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This analysis of textbooks was completed as part of the senior honors project of Megan McDermott under the direction of Elizabeth K. Mauch.
ABSTRACT
This paper is a comparison of three major elementary mathematics textbooks. Although the scope of this investigation is not directly related to college level mathematics, it does address a portion of the oft asked college level question, "How have my students been taught in public school?" The study looks at the strengths and weaknesses of the textbooks, which may be useful for college remedial mathematics teachers, as well as to preservice teachers of elementary school mathematics. A rubric was created that identified student and teacher concerns with regard to a textbook. The books were then "graded" against these rubrics to find which was best in each area, and which was strongest overall. These results were used to make suggestions for an elementary mathematics textbook that best promotes student understanding of mathematics. These methods of textbook evaluation may also be helpful for evaluations of higher level texts.
INTRODUCTION
In the last ten years, many so-called "experimental" mathematics textbooks have been created to facilitate student understanding of mathematical concepts. Experts agree [3, 9] that many different aspects must come together so that student understanding is achieved, most notably that teachers must have materials that help them facilitate learning and that the materials must utilize a variety of methods. The purpose of this article is to report on a study that compared three major textbook types (traditional, drill-and-practice, and constructivist) using a rubric to determine which type best promoted student understanding of mathematics and to make suggestions for a superior elementary mathematics textbook.
TEXTBOOK SELECTION
The three textbooks chosen for study were Math published by Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley ("SFAW"), Math published by Saxon Math ("Saxon"), and Everyday Math published by the University of Chicago School Mathematics Project ("Everyday"). SFAW is a traditional textbook that teaches a lesson using examples and then practice problems. The Saxon text is a drill and practice series with a heavy reliance on review. Everyday Mathematics is a constructivist text that relies on manipulatives and student concept building. These three textbooks were chosen because they represent the three main categories of texts, at this level, available for purchase today...