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Palgrave Macmillan

Missing the Meaning

The Development and Use of Print and Non-Print Text Materials in Diverse School Settings

  • Book
  • © 2004

Overview

Editors:
  1. Alan Peacock

    1. School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter, UK

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    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

  2. Ailie Cleghorn

    1. Department of Education, Concordia University in Montreal, Canada

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    You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

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Table of contents (18 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxii
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  2. What Do We Believe We are Doing with Text-Based and Other Learning Materials?

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 1-1
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    2. Introduction

      • Ailie Cleghorn, Alan Peacock
      Pages 3-12

    3. The Global and the Local in the Construction of School Science: The Case of Canada

      • Elizabeth H. McEneaney
      Pages 13-31

    4. Text Processing Within Classroom Contexts

      • Janet Donin
      Pages 33-46

    5. Community-Gardens and Science Laboratories as Texts for Science Literacy Development

      • Jrene Rahm
      Pages 47-60

    6. What is a Science Text?: An Overview of Section One

      • Catherine C. Lewis
      Pages 61-72

  3. Why do Learners have Problems with Text Materials?

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 73-73
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    2. Introduction

      • Alan Peacock, Ailie Cleghorn
      Pages 75-88

    3. Interactivity and the Constraints of Cognitive Load Theory

      • Wayne Leahy, Graham Cooper, John Sweller
      Pages 89-103

    4. Finding the Meaning: Sociolinguistic Issues in Text Access

      • Marissa Rollnick
      Pages 105-120

    5. Using Science Textbooks in Kenyan Primary Schools

      • Beatrice Murila
      Pages 121-132

    6. Do Virtual Environments Lead to Virtual Learning?

      • P. Karen Murphy, Theresa A. Holleran
      Pages 133-144

    7. The Constraints of Commercial Publishing

      • Thomas Hardy
      Pages 145-159

    8. What is Difficult to Read, Why Might This be So, and What Could, or Should, be Done About It?: An Overview of Section Two

      • Mitch O’Toole
      Pages 161-178

  4. How Can Text and Other Learning Materials be Better Matched to the Preconceptions, Expectations, and Inclinations of Learners and Teachers?

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 179-179
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    2. Introduction

      • Alan Peacock, Ailie Cleghorn, Mirjamaija Mikkilä-Erdmann
      Pages 181-196

    3. Teaching the Page: Teaching Learners to Read Complex Science Text

      • Sharon Walpole, Laura Smolkin
      Pages 197-211

    4. What Changes Need to be Implemented in Teacher Education Programs so that Teachers can Use Text Materials Effectively?

      • Alan Peacock, Katrina Miller
      Pages 213-222

    5. Visual Literacy in Science and Its Importance to Pupils and Teachers

      • Simon Gates
      Pages 223-237
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Keywords

About this book

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.

Reviews

'This book is a rich and authoritative exploration of reading and learning in the context of primary science education. It takes the widest view of reading as the processing of text and non-text material whether teacher-made or published, computer-based as well as print-based. It reviews and extends what is known about the deficiencies of educational materials and provides reasons for the difficulties that learners have with these materials in terms of learning theory. I am sure that educators in all fields will find this book as absorbing as I have.' - Wynne Harlen, School of Education, University of Bristol

'The authors of this valuable collection of articles offer considerable insights and propose numerous possibilities for future generations of teachers to serve their classes just as effectively as I was served by one gifted teacher, one day, early in my life, when it mattered.' - Ted Wragg, School of Education, Exeter University

'Alan Peacock and Ailie Cleghorn's Missing the Meaning fills an important gap in the field. The authors have produced a highly readable work, which itself is an exemplar of good materials development that has been based on rigorous research practices.' - Dr. Christine Winberg, Peninsular Technikon, South Africa

Editors and Affiliations

  • School of Education and Lifelong Learning, University of Exeter, UK

    Alan Peacock

  • Department of Education, Concordia University in Montreal, Canada

    Ailie Cleghorn

About the editors

ALAN PEACOCK is Reader in Primary Science Education at the University of Exeter, UK.

AILIE CLEGHORN is Director of the Educational Studies Masters Program at Concordia University, USA.

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