Abstract

The aim of this study was to identify the effect of employing the interactive learning strategy on promoting the lower, intermediate, and higher thinking skills of the sixth -grade students, and whether the general academic ability, specific academic ability, and gender interact with the type of learning strategy. To achieve this goal, an available sample of 130 male and female students distributed in four classes were taken from schools affiliated to the Nablus Governmental Directorate in Palestine to be in line with the semi-experimental design used in this study known as (static-group comparison design). Two classes of 64 male and female students were used as experimental groups who were studied by the interactive learning strategy, and other two classes of 66 male and female students were used as control groups who were studied by the traditional learning strategy. On a post achievement test measured the lower, intermediate, and higher levels of learning, the t-test showed statistically significant differences between the means of the experimental and control groups on the sub-test that measured lower levels of learning (p=.009), the total test that measured all levels of learning (p=.03), and approached significance on higher levels of learning (alpha=.10). All these differences were in favor of the experimental groups which were taught by the interactive strategy. On the other hand, t-test failed to show significant difference on the subtest which measured the middle levels of learning (alpha=.96). By using Two-way ANOVA, "F" test showed statistical significance differences (p=.000) on the level of general and special academic ability. It was in favor of high ability rather on the low one whereas no statistical differences were found between males and females' performances in terms of type of learning strategies, nor on the interaction between the type of learning strategy and the general academic ability, specific general ability, or gender. These results came along discussion, and recommendation for future research.