User centred evaluation of an automatically constructed hyper-textbook

As hypertext systems become widely available and their popularity increases, attention has turned to converting existing textual documents into hypertextual form. An important issue in this area is the fully automatic production of hypertext for learning, teaching, training, or self-referencing. Although many studies have addressed the problem of producing hyper-books, either manually or semi-automatically, the actual usability of hyper-books tools is still an area of ongoing research. This article presents an effort to investigate the effectiveness of a hyper-textbook for self-referencing produced in a fully automatic way. The hyper-textbook is produced using the Hyper-TextBook methodology. We developed a taskbased evaluation scheme and performed a comparative usercentred evaluation between a hyper-textbook and a conventional, printed form of the same textbook. The results indicate that the hyper-textbook, in most cases, improves speed, accuracy, and user satisfaction in comparison to the printed form of the textbook

EFL Textbook Evaluation: the Analysis of Tasks Presented in English Textbook

The use of English textbook does not only become a guide to the teachers when delivering the materials, but also presents necessary input through various explanations and activities. On the side of the learners, it also influences their attitudes and performance to the materials. This phenomenon challenges the writer to conduct research-based article concerning textbook evaluation to analyze the tasks and the distribution (simple to complex) of tasks presented in English textbook used in senior high school. The findings show that the English textbook entitled Bahasa Inggris SMA/MA/SMK/MAK Kelas X Semester 1 has interesting tasks which meet the objectives in curriculum 2013 and a good distribution of tasks across chapters and the whole book

Do You Always Need a Textbook to Teach Astro 101?

The increasing use of interactive learning strategies in Astro 101 classrooms has led some instructors to consider the usefulness of a textbook in such classes. These strategies provide students a learning modality very different from the traditional lecture supplemented by reading a textbook and homework, and raises the question of whether the learning that takes place during such interactive activities is enough by itself to teach students what we wish them to know about astronomy. To address this question, assessment data is presented from an interactive class, which was first taught with a required textbook, and then with the textbook being optional. Comparison of test scores before and after this change shows no statistical difference in student achievement whether a textbook is required or not. In addition, comparison of test scores of students who purchased the textbook to those who did not, after the textbook became optional, also show no statistical difference between the two groups. The Light and Spectroscopy Concept Inventory (LSCI), a research-validated assessment tool, was given pre- and post-instruction to three classes that had a required textbook, and one for which the textbook was optional, and the results demonstrate that the student learning gains on this central topic were statistically indistinguishable between the two groups. Finally, the Star Properties Concept Inventory (SPCI), another research-validated assessment tool, was administered to a class for which the textbook was optional, and the class performance was higher than that of a group of classes in a national study

When is an exploration exploratory? A comparative analysis of geometry lessons

This paper presents a comparative analysis of two textbook lessons on the same topic from U.S. textbooks to learn how differently - designed “exploratory” lessons may structure content to enable or constrain student inquiry. One lesson, representative of a “reform - based” textbook, contains investigations of conditions of triangle congruence. The second is a “technology lab” on triangle congruence fro m a "traditional" textbook, the design of which is atypical for that textbook. Framing a lesson as a mathematical story, this analysis exposes three distinct ways that these lessons are different: (a) the proportion of the lesson in which mathematical questions remain unanswered, (b) the manner in which content unfolds to address each question, and (c) the way in which open mathematical questions overlap to increase the dynamically - changing number of questions that are pursued. This contrast of the two lessons illuminates how a lesson structure can prevent an "exploration" from being exploratory

A Reflection on the Use of J-Talk for Speaking of Japan B3

Choosing a textbook is one of a teacher’s important jobs. For the class Speaking of Japan, level B3 class, I chose the textbook J-Talk: Conversation Across Cultures. This textbook matched all the criteria for the class: the level, the topic of Japan, speaking practice, and the goals of what should be accomplished in the class. I will reflect on the content of J-Talk, how J-Talk presented materials and built on the materials in stages with the goal of having students produce extended segments of speech without over-burdening the students. I will explain some of the hurdles I faced while carrying out the activities presented in the textbook and how I managed them. Finally, I will report what students thought about J-Talk.研究ノー

The textbook as classroom context variable

To explore the role of the textbook as a context variable in process—product relationships, data on teaching practices and learning outcomes from the IEA Classroom Environment Study in The Netherlands were used. The sample consisted of 50 secondary school mathematics classes and their teachers. Three textbooks were represented in the sample. Data collection included systematic observation of lessons and administration of tests and questionnaires to students and teachers. Nine teaching practices analogous to the distinguishing features of the textbooks were identified, and data relating to these practices were analysed. Four of the teaching practices occurred to different degrees in the three groups of textbook users. The correlations with two learning outcomes in different groups of textbook users were significantly different for 5 of the 18 cases. These results suggest that the textbook is an important context variable

AN ANALYSIS ON THE QUALITY OF ENGLISH TEXT BOOK THAT IS \ud USED AT THE FIRST YEAR OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL OF SLTP 2 \ud RANDU AGUNG LUMAJANG BASED ON THE 2004 ENGLISH CURRICULUM

The success of teaching and learning process is absolutely based on the textbook used in the \ud classroom, however, it is quite difficult to find a suitable textbook for the students and teachers. \ud English Textbook is materials of instruction in certain subject that is arranged by some experts \ud for instructional purposes to support teaching and learning process. As a teaching aids, a \ud textbook some important roles, such as organization of instruction and improvement of teaching \ud learning process. So, the teacher must pay enough attention in selecting a good textbook that will \ud be used in order the teaching and learning process can be effective and run smoothly. Therefore, \ud the writer here is trying to analyses the quality of textbook used by the first year students of SMP \ud Negeri 2 Randuagung Lumajang published by UM Press associated with Dinas pendidikan \ud Kabupaten Lumajang. \ud This study belongs to a descriptive research. The population of this study is also as a sample, the \ud textbook for the first year students used atSMP Negeri 2 Randuagung Lumajang published by \ud UM press associated with Dinas Pendidikan Kabupaten Lumajang. The instrument used is a \ud checklist to gather the data. In collecting data, the writer uses some procedures, that they are \ud developing the research instrument, validating the research instrument and administrating the \ud research instrument. And in analyzing data, the writer uses two steps, they are finding the final \ud score percentage and finding the score percentage of each items of each teachers. \ud The Findings show that the final score percentage of textbook is 80,58 %. It is categorized good. \ud So, the general quality of textbook used is good. While, the quality of subject matter aspect is \ud 86,67 %. It categorized very good. The quality of vocabulary and structure aspect is 83,81 %. It \ud is categorized good. The quality of exercise aspect is 80,80 %. It categorized good. The quality \ud of Illustration aspect is 73,33 %. It is categorized good. And the quality of physical appearance \ud aspect is 73,33. It is categorized good

AN ANALYSIS OF TYPES SENTENCE PATTERNS ON READING TEXTS OF SMU TEXTBOOK PUBLISHED BY GRAFINDO MEDIA PRATAMA

Learning another language provides great pleasure. The four most tangible and visible factors involved in classroom teaching are learners, the teacher, the book and the physical surroundings. So that, it can be awarded that book is one of the most important factors determining the success of learning. Textbook can support what teacher explains to the students. In reading, students cannot only concentrate on the vocabulary, but also have to know the structure of sentences. Based on the statement above, the writer wants to know what kind types of sentences and the most dominant types of sentences used in reading texts of SMU textbook published by Grafindo Media Pratama. The purpose of the study is to investigate about types of sentences and the most dominant types of sentences on reading text of SMU textbook published by Grafindo Media Pratama. Besides, the result of this study will give contribution to the English teacher in order to select textbook and insert structure segment while teaching reading. Moreover, the limitation of the study is only to find types of sentences and to find the most dominant types of sentences on Reading Text of SMU Textbook published by Grafindo Media Pratama. The present study is descriptive design. The researcher uses simple random sampling, because it is to give the same opportunity to every member of population to be selected as sample. And the sample is 8 passages. The writer uses documentation study as an instrument to collect the data. Thus, the procedures of collecting data are two kinds of analysis, namely: grammatical analysis and frequency of occurrence analysis. Based on research finding, the writer concludes that Reading Texts of SMU Textbook published by Grafindo Media Pratama use four types of sentences (simple, compound, complex and compound-complex sentences) and the most dominant types of sentences is complex sentence. In conclusion, complex sentence often appears in reading text, usually reading text of SMU