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By David R. Whitsett, MBA
Former Adjunct Professor – Florida State College at Jacksonville and the University of Phoenix |
Educators are often asked to select their own textbooks,
sometimes with minimal guidance from department chairs. Given all of the other demands on a instructor’s time, it makes sense to define a clear-cut process for considering multiple selections since there is usually more than one publisher to choose from.
• SUITABILITY TO TASK – Does the proposed material correlate with the learning objectives for the class and the school’s approach to the material? If not, does the publisher offer a custom solution, oris another publisher’s content already more in line with the objectives?
• DIFFICULTY LEVEL – Is the readability and instructional design of the book a good match for the intended audience? Are the exercises engaging for a variety of students?
• SIMPLE ECONOMICS – What is the price for the total solution, including any additional software or materials needed to complete a comprehensive learning solution? How does that pricing compare with other publishers and does it represent a good value for the students?
• PUBLISHER EXPERIENCE – Has the school ever used this publisher before in any department and if so, how was the relevant experience? If not, can the publisher provide references for similar programs within your state?
The information needed to make this initial evaluation can often be found on the publisher’s web site – many book samples are offered as PDF files as are the Table of Contents. Using the publisher’s web site can also give you an early indication of what it would be like to work with that publisher (i.e. is the site user friendly,
intuitive, etc.?). Most publishers will be more than happy to provide review copies as well. If you are considering a text with an integrated online solution,
an initial demonstration or test account for those capabilities can usually be arranged as well.
Once the field has been narrowed, rubrics can be used to create a scoring system using the more detailed specifications.
| SAMPLE RUBRICS |
| EVALUATION CRITERIA - CONTENT |
1-LOWEST SCORE |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T5-HIGHEST SCORE |
| Lessons are aligned with standards |
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| Content is accurate, clear |
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| Essential skills/knowledge are supported |
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| Appropriate for level of students |
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| Materials allow integration of skills & concepts |
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| Content is appropriate for length of course |
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| Multiple levels & types of exercises available |
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| EVALUATION CRITERIA - ORGANIZATION |
1-LOWEST SCORE |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T5-HIGHEST SCORE |
| Units of study organized appropriately |
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| Uniform in appearance & content layout throughout |
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| Clear & comprehensive intros & summaries |
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| Graphics are useful, support the text |
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| Key points & ideas are restated in summaries |
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| EVALUATION CRITERIA - OTHER ASPECTS |
1-LOWEST SCORE |
2 |
3 |
4 |
T5-HIGHEST SCORE |
| Price of overall solution represents a good value |
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| Ancillary materials are easily accessible & useful |
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| Availability & usefulness of publisher’s customer service |
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| Publisher’s method for responding to text errors |
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No one method for selecting a text will work for everyone – the intent here was to provide general guidelines to be used as a starting point for your own internal departmental discussion. Colleagues from other schools within your state system can often provide helpful advice given the similarity between courses across the board. Also, the publisher’s representatives can help clarify distinctions between different offerings in their line, and the quality of help you get in this part of the process might be indicative of what you can expect in the future – a good thing to know going forward.
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EMAIL TO A FRIEND
