Evaluating Four Corners Textbooks in Terms of Cognitive Processes Using Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

Shahrekord University

Abstract

This study evaluated 2 ELT textbooks (Four Corners, Book 2 and Four Corners
Book 3) drawing on Bloom’s revised taxonomy (BRT); it examined the extent to
which these ELT textbooks could demonstrate the 6 cognitive categories of the BRT
(i.e., remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating) in
their activities. To this end, content analysis was done to obtain the frequency and
proportion of various cognitive processes. Results revealed the prevalence of the
processes of remembering and understanding in the textbooks. Also, creating
process constituted the lowest percentage of processes in both textbooks.
Furthermore, the lower-order categories (i.e., remembering, understanding, and
applying) were more frequently represented than the higher-order ones (i.e.,
analyzing, evaluating, and creating). However, the chi-square test did not show a
significant difference between Book 2 (a less advanced-level textbook) and Book 3
(a more advanced-level textbook) in terms of the 6 levels of cognitive skills. The
results indicate that the above textbooks, much against expectations, fail to engage
learners so well in the activities requiring higher levels of cognitive ability,
prerequisites of autonomous language learning. By implication, some of the
activities in the more advanced-level textbook should be adapted to make learners
become more intellectual contributors to their language learning.

Keywords