Out with the Old in with the New; Evaluation of a Reference Work

Introduction: Old Resource

            The reference resource I have chosen to explore is titled Ancient Worlds and was first published by Oxford University Press in 2000. This textbook was written by Arnold Toutant and Susan Doyle and is the primary Social Studies textbook at my school. Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for school Library Programs in Canada (2006) states that “Before a learning resource is used in a classroom, it must be evaluated to ensure that criteria such as those for curriculum match, social consideration and age or development appropriateness are met” (7). Thus each resource should be evaluated for suitability before us in a classroom. To help educators the Guide has included a number of rubrics to help evaluate resources. These rubrics look at the following criteria: curriculum fit, content, instructional design, technical design and social consideration with the hope of approving resources that will meet the needs of the diverse population within British Columbia. However, out dated material such as this social studies textbook can often times stay in our classrooms for years in this case 20 years later our students are still using the same textbook despite multiple curriculum upheavals and changes. Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for school Library Programs in Canada (2006) states the following “With regard to reference materials, general encyclopaedias should be no older than 5 years, and every effort should be made to ensure the currency of atlases, almanacs, and specialized encyclopaedias.” (42). Riedling mirrors this sentiment and states that “print psychology, history, business, and education sources become dated in fifteen years” (17).

Table of Contents from Ancient Worlds (2000)

    To examine the relevancy, purpose, currency, curricular connection and effective use of Library space I have created the following rubric. To help me create the rubric I have draw on background from the following Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips, 4^th Edition (2019) and Evaluating, Selecting and Acquiring Learning Resources (2008) and Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for school Library Programs in Canada (2006).

Page 61-62 from Ancient Worlds (2000)

Evaluation Rubric: Ancient Worlds (2000)

Rubric Score:
Below Standard: 1-5 
Acceptable: 6-10 
Exemplary: 11-15

Total for Ancient World (2000) = 7/15

Although the rating for Ancient World (2000) has hit fallen within Acceptable standards it is still relatively low. There are quiet a number of problem areas that I will be discussing in detail below. 

Relevancy: The book makes use of a number of pictures throughout its pages, however due to the age of the book these visuals are mostly drawn and not appealing or interesting to look at. The visuals are also not historically accurate and issues of race and skin colour are present in the testbook. Throughout the book the content is primary writing based, bolded words are used throughout the chapters and a glossary is provided at the back of the book. There are also bolded words on each page and a glossary at the back. Some difficult words have a phonic guide next to them. However most information is presented through reading which can be difficult for ELL students as well as students with some learning disabilities.  

Purpose and Content Scope: The beginning of each chapter has a one page introduction which states some questions that will be answered in the chapter. The organization of the textbook look at the past and then steps to a civilization, later chapters are all separated into specific ancient civilizations (Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, China, Greece, Rome). Each of the chapters is about 20 pages long and covers multiple topics from tools, religion, agriculture, cultural structure and basic needs the small sections make it difficult for any real background knowledge to be gained from the textbook. Teachers will likely have to provide students with further background information to fully understand the topic. An extremely short “Look Back” section summaries the readings and take aways students should know from the chapter. Overall, although little information is presented about each topic throughout the chapters the information is organized throughout the chapter.   

Currency: Although the book is published by British Columbia educators specifically for the previously developed curriculum as of today’s date the textbook is largely outdate. Although new copies can still be purchased for about $100.00 each it is not the best investment of school or library funds.

Curricular Connection: The current Social Studies 7 curriculum is divided into 4 Big Ideas
1. Geographic conditions shaped the emergence of civilizations.
2. Religious and cultural practices that emerged during this period have endured and continue to influence people.
3. Increasingly complex societies required new systems of laws and government.
4. Economic specialization and trade networks can lead to conflict and cooperation between societies.

None of these topics are directly taught in the textbook although some are mentioned. Chapters dealing with specific civilizations have mentioned government systems, trade, geography and religious practices. Each chapter merely touches the surface of these topics and does not go in depth. Sections in each chapter offer students some activities to complete. A “How To” section in each chapter has students work on a connective activity to the unit however most of these activities are writing activates and offer no hands on activities. “Think For Yourself” section has students answer questions, make lists or make notes about what they have read.  “Investigate” sections ask for students to further their knowledge on the topics presented by working in groups, however to complete these sections students would need outside sources which teachers will have to provide. Although there are some activities and projects throughout the chapters’ students are not given direct instructions on how to develop their research skills. A goal of social studies is for students to connect the world of the past to the world of today yet this out dated book cannot provide any insight to this.

Effective use of Library Space: These textbooks are primarily housed in Grade 7 classrooms and takes up a whole shelf of space. At the moment we have 4 grade 6/7 classrooms and about 60 sets of textbooks. This means that classes need to share the textbooks, or students need to share one book for every two students. A teacher guide is provided with the textbook although at an extra cost. No online resources are available with the textbook.  

Overview:

    After looking at Ancient Worlds (2000) in depth I recommend that it is replaced with a different resource. Textbooks are still relevant for a number of subjects, they offer background knowledge and help introduce units. Textbooks should provide students with critical and creative thinking opportunities and challenge them to question the topics they learn about. In a textbook it is important that the information is relevant, current and curriculum appropriate. Unfortunately this out-dated textbook is severely lacking in a number of areas and should be replaced as soon as possible.  

Introduction: New Resource

    The reference resource I am exploring as a replacement is titled The Ancient World to the 7th Century (2018) and is published by Pearson and is part of their Inquiring Minds series. Pearson's goal is to create content for the K-12 Education system they hope to "Innovate learning solutions created in collaboration with Canadian educations, with an emphasis on pedagogy, efficacy and best-in-class content." Their website offers a number of catalogues including French as a Second Language, Literacy, Mathematics and Indigenous Resources.  that can be to support the current curriculum. An important part of the textbook is how it relies on the inquiry model throughout each chapter this provides not only relevancy for content connection but also helps to increase student engagement. 

Picture from Page ix in The Ancient World to the 7th Century (2018)

Table of Contents from The Ancient World to the 7th Century (2018)

Evaluation Rubric: The Ancient World to the 7th Century (2018)

Rubric Score:
Below Standard: 1-5 
Acceptable: 6-10 
Exemplary: 11-15

Total for The Ancient World to the 7th Century (2018) = 13/15

The rating for The Ancient World to the 7th Century (2018) falls within Exemplary standards. There are a number of areas where the textbooks appropriately addresses the current curriculum which I will be discussing below. 

Relevancy: The textbook uses bright and vibrant visuals throughout its pages to draw readers into the content. The visuals take on the form of physical pictures as well as some illustrations. Although writing is present throughout the textbook as a way to deliver information. The publishers have also utilizes a number of graphs, maps, timelines and other organizational visuals to display information in an easy to understand format. New words are bolded and a glossary as well as an index is provided at the end of the book. This textbook can be utilized for the appropriate grade level although some modeling and frontloading need to be given to ELL students and students with learning disabilities.  

Purpose and Content Scope: Units are organized into major themes from the current BC curriculum these include: The Human Story, One Family, A Place in the World, Innovations, Ways of Believing, Rules and Rules and Interactions: Ancient Trade Networks. The beginning of each chapter states the Big Idea related to the unit as well as a number of other questions that will be answered throughout the chapter. Each chapter covers about 20-30 pages in total with each subsection focusing on a question to solve, research and understand. The textbook does a good job of introducing the main ideas to students. Multiple sections are located in each chapter such as: Investigate, Look Closer, Examine, Thinking like a/an (geographer, anthropologist, geologist, social scientist, historian, archeologist). At the end of each chapter students are asked to Reflect on Your Learning which has them utilizing the curricular competencies from the BC Social Studies 7 Curriculum: Significance, Evidence, Continuity and Change, Ethical Judgement, Cause and Consequence and Perspective (2016). 

Currency: The textbook was published in 2018 and thus falls within Exemplary Standards. The textbook comes with the option to purchased both a student eGuide and a teacher eGuide. Along with this the textbook also has an online edition which leaves Pearson with the opportunity to update information if it becomes obsolete and incorrect. 

Curricular Connection: The current Social Studies 7 curriculum is divided into 4 Big Ideas
1. Geographic conditions shaped the emergence of civilizations.
2. Religious and cultural practices that emerged during this period have endured and continue to influence people.
3. Increasingly complex societies required new systems of laws and government.
4. Economic specialization and trade networks can lead to conflict and cooperation between societies.

Pearson has found a way to integrate each of these topics throughout their textbook. Chapters are created to ive students background knowledge for each topic yet still leaves the topics open enough that students can engage in the inquiry process throughout their investigations. "Check your Learning" sections have students answer questions after reading. The "Examine" sections have students take their prior knowledge from readings and use it to work through the curricular competencies (Significance, Evidence, Continuity and Change, Ethical Judgement, Cause and Consequence and Perspective), each section asks a different questions connecting to the current curriculum such as:

• How Do We Know About the Development of Humans? 
• What Factors Caused Some Cities to Thrive?
• What Can Evidence Tell Us About Early Humans?
• What is the Significance of Technology in a Society? 
• In What Ways Do Belief Systems Reflect Who We Are? 
• Why have the Belief Systems of First Peoples Endured? 
• What is the Significance of Ancient Belief Systems? 
• Why Does Greek Democracy Matter? 
• Why Do Empires Succeed and Fail? 
• What is the Role of Human Rights in Ancient Societies? 
• How Did Geography and Climate Challenge Travelers Alon the Silk Road? 
• How Does Trade Influence Culture?

Investigate sections which happen multiple times throughout a chapter ask students to use their critical and creative thinking skills to think like geographers, archeologists, social scientists, anthropologists and historians. By having students investigate answers it they are not only working through the inquiry process but working on developing their research skills and in turn making the learning meaningful. 

Effective use of Library Space: As the textbook comes in both physical and electronic format there is an option for no physical space to be taken up by the textbook in either a library or a classroom. Overall to supply our staff of 4 Grade 6/7 teachers a purchase of 30 textbooks would be the required minimum. The textbook also comes with the option of purchasing access to a companion website and a Teacher eGuide. 

                     Page 52-53 from The Ancient World to the 7th Century (2018)

Pricing

Website: https://assets.pearsoncanadaschool.com/asset_mgr/current/202039/Inquiring-Minds-Price-List-09212020.pdf

    Pearson offers a number of purchasing options, I believe it is important to work with your school to figure out which version of the textbook will work best for you community. If you have never used the textbook with your class or have a small school it might be the best choice to purchase the Student eText Access - 1 year which is only $11.00 per student. However, for schools that have 1:1 student to device ratio the most viable option would be to purchase the Student eText Access - 7 years. I do recommend purchasing the Student Resource with Classroom Companion Website as the online resources give access to a number of articles, activities and further readings which can help to enhance units. Yet, if you are part of a larger school the best option would come at purchasing the Teacher eGuide with Companion Website which gives 7-year access to 3 teachers per school and comes to $399.95 as long as 20 or more student books are purchased. 

Overview:

    After comparing both of these resources it is my recommendation to purchase at least one full class set of The Ancient World to the 7th Century (2018). Overall the Pearson textbook is a lot more current and relevant then the Oxford textbook. It aligns well with our curriculum and offers options for electronic textbooks as well as electronic teacher and student guides. While Ancient Worlds (2000) is too old to offer any electronic textbook or resources. I believe that the new Pearson textbook is a powerful learning tool due to it's consistent and strong use of the Inquiry Model throughout it's chapters. It's updated visuals and content are more appealing to it's 7th Grade audience. The leading questions are not only powerful but interesting. Overall, the topics are well organized and despite not offering an extreme amount of background knowledge or text on each page the textbook can be seen as a starting point for their inquiry. 

Sources:

Asselin, M., Branch, J., & Oberg, D., (Eds). Achieving information literacy: Standards for school library programs in Canada. Ottawa, ON: Canadian School Library Association & The Associatin for Teacher-Librarianship in Canada. 

British Columbia Ministry of Education. B.C.’s New Curriculum. (2016) Social Studies Big Ideas K-10. Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/sites/curriculum.gov.bc.ca/files/curriculum/continuous-views/en_social_studies_k-10_big_ideas.pdf

Canadian Association for School Libraries. (2006). Achieving information literacy: Standards for school library programs in Canada. (Asselin, M., Branch, J. L., Oberg, D. Eds.). CASL. http://accessola2.com/SLIC-Site/slic/ail110217.pdf

DesRivieres, Dennis, et al. The Ancient World to the 7th Century. Pearson, 2018.

Educational Resource Acquisition Consortium and BC Ministry of Education. (2008).  Evaluating, Selecting and Acquiring Learning Resources. https://bcerac.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ERAC_WB.pdf

Riedling, A. & Houston, C. (2019). Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips (4th ed.) [eBook edition]. Libraries Unlimited.

Toutant, Arnold, and Susan Doyle. Ancient Worlds. Oxford University Press, 2000.