Text macrostructure in teaching: Support or an obstacle to meaningful learning?

Abstract

Contemporary circumstances of teaching and learning at all levels of education, as well as easy availability of a variety of learning resources, compel teachers to expand textual learning resources. This leads to the need to analyse the role of the text in teaching practice. In teaching practice, the text is regarded as a broader category of teaching material, in which textbooks form a subcategory. Given that learning in a formal context is mainly based on verbal content and literacy practice, it is very important to look at different aspects of the text, i.e. evaluate their potential for learning. Several aspects of the text are important: its content, the quality of didactic adaptability of the text, the microstructure and macrostructure of the text, as well as the way it is applied in the teaching/learning process. The aim of this paper is to map the characteristics of the macrostructure of the text in teaching practice which are important for the improvement of the meaningful learning. The paper presents various issues involved in the macrostructure of the text, analyses the similarities and differences of the terms "text type", "genre" and "discourse", and provides an overview of research that links text macrostructure and its effects on learning. Finally, pedagogical implications are derived, which include the thesis that the macrostructure of the text from which one learns should become a relevant factor for lessons planning, the assessment of learning success, but also for the improvement of educational policy, including teacher education.