THE REPRESENTATION OF CRITICAL THINKING IN THE TEXTBOOK SUPER MINDS LEVEL 3
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.18173/2354-1075.2024-0060Keywords:
critical thinking, document analysis, material evaluation, textbookAbstract
This study aims to examine the extent to which critical thinking (CT) is represented in the English textbook Super Minds Level 3 which has been used to teach English to the elementary level. The textbook analysis is based on two frameworks including the analytic categories of CT and the material evaluation checklists. More specifically, the CT framework Consists of categories such as clarification, perspective, prediction, reason and evidence, summary, and conclusion. Besides, the textbook was analyzed regarding aim and approaches, design and organization, language content, skills, and learners’ needs. The descriptive content analysis reveals that the language skills tasks in the textbook primarily emphasize reasoning and evidence, along with clarification, perspective, and prediction, while summary and conclusion are less represented. Additionally, the material evaluation checklists, covering aspects like aims and approaches, design and organization, language content, and learners' needs, provide supplementary insights into the CT characteristics of the textbook, though these aspects are discussed more briefly in descriptive details and mainly serve as a foundation in this study. Overall, the selected CT categories are found to be well-represented through the textbook evaluation, particularly in the language skills tasks, which significantly contribute to fostering learners' critical thinking skills.
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