Missing the Meaning : The Development and Use of Print and Non-Print Text Materials in Diverse School Settings

by Edited by Alan Peacock and Ailie Cleghorn

• ISBN13: 9781403960900
• ISBN10: 1403960909
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Trade Book
• Copyright: 2004-02-21
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

Missing the Meaning investigates recent evidence that school text materials are more problematic than previously imagined. Difficulties with language, illustrations, design and cultural mismatch are highlighted, and ways in which young students "read" books and electronic materials in classrooms are compared through contributions from researchers across five continents. The book suggests new ways to develop and use text so that the materials are better matched to the diverse needs of teachers and students. The implications of this collection are wide, applying not only to teachers, but to teacher educators, educational publishers, software developers, and policy makers.

Author Biography

Alan Peacock is Reader in Primary Science Education at the University of Exeter.
Ailie Cleghorn is Director of the Educational Studies Masters Program at Concordia University.

Table of Contents

What Do We Believe We Are Doing with Text-Based and Other Learning Materials? Introduction--Alan Peacock and Ailie Cleghorn * The Global and the Local in the Construction of School Science--Elizabeth McEneaney * Text Processing within Classroom Contexts--Janet Donin * Community-Gardens and Science Laboratories as Texts for Science Literacy Development--Jrene Rahm * What is a Science Text?--Catherine Mills * Why Do Learners Have Problems with Text Materials? Alan Peacock * Constraints of Commercial Publishing--Tom Hardy * Interactivity and the Constraints of Cognitive Load Theory--Wayne Leahy, Graham Cooper, and John Sweller * Finding the Meaning: Sociolinguistic Issues in Text Access--Marissa Rollnick* Using Science Textbooks in Kenyan Primary Schools--Beatrice Murila * Do Virtual Environments Lead to Virtual Learning? P. Karen Murphy and Theresa A. Holleran * The Constraints of Commercial Publishing--Thomas Hardy * What is Difficult to Read, Why Might This be So, and What Could, or Should, be Done About It?--Mitch O'Toole * How Can Text and Other Learning Materials Be Better Matched to the Preconceptions, Expectations, and Inclinations of Learners and Teachers? Introduction--Alan Peacock and Ailie Cleghorn with Mirjamaija Mikkila-Erdmann * Teaching the Page: Teaching Learners to Read Complex Science Text--Sharon Walpole and Laura Smolkin * What Changes Need to be Implemented in Teacher Education Programs so that Teachers can use Text Materials Effectively? Alan Peacock and Katrina Miller * Visual Literacy in Science and Its Importance to Children and Teachers--Simon Gates * Friendly Web Pages--Robertta H. Barba * A Phenomenological Anthropology of Texts and Literacy--Wolff-Michael Roth

What Do We Believe We Are Doing with Text-Based and Other Learning Materials? Introduction--Alan Peacock and Ailie Cleghorn * The Global and the Local in the Construction of School Science--Elizabeth McEneaney * Text Processing within Classroom Contexts--Janet Donin * Community-Gardens and Science Laboratories as Texts for Science Literacy Development--Jrene Rahm * What is a Science Text?--Catherine Mills * Why Do Learners Have Problems with Text Materials? Alan Peacock * Constraints of Commercial Publishing--Tom Hardy * Interactivity and the Constraints of Cognitive Load Theory--Wayne Leahy, Graham Cooper, and John Sweller * Finding the Meaning: Sociolinguistic Issues in Text Access--Marissa Rollnick* Using Science Textbooks in Kenyan Primary Schools--Beatrice Murila * Do Virtual Environments Lead to Virtual Learning? P. Karen Murphy and Theresa A. Holleran * The Constraints of Commercial Publishing--Thomas Hardy * What is Difficult to Read, Why Might This be So, and What Could, or Should, be Done About It?--Mitch O'Toole * How Can Text and Other Learning Materials Be Better Matched to the Preconceptions, Expectations, and Inclinations of Learners and Teachers? Introduction--Alan Peacock and Ailie Cleghorn with Mirjamaija Mikkila-Erdmann * Teaching the Page: Teaching Learners to Read Complex Science Text--Sharon Walpole and Laura Smolkin * What Changes Need to be Implemented in Teacher Education Programs so that Teachers can use Text Materials Effectively? Alan Peacock and Katrina Miller * Visual Literacy in Science and Its Importance to Children and Teachers--Simon Gates * Friendly Web Pages--Robertta H. Barba * A Phenomenological Anthropology of Texts and Literacy--Wolff-Michael Roth