An analysis of DC circuit theory content in an engineering textbook: Presentation features, conceptual content, and use of analogies

Abstract

Textbooks play an integral role in teaching and learning across disciplines and levels of undergraduate engineering education. In this paper we present an empirically derived framework for evaluating engineering textbooks, based on prior findings from the field of engineering education research. Our more specific focus is content related to DC resistive circuits. We begin with a review of prior literature on textbook analysis in engineering education and other fields, and then provide a detailed description of our analytic framework, which includes three different categories of analysis: presentation features, conceptual content, and use of analogies. To demonstrate the utility of the proposed framework, we apply it to the content of a first-year engineering textbook. Our analysis reveals significant gaps between the textbook's coverage of electric circuit theory and recent advances in engineering education research, which provide many insights about effective teaching and learning techniques based on a conceptual understanding approach. Our analysis is relevant for textbook authors, who can use the framework presented in this paper to guide textbook development and revision. Instructors can also benefit by using our criteria to evaluate and select textbooks, and incorporating supplemental materials to address common conceptual gaps.