Should Textbook chapters Contain a "Summary" Section I am far enough along with an introductory textbook in the computing field that it looks like I might finish.  For each chapter so far, I've written a final &quot;Summary&quot; section that recapitulates the most important points.  I've begun to worry that students will read the summary sections only and thereby miss the other gems of knowledge in my deathless prose.  (After all, the summary can't contain everything, and if something isn't important, why include it at all?)
It is my intention that the summaries reinforce the most important points in each chapter and so are an aid to learning for the student who has read the chapter.  My worry is that there will be students who believe, incorrectly, that a page or two of summary covers the whole chapter.
Is there research, pro or con, about the usefulness / harmfulness of summary sections in textbooks?  (I've looked and haven't found anything, but I'm a computer scientist and so am out of my field.)
I've been struggling with this for months.  I think I've found the answer to my implied question in the words of another textbook author, Ken Saladin.
&quot;...tell students what they should know about, but not what to know about it.&quot;
Following Saladin's advice, I've re-titled the summary sections Summary of Learning Objectives. Each summary section now starts with the following:

This section of the chapter tells you the things you should know about, but not what you should know about them. To test your knowledge, discuss the following concepts and topics with a study partner or in writing, ideally from memory.

That's nearly a direct quote from Saladin's suggestion.  I hope the first sentence will dissuade students from thinking they can read the summaries only.
I suggest those interested in the question read Dr. Saladin's entire, but short, blog post: https://blog.taaonline.net/2020/02/textbook-pedagogy-improving-chapter-summaries-encourages-collaborative-learning/