Selecting course reading materials is not necessarily an easy process. This article discusses selection concerns such as cost, inclusivity and options ranging from traditional textbooks to course packs. A review of literature finds extensive information about adoption of OER materials. Additionally, articles referring to difficulties in course…

Finding culturally relevant informational books for a classroom library can be difficult. However, expanding the definition of informational text to include procedural forms, specifically cookbooks, can enhance the cultural relevance, range, and number of books available for students to read. Reasons for placing cookbooks in the classroom library…

Viewing its use in language teaching mainly as a text corpus, this article examines the problem of the assessment of suitability of this material for use in the Greek language course in Cyprus schooling. The suitability of texts for use in language teaching is defined by four parameters, which are described in detail in this article: text…

Strong instructional materials are crucial to realizing the promise of the Common Core State Standards. Research suggests that the choice of instructional materials can have an impact as large as or larger than the impact of teacher quality. Unfortunately, many popular textbooks are not aligned to the new standards, leaving educators scrambling.…

What textbooks are physics teachers using? How highly do they rate those textbooks? What other types of materials do teachers use? The textbooks and other resources used by high school physics teachers in the US have evolved along with the changing demands of physics classes and the evolving set of options available to teachers. In this report,…

The benefits of teaching from a global perspective far outweigh the disadvantages. Teaching from a global perspective provides the employer with global workers. Such teaching produces students who possess the knowledge of languages, culture, social systems, dress, religion, and cultural norms, as well as skills for employment in the global…

This paper outlines a procedure for language textbook analysis from the perspective of second language acquisition (SLA) principles as a preliminary procedure to evaluation for selection. The aim is to provide a tool that allows comparison of the potential of textbooks for supporting students' language learning. To this end, ten general principles…

New laws in California have set the state on a course for some potentially significant changes to the curriculum, including a measure that revisits the matter of teaching Algebra 1 in 8th grade and another that revamps the state's textbook-adoption process and hands districts greater leeway in choosing instructional materials. The algebra-related…

In 2008, the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation began the social studies textbook adoption process. Concurrently, the Indiana State Board of Education wrote a memo encouraging schools to look at digital resources; BCSC did not hesitate. This article describes why BCSC chose to move to a digital format at the secondary level, the process…

In the recent textbook review by the federal What Works Clearinghouse, only one out of four elementary school math programs has received even a qualified nod from evaluators for its research record. The result shows that most major commercial textbooks can not yet muster the proof that they are any better than their competitors at improving…

Several years ago I had to select a new textbook for my calculus-based introductory physics class. I subscribe to Just-in-Time Teaching methods,1 which require students to read the book before the material is covered in class. Thus, the readability of the text by the students is critical. However, I did not feel that I was the best judge of this…

Textbook Adoption: The process, in place in twenty-one states, of reviewing textbooks according to state guidelines and then mandating specific books that schools must use, or lists of approved textbooks that schools must choose from. It consistently produces second-rate textbooks that replicate the same flaws and failings over and over again.…

Textbook selection strongly influences on what students will learn and what the teachers will teach. Certain statements regarding the process of development and selecting mathematics textbooks are given and assessed.

Describes the work of Mel and Norma Gabler and their campaign against what they have determined are "improper" textbooks. (IRT)

Provides a brief description of the current state of book censorship in Warsaw, Indiana, and of some of the community response to the censorship. (IRT)