Five Rules of Textbook Development
The below list provides five rules that help guide the development of a good textbook.
1. Rule of Frameworks
Memory and understanding are promoted by using a structure that mimics the structures we use to store information. Before we can use or master a subject, we must have a mental road map to navigate the subject domain. The text can best aid understanding by making this framework visible within each section.
This can be achieved by establishing a consistent organizational structure, format, and design elements. See Design & Structure Considerations.
2. Rule of Meaningful Names
Everything we know is tagged with an index or a title, which allows us to recall what we know and remember. Each concept, process, technique, or fact presented should aid the student in assigning a meaningful name for their mental organization of the material. The names assigned by the text should help support future activities: communication with other practitioners, reference within the text to earlier mastered material, and conformity to the framework used for the subject.
Use consistent titles and terminologies. Use terminology that is common in your discipline. This can be achieved by including glossary/key term pages, planning your content structure, and reviewing for consistency. See Key Terms & Glossary
3. Rule of Manageable Numbers
When we learn from an outline, an illustration, or an example, most of us are limited in our ability to absorb new material. This number expands as we become familiar with part of a subject domain, but four to six new elements for new material is a reasonable limit. If a chapter outline contains twelve items, the student will have forgotten the outline before getting to the last item. When a text fails to support this rule, a diligent student must repeat the material needlessly.
Limit the amount of information introduced at one time. This can be achieved by breaking chapters into smaller sections, focusing on learning objectives at a higher concept level and planning your content structure. See Appendix 1: Learning Objectives Guide for more details.
4. Rule of Hierarchy
Our mental frameworks are hierarchical. Learning is aided by the student’s ability to couple or link new material with that already mastered. When presenting new domains for hierarchical understanding, the rules for meaningful names and manageable numbers have increased importance and more limited application. A maximum of three levels of hierarchy should be presented at one time. The root should be mastered, the current element under consideration examined, and lower levels outlined only to the extent that they help the student understand the scope or importance of the current element. Two more rules within this rule supplement this area: Connectivity and Cohesion. Connectivity requires consideration of what the student likely knows at this point. Cohesion requires that the characteristics of new elements as they are presented be tightly coupled.
The text should build on learned knowledge. When introducing new material, only refer to foundational material if it is relevant to the new material. The student must understand the foundational knowledge before being introduced to a new concept. When new concepts are introduced they should be explicitly connected to the foundational material.
5. Rule of Repetition
Most people learn by repetition, and only a few with native genius can achieve mastery without it. There is a pattern of repetition that aids in promoting the elements of a subject from short-term to long-term memory. Implementing this rule may mean that frameworks and important hierarchies are repeated as many as five or six times. In comparison, frequently used elements are repeated three or four times, and elements of lesser utility may not be repeated. The first repetition should typically occur within a day of the first presentation, followed by a gradually decreasing frequency. Exercises and review sections ideally contribute to a designed repetition pattern.
Repeat important concepts. Review the content to determine which information should be repeated and how often.
5 Rules of Textbook Development long description:
- The rule of frameworks means maintaining a consistent structure. The text can best aid understanding by making this framework visible early on.
- The rule of meaningful names means to create and use consistent titles and terminologies. The names are critical to the ability to recall or retrieve the things we know and remember.
- The rule of manageable numbers means limiting the amount of new information introduced at one time.
- The rule of hierarchy means new knowledge builds on learned knowledge. The student needs to understand the foundational knowledge before being introduced to a new concept. When new concepts are introduced they should be explicitly connected to the foundational material.
- The rule of repetition means repeating essential concepts. There is a pattern of repetition that aids in promoting the elements of a subject from short-term to long-term memory.
“Five Rules of Textbook Development” from Self-Publishing Guide by Lauri M. Aesoph is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted. Modified for brevity.
