Evaluating Student Answers to Geography Questions Framed According to the Factual and Conceptual Knowledge Levels of the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to determine whether there is a relationship between students’ answers to geography questions framed according to the factual and conceptual levels of the knowledge dimension of the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. The study used a correlational survey design. The data were gleaned from the answers that 52 students studying social studies teaching at the faculty of education of a state university in the Eastern Black Sea Regions in the 2018-2019 academic year gave to 14 questions framed based on the factual and conceptual knowledge levels of the Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. The data collection instrument designed within the scope of the study was administered to the students twice at a 40-day interval through the test-retest method. The reliability of the measurement instrument was tested using the Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient (PPMCC) and found to be .82. The research hypotheses were tested using the nonparametric chi-square goodness of fit test and chi-square test of independence. First, the frequency and percentage distributions of students’ answers to the factual and conceptual questions were computed. The rate of those who answered the factual knowledge questions correctly ranged from 51.9% to 100%, while the rate of those who answered the conceptual knowledge questions correctly ranged from 5.8% to 78.8%. The results of the chi-square goodness of fit test run to test whether students’ answers differ in the factual and conceptual knowledge levels showed that there was a statistically significant difference between the observed and expected values [X² (1, n = 447) = .0, p = .00]. The results of the chi-square test of independence run to find out whether there is a significant relationship in students’ answers to the factual and conceptual knowledge questions showed a significant relationship between students’ answers to the factual knowledge questions and those to the conceptual knowledge questions [X²(1, n = 447), p = .00, Cramer’s V = .24]. These results show that the students were able to give correct answers to the factual knowledge questions that require a basic level of knowledge of geography, while they had difficulty answering the conceptual knowledge questions that require higher-order learning activities and skills. Therefore, geography classes should incorporate activities aimed at the upper levels of the knowledge and cognitive process dimensions to help students develop higher-order thinking skills. It is hoped that this study will contribute to further research. Article visualizations: