1 Environmental Science Text Request

Recommendations for Selection of New Instructional Materials for:

Environmental Science AP Environmental Science

Textbook request for:

Author: Miller and Spoolman Publisher: Brooks/Cole Copyright Date: 2009 Titles: Living in the Environment

Date: April 13, 2009

2 Environmental Science Text Request

Instructional Materials Committee Recommendation for Selection of New Instructional Materials

Textbook request for AP Environmental Science and Environmental Science: TITLE OF MATERIALS: Living in the Environment, 16th edition, by Miller and

Spoolman Publisher: Brooks/Cole Copyright date: 2009

Proposed Instructional Materials: 1. Description of proposed instructional materials:

The Environmental Science program at Mercer Island High School is requesting a textbook adoption for the AP Environmental Science and regular Environmental Science course that will begin in the 2009-2010 school year. We have a shortage of 50 textbooks for next year’s enrollment in the 2 environmental science courses, requiring that new books be purchased. Our current text is 10 years and 5 editions out-of-date, so we feel that a new textbook adoption is the best use of money, rather than purchasing an out-of-date book for a rapidly changing science.

2. Number of students this recommendation will impact (annually and over 5 years): Next year there are approximately 167 student signed up for AP Environmental Science and 80 students signed up for regular Environmental Science (about 247 students or 8 total sections). We are requesting 175 textbooks for the AP Environmental Science classes. Next year there is a larger-than-normal enrollment for these classes. Typical total enrollment for both classes is closer to 170 or 6 sections, so we foresee that the 175 books we purchase for the AP classes next year will be used in both the AP and regular Environmental Science classes after the 2009-2010 school year.

3. Grade level and number of teachers:. Both courses are taught to juniors and seniors, and there are typically three teachers for these courses. 4. Date proposal approved by the science department: March 23, 2009 Materials Description: 5. Need for materials: As mentioned above, there is a shortage of 50 copies of our current textbook for next year, requiring the

purchase of at least 50 books. The text we are currently using was published in 2000 and uses data from 1998. It is 5 editions out-of-date, and it is unlikely that 50 books of this edition of the text will be available for purchase. In addition, Environmental Science is a rapidly changing field, and in the past 10 years, there have been major advancements in topics such as climate change and alternative energies. The text we use now is not very useful for these topics.

Environmental Science is an information-heavy course, since it incorporates topics from several different

fields of science, as well as international relations, politics, law, and engineering. The text is critical to impart knowledge of this very broad curriculum. It is essential that we have a text that is accurate and up-to-date in its information. Since there have been so many advances in environmental science in the past decade, it would be impossible to use two different textbooks for the same course. The most recent edition of our textbook has fundamentally changed in both content and layout.

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We are requesting that we replace all the books that we use for the AP Environmental Science for next year. The AP course is taught using the national AP Environmental Science curriculum standards, and we must pass an audit each year proving that we have met the standards for the AP course. The AP class has also had large enrollments of 4 very full sections per year for the past 3 years. The regular Environmental Science class is more project-based, and moves at a much slower pace. It therefore does not cover nearly as many topics or units as the AP course, so the textbook is not used quite as heavily as it is in the AP class. The regular class is also only offered in alternate years. Since next year’s total enrollment is abnormally large, if we purchase the 175 texts that we need for the AP class for next year, we feel that there is a good chance that when both the regular class and the AP class are offered again in the 2011-2012 school year, the 175 books will be enough for both classes. If we replace books for only the regular environmental science class for next year (about 85 books), those books would not be used in the 2010-2011 school year when the regular class is not offered. Therefore, we feel that the best use of funds is to buy books for the AP class, due to the heavier use of the text in that class, and because it is offered every year.

6. Alignment with GLE’s and/or District Targets: AP Environmental Science is aligned with the district target of offering advanced courses for students.

Both AP and regular Environmental Science provide a broad-based science curriculum for students seeking additional science coursework beyond the 2 years required by the state. The nature of the science also lends itself to the District goal that all students be citizens of a global world.

7. Course content for proposed materials: AP Environmental Science topics include: population dynamics, evolution and biodiversity, climate and

biomes, earth science and mineral resources, soils, fossil fuels, nuclear energy, alternative energy, air pollution, ozone depletion, climate change, water resources, and human health and toxicity. The regular class topics includes population, evolution and biodiversity, soils, energy, climate change, water resources, and other topics based on student interest.

8. How will the materials demonstrate mastery of the GLE’s or District Targets? Many students in the AP Environmental Science class choose to take the national AP Exam. The updated

textbook will be critical in imparting concepts necessary for students to do well on the exam. The study of environmental science creates an awareness in students of the interconnectedness and interdependence of every living and non-living system on the planet. The importance of understanding how humans are affecting the planet is becoming more clear every day.

9. Relationship of these materials to other materials in the department/school: The text is used to complement course content, which includes lectures, labs, and research projects. We

already own materials for labs. The content in the textbook is the starting place for many research projects that students do throughout the year. The textbooks are the only thing that needs replacing at this time.

Curriculum Implementation: 10. Staff development/training necessary to implement the new textbook:

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Teachers for this class will need time to adjust the curriculum to the new textbook and to explore the supplemental materials that accompany the text to make the best use of these materials. We are requesting 7.5 hours (one school day) for staff development.

11. Timeline for implementation: The shortage of books for next year’s large enrollment requires that we implement the new textbook for

the 2009-2010 school year in the AP Environmental Science classes. Otherwise, 50 students will be without a required textbook for the class, and will probably have to be dropped from the class. With enrollment in all our classes at capacity, there are few spaces in other science classes for these students to take. We feel it is essential to have enough textbooks for all students wanting to take one of the environmental science classes next year. In the 2011-2012 school year, it is likely that the text will be used for both AP and regular environmental science classes if enrollment in these classes returns to normal.

Evaluation: 12. Criteria used to evaluate the materials: The environmental science teachers in the department examined the current environmental science

textbooks and selected the best three for a more thorough evaluation by both students and teachers. There were several criteria used to evaluate the three textbooks under consideration. A district evaluation rubric for teachers was modified by the science department to include the following criteria. The textbook for the environmental science courses should:

• Address the College Board’s national AP curriculum in content, skills to do scientific inquiry, and application of skills and knowledge to design solutions to human problems/challenges.

• Provide balance of content, teacher-directed inquiry, and student-led inquiry. • Provide opportunity for students to address Habits of Mind: tenacity, skepticism, curiosity, and

reflection. These habits of mind were identified by the 6-12 District Science Review Committee as the most applicable to middle and high school scientific learning.

• Address depth as well as breadth. • Incorporate hand-on experiences, higher-level thinking skills, and activities that stimulate student

participation and critical thinking. • Foster application of course concepts and skills to the real world. • Be at an appropriate reading level for the intended grade. • Be supported by a variety of useful supplemental materials, including availability on CD-ROM • Include instructional materials that support a variety of learning styles, abilities, and ELL students. • Provide high-quality tools that encourage and support multiple methods of formal and informal

assessment. • Provide diagrams and illustrations that engage and challenge students. • Have an organizational structure that makes sense and is teachable. • Be visually pleasing to students, including appropriate font styles, use of color, length of chapters,

photos, graphs, and highlighted concepts and vocabulary. • Have and engaging layout that is not distracting. • Be well-bound, durable, and portable. • Expose students to positive examples of human diversity (socio-economic, gender, ethnicity, abilities)

Students completed a shorter rubric that included the following criteria:

• Clearly written text • Informative text • Helpful diagrams and pictures

• Helpful example problems and solutions • Asides are relevant and clear • Usefulness of online applications

13. Results of the textbooks evaluation process:

The primary teachers for the environmental science courses (DeBroux, Nielsen, Bencivengo) evaluated the three textbooks being considered. In addition, 13 AP Environmental Science students (since no regular environmental science classes were offered this year, we couldn’t solicit feedback from students in this class). The three textbooks were Environment by Raven et al. (John Wiley and Sons, 2009); Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet by Botkin and Keller (John Wiley and Sons, 2009); and Living in the Environment by Miller and Spoolman (Brooks/Cole, 2009). In general, students liked all three books, and the differences between their ratings of the books are small. The primary weaknesses with the three textbooks are summarized in the table below: Book (Publisher) Weaknesses identified by teachers Weaknesses identified by

students Environment (Raven et al.)

Reading level is too high for high school (14th grade reading level)

Organizational Structure is unusual Pictures/Diagrams are not engaging and there are too

few of them Text is dense and not engaging In general, the book is geared to too high a level for

a high school class

Text rated lower than other books

Asides not as helpful

Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet (Miller/Spoolman)

Some organizational problems Lack of objectiveness on some topics

Pictures/Diagrams rated lower than Raven, higher than Botkin

Living in the Environment (Botkin/Keller)

Some diagrams confusing Some topics not covered in as much depth as other

texts (i.e. geology, relationship of biomes to air circulation patterns, soils)

Pictures, problems, and asides rated lowest

Overall lowest rating

The Miller/Spoolman text met the criteria used by the science teachers in all categories, and exceeded the standards in several of the categories. Students did not rank the Miller/Spoolman text lower than a 3 (neutral) in any of the criteria that they were using, and scores in all categories averaged over 4 points out of 5. The particular strengths of the Miller/Spoolman text compared to the other texts are summarized in the following table: Book (publisher) Strengths identified by teachers Strengths identified by

students Environmental Science: Earth as a Living Planet (Miller/Spoolman)

Provides both breadth and depth: complete coverage of all topics

Reading level is appropriate for grade level (Grade 12 reading level)

Helpful and clear diagrams Good cases studies, “trade-off,” and “solutions”

sections that evaluate technologies to solve human

Rated book highest in the “informative text” and “clearly written text” categories

Rated book highest in “helpful asides” category

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problems Incorporates links to many websites for further

study Key concepts and questions at start of each chapter

help to focus students Good quantitative data analysis sections

14. Evaluation of materials and student outcomes if materials are adopted: Teachers will be assessing student learning using the textbook throughout the year. In addition student

scores on the national AP test will be evaluated each year. Recommended purchases/associated costs:

Materials to be Purchased Number Textbooks for AP Environmental Science* 175 Instructor’s Manual** 3 ExamView test creator** 3 AP Instructors Manual** 3 Powerpoint Lectures** 3 Staff Development/Training: 3 teachers x 7.5 hours 3 Total cost for 2009-2010 school year

Projected Life Expectancy of Materials to be purchased: The environmental science program has existed for the past 10 years at MIHS and has increased in

popularity with each passing year. The courses will be offered into the foreseeable future. We found the Miller/Spoolman text to be well-bound and sturdy, so the lifespan of the books should be at least 10 years. However, since environmental science is a rapidly changing field, it is possible that an update might be required before that time. We have been using our current text for 10 years.

15. Ongoing annual operating costs: The only ongoing annual operating costs will be the purchase of extra textbooks in 2 years if the enrollment

in both AP and regular environmental science stays high.