Project 2061, Resources for Science Literacy - Professional Development (Oxford University Press, New York, 1997). xiv + 118 pp. + CD-ROM. ISBN 0-19-510873-6.
The six chapters of the book are a guide to the six categories of information on the accompanying CD-ROM: the full text of Science for All Americans (accessed by chapter and subheading); descriptions of relevant selected science trade books (by title, topic/chapter of Science for All Americans, and author); listings of studies in cognitive research (also by title, chapter of Science for All Americsns, and author -- including articles, books, reports, videos, and Chapter 15 of Project 2061's own Benchmarks for Science Literacy); synopses of college courses related to Project 2061 themes; comparisons of standards of the National Council for Social Studies, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and National Research Council with those of Project 2061's Benchmarks; and a guide for presenting six hour, one and a half day, and two and a half day workshops on Project 2061, including preparation, design, handouts, transparencies, and readings. The workshop openings include four possible introductions, six approaches to needs for change in science education, four different workshop goals, and three ways to determine what participants know about Project 2061. There are ten overviews of Project 2061 tools and twenty ways to explor the use of these tools. Workshop closings can use any of five summaries and six evaluations. This means 288 different openings, 200 approaches to Project 2061 tools, and 30 closings -- for a total of 1,728,000 different Project 2061 workshops in all!
Like Project 2061's earlier Benchmarks, Resources is very user-friendly. Branching on the CD-ROM facilitates exploration within any of the six chapters with the same ease as the Internet; but, unlike the Internet, this is possible only in the forward direction. "Backward" navigation is allowed only to the starting point for each of the six chapters. Being able to navigate "backward" within a chapter would give users added flexibility and minimize the inconvenience of making a "wrong turn."
- John L. Roeder
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