Earth Science | Life Science | Physical Science |
1.About this Evaluation Report 2.Content Analysis 3.Instructional Analysis
Categories | |
I. | [Explanation] This category consists of criteria for determining whether the curriculum material attempts to make its purposes explicit and meaningful to students, either in the student text itself or through suggestions to the teacher. The sequence of lessons or activities is also important in accomplishing the stated purpose, since ideas often build on each other. |
II. | [Explanation] Fostering understanding in students requires taking time to attend to the ideas they already have, both ideas that are incorrect and ideas that can serve as a foundation for subsequent learning. This category consists of criteria for determining whether the curriculum material contains specific suggestions for identifying and addressing students’ ideas. |
III. | [Explanation] Much of the point of science is to explain phenomena in terms of a small number of principles or ideas. For students to appreciate this explanatory power, they need to have a sense of the range of phenomena that science can explain. The criteria in this category examine whether the curriculum material relates important scientific ideas to a range of relevant phenomena and provides either firsthand experiences with the phenomena or a vicarious sense of phenomena that are not presented firsthand. |
IV. | [Explanation] Science literacy requires that students understand the link between scientific ideas and the phenomena that they can explain. Furthermore, students should see the ideas as useful and become skillful at applying them. This category consists of criteria for determining whether the curriculum material expresses and develops the key ideas in ways that are accessible and intelligible to students, and that demonstrate the usefulness of the key ideas and provide practice in varied contexts. |
V. | [Explanation] Engaging students in experiences with phenomena (category III) and presenting them with scientific ideas (category IV) will not lead to effective learning unless students are given time, opportunities, and guidance to make sense of the experiences and ideas. This category consists of criteria for determining whether the curriculum material provides students with opportunities to express, think about, and reshape their ideas, as well as guidance on developing an understanding of what they experience. |
VI. | [Explanation] This category consists of criteria for evaluating whether the curriculum material includes a variety of aligned assessments that apply the key ideas taught in the material. |
VII. | [Explanation] The criteria in this category provide analysts with the opportunity to comment on features that enhance the use and implementation of the curriculum material by all students. |
References |
I. Providing a Sense of Purpose
Conveying
unit purpose (Rating = Fair) As the purposes are fairly general, most of the lessons
are consistent with them. However, no attempt is made
to return to the purpose at the end of the chapter or
unit.
Scientists probe the secrets of cells
much as explorers journeying through parts of an uncharted
world do. Read on and you too will become an explorer
as you take a fantastic journey through the microscopic
world of the cell. [p. 69s]
In this textbook, you will first learn
about the different kinds of interactions that occur
among living things and between living things and their
nonliving surroundings. Next, you will read about life
cycles and other patterns of change in nature. You will
then learn about the basic kinds of places that are
home to Earth’s living things. Finally, you will
explore the reasons why organisms such as the red-cockaded
woodpecker are in danger of disappearing forever from
the Earth. [p. 659s]
Conveying lesson/activity
purpose (Rating = Poor) Some of the components of Teaching Resources (a boxed
set of booklets) provide a purpose. The chapter 9 booklet,
for example, contains this statement: “In this
activity you will observe the ‘ins and outs’
of photosynthesis and the complementary process of food
breakdown, or respiration” (p. 19). However, in
many of the booklets, the only clue to the purpose of
a given component is in the title (e.g., “Analyzing
Photosynthesis and Respiration” [chapter 9 booklet,
p. 21] and “Studying the Water Cycle” [chapter
9 booklet, p. 27]). In instances where a purpose is provided, it is likely
to be comprehensible. However, students are not asked
to think about the purpose, nor is it related to the
purpose given for the unit or chapter.
Justifying lesson/activity
sequence (Rating = Poor)
II. Taking Account of Student Ideas
Attending to prerequisite
knowledge and skills (Rating = Poor)
Alerting teachers to commonly
held student ideas (Rating = Poor)
Assisting teachers in identifying
their students’ ideas (Rating = Poor) Questions at the beginning of relevant sections are
intended to engage students, rather than to probe their
initial ideas about the transfer of matter and energy.
For example, at the beginning of the section that deals
with photosynthesis, teachers are to bring in a variety
of plants for students to observe and to “[a]sk
students to identify some of the structures of the plants
and to speculate as to the functions of each plant structure”
(p. 224t). At the beginning of the section that deals
with cellular respiration, teachers are to have students
observe prepared slides of onion or cheek cells, compare
what they can see both with and without staining, and
note what structures can be identified (p. 72t). On the other hand, relevant questions in either the
student text or the teacher’s notes are always
accompanied by the correct answer. For example, the
question, “Which do you think releases energy,
putting together new molecules or breaking down existing
molecules?” is followed by the answer: “Breaking
down larger molecules into smaller ones releases energy.
The buildup of larger molecules from smaller ones uses
energy” (p. 82t). Similarly, the question in the
legend to Figure 26–8, “Why are producers
essential for life on Earth?” (p. 668s), is followed
by the answer: “Producers are the source of the
food in an ecosystem” (p. 669t). These questions
are relevant and could help teachers to identify their
students’ ideas, but the intended purpose of the
questions is to probe for the correct answer. The one
question that is relevant (“How do you think these
plants, or other plants, get food?”) is buried
in the middle of seven other questions that are mostly
trivial (for example, “What do you observe in
the picture?” and “What structures of these
plants are you able to see?” and “What structures
of these plants are you unable to see?” [p. 222t]).
Asking questions as a diagnostic tool is not a feature
of this material.
Addressing commonly held
ideas (Rating = Poor) Furthermore, the treatment of this topic may even contribute
to students’ misconceptions. Another teacher’s
note states: Both students and teachers could infer incorrectly
that plants do not also require oxygen in order to live.
The same incorrect idea could be inferred readily from
Figure 27–14 (p. 707s). The figure shows an elephant
eating grass. The label next to the grass reads, “Carbon
dioxide is used by producers such as green plants.”
The labels next to the elephant read, “Oxygen
is used by air-breathing organisms” and “Carbon
dioxide is released by air-breathing organisms.”
Students could easily conclude, incorrectly, that plants
do not use oxygen and release carbon dioxide.
Animals require oxygen to live, but
as they live and breathe, they use oxygen from the atmosphere
and replace it with carbon dioxide, a waste product.
As plants live, they use carbon dioxide and create oxygen,
a waste product of their food-making processes. So plants
and animals are dependent on each other for life—eliminating
one will eliminate the other. [p. 57t]
III.
Engaging Students with Relevant Phenomena
Providing variety of phenomena
(Rating = Poor) To support the ideas that plants make sugar molecules
from carbon dioxide (in the air) and water (Idea c1)
and that, while doing so, they use the energy from light
to make “energy-rich” sugars (Idea d1),
there is an activity in which students observe that
Elodea grown in the light changes the color
of bromthymol blue solution (Activity Bank, pp. 801–802st).
Elodea grown in the dark does not cause this
color change. For the idea that other organisms break
down the sugars into simpler substances (Idea c3),
students incubate yeast and sugar, smell the alcohol
produced, and observe a color change that indicates
the production of carbon dioxide (Teaching Resources,
chapter 3 booklet, p. 25). However, because students
do not observe what happens when sugar (or yeast) is
not added, they will not be able to conclude legitimately
that the carbon dioxide results from the breakdown of
the sugar. For the idea that organisms get energy from
breaking down the sugars (Idea d3),
students are told (in the context of describing parts
of a cell), “The more active the cell, the more
mitochondria it has” (p. 79s). Unfortunately,
only one example—the human liver cell—is
given to support this generalization (p. 79s). For the
idea that decomposers transform dead organisms into
reusable substances (Idea c4),
students observe the process of composting in a soda
bottle (Activity Bank, pp. 841–843st). Unfortunately,
the link between this activity and the key idea is not
made explicit. Lastly, students build and observe a
terrarium over time, but this activity is linked to
feeding relationships only and not to the transformation
of matter (pp. 846–847st). No other phenomena
are provided to support the other ideas.
Providing vivid experiences
(Rating = Poor)
IV. Developing and Using Scientific Ideas
Introducing terms meaningfully
(Rating = Poor)
Representing ideas effectively
(Rating = Poor) While this analogy could help students appreciate the
distinction between synthesizing energy-rich sugars
and using the energy-rich sugars to make tasty dishes,
the distinction is not well developed. In a subsequent
analogy likening plant cells to food factories, the
distinction between synthesizing and preparing is also
confused. There is an attempt to develop the analogy comparing
plant cells to food factories. A diagram illustrating
this concept is shown (p. 82s), but because students’
attention is not drawn to the similarities and differences
between a plant cell and a factory, it is rather confusing.
A caption for a cross section of a leaf says, “A
leaf is a well-designed factory for photosynthesis,”
but no other help is provided (p. 233s). A diagram of
an Antarctic food web is shown (p. 672s); however, arrows
appear in different colors without any purpose, making
the diagram unnecessarily confusing. In the context
of the carbon dioxide–oxygen cycle, a diagram
shows an elephant eating grass (p. 707s, Figure 27–14).
The label next to the grass reads, “Carbon dioxide
is used by producers such as green plants.” The
labels next to the elephant read, “Oxygen is used
by air-breathing organisms” and “Carbon
dioxide is released by air-breathing organisms.”
Students could infer incorrectly that plants do not
use oxygen and release carbon dioxide. Furthermore, there are diagrams of a mitochondrion
and a chloroplast (pp. 78s, 80s) and word equations
for respiration (p. 83s) and photosynthesis (p. 232s).
Chemical equations for respiration and photosynthesis
are provided also, but they are not likely to be comprehensible
to students because of the lack of attention to chemistry
prerequisites.
[C]hefs and cooks prepare
food for others. The people who eat these meals are
naturally called consumers. Why aren’t chefs and
cooks called producers? (Answers will vary. Students
should suggest, however, that chefs and cooks do not
actually make food—they only prepare it.) [p.
49t]
Demonstrating use of knowledge
(Rating = Poor)
Providing practice (Rating
= Poor) There are no instances in which questions about the
same idea increase in complexity. Instead, for the only
idea for which several novel questions are provided,
the same question is asked in several different places
(“In what ways would a world without fungi be
a worse place?” [p. 192t], and “What do
you think would happen if all the decomposers in the
world became extinct?” [Teaching Resources, chapter
26 booklet, p. 24]).
V. Promoting Students' Thinking about Phenomena, Experiences, and Knowledge
Encouraging students to
explain their ideas (Rating = Poor)
Guiding student interpretation
and reasoning (Rating = Poor)
Encouraging students to
think about what they have learned (Rating = Poor)
Aligning assessment to
goals (Rating = Poor) Most of the key life science ideas examined here are
not assessed adequately in Exploring Life Science. Some
ideas are not assessed at all; for others, an insufficient
number of items target them. For the idea that food provides the energy and building
blocks for all organisms (Idea a), students are asked
to explain the statement, “You are what you eat”
(Teaching Resources, chapter 2 booklet, Chapter
Test, pp. 33–36), and, after they burn different
foods, to explain why there is an increase in the temperature
of water (performance assessment). For the idea that
plants make their own food while other organisms do
not (Idea b), students are asked why fungi depend on
other organisms for food (Teaching Resources,
chapter 7 booklet, pp. 39–43). For the idea that
organisms get their energy from breaking down sugars
(Idea d3), they are
asked which is better, respiration or fermentation (p.
99s, Chapter Review, Critical Thinking and Problem Solving,
item 6), and to predict which cells will have more mitochondria
(Teaching Resources, chapter 3 booklet, pp.
67–70). However, the latter question requires
the knowledge of additional ideas, such as of mitochondria.
For the idea that decomposers transform dead materials
into simpler, reusable substances (Idea c4),
students are asked what the function of decomposers
is (Teaching Resources, chapter 7 booklet,
pp. 39–42) and why decomposers are essential to
the continuation of life on the Earth (Teaching
Resources, chapter 26 booklet, pp. 51–56).
Lastly, for the idea that matter and energy are transferred
repeatedly between organisms and the environment (Idea
e). students describe briefly the three energy roles
in an ecosystem, give an example of an organism for
each, and explain why the sun is considered to be the
ultimate source of energy for most ecosystems (p. 693s,
Concept Mastery, item 2; Chapter Review, Critical Thinking
and Problem Solving, item 4). A similar question is
given earlier (p. 67s, Chapter Review, Concept Mastery,
item 4); however, the answer given in the Teacher’s
Edition is misleading. In addition, students are asked to define photosynthesis
(Teaching Resources, chapter 2 booklet, pp.
33–36; p. 253s, chapter 9, Chapter Review, Concept
Mastery, item 6) and respiration (p. 67s, chapter 2,
Chapter Review, Concept Mastery, item 3; Teaching
Resources, chapter 3 booklet, pp. 67–70),
and to compare respiration and breathing (p. 99s, chapter
3, Chapter Review, Concept Mastery, item 4). But these
questions do not target the key life science ideas.
Testing for understanding
(Rating = Poor)
Using assessment to inform
instruction (Rating = Poor)
Providing teacher content
support (Minimal
support is provided.) The material rarely provides sufficiently detailed
answers to questions in the student text for teachers
to understand and interpret various student responses.
Most answers are brief and require further explanation
(for example, “Answers will vary” [p. 233t,
Teaching Support, answer 1]), often emphasize factual
recall of information from the student text (for example,
“Food chains show food and energy links between
organisms in an ecosystem. A food web shows all the
overlapping food chains in the ecosystem” [p.
672t, 26–2 Section Review Answers, answer 2]),
and frequently focus solely on the definitions of terms
(for example, “[Respiration is the] process in
which food is broken down, and energy is released. In
aerobic respiration, food is broken down when it combines
with oxygen. Fermentation is another name for anaerobic
respiration, in which energy is released without the
use of oxygen” [p. 88t, 3–3 Section Review
Answers, answer 3]). The material provides minimal support in recommending
resources for improving the teacher’s understanding
of key ideas. While the material lists references by
author, title, and publisher at the beginning of most
chapters that could help teachers improve their understanding
of the key ideas (e.g., “McNaughton, S., and L.
L. Wolf. General Ecology, Holt” [p. 694at]),
the lists lack annotations about what kinds of information
the references provide or how they may be helpful.
Encouraging curiosity
and questioning (Minimal
support is provided.) The material provides a few suggestions for how to
respect and value students’ ideas. Introductory
student notes about concept mapping state that responses
may vary. Maps are correct if they show important concepts
and relationships, are meaningful to the student, and
help the student understand the text (p. 1s). In addition
to concept mapping, the material explicitly elicits
and values students’ ideas in journal writing
and some other activities. For example, the Teacher’s
Guide instructs the teacher to “Accept all logical
responses” for selected tasks (e.g., p. 660t,
Using the Visuals, item 7). The material provides a few suggestions for how to
raise questions, such as, “How do we know? What
is the evidence?” and “Are there alternative
explanations or other ways of solving the problem that
could be better?” But it does not encourage students
to pose such questions themselves. Specifically, the
material includes a few tasks that ask students to provide
evidence or reasons in their responses (e.g., p. 802st,
Analysis and Conclusions, items 2, 3; p. 792st, Analysis
and Conclusions, item 1). The material provides a few suggestions for how to
avoid dogmatism. The first chapter portrays the nature
of science as a durable yet dynamic human enterprise
in which students can participate (pp. 5–17s).
The material also illustrates changes over time in scientific
thinking leading to current theories of how the first
cells formed (pp. 38–44s) and modern methods of
classification (pp. 106–122s). However, the material
also contributes to dogmatism by presenting most of
the text in a static, authoritative manner with little
reference to the work of particular, practicing scientists
and by expecting single, specific responses for most
student tasks. The material does not provide examples of classroom
interactions (e.g., dialogue boxes, vignettes, or video
clips) that illustrate appropriate ways to respond to
student questions or ideas. However, a limited sense
of desirable student-student interactions may be gained
from procedural directions for laboratory and cooperative
group activities (e.g., p. 234st, Activity: Discovering;
pp. 801–802st, Activity Bank: The Ins and Outs
of Photosynthesis; Teacher’s Desk Reference,
Cooperative-Learning Strategies).
Supporting all students
(Some
support is provided.) The material provides some illustrations of the contributions of women and
minorities to science and as role models. Most of the contributions of women
and minority scientists, however, appear in a separate essay entitled Science
Gazette at the end of each unit. For example, one Science Gazette describes
how biologist Colleen Cavanaugh’s research with tube worms will contribute
to better understanding how animals and bacteria cooperate (pp. 254–255s).
The material also includes related features entitled Careers, Multicultural
Strategy, and Connections. The Careers feature briefly describes a scientific
occupation related to the chapter content, provides information on how students
can learn more about the career, and includes a photograph of a scientist, who
in some instances is a woman or minority (e.g., p. 375s). The Multicultural
Strategy feature consists of general directions included in teacher’s
notes for projects related to the chapter content in which students often research
particular characteristics of a cultural group (e.g., p. 55t). Connections are
essays in the student text that sometimes address scientific contributions of
particular cultures and relate to one of the text’s overarching themes:
energy, evolution, patterns of change, scale and structure, systems and interactions,
unity and diversity, or stability (e.g., p. 11s). Teacher’s notes associated
with the essays provide suggestions for student discussion or research projects
(e.g., p. 10t). All of these sections highlighting cultural contributions are
interesting and informative, but may not be seen by students as central to the
material because they are presented in sidebars and teacher’s notes. The material suggests multiple formats for students to use to express their
ideas during instruction, including individual journal writing (e.g., p. 695s),
cooperative group activities (e.g., p. 661t, Activity: Cooperative Learning),
laboratory investigations (e.g., p. 690s), whole class discussions (e.g., p.
705t, The Water Cycle, Develop), essay questions (e.g., pp. 67s, 66t, Concept
Mastery, item 4), concept mapping (e.g., p. 692st), and making models (e.g.,
p. 664t, Develop, Activity). In addition, multiple formats are suggested for
assessment, including essay (e.g., Teaching Resources, chapter 17 booklet, pp.
55, 57, item 1), performance (e.g., Performance-Based Assessment), and portfolio
(e.g., p. 693t, Keeping a Portfolio). However, the material does not usually
provide a variety of alternatives for the same task in either instruction or
assessment. The material does not routinely include specific suggestions
about how teachers can modify activities for students
with special needs. However, the Teacher’s
Edition and supplemental Teaching Resources
(which includes activities, review and reinforcement
work sheets, laboratory investigation work sheets, science
reading skills work sheets, and a laboratory manual)
provide additional activities and resources
for students of specific ability levels. Each chapter
in the Teacher’s Edition includes ESL
Strategies, Enrich activities, and Going Further: Enrichment
activities. ESL Strategies provide English-as-a-second-language
students with practice writing tasks often emphasizing
vocabulary related to a chapter topic (e.g., p. 670t),
and Enrich and Going Further: Enrichment activities
allow interested students to further study a specified
topic from the chapter (e.g., pp. 195t, 672t). One of
the Teaching Resources booklets is a Spanish
glossary that provides Spanish speakers with pronunciation
assistance and definitions of key text concepts in Spanish.
However, placing such supplemental resources in individual
booklets separate from the main text may discourage
their use. The material provides some strategies to validate students’ relevant
personal and social experiences with scientific ideas. Many text sections intersperse
brief references to specific, personal experiences students may have had that
relate to the presented scientific concepts (e.g., p. 668s). In addition, some
tasks—including Journal Activity (e.g., p. 413s) and Multicultural Strategy
(e.g., p. 669t)—ask students about particular personal experiences they
may have had or suggest specific experiences they could have. However, the material
rarely encourages students to contribute relevant experiences of their own choice
to the science classroom and sometimes does not adequately link the specified
personal experiences to the scientific ideas being studied (e.g., p. 661st,
Journal Activity). Overall, support is brief and localized.