In traditional teaching, the fundamental concepts of electromagnetic induction are usually quickly analyzed, spending most of the time solving problems in a more or less rote manner. However, physics education research has shown that the fundamental concepts of the electromagnetic induction theory are barely understood by students. This article proposes an interactive teaching sequence introducing the topic of electromagnetic induction. The sequence has been designed based on contributions from physics education research. Particular attention is paid to the relationship between experimental findings (macroscopic level) and theoretical interpretation (microscopic level). An example of the activities that have been designed will also be presented, describing the implementation context and the corresponding findings. Since implementing the sequence, a considerable number of students have a more satisfactory grasp of the electromagnetic induction explicative model. However, difficulties are manifested in aspects that require a multilevel explanation, referring to deep structures where the system description is better defined.

Textbooks are a very important tool in the teaching–learning process and influence important aspects of the process. This paper presents an analysis of the chapter on electromagnetic induction and Faraday's law in 19 textbooks on general physics for first-year university courses for scientists and engineers. This analysis was based on criteria formulated from the theoretical framework of electromagnetic induction in classical physics and students' learning difficulties concerning these concepts. The aim of the work presented here is not to compare a textbook against the ideal book, but rather to try and find a series of explanations, examples, questions, etc that provide evidence on how the topic is presented in relation to the criteria above. It concludes that despite many aspects being covered properly, there are others that deserve greater attention.