ResourcesAs part of ScienceTextCentral.org's work to improve the quality of science textbooks, this section of the site is devoted to research and writing on the topic. From here you can find resources on textbook selection, adoption, and use. Suggestions for resources to list can be emailed to the webmaster.
Reviews of Classroom Instructional Materials
Association for the Advancement of Science: Project 2061 Textbook Evaluations
As part of their Project 2061 initiative to promote literacy in science, math and technology, the American Association for the Advancement of Science reviewed the most widely used math and science textbooks in 2000. Results for their reviews of middle school science textbooks and high school biology textbooks are available online.
National Science Foundation: Review of Instructional Materials for Middle School Science
In 1996 the National Science Foundation (NSF) undertook a study of comprehensive (at least one year) instructional materials for science in the NSF portfolio encompassing the middle school years. This middle school review was the first effort to examine a range of projects for a particular set of grades. This paper describes both the process and the results of that study.
Tools for Evaluating Classroom Materials
National Science Foundation: Framework for Review of Instructional Materials for Middle School Science
The National Science Foundation provides this two page worksheet designed to aid educators in reviewing their instructional materials.
IRTS Web: Evaluating Books, Sites, & Software
The Instructional Resources & Technology Services division at the University of Northern Iowa has a good compilation of resources for evaluating web resources, textbooks and educational software. The site includes practical and printable evaluation forms to use in your own assessments.
American Association for the Advancement of Science: Curriculum Materials Evaluation
Project 2061, in partnership with the National Science Foundation, is developing a tool to guide curriculum evaluation. The forthcoming resource is intended for use by educators, state adoption agencies, and curriculum developers, in choosing the best modules, textbooks, and other curriculum materials for today’s classrooms.
Selecting Instructional Materials: A Guide for K-12 Science
The National Research Council developed this publication to help education administrators assess and choose materials for science classrooms. The guide addresses general classroom needs, as well as needs for specific communities. The instructional materials can be used for comprehensive educational programs and individual classroom lectures. The evaluation approach of the National Research Council can be useful for decision makers, school administrators and teachers across the nation.
Educational Development Center: Selecting Challenging Instructional Materials for Middle-School Science (.pdf)
This report written by the Education Development Center’s Center for Science Education sets out what educators should look for in selecting challenging science materials for their classroom. The report covers the defining features of challenging materials, the kind of process that would enable teachers to make an informed selection, and where additional resources can be found.
Department of Education. (1997). Attaining Excellence: Guidebook to Examine School Curricula Washington, D.C.: Office of Educational Research and Improvement.
This guidebook examines how comparisons drawn from TIMSS between the U.S. and the other industrialized nations may help guide curriculum reform. The guide also presents programs such as Project 2061 that could be useful in evaluating and analyzing curricula.
National Science Standards and Benchmarks
National Research Council: National Science Education Standards
In this publication the National Research Council offers a vision of what it means to be scientifically literate, describing what all students regardless of background or circumstance should understand and be able to do at different grade levels in various science categories.
American Association for the Advancement of Science: Science for All Americans
Published in 1989, Science for all Americans recommends which science concepts and ways of thinking are essential for all adults to understand in a world shaped by science and technology. It defines science literacy and lays out principles for effective learning and teaching.
American Association for the Advancement of Science: Benchmarks for Science Literacy
Benchmarks for Science Literacy details the recommendations of Project 2061’s earlier report, Science for All Americans, by spelling out exactly which concepts and techniques every student should understand by the end of grades 2, 5, 8, and 12.
National Research Council: Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards
The National Research Council offers this “practical guide to teaching inquiry and teaching through inquiry” following the National Science Education Standards.
Less Than a Penny: The Instructional Materials Shortage and How It Shortchanges Students, Teachers, and Schools (.pdf)
This 2003 paper from the Association of American Publishers illustrates the need for standards based instructional materials.
Awash in a Sea of Standards (.pdf)
Written by Robert J. Marzano and John S. Kendall for the non-profit organization Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL), this paper addresses the difficulty of having more standards than can feasibly be addressed in the instructional time available. As part of their ongoing efforts, McREL provides an online standards database, with links to lesson plans and related resources.
U.S. National Research Center for the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS)
Supported by the National Science Foundation and the National Center for Education Statistics, the center posts its papers analyzing TIMMS, a cross-national comparative survey of math and science education in elementary and secondary grades. Its collection of papers and publications includes William H. Schmidt’s “The Quest for a Coherent School Science Curriculum” (.pdf) and executive summaries of books such as “According to the Book: Using TIMSS to Investigate the Translation of Policy to Practice through the World of Textbooks.”
Bybee, Rodger. (1997). Achieving Scientific Literacy: From Purposes to Practices. N. H.: Heinemann. ISBN: 0435071343
Altbach, Philip, Gail Kelly, High Petrie, and Lois Weis, Eds. (1991). Textbooks in American Society: Politics, Policy, and Pedagogy. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN: 0791406695
Elliot, David and Arthur Woodward, Eds. (1990). Textbooks and Schooling in the United States (Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education). Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 0226601528
Weiss, Iris, Eric Banilower, Kelly McMahon and P. Sean Smith. (December 2001). Report of the 2000 National Survey of Science and Mathematics Education. Horizon Research: Chapel Hill, NC.
Weiss, Iris, Joan Pasley, Sean Smith, Eric Banilower, and Daniel Heck. (May 2003). Looking Inside the Classroom: A Study of K-12 Mathematics and Science Education in the United States. Horizon Research.
Schmidt, William, Curtis McKnight, Richard T. Houang, Hsing Chi Wang, David E. Wiley, Leland S. Cogan, and Richard G. Wolfe. (2001). Why Schools Matter: A Cross National Comparison of Learning. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Weiss, I. R. (1991). Curricular Materials for Mathematics and Science: Usage and Perceived Needs from the Field. Chapel Hill, N.C.: Horizon Research. National Research Council. (1999). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Adoption Process
National Association of State Textbook Administrators: Instructional Materials Websites
A member organization for state textbook administrators, NASTA lists state websites detailing the local textbook adoption process. The content varies, but most provide that state's guidelines and current developments in their adoption process. Their website offers a useful map linking to State Departments of Education . In addition, NASTA provides a School Division Textbook Adoption Schedule.
The Mad, Mad World of Textbook Adoption
The non-profit Thomas B. Fordham Institute has released a study criticizing the textbook adoption process as "dysfunctional" and "archaic." The report claims public school textbooks serve the interests of bureaucrats, special interests, and publishing conglomerates -- not those of students or teachers -- and details the Institute's suggested policy reforms.
Publishers and Marketing
Association of American Publishers School Division
The AAP School Division represents publishers of instructional and assessment materials for kindergarten through 12th grade. A downloadable State Textbook Adoption Schedule (.pdf) is available online.
Kleibacker, Kathryn, Linda Winter, and Carol Ann Waugh. (2002). K-12 Market Trends Overview, The Experts’ Guide to the K-12 School Market. Washington, DC: Software and Information Industry Association.
The book covers K-12 market trends; the home school market; library market trends; product development strategies; internet marketing strategies; traditional marketing strategies; and predictions for 2010.
Resnick, Robert, Glen Sanislo, and Stephanie Oda. (2004). The Complete K-12 Report: Market Facts & Segment Analyses. Rockaway Park, NY: Education Market Research.
This report analyzes and evaluates the educational materials used in classrooms throughout the United States.
Woodward, A., and D. L. Elliott. (1990). “Textbooks: Consensus and Controversy” in Textbooks and Schooling in the United States: Eighty-ninth Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part I. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. ISBN: 0226601528
Resource Lists: Curriculum Materials
Center for Science Education: Translating Ideas into Practice: A Toolkit for Science Education Reform
The Center for Science Education is a subsidiary of the international nonprofit organization, Education Development Center, Inc. whose mission it is to advance learning and healthy development for individuals of all ages, provide this comprehensive list of resources for educators to use when choosing and developing curriculum materials.
National Science Resource Center: Resources for Teaching Middle School Science
This publication, developed by the National Science Resource Center, provides guidance for middle school teachers in teaching a variety of disciplines, such as physical science, life science, environmental science, earth and space science, as well as multidisciplinary and applied science. It contains comprehensive and descriptive curriculum materials including core materials, activity books, software and multimedia programs, and supplementary sources. It also provides reference materials such as books about teaching science, and periodicals for teachers and students.
National Science Resource Center: Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science
The guide annotates about 350 curriculum packages, describing the activities involved and what students learn. Each annotation lists recommended grade levels, accompanying materials and kits or suggested equipment, and ordering information.
BSCS Center for Curriculum Development
This organization’s concept is concentrated on placing the students in the center of their learning by focusing on what they call the 5 E’s: engaged, elaborate, explore, evaluate, explain. This center offers practical support and curriculum development assistance for elementary, middle school, high school and college science teachers. Their materials are founded on current research, field-tested and evidence based methods.
Professional Development
TE-MAT: Teachers Education Materials Project: A Database for K-12 Mathematics and Science Professional Development Providers
The TE-MAT (Teacher Education Materials) Project was funded through a National Science Foundation grant to Horizon Research, Inc to develop an online resource to support professional development providers as they work to enhance the capacity of pre-service and in-service teachers to provide high-quality K-12 mathematics/science education.
American Association for the Advancement of Science: Resources for Science Literacy: Professional Development
The American Association for the Advancement of Science has developed this program to help educators working toward science literacy. Project 2061 has created this CD-ROM tool, which contains six components that can be used by higher education faculty in planning pre-service education, by school districts in designing in-service staff development programs, and by teachers for self-guided study of the learning goals in Science for All Americans and Benchmarks.
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