THE UTILIZATION OF MATHEMATICS TEXTBOOKS AS INSTRUMENTS FOR LEARNING

The mathematics textbook is one of the most important resources for teaching and learning mathematics. Whereas a number of studies have examined the use of mathematics textbooks by teachers there is a dearth of research into the use of mathematics textbooks by students. In this paper results of an empirical investigation of the use of mathematics textbooks by students as an instrument for learning mathematics are presented. Firstly, a method to collect data on student's use of mathematics textbooks is introduced. It is explicated, that this method is capable to explore the actual use of the mathematics textbook by students, and a way of recording the use of the mathematics textbook whenever and wherever students use it. Secondly, results from the study are presented. The results outlined in this paper focus on typical self-directed uses of the mathematics textbook by students.