In defence of textbooks … ?

As many UK-based teachers will know, the English curriculum is about to undergo (yet another) rewrite at both GCSE (students aged 14–16) and A-level (students aged 16–18). With a new curriculum comes the need to purchase new resources, or at least reappraise what you already have in stock. So this week my mind has been on textbooks.

The use of textbooks in routine classwork has been out of fashion for quite a while in the UK. I know I rarely use them except for cover work or when truly exhausted! But I have taught with colleagues who used them more widely, including one who would merely dictate from the course book while students copied this into their notes. Their assessment results were no different to those of teachers who would never use textbooks in lessons, and in some cases were better.