Text Readability Level Investigation about Biology Subjects-related Units in 'Science 7 Textbook'

Abstract

This study investigates text readability level investigation about biology subjects-related units in 'Science 7 Textbook'. A document analysis method was used in this study based on a qualitative research approach. The textbook, which has been used since the 2019-2020 academic year, has been selected as the study material. In the textbook, a total of 15 texts were randomly determined from two units related to biology subjects, one for each of the learning outcomes specified in the 2018 Science Course Curriculum. In calculating the readability levels of the texts, the 'Ateşman Readability Formula' was used. The findings obtained as a result of the analysis showed that the overall readability levels of the texts in both units were in the 'medium difficulty' category. Furthermore, when the findings of each unit were examined on a subject basis, it was determined that the texts belonging to all of the topics included in both units (Cell and Divisions, Reproduction, Growth and Development in Living Beings) were found in the 'medium' category. These findings were interpreted as the science textbook prepared for the seventh grade for the student level in terms of readability.

Breaking Down Barriers to Science Education: Evaluating the Readability of Science Textbooks for second-grade Secondary Students in Jordan

“…The text's readability affects the reader's understanding which goes beyond the reading level (Adamska-Mieruszewska et al, 2021;Phani et al, 2019). If you want to know how easy or difficult a piece of writing is for the average person to understand, look no further than the text's readability (Bozkurt, 2020;Gül, 2021;Gül & Kargin, 2021). For this reason, readability is an important property in reading instruction (Bozkurt, 2020;Öksüz & Keskin, 2022) as "the degree to which a student at a given level can read and understand a text"), as children and young adults cannot read all texts and, even if they do, may not be able to accomplish the goals expected of them (Gyasi & Slippe, 2019;Sultan et al, 2020).…”