Introductory Textbooks Research Articles

Analogy use in textbook introductions to isostasy: Presentations, perceptions and physics

In teaching, analogies can be used to support the introduction of a new concept or idea with reference to a more familiar one. This relies on the learner’s correct understanding of the (supposedly) familiar situation, their identification of the relevant similarities (structural relations) between the two situations, and of the limits of the similarities. Without these, analogies may reinforce or introduce misconceptions. Through content analysis of 14 introductory textbooks, semi-structured interviews with four students, and analysis of two analogies, we explore how analogies are used as part of introductions to isostasy in introductory geoscience textbooks. Analogies were ubiquitous, but prior knowledge of the source domain was typically assumed and the majority were not elaborated (explained to the learner). Interviews indicate that, in the absence of sufficient elaboration, students turn to superficial similarities for clues on how to apply the analogies. Many textbooks used analogies amenable to this approach, indicating an alignment between textbook strategy and student reactions. However, giving precedence to superficial similarities over explicit elaboration of structural relations may favor a novice approach to learning. Analyzing an analogy using free-body diagrams demonstrates how an apparently relevant analogy can introduce misconceptions, both in terms of the underlying physics (introducing a fictitious force) and the Earth application (unnatural behavior of the lithosphere) when not sufficiently, or correctly, elaborated. We conclude that the introductory textbooks place much of the responsibility for appropriate use of their analogies, and for avoiding misconceptions, on the learners and their teachers.

Plastic Theory/Studies

Abstract While this year’s chapter on plastic theory/studies is relatively short, with only three texts reviewed, it is a harbinger of important texts in preparation that, next year, will broaden the field into dimensions as diverse as world literature and theology. Such an expansion is logical when we see that the texts published this year include: an important and practical textbook introduction as part of MIT Press’s Essential Knowledge series (Imari Walker-Franklin and Jenna Jambeck’s Plastics); a chapter in a book on flashpoint epistemologies (Ranjan Ghosh’s ‘Plastic Pedagogy: Rabindranath Tagore Revisited’); and a book that links plasticity to political thought (Fathali M. Moghaddam’s Political Plasticity). As this review will show, together these texts speak not only of the contemporary anxieties of a world enmeshed in climate and political catastrophes, but also of the pedagogical and political hopes of new generations of scholars and artists, who are thinking about plasticity and plastic theory—not only in texts but also in their practices and art—in relation to a future still in formation.

Economics needs ethics to be relevant for the real world we live in!

It is widely believed by economists and non-economists alike that knowing about and ‘doing’ economics does not involve ethical or moral issues. The typical introductory economics textbook starts with simplified statements about economics being value-free and ethically-neutral. But this is not correct and students need to be introduced to economics differently. This paper makes the case for a more explicit and integrated treatment of ethics in our undergraduate economics programs. The argument has two parts. First, economics and ethics are interrelated because both economists and economic actors hold ethical values that shape their behavior. Second, economic institutions and policies impact people differentially so that ethical evaluations, in addition to economic evaluations, are important. Rather than pretend that economics is value-neutral, our programs must show how these effects can be understood so that more effective economists are graduated from our universities.

Teaching advanced topics in econometrics using introductory textbooks: The case of dynamic panel data methods

We show how to use the introductory econometrics textbook by Stock and Watson (2019) as a starting point for teaching and studying dynamic panel data methods. The materials are intended for undergraduate students taking their second econometrics course, undergraduate students in seminar-type courses, independent study courses, capstone, or thesis projects, and beginning graduate students in a research methods course. First, we distill the methodological core necessary to understand dynamic panel data methods. Second, we design an empirical and a theoretical case study to highlight the capabilities, downsides, and hazards of the method. The empirical case study is based on the cigarette demand example in Stock and Watson (2019) and illustrates that economic and methodological issues are interrelated. The theoretical case study shows how to evaluate current empirical practices from a theoretical standpoint. We designed both case studies to boost students’ confidence in working with technical material and to provide instructors with more opportunities to let students develop econometric thinking and to actively communicate with applied economists. Although we focus on Stock and Watson (2019) and the statistical software R, we also show how to modify the material for use with another introductory textbook by Wooldridge (2020) and Stata, and highlight some possible further pathways for instructors and students to reuse and extend our materials.

Unsettling Sociology Curriculum: Indigenous Content in Introductory Sociology Textbooks

Teaching introductory sociology is one of the primary means by which sociologists mobilize knowledge. Ongoing critical reflection on the content of sociology textbooks is therefore an important disciplinary enterprise. The current critical moment in which many nations, institutions, and publics face a reckoning with their historic and current relationships with Indigenous peoples presents sociologists with the opportunity to examine how Indigenous peoples, histories, and perspectives are to be found in these pedagogical materials. Drawing on Critical Indigenous scholarship that “disrupts the certainty of disciplinary knowledges[’]” concept of “connected sociologies,” we examine the state of inclusion of Indigenous content in introductory sociology curriculum. To achieve this, we conducted a content analysis of 10 of the top-selling English-language Canadian introductory sociology textbooks, and we drew directly from interviews with Indigenous scholars. By introducing the literature on solidarity and allyship in the final section, we conclude with teaching and learning actions to incorporate in sociology courses.

Whose work matters? A tool for identifying and developing more inclusive physics textbooks

The lack of representational diversity and role models in physics, including in our textbooks and curricular materials, is an oft-cited contributing factor to the continuing dramatic under-representation of women and people of color in physics. In this work, we develop an automated, Python-based tool for identifying the names and demographics of scientists who are mentioned in indices and chapters of physics textbooks, enabling authors, publishers, and users of physics textbooks to rapidly analyze the demographics of these texts. We quantitatively validate the automated tool using standard machine learning metrics, attaining high accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 scores. The tool is then used to demonstrate two of the many potential applications: examining whose work is mentioned in the entire collection of textbooks used in a representative four-year undergraduate physics major curriculum as well as an analysis of the demographics of scientists mentioned in a selection of ten introductory physics textbooks. Both of the sample analyses result in a similar portrait, showing that the undergraduate physics textbooks examined in this work focus overwhelmingly on work attributed to White men of European, British, and North American descent. This work points to an urgent need for the physics education community, including textbook publishers, authors, and adopters, to work together to broaden our portrayals of physics to reflect the vast diversity of scientists, both historically and contemporaneously, who are working in this field.

Research on the Current Situation and Realization Path of Integrating Red Culture into Ideological and Political Course of Primary School under the View of Integrating the Ideological and Political Course of Elementary Schools, Middle Schools and Universi

“The ideological and political education of young people is a successive process with progressive characteristics, requiring the integrated coordination and articulation of different age stages.” The textbook Introduction to Xi Jinping’s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era repeatedly emphasizes that the ideological and political course should focus on being close to the cognitive characteristics and acceptance habits of young students, reflecting the requirement of integrating the ideological and political course of universities, middle schools, and elementary school. Under the perspective of the integration of ideological and political education among each age group, the article firstly discusses the necessity and importance of the integration of red culture into the ideological and political class. Secondly, this article defines the core concepts such as the integration of ideology and politics and red culture according to the literature, and then learns about the status quo and identifying problems in integrating red culture into the ideological and political course from the three groups of students, teachers, and parents. Finally, combined with the practice of members, this paper carries out a preliminary exploration of the path of integrating red culture into elementary school ideological and political course, and puts forward effective paths and methods to solve the aforementioned problems for reference.

What’s Missing in Introductory Family Science Textbooks? Where is the Theory, Methods, and Application?

One of the central purposes of an introductory family science textbook is to introduce students to the theory and research methods that are commonly used in the discipline and to the applications of research to practical issues confronting families. We examined seventeen textbooks published between 2012-2019 regarding the amount of content devoted to theory, research methods, and application. The authors systematically coded content in the textbooks based on an examination of the Tables of Contents and the Subject Index. The results indicate that most introductory textbooks include limited content about theory and research methods. Also, despite the emphasis of the profession on the translation of research, introductory textbooks did not include much information about family life education or family therapy. There was more coverage of family policy, but the authors rarely included a discussion of the policy process or how research can inform policy. These results can assist instructors in selecting textbooks for courses and assist authors in the development of future textbooks.

SOCIOLINGUISTIC COMPETENCIES IN ORAL TRANSLATION

Translating is sociolinguistic activity. We can define sociolinguistics as the study of language in relation to society, and this is how we shall be taking the term in this book. Sociolinguistics has become a recognized part of most courses at university level on 'linguistics' or 'language', and is indeed one of the main growth points in the study of language, from the point of view of both teaching and research. There are now major English-language journals devoted to research publications) and a number of introductory textbooks, apart from the present one.

What do economists teach about climate change? An analysis of introductory economics textbooks

Is the training of economists keeping pace with the growing research on climate change? Is climate change considered a central or a specialized economic topic? This study documents the attention given to climate change in economics by conducting a comprehensive analysis of fifty-seven introductory textbooks. The findings reveal a notable divergence in perspectives across countries and between the domains of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. These divergences persist irrespective of individual academic standing, underscoring a pronounced schism within the profession regarding the emphasis placed on climate change in economic discourse.

Analysis of Psychology of Religion Content in Introductory Psychology Textbooks

Background Past research on the representation of religion/spirituality in introductory psychology textbooks is dated. Objective Analyze religion/spirituality content in the nine most frequently purchased introductory psychology textbooks published within the last 5 years. Method The current study identified 27 terms that related to religion/spirituality and performed qualitative analysis of term's mentions in each textbook. Results Findings indicated that 100% of textbooks mentioned religion/spirituality, which represents an increase in mentions compared to past research. However, none of the textbooks included a specific section on the psychology of religion and spirituality. Overall, there was greater discussion-based coverage of religion/spirituality than research-based coverage, similar to past research findings, although the current study found a greater percentage of research-based discussion than previous research. Compared to past research, the current study found a greater proportion of positive coverage of religious/spiritual mentions but found that most textbooks included negative coverage of religious/spiritual mentions representing rare phenomena associated with religion/spirituality. Conclusion This study provides evidence that coverage of religion/spirituality is better represented in introductory psychology textbooks than past research, but organization and inclusion is still lacking. Teaching Implications Religion/spirituality content could be better organized in textbooks by including a specific section dedicated to the psychology of religion and spirituality.

Another look at the current-carrying wire in special relativity

In this paper we examine two models for a current-carrying wire in special relativity. The first model assumes an infinitely long wire and does not specify the source or return path for the current. This model is simple and easy to analyze, so it is often used in introductory textbooks to show the significance of special relativity for electromagnetism. The second model is a coaxial line with a battery at one end and a short circuit at the other. The center conductor of the line represents the wire of interest, and the outer conductor forms the return path for the current. The analysis for this model is more involved than that of the first model, but it provides information not available from that model. This new information answers questions a student might have when first encountering the simpler model.

Open-inquiry opens doors to intriguing optics experiments at home: A case study

[This paper is part of the Focused Collection on Instructional labs: Improving traditions and new directions.] This manuscript presents a case study of an introductory physics student who, during the remote learning conditions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, found inspiration within a new, open-inquiry, project-based, laboratory curriculum designed at Portland State University. The phenomenon investigated by the study subject was intriguing to both the student and the lab instructors for its unfamiliar and instructive optical effect: a ring-shaped pattern or halo created by a laser diffusely reflected in a shallow body of water. Drawing on classwork and interview responses, this study shows that the subject achieved many expected curriculum outcomes, particularly with respect to experimental design and data analysis tasks, indicating that the course’s open-inquiry structure can be effective while offering students a free choice of what to investigate in a laboratory class. Additionally, the case study shows that the halo phenomenon is pedagogically rich as it combines refraction, diffuse reflection, and total internal reflection in a nontrivial way, thereby answering calls by physics education researchers for more complex, realistic examples in geometric optics instruction. Finally, this case also highlights challenges students may experience interpreting diffuse reflection and determining the position of optical features beyond image formation, not commonly a focus of introductory physics courses, textbooks, and education research. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

A surprising two-inductor circuit

Introductory textbooks often consider circuits in which a switch is used to alternately connect or disconnect a battery from series or parallel combinations of simple components such as resistors and inductors. An example circuit is presented here whose behaviour is contradictory if all components are ideal. A simple modification is proposed for the behaviour of the switch to resolve the contradiction.

The complexities of moving topics between disciplines: the case of buoyancy and isostasy

ABSTRACT ‘A lack of prior knowledge in the other discipline’ is often given by geoscience instructors to explain why students struggle to apply knowledge from other disciplines to the Earth. We examine this assumption by considering the disciplinary crossing of buoyancy (physics) to isostasy (geoscience). We investigate the teachers’ perspective through workshops, and use the theoretical framework of Interdisciplinary Reasoning and Communication to explore what geoscience textbooks ask of students. Most introductory textbooks rely on students applying pre-existing knowledge of hydrostatics in a geoscience context (forwards transfer), while intermediate and advanced textbooks develop the necessary physics explicitly in a geoscientific context (backwards transfer). Moreover, introductory textbooks frequently use analogies for concrete translation between physics and geoscience ideas, but the analogical relations and where they break down (relational translations), receive little attention. This places high demands on students’ prior understanding of hydrostatics to successfully integrate and transfer knowledge from physics to geoscience. If students lack the relevant physics background, introductory textbooks may force them to rely on intuitive ideas of physics, potentially reinforcing old, and giving rise to new misconceptions. Our results move the focus from perceived shortcomings of students to the demands made on them in interdisciplinary learning.

(Re)presenting race: an analysis of special education textbooks for engagement with race and ethnicity

ABSTRACT Introductory special education textbooks are significant for their role in shaping pre-service teachers’ understanding of the field by providing access to information at a time when prospective teachers are beginning to formulate their pedagogical and philosophical beliefs. They serve as the foundation on which students build and frame their knowledge of the field. By analyzing 4536 pages from 10 special education textbooks using content and discourse analysis, this study explores how special education textbook authors incorporate critical perspectives of race and ethnicity into their discussions. The findings reveal the deployment of deficit discourse about Black and Brown students and the absence of an analysis or naming of the intersecting oppressions Black and Brown students face in school and society. Findings also reveal a strategic coopting of racialized experiences using analogies to emphasize the significance of ableism. Recommendations for teacher educators, researchers, and textbook authors are provided.

Hearing voices, but whose? Constructions of schizophrenia in introductory psychology textbooks

Introductory psychology courses have a broad reach; their textbooks are instrumental in disseminating information about mental distress. In this study, we present the theoretical implications of a Foucauldian discourse analysis of constructions of schizophrenia in six introductory psychology textbooks assigned in Aotearoa/New Zealand and Australia. We identify three interconnected discursive constructions within the textbooks: object-for-study, social problem, and unrecoverable illness. These constructions converge to position people with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (PWDS) as sites for biomedical intervention and generate biomedical treatment as necessary but non-curative. Notably, the voices of PWDS are absent from the texts. We contend that amplifying counter discourses and the voices of PWDS is essential to provide the context, meaning, and hope that is missing from these textbooks, and broader society. We work with Mad Studies to present potential ways of theorising otherwise around these experiences—and leveraging this theory in textbook writing.

Objectivity, honesty, and integrity: How American scientists talked about their virtues, 1945-2000.

What kind of people make good scientists? What personal qualities do scholars say their peers should exhibit? And how do they express these expectations? This article explores these issues by mapping the kinds of virtues discussed by American scientists between 1945 and 2000. Our wide-ranging comparative analysis maps scientific virtue talk across three distinct disciplines - physics, psychology, and history - and across sources that typify those disciplines' scientific ethos - introductory textbooks, book reviews, and codes of ethics. We find that, when inducting students into a discipline, evaluating peers, or codifying their professional standards, postwar American scientists routinely named virtues like carefulness, objectivity, and honesty. They applied such virtues not only directly to scholars' characters, minds, and attitudes (thereby equating virtues with personal qualities), but also to their methods, modes of reasoning, and working habits (in the form of what we call virtue-qualifiers). Strikingly, we find that physicists, psychologists, and historians drew upon largely similar repertoires of virtue. For all of them, scientific work required carefulness, thoroughness, and accuracy. Not all virtues, however, were equally important in all disciplines (notably objectivity), nor did each ethos-forming genre place equal emphasis on the directly personal nature of such virtues. All in all, our research establishes an extended framework for understanding the ways virtues remained present in postwar American scientific discourse writ large.

The Introduction of Modal Verbs in English Textbooks Across Levels in China

The introduction of modal verbs in English textbooks across levels in China was surveyed and compared with Chinese learners’ use in writing to explore the potential impact of textbook introduction on learners’ real use. The results have revealed (1) divergences between the sequence of modal verb presentation in textbooks and their frequency order in native speakers’ use, the unusual lower coverage of WOULD and early introduction of SHALL in particular; (2) the imbalanced coverage of different forms and senses of modal verbs in textbooks, notwithstanding that learners deploy some senses or forms in writing even if these usages have not been introduced; and (3) the constrained way of introduction—English to Chinese translation in vocabulary, simple explanation and exemplification in sentence context. Core senses and fundamental forms introduced early in textbooks are used most frequently in learners’ writing. Modal verbs with the perfect aspect structure and their associated senses introduced in textbooks at university levels rarely occur in learners’ writing even at advanced levels. Limited agreement between textbook introduction and learners’ use has been detected.

Choosing an economics principles textbook: a perspective on the CORE project

This article discusses recent changes in the teaching of economics principles at universities, focused on the CORE project’s textbook, The Economy, which was developed in response to the Global Financial Crisis. The textbook aims to transform economics education to focus more on market disequilibria and power relationships than is typically the case in other first-year textbooks, and to cover in more detail issues of most interest to students such as climate change, inequality and the future of work. The article presents three key criteria for assessing a first-year undergraduate economics textbook and evaluates the CORE textbook against those criteria. This evaluation is also based on our experience teaching economics using CORE to a large and diverse cohort of students. We suggest that while CORE’s strength lies in the historical narrative approach and the relevance of its topics that can appeal to students’ interests, using the textbook to teach to large cohorts of students, especially students for whom this is their only exposure to economics, can be challenging. Despite these challenges, the CORE project has already fundamentally achieved its main goal of changing the way economics is taught. In recent years, other introductory economics textbooks have followed CORE’s lead, incorporating more real-world examples and discussion to illustrate economic concepts and theories.