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Re: Choice of textbooks



In my junior-level mechanics class this term I'm not using any
"official" textbook. Instead I'm "recommending" three different
books, and trying to give parallel reading assignments from each.
Students can choose to buy one or more, or none, or get them from
the library (it's a small class).

When my department chair heard I was doing this, he sat me down for
a little talk and strongly discouraged it. His feeling was that
students are not mature enough to choose which book is best for
them. In an introductory course I'm sure he would have felt this
way even more strongly. But introductory books don't vary nearly
as much as upper-level books (well, maybe they do if you count the
new innovative books like Six Ideas). What I'll probably do next
time I teach intro physics is have a *single* recommended book, but
still type all homework problems in full so students don't have
to buy to book, or can get by with an older edition or even a
different book.

Dan Schroeder
Weber State University