Analysis of Mathematics Textbook Activities by Cognitive Levels and TIMSS Cognitive Domains
Abstract
Textbook activities play a central role in determining the cognitive opportunities offered to students and in translating curriculum expectations into classroom practice. This study aimed to evaluate the activities in Grade 5 and Grade 6 mathematics textbooks in terms of cognitive demand levels and TIMSS cognitive domains. Cognitive demand was classified as Memorization and Procedures Without Connections at the low level, and Procedures With Connections and Doing Mathematics at the high level. TIMSS cognitive domains were categorized as Knowledge, Application, and Reasoning. Using document analysis, 257 activities, including 124 Grade 5 and 133 Grade 6 activities, were examined. The findings showed that high-level cognitive demand activities constituted 60.5% of Grade 5 activities and 88.7% of Grade 6 activities. Procedures With Connections was the most frequent category at both grade levels, accounting for 54.8% of Grade 5 activities and 78.9% of Grade 6 activities. Doing Mathematics activities were less frequent, representing 5.6% of Grade 5 activities and 9.8% of Grade 6 activities. In Grade 5, high-level demand was particularly prominent in Algebraic Thinking with Operations and Geometric Shapes, whereas Numbers and Quantities included a higher proportion of low-level activities. In Grade 6, high-level demand was dominant across all learning areas, and no activity was classified as Memorization. Regarding TIMSS cognitive domains, Reasoning was the most frequent domain in both Grade 5 (41.1%) and Grade 6 (85.0%). Overall, the findings indicate that the textbooks provide substantial opportunities for conceptual understanding and mathematical reasoning, although activities requiring open-ended and non-algorithmic mathematical inquiry remain comparatively limited.
Keywords
References
- Akpunar, B. (2011). The analysis of the concepts of cognition and metacognition in terms of the philosophy of mind. Electronic Turkish Studies, 6(4), 353–365. https://doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.2241
- Akyüz, G. (2006). Investigation of the effect of teacher and class characteristics on mathematics achievement in Turkey and European union countries. Elementary Education Online, 5(2), 75–86. https://izlik.org/JA82FH97HU
- Altan, A., Topuz, F., Özdemir, A. Ş., & Bahadır, E. (2025). Türkiye Yüzyılı Maarif Modeli 5. sınıf matematik ders kitaplarındaki etkinliklerin Amerikan Ulusal Matematik Öğretmenleri Konseyi süreç standartları ile analizi. İstanbul Eğitim Dergisi, 3, 337–365. https://doi.org/10.71270/istanbulegitim.istj.1809161
- Altun, M., Arslan, Ç., & Yazgan, Y. (2004). Lise matematik ders kitaplarının kullanım şekli ve sıklığı. Uludağ Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 17(2), 131–147. https://izlik.org/JA97PP53CD
- Anderson, L. W., & Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Longman.
- Arslan, S., & Özpınar, İ. (2009). İlköğretim 6. sınıf matematik ders kitaplarının öğretmen görüşleri doğrultusunda değerlendirilmesi. Dicle Üniversitesi Ziya Gökalp Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi, 12, 97–113. https://izlik.org/JA95BE73MG
- Ausubel, D. P. (1968). Educational psychology: A cognitive view. Holt, Rinehart and Winston.
- Basyal, D., Jones, D. L., & Thapa, M. (2023). Cognitive demand of mathematics tasks in Nepali middle school mathematics textbooks. International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education, 21(3), 863–879. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10763-022-10269-3
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Mathematics Education
Journal Section
Research Article
Early Pub Date
July 24, 2026
Publication Date
-
Submission Date
January 2, 2026
Acceptance Date
July 19, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Number: Advanced Online Publication
