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: 9781403960917
• ISBN10: 1403960917
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Trade Paper
• 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

List of Figures	vii
List of Tables	ix
List of Contributors	xi
Preface	xvii
Acknowledgments	xxi
SECTION ONE WHAT DO WE BELIEVE WE ARE DOING WITH TEXT-BASED AND OTHER LEARNING MATERIALS?
Chapter 1 Introduction	3	(10)
Ailie Cleghorn and Alan Peacock
Chapter 2 The Global and the Local in the Construction of School Science:The Case of Canada	13	(20)
Elizabeth H. McEneaney
Chapter 3 Text Processing Within Classroom Contexts	33	(14)
Janet Donin
Chapter 4 Community-Gardens and Science Laboratories as Texts for Science Literacy Development	47	(14)
Irene Rahm
Chapter 5 What is a Science Text?: An Overview of Section One	61	(14)
Catherine C. Lewis
SECTION TWO WHY DO LEARNERS HAVE PROBLEMS WITH TEXT MATERIALS?
Chapter 6 Introduction	75	(14)
Alan Peacock and Ailie Cleghorn
Chapter 7 Interactivity and the Constraints of Cognitive Load Theory	89	(16)
Wayne Leahy, Graham Cooper, and John Sweller
Chapter 8 Finding the Meaning: Sociolinguistic Issues in Text Access	105	(16)
Marissa Rollnick
Chapter 9 Using Science Textbooks in Kenyan Primary Schools	121	(12)
Beatrice Murila
Chapter 10 Do Virtual Environments Lead to Virtual Learning?	133	(12)
P. Karen Murphy and Theresa A. Holleran
Chapter 11 The Constraints of Commercial Publishing	145	(16)
Thomas Hardy
Chapter 12 What is Difficult to Read, Why Might This be So, and What Could, or Should, be Done About It?: An Overview of Section Two	161	(20)
Mitch O'Toole
SECTION THREE HOW CAN TEXT AND OTHER LEARNING MATERIALS BE BETTER MATCHED TO THE PRECONCEPTIONS, EXPECTATIONS, AND INCLINATIONS OF LEARNERS AND TEACHERS?
Chapter 13 Introduction	181	(16)
Alan Peacock, Ailie Cleghorn with Mirjamaija Mikkila-Erdmann
Chapter 14 Teaching the Page: Teaching Learners to Read Complex Science Text	197	(16)
Sharon Walpole and Laura Smolkin
Chapter 15 What Changes Need to be Implemented in Teacher Education Programs so that Teachers can Use Text Materials Effectively?	213	(10)
Alan Peacock and Katrina Miller
Chapter 16 Visual Literacy in Science and Its Importance to Pupils and Teachers	223	(16)
Simon Gates
Chapter 17 Friendly Web Pages: Their Development and Use	239	(14)
Robertta H. Barba
Chapter 18 A Phenomenological Anthropology of Texts and Literacy	253	(14)
Wolff-Michael Roth
Author Index	267	(2)
Subject Index	269