Five years later: A survey of state textbook reform

A survey was conducted to follow up the activities of a national project to improve the quality of textbooks available in American schools. The survey found that reform efforts have affected textbook policy in the adoption states throughout the country; nonadoption states, for the most part, have not addressed problems with textbooks. Changes in the adoption states are more incremental than dramatic; more diverse than focused; more in keeping with state cultures than national in character. Certain trends, however, indicate that policy makers continue to believe that their actions can improve the textbooks used in their schools. There is evidence that the adoption processes are increasingly focused on qualitive judgments about books being made by better-prepared and better-supported selectors. In addition, the adoption processes themselves are becoming less constraining on local district decision making through a variety of mechanisms.     

新时期图书馆学组编教材的质量控制

新时期图书馆学教材存在着内容与现实脱节、教材与专著不分、适应层次不清、编写不精、水平低层次重复等问题。要提高图书馆学组编教材的质量,必须加强过程控制,特别要做好编写、统稿、审稿、编辑加工、校样处理等环节的工作。     

Assessing the Readability of College Textbooks in Public Speaking: Attending to Entry Level Instruction

More research is needed that examines textbooks intended for the entry level college classroom. This study offers valuable information to academics that adopt a public speaking textbook for instruction as well as objective feedback to the collective authors. Readability levels of 22 nationally published textbooks, based on McGlaughlin's (1969) SMOG readability index, are reported. The mean readability level for all textbooks combined equated to a (M= 15.66) grade level with a SD (.71) less than one grade level of difficulty and a range of 2.83 grade levels. It should be noted that the SMOG index is based on 100% reader comprehension and tends to rate difficulty two grade levels higher than comparable measures. An ANOVA and corresponding t-tests indicate significant differences with respect to the readability among texts. Implications of findings, limitations of this study, recommendations for teachers, and directions for future research are provided.     

医学信息学课程群的构建

结合我国医疗卫生信息化发展对专业人才的需求,以济宁医学院为例,构建了由〈医学信息学〉、〈医院管理学〉、〈数据库原理〉、〈软件工程〉、〈病案信息学〉以及〈医院信息系统〉组成的医学信息学课程群,并对其内容整合优化、教学模式改革、师资培养、教材建设等方面进行了分析与探讨.     

In a different mode: Masculine styles of communicating closeness

A number of contributors to Journal of Applied Communication Research have demonstrated communication research and theory can inform practical conduct in sundry situations. Less addressed has been the pragmatic potential of research to reform its own practice. Believing research is ideally self‐reflexive, we apply principles of scholarly inquiry to evaluate knowledge about gender and communication in close relationships. We document a prevalent bias that favors feminine styles of relating, characterized by verbal, emotional disclosure, and that devalues activity‐focused modes empirically more associated with masculinity. We then trace the presence of this bias in textbooks on gender and communication and interpersonal relationships, and we suggest teaching that relies on a non‐inclusive model of intimacy may misguide students’ communicative expectations and interpretations and may misdirect practical conduct in friendships and romantic relationships. Finally, we return to existing scholarship to extract information about masculine styles of experiencing and expressing closeness as a starting point for more inclusive research and teaching about gender, communication and human relationships.     

高等教育教材出版面临的形势、问题及发展思路探析

为了全面提升服务教育强国、文化强国的能力和水平,以高质量教材体系助力教育改革发展,文章对我国高等教育教材出版面临的形势和问题进行了分析,结合出版单位在新形态教材和教材体系建设方面所做的探索,提出新时期高等教育出版要加强教学研究,培养专业化教材建设队伍;强化整体规划和过程管理,完善教材出版服务工作;依托在线开放课程探索教材建设新机制,构建完备科学的教材体系。     

Training preservice teachers to analyze and evaluate textbooks

Learning how to evaluate reading texts should be an important part of preservice training. This study used a simulated textbook selection process to compare differences in the consistency of experimental and control groups in evaluating textbooks. The experimental groups, who were required to define their criteria operationally, were more consistent in their evaluations than the control group, who used traditional checklists. Jacqueline C. Comas is assistant professor of education at the University of Florida in Gainesville where she teaches courses in language arts and children's literature. She is a former classroom teacher, has served as a reading consultant, a reading/language arts supervisor, and has worked with textbook adoption committees for the improvement of instructional materials since the late 1970s.     

The new social studies,textbooks, and reform in social studies

The New Social Studies curriculum development movement was short-lived, in part because project staff were not sensitive to the realities of the educational context within which their materials and methods would be used. Although textbook-based recitation persists in social studies classrooms, textbooks are not a ready mechanism for reform. Among the reasons are the institutional constraints on publishers and the difficulty in effecting curricular change without appropriate teacher preparation and modifications in the educational environment. James P. Shaver id professor of secondary education, associate dean for research, College of Education, and acting dean of the School of Graduate Studies, Utah State University, Logan. He has been president of the National Council for the Social Studies and has received NCSS’s Citation for Exemplary Research. His numerous books and articles include materials for students, research reports, and discussion of educational rationale-building, rationales for social studies education, and research philosophy.     

Social studies textbooks in the 1990s

Despite continuing criticism, textbooks remain essential to the teaching of social studies in elementary and high schools. The problems laid at their doorstep are, in fact, reflections of the nation’s educational difficulties. As the number of publishers in the textbook market decreases, the market itself becomes less uniform, and the arguments surrounding content become louder, quality may decline In addition, the use of trade and supplementary materials may increase, niche textbooks may multiply, and CD-ROM may drive even the best textbooks into extinction.     

The Proliferation of Piracy in the Publishing Supply Chains of Emerging Countries: A Study in Vietnam

Book piracy is a significant problem throughout the world and particularly in emerging countries. Such a phenomenon is costly to all participants in the publishing supply chain. This paper aims to investigate factors that influence Vietnamese students’ purchases of photocopied textbooks. The findings reveal that students’ purchases are motivated by their perceived value, subjective norms representing social influence and the lack of regulation enforcement. Using these findings, this paper suggests interventions for policymakers, publishers, distributors and universities to limit the purchase of pirated textbooks as well as to improve the value of original textbooks.     

The user experience: Student perspectives on library course reserve

A group of researchers from an academic library surveyed students to understand how and why the members of their community use course reserve services. Students were happy with the service and used it as a replacement for purchasing textbooks. Frequent users requested more textbook offerings, and both users and nonusers indicated a need for increased promotion of the service. Users provided specific suggestions for improvement that should be examined. Findings illustrated the value of course reserve services as a way to help students with college affordability and to support instruction and learning.     

The Korean government's electronic record management reform: The promise and perils of digital democratization

Recently, the Korean government instituted a reform in its archives with the goal of increasing transparency in government and meeting the challenges of the new digital environment in records management. President Roh's administration focused on a “process and system” reform through a shift from paper-based records management to electronic records management. The E-jiwon task management system of the Office of the President, invented by President Roh himself, served as the archetype for the reform. This study explores and critiques the administration's choice of a “process and system” reform over institutional reform, examines the legal framework used to enact the reform and its shortcomings, and analyzes the benefits and deficiencies of the E-jiwon as a tool for democracy in the archives. It concludes that while the new digital environment can assist in promoting government transparency, technological change by itself is inadequate; ultimately, institutional change is necessary for true reform.     

医学信息专业毕业生的职业能力与课程体系改革

调查了中国医科大学医学信息专业20届毕业生的职业能力,分析了用人单位对医学信息专业毕业生职业能力素质的要求,评价了目前中国医科大学医学信息专业的课程体系,提出了包括修订专业培养目标、改革课程体系的具体措施及提升专业信心等改革医学信息专业课程体系的建议。     

The View from Square One:

Amid growing trends toward curriculum reform on many campuses, librarians may find an opportunity to contribute significantly to the improvement of undergraduate education. In the Bibliographic Instruction and Writing Across the Curriculum movements, recent developments suggest that librarians may work more closely with their classroom colleagues to create more effective learning situations. While curriculum reform has a most apparent impact on user education, it also touches upon collection development (and bibliographic control), reference and circulation activity, professional development and the library's public image. At Washington State University, the library is prominently represented on a campus-wide committee to develop a new core course under the auspices of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The librarians involved have expanded their professional practice in unexpected ways, causing an increased respect for the library among teaching faculty, and an added dimension to their careers as academics. Their experience is offered as a model for those whose institutions are similarly undergoing reforms in general education.     

Passion and Preparation in the Basic Course: The Influence of Students' Ego-Involvement with Speech Topics and Preparation Time on Public-Speaking Grades

Abstract

Authors of basic public-speaking course textbooks frequently encourage students to select speech topics in which they have vested interest, care deeply about, and hold strong opinions and beliefs. This study explores students' level of ego-involvement with informative and persuasive speech topics, examines possible ego-involvement predictors of students' speech grades, and investigates the influence of preparation time and process activities on public-speaking grades. Results reveal that students' ego-involvement is positively related to their speech success; however, the explanation is more complex than those offered by basic public-speaking course textbooks. Pedagogical implications and areas for future research are discussed.     

Open Source Textbooks: A Paradigm Derived from Open Source Software

This work exposes a new paradigm for the creation and publication of textbooks: open source. The phrase open source is borrowed from the computer software industry, where the word source has a technical meaning explained in this paper; open source software is software which has been developed by many collaborators using the internet to produce a final product. The contributors receive no financial compensation, yet there have been many successful open source software projects (Linux, Open Office, Apache, etc.). Open source textbooks use a similar financial model; the authors and contributors receive no direct financial compensation for their work. Contributors are listed in the produced work as primary author(s), co-authors, contributors, minor contributors, etc. according to the magnitude of their contribution. The produced work is available free for users on the internet. This paper will explain the open source process and will provide justification for open source as an effective paradigm; it will also present some existing open source textbook projects, as well as the author’s own open source textbook project.     

Incentivizing faculty for open educational resources (OER) adoption and open textbook authoring

This survey assessed the experiences of faculty who participated in a textbook affordability program at Rutgers University. The program provided incentive awards in exchange for replacing commercial textbooks with affordable course materials such as open educational resources (OER), self-developed course materials, course reserves, or library-licensed content. The survey collected faculty's perceptions about the award program, experiences with OER, and interest in open textbook authoring. Responses suggest that the program is well received and that funds are adequate for adopting new course materials. However, they also indicate that even participating faculty vary greatly in their knowledge and use of OER and their interest in authoring open textbooks. Ultimately, these survey results indicate the lack of a “one size fits all” approach to incentivizing the adoption of affordable course materials, the use of OER, and the creation of new open resources.     

(1) International resource sharing: A New Zealand view

Abstract

The Australian public sector, like that in many other countries, has been undergoing substantial reform for more than a decade. The changes, which have been introduced as ways of improving efficiency, effectiveness and accountability, have affected all areas of government operations. The methods for achieving the improvements have involved substantial change in respect of financial management, goal setting and evaluation, structural change and human resource management policies. Occurring concurrently with change within the public sector, the Australian Commonwealth and various state governments have been pursuing substantial change programs in other areas, such as industrial relations, which have had many similar aims to those of the government reform programs, a major one being the improvement of efficiency and effectiveness in the workplace. Libraries have felt, and will continue to feel, the impacts of these reforms as new management requirements and methods are introduced. This paper briefly describes a number of aspects of the various reform programs highlighting their impacts to date and some of their likely future impacts on the librarian and the library workplace.     

Use of print and electronic resources by agricultural science students in Nigerian universities

A two-part questionnaire was designed to elicit information on use of print and electronic resources by agricultural science students in Nigerian universities. 912 respondents from faculties of agriculture in three Nigerian universities completed the questionnaires. The results revealed that agricultural science students most prefer to use textbooks (42.1%) among print materials, while The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL) is the most preferred among electronic resources available in their libraries (52.2%). Major problems faced by the agricultural science students include inadequate access to full Internet connectivity and lack of skills on their part to use available electronic databases properly. The study recommends restructuring library collections by increasing the number of agricultural textbooks and databases to meet the information use and retrieval needs of agricultural science students. Other recommendations include establishing Internet-ready computer centers to complement teaching, learning, and research in the library.