Everyday technological devices in textbooks: presence and analysis of descriptions

Abstract

This article studies the everyday technological devices described in tenth-grade secondary school textbooks. The first step was to determine which devices were included in these books and how frequently they appeared. It was found that there is a more or less fixed nucleus of devices along with other more modern devices, which can vary. The frequency with which a device appears in the textbook depends on the closeness of its connection to a principle or law. It also depends on the wideness of its use, which is reinforced by its innovative nature. The comparison of these textbooks with those used in the 1970s showed an increase in the number of references. However, the methodology, which remained the same as in the past, resulted in explanations that were traditional, deductive, and subordinated to theory. Finally, the textual descriptions of the devices were analyzed. In the majority of cases, these descriptions had the same schema, which was composed of three elements: (i) presentation and purpose; (ii) foundation; (iii) operation. The absence of one of these elements impoverished the quality of the explanation. Conceptual maps were used as an instrument in this analysis to clearly mark the text blocks corresponding to these elements.