The Effectiveness of the Use of Taba’s Strategies for Teaching Higher Thinking Skills on the Development of Some Higher Thinking Skills (Analysis, Synthesis and Evaluation): A Comparative Study

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of Taba’s Strategies for Teaching Thinking Skills on the skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation of secondary school female students in the Kingdom of Bahrain. The study sample consisted of 39 level female students at the third secondary level enrolled in the commercial branch in Al-Noor Girls’ Secondary School in Isa Town in the Kingdom of Bahrain in the first semester of the academic year 2001/2002. The sample was divided into an experimental group (19 students) and a control group (20 students). The SEA Test for measuring the skills of analysis, synthesis and evaluation developed by Callaghen (1982) was administered to both groups of students. The results showed significant differences in the performances of the experimental group on the pre- and post-tests in favor of the post-test. Thus, these results supported the results of other studies calling for the use of Taba’s strategies in programs aiming at developing students’ higher thinking skills.