THE ROLE OF BIOLOGY TEXTBOOKS IN THE FORMATION OF STUDENT’S ABILITY TO ESTABLISH CAUSE-AND-EFFECT LINKS

Abstract

The article presents the results of the analysis of school biology textbooks for 9th grade, related to their ability to form cause – effect relationships in students of general secondary education in biology lessons. Causality is presented as a connection between events, where one event is the cause and the other is the consequence. The analysis of biology textbooks on the possibility of forming cause-and-effect relationships was carried out according to the following criteria: structuring the main content of the textbook, its systematization and classification; the use of terms and concepts that form the foundation of each subject, act as the main form of knowledge and thinking of students in the subject area; types of tasks as mandatory components of the methodological apparatus of the biology textbook. Analysis of biology textbooks gives grounds to conclude that each of them has certain features, forms, methods that contribute to the formation of students’ cause-effect relationships. However, in no textbook we have not observed a comprehensive construction of content based on the disclosure of cause and effect relationships of biological processes, natural phenomena. The problem of selection and selection of the main, establishing causal links between the structure and function of objects and processes in biology textbooks needs to be studied and solved. Building the content of the textbook on the basis of causal relationships will contribute to the formation of causal thinking, more effective study of the subject, its unloading, the ability of students to correlate causal relationships in natural processes with their own lives.