Recounts an instance in which Virginia politicians took over the writing and adoption of state history books. (IRT)

Comments on the Macmillan Publishing Company's guidelines for avoiding sex and racial stereotyping in educational materials. (IRT)

Strategies for writing a text are offered by a college professor on the basis of his own experience of writing a text on social psychology. Suggestions are given on creating an efficient office environment, researching the topic, and drafting the manuscript. One way to improve efficiency is to compress teaching into a few days, leaving the…

The concern of this paper is with techniques for improving the understandability of statistics textbooks for novices. Understandability is measured by tests of the reader's performance on creative transfer problems that require using text material in novel situations. The focus is primarily on the instructional objective of conceptual…

This style manual, published by the National Education Association (NEA) for writers and editors, has been prepared to update and clarify questions of literary usage. The manual contains sections on abbreviations and symbols, capitalization, dates and time, division of words, foreign words and phrases, italics, lists and enumerations, numbers and…

The postdoctoral fellowship afforded an opportunity for the author to engage in an intensive year of training and research in structural learning at the University of Pennsylvania and Standford University. The basic research goal was to clarify some of the fundamental problems involved in the teaching and learning of subject matters and the…

This booklet uses cartoon characters to describe the process of creating textbooks, beginning with the idea in the mind of the author to the point when the book reaches the user. The basic processes in book publication are considered in an effort to foster the proper care of and interest in books. (VM)

With heavy emphasis on the application of the scientific approach to research in library science, this proposal for an introductory textbook presents an overview of the current status of investigations in librarianship and discusses strengths and weaknesses of existing guides. A conclusion is reached that available guidebooks all fall short of…

These tenses may be taught effectively through pattern drills and structural exercises, followed by careful explanations designed to distinguish them from the plus-que-parfait, which may be taught concurrently. Guidelines for textbook presentation of these tenses are included, as are descriptions of their forms and usages. (DB)

Examines the importance of textbooks for learning, especially in developing countries which lack other educational resources. Emphasizes the complex network of educational forces that go into the development, production, and distribution of textbooks in an international context. (BSR)

Describes the author's experiences in writing a senior-level Canadian social studies textbook. Examines the many challenges which textbook writers face and discusses the problems involved in writing for a diverse audience. (GEA)

The study compared the effectiveness of two types of science textbook adaptations--graphics and study guides--and of self-study with 49 learning-disabled high school students in four classes. Results indicated better test scores for students using graphics-adapted texts. No differences were found between study guide adaptations and self-study.…

Finds that although pictures do not seem to increase comprehension of the material, students prefer texts with them. Concludes that pictures provide no cognitive benefit but do have an affective impact on students, the nature of which was not determined by the research. (SRT)

Criticizes the organization, emphases, scope, and intellectual challenges of basal social studies textbooks widely used in elementary schools. Includes recommendations for improving such textbooks and social studies curricula. (MCG)

Ninth-grade social studies students were asked to paraphrase a text excerpt. Results showed that students encounter the most serious reading difficulties when texts fail to take into account students' lack of background information and thus seriously underwrite the ideas. What authors and editors should do to improve textbooks is discussed.