Inquiry Project - annotated bibliography

 

EDUC 450
Mark LeBlanc
Inquiry Project

Annotated Bibliography

Love, E., Pimm, D. (1996). ‘This is so’: a text on texts. In: Bishop, A.J., Clements, K., Keitel, C., Kilpatrick, J., Laborde, C. (eds) International Handbook of Mathematics Education. Kluwer International Handbooks of Education, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-1465-0_11 (chapter from book)

This chapter examines many different aspects of textbooks, and more generally, text materials. These aspects include author voice, structure, prevalence and purpose of images, pedagogic functions, and presumptions about the reader. The chapter also offers some criticisms with regards to the production of text materials, their use in classrooms, their perceived authority, and the future of mathematical texts.

            Pinto, L. E. (2007). Textbook Publishing, Textbooks, and Democracy: A Case Study. Journal of Thought, 42(1/2), 99–121. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42589912’

This article discusses the development process of three widely used textbooks in Ontario, as well as how students and teachers interact with those books. The article describes the market of secondary textbooks in Ontario as an oligopoly, criticizing this situation as having resulted in superficial content, promoting closed-mindedness in students.

            DiGiuseppe, M. (2013). Representing Nature of Science in a Science Textbook: Exploring author–editor–publisher interactions. International Journal of Science Education, 36(7), 1061–1082. https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2013.840405

This study explores the representation of the nature of science in a few specific high school textbooks, as well as the developmental process of such textbooks, and the challenges therein. Specifically, the study examines the influence of authors, editors, and publishers in the representation of the nature of science, and the factors which ultimately determine how such ideas are expressed in textbooks.

            Rezat, S., Fan, L. & Pepin, B. Mathematics textbooks and curriculum resources as instruments for change. ZDM Mathematics Education 53, 1189–1206 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11858-021-01309-3

This survey paper provides examines research on mathematics textbooks, investigating the how textbooks/curriculum resources affect change in instructional goals, instructional practices, and student learning. This paper also discusses the importance of student and teacher interactions with curricular resources, and how these resources serve as a mediator between educational goals and enacted curriculum.

            Rollans, Glenn and Michel de la Chenelière. (2010). Study of the Canadian K to 12 educational book publishing sector. Government of Canada. ISBN 978-1-100-15817-4, https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2010/pc-ch/CH44-139-2010-eng.pdf

This government document outlines the history of the educational publishing sector in Canada. It distinguishes between core resources and supplemental resources and provides an overview of their costs, production, and distribution, while also describing how these relate with BPIDP funding assistance. The document provides a brief overview of the processes for resources approval across different provinces, and also speculates on the future of printed textbooks and digital textbooks. 

            Keeghan, Annie. (2012, March 5). Afraid of your child's math textbook? You should be. Betrayed - Why Public Education Is Failing.
http://betrayed-whyeducationisfailing.blogspot.com/2012/03/afraid-of-your-childs-math-textbook-you.html

In this post, Keeghan describes her experiences working in educational publishing and offers a relatively pessimistic viewpoint of the process of math textbook development. She describes many of the business related factors influencing production of educational resources, resulting in inferior products, neglectful in their consideration of students’ education.

            Hunt, Nigel. (2016, June 19). Copyright-free material edging out Canadian educational texts. CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/copyright-law-educational-books-1.3640331

This news article examines how the sales of educational books is decreasing due to policies regarding copyright and the prevalence of free educational materials which can be easily accessed online.

            Zwaagstra, Michael. (2022, February 15). Why textbooks still matter in our schools. The Hamilton Spectator. https://www.thespec.com/opinion/contributors/why-textbooks-still-matter-in-our-schools/article_8c4e2e9e-696c-5801-a1ba-b768a845028b.html

This article extols the value of textbooks, even in a digital age where students often use the internet as their primary source of information. He describes the importance of having such comprehensive resources for both students and teachers, and how they can be effectively implemented in the classroom, even if they are flawed in some respects. 

butterfly catcher

It's interesting to think about how specific instances in time can really ingrain certain ideas and feelings in our minds. I don't think it's often obvious how past experiences influence us, but I do believe that some memories stick with us more than others because of how deeply they affect us. In "The butterfly catcher," Dr. Ricketts tells several stories involving her dying friend and reflects upon how these personal memories have influenced her artistic ideology. These two people seemed to be kindred spirits in some sense, and having worked together so closely on various projects, Dr. Ricketts was connected to Jorge on a profoundly emotional level. This connection allowed Dr. Ricketts to become "the creative and kinaesthetic channel" for her dear friend during this difficult time. Such intense empathy and emotion is certainly extreme, but I think it also demonstrates how, in general, empathizing with others is a kind of superpower that allows us to develop our own understanding of the world by "channelling" the thoughts, feelings, and perceptions of others. As a teachers, we strive to gain some degree of insight into our students' learning experiences and thought processes. And while we won't ever be in a situation like Dr. Ricketts and Jorge, I like the notion of being some sort of conduit for the thoughts and ideas of students. I think occupying that mindset enables us to help students to a greater degree, shifting the focus from teaching students our ideas, and instead guiding them in developing their own. I feel like that's a bit of a reversal of what was happening between Kathryn and Jorge, but, at the same time, I think reflecting upon moments of empathizing with students will certainly inform our teaching ideologies. Tragically, Jorge's life was cut too short, though I'm certain he gained a lot from his time with Kathryn as well, and those experiences would have undoubtedly shaped him as an artist. Similarly, and I've said this before, but the student-teacher experience is a two-way street, and it's at its best when students and teachers are learning from each other. It feels wrong to draw such a comparison when the emotional weight of this situation is really incomparable to the experience of a teacher in a classroom. So I sincerely hope I'm not coming off as insensitive here. I wonder if perhaps the more important lesson to learn from this article is that there are significant moments in life which have a profound effect on people and we must be sensitive to that. Similar to Dr. Ricketts, we might also find the value in reflecting upon such experiences, to better understand ourselves and others, striving for authentic self-expression, finding our voice within the stories of others.

inquiry topic

The working title of my inquiry project is "The influence of textbooks on course delivery." Generally speaking, I'm interested in learning more about how different teachers and students interact with textbooks - what they like, or don't like about certain textbooks, how much they use them, and for what purposes. I'm of the opinion that textbooks have a disproportionately large impact in terms of dictating how content is taught/learned, especially in upper year math and science courses. And so I'm curious to learn more about where these textbooks come from. Who are the authors of these textbooks, what are their backgrounds, intentions, and teaching philosophies? What does the process of creating textbooks actually look like? How might the popularity of certain textbooks be based on momentum/convenience/compulsion vs. innovation? Is there any chance for an individual, or small group of individuals, who aren't affiliated with large textbook publishers, to have much success in independently writing a new textbook? Is there any evidence to suggest the degree to which textbooks should be employed by teachers? I have a lot of questions at the moment, but I'm sure that reading through some articles and speaking with different people will help inform which questions I investigate more or less.