Ans:
A key feature of effective teaching is the selection of instructional objectives that meet the needs of
students and fit the constraints of the teaching and learning environment. There are many pressures for
educators to match the audiovisual stimuli of television, computers, and electronic games with which students
are experienced. The speed of personal computers and the ease of authoring systems permit instructors to design
and customize computer-based audiovisual presentations and to develop computer-based assignments for their
students. The tremendous increases in rates of information transfer, access to the Internet, and posting of
objectives on the World Wide Web give instructors and students an almost limitless supply of resource material.
In addition, the ease of electronic communications between an instructor and students, and among students,
provides new opportunities for sharing questions, answers, and discussions during a course. At the same time,

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there remains a major role for student use of textbooks and for instructional use of demonstrations, films,
videos, slides, and overhead transparencies.
Carefully scripted presentations and activities run the risk of emphasizing teacher delivery rather than
student learning. Carefully planned and prepared instructional resources sometimes tempt instructors to race
ahead and to cover more. The rapid-fire presentations combined with audiovisual overload can tempt students to
remain intellectually passive. One way to avoid this is to intersperse activities which assess student
understanding and encourage reflection and critical thinking. Another possibility is to reduce the pace of the
class session, by pausing periodically to invite questions.
Instructional resources usually fall into one of two categories: student-centered and teacher-centered. In
the student-centered model, instructional resources can be used for tutorials, problem solving, discovery, and
review. In the teacher-centered model, resources are used for presentations of supplementary or primary
material in the classroom. Information technology can also be used for communication and for information
retrieval.
The mode of teaching so common today—the lecture-text-exam approach-is an artifact of centuries of
European education. The professor's main role before the wide availability of the printing press was to lecture
on information obtained from a rare copy of an often ancient book. Despite the fears of the faculty at the
University of Salamanca during the sixteenth century, the textbook rapidly became a useful supplement to the
class lecture rather than its replacement. Today a textbook is available for almost every college science class.
As McKeachie (1994) notes, ''. . . my years of experience in attempting to assess teaching effectiveness have led
me to think that the textbook, more than any other element of the course, determines student learning."
Books are a highly portable form of information and can be accessed when, where, and at whatever rate and
level of detail the reader desires. Research indicates that, for many people, visual processing (i.e., reading) is
faster than auditory processing (i.e., listening to lectures), making textbooks a very effective resource
(McKeachie, 1994). Reading can be done slowly, accompanied by extensive note taking, or it can be done
rapidly, by skimming and skipping. There are advantages to both styles, and you may find it useful to discuss
their merits with your students.
One important aspect of any science class is helping the student to make sense of the mass of
information and ideas in a field. This can be done by showing students how to arrange information in a
meaningful hierarchy of related major and minor concepts. Well-chosen textbooks help students understand
how information and ideas can be organized.
Textbooks have several major limitations. Although a well-written book can engage and hold student
interest, it is not inherently interactive. However, if students are encouraged to ask questions while they read,
seek answers within the text, and identify other sources to explore ideas not contained in the text, they will
become active readers and gain the maximum benefit from their textbook. In order to meet the needs of a broad

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audience, texts are often so thick that they overwhelm students seeking key information. Texts are often forced
to rely on historical or dated examples, and they rarely give a sense of the discovery aspects and disorganization
of information facing modern researchers.
Science textbooks have evolved considerably from the descriptive and historical approaches common
before World War II. Today's texts are far more sophisticated, less historical, and contain more facts than in the
past, with complex language and terminology (Bailar, 1993). Illustrations and mathematical expressions are
more common. Emphasis has shifted toward principles and theory. Modern texts attempt to deal with issues of
process as well as matters of fact or content. They are replete with essays, sidebars, diagrams, illustrations,
worked examples, and problems and questions at many different levels. One result of these changes is that the
average book length has increased two to four times in the past several decades.
In response to the need for quality science textbooks for all students, not just science majors, some
authors are returning to descriptive and historical approaches. Generally, books for science literacy courses
describe important ideas and discoveries, present a limited number of fundamental concepts, and emphasize the
links among different facts and principles. Others (e.g., Trefil and Hazen, 1995) take an interdisciplinary
approach, by covering a range of science disciplines in a coherent, connected manner.
Research on the effectiveness of textbooks has focused on two general areas: text structure and layout.
The study of text structure has focused on how the reader builds cognitive representations from text. Recent
work categorizes the structure of science text as either a proof-first or a principle-first organization (Dee-Lucas
and Larkin, 1990). The proof-first organization develops a proof or argument that builds to a conclusion,
usually in the form of a fundamental concept, principle, or law. In principle-first organization, a concept or
principle is stated explicitly, then the evidence needed to support it is presented. The prevalence of the proof-
first structure in contemporary textbooks may be due to the fact that most college science textbooks are written
by scientists with little formal training in education. They present science the way it is practiced by experts.
However, studies by Dee-Lucas and Larkin (1990) indicate that the principle-first structure is more effective for
long-term retention and understanding by novice readers.
Layout and illustrations are important predictors of a text's effectiveness. One of the most effective types
of illustration, especially for students with low verbal aptitude, is a simple multicolor line drawing. Although
more visually appealing, and more prevalent in the current textbook market, realistic drawings or photographs
are less effective at enhancing student learning. The organization of information on a page also affects student
learning.

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