The current research aims to identify the level of analogical thinking and its relationship to cognitive representation among fifth scientific grade students in the subject of Biology. The research sample consisted of 346 male and female students from fifth scientific grade classes in secondary schools within the Al-Aziziyah district of Wasit Governorate, comprising 150 male and 196 female students for the academic year 2023–2024. The researchers adopted an analogical thinking scale consisting of 30 items and constructed another 30-item scale (also with five alternatives per item). Psychometric properties of both instruments were verified to ensure readiness for application. A descriptive methodology was employed to gather the required data. After statistical analysis using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), the study yielded the following results: Students demonstrated a moderate level of analogical thinking; Students exhibited a moderate level of cognitive representation; strong positive correlation was found between analogical thinking and cognitive representation. Based on these findings, the researchers recommend that organising training workshops for teachers across all educational stages to familiarise them with modern teaching methods and programmes aimed at enhancing students’ cognitive processes, particularly cognitive representation, providing students with diverse models for representing knowledge to aid learning, retention, and recall. To extend this research, the researchers suggested that conducting a similar study examining analogical thinking alongside other variables (e.g., motivation, attitudes, and transfer of learning). Further investigations into the same variables across different educational stages.
Keywords: Biology, Relationship, analogical thinking, cognitive representation, fifth scientific grade students
