International Journal of Science Education Vol. 29, No. 15, 3 December 2007, pp.

18471868

RESEARCH REPORT

Analysis of Five High School Biology Textbooks Used in the United States for Inclusion of the Nature of Science
Eugene L. Chiappettaa* and David A. Fillmanb
aUniversity
elchia@uh.edu EugeneChiappetta Ltd 0000002007 Journal of Science Education 00 2007 & Francis Original Article 0950-0693 Francis International 10.1080/09500690601159407 TSED_A_215870.sgm Taylor and (print)/1464-5289 (online)

of Houston, USA; bGalena Park Independent School District, USA

Five high school biology textbooks were examined to determine the inclusion of four aspects of the nature of science: (a) science as a body of knowledge, (b) science as a way of investigating, (c) science as a way of thinking, and (d) science and its interactions with technology and society. The textbooks analyzed were BSCS BiologyA Human Approach (Kendall/Hunt), BSCS BiologyAn Ecological Approach (Kendall/Hunt), BiologyThe Dynamics of Life (Glencoe), Modern Biology (Holt), and Prentice Hall Biology (Prentice Hall). The same six chapters or sections were analyzed in each textbook, which were the methods of science, cells, heredity, DNA, evolution, and ecology. A scoring procedure was used that resulted, for the most part, in good intercoder agreement with Cohens kappa values ranging from 0.361.00. The five recently published biology textbooks in the United States have a better balance of presenting biology with respect to the four themes of science literacy used in this research than those analyzed 15 years ago, especially with regard to devoting more text to engaging students in finding out answers, gathering information, and learning how scientists go about their work. Therefore, these biology textbooks are incorporating national science education reform guides that recommend a more authentic view of the scientific enterprise than similar textbooks used 15 years ago.

Introduction The role of textbooks in the U.S. educational system cannot be over-emphasized. Textbooks help define school subjects as students experience them. They represent school disciplines to students (Valverde, Bianchi, Wolfe, Schmidt, & Houang, 2002, p. 1). These resources present a storyline for how the content can be communicated and learned. At all levels of schooling Science textbooks are often used as the primary organizer of the subject matter that students are expected to master and
*Corresponding author. Department of Curriculum and Instruction, University of Houston, Houston, TX 77204, USA. Email: elchia@uh.edu ISSN 0950-0693 (print)/ISSN 1464-5289 (online)/07/15184722 2007 Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.1080/09500690601159407

1848 E. L. Chiappetta and D. A. Fillman provide detailed explanations of topics to be taught. Brandwein (1981) indicated that science terms in textbooks drive the teaching of this subject. Some research has reported that 90% of secondary school teachers use science textbooks for classroom instruction and homework (Weiss, Nelson, Boyd, & Hudson, 1989). These teaching resources are part of a billion-dollar industry to promote science education (Biggs, 2004). Generally, science textbooks incorporate discussions on the nature of science; activities to engage students in gathering information and conducting laboratory investigations; illustrations of the relationships among science, technology and society, and so on. These instructional resources reflect the many goals of science education, such as the nature of science, science content, inquiry skills, technology, appreciation of science, attitudes toward science, and decision-making. With the science education reform that was initiated in the late 1980s came a call to give more emphasis to teaching students about how science works. Science for All Americans (American Association for the Advancement of Science [AAAS], 1990) begins with a chapter on the nature of science. The National Science Education Standards (National Research Council [NRC], 1996) stress the importance of teaching science as inquiry throughout the text. These reform documents have benefited from the work of many scholars, who have researched and written about the nature of science and inquiry, calling for more instruction that reflects authentic science (Duschl, 1990; Klopfer, 1969; Lederman, 1992; Martin, 1985; Matthews, 1994; McComas, 2000a; Rutherford, 1964; Robinson, 1968; Schwab, 1958; Showalter, 1974). Given that textbooks are such a prominent component of school science, they should reflect reform recommendations. Today, at least two educational goals are evident. At the national level there is a call to promote both the products of science as well as an understanding of the scientific enterprise (Leonard & Penick, 2005). These goals have been embraced by many states and local school districts. Unfortunately, the current movement on testing students science content knowledge serves to emphasize the products of science and to de-emphasize the process. If teaching science as inquiry and explicitly instructing students about the nature of science are to be implemented, then it is essential to align them with a delivery system that will maximize their potential to be achieved. For over half a century, high school biology textbooks have played a critical role in science education because most students enroll in this course and use the adopted textbook that is a central component of the curriculum. As Bybee (1989) points out, if the United States wants to reform high school biology, it must examine the role of the textbook and how it influences student learning of the subject. For the reasons stated above, careful examination of the most widely used biology textbooks must be undertaken in order to assess the progress the United States is making in reforming high school biology education. Purpose The purpose of this study was to analyze five high school biology textbooks to determine the emphasis given to four themes or facets of the nature of science: (a)

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science as a body of knowledge, (b) science as a way of investigating, (c) science as a way of thinking, and (d) science and its interactions with technology and society (Chiappetta, Koballa, & Collette, 1998). In addition, the researchers sought to ascertain whether todays biology textbooks have a different balance of themes than those written approximately 15 years ago when the current science education reform was getting started. Have biology textbook authors and publishers responded to the recommendations of national reform committees and scholars, especially with regard to teaching students a more authentic view of the nature of science?

Curricular and Theoretical Considerations Conceptual Frameworks for Textbook Analysis The most critical aspect of any analysis of information is the conceptual framework used to guide the inquiry. There are a variety of conceptual frameworks for conducting textbook analysis, each designed to examine printed material from a particular perspective. Some frameworks address the inclusion of subject matter content, some the difficulty of the content or the readability, and others the epistemological orientation of the text (Koulaidis & Tsatsaroni, 1996). Scientific literacy has been used for more than 50 years as a major curricular framework to guide the science educational reforms in the United States. This goal includes a list of descriptors associated with science concepts, processes, and attitudes. Garcia (1985) attempted to validate a framework for science literacy that centered on the nature of science. She used four categories from Collette and Chiappetta (1984), which included knowledge, investigation, thinking, and society. In order to identify and refine descriptors for the categories, Garcia analyzed the work of scholars and national committees who addressed science literacy over a 20-year period (Fensham, 1983; Harms & Yager, 1981: National Science Teachers Association, 1982; Orpwood & Alam, 1984; Pella, OHearn, & Gale, 1966; Roberts, 1983; Showalter, 1974). Showalter produced a synthesis of 15 years of research on scientific literacy. Further, Garcia cited other research, such as that of Champagne and Klopfer (1982), who identified five dimensions of science literacy similar to those used for the present research. In addition to the science literacy/nature of science research conducted prior to 1985, that which has been conducted since then has added greatly to this line of research. Ledermans work provides insight into the difficulties encountered in attempting to educate science teachers and students about the scientific enterprise (Abd-El-Khalick & Lederman, 2000; Lederman & Druger, 1985; Lederman, Lederman, Khishfe, Druger, Gnoffo, & Tantoco, 2003). This line of research led to the development of the VNOS-C instrument that can be used to assess the nature of science understanding (Kenyon, 2003; Lederman, Abd-El-Khalick, Bell, & Schwartz, 2002; Schwartz, Lederman, & Crawford, 2000). The book The Nature of Science in Science Education: Rationales and Strategies (McComas, 2000a) informs researchers about many facets of the nature of science. In particular, it presents many descriptors associated with philosophical, sociological,

1850 E. L. Chiappetta and D. A. Fillman psychological, and historical aspects of science (McComas & Olson, 2000). The Delphi study conducted by Osborne, Collins, Ratcliffe, Millar, and Duschl (2003), regarding agreement among experts about authentic science, relates to many of the descriptors found in McComas and Olsons writing and to many of those used in the present study to analyze biology textbooks. Figure 1 shows the categories and most of the descriptors used by Garcia (1985) to analyze science textbooks. In addition, the nature of science conceptual framework

1. SCIENCE AS A BODY OF KNOWLEDGE a. facts, concepts, laws, and principles

b. hypotheses, theories, and models c. questions asking for recall of information

2. SCIENCE AS A WAY OF INVESTIGATING a. learns through the use of materials

b. learns through the use of tables and charts c. makes calculations

d. reasons out an answer e. f. participates in a thought experiment gets information from the Internet

3. SCIENCE AS A WAY OF INVESTIGATING a. describes how a scientist discovered or experimented b. shows historical development of ideas c. illustrates empirical basis of science d. models the use of assumptions e. employs inductive or deductive reasoning f. shows cause and effect relationships

g. gives evidence and proof h. presents methods of science and problem solving 4. SCIENCE AND ITS INTERACATION WITH TECHNOLGY, AND SOCIETY a. describes usefulness of science or technology b. presents negative effects of science or technology c. addresses societal issues related to science or technology d. discusses careers in science or technology
Figure 1. Four categories of science literacy and their descriptors used to assess the distribution of the nature of science in textbook material

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includes additional descriptors that have been added to reflect more recent research and changes in the contents of science textbooks.
Figure 1. Four categories of science literacy and their descriptors used to assess the distribution of the nature of science in textbook material

Content Analysis Research Techniques Content analysis is a research technique employed in the social sciences to quantify symbols and messages used to communicate through various media, such as books, newspapers, movies, and television. This research methodology has been used for well over half a century. Over 40 years ago, Budd and Thorp (1963) provided a good review of the content analysis approach as well as an excellent bibliography of books, articles, theses, and dissertations on this technique, dating back to the 1930s. Useful publications by Krippendorff (1980, 2004) carefully describe this type of research. He defined this approach as follows: Content analysis is a research technique for making replicable and valid inferences from data to their context (Krippendorff, 1980, p. 21). His writings stress the importance of quantifying ideas that form the structure of a given unit of communication, be it words, concepts, or meanings. Intercoder reliability must enter into the discussion whenever content analysis research is discussed, because the characterization of units of communication must be trustworthy. Unfortunately, there is no acceptable level of agreement for this type of research nor is there a universally accepted technique for arriving at an agreement coefficient. Krippendorff (2004) asserts that his coefficient, Krippendorffs alpha, is the most appropriate measure for arriving at intercoder agreement, and he is critical of Scotts pi and Cohens kappa, which are popular techniques for calculating intercoder agreement. In a review of reliability, Neuendorf (2002) compared three popular agreement coefficients: Scotts pi, Cohens kappa, and Krippendorffs alpha. The comparisons focused on the analysis of 10 Web banner adverts, using two coders whose task it was to assign each advert to one of three categories. The two coders achieved 70% agreement. The calculated coefficient of agreement for Scotts pi, Cohens kappa, and Krippendorffs alpha were .54, .56, and .57, respectively. This example indicates that it is unwise to use percent agreement to arrive at intercoder agreement, because it does not take into account chance or guessing; however, there seems to be little difference among the three techniques regarding the magnitude of the intercoder agreement coefficient calculated. There were small differences among the inter-agreement indexes calculated for Scotts pi, Cohens kappa, and Krippendorffs alpha when Lombard, Snyder-Duch, and Bracken (2002, 2003) undertook a content analysis of 200 studies in the communication research literature, between 1994 and 1998, to assess the reporting of intercoder reliability. They conclude that mass communication researchers often fail to assess (or at least report) intercoder reliability and often rely only on percent agreement, an overly liberal index (Lombard et al., 2002 p. 587). Wang (1998) examined 29 research reports on science textbooks from elementary school through college. She analyzed the textbooks with respect to the conceptual

1852 E. L. Chiappetta and D. A. Fillman framework, data source, and instrumentation that were used by the researchers. Wang also reviewed the field of content analysis, especially the work of Krippendorff (1980). The following are useful recommendations garnered from Wangs extensive review of this type of analytical research: (a) begin by developing a conceptual framework for the analysis, (b) use at least two independent coders to perform the categorization of data, (c) avoid using a small random sample of the entire book, (d) construct a valid classification scheme for data collection, (e) identify descriptors for the classification scheme that require little judgment on the part of the coders, and (f) establish data reliability for tests before engaging in the final data collection and computing interrater reliability. Researchers who conduct content analysis of science textbooks should be aware of Hollidays (2003) comments regarding this type of investigation. Holliday cautions researchers to guard against bias and prejudice with regard to rating and concluding results. Science education researchers and national reform committees may tend to perceive and evaluate commercial textbooks and programs in a negative manner, excluding their positive attributes. Therefore, researchers who conduct science textbook analysis must attempt to eliminate personal bias from the coding and conclusions and strive to develop analytical procedures that are valid and reliable. Science Textbook Analysis Below is a review of selected research reports performed on science textbooks in general, and biology textbooks in particular. These reports were found to be useful in conducting the analysis for the present study. Other research on this topic in science can be found in the references and bibliographies of the literature cited below. Stern and Roseman (2004) analyzed nine middle-level science textbooks to determine how well these instructional resources appear to support student learning of the topic matter and energy transformation. This topic was selected for examination because it is a core life science content that is taught widely in middle-level science. Two among those recommended are Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993) and the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996). The instructional criteria used for their analysis were: (a) providing a sense of purpose, (b) taking account of students ideas, (c) engaging students with relevant phenomena, (d) developing and using scientific ideas, (e) promoting student thinking, and (f) assessing progress. The researchers concluded that these materials fall short with regard to taking into account students prior knowledge. They lack representations to clarify abstract concepts, and are deficient in phenomena that can explain key ideas in a manner that would make them plausible to the learner. Kesidou and Roseman (2002) examined nine middle school science textbook programs from a curricular perspective based, in part, on Project 2061 (AAAS, 1990). They considered both the content and the instructional approach evidenced in the programs for teaching selected topics. The researchers attempted to establish how well the program (a) provided a sense of purpose, (b) took into account

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students ideas, (c) engaged students with relevant phenomena, (d) developed scientific ideas, and (e) promoted students thinking. The researchers concluded that the existing programs were lacking in the extent to which these resources could serve middle school teachers and students in learning science. Valverde et al. (2002) examined data from 630 mathematics and science textbooks throughout the world that were part of the Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) curriculum analysis. They used many characteristics to study textbooks, such as (a) physical features (number of pages and graphics), (b) textbook structure (sequencing content), (c) content presentation (coherence, fragmentation, and complexity), (d) performance expectations (reading, recall of information, answering questions, and engaging in hands-on activities), and (e) lessons (the text segment devoted to a single main topic). The findings of the research indicate that science textbooks in the United States contain more pages and topics than those in other countries, and also have a larger percentage of fragmented themes. Valverde et al. (2002, p. 171) conclude that in countries and schools, such as the United States, where:
overall governance of the curriculum is weak, the existence of encyclopedic texts, with far more topics and far more episodic disjointed themes than those of most other textbooks in the TIMSS world, is likely to amplify the effects of the overall incoherence and lack of demand of these same books.

Abd-El-Khalick (2002) reported on the images of the nature of science found in middle-level science trade books that are advocated by educators. He used nature of science themes advocated by Chiappetta et al. (1998), and specifically those found in Benchmarks for Science Literacy (AAAS, 1993): empirical nature of scientific knowledge, durability and tentativeness of scientific knowledge, replication and confirmation in science, the myth of the scientific method and the imaginative creative NOS, theory-laden nature of science, limitations of science, humanitys contributions to science versus access to the scientific enterprise, and the structure of the scientific enterprise. Abd-El-Khalick concluded that the four books, selected randomly from the National Science Teachers Association list of award-winning science trade books, were devoid of any explicit reference to important elements that define the nature of science. Knain (2001) studied the images of science that are presented in eighth-grade Norwegian science textbooks. He focused on the ideology or worldview of the authors in their attempt to paint an authentic view of science, giving special attention to science content, scientific approach to inquiry, and science as a social enterprise. Knain points out that most of the textbooks analyzed present science as an individualistic endeavor whereby scientists conduct crucial experiments on their own, leading to important discoveries. Unfortunately, the social aspect of science is underplayed, one that presents science as a communal activity that establishes knowledge by consensus in the scientific community, and indicates how science is influenced by economics, social commitments, and personal values.

1854 E. L. Chiappetta and D. A. Fillman Chiappetta, Sethna, and Fillman (1993) asked the question: Do middle school, life science, textbooks provide a balance of scientific literacy themes? To answer the question, the researchers examined the contents of five widely adopted life science textbooks in use during the early 1990s. They reported that most of the textbooks analyzed devoted very little text to the interaction of science, technology, and society (STS) and most presented the stereotypical steps of the scientific method. Thus, these resources did not provide a balanced or an authentic view of the nature of science to students. These same researchers (Chiappetta, Sethna, & Fillman, 1991) examined seven chemistry textbooks to determine the balance in the four themes of the nature of science. They reported that the majority of the textbooks analyzed emphasized the teaching of content with some emphasis on engaging students in investigation. The ChemCom textbook devoted a substantial amount (30.1%) of text to STS. Lumpe and Beck (1996) examined seven biology textbooks using the procedures described by Chiappetta, Fillman, and Sethna (1991a, b). They concluded that the biology textbooks did not reflect the spirit and intent of the science education reform movement that was underway in the 1990s. Further, these instructional resources stressed teaching science as a body of knowledge over inquiry, and were lacking in STS as a focus. The biology textbooks contained a very large number of vocabulary terms, ranging from 664 to 1,412. Fillman (1989) examined 11 biology textbooks using the procedures described by Chiappetta et al. (1991a). He found these textbooks to be very uniform in composition, with a mean of 78% of them devoted to science as a body of knowledge. Scientific investigation was detectable; however, it represented only 14% overall in these textbooks. He concluded that the message that authors were attempting to send to students was that the textbook is primarily a source of biological knowledge and secondarily serves as a guide to investigation. Hehr (1988) examined 25 science textbooks that were adopted in the State of Texas during the mid-1980s, which included life science, earth science, and physical science as well as biology textbooks. The content analysis addressed concepts, scientific attitudes, and process skills. The 24-item instrument that defined scientific attitudes and the eight that defined process skills align closely with many of the descriptors that form the nature of science instrument used for the present research study. Hehr concluded her investigation by stating that scientific attitudes were sparse and mainly found in the chapter devoted to the scientific method (1988, p. iv). Rosenthal (1984) performed an analysis of 22 high school biology textbooks published between 1963 and 1983. She reported that attention to social issues had increased slightly from 19621966 and then decreased considerably from 19691981 in Modern Biology, a resource that dominated the U.S. biology textbook market for many years and one that placed heavy emphasis on teaching biological content. The Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) textbooks (Blue, Green, and Yellow) devoted the most attention to social issues during these periods of time.

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Important to this line of research are Skoogs (1969, 1979, 1984) longitudinal studies on the coverage of evolution in biology textbooks. He examined 44 subtopics associated with evolution in 105 high school biology textbooks published from 1900 to 1983. Instead of counting individual words written about evolution in a given textbook, the average number of words on a line was determined. In the early 1980s, Skoog indicated that there were biology textbooks that presented a comprehensive view of evolution and those that provided only minimal coverage. Nevertheless he concluded that from the 1960s to the 1980s there has been a definite erosion in coverage of evolution in all high school textbooks since the 1960s (Skoog, 1984, p. 126). Design and Procedures The data sources for this study were five high school biology textbooks adopted by Texas in 2004.

BSCS BiologyA Human Approach (2003, 2nd ed., Kendall/Hunt) (BSCS, 2003). BSCS BiologyAn Ecological Approach (2002, 9th ed., Kendall/Hunt) (BSCS, 2002). Prentice Hall Biology (2004, Prentice Hall) (Miller & Levine, 2004). BiologyThe Dynamics of Life (2004, Glencoe) (Biggs et al., 2004). Modern Biology (2002, Holt, Rinehart and Winston) (Johnson & Raven, 2002).

The textbooks published by Prentice Hall, Glencoe, and Holt are among those most widely used in high school classrooms in the United States, while the two textbooks produced by the BSCS organization and published by Kendall/Hunt are only adopted by a small percentage of schools. However, the BSCS textbooks have reflected many of the national science education reform goals in the United States since the 1960s. Texas is among the top three states in the nation that purchases the most biology textbooks for students through state funding (Biggs, 2004). Therefore, publishers devote a great deal of money to convincing school districts to adopt their biology textbook. The protocol used to analyze the five biology textbooks is described in a 27-page booklet entitled Procedures for Conducting Content Analysis of Science Textbooks (Chiappetta, Fillman, & Sethna, 2004). The first section introduces the reader to the conceptual framework used to define the science literacy/nature of science categories and descriptors used for this analysis. The second section defines the units of analysis designated to be categorized on each textbook page. The third section provides practice units to categorize in order to become proficient in coding units and assigning them to one of four categories of the nature of science: knowledge, investigation, thinking, and science/technology/society. There are 25 passages from different science textbooks that the reader is asked to code. On the following page, the code is given with an explanation for its categorization. The fourth section asks the researcher to summarize his/her knowledge of the four categories and their

1856 E. L. Chiappetta and D. A. Fillman descriptors of the nature of science conceptual framework. The fifth section describes how to determine the percent of agreement and the Cohens kappa index for computing interrater agreement between two coders who are categorizing the same units in a sample. In selecting the units of analysis in the five textbooks, the authors went beyond choosing a 5% random sample of pages from the entire textbook used by Chiappetta et al. (1991b). Instead, they selected a much larger page sample from each of six major topic areas (Wang, 1998), which were methods of science, ecology, cells, heredity, DNA, and evolution. The methods of science was a key topic to analyze because the conceptual framework of this research includes this idea. The other five topics relate to the seven unifying principles recommended by BSCS for organizing the content of high school biology (BSCS, 1993). Because the number of pages devoted to each topic was considerably different for each textbooksome containing a small number of pages, others a large numbera sliding scale was used to calculate the number of pages to be analyzed. Some sections had as few as four pages. In this case, each unit of analysis on each page was included in the study. Eighty percent of the pages were included in the analysis when sections were 59 pages, 40% of the pages were included with sections containing 1014 pages, 25% of the pages were included with sections containing 1519 pages, 20% of the pages were included with sections containing 2024 pages, and 15% of the pages were included with sections containing 25 or more pages. The page numbers in each section were randomly generated. These pages were then photocopied, and the individual units of analysis were numbered on each page. A unit of analysis is defined as: complete paragraphs; figures, pictures, and tables with captions; marginal comments and definitions; questions in and at the end of the chapter; and each complete step of a laboratory or hands-on activity. For this technique, at least two raters independently code each unit of analysis as to which aspect of the nature of science it belongs. The complete procedure for sampling and identifying appropriate units of analysis is described in the booklet Procedures for Conducting Content Analysis of Science Textbooks (Chiappetta et al., 2004). After the coders complete assigning each unit of analysis to one of the four aspects of the nature of science, the degree of agreement is determined. Cohen (1960) developed a formula to assess reliability with nominal scales that corrects not only for the number of categories, but also for the probable frequency with which each is used by the coders. The strength of this formula is that it takes chance agreement into consideration. Reliability in this study was determined by the use of Cohens kappa statistic. Cohen stated that kappa is an appropriate statistic for determining interrater reliability when three conditions are met: (a) the units must be independent; (b) the categories of the nominal scale are independent, mutually exclusive, and exhaustive; and (c) the judges must operate independently. Cohens kappa is calculated as follows: k = (po pc) / (1 pc), where po is the proportion of ratings in which the two judges agree, and pc is the proportion of ratings for which agreement is expected by chance. Rubenstein and Brown (1984) state that values of kappa greater than .75 indicate excellent agreement beyond

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chance. Values of kappa between .40 and .75 represent fair to good agreement beyond chance. Values of kappa below .40 indicate fair to poor agreement. Results and Discussion Table 1 summarizes the intercoder reliability between the two investigators of this research, independently analyzing the five biology textbooks. The content analysis procedure and protocol booklet (Chiappetta et al., 1991a, 2004) used for assigning units of text material to the nature of science categories resulted in good to excellent agreement on 19 out of 29 selections (kappa > .75), and fair to good agreement on 9 out of 29 (kappa between .40 and .75). According to Rubinstein and Brown (1984), kappa values below .40 indicate poor to fair agreement beyond chance. The reliability of these ratings compared favorable with those reported by Fillman (1989), who analyzed 11 biology textbooks, approximately 15 years ago. Lumpe and Beck (1996) used the same protocol described above to content analyze seven biology textbooks and reported kappa values that ranged between .74 and .91. Before conducting the present analysis, the two investigators performed a practice run on a small sample of text passages from a few biology textbooks in order to identify any problems with using the procedure with biology textbooks published today versus 15 years ago. One change was found to be necessary in the rating form. The descriptor gets information from the Internet had to be added to the nature of science category Engaging Students in Investigation (Figure 1), because of the introduction of this new technology for electronically retrieving information. All the selections from BSCS BiologyA Human Approach (BSCS Human) indicate excellent interrater agreement (Table 1). Of the five textbooks, BSCS Human was the only one that did not attempt to blend in science as a way of thinking in any selection, except in the methods of science chapter (Table 2). The other four textbooks attempt to blend all four aspects of the nature of science in the chapters, which sometimes makes analyzing individual units of analysis problematic. Some units of analysis, for example, a lengthy paragraph, might contain two or three aspects of science literacy; therefore, assigning a single category to that unit makes this work challenging. Note that each of the four textbooks (BSCS Ecology, Holt Modern Biology, Glencoe Biology, and Prentice Hall Biology) has at least two selections with a kappa below .75. The Heredity section of BSCS Ecology was rated .36, which is at the fair end of the poor to fair kappa range, just below .40. In any case, the investigators report overall reliable results when assigning passages from science textbooks to one of the four categories of the nature of science. Tables 26 display how each biology textbook covers topics with respect to four aspects of the nature of science. Table 7 summarizes this information for the five textbooks, while Table 8 presents a summary of biology textbooks analyzed 15 years ago. Teaching biology through investigation was clearly the goal of the BSCS Human textbook (Table 2). All six content areas devote at least 49% of their material to engaging students in some aspect of investigation whereby they are directed to find

Table 1. Intercoder reliability between two raters regarding the content in ve biology textbooks Methods of Cells % agree 93.5 85.7 72.9 82.9 86.8 .91 .81 .64 .77 .82 86.4 82.4 60.0 84.6 70.3 .82 .76 .47 .79 .60 96.9 52.0 98.2 71.1 94.1 .96 .36 .98 .61 .93 Kappa % agree Kappa % agree Kappa Methods of DNA Methods of Heredity Methods of Evolution % agree 85.0 64.0 83.0 98.9 75.2 Kappa .80 .52 .77 .99 .67 Methods of Ecology % agree 95.3 86.8 70.2 92.9 78.9 Kappa .94 .82 .60 .91 .72

Methods of science Kappa .89 NA 1 .63 .82

1858 E. L. Chiappetta and D. A. Fillman

Textbook

% agree

BSCS Human BSCS Ecology Holt Modern Biology Glencoe Biology Prentice Hall Biology

91.7 NA 100 72.1 86.5

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Table 2.

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Percentage of coverage of four aspects of the nature of science in BSCS Human Methods of science 4.0 49.0 22.5 24.5 Methods of Cells 37.6 56.1 0 6.4 Methods of DNA 29.6 65.9 0 4.6 Methods of Heredity 1.6 98.5 0 0 Methods of Evolution 47.5 52.5 0.5 0 Methods of Ecology 27.9 67.5 0 4.7

Aspect of nature of science Knowledge Investigation Thinking STS

out some aspect of biology for themselves. Science as a way of thinking is only addressed in the pages devoted to the methods of science. BSCS Human also committed about one-quarter of the methods of science section to STS, while science as a body of knowledge only appears 4% of the time. So, it appears that the authors of the methods of science section are trying to transmit the idea that, while investigation is still important, scientific thinking and STS are both critical components in understanding the nature of science and how biologists do science (Knain, 2001). Conversely, the small portion coded as knowledge implies that science is not just a collection of facts to learn and terms to memorize. The lack of science as a way of thinking in the other five content areas, along with the large emphasis on student investigation, suggests that the authors believe it is more important for students to find out for themselves than to only read about how scientists discover their findings. The BSCS Ecology textbook does not have a major section of the book dedicated to the methods of science. Instead, that aspect of science is woven into the coverage of other topics. Like BSCS Human, the Ecology version portrays the selected topics most heavily in science as investigation (Table 3), whereby students are directed to find out for themselves. Science as a way of thinking only shows up prominently in Heredity and Evolution. The authors chose the section on DNA to exemplify how science, technology, and society interact. Note, one would not expect to find an exact balance of 25% of text material devoted to each of the four categories: (a) presenting biological knowledge, (b) engaging students in investigations to find out answers, (c) illustrating the ways in which biologists think about the knowledge construction process, and (d) the interactions between science, technology, and society. Conversely, one would not want to find teaching science as a body of knowledge as the predominant theme throughout a science textbook to the exclusion of other themes pertaining to the nature of science. However, more research should be
Table 3. Percentage of coverage of four aspects of the nature of science in BSCS Ecology Methods of science NA NA NA NA Methods of Cells 50.0 48.2 1.8 0 Methods of DNA 7.4 63.2 5.9 23.6 Methods of Heredity 52.5 30.0 17.5 0 Methods of Evolution 42.0 44.0 12.0 2.0 Methods of Ecology 26.5 65.4 0 8.1

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1860 E. L. Chiappetta and D. A. Fillman

Table 4. Percent of coverage of four aspects of the nature of science in Holt Modern Biology Methods of science 21.4 25.0 17.9 35.7 Methods of Cells 50.4 38.1 2.7 9.0 Methods of DNA 22.3 43.9 16.2 17.7 Methods of Heredity 35.5 58.2 6.4 0 Methods of Evolution 63.2 9.4 22.7 4.7 Methods of Ecology 39.4 32.2 8.7 19.7

Aspect of nature of science Knowledge Investigation Thinking STS

conducted to determine which topics lend themselves to a greater emphasis on a particular theme. For example, DNA science may be weighted more toward science/ technology/society with its relationship to biotechnological products and societal issues that are raised about these products. The Holt textbook appears to provide the most balanced treatment of the nature of science (Table 4). Science as a body of knowledge and engaging students in science as a way of investigation are about equally represented in the chapters sampled (Table 7). Similarly, science as a way of thinking and STS are also about equally represented. STS is the most prominent aspect employed in the Nature of Science selection, but is also prominent in DNA and Ecology. STS did not appear in the textbook sample on Heredity. Science as a body of knowledge is the dominant theme in the Cells and Evolution sample. When looking at Holts coverage throughout the six chosen content topics (Table 7), it was the most diverse textbook in that the range from the most to least represented theme was only about 26%. The Glencoe textbook devoted the highest percentage text to science as a body of knowledge, followed by science as a way of investigating (Tables 5 and 7). In the Methods of Science Chapter, there was a reasonably balanced treatment among the four themes, which is unusual for a textbook. This suggests that the authors of the Glencoe biology textbook were aware of the many dimensions of the nature of science and desired to point this out to biology teachers and their students. This result suggests that the science education reform goals are being translated into a more balanced coverage of scientific literacy in some science textbooks. The Heredity and Ecology samples from the textbook devoted a reasonable amount of text to science and its interactions with technology and society (STS). Today, more than ever, the work of scientists is impacted by technological advancements. Further,
Table 5. Percentage of coverage of four aspects of the nature of science in Glencoe Biology Methods of science 23.9 42.0 23.9 10.2 Methods of Cells 64.7 25.6 4.9 4.9 Methods of DNA 84.6 15.4 0 0 Methods of Heredity 23.4 62.2 0 14.5 Methods of Evolution 61.4 32.7 5.9 0 Methods of Ecology 30.2 54.6 4.7 10.7

Aspect of nature of science Knowledge Investigation Thinking STS

Analysis of High School Biology Textbooks

Table 6.

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Percent of coverage of four aspects of the nature of science in Prentice Hall Biology Methods of science 5.0 63.2 27.7 4.2 Methods of Cells 53.0 45.9 0 1.1 Methods of DNA 31.8 59.5 7.5 1.4 Methods of Heredity 47.6 32.1 20.4 0 Methods of Evolution 35.4 48.2 12.8 3.5 Methods of Ecology 40.3 37.9 0 21.9

Aspect of nature of science Knowledge Investigation Thinking STS

their work is often constrained by private and governmental agencies (Kempner, Perllis, & Merz, 2005). The Prentice Hall textbook mirrors the trend in the BSCS Human and BSCS Ecology books by devoting a majority of the text to science as investigation (Tables 6 and 7). The selections from the Methods of Science, DNA, Heredity, and Evolution sections of the textbook present a reasonable amount of science or biology as a way of thinking. STS is prominently featured only in the Ecology selection, which seems surprising, because of the many opportunities that the authors have to weave in the impact of biotechnology and genetic counseling in the section on Heredity. The authors carefully read the introductory chapter of each biology textbook to more fully grasp the authors message concerning how biologists go about their work. What impression might the introductory/methods of science chapter have on students? The Holt Modern Biology textbook (Johnson & Raven, 2002) presents Scientific Methods in seven pages of straightforward expository writing, using Ebola hemorrhagic fever as the context. The text addresses observing, asking questions, measuring, sampling, organizing data, forming hypotheses, predicting, experimenting, analyzing date, modeling, inferring, forming a theory, problemsolving, and communicating. The analysis of this chapter, as shown in Table 4, shows 21.4% knowledge, 25% investigation, 17.9% thinking, and 35.7% STS. The BSCS Human (BSCS, 2003) textbook approaches the nature of science topic much differently. The methods of science chapter is entitled Being a Scientist and invites the student to take the role of a scientist, which is reflected in the analysis of the chapter shown in Table 2: 4% knowledge, 49% investigation, 22.5% thinking,
Table 7. Summary of percentage of coverage of four aspects of the nature of science in ve current biology textbooks Mean percentage coverage Aspect of nature of science Knowledge Investigation Thinking STS BSCS Human 24.7 64.9 3.8 6.7 BSCS Ecology 35.7 50.2 7.4 6.7 Holt Modern Biology 38.7 34.5 12.4 14.5 Glencoe Biology 48.0 38.8 6.6 6.7 Prentice Hall Biology 35.5 47.8 11.4 5 .4

1862 E. L. Chiappetta and D. A. Fillman

Table 8. Percentage of coverage of four aspects of the nature of science in ve biology textbooks analyzed 15 years ago Mean percentage coverage Aspect of nature of science Knowledge Investigation Thinking STS Merrill 82.3 15.4 0.8 1.5 Scott Foresman 73.1 17.1 0.4 9.5 Heath 78.0 11.3 2.6 8.1 Holt 83.6 10.3 0.7 5.5 Macmillan 80.5 16.7 1.0 1.9

and 24.5% STS. The chapter places the student in the position of a scientist as evidenced by the following headings: Cooperating like a Scientist, Communicating like a Scientist, Thinking as a Scientist Thinks, Recording Data in Your Scientific Journal, and You and the Science of Biology. We wonder, what are the effects of this type of active learning approach on what students learn about science and their attitudes towards science? Does the BSCS Human textbook produce results that are more in line with the constructivist approach stressed in the National Science Education Standards (NRC, 1996)? Also, is this approach explicit enough to produce the intended learning outcomes? Research on teaching students and teachers about the nature of science must be clear and definite, causing learners to reflect on specific aspects of the nature of science that they are experiencing during instruction (Abd-El-Khalick & Lederman, 2000; Kenyon, 2003). This line of investigation seems warranted, given the stress on increasing student engagement in science course instruction. However, other researchers caution that teaching about the nature of science requires an explicit approach, which might be compromised when a textbook attempts to involve students in a large number of activities that may cause hands-on rather than minds-on learning. The composition of the five biology textbooks (Table 7) is markedly different from the biology textbooks analyzed by Fillman (1989) about 15 years ago, who reported that approximately 80% of the text material in biology textbooks was devoted to teaching science as a body of knowledge (Table 8). Science as investigation was represented less than 15% of the time. STS received slight attention, and science as a way of thinking was almost non-existent. In contrast, all current textbooks attempt to engage students by involving them in their own scientific investigations. Even though a significant portion of these textbooks represents science as a body of knowledge, there is a clear trend to achieve a balance between knowledge and investigation. While STS in biology textbooks is at about the same level as it was in 1989, science as a way of thinking has risen dramatically. Even though several of the selections did not attempt to show how scientists think, an examination of the results indicates that current authors value this theme and attempt to feature it in certain sections of their textbook where they deem it appropriate. All of the textbooks in this study present a more balanced approach to the themes of scientific literacy than those of 15 years ago. Students are still expected to read

Analysis of High School Biology Textbooks

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and understand scientific knowledge, but the authors of todays textbooks expect students to take a more active role in their knowledge acquisition. The change from passive learning to active learning is a positive trend in these biology textbooks. It is also encouraging that authors of these books are making a serious attempt to show students how scientists think or experiment. Instead of seemingly endless descriptions of biological facts, concepts, principles, and theories mysteriously appearing page after page, these authors attempt to let students read about the struggles scientists faced, the experiments they designed, and the serendipitous and often messy events that led to our current understanding of biology. In practicality, some biology topics do not lend themselves to a balanced treatment with regard to the four aspects of the nature of science. Nevertheless, if a large enough sample from a textbook is examined, it should be clear to researchers and students alike that biology is more than just a presentation of factual knowledge. The textbooks in this study approached balance with different strategies based on the message the authors intended to convey. However, the deliberate inclusion of how biologists think and the significant amount of text that requires students to actively participate demonstrate that these current biology textbooks have evolved to a form that is much more representative of the many facets of the nature of science than existed 15 years ago. Conclusion and Recommendations High school biology textbooks are major curriculum resources that provide the subject matter content for a great deal of what is taught in biology classrooms, and to some degree how the content is taught. From the analysis of five biology textbooks, three of which are the most widely used in the United States, there appears to be a reasonable balance of the nature of science themes that can be recognized in the writing and activities. The textbooks frequently encourage students to investigate, whereby they are directed to think about a phenomenon or situation, respond to questions, or gather information. Teaching biology as a way of investigation even surpasses teaching science as a body of knowledge, where biological concepts, principles, and theories are presented, which was not the case about 15 years ago when many high school biology textbooks were examined. Further, most of the five biology textbooks examined in the present study place a reasonable amount of emphasis on science as a way of thinking and how science is influenced by technology and society. Nevertheless, it appears that the present biology textbooks contain enough expository information necessary to comprehend the fundamental ideas of the topics under study. The four facets of the nature of science used in the present study offer researchers a useful conceptual framework to analyze biology textbooks. Science as knowledge, investigation, thinking, and science/technology/society are major dimensions of the scientific enterprise. Consequently, with this framework, more specific and detailed analyses can be undertaken. For example, how correctly do the textbooks present authentic science to students? Do any of the textbooks reinforce some of the myths of science, such as scientists use the scientific method (McComas, 2000b)? How well do the textbooks address various aspects of science, such as the tentative nature

1864 E. L. Chiappetta and D. A. Fillman of science, creativity, testing ideas, and so on (Lederman et al., 2002)? Future research should determine how well biology textbooks instruct students about the major topics of biology, using the four facets of the nature of science and their descriptors. The studies conducted by AAAS (Stern & Roseman, 2004) offer a guide for this type of analysis. For example, to what extent do the textbooks engage students with relevant phenomena to aid in learning specific aspects of how science works? Another extension of the nature of science research in biology textbooks that should be undertaken is to determine the extent to which students find meaning from the printed word about the nature of science. Mayer (1983) asked the question many years ago regarding the meaningfulness of science prose in textbooks. While national standards place a great deal of emphasis on the nature of science, science educational scholars are vigorously researching this topic, and commercial book companies are spending millions of dollars producing these textbooks (Biggs, 2004), how much of an impact are these resources having on students? Governmental funding agencies have been instrumental in supporting science education change over the past 50 years in the United States, spending billions of dollars to promote inquiry-based science and updating course content. The agencies should focus more on helping biology teachers to use the textbook as resource to enhance inquiry-based instruction and to learn about the nature of science. Biology teachers can gain a great deal by a more informed education about the content and structure of textbooks, and how to amplify and supplement these thick resources to engage students in learning about lifes processes. We must expand science education reform efforts by beginning with what teachers do and use to instruct students. Today, textbooks are no longer single entities available to teachers. Especially in areas with large textbook adoptions, there is a wide variety of ancillary materials marketed with the book. Laboratory manuals, videos, CD-ROMs and other technology, test prep materials, test generators, transparencies, and related online material are just some of the items that publishers package with their textbook. Until research is conducted to determine the extent and the effect that ancillaries have in the classroom, it may not be worthwhile to include those materials in content analysis research. Regardless of the other materials that publishers may include with their textbook, it is the textbook itself that is a direct and concrete reflection of how that publisher and author choose to represent the nature of science. Acknowledgement The authors wish to thank William G. Holliday for his suggestions regarding this research, and his insights in general, concerning science textbook analysis. References
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