Textbook use in the biology classroom: What teachers report

The ability to comprehend scientific writing is essential to making informed decisions in the 1990's. Recent assessments indicate that high school students have difficulty reading scientific and technical text. However, few research studies have examined the instruction high school students receive regarding science reading and science textbooks. Since the majority of high school students enroll in biology classes, this study investigated how high school biology teachers report using textbooks in their instruction, and the factors and attitudes associated with their instructional practices.;To gather descriptive information about teachers' instructional practices and attitudes, I mailed a questionnaire to 215 biology teachers in four northeastern United States. Eighty percent (n = 149) of the teachers responded. I selected 16 teachers, who were broadly representative of the larger questionnaire sample, to participate in follow-up interviews. Teachers were interviewed with their instructional materials present to enhance recall. I used quantitative and qualitative analyses to process the data, capitalizing on the strengths of both methodologies to examine teachers' views with breadth and depth.;The results indicated that high school biology teachers view both reading textbooks and inquiry-based activities as essential to learning biology. However, teachers varied considerably in how they reported assigning reading for different academic level classes. In general, for students in higher-level classes, biology teachers reported assigning independent reading in challenging textbooks and using discussions to enhance students' conceptual understanding. For students in lower-level classes, biology teachers reported assigning reading to reinforce their lessons and using reading activities to improve students' study skills. Teachers had positive attitudes about teaching students how to learn from reading science textbooks, but they appeared unsure of how to incorporate reading comprehension instruction into their biology instruction.;Strategies for teaching students how to learn from reading scientific text exist. Further, research suggests that the reading-based activities these teachers described using with higher-level classes would also benefit students in lower-level classes. As we seek to increase scientific literacy nationwide, the challenge for educators, policymakers, and publishers is to help science teachers provide all students with the reading skills they need to become independent science learners.