The Role of the Developed Mathematics Curricula "McGraw-Hill series" at the Intermediate Stage in Acquiring and Developing Students’ Attitudes towards Mathematical Thinking Skills among a Sample of Students in Makkah Schools in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The study aimed to identify the role of the developed mathematics curricula "McGraw-Hill series" at the intermediate stage in acquiring and developing students’ attitudes towards mathematical thinking skills among a sample of students in Makkah schools in Saudi Arabia. The researcher used the descriptive analytical approach in order to reach the objectives of the study. The study sample was (30) mathematics teachers of intermediate stage. A questionnaire was applied to determine the mathematical thinking skills that the student needs to include more in the McGraw-Hill series at the intermediate stage. The study sample also included (120) students of middle stage and test tool was applied to discover the role of McGraw-Hill series in providing students with mathematical thinking skills in solving test questions. Moreover, the researcher used the student attitude scale to measure the role of McGraw-Hill series in developing students’ attitudes towards mathematical thinking. The results of the study indicated that there is a strong and positive role of McGraw-Hill series in developing basic thinking skills (observation, comparison, deduction, induction), while its role is weak in developing higher thinking skills as well as metacognitive thinking skills. The results of the study also concluded that the McGraw-Hill series has a positive role in developing students’ attitudes towards strong mathematical thinking related to the development of skills of basic cognitive processes, while the results of the scale indicated that the McGraw-Hill series has a weak role in developing students’ attitudes towards developing mathematical thinking related to higher-order thinking skills. The researcher recommended paying attention to higher-order thinking skills and making sure that they are included in more mathematics curricula, and the necessity of reviewing the McGraw-Hill series in the middle stage.