Analysis of Thinking Skills Targeted for Development by Activities in Life Science Textbooks

Abstract

In this research, the aim was to complete a broad description related to life science textbooks activities. Within this description's scope, the aim was to investigate the distributions in terms of thinking skills targeted for development with activities, the aim, learning experience for the student, form of work, and sources required for the activity included in life science textbooks. The research adopted the document analysis method from among qualitative research models. The study group for the research included 497 activities included in 3 life science books published in the year 2018 and had open access in the electronic environment through the educational information network (EBA) platform. The research findings show textbooks targeted the development of 16 different thinking skills. More than half of the activities focused on the thinking skills of explanation, recall, and differentiation. Activities to prepare for learning appeared to have the highest rate. The study's form was analyzed, with the activity rate in the form of group study below 2%. When activities in life science textbooks are investigated in terms of students' learning experience, 9.5% of activities are directed toward thinking about real-life situations. In comparison, 2.6% are directed toward solving real-life problems. Finally, nearly all activities included in the textbooks examined could be completed with prior learning of the student and the textbook's information. The number of life science textbooks developing higher-order thinking skills, deepening learning, group work for students, and directing primary and secondary information sources should be increased. More weight should be given to activities structured based on real-life situations in textbooks.