Example

Dress Rehearsal

How do you make sense of a textbook? How can you use it to the best advantage? Glad you asked!

Textbook publishers structure information in certain ways and information is presented in a certain order. The first few chapters offer very basic ideas about what you will learn in the course, and these chapters provide the foundation you will need in order to understand the remaining chapters.

For example, your anatomy and physiology textbook begins with an overview of the course in Chapter 1, “Introduction to Human Anatomy and Physiology.” Here, you will learn what anatomy and physiology are, the levels of organization, the characteristics of life, the organization of the human body, life-span changes, anatomical terminology, and medical and applied sciences that are relevant to course knowledge. See, pretty basic, huh?

Further information is sectioned according to complexity. For example, the second chapter in the textbook is “Chemical Basis of Life,” describing chemical properties while the third chapter is “Cells.” Chapter four offers more details of cells with “Cellular Metabolism.” Information from one chapter should be mastered in order to understand the material in the next. Each following chapter is related to the previous chapter but often explains concepts in more depth, creating hierarchies of information.

The textbook is like a journey, and you’re traveling to Understanding Island. There are road signs along the way that tell you which direction to take. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle.

Along with cool information, a chapter also contains the following sections: summaries, critical thinking questions, review exercises, web connections, and clinical applications. Within each chapter, the text provides a list of words to be mastered, including prefixes, suffixes, and roots to these words. A list of chapter objectives, or what you should know by the end of the unit, provides more direction for your journey.

Within the text, key terms are in bold face, usually defined immediately within the sentence or described in the paragraph. These are like little red flags—pay attention! These terms help to build a domain-specific vocabulary. The more you use these in your discussions, the more your understanding of the material increases. Every chapter, for ease of use, is laid out the same way, usually progressing from general to more specific.

Information is also expressed by graphics and illustrations, such as tables, charts, X-rays, ultrasounds, line art, and photographs to support your understanding of the text. For example, in the first chapter, you find a sketch of the human body revealing various muscle groups and an illustration of how the various components of the body move in complexity from atom, to molecule, to macromolecule, to organelle, to cell, to tissue, to organ system, to organism, the human body. Whew! Maybe you should take more art classes! These illustrations often provide clarification of what might be confusing in the text.

Source:

Shier, David, et al. Human Anatomy & Physiology, 10th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1996.

That’s a Wrap

Knowing how to use a textbook in the science and technology content areas helps students save time and aids in their understanding of the concepts. When students know where to find information, how things are classified, and how a text is generally laid out, they have taken giant steps in understanding the concepts being taught.

Quiz Questions