Comparative Analysis of Cognitive Demands: Assessing Alignment between Student Learning Outcomes and End-of-Chapter Exercises in Grade 8 Science Textbooks

Abstract

This research work presents a comparative analysis of cognitive demands, assessing alignment between Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs) and end-of-chapter exercises in Grade 8 Science textbooks. The objectives of this research were to discern and categorize the cognitive level of each Student Learning Outcome (SLO) that appear in the chosen Grade 8 Science textbooks according to the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy and to recognize the cognitive level of  exercise questions at the end of chapters found in the chosen Grade 8 science textbook according to the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy, and also to determine the extent of cognitive alignment between the SLOs and the exercise questions at the end of the chapters through a statistical measure while considering command words. This investigation utilized a quantitative descriptive content analysis design. According to the findings, 72% of SLOs comprised the Understanding level while 9% at the Applying level, 9% at the Creating level, 7% at the Analyzing level, and remaining 3% at the Remembering level. Fifty-seven percent of the exercise questions aligned with the SLOs cognitive levels, while 43% did not align. On the other hand, 68% of the Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQs) were based on remembering level of Bloom’s Taxonomy, while the remaining 32% of MCQs in targeted units were based on the Understanding level, indicating that the textbooks’ MCQs primarily focused on rote memorization. In conclusion, most of the SLOs targeted the Understanding level but majority of the exercise questions -namely MCQs and fill in the blanks (FIBs)- reflected the Remembering cognitive level. Therefore, study recommended that the cognitive level of textbook exercises should aligned with the cognitive levels of the target SLOs. This development should be carried out by Bureau of Curriculum (BOC) in collaboration with Balochistan assessment and Examination Commission (BAEC).