The Quality of Pedagogical Exercises in U.S. History Textbooks
The author analyzes pedagogical exercises related to Native Americans in thirteen U.S. history textbooks currently used in grades three, four, five, eight, and eleven. The purpose of the research was to determine the extent to which U.S. history textbooks offer, or fail to offer, opportunities for students to engage in and develop higher-order thinking skills. Data collection involved the identification, listing, and counting of all pedagogical exercises relating to Native Americans in each textbook. The author then organized data into categories as a way to identify themes and patterns that cut across texts. The analysis revealed several problems. A disproportionate number of pedagogical exercises were recall-type questions. Many questions were very similar regardless of grade level. Some were ahistorical or failed to reflect high-quality content. The author suggests that textbook writers and publishers should design pedagogical exercises to reflect quality content and provide students with opportunities to engage in critical reflection.