Examines problems that commonly appear in the definition and discussion of work in physics textbooks. Presents the work-energy theorem, provides examples contradicting erroneous statements often found in textbook, and discusses the inconsistent terminology utilized with respect to force and work. (MDH)

Believes that graduate students can gain skills that will help them in the future by participating in the textbook writing process. Describes six activities for graduate students including preparing a text-reader for a course, writing a panel essay for a textbooks, and acting as a textbook intern. (CMK)

In 1994, the National Association for Music Education (MENC) adopted nine content standards that have, since that time, helped to standardize curricula for elementary music education and have given curriculum writers a more well-defined goal for their product. The questions then arise: What elements in the history of music education in America led…

There are three arguments against the usefulness of present basic course textbooks in speech communication. First, there are certain inherent forces that will always drive textbook publishers toward the production of textbooks unsuitable for the basic course: "mentioning" (mentioning every principle ever heard of by potential users of…

What are textbooks that teach? How can they help solve pedagogical problems? How can their pedagogical design be improved? These questions were used to develop a problem-solving model of textbook design. Textbooks that teach evoke learner activities designed to achieve contemporary cognitive goals. Suggestions for using textbooks to help solve…

Elementary social studies textbooks in the United States were analyzed to determine the sort of information they contained about Australia. Only those texts which made substantive references to Australia were analyzed; these included 4 books for level 3, 2 for level 4, and 4 for level 6. Books examined were all published by major textbook…

Publishers of high school composition textbooks gather information about the "book market" through outside statistical analyses or case studies and through their own interviews and polls. Recently, such studies and interviews have revealed significant differences in classroom practices. Consequently, publishers are faced with such…

Research has indicated that current information about reading and the effective teaching of reading has not yet made much impact on content area textbooks. As a result, there is much room for improvement in how textbooks are written. Recent research has yielded a great deal of information about what makes a text more understandable and supportive…

Metadiscourse, or an author's presence in a text, and its benefits for improving textbooks and children's learning and attitudes are explored in this paper. Through a historical review, the paper reveals that using the interpersonal voice and the author's commentary are legitimate rhetorical devices. Interviews with prominent contemporary…

Designed for braille transcribers and teachers of the visually handicapped, this document consists of two short articles about textbook format braille. The first article describes some recurring print format problems and suggested solutions for dealing with them. Topics include special page numbering systems, the use of tab indexes, the preferred…

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' Commission on Standards for School Mathematics was created in 1986 as a vehicle for coalescing current thinking of the profession on content, instructional methodology, and program and student evaluation of school mathematics for K-12. This report is intended as a guideline for development of…

A study examined the interaction between reading ability and text format. Subjects were 120 sophomores and juniors enrolled in reading methods courses at Montclair State College (New Jersey) who were divided into two equal groups of skilled and unskilled readers by means of a diagnostic reading test. Experimental reading passages based upon…

Intended for use by both producers and evaluators of textbooks and other print instructional materials, this review of the literature focuses on the effectiveness of illustrations for motivation and for learning, and such typographical variables as readibality, legibility, standard typographical conventions, and format and layout. Areas examined…

A method of developing and improving curriculum exemplified by the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) is described. BSCS is a self-governing, independent, nonprofit organization of biologists and teachers devoted to the improvement of biological education. This group is involved in an ongoing, continuous project with rotating personnel.…

AN INTRODUCTORY, SEVENTH-GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE COURSE WAS CONSTRUCTED IN AN ATTEMPT TO DEVELOP A LOGICAL AND COHERENT SEQUENCE OF THE MATERIAL, DEVELOP AN APPRECIATION FOR PRECISENESS OF LANGUAGE AND LOGICAL THINKING, SHOW THE ROLE OF MATHEMATICS IN PHYSICAL SCIENCE AS AN APPLICATION OF LOGIC TO PHYSICAL EXPERIENCE, REVEAL THE SCIENTIST'S SPIRT…