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1. NAME : SMRITI GIROTRA
ROLL NUMBER : 83
BATCH : 2021-2023
PROJECT : SCIENCE PEDAGOGY: CRITICAL EVALUATION OF ANY ONE TEXTBOOK OF SCIENCE
MENTORS NAME : Ms. PRIYA BAMBLE
COLLEGE NAME : R.R. EDUCATIONAL TRUSTS COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

2. CRITICAL EVALUATION OF ANY ONE TEXTBOOK OF SCIENCE
1) Introduction
2) Textbook • Definition
• Meaning
3) Need and importance of a textbook
4) Characteristic of textbook
5) Critical Evaluation of textbook Science class
6) Conclusion

3. INTRODUCTION:
• A textbook is a book used for the study of a subject.
People use a textbook to
learn facts and methods about a certain subject.
Textbooks sometimes have questions to test the
knowledge and understanding of the learner.
• A textbook is usually lent to students by a school to
accompany a course the school is teaching.
Sometimes, especially at university, students have to
buy the textbooks they need themselves or borrow
them from a library.
• Most textbooks are only published in printed format.
However, some are now available online as electronic
books.
• A workbook is a type of textbook that has only practice
questions and exercises. Workbooks are designed not
to teach but to provide practice and to highlight areas
which need more learning. A revision guide is a type of
textbook that is used to remind the learner about the
subject and give him/her extra practice, especially
before an examination.

4. • Textbooks play a major and largely unexamined role in science education, particularly at introductory
levels in college and high school. For the most part, textbooks are regarded as an essential component
of such courses. While considerable effort is put by publishers and authors into improving textbooks,
and by teachers into selecting among available published materials, less attention has been paid to
broader considerations of the role that textbooks per se play in shaping the classroom environment.
• Some years ago, out of what were then somewhat inchoate dissatisfactions with college science
classes, I and several colleagues began experimenting with alternate ways to structure college science
education, including downgrading the significance of and ultimately eliminating textbooks. In one such
"non-traditional" course, I recently asked students to do some reading of relevant college science
textbooks and write about their experiences with the textbook in comparison to those with the course
itself. The student comments not only provide a window onto students' perceptions of and reactions to
textbooks but suggest that textbooks are, in general, a significant influence on classroom environments
and may not be an entirely positive way of engaging students at a deep level with biology, and science
generally.
• In other words, use and production of a textbook is related to a "normal" instructional design problems
and one can rely on various design methods and instructional design models, based in turn on
underlying psychological and pedagogical theory.
• Textbooks are usually part of a pedagogical design, i.e. it can be the center piece of a course syllabus,
it can be used for self-study (students and professionals), teachers can assign just parts for reading.
According to use contexts, functions of a textbook are not the same. But we do argue, that one can
identify particular functional and structural questions related to production, structure, function, use, etc.
of textbooks.

5. Presently, almost all textbooks are available
in both print and digital format. Earlier
textbooks were used by teachers, tutors, as
well as individuals who were self-learning.
However, today, textbooks form more of a
guidebook for teachers to understand and
plan the curriculum for an academic year. It
is important for teachers to have more than
just textbook knowledge. They should also
have ample enough teaching skills so that
the learning is effective.
For self-learning individuals, textbook
learnings are now complemented with video
based learning provided by ed-tech
platforms. Numerous workshops, webinars,
and courses on e-learning platforms have
made self-learning easier, causing textbooks
to somewhat lose their relevance in that
context.
a book used in the study of a subject: such as. a :
one containing a presentation of the principles of a
subject. b : a literary work relevant to the study of a
subject.
DEFINITION OF TEXTBOOK
A textbook is a book that contains comprehensive
information about a course or a subject that a student
needs, to get through the academic year.
MEANING OF TEXTBOOK

6. NEED OF A TEXTBOOK:
A textbook is a very important part of curriculum.
It serves as a guide to the syllabus.
Textbook transmit knowledge, skills, attitudes and values.
Textbook provides the guidelines for the teacher as well as students.
It saves the time and energy of the both teacher and student in searching information as it is the
source of the material.
It makes teaching of various subjects systematic.
Textbook plays major role for weak students to achieve good Marks.
Provides a reliable point of reference
Unlike the internet, it has been through a process to prove its' credibility
Available for generations
Someone [author(s)] are responsible for the information provided
Its longevity is not dependent upon a website host or an internet connection.

7. Textbooks provide administrators and teachers with a complete program. The series is
typically based on the latest research and teaching strategies.
Good textbooks are excellent teaching aids. They're a resource for both teachers and
students.
Provide students with lots of information.
It guides the teaching and learning of the curriculum.
It helps students to organize their studies.
Can be always available to you.
One of the excellent sources of information for any subject.
For the learners the textbook is one of the most important sources of contact they have with
the language. It is a framework or guide that helps them to organize their learning. It is
helpful to involve students in the process of adapting textbooks.
Textbook serve as a guideline for both students and teachers. One can learn about a topic
completely from it. You can have access to it 24/7 unlike internet. It provides students with
several activities, experiments and questions related to the topic. Also the quality of books
play a great role in learning.

8. • 15. Text books are very important to study. It will contain the contents to be
learned. It will contain the syllabus topics only. You can read those and
study accordingly. Everything will be in the textbook. For exams questions
will be from text book itself. If you want to know more about the topic you
can refer any other books or reference books to know in detail. So it is
mandatory to read your text books. Some have the habit of reading the
notes only. But that habit is to be changed. Reading text book is necessary.
• 16. It is instrumental in pointing the intended direction-but the course of
action and path that one follows through deserves to be appropriately
undertaken.
• 17. Meaning that it only imparts-but the aim path that one must tread upon
with well disciplined awareness/focus mustn’t be ambiguous or feigning
ignorance.
• 18. Since the one who deliberately pretended and keeps claiming that the
subjects matter was not taught properly-might have not be thoughtful
enough when the lessons were being learned/the knowledge convocated.

9. • 19. You evaluate textbooks to see how closely they match with your course
aims and objectives. I text might be showy, but if it doesn’t match with what
your course is trying to teach, it isn’t worth a penny.
• 20. When you’re evaluating textbooks, you should have a complete course
description in front of you. The text and the course description should
match up pretty closely. The exact content doesn’t matter as much as how
well the text addresses the course objectives. For example, if one of my
course objectives is for students to understand American literature in an
historical perspective, I need to be sure the text does that, so probably a
chronological approach is better than a thematic one.
• 21. Readers for language and textbooks I non-language help teachers
students and parents in guiding supporting home works and evaluating
kids understanding and evaluate progress in studies
• 22. Textbooks provide teachers with content support and how to transact
content in the classroom
• 23. Students read the textbook to understand the content and do
exercises. Answer questions
• 24. Additional activities. are Suggested to teachers and students for follow
up,

10. • 25. Text books do play a vital role in the teaching learning process. No
other teaching aid or tool can replace it. Even in the times of advanced
technology that we are subject to these days use of text books still remains
of primary importance. A child’s first exposure to studies begins with books.
They more personal, handy and nobody requires to make any prior
preparations to use them. Child's response to studying from the text books
is more practical. Taking down notes, underlining , understanding and self
study is much more convenient. Kids get into the habit of opening the book
and reading on their own. Text books are inevitable part of the curriculum,
in my opinion.
• 26. One primary advantage of using textbooks is that they are written and
designed by experts in the topics discussed. Textbook writers keep up-to-
date with the research in a particular subject area, which means that
teachers and students are presented with the most valuable information in
that subject field. If teachers didn't have these experts to rely on, they
could miss some of the important advances in a particular area. Textbook
writers can be viewed as a teacher's and a student's most valuable aid.
• 27. Textbooks have many advantages for students. First among them is the
ease at which they allow students to find information. Textbooks are

11. • 28. Textbooks also provide structure for a student's learning. Each
chapter should have a logical flow, building on the knowledge
acquired in previous chapters. The material in each chapter is also
usually presented in a similar design, which means the student
knows exactly how to approach each topic as it is presented.
• 29. There are also advantages for teachers who use textbooks. For
young teachers they can be especially helpful because the material
and structure of lessons is often very detailed, which means that
teachers don't have to spend a lot of time coming up with novel
lesson ideas. The information for each chapter or lesson is also
usually presented in a straightforward, chronological way, and most
textbooks will come with supplementary teacher material that spells
out the teaching procedures that should be used for each lesson.
• 30. There are good textbooks and there are great textbooks. Good
textbooks are ones which give you all the information but does not
come down to the standard of the student to explain the details.
They end up being used more as reference handbooks than
textbooks.
• 31. Great textbooks are those which follow the students' minds and
have a flow that is intuitive to the student .

12. • 32. The teacher will explain everything the students need to know. So, why
bother with that dense stuff that no one reads anyway? For many students,
the only use of the text book is for the homework problems.
• 33. And while this works for many students through the high school level, if
you want to excel, read the material before lecture. For anything past the
high-school level, don’t expect your college professors to be so
accommodating.
• 34. As the math gets more difficult and abstract, the more important it is to
familiarize yourself before lectures, and be ready to ask questions. And, if
you are going to learn how to write proofs, you need to read proofs and
your textbook is your best source for a whole bunch of proofs.
• 35. Once you learn how to read and write math, the textbooks are one of
the quickest way to get up to speed on new topics.

13. • Characteristics of a Good Textbook :
• The characteristics of good textbook that I recommend looking for
first are as follows:
• 1. Free space
• Young students don’t read; they browse. That’s because they spend
most of their time reading from screens, be it their TV, laptop,
tablet or smartphone.
• So don’t expect them to focus on a text-rich page and read it from
top to bottom. Because their eyes are going to wander.
• Empty spaces work like rest areas for the eyes. They help you focus
on the good stuff.
• 2. Visuals
• No matter what the age of the target audience is, a modern
textbook must have visuals. Outstanding visuals.
• Why, you may ask. Because Apple does. And Sony. And Disney. And
Pixar. Because that’s who you are competing against when you are
fighting for your students attention.

14. • Consider also the increasing number of students with learning difficulties
such as dyslexia. Images break up the text and make it more readable.
Students with dyslexia, who may struggle with reading, they often excel
in visual thinking.
• 3. Age-appropriate material
• Take a look at the people in the photos in the book. Do they look like your
students? Could they be in your class?
• What about the topics? Are the meanings easy to grasp? Would they
make your students want to read on?
• And finally, the fonts. Are they the same size as your students’
handwriting? If the answer to all questions above is yes, then the
textbook is just right for your students’ age.
• 4. Well-balanced textbook design
• There is nothing more off-putting to students and teachers alike than a
cluttered page.
It shows that the author tried to cram everything into a tiny space
because they had no clue what to prioritize. And this is a huge red flag.

15. • When in doubt, go for the simplest form. Look for books with a clear and
consistent unit structure. Count the number of font types used in a single
page: one or two is ideal, three or more and it gets tiring.
• The same goes for columns: a single text column is most pleasing to the
eye, two or more should better be left to newspapers.
• Final point: activities that start in one page and run over to the next are
completely out of the question.
• 5. Textbook storyline
• Everybody loves a good story. But it needs to be well-written. In other
words, it must have a setting, characters, a plot, a climax, and a resolution.
• In ten years’ time your students won’t remember the title of the textbook,
but they will remember the names of the main characters. Hopefully.

16. • Richards suggests that the analysis should involve identifying these kinds
of information in the qualities of a good textbook:
• Aims and objectives of the book.
• Level of the book.
• Skills addressed.
• Topics covered.
• Situations it is intended for.
• Target learners.
• Time required.
• Components.
• Number and length of units.
• Organization of units.

17. • SCIENCE TEXTBOOK:
• An important aspect of science education is represented by textbooks.
• Textbooks provide a context for understanding the relationship between
knowledge and values, and to observe how the research results are
presented to the society.
• In this paper we analyze how the phenomenon of human migrations is
dealt in Italian school textbooks. Basing on the official directions of the
Italian Ministry of Education for school curricula, we concentrated in
particular on books of geography and history of specific classes.
• We produced a grid of analysis which includes several dimensions, with
the aims of detecting the differences between the current scientific debate
on human migrations and the information contained in the textbooks, and
of revealing the value system conveyed implicitly and explicitly by the
images and the text.
• While scientific research shows that human migration in Italy is an
extremely heterogeneous phenomenon, on the textbooks we found an
oversimplified representation of it.

18. • Implicit values such as biological determinism and sexism emerge, and
critical gender issues are present.
• Alongside the teaching and learning methodologies in the classroom and
laboratories, a crucial tool for enhancing science education is represented
by textbooks.
• Not only textbooks provide an important context for understanding the
relationship between knowledge and values, but they are very useful for
observing how the research results are presented to the society.
• Textbooks convey, explicitly and implicitly, ideological and epistemological
values and they include a multitude of open or hidden messages in the text
as well as in the images.
• Textbooks are primary teaching aids, sources from which students obtain
knowledge. The concept of teaching aid comprises all objects that are
specially designed for using in the classroom according to the
teachers selection. Textbooks should be apart of the students individual
activities, and the teacher can implement it in all stages of the learning
process and to those learning methods, which entail working with text.

19. • “Textbooks help define school subjects as students experience them. They
represent school disciplines to students” .
• It is important to be aware that the inadequate and inconsistent scientific
knowledge presented in science textbooks will negatively affect
students ideas, and as Clifford pointed out, some concern has been
expressed that information in textbooks is not always found to be accurate.
Textbooks also facilitate topic selection by teachers and provide an
orientation in the way these topics are taught. Many teachers also rely on
the textbook in deciding what and how to teach, especially when they are
teaching outside their area of expertise. It is also important to emphasis that
teachers, as facilitators of learning, should be aware of the problems and
limitations of the textbook their students are using.
• Textbook authors have freedom to develop their own approach to the
delivery of national curricula and examination specifications, and so
textbooks rep-resent a considerable diversity. Textbooks also describe links
between real world phenomena and scientific theories and determine the
content to be taught as well as basic guidelines for teaching procedures.
Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study showed that in
average about 40 % of teaching time is used by teachers to teach by
textbooks almost every lesson.

20. • The focus of this is to illustrate the possible criteria that teachers (as text-
book users), authors and editors (as textbooks producers) can follow in
forming adequate learning material for students. These criteria should be
included in the good textbook if it is to foster quality learning and teaching.

21. • Textbooks in Science Teaching and Learning:
• Learning science and students acquired knowledge of science concepts is
the most important aspect of school science teaching. We all struggle for
our students to learn more and better, and we try to develop teaching
strategies that can lead students toade quately scientifically literate
individuals. But research in the last 30 years has shown that it is common
for students to have misconceptions or other learning difficulties with
different science concepts at all levels of education, from primary to
university level. Students misconceptions can have different sources, e.g.
teachers inadequate teaching, students low attention while following the
educational process, students superficial individual learning of the material
from personal notes, students inaccurate reading of the textbooks and also
poorly prepared textbooks by the author(s).
• We know that textbooks have and should have an impact on students
learning. for this matter, argues that uniformed ideas presented in a
textbook could affect students learning in a direct or indirect way.

22. • As emphasised above, two specific elements of the teaching aids as
textbooks are important. The first one is textual, and the second one is
visual (pictorial) material. The visual aspect of learning becomes even
more important in science learning, because science comprises abstract
concepts that sometimes do not have visual and tangible examples of
these concepts in reality. Science deals with complex phenomena with
numerous variables that should be taken into account when trying to
understand it. In chemistry, specifically, concepts could be presented at
three levels, macroscopic (phenomena observations), submicroscopic
(phenomena explanations at particulate level) and symbolic (phenomena
presented by specific symbols). These levels pose a great amount of
mental efforts for students to under-stand, and without visual elements
supporting these efforts, an effective learning does not occur. All these
facts indicate that science is hard to learn, is not easy to understand and is
not simple to use in new situations.

23. • As mentioned above, an adequate relation between textual and pictorial
material in the textbooks should be assured if the science textbook is
considered to be a good textbook. Firstly, the pictorial material will be
discussed, and secondly, the textual aspects of textbooks will be
mentioned. These two information modes (textual and illustrative) can be
combined in the science textbooks and as adequately are integrated to
each other as effective a science textbook can be.
• Illustrations are the basis of visual learning in the science classroom and
include representations found in typical science textbooks, such
as photographs, diagrams, charts, graphs, drawings and tables. suggested
that because illustrations are a large part of science textbooks, more
attention must be focused on understanding the impact visual images have
on students and their learning. Science textbooks demand that the learner
integrates quite complicated science concepts, together with language
abilities (scientific vocabulary and syntax and also capability of reading,
writing and oral communicating), visualisation materials (different images,
symbols, comic-strip style, etc.) and format in the science text.

24. • The authors also concluded that modern textbooks integrate more images
in the text than did textbooks in the past. This indicates the influence of
modern technologies that facilitate the application of different visualisation
materials to present science and technology through media. Visualisation
material is often a quite transparent and unproblematic method to
represent reality and communicate science and technology.
• The Criteria for Evaluating the Quality of the Science Textbooks
accompanied by the text explaining the pictures shows that difficulty in
understanding the particulate nature of matter may result from the different
processes of interpretation and meaning – making between inscriptions
depicting the macroscopic and models based on the submicroscopic level.

25. • Qualities of a Good Science Text Book :
• The Science textbook is an important source for learning Science and it
plays a key role in effective teaching and learning. A textbook should
stimulate reflective thinking and develop problem-solving ability among
students. The textbooks should present real learning situations, which are
challenging and interesting for the students and should not render itself as
a means of rote learning. Text books and teachers’ guides occupy a
unique place in the teaching learning process. Text book are an
indispensable part of primary and secondary education. The text book is a
teaching instrument. It is not only a source of information, but a course of
study, a set of unit plans and learning guide. It helps to revise and
reinforce the language material already taught. In the absence of any
other instructional material, the text book becomes a potent tool in the
hand of a teacher to teach the skill of a language and the more so of a
foreign language.

26. • The qualities of a good textbook in Science can be broadly classified under
the following heads
• Physical features
• Author
• Content
• Organization and presentations
• Language
• Exercise and illustration
• General
• 1. Physical features:
• Paper: the paper used in the textbook should be of superior quality.
• Binding: it should have quality strong and durable binding.
• Printing: it should have quality printing, bold font and easily readable font.

27. • Size: bulky and thick. It should be handy .
• Cover: it should have an appealing and attractive cover page.
• 2. Author:
• Qualified author should write it.
• Experienced teacher should write it.
• Competent teachers should write it.
• It should be written by committee of experts constituted by the state
government.
• For the authors, certain minimum academic and professional qualifications
may be prescribed.
• 3. Content
• It should be child centered
• The subject matter should be arranged from simple to complex and
concrete to abstracts.
• The subject matter should create interest in the pupil.

28. • It should satisfy the demands of examination.
• The answers given at the end of each section should be correct
• It should include the recent developments in the science relating to
the content dealt with.
• Oral Science should fine its due place in the textbook.
• 4. Organization and presentation
• It should provide for individual differences.
• There should be sufficient provision for revision, practice and
review.
• It should stimulate the initiative and originality of the students
• It should offer suggestion to improve study habits.
• It should facilitate the use of analytic, synthetic, inductive,
deductive, problem solving and heuristic approaches to teaching.
• Content should be organize in a psychological consideration
• Content should be organize in a logical way
• It should suggesting project work, fieldwork and laboratory work.

29. • 5. Language
• The language used in the textbook should be simple and easily
understandable and within the grasp of the pupils
• The style and vocabulary used should be suitable to the age group of
student for whom the book is written.
• The term and symbols used must be those, which are popular and
internationally accepted
• It should be written in lucid, simple, precise and scientific language.
• 6. Exercise and Illustrations:
• The illustrations should be accurate
• The illustrations should be clear and appropriate
• It should contain some difficult problems
• It should contain exercises to challenge the sciencetifically gifted students.
• There should be well-graded exercises given at the end of every topic.
• The exercise should develop thinking and reasoning power of the pupils.

30. • 7. General:
• At the end of book there should be tables and appendices.
• The textbook should be of latest edition with necessary modifications
• The book should be moderate price and readily available in the marker.

31. • When selecting a science textbook, what should we look for?
• Selecting what you need shouldn’t be based on what’s the most popular
or what your neighbouring school have just bought. Here are a few things
to think about.
• the following are the qualities of a good science textbook:
• A science textbook should be written in accordance with the aims and
objectives of teaching the subject in that particular class.
• It should be well illustrated.
• There should be diagram and figures wherever needed.
• The textbook should be written in simple and understandable language.
• It should be free from mistakes.
• It should be written within the grasp of the children.
• It should provide sufficient materials to motivate the students to solve
problems.

32. • The students should get adequate opportunity of learning through initiative
and independent efforts.
• The problems should relate to the real life needs and physical & social
environments of the learners.
• It should foster the right attitude towards self-study and self-reliance
among pupils and it should be done by promoting project works, field
works and laboratory works.
• It should promote the use of analytic, synthetic, inductive-deductive,
problem-solving and heuristic approaches to teaching.
• The content should be up-to-date.
• The exercises should aim of all level of students. It should be challenging
for intelligent students and should give opportunity for average & below
average students also.
• It should satisfy individual difference in students and should meet the
varying abilities, interest and attitudes.
• It should promote logical and psychological arrangement of contents.

33. • It should provide for practice, revision and satisfy the demands of
examination.
• Also the textbook should be appealing and should have the necessary
external qualities i.e., its get-up, paper and printing, etc., should be good.
• And what about this impressive list of considerations taken from a source
I’ve been unable to attribute other than here.
• A teacher of science, while selecting a textbook in science, should look for
certain qualities to be found in a good textbook.

34. • CRITICAL EVALUATION OF TEXTBOOK –SCIENCE CLASS X :
• TEXT – BOOKS
• Text-books are standardized collection of the subject-matter that has to be
taught to the students. They facilitate the teaching of new concepts and
skills and maintain the knowledge already acquired and help the
correlation of the theoretical knowledge with the practical aspects of life.
• The science textbook is an important source for learning science and it
plays a key role in effective teaching and learning. A textbook should
stimulate reflective thinking and develop problem-solving ability among
students. The textbooks should present real learning situations, which are
challenging and interesting for the students and should not render itself as
a means of rote learning.
• Text books and teachers guides occupy a unique place in the teaching
learning process. Text book are an indispensable part of primary and
secondary education. The text book is a teaching instrument. It is not only
a source of information, but a course of study, a set of unit plans and
learning guide. It helps to revise and reinforce the language material
already taught. In the absence of any other instructional material, the text
book becomes a potent tool in the hand of a teacher to teach the skill of a
language and the more so of a foreign language.

35. • Though there are contradicting opinions regarding the use of textbooks for
science teaching and learning, the following points support the use of
science textbooks.
• 1. The appearance of the textbook should be appealing with an attractive
cover page. The paper used in the textbook should be of superior quality. It
should have quality printing and the binding of the book should be strong
and durable. The printing should be bold and easily readable.
• 2. The textbook should be of latest edition with necessary modifications.
• 3. The textbook should be moderately priced and readily available in the
market.
• 4. It should be written by qualified, experienced and competent teachers of
mathematics or a committee of experts constituted by the state
government.
• 5. The textbook should be written according to prescribed syllabus and
every aspect of the syllabus should be adequately covered.
• 6. It should be in accordance with the aims and subjective of teaching
mathematics in that particular class.
• 7. It should provide for individual differences. It should meet the needs of
students of varying abilities, interests and attitudes.

36. • 8. There should be sufficient provision for revision, practice and review.
• 9. The textbook should relate the classroom learning to the real life needs
and the physical and social environments of the learners.
• 10. The content presented in the textbook should be accurate and up-to-
date. It should include the recent developments in the mathematics
relating to the content dealt with.
• 11. The subject matter in the textbook should be carefully organized with
reference to the logical as well as the psychological considerations which
make teaching effective.
• 12. The contents of the textbook should have a direct, practical and social
utility value.
• 13. The content should be organized in the increasing order of difficulty.
Principle of vertical correlation should be followed to relate the present
knowledge with the past and future.
• 14. The language used in the textbook should be simple and easily
understandable and within the grasp of the pupils. The style and
vocabulary used should be suitable to the age group of students for whom
the book is written.

37. • 15. The terms and symbols used must be those which are popular
and internationally accepted. All the terms, concepts and principle
used in the text should be clearly and accurately stated and defined.
• 16. The presentation of the subject matter must be attractive and
interesting with appropriate illustrations in terms of pictures,
diagrams and figures.
• 8. It should foster the right attitude towards self-study and self-
reliance among pupils by suggesting project work, field work and
laboratory work.
• 19. It should provide adequate opportunities to motivate the students
to solve problems by presenting an adequate number of worked out
problems constructed from daily life situations requiring the student
to apply scientific principles and formula for their solution.
• 20. It should facilitate the use of analytic, synthetic, inductive,
problem-solving and heuristic approaches to teaching.
• 21. The textbook should contain some difficult problems or exercises
to challenge the scientifically gifted students.

38. • 22. There should be well-graded exercises given at the end of every topic
to satisfy the needs of all types of students.
• 23. The textbook should stimulate the initiative and originality of the
students.
• 24. Oral science should find its due place in the textbook.
• 26. It should offer suggestions to improve study habits.
• 27. It should satisfy the demands of examination.

39. • 28. A good textbook is judged, at face, by the author, his qualification and
experience.
• 29. The print and paper used and the binding of the text-book should be
attractive. It should be hard and durable.
• 30. The printing should be clear, legible and appropriately spaced.
• 31. The book should be well-illustrated with diagrams, sketches and
pictures.
• 32. The size of the print, the language and experiments discussed should
suit the age of the child and standards of the child.
• 33.Photographs should be clearly reproduced.
• 34.Diagrams should be carefully made attractive.

40. • 35. The subject-matter should be developed as far as possible in
psychological sequence. Care must be taken of the mental growth and
interest of pupils.
• 36. There should be consistency of the subject-matter and the text-book
should satisfy the objectives of science teaching.
• 37. Each chapter should begin with a brief introduction and end with a
summary.
• 38. Subject-matter should lead to the inculcation of scientific attitudes,
disciplinary and cultural values.
• 39. Each chapter should contain assignments at the end.
• 40. During treatment of subject-matter, numerical examples should find
place where necessary.
• 41. Headings and sub-headings are given in bold letters.
• 42. Each text-book should contain detailed Table of Contents and an index.

41. • 43. The language of the book should be simple, clear, lucid, scientific and
precise. The English equivalents of the terms should be simple, clear,
lucid, scientific and precise. The English equivalent of the terms should be
always given in brackets.
• 44. The text-book should give suggestions for improving scientific
apparatus.
• 45. Examples in the text-book should be given from local environment and
from life experience.
• 46. During the treatment of science subject in the text-book, care should be
taken to see that it is correlated with other subjects like craft, social
environment and physical environment.
• 47. Each text-book should be accompanied by a laboratory manual.
• 48. The subject matter should be developed in psychological sequence.
• 49. The subject matter should cover the whole syllabus.

42. • 50. The text book has to be organized into units which are based on
student interests and probability of use.
• 51. Inductive approach is to be used whenever possible in introducing new
topic.
• 52. At the end of each units there should be assignments informing to the
following,
• 53. Application to life situations.
• 54. Self-assessment test.
• 55. It should be first of all according to the requirements of the syllabus. It
should also help in the improvement of the syllabus.
• 56. The facts, concepts etc., should be modern and within the
comprehension of the pupils.
• 57. The contents should contain not only the established facts but also the
problems which are begin researched and thereby, arousing the interest in
the pupils in these problems.

43. • 58. It should help in linking up science with life and practice. The pupils
should be equipped with ‘know-how’ utilizing the knowledge in everyday
life.
• 59. The whole content of the text-book should be aimed at shaping the
integrated modern scientific outlook which ensures success in mastering
scientific knowledge and solution of the problems of vital issues. The
content should be simple, brief, exact, definite and accessible.

44. • A science textbook is very useful for a teacher in the following ways.
• 1. A textbook is written according to the syllabus and gives the outline of
the course. Therefore it helps the teacher to decide about the limits and
depth of the content to be presented to the students while teaching.
• 2. A textbook provides insight to the teacher in planning the lesson, in
selecting the problems to be worked out, the methods of teaching to be
adopted and the teaching aids to be used.
• 3. The textbook is written by experienced teachers of science. By using
textbooks, a teacher of science, especially a beginner, can avail the
experience and expertise of the authors.
• 4. The logical and psychological sequence followed in a textbook helps the
teacher in presenting the subject matter in an orderly and systematic
sequence.
• 5. A good textbook presents a variety of worked out examples on each
topic. This helps the teacher in getting acquainted with different types of
problems and the methods to solve them. This gives him more self-
confidence while teaching.

45. • 6. The well-graded exercises provided after every topic in the textbook help
the teacher in assigning suitable homework and assignment to the
students to suit their intellectual capacity.
• 8. A science textbook provides the teacher with the basic information
considered essential in attaining the objectives of science education and
this helps the teacher to plan appropriate learning experiences.
• 9. It provides suitable subject matter and guideline regarding the syllabus
of the subject. So the teacher neglects no portion of the syllabus and does
not waste time on relevant details.
• 10. The text books help the teacher planning his lessons, deciding his
method of teaching and preparing suitable aids.
• 11. It provides certain well illustrated examples about a topic.
• 12. Text books are usually written by the well experienced teachers and
subject experts. A teacher can make use of their services by making use of
their Text-books.

46. • A textbook is an important aid for learning science:
• It is useful for the students in the following ways:
• 1. The textbook helps the pupils to relate, what they are learning, to life.
• 2. It helps to foster the right study attitude among the students since the
textbook presents definite and concrete details in a scientific and intensive
manner which could arouse the students interest and curiosity.
• 3. The textbook provides important source of materials for reviewing and
recapitulating the lessons taught in the class.
• 4. It places within the reach of the pupil the theoretical development,
worked out with much thought and a wide view of the bearings of the
subject. This helps in meaningful learning.
• 5. The textbook helps in pre-preparation of the lesson and gets the
students acquainted with lessons to be taught.

47. • 6. It provides adequate materials for drill and practice and thus helps in
fixing the scientific principles and formulae in the minds of the students.
• 7. It saves time and labour of the students as they need not copy the
illustrative problems, exercise problems and homework problems.
• 8. It encourages self-study and independent work among the students.
• 9. It supplements classroom learning and helps in the realization of the
objectives of science education.
• 10. Textbooks help in clearing the doubts and misunderstanding relating to
science concepts, formulae and principles.
• 11. The textbook helps in the extensive study of the subject as it presents
different laws and various approaches to understand laws.

48. • 12. New learning activities such as individual projects, laboratory
experiments and demonstrations suggested in the textbook can be carried
out by the students. It permits each student to read and carry out the
activity at his own rate of comprehension.
• 13. They provide the students with well graded exercises for drill, revision
and review.
• 14. Text books help in pre-preparation. At their home, students may get
themselves prepared for studying the next day lesson.
• 15. Text-books help in doing self-learning, self-study and helping the
students to acquire the habit of independent learning.
• 16. Text-books are also quite useful in case a students has to remain
absent from class due to one (or) the other reason.

49. • Conclusion
• Every teacher of science uses a textbook. An average teacher uses it as
“his stock in hand” but a good teacher uses it as “a helper”. The textbook
that is considered “as store house of basics information” can facilitate a
teacher to do wonder in his subject.
• The textbook should not be used as the only source of instructional
material. It should be used as an aid in teaching.
• In spite of the good qualities of a textbook, mastering in science is possible
for almost every student, only if they are blessed with a good science
teacher to guide whenever needed. And they can very well master in
science if they get the right home work help at the right time.
• The analysis of the textbooks was from the direct users who had full
knowledge of the demand of the curriculum and that of the contents of the
textbooks.