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Re: Costs of textbooks



I would say that minimally you would have to supply a list of books you
consider to be consistent with your course. However, I don't know that this
is enough. I really believe that a decent text book can be a great help to
students who will take the time and EFFORT to read it. How many of us feel
that their course (as normally given) is equivalent to a good text book in
depth, breadth, logical presentation, number of applications, number of
examples, supplementary information (e.g. biographical sketches), etc. I
sure don't. I rely on the text book to provide much of this--and inform my
class of this. I would be afraid that your focus on the class notes would
be taken by many (most) students as 'the notes are all I need to worry
about'. While encouraging outside reading from a variety of books is
laudable, the simple fact is that it is hard as hell to get students to read
the $100+ book that most of us make them buy. You can't talk to students
and they can't talk to each other about something in 'their' book since
there is no common book. I'm also not sure that the cost of books is
really any higher a percentage of their educational costs today than they
were 30 years ago--anyone with data on that?

Just my $.02

Rick

**********************************************
Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, IN 46556
rtarara@saintmarys.edu

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www.saintmarys.edu/~rtarara/
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----- Original Message -----
From: "kowalskil" <kowalskil@MAIL.MONTCLAIR.EDU>
To: <PHYS-L@lists.nau.edu>
Sent: Thursday, December 13, 2001 4:11 PM
Subject: Re: Costs of textbooks


Consider the following approach (for an introductory
physics course, or for another course for which numerous
textbooks are available. A teacher tells students
something like this:

"Our course has no particular textbook. I will be using
many textbooks and you are expected to take good notes.
Use any textbook you can find to help you but count on
the notes taken. ..."

That was essentially the situation when I was a student.
We knew that missing classes was highly undesirable and
we learned by taking notes. Taking notes is not a purely
mechanical process of recording; one must constantly
think and decide what is worth writing down. In most
cases taking notes is a process of active participation.
The Internet can then be used to post homework problems
and to discuss the material. What is wrong with this?
Ludwik Kowalski

Joe Heafner wrote:

From: Laurent Hodges <lhodges@IASTATE.EDU>

The cost of textbooks is worrisome to me. We had a lecturer plan to use
one of the major textbooks, in the multi-paperback version, and the cost
was quoted as nearly $200 (for students). I stepped in and contacted
the
rep, saying we wouldn't adopt it at that price. They eventually gave us
a
special deal, dropping the price by 1/3 - still expensive.