If you have begun looking at elementary school science textbooks, many publishers create programs which have the illusion of inquiry in an effort to meet NSES. Few truly understand that inquiry is more than providing a hands-on activity. Biological Science Curriculum Study (BSCS) developed the 5e learning cycle, found in most of its Prek-12 curriculum, in an effort to prove student the opportunity to learn science through true inquiry.  

The 5e learning cycle is an instructional design model that defines a learning sequence based on the on the experiential learning philosophy of John Dewey and the  experiential learning cycle proposed by David Kolb. Attributed to Roger Bybee of BSCS , the model presents a framework for constructivist learning theories and can be effectively used in teaching science.

The model

Engage

Here the task is introduced. Connections to past learning and experience can be invoked. A demonstration of an event, the presentation of a phenomenon or problem or asking pointed questions can be used to focus the learners' attention on the tasks that will follow. The goal is to spark their interest and involvement.

Explore

Learners should take part in activities that allow them to work with materials that give them a 'hands on' experience of the phenomena being observed. Simulations or models whose parameter can be manipulated by learners, so that they can build relevant experiences of the phenomena, can be provided. Questioning, sharing and communication with other learners should be encouraged during this stage. The teacher facilitates the process.

Explain

The focus at this stage is on analysis. The learner is encouraged to put observations, questions, hypotheses and experiences from the previous stages into language. Communication between learners and learner groups can spur the process. The instructor may choose to introduce explanations, definitions, mediate discussions or simply facilitate by helping learners find the words needed.

Elaborate/Extend

Using the understanding gained in the previous stages, now learners should be encouraged build and expand upon it. Inferences, deductions, and hypotheses can be applied to similar or real-world situations. Varied examples and applications of concepts learned strengthen mental models and provide further insight and understanding.

Evaluate

Evaluation should be ongoing and should occur at all stages, in order to determine that learning objectives have been met and misconceptions avoided. Any number of rubrics, checklists, interviews, observation or other evaluation tools can be used. If interest in a particular aspect or concept is shown, further inquiry should be encouraged and a new cycle can begin that builds upon the previous one. Inquiries may branch off and inspire new cycles, repeating the process in a spiraling fractal of interrelated concepts, where instruction is both structured and yet open to investigation.

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

1. Performance—You and your students deserve to be excellent in science
2. Leadership—Because new skills, knowledge and activities help build educational leaders who influence others to do extraordinary things
3. Discovery—Because looking at the world with a new perspective brings innovation and creativity in the classroom
4. Motivation—Because expert speakers, educators, and scientists serve to inspire and stimulate
5. Passion—Because sharing it with your peers, your mentors, and the leaders in science education is contagious
6. Expertise—Because educators are the best when they are well versed in their field
7. Inspiration—Because you will hear stories from the likes of renowned author Richard Louv that will move you to act.
8. Growth—Because your conference experience will expand your world personally and professionally
9. Freebies—Because exhibiting companies from across the nation will offer you hundreds of classroom giveaways, new products and samples
10. . 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.   

Here at Kendall Hunt Publishing we talk about inquiry based science a lot. But even I didn’t realize how cool some of our inquiry based science programs are until I was going through a couple of them looking for some specific information the other day. For instance, our Forensic Science for High School program isn’t typical of high school science textbooks. It not only teaches elements of chemistry, physics, math, technology, life science and social studies, making it truly multidisciplinary, it has a great website with really engaging virtual labs letting students engage in the same types of activities they can see on the popular crime scene investigation shows. I would have LOVED a high school science textbook/program like this when I was in school!
 

Then I looked through Kendall Hunt Chemistry, again, not your typical high school chemistry textbook. Now, to be honest, I barely passed chemistry, and we had open book, open note tests! It wasn’t for lack of intelligence (at least I don’t think it was!), but is was just…so…DULL. I was completely uninterested in it. But much of how we learned was from the book, and when we were in the lab, the experiments were rarely about anything that had any application to my life at that point. But when I looked at KH Chemistry, one of the first things I saw was the Alka Seltzer™ Cannon. What? A cannon? In Chemistry class? AAAAWESOME! ---was all I could think (yes, my thoughts often sound like those of a 14 year-old boy). I want to do it. In the process I’ll apparently learn about acids and bases. All I need is an empty film canister, water, and an Alka Seltzer™. Assuming I don’t put my eye out (always wear eye protection, kids!), I’ll let you know how it goes when I try it this weekend!

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?
 

I’ve introduced various steps in the publishing process for a high school science textbook. These same steps would apply to elementary textbook or talented and gifted textbook or any school textbook for that matter. You are wecome to review some of our Kendall Hunt Publishing Company's textbooks at our website.

The next big step in developing a high school science textbook is composition. Composition also known as typesetting, is the process of taking the manuscripts and loading them into a paging program, usually Quark or InDesign. Then they “format” the document. They add all of the design features that were determined based on the different elements within the manuscript. This would include various levels of headings, bulleted and numbered listings, table styles, chapter and unit opening features and so on. It also includes pulling the art features into the program and placing those in appropriate places per predetermined style guidelines and adding the captions.

As a general rule of thumb, we want the figures placed as close to the callouts as possible, usually top or bottom of the page. This is so that they are easily accessible after they are mentioned within the text so that the student can review them and then quickly find his/her place where they were reading. Comprehension is the key and you want to keep things as clear as possible. A good design holds and draws the student in and retains interest without making things confusing. You need a good flow. The design would vary based on the intended audience; whether it is for elementary students, high school, and also whether it is intended for a broad range of students or specifically for high level learners.

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.

Have you ever reviewed a high school biology textbook and liked what you examined but wished a few things with the layout could be changed? Whether it's a high school physics textbook, a primary textbook, or anything in between, talk to your sales rep about a custom textbook. Kendall Hunt is willing and able to do custom publishing for schools or districts.

Why not adopt a high school science textbook that you're comfortable using and is published the way you want it to be? Talk to us and we'll develop solutions to your school's textbook needs.
 

In previous posts regarding developing a high school science textbook at Kendall Hunt Publishing Company, I've touched on acquisition, planning, manuscript development and copy-editing, cover design and interior design.

I was going to discuss composition at this stage; however, I want to touch on a very important step having to do with manuscript and art package development: permissions! Whether it’s a high school chemistry textbook or a primary school textbook, we use the same permissions process.

Copyright Law

While writing and developing art packages, our K-12 authors have to be aware of the rules of permissions regarding copyright laws. KH has a permissions department that helps our authors understand the copyright laws and helps them with these needs. Basically, if they are utilizing any material beyond what they are creating, they need to request permission for the borrowed materials.

Copyright protection extends to the authors of all original works including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain other intellectual material. The law of copyright gives the owner the sole and exclusive right to reproduce the copyrighted work in any form and to authorize others to do so.

The following chart provides a quick reference to copyright duration.

Next time I’ll talk about “fair use” and “public domain.” You’ll be a permissions guru before you know it!

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.
 

But for book junkies like me, there’s nothing like a book hot off the press, as it were.  Opening a new book for the first time is a sensory experience.  The first crackles of the adhesive in the spine as I flip open the cover.  The feel of the crisp, new pages as I rifle through them, and the smell.  Oh, that printing press smell.  You’d laugh at us here because we all do it.  We get in a new high school science textbook, for example, and the first thing we do is stick our noses in it to get a whiff of the fresh ink on the new paper.  And I’d hazard a guess that you’d find employees at any other educational textbook publisher doing the same thing.

This has been a lifelong thing for me.  As a child, my mom always wanted me to get books from the library.  Okay, fine, I did, and I love the library, but I wanted to own the book, to keep the book, to watch my books line up on my bookshelves like a literary growth chart, showing me where I’d been and where I might be going.  My son has inherited this from me.  He told me once when I was ranting about the mess in his room, that I could, “get rid of everything but my football, my baseball glove, and my books.”  I almost took him up on it.  It’s no wonder I ended up at a school textbook publisher, my love of books brought me here.  I wonder where his love of books will lead him.