Evaluating Educational Materials

Abstract

The explosion of knowledge, developing instructional technology, court decisions and legislation mandating equal education for all children are pervasive forces shaping structural changes in education. A significant area of change is the role of the individual teacher. Teachers are less and less dispensers of narrow areas of knowledge, and more and more managers of materials and systems created by technicians and specialists. The skills, required to discriminate among materials offered by publishers must be mastered to get value for dollars spent. This introduction to materials evaluation is intended to stimulate the educator to learn to ask the right questions before making a materials purchase.