For teachers to truly be effective there is a required level of knowledge and expertise that must be passed onto the students. Teaching textbooks can offer a significant portion of the expertise and reference material that will help teachers understand the material that they will be passing onto their students.
The effective organization of teaching textbooks , especially in regards to how the lesson plans are presented will be one of the ways that teachers can elevate their level of actual knowledge as well as perceived authority in the classroom. In the field of math there are a lot of options for teaching textbooks. Making a decision before committing to a specific book may be best accomplished by reading teaching textbook reviews that other educators have published. Within a community of education professionals, there are some opportunities to see not only pros and cons of a specific series of teaching textbooks, but also find out if there are teachers that may match a given teaching style and whether or not these other instructors found a specific textbook useful.
Finding a good math series will not only include some of the more basic mathematics principles, but should also follow a standard mathematics curriculum. Owning a pre-algebra teaching textbook, an algebra 1 teaching textbook, an algebra 2 teaching textbook, and finally a solid geometry teaching textbook will help instructors be prepared for just about everything. Beyond that, the teacher’s preference for a given series of textbooks would most likely be based on past experience if the teacher has been teaching for more than a year, as well as referrals from other teachers.
Word of mouth referrals within a teaching community will often present a very clear winner of which teaching textbooks are considered “the best”. These are based on opinion, and often a primarily “local” opinion however. The best route for a teacher to take in examining the various teaching textbooks out there is a simple one. They should use the research power of the internet! They should analyze all of the major teaching textbooks review websites out there. The instructor can also teach some sample lessons to their classes in order to gauge their overall reaction to the textbook material. Instructors can often buy teaching textbooks used for a discounted price.
Teaching textbooks that are the most effective may include examples of teaching each type of student from multiple learning styles including visual learners, auditory learners, and kinesthetic or tactile learners. There may be examples of how the lessons can best be applied so that each student can get a better idea of a concept through examples. When evaluating the new material, teachers may also look at examples from their past classes of how the material would have been taught to specific students. Although it may not be known what type of students will be a part of any class in the future, a current or past class consisting of 20-30 students may represent a good cross-section of future classes.
The corresponding textbooks that the students use should also match the teaching textbooks and should be a major point of review for any teacher. Getting the most out of the learning environment means that the students’ knowledge and skills are increased. This also means that the students are prepared as much as possible for what the future may bring.
