This article presents the concept of tri-texts as a potential next step from paired texts following a collaborative inquiry with fifth-grade students. Paired texts are two texts intertextually connected, whereas tri-texts are three texts connected this way. The authors begin the article with a short literature review highlighting some of the…

Information-based books are available in abundance and popular with students enrolled in the upper elementary and middle school grades. With a growing emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), teachers are including informational texts in the classroom. Preteens are expected to think critically, read more complex texts,…

What do principals need to know about the use of electronic textbooks? Students, referred to as the Millennials or the Net Generation, born between 1980 and the present, have very different learning styles than those of previous generations. They were born into a world of everyday applications of technology and have utilized it from a very young…

Educators work within a fluid academic and social landscape that requires frequent examination and re-examination of what constitutes ethical practice. In this book, editors R. Eric Landrum and Maureen McCarthy identify four broad areas of concern in the ethical teaching of undergraduate psychology: pedagogy, student behavior, faculty behavior…

Selecting textbooks can be a difficult and overwhelming process. Inundated with choices of texts and supplemental materials, teachers have many factors to consider. This brochure is designed to assist with the process by offering both key questions for discussion and criteria for evaluating textbooks.

The authors teach upper-level science courses in cell biology, genetics, and biochemistry at a public, four-year "community university" that serves a demographically diverse population of traditional and nontraditional students. In this article, they describe some of the issues they have found to be particularly significant at their "community…

Provides guidelines for evaluation in textbook selection. (MD)

Examines Texas adoption process, described by author as having an inordinate impact on textbook market. Creationist opposition to evolution content in biological textbooks is well organized. Author presents 10 arguments made at hearing by creationists that he describes as a monument to scientific illiteracy. Asserts that creationists' confusion of…

Provides 45 guidelines useful in selecting college-level textbooks. The guidelines are presented under five major categories: (1) course strategy and tactics; (2) point of view; (3) accuracy of content; (4) currency of content; and (5) packaging information. (JN)

The textbooks described in this document are written for or widely used in high school psychology courses. To help teachers decide which books to examine more closely, reviews are provided. Complete price and bibliographic information are included for each text, along with a description of accompanying materials, such as instructor's manuals or…

A three-part review process is proposed as an aid to textbook selection for college courses. After an introductory discussion of the importance of developing standards and criteria for selecting course texts, the three-phase process is presented. The initial phase involves the establishment of departmental criteria for textbooks, which may be…

The author focuses on two areas of textbook evaluation: the appropriateness of content for the course for which it is intended and the effectiveness of the book's content organization or layout as a stimulus to student interest and learning. She discusses the table of contents, introductory paragraphs, photographs and diagrams, and terminology.…

Two articles address issues in the development of French and Spanish language programs in elementary schools: instructional materials and time and money factors. The information presented is drawn from experience in developing the Radford, Virginia FLES (Foreign Language in the Elementary School) program. The first article describes some aspects…

Labor economics textbooks for use with college students were surveyed. Information concerning intended audience, content, and teaching aids is provided for each text. Criteria used in evaluating the texts is provided. (RM)

A review of research on writing textbooks suggests that in general, they do not reflect current theories in either content or instructional approach. Examination of some second language writing textbooks reveals three types: (1) those with a traditional approach emphasizing grammar, form, and models; (2) books acknowledging but not integrating new…