At the Chautauqua Institution

I had the opportunity to vacation and to visit the Chautauqua Institution, a most interesting place if you are interested in teacher education, the fine arts, religion, day camps, the history of education, and lake fun. Mayville, NY was having their book sale, and I was delighted to purchase a Union Fourth Reader by Charles W. Sanders (1877) for $1.00. A couple of months (May, 2010) ago I had my journal article published (The Rise and Fall of Science Education: A Content Analysis of Science in Elementary Reading Textbooks of the 19th Century) that looked at the science in 19^th Century readers and analyzed how it changed and suggested possible reasons for the change.

Readers, such as the famous McGuffey Readers, were THE education book in the 19^th Century and they were the curriculum, and the science in these books were most likely to be students first exposure to formal science education. To summarize quickly, science rose to a high level in the middle of the 19^th century and then declined. Some evidence suggests that there was a backlash to the amount of science covered, and that the goal of making reading literary was pursued. Also, science as a separate subject in the form of object teaching and nature study became more established.

Of course, many people incorrectly delimit the term technology to devices that have integrated circuits in them. But technology includes many items present in the classroom from white boards to textbooks. With the vagueness of many state standards, it is natural for science teachers to use textbooks as guides for the level of content to help students master. So textbooks continue to influence the curriculum, as defined as “what a teacher does with students when the door of the classroom closes.” But as all experienced teachers know; trying to cover an entire textbook is folly. Authors and textbook companies pack lots of content in them so nobody will say, “I’m not going to buy textbook z because it doesn’t have [obscure] content p and q.”

I have co-authored several textbooks, including Biology the Dynamics of Life, Ecology, Glencoe Life Science, and some others listed in the references. It is sad to see the textbooks misused in classrooms. They shouldn’t be used in class but they should be used as a compliment to instruction at home. I think the worst thing for science education is the teacher who tells students, while they are in class, to read chapter x and answer all the odd questions at the end of the chapter. From discussion, interactive didactic lesson, demonstrations, to hands-on experiences, classroom learning can be so much richer. The textbook at home serves as a strong compliment—another opportunity to build conceptual understanding.

Yet many schools struggling to make ends meet, don’t have one copy of the textbook for each student—they only have one copy for each desk in their room. Thus teachers are forced to have students read the textbook in class if they want students to read the textbook. Relief is on the horizon, as most textbooks are now online and students can read them at home if they have an internet connection. Even if there are student copies of the textbooks, chiropractors will be relieved that students don’t have to lug these hefty books home anymore.  But alas this might hinder the development of the next UFC Brock Lesnar.

The problem coming down the pipeline is that poorer schools in high-poverty areas may not have the textbooks for each student and the students may not have internet access. It is and will be a double whammy. Perhaps the “Kindle versus other e-reader” battles will lead to disruptive technology that is low cost and that all students can have at home for their textbook reading. Amazingly enough, Sanders’ Fourth Reader is available for free on the Kindle but as expected it is also available at Google Books.

References

Biggs, A Feather, R. M., Jr., Rillero, P., & Zike, D. (2008). Glencoe Science Level Blue: Student Edition New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill (ISBN: 978-0-07-877811-7, 815 pages).

Biggs, A., Daniel, L., Ortleb, E., Rillero, P., & Zike, D., (2008). Glencoe Life Science: Student Edition. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill (ISBN: 0-07-877800-X, 960 pages).

Latourrelle, S., Laub, A., Rillero, P.  & Schick, R.  (2007). The Living Environment (New York Regents Review Series). New York: Glencoe/ McGraw-Hill (ISBN: 0-07-879731-4, 269 pages).

Biggs, A., Daniel, L., Ortleb, E., Rillero, P., and Zike, D., (2005). Glencoe Life Science: Student Edition. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill (ISBN: 0-07-861702-2, 960 pages).

Rillero, P. (2010). Early Science Education:  A Content Analysis of Science in Elementary Reading Textbooks of the Nineteenth Century. School Science and Mathematics, 110(5), 227-237

Rillero, P. & Zike, D. (2005) Ecology: Student Edition. New York: Glencoe/ McGraw-Hill (ISBN: 0-07-8617-464, 209 pages).

Biggs, A., K., Hagins, Kapicka, C., Lundgren, L., Rillero, P., Tallman, K., & Zike D (2004). Biology the Dynamics of Life: Student’s Edition. New York: Glencoe/McGraw-Hill. (ISBN: 0-07-829900-4, 1190 pages)