Analysis of Five High School Biology Textbooks Used in the United States for Inclusion of the Nature of Science

Five high school biology textbooks were examined to determine the inclusion of four aspects of the nature of science: (a) science as a body of knowledge, (b) science as a way of investigating, (c) science as a way of thinking, and (d) science and its interactions with technology and society. The textbooks analyzed were BSCS Biology—A Human Approach (Kendall/Hunt), BSCS Biology—An Ecological Approach (Kendall/Hunt), Biology—The Dynamics of Life (Glencoe), Modern Biology (Holt), and Prentice Hall Biology (Prentice Hall). The same six chapters or sections were analyzed in each textbook, which were the methods of science, cells, heredity, DNA, evolution, and ecology. A scoring procedure was used that resulted, for the most part, in good intercoder agreement with Cohen’s kappa values ranging from 0.36–1.00. The five recently published biology textbooks in the United States have a better balance of presenting biology with respect to the four themes of science literacy used in this research than those analyzed 15 years ago, especially with regard to devoting more text to engaging students in finding out answers, gathering information, and learning how scientists go about their work. Therefore, these biology textbooks are incorporating national science education reform guides that recommend a more authentic view of the scientific enterprise than similar textbooks used 15 years ago.     

A parable

CHARLES JAMES FOX: A MAN FOR THE PEOPLE. By Loren Reid. Columbia: University of Missouri Press; London: Longmans, Green and Co.; 1969; pp. xvi + 475. $7.50.     

Photography and Oral History as a Means of Chronicling the Homeless in Miami: The StreetWays Project

This article describes the use of Photography and Oral History research methods as part of a collaborative research project on homelessness in Miami. Issues involving the use of documentary photography and oral history as a means of creating greater social awareness in the general public are explored, as well as broader issues of Social Justice.     

IN‐SERVICE TRAINING IN GERONTOLOGY: A CASE STUDY OF STATEWIDE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

This report describes the design and conduct of a statewide training needs assessment based on joint state agency and university planning. Sample findings are presented for both the statewide population (N = 736) and various job function groupings. Differences in expressed training needs across job function groups are examined, and strategies for providing effective and efficient training are discussed.     

Staff development: Old dogs can learn new tricks

Abstract

Peer coaching, study groups, and mentoring are all valuable methods for staff development. When all three can occur during the same year with a group of veteran teachers, the result is a learning community that enhances shared professionalism. This article describes such a year in which four veteran teachers came to teach in a residential high school for gifted and talented adolescents. This article reports that the focus from the perspective of the staff developer, as well as the focus from the perspective of three of the four teachers, emphasizes the power of these formats for professional development.     

Psychological well-being and ethnic identities of Jewish adolescents planning emigration from Russia and Ukraine to Israel: Changes during the post-perestroika period

This study examines psychological well-being and ethnic identities of Jewish adolescents planning emigration from Russia and Ukraine to Israel. Measurements were conducted in 1999 (n = 654) and in 2005 (n = 243). The adolescents were questioned about half a year before they left their homeland. In Russia, adolescents who planned emigration in 2005 had less emotional and behavioral problems and suffered less from loneliness than their peers in 1999. In Ukraine, no improvement was found in psychological well-being; moreover, the school competence of adolescents who planned emigration in 2005 was lower compared to their peers in 1999. Adolescents who planned emigration from Russia and Ukraine in 2005 reported a more positive attitude towards their homeland and stronger identification with the ethnic majority in their homeland than the adolescents who planned emigration in 1999. The emigrants’ attitude towards Israel did not change from 1999 to 2005. Their identification with Jews was weaker in 2005 as compared with 1999. In both cohorts, the adolescents’ attitude towards Israel was more positive than their attitude towards Russia or Ukraine, and their identification with Jews was stronger than that with Russians or Ukrainians. In 1999, Russian/Ukrainian and Jewish-Israeli facets of the emigrants’ ethnic identity were contradictory, while they were complementary in 2005.