Research-based tasks in history textbooks as a means of developing students’ critical thinking and media literacy

- Мороз, Петро Володимирович (orcid.org/0000-0002-6776-9186) (2026) Research-based tasks in history textbooks as a means of developing students’ critical thinking and media literacy Український педагогічний журнал, 2. pp. 148-156. ISSN 2411-1317

Text Мороз_УПЖ_02_2026+(14).pdf Download (505kB)

Abstract

The article substantiates the didactic potential of research-based tasks in a history textbook and its electronic supplement as a systemic tool for developing students' critical thinking and media literacy within the competence-based approach. Contemporary Ukrainian and international approaches to fostering critical thinking and media literacy in history education are analyzed. It is established that research-based tasks, as a component of the textbook's methodological framework, ensure the organization of active cognitive activity aimed at analysis, interpretation, and critical evaluation of information. A typology of research-based tasks oriented toward developing students' critical thinking and media literacy is proposed, including tasks for analyzing historical sources, working with visual materials, comparing interpretations, identifying cause-and-effect relationships, as well as problem-based and interpretive tasks. The functions of the textbook and the electronic supplement are differentiated: the textbook supports the development of basic analytical skills, while the electronic supplement enables the implementation of a full cycle of inquiry-based learning. Examples of implementing research-based tasks in a Grade 9 History of Ukraine textbook and its electronic supplement are provided, including fact-checking activities, inquiry-based quests, AI-interview tasks with verification of responses, and anthropologically oriented tasks. It is demonstrated that these formats adapt learning to the cognitive characteristics of the digital generation and foster students' ability to critically evaluate information and resist manipulation. The study concludes that the effectiveness of developing critical thinking and media literacy largely depends on the systematic and didactically grounded integration of research-based tasks within the textbook complex. Prospects for further research include empirical studies on the impact of this system on students' learning outcomes and comparative analysis of approaches to integrating media literacy into history textbooks.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	history textbook, research-based tasks, critical thinking, media literacy, historical thinking, competence-based approach, electronic supplement
Subjects:	Science and knowledge. Organization. Computer science. Information. Documentation. Librarianship. Institutions. Publications > 3 Social Sciences > 37 Education > 37.01/.09 Special auxiliary table for theory, principles, methods and organization of education > 37.01 Fundamentals of education. Theory. Policy etc. Science and knowledge. Organization. Computer science. Information. Documentation. Librarianship. Institutions. Publications > 3 Social Sciences > 37 Education > 37.01/.09 Special auxiliary table for theory, principles, methods and organization of education > 37.02 General questions of didactics and method Science and knowledge. Organization. Computer science. Information. Documentation. Librarianship. Institutions. Publications > 3 Social Sciences > 37 Education > 373 Kinds of school providing general education Science and knowledge. Organization. Computer science. Information. Documentation. Librarianship. Institutions. Publications > 9 Geography. Biography. History > 93/94 History
Divisions:	Institute of Pedagogics > The Laboratory of Literary Education
Depositing User:	с.н.с. Петро Володимирович Мороз
Date Deposited:	05 Jun 2026 11:17
Last Modified:	05 Jun 2026 11:17
URI:	https://lib.iitta.gov.ua/id/eprint/749358

Downloads

Actions (login required)

View Item