Mental Skills Included in the Thinking Cards for the 9th Grade Social Sciences Textbooks in Yemen: Mental Skills Included in the Thinking Cards for the 9th Grade Social Sciences Textbooks in Yemen

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the inclusion of mental skills in thinking cards for the lessons of social sciences textbooks for the ninth grade in the Republic of Yemen. The researcher used the descriptive analytical approach, and Marzano’s Dimensions of Learning, which ensured (8) main skills and (21) sub-skills, that adopted a criterion for analyzing thinking cards. The study sample consisted of social sciences textbooks (geography, history and national education) in the academic year 2018-2019. The study found that the thinking cards in social sciences textbooks for the ninth grade focused with high percentages on a small number of mental skills included in Marzano’s Dimensions of Learning, while they had a large number of mental skills with small percentages, whether in each part, textbook or the all three textbooks together. The study also indicated that the thinking cards did not include many sub-mental skills. Additionally, it revealed that the thinking cards focus on the skills related to sensory experiences and the related sub-skills as well as the low and non-inclusion of abstract higher-level mental skills and the related sub-skills.