What makes a useful textbook, and can the use of textbooks boost active learning and student satisfaction in political science higher education? Drawing on the author's own experience of writing a textbook and a student survey, this article articulates some propositions on effective textbook-assisted teaching practice. In seeking to develop a…

Reading texts may serve as a vital source of informational content and language knowledge for second language (L2) learners, which is known as the dual relevance of L2 reading (Han & D'Angelo, 2009). Text complexity, however, influences the two, determining to a great extent whether the dual outcome is attainable. Drawing on Complex Dynamic…

Graphics presented alongside expository science texts can have a number of positive effects for instruction, including facilitating engagement, arousing interest, and improving understanding. However, because students harbor expectations about which contexts are likely to support better understanding, the mere presence of graphics also has the…

The first books in Polish about the Pascal programming language appeared in the late 1970s, and were soon followed by a Polish translation of Niklaus Wirth's book "Algorithms + Data Structures = Programs." At that time, many efforts were made to prepare teachers to teach informatics in schools, and Pascal was one of the topics taught,…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the textual coverage of the topic of public engagement in leading English language sustainability textbooks. Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, the authors' findings are based on a content analysis of 12 textbooks published between 2005 and 2015. The authors generated the sample through three sources: a…

In a previous publication, Jensen's scheme for the logical structure of chemistry was employed to identify a logical structure for physical chemistry, which was further used as a tool for analyzing the organization of twenty physical chemistry textbooks. In addition, science education research was considered for the study of the psychological…

The relevance of the study is conditioned by the changes in the content of socio-humanitarian education, aimed at the acquisition of knowledge, the development of tolerance, civic and moral education. The purpose of the paper is to identify the modern functions of a textbook on social sciences and humanities as an informational management tool of…

Assuming that textbooks give literary expression to cultural and ideological values of a nation or group, we propose the analysis of chemistry textbooks used in Brazilian universities throughout the twentieth century. We analyzed iconographic and textual aspects of 31 textbooks which had significant diffusion in the context of Brazilian…

Young people around the world are calling ever more urgently on policymakers to address today's global challenges of sustainability, structural inequality and social justice. So it is little surprise that learning in a global society, understanding sustainable development and being active global citizens are increasingly popular themes for…

Considering the relevance of thermodynamics to the scientific discipline of chemistry and the curriculum of the Western school system, the philosophical system of Mario Bunge, particularly his ontology and epistemology, is used herein to analyze the presentation of the first law of thermodynamics in 15 school and university textbooks. The…

Open educational resources (OER) can make educational resources widely available to all students and educators for free; however, OER are still untried in many academic programmes in higher education. This article reports a case of adoption of an open access textbook for an introductory information systems course and discusses the process and…

Primary research articles discuss aspects of scientific inquiry that are important in understanding the nature of science. Yet, most introductory science courses use textbooks that ignore the scientific process; opportunities for explicit discussion of the nature of science are lost. In Hampshire College's science program, students read current…

Technology plays a vital role in bridging the digital divide and fostering sustainability in educational development. This is evident through the successful use of social media in educational marketing campaigns and through the integration of massive open online courses to reorient learner interactions in higher education environments.…

Following the trend in science and engineering education generated by the visible impact created by the Force Concept Inventory (FCI), the investigator developed a Physics of Semiconductors Concept Inventory (PSCI). PSCI fills the need of standardized concept tests for undergraduate education in photonics and electrical engineering. The structure…

As public funding for higher education decreases and the cost to students to attend college increases, universities are searching for strategies that save students money while also increasing their chances for success. Using free online textbooks is one such strategy, and the OpenStax College initiative at Rice University is one of the most widely…