Reports on an analysis of seven tests in use for CSE Human Biology to determine the technical vocabulary to which pupils are exposed. Lists the frequency of occurrence of every term, outlines the scheme used for classifying terms, and presents a selected vocabulary of terms considered to be the most popular. (GS)

Examines the presentations on English and American culture in five selected English- teaching textbooks used in the Federal Republic. The results obtained are interpreted. More texts are called for that deal with people, modern England and current social and political problems. (IFS/WGA)

First discusses the learning goals of the beginning course in communicative English instruction. In the second part is found a commentary on the teaching texts "English for You" and "English for a Start." In the third part ability grouping at the school is discussed. (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Presented is an accurate and quick way to assess readibility. A brief review of literature related to various formulae for readiability assessment is included. A sample test, a sample scoring-recording form used in textbook selection, and selected references are also presented. (EB)

A study examined text-based scientific concepts and described how those concepts were elaborated in three high school biology textbooks. The three textbooks were aimed at different student audiences: non-college bound students, special education students, and high school students at all levels. A concept analysis was established for each text, and…

A series of nine booklets was developed to help members of textbook adoption committees, teacher educators, inservice leaders, and policymakers gather information, develop evaluation guidelines, and organize their findings as they select new reading programs and evaluate existing ones. Each booklet focuses on a specific aspect of instruction.…

This five-page checklist presents a rating scale approach to evaluating instructional products and educational media. Each item may be checked yes, no, uncertain, or not applicable. Fifteen categories of evaluation criteria are included: (1) purpose; (2) objectives; (3) front end analysis; (4) prerequisite skills and knowledge requirements; (5)…

An extensive basal evaluation form--written in a series of 73 questions, each requiring a short narrative response and many with specific references to notes in the appendices--is presented in this paper. The evaluation form is divided into two sections: general questions on teacher's guides and general questions on student books. The questions on…

A comparison of four college-level elementary German textbooks reveals significant differences in the numbers of vocabulary entries in each textbook. Further comparison of three of the textbooks with the basic German vocabulary lists provided in "Kontaktschwelle Deutsch als Fremdsprache" and in "Das Zertificat Deutsch als Fremdsprache" reveal in…

The purposes of this study were to assess the usefulness of a variety of readability formulas in predicting the relative difficulty of passages, and to explore the contribution of pupils' background to text difficulty. Subjects were 285 special education students in grades 1-9, 117 of whom were based in rural and suburban Minnesota (MN) and 168 of…

A study followed three textbook adoption committees as they evaluated basal reading programs. The committees used "A Guide to Selecting Basal Reading Programs" (developed at the Center for the Study of Reading) to help them evaluate the quality of instruction in existing programs. Case studies of the three committees sought to address the…

Technical writing instructors lack a framework for evaluating pedagogical materials. One framework for classification divides the pedagogical materials into three groups: those locating their heuristics in form, context, and method. Formal pedagogies (the modes, sentence generation) can produce generic writing, separated from audience, purpose,…

Current issues being addressed by argumentation theorists can be identified by examining their writings in The Journal of the American Forensic Association (JAFA). Traditionally, argument has been seen as an utterance or act, from a philosophy based logical "product" perspective. Many current theorists, however, see argument as a process…

A 2-part annotated bibliography is designed to assist school administrators, library media specialists, and teachers in selecting materials for their social studies programs in grades 9 through 12. Resources were selected by Maryland educators according to five criteria: state goals and subgoals for social studies, quality of materials,…