Using a Textbook in Class: A Guide for Student Teachers

Abstract

This paper was undertaken to examine strategies of student teachers for using textbooks during teaching practice lessons. Some student teachers do not understand how and when to use textbooks effectively when conducting lessons during teaching practice. This qualitative study adopted an interpretive paradigm and purposively sampled 10 student teachers for observation. The data were analysed using thematic data analysis. The findings for this study revealed that most student teachers depended heavily on textbooks while conducting lessons. They introduced learners to textbooks at different times of the lesson and mostly inappropriately. Also, some student teachers did not know how to incorporate textbooks into the lesson. Lastly, as student teachers taught learners with their textbooks open, interactions between student teachers and learners became ineffective because learners relied heavily on textbooks for answers. Therefore, the implications of the findings propose that student teachers should understand the role of textbooks in teaching and learning settings and define their role as student teachers in relation to textbooks and teaching. Student teachers should refrain from instructing learners to open their textbooks when they are teaching because, firstly, this interrupts the attention and focus of learners on teachers and, secondly, it tempts learners not to think on their own but to copy answers from the textbooks when student teachers ask them questions.