From notes to textbook
Dari catatan kasar menjadi buku teks

Ross Woods, 2025.

This e-book is for academics and instructors who have a set of rough notes and want to develop them into publishable first edition re-usable textbooks. This is a practical guide on how to do it.

What do you mean “textbook”?

At this point we need to describe what we mean by textbook:

  1. Its readership is the students who take a particular higher education unit. You might assume that they are students at your institution but you might want your book to be acceptable at other institutions as well.
  2. The purpose of the textbook is to explain the topic to students. As an explanatory source, it is not original research.
  3. It covers the whole of the topic of a typical higher education unit.
  4. It should be useful to a wide variety of teachers, not only the person who wrote it.

What materials do you already have?

Textbooks can start in many ways. Many start out as personal lesson plans to be used in classes, and some are no more than dot-point lists. Some instructors develop those rough notes into something that they can distribute to their students. A few are based on Wikipedia articles. Some textbooks can be generated by AI, but there are some rules on how to do it. A textbook might also start life as a textbook in another language, or as an explanation of competency standards.

Deciding whether to write a textbook

Ask yourself a few questions. Do you really need a new textbook? (There are already lots of textbooks out there.) If so, will it be an open textbook, a commercially-published textbook, or internal teaching materials? Will it be hard copy or soft copy? How good are your starting notes, of whatever kind? Do you have the time to develop a new textbook?

For example, we at WU want to be able to edit and update textbooks as often as we see necessary. Second, we want open source materials that we can distribute for free, because we want to avoid the kinds of problems that can come with traditional commercial textbooks:

  1. Students won’t have a financial cost that is outside our control
  2. We don’t have supply problems (“Sorry, that book is of print.”)
  3. We don’t have delivery problems. The student might have to pay tax on it, or the book can arrive too late to be used in that semester. Sometimes books don’t even arrive at all.

If the material is in another language, start by translating it. Machine translation tools (e.g. Google) can significantly reduce translation effort, although you still need to check it.

The “review and improve” cycle

The basic principle is that you use the notes for teaching and make improvements based on your observations and experiences, and on feedback form your students. The goal of revision is to have a textbook that students can read and immediately understand, and that teachers feel that they can recommend to their students.

To get a good textbook, you will need to go through this cycle several times:

Preparing your notes for students

  1. First check your content for obvious gaps and biases, and make any corrections.
  2. Format it in a way that you can present it to your students.
  3. Check the order of contents. Will it make the unit easy to teach? Will it make sense to students?
  4. Check the scope. Will it cover the whole of the unit? Will it fit the syllabus statement?
  5. Format the material to be in a form suitable for students.
  6. Decide on the copyright ownership and status.
    1. Creative Commons 4 is excellent for open source materials in soft copy. This means that users are free to do with it as they please as long as they properly attribute it, do not use it for commercial gain, and do not create derivative works. This might be your only option if you have used AI to generate content, because you cannot claim exclusive authorship.
    2. However, you have to consider much more if you want to publish your work commercially.
  7. Give it a version number.
    1. You can use dates or software versions (e.g. 0.1, 0.2, etc. for field-test versions and 1.0 for your first edition).
    2. Use filenames that make it easy to identify different versions.
  8. Decide whether you will provide students with the whole book or provide it chapter by chapter.

Test it with a class of students

  1. Test it with a class of students, and keep notes at the time of any ideas for improvements. See the later later on for many kinds of improvement ideas you might encounter.
  2. After each session with students, check that your notes are easy to understand. You don’t want to look at your notes later and think, “What did I mean by that comment?”
  3. Collate your input. Some will be more useful than others.
  4. Write your revised version.
  5. Edit the textbook thoroughly (typos, punctuation, language, style, layout, etc.)
  6. Consider getting someone else to proofread it, and someone to give advice on layout and formatting.
  7. Give the new version a new version number.
  8. If possible, have another expert read your new manuscript.
  9. Repeat the whole process as many times as necessary until you are ready to issue the first edition. If the book is successful, you might need to revise it later on and update its appearance for a second edition.

Common improvement ideas

Improvements can take many forms. The list below is not exhaustive, but it suggests the kinds of improvements you might identify.

  1. Provide or clarify objectives for each chapter.
  2. At the beginning of each chapter, give readers a reason to keep reading. This is usually a problem that the chapter will solve.
  3. Record ideas that came up when you faced a class and thought, “I need to add this point so they’ll understand it.”
  4. Identify gaps in content so you have a good coverage of the topic.
  5. Intentionally gather student feedback.
  6. Identify areas of bias.
  7. Check for errors of fact.
  8. Identify your assumptions. Spell them out if necessary.
  9. Check that the order of presentation makes it easy for students to understand.
  10. Identify explanations that students found confusing. You can add the kinds of things that students asked about.
  11. Check whether explanations were too complex or too simple.
  12. Generate ideas for examples, stories, or case studies.
  13. Gather ideas for graphics that be helpful and make pages appear more attractive.
  14. Check it is up to date with current research and thinking on the topic.
  15. Provide discussion questions and learning activities.
  16. Add references and bibliographic items.

Evaluate your draft

  1. Purpose, Motivation, and Learning Design
    1. Are the learning objectives for each chapter clearly stated and easy to understand?
    2. Do the stated objectives align with what the chapter actually teaches?
    3. Does the opening of each chapter give readers a compelling reason to keep reading? Is a clear problem, question, or challenge introduced that the chapter will help solve?
    4. Are there discussion questions or learning activities that reinforce the chapter’s goals?
  2. Content Coverage and Completeness
    1. Does each chapter adequately cover all essential topics?
    2. Are there noticeable gaps in content that students would need to understand the subject fully?
    3. Are important ideas that emerged during teaching (e.g., moments when clarification was needed) included in the text?
    4. Are assumptions about prior knowledge identified and addressed where necessary?
  3. Organization and Flow
    1. Is the order of topics logical and supportive of student understanding?
    2. Does each concept build naturally on the previous one?
    3. Are transitions between sections clear and helpful?
    4. Would a student encountering this material for the first time be able to follow the progression?
  4. Clarity and Accessibility of Explanations
    1. Which explanations have students found confusing in the past?
    2. Are common student questions or misunderstandings explicitly addressed?
    3. Are explanations appropriately calibrated—not too complex and not too simplistic?
    4. Are technical terms introduced clearly and used consistently?
  5. Pedagogical Support and Engagement
    1. Are there sufficient examples, stories, or case studies to illustrate key ideas?
    2. Do the examples reflect situations students can relate to or recognize?
    3. Are there opportunities for students to apply what they have learned?
    4. Have student feedback and questions been intentionally gathered and incorporated?
  6. Accuracy, Currency, and Scholarly Integrity
    1. Are all factual claims accurate and verifiable?
    2. Is the material up to date with current research and thinking in the field?
    3. Are references current, relevant, and sufficient for further study?
    4. Are bibliographic items complete and correctly formatted?
  7. Bias, Perspective, and Inclusivity
    1. Are there areas showing bias? (Bias may be cultural, disciplinary, methodological, or personal.)
    2. Are alternative views and theories acknowledged where appropriate?
    3. Does the text make implicit assumptions that should be made explicit or reconsidered?
  8. Visual and Design Elements
    1. Are there opportunities to add graphics that would clarify complex ideas?
    2. Do visuals enhance understanding rather than merely decorate the page?
    3. Does the page layout appear inviting and readable for students?

Conclusion

Iteration is normal; you will probably need several revisions to achieve a satisfactory first edition that you can present to the general public. Even then your first edition does not need to be perfect, and you will probably start planning the second edition as soon as the first edition published.

E-book ini ditujukan untuk akademisi dan instruktur yang memiliki catatan kasar dan ingin mengembangkannya menjadi buku teks edisi pertama yang dapat diterbitkan dan digunakan kembali. Ini adalah panduan praktis tentang cara melakukannya.

Apa yang Anda maksud dengan "buku teks"?

Pada titik ini kita perlu menjelaskan apa yang kita maksud dengan buku teks:

  1. Pembacanya adalah mahasiswa yang mengambil unit pendidikan tinggi tertentu. Anda mungkin berasumsi bahwa mereka adalah mahasiswa di institusi Anda, tetapi Anda mungkin ingin buku Anda dapat diterima di institusi lain juga.
  2. Tujuan buku teks adalah untuk menjelaskan topik kepada mahasiswa.
    3. Sebagai sumber penjelasan, ini bukan penelitian asli.
  3. Ini mencakup keseluruhan topik unit pendidikan tinggi yang khas.
  4. Ini seharusnya bermanfaat bagi berbagai macam guru, bukan hanya orang yang menulisnya.

Materi apa yang sudah Anda miliki?

Buku teks dapat dimulai dengan berbagai cara. Banyak yang dimulai sebagai rencana pelajaran pribadi untuk digunakan di kelas, dan beberapa hanya berupa daftar poin-poin. Beberapa instruktur mengembangkan catatan kasar tersebut menjadi sesuatu yang dapat mereka bagikan kepada siswa mereka. Beberapa didasarkan pada artikel Wikipedia. Beberapa buku teks dapat dihasilkan oleh AI, tetapi ada beberapa aturan tentang cara melakukannya. Buku teks juga dapat dimulai sebagai buku teks dalam bahasa lain, atau sebagai penjelasan standar kompetensi.

Memutuskan apakah akan menulis buku teks

Tanyakan pada diri Anda beberapa pertanyaan. Apakah Anda benar-benar membutuhkan buku teks baru?

(Sudah banyak buku teks yang tersedia.) Jika demikian, apakah itu akan menjadi buku teks sumber terbuka, buku teks yang diterbitkan secara komersial, atau materi pengajaran internal? Apakah itu berupa salinan cetak atau salinan digital? Seberapa bagus catatan awal Anda, apa pun jenisnya? Apakah Anda punya waktu untuk mengembangkan buku teks baru?

Misalnya, kami di WU ingin dapat mengedit dan memperbarui buku teks sesering yang kami anggap perlu. Kedua, kami menginginkan materi sumber terbuka yang dapat kami distribusikan secara gratis, karena kami ingin menghindari jenis masalah yang dapat muncul dengan buku teks komersial tradisional:

  1. Mahasiswa tidak akan menanggung biaya finansial yang berada di luar kendali kami
  2. Kami tidak memiliki masalah pasokan ("Maaf, buku itu sudah habis cetak.")
  3. Kami tidak memiliki masalah pengiriman. Mahasiswa mungkin harus membayar pajak atasnya, atau buku tersebut dapat tiba terlalu terlambat untuk digunakan pada semester itu.
    4. Terkadang buku bahkan tidak sampai sama sekali.

Jika materi tersebut dalam bahasa lain, mulailah dengan menerjemahkannya. Alat penerjemahan mesin (misalnya Google) dapat secara signifikan mengurangi upaya penerjemahan, meskipun Anda tetap perlu memeriksanya.

Siklus “tinjau dan perbaiki”

Prinsip dasarnya adalah Anda menggunakan catatan tersebut untuk mengajar dan melakukan perbaikan berdasarkan pengamatan dan pengalaman Anda, serta umpan balik dari siswa Anda.

Tujuan revisi adalah untuk memiliki buku teks yang dapat dibaca dan langsung dipahami oleh siswa, dan yang dapat direkomendasikan oleh guru kepada siswa mereka.

Untuk mendapatkan buku teks yang baik, Anda perlu melalui siklus ini beberapa kali:

 

CC BY-NC-ND
This work is released under a CC BY-NC-ND license, which means that you are free to do with it as you please as long as you (1) properly attribute it, (2) do not use it for commercial gain, and (3) do not create derivative works.