Faced with selecting a geometry curriculum for our preservice elementary teacher mathematics course, we used a mixed-methods study to investigate the effectiveness, with respect to student achievement and student perception, of three reform-oriented curricula. ANCOVA results indicate students using one of the curricula scored significantly higher…

Little research has focused on what factors undergraduate students consider when selecting books at academic libraries. In order to better understand student book choices at Niagara University Library, we chose 11 sets of two books with the same LC subject headings but with other differences and asked students to select one book over another.…

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…

Three readability formulas are described, evaluated, and applied to selected textbook passages. However, the present state of the art indicates that, at best, teachers can gain only a very rough estimate of readability level from the existing diagnostic measures. (Author/NHM)

Lists the advantages of using paperbacks in elementary schools and libraries and gives a directory to some 70 publishers of paperbacks for children. (PF)

Analyzes ten of the most publicized and widely used textbooks in the technical writing field for reading level, organization, completeness in covering the subject and providing sufficient models, and price. (RB)

Textbooks have traditionally been the focus of classroom instruction, however, the role of textbooks has been increasingly challenged by various groups. They have raised questions about the quality and content of textbooks in U.S. classrooms. This document provides a program of a 1989 conference that addressed issues related to the role and…

Listed in this catalog of instructional materials in English and the use of dictionaries are those materials adopted by the California State Board of Education for use in public schools from 1983 to 1985. Materials listed include those published by (1) Allyn and Bacon; (2) Bowmar/Noble; (3) Ginn and Company; (4) Glencoe; (5) Harcourt, Brace…

The lack of cultural content, low interest level, and crowdedness of second language textbooks arise because every textbook represents a compromise: between the publisher's need to sell a book and the author's need to address specific pedagogical issues, and between the need to explain grammatical points fully and the need to explain them briefly.…

Through interviews with 145 children enrolled in two public schools, this study sought to answer five questions: (1) Do children consider page size, type, and illustration position important in their selection of tradebooks? (2) Are there differences between grades, sexes, and among reading ability groups in their consideration of the importance…

This pamphlet was written as an aid for local curriculum committees developing and implementing language arts programs within a multicultural, nonsexist framework. Included in this guide are (1) definitions of important terms, (2) a rationale and philosophy of multicultural, nonsexist education, (3) the sections of the Iowa School Standards and…

The most frequently chosen textbooks for introductory sociology courses are analyzed. The study reveals that sociology texts change through incrementation rather than through innovative thinking or by rational decisions as to the best way to present sociology to students. Sociology students are not considered in textbook selection; rather,…

The Master Locator Booklet (MLB) is intended to aid in selecting suitable texts, readers, and supplementary materials for classroom work or individual study in EFL/ESL. Although the wide range of works on the market does not permit a consistent classification, the entries in the MLB are subclassified to a great extent to facilitate access to…

Major investigations have shown that children care little for social studies as a school subject. Therefore, a closer look was taken at social studies textbooks in order to ascertain if the reading difficulty of the texts was an important cause behind the children's dislike. This study evaluated the reading levels of 41 social studies texts…