Many people throw around the words "research-based" when selling science textbooks. To some this could mean the actual research that helped with the writing of the curriculum. To others this would also include the research on the program itself.
At Kendall Hunt, we are lucky enough to partner with one of the most prestigious authoring groups in science curriculum development, BSCS.
BSCS has been established for over 50 years researching and developing science curriculum for prek-college. As a well respected organization in the science arena, BSCS has the research to back up the programs it has created. To see that research, go to:
http://www.bscs.org/researchevaluation/data/index.html I'm just saying.....50 years???? They must be doing something right...
I’m wondering about the differences in public school textbooks versus those used in private and parochial schools. Do most private schools use different elementary school textbooks, or high school science textbooks than the surrounding public schools?
This is something we’re talking about a lot here at Kendall Hunt as we’re expanding our offerings for private and parochial schools. It’s a good point, what’s the added value to paying for private school if the textbooks are the same? Of course I know there are other reasons people send their children to private school: religious considerations, class size, special classes, and many others; but wouldn’t it be an even greater incentive to tell parents, “Yes, we have a curriculum we designed ourselves, around the educational philosophy of our school.
KH has been publishing Pathways, a reading program used in Seventh Day Adventist schools, for several years now, and we will soon be publishing an elementary school science program to accompany it. We’re working on several other exciting projects too, so if you have a chance, take a look at our private & parochial school offerings!
Well, Kendall Hunt Publishing is for sure! And we’re taking some of our top authors, including Kelly Deters, author of Kendall Hunt Chemistry! So if you want to learn more about inquiry based science, any of our high school science textbooks and programs, or perhaps you’re interesting in discussing science textbook publishing with one of our reps, stop by and see us at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, March 18-21. And find out all about the special events planned by checking our convention schedule here.
Texas high schools are taking action to ensure their students are well-prepared for college and the workforce when they graduate. Beginning with the class of 2011, students in Texas are required to have 4 years of math and science coursework to graduate. Gone are the days of skating through that last year with study halls and electives (not that I am speaking from experience)! The Texas Education Agency put the 4x4 graduation requirement in place to give students continuity in their studies and avoid that potential lapse in their last year of high school.
We are pleased to offer several secondary school textbooks and digital learning products that align with courses being added as fourth year options for science. These programs include
Global Science for Environmental Systems,
Forensic Science, and
Starry Night for Astronomy and Earth and Space Science.
Please contact me for more information about these, or any other programs from our comprehensive line of science textbook publishing products. I will be happy to provide correlations with the TEKS or the standards in your state.
It appears that many high school chemistry teachers are looking for innovative secondary school textbooks for their classrooms. At the NSTA regional conference in Phoenix, AZ earlier this month, author Kelly Deters presented
Kendall Hunt Chemistry: Discovering the Chemistry You Need to Know to a full house.
Teachers listened with great interest as Kelly detailed how her experience as a classroom teacher, combined with extensive research, led to the development of this highly-engaging high school chemistry textbook. Attendees were extremely impressed with the program's concise, practical approach to teaching chemistry. They said it was so unlike the encyclopedia-type of textbook published by other educational book companies. They knew their students would be able to make real-world connections with this high school chemistry textbook.
Dr. Deters truly showed how this approach allows teachers to teach chemistry without hearing "When am I ever going to need to know this?" (which just happened to be the title of the workshop). I enjoyed speaking with many attendees following the session, and look forward to working with them as they implement the program in their schools next year!
I just returned from the NABT Conference in Denver, Colorado. It is always so inspiring to see educators taking time out of their busy schedules to focus on their own professional development. We enjoyed talking with teachers from around the country at our exhibit booth, as well as in workshops for our
BSCS Biology: A Human Approach and
Forensic Science for High School programs.
It is also fun to cruise the exhibit hall, mingling with other school textbook publishers, and seeing who has merged with whom in this ever-changing world of school textbook publishers! It makes me appreciate working for a stable company like Kendall Hunt, which has been family-owned for more than 60 years, and is still going strong.
But the best part of the conference for me is getting the chance to sit down and talk with teachers who are interested in, or currently using, our secondary school textbooks. Among educational book companies, the word "inquiry" gets thrown around a lot. It is always rewarding to hear directly from teachers that Kendall Hunt truly has the material to back it up. As one teacher from Massachusetts put it, "I know that when you say 'inquiry' you MEAN inquiry!"
This week I get to pack up my elementary school science textbooks too, as I head out for the Colorado Science Conference. It is at the Denver Merchandise Mart November 19-20. Hope to see you there!
I may be showing my age here, but when I was a student in high school, no one thought to ask the question, "What is a textbook?". The definition was fairly straightforward, and all textbooks looked pretty much the same.
Times have changed. I recently attended a webinar hosted by the Texas Education Agency outlining processes and procedures for textbook adoption to school textbook publishers. We were reminded throughout the presentation that the definition of a textbook had been broadened to reach far beyond the traditional printed book. The term
textbook, whether it refers to textbooks for elementary school or secondary school textbooks, can include nearly anything that "conveys information to the student or otherwise contributes to the learning process" (retrieved from
http://ritter.tea.state.tx.us/textbooks).
This leaves the door open for all types of digital media and certainly some formats we haven't even though of yet! How does your school or district define the textbook?
So, we learned today that our Middle School Life Science program, which is just out in its new edition, has won the Peoples Choice Award at the Chicago Book Clinic and Media Show! It's a given that we all think our inquiry based science programs, ranging from primary school textbooks to high school science textbooks are great, but this award confirms it because the award is given by publishing professionals.
The Chicago Book Clinic, founded in 1936, encourages excellence in publishing by providing a platform for educational, social & professional interaction of its members. Its members are professionals in book and media publishing, printing, editorial, design, and all business aspects of the industry.
Middle School Life Science meets the needs of all students better than most science programs because it is designed around the learning cycle--that is, concepts are introduced with hands-on experiences and then developed through discussions, mini-lectures, and/or readings. This approach provides the concrete experiences that are so important for students with learning disabilities while also providing the solid science experiences that can motivate gifted students.
Looking to learn about more about what science education textbook publishers had to offer for your classroom? Want to attend some content specific professional development workshops?
A great opportunity to do both is just around the corner. Take time to head out to one of three NSTA regional area conferences going on in the next two months.
2009 NSTA Area Conferences (http://www.nsta.org/conferences/default.aspx#)
- Minneapolis: Oct. 29–31
- Ft. Lauderdale: Nov. 12–14
- Phoenix: Dec. 3–5
Here is a great list from NSTA of why you should attend one of their conferences:
Top 10 Reasons for Attending an NSTA Conference
- Performance—You and your students deserve to be excellent in science
- Leadership—Because new skills, knowledge and activities help build educational leaders who influence others to do extraordinary things
- Discovery—Because looking at the world with a new perspective brings innovation and creativity in the classroom
- Motivation—Because expert speakers, educators, and scientists serve to inspire and stimulate
- Passion—Because sharing it with your peers, your mentors, and the leaders in science education is contagious
- Expertise—Because educators are the best when they are well versed in their field
- Inspiration—Because you will hear stories from the likes of renowned author Richard Louv that will move you to act.
- Growth—Because your conference experience will expand your world personally and professionally
- Freebies—Because exhibiting companies from across the nation will offer you hundreds of classroom giveaways, new products and samples
- . Connections—Because you’ll meet peers, mentors, leaders, and acquaintances for support and friendship
Stop by the Kendall Hunt booths to see the different textbooks for elementary school, middle and high school. This includes science curriculum for high ability learners.
In response to my post To e-Book or Not To e-Book, one of our readers, Marixi, posted a comment (check out the comment
here) wondering whether it's safe for students to be accessing primary school textbooks via the Internet. I explained that most e-books, whether elementary education books, middle school textbooks or other textbooks, are accessed via a secure portal which is often the only thing the child can login to on the school computer.
But I'm wondering, for those of you whose school districts use e-books, do they use them exclusively or is there, a printed version of, say, that high school chemistry textbook, and the e-book is just an option. And is it more common with high school textbooks, or primary school textbooks? And when they do use e-books, are they part of a learning portal? Is that portal proprietary to the school district, or do your school textbook publishers offer access to their portal upon adoption? Wow, lots of things I want to know!
Okay, so that’s pretty bad paraphrasing of The Bard, but my point is, what do you think of e-books anyway? Certainly the electronic book reader a certain online book vendor has taken off, but that’s more in the trade book market. I like the idea of going on vacation and taking one little rectangular, electronic thing instead of a stack of books. But what about when it comes to textbooks for elementary school, or high school science textbooks?
My son’s fourth grade math book is available online. They sent home the access instructions this week. Kind of a cool idea, especially with a fourth grader who forgets to close the freezer, feed the dog, and take his shoes upstairs (and that’s just the first five minutes after dinner!). He can forget his book at school, but still get his homework done.
I can see where having your high school chemistry textbook online would be a great option to lugging it home. Is there a certain level for which it works best? Maybe education textbook publishers should be making all elementary education books available in e-book format. Or perhaps it’s more appropriate for high school science textbooks, and middle school math. I don’t know. What do you think?
School started today for my 4th grader. Last night we went to "Back to School Night" so he could meet the teacher, take his supplies and start to get settled in. First thing I went for, being in the science textbook publishing business, was the elementary school science textbook sitting on his desk. Felt like a brand new one too. Love those new books!
Then we stopped by the GATE room where the teacher showed me some of the new accelerated learning resources that she was able to purchase with some stimulus funds, including a few Kendall Hunt items from our
Project M3 program, a math curriculum for high ability learners. She also found some new lesson plans for gifted and talented classes that she's going to try out this year.
Project M3 has some great modules, like "At the Mall with Algebra" that let students use real life experience to learn math. They're not just gifted education books, they're gifted education adventures.
I recently received a comment to my initial blog post asking what I suggest as a solution to the failing education system and what does Kendall Hunt as an educational publishing company offer science teachers to improve the situation. Great questions and I will attempt to answer them in a concise way!
What I see as a solution on a massive scale is a commitment and a collaborative effort by our government, publishers, educators, and parents to mandate and fully embrace Education Reform. We need to identify promising education practices and curriculum, and rigorously test their effectiveness.
On a smaller more local scale, what could your district do to improve Science education? I would suggest as a solution is a district-wide Science Initiative focused on placing Science Coaches in every school, increasing the number of high-quality science teachers at every grade level, hiring science specialists to middle grades, and begin exploring ways to offer alternative certifications to draw potential science teachers from science and industry professions. Additionally, I recommend implementing efficient and effective academic programs that are research-based.
What does Kendall Hunt have to offer science teachers? As the leader in PreK-12 standards-based science textbook publishing, we're proud of the positive results our programs have achieved for students across the country. Our leading reform curricula are written and tested by actual classroom teachers and backed by research. Our products promote hands-on inquiry based science. How is that for a teaser? Not to worry, I will fully address this question in my next blog post! Until then…if you are interested read about The Historical Roots of Hands-On Science Teaching http://tinyurl.com/scienceteaching
"If all we do is invest in the status quo, then we've missed this once-in-a-lifetime, historic opportunity to give our children the education they desperately need and deserve."
-Arnie Duncan,
U.S. Secretary of Education
Well, school registration is complete. One week from today, my son will be safely ensconced in his fourth grade classroom surrounded by elementary school textbooks of every subject: reading, math, science, social studies. He’s looking forward to what his gifted teacher has in store this year. The school was able to get a few new books for gifted students along with other accelerated learning resources.
Here at Kendall Hunt, our brand new Distribution Center (it’s huge, and I love it when I have to go down there…it’s the coolest place!) is shipping out books like crazy…by the palletful, actually, just like every other educational publishing company, I suppose.
Soon students around the country will be cracking open a new high school physics textbook, or opening a well-used primary school textbook. Whatever the case, this time of year always feels new, it’s a time of fresh starts, friends to be made, lots to teach and much to learn. To all the teachers out there who are responsible for our children learning, thank you for all you do. To all the students out there, learn everything you can, and have fun while you’re at it!
Last time I started explaining the role of permissions in the publishing process. As a school textbook publisher, like any other publisher, we must get permission to use other people’s material in our products, be it elementary school science textbooks, or a high school physics textbook. We’ll finish this discussion in this post about fair use, public domain and citations.
Fair Use
The "fair use" clause comes into play if the writer wants to use an excerpt or quote from a work of substantial length; they still need to cite the source. Generally, we consider up to 250 words from the text of a book, magazine or journal fair use.
Public Domain
There are some items that are considered "public domain." These are works that have either expired or were not protected by copyright. They can be used freely with applicable citation. Once they become public domain due to expiration, the copyright protection cannot be restored.
Works that cannot be copyrighted are those consisting of information that is common property with no specific authorship such as calendars, height/weight charts and rulers. Also items with standard information such as tables, schedules of sporting events, blank forms designed to record rather than convey information are also public domain. Official U.S. government works cannot be copyrighted, but the original source must be cited, for example NASA photographs.
Citations
The materials that are borrowed require a credit line list to be published within the textbook. Some require the credit line be printed with the actual image/article; others are generally listed in the back of the book or on the copyright page.
Next time, a few words about our Permissions Department.
In my last post, I talked about the cover design process that school textbook publishers, like Kendall Hunt Publishing, use on products. Additionally, whether it is books for gifted students, high school science textbooks, or textbooks for elementary school, the interior of the book must be designed. We submit to a designer a portion of the manuscript that contains the majority of the elements we want to incorporate: unit/chapter opener, different levels of headings, art/photos, tables, listings, and so on. We give the designer some instruction on the grade level and type of theme we want to achieve. The or subject is important as the cover of a high school physics textbook would obviously differ in many ways from a high school biology textbook. If the cover is in advanced stages, we may also submit that as a reference. Again, we begin with a few different choices and narrow it down. It's important to create a design that enhances the pedagogy and readability. Additionally, in the case of, high school science textbooks, we want to draw the student in, but don't want to overwhelm or confuse them. The designer usually submits about eight two-page spreads. In addition, they submit a general color palette for the project. We sometimes go through several proofs, making additional suggestions to get to the point that we are satisfied with the design.
Again, the design phase happens at the same time as the copy-editing and art package preparation phases. Hopefully, they all come together around the same time so that we can proceed with composition, which I write about the next time...
You can preview most of our K12 textbooks at Kendall Hunt Publishing Company's website.
In the previous article, I spoke about the beginning stages of creating a high school science textbook: acquisition and planning, as well as the development of the manuscript and art package. In this article, I'll introduce the design process that we, as an educational publishing company, use.
Around the same time that the copy-editing is being done, we coordinate with a designer to develop the cover image/design. When selecting a cover image for a high school biology textbook, high school chemistry textbook, or any of our textbooks, we look for a good balance of gender and ethnicity in an photos of people that we use. We also consider age-appropriateness for grade-level, whether it’s a primary school textbook vs. secondary school textbooks and whether it’s a product targeted to a specific ability, such as a curriculum for high ability learners.
The cover image needs to be strong and eye-catching and express the concept that we are trying to project for our target market. We want to draw the student into the content. The text/logo-type needs to be nicely balanced and eye-catching as well. We usually request 3-4 choices and may go through several "proofs" to complete the front/spine/back panels of the cover. The text on the back cover is another tool used to interest and draw students into the content. The saying, "you can't judge a book by its cover" is certainly true, however, we need to show something dynamic in order to have potential customers review our products in the first place!
This weekend I was speaking with a friend of mine who is a high school science teacher and we were talking about high school science textbooks. She was bemoaning the lack of teacher resources in the high school biology textbook her school uses. Sure, she has the teacher edition textbooks that go with the program, but she’s looking for something more. At the private school where she teaches, they’ve been using the program for a number of years and are hoping to change soon.
She had no idea the inquiry based science resources that are available online now. When I told her about the virtual autopsies that are available with our Forensic Science for High School program, she was so excited. That got me thinking, are you happy with the resources that school textbook publishers are providing for you as teachers? Does your high school physics textbook give you online resources for experiments & interactive learning exercises? Is your high school chemistry textbook robust enough to keep your students engaged? I’d love to have a conversation about this!
How can we keep up with all the new and ever-changing technologies that have kids mesmerized? Teachers often feel overwhelmed with the challenges and options this digital culture presents to students. We want students to take advantage of all technology has to offer; however, how familiar are teachers with technology? Teachers often throw up their hands and say, “My students know how to work this stuff and I don’t” or “How can I utilize and implement something that I don’t understand?”
The digital world is growing and changing very fast. Technology companies release products so rapidly that there is little time for anyone to stop and think of the many issues that may arise with their use. Too often when schools and districts purchase new digital technology for their elementary school textbooks they look at all the bells and whistles and don’t think of how will this fit into an inquiry based science classroom or a teacher's daily lesson plan.
Technology offers exciting opportunities in the science textbook publishing arena, but for some teachers this strange new world can be intimidating. Thankfully, there is help available…
The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has developed the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) for students, teachers, and administrators. With these standards, ISTE provides structure for utilizing technology in an effective and responsible way. This site offers a plethora of information, tips, direction, and support. You can even visit a school that has embraced the digital world: http://www.istevision.org/watch.php?vid=fc10dbd9251623e4379652fd1cb0ac54e5ad04a5
As an educational publisher we are committed to assisting teachers to best educate students. Inspiring teachers to transform their classrooms away from traditional teaching toward a new vision of student-centered learning is our mission.
We aim to offer technology that is relevant and to provide implementation support in our teacher edition textbooks. And if you are still struggling with turning on the laptop or downloading the Nano Legends game that came with your KH high school biology textbook, just ask your students for help...they love to show off their expertise.
Have you checked out our gifted and accelerated learning resources lately? Whether it's elementary education books for gifted students or high school science textbooks for accelerated learners, we have something that will meet your needs. One of our partners is the Center for Gifted Education at the College of William & Mary with whom we publish a curriculum for high ability learners that spans the subjects of Language Arts, Science and Social Studies and grades 1-11. Additionally, the program offers teacher resources and lesson plans for gifted and talented. You can find the program 
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