The cognitive levels of questions embedded in the Islamic education textbooks for Malaysian secondary schools : analysis based on Bloom`s taxonomy

Abstract

Assessment is one of the most important elements in teaching and learning process. The purpose of assessment is to collect information about performance of the learners. The study aims to identify the cognitive levels of assessment questions in the Islamic Education textbooks for Malaysian secondary school based on Bloom’s taxonomy. The Islamic Education textbook for Form Five was the subject of this study. In order to achieve the objectives of this study, the researcher developed a checklist based on the cognitive domain of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This instrument was applied to the 187 questions embedded in the Islamic Education textbook of this quantitative content analysis research. The researcher applied the documentation procedure for collecting data which were analyzed using the content analysis procedures. The results of this study revealed that the Islamic Education textbook questions mostly focused on the lower levels of cognitive domain (remembering and understanding).They also showed that most of questions were of the short answer questions type, which assess the lower order thinking skills (LOTS). In the light of these results, the researcher recommended that there should be a more focus on questions of higher levels of thinking in the Islamic Education textbook for Form Five, particularly the levels of applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating. It also recommended a gradual increase of cognitive levels in the textbook assessment question in future. More quantitative content analysis studies on the other Islamic Education textbooks are needed.