Developing an On-line Textbook: Question-led Teaching and the World Wide Web

Abstract

An ancient tradition says that one may teach with questions and that teaching by questioning has advantages compared to teaching by telling. This is the core of the Socratic Method.' At the same time, computer presentation opens new possibilities for a textbook that responds to the student's use of computers and that can initiate the interaction by posing a question for the student.2 With the addition of JavaScript and other technologies, such interactive material can be presented on the World Wide Web. I report here on some experiments and suggest some future work that reflects that perspective. To illustrate, I have prepared a demonstration project of a textbook chapter that takes some modest steps in a direction suggested by the vision of an active and interactive, question-led textbook. (The demonstration chapter is on-line at http://william-king.www.drexel.edu/top/prin/txt/ch/chframe.html.) The introductory principles of economics sequence has supplied the content for the experiments. Is it possible to write a readable and coherent textbook based on this questionled approach and a JavaScript, World Wide Web milieu? In this article, I report the development of one chapter for such a textbook. The reader of the demonstration chapter may judge for herself or himself whether the project has shown that it is possible. Although that question is basic and hardly lends itself to hypothesis testing, there are some further issues that the project will attempt to address. First, will students read it and work the exercises? If they will not, then there is little point in proceeding with any further development. Second, is it helpful? Assessment on this score will have to be reserved for the future.3