Guthrie, Bennett, and Weber (1990) have proposed a transformational model of procedural document processing. They suggest that successful completion of written instruction occurs when sources of information are combined with certain cognitive processes. Optimal combinations of information and cognition include the following: using the exposition…

Three short articles about mathematics and science braille are provided for braille transcribers and teachers of the visually handicapped. The first article discusses the differences between the rules for English textbook format and the Nemeth Braille Code (for mathematics, science, and notation) format in transcribing the mathematical section of…

A new third-year French textbook, in its introduction, describes its rationale and construction. The book's main objective is to provide authentic material for developing students' linguistic skills, focusing on language learning rather than civilization but including a cultural component. The textbook's organization is based on 20 recorded…

This report, submitted to the 71st Texas Legislature in fulfillment of the mandates contained in House Concurrent Resolution 84, summarizes a study of the feasibility of an 8-year cycle for the adoption of certain textbooks and considers the feasibility of contracting with textbook publishers on a freight prepaid basis. First, 6-year versus 8-year…

Intended to aid new academic professionals, this annotated bibliography lists a wide variety of books and articles, from the very general to the very specific, that deal with professional academic writing and publishing. Arranged alphabetically by author, each of the 225 annotations supplies a brief summary of the contents and date of publication,…

Undergraduate students of English for Science and Technology (EST) are confronted, in their English textbooks, with a variety of rhetorical forms intended to convey a variety of information, including specialized rhetorics of definition, classification, and argumentation. The rhetorical form of EST argumentation is the organization of written…

This analysis considers several major areas in which cognition research would seem to have pregnant implications for the conscious design of social studies texts and sketches the ways in which the structure of texts might be shaped if research were applied. The first area discussed is matching texts to significant user characterics. There are at…

The two essays in this monograph are intended to clarify the main problems of research in graphic communication. The first essay summarizes research concerning the effective use of graphic devices in texts and other instructional materials. Following a brief discussion of the technical terminology of graphic communication, the essay reviews…

This interim report, intended to help textbook authors and publishers, describes the results of a project in which American schools critiqued Soviet textbooks and Soviet scholars critiqued American textbooks. Secondary level history and geography texts were the focus of the study. There are five chapters to the report: Background to the Study;…

AN INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE IF INSTRUCTION IN VARIANT WORD ENDINGS CAN BE GIVEN IN THE SECOND SEMESTER OF THE FIRST GRADE IS DESCRIBED. TWENTY-SIX FIRST-GRADE CLASSES (554 CHILDREN) FROM THE ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA, PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM WERE USED IN THE STUDY. THE CLASSES WERE DIVIDED INTO TWO GROUPS OF 13 CLASSES EQUATED ON SOCIOECONOMIC LEVEL,…

Concentrating on the complexities of large scale primary and secondary school textbook production, this paper provides guidelines and information for creating viable publishing industries in developing countries. Statistical analysis, personal experience, case studies and responses to a questionnaire (appended) on the publishing roles of the…

The purpose of this dissertation is to aid course designers by analyzing and evaluating the complex process involved in developing a course of study, testing the course, and attempting to publish it. In 1969-71, the author designed and tested a seventh grade literature program for above-average students which fits within the sequence of the…

Textbooks emphasizing visual elements in exposition can be enriched using crisp, concise, audio-taped commentaries to focus attention on essential points in each illustration. These text aids, packaged in the convenient form of cassettes (usually one per chapter), have a number of obvious advantages: (1) any teacher can prepare them; (2) they are…

Discusses ways of introducing literature into elementary and intermediate courses and gives some examples of classroom exercises. Collaboration between literature specialists and language textbook authors in preparing instructional materials will make it possible to introduce authentic samples of literature and to combine reading, writing, and…

An analysis of 12 secondary economics textbooks revealed that the economic issues of poverty, unemployment, and labor as they relate to Blacks and Hispanics are often ignored. Economics texts would be greatly improved if critical work led to the inclusion of even such rudimentary information as race-specific employment data. (RM)