Analysing the Tasks in Middle School Mathematics Textbooks According to the Levels of Cognitive Demand

Authors : Şenol Namlı, Bilal Özçakır

Pages : 477-502

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Publication Date : 2024-11-30

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :This study aims to investigate and categorize the tasks in middle school mathematics textbooks based on their cognitive demand levels. The goal is to examine how these tasks align with educational objectives aimed at fostering students\' critical thinking and problem-solving abilities. This research employed the document analysis method. This study evaluated the mathematical tasks in 5th to 8th grade textbooks used in schools in Türkiye, using Smith and Stein’s (1998) framework for classifying mathematical tasks. The data were examined using the content analysis method. The results indicated that most tasks in these textbooks were concentrated at the levels of procedures without connections and procedures with connections. Additionally, the proportion of tasks requiring higher-order cognitive skills, specifically, doing mathematics tasks, was relatively low. Based on these findings, future textbook revisions should integrate more high cognitive demand tasks to both strengthen students\' procedural skills and foster complex problem-solving and critical thinking abilities.
Keywords : Bilişsel istem, matematiksel görev, ders kitabı, ortaokul matematiği, etkinlik