Investigating the level of attention to critical thinking components using educational technologies in the first grade experimental sciences textbooks of Iran and Russia

The present study aimed to investigate and compare the extent of using educational technologies to enhance students’ critical thinking in Iranian and Russian first-grade elementary school experimental science textbooks.

The research employs descriptive-analytical method. Its sample consists of Iranian and Russian first-grade elementary school experimental sciences textbooks. The research instrument is a researcher-made checklist of critical thinking and soft and hard technology. The validity of this checklist was confirmed by experienced teachers and four professors in the field of educational sciences (educational technology and primary education). The reliability and validity of the tools have been calculated by using the formula of William Rumi.

The results of analyzing the content of the experimental sciences textbooks showed that the first-grade textbooks of both countries used hard and soft technologies to teach critical thinking. The percentage of using soft technology was 75.65% and that of using hard technology was 24.35% to foster the critical thinking spirit in the Iranian first grade textbooks of experimental sciences. Moreover, the percentage of using soft technology was 51.64% and that of using hard technology was 48.35% to enhance the critical thinking spirit in the Russian textbooks. In addition, among the components of critical thinking, the highest percentage of 25.49% in Iran was related to the engagement component and in Russia, the highest percentage of 32.02% was related to the engagement component. In Iran, the lowest percentage of 2.87% among the critical thinking components was related to the judgment and evaluation componentand in Russia, the lowest percentage of 3.84% was related to the judgment and evaluation component. Combining soft and hard technologies in the contents of the first-grade textbooks of experimental sciences provides the possibility of learning more effectively and makes the process of learning more attractive for the students. The percentage of the other components of critical thinking in Russia and Iran has been as follows: the component of appropriate questioning in Russia was 18.33% and 11.60% in Iran; the collectiveness component in Iran was 10.01% and 10.04 % in Russia; the analytical component in Russia was 7.30 %and 5.15 % in Iran; the argument component in Russia was 7.63% and 5.15 % in Iran; the composition component was 7.95 % in Russia and 5.6 % in Iran.

The composition of soft and hard technologies in the content of textbooks provide the possibility of more effective and attractive learning for the students. In fact, soft technologies complement and consolidate hard technologies and give rise to hard technologies and enable the growth and development of critical thinking and related areas. Hard technologies, as accessible and tangible tools, and soft technologies, as a set of ideas, plans, innovations, and initiatives which are crystaliized in educational design, determination and management of educational approaches and patterns, play an important role in increasing the effect of teaching and improving the students' learning. Hard technology in itself has no value; rather it is soft technologies that give credibility and value to hard technologies. It should be borne in mind that formal and superficial changes will not be responsive in revising the curriculum and fundamental logical changes are needed in all curriculum processes. As a result, researchers recommend the coherence and integration of critical thinking in educational textbooks. In this regard, the method of using hard and soft technologies and their implementation in the form of critical thinking components in the first year science textbook of Iran and Russia have been studied and emphasized.