Abstract:

Textbooks are widely used in higher education. Using a textbook as a frame of reference offers a singular advantage: provides students the basic content and structure of the subject matter through reading, and thus, the instructor can vary procedures in the classroom to support student learning. Furthermore, research on teaching suggests that the major influence on what students learn is not the teaching method but the textbook. Within this framework, an update textbook was produced taking into account the valuable feedback provided by an external expert on learning resources and by our students about the textbook commonly employed within the subject. Students´opinions were collected as part of student course evaluations and several questions were addressed to evaluate it such as the usefulness of the textbook, their perception of it, the need of using complementary materials during the course and how could be improved and how students could learn from it more effectively. The questionaires used are provided in this article. The update textbook comprises two different books: the first one, in which factual knowledge is presented (the basic elements students must know to be acquainted with our discipline and solve problems in it), and the second one entitled “the student portfolio“ in which the target is focused on adding to students´ repertoire other skills and strategies for achieving higher-level goals.

Keywords:

Student learning, textbook, learning resources.