Fourth Grade Primary School Students Research Articles

A question of feedback? Studying effects of academic performance and teacher feedback on primary school students' social acceptance in an experimental setting

IntroductionBeing socially accepted by peers is a fundamental psychological need, and the consequences of social rejection are manifold. Investigating the causes of social rejection, a large body of studies have already established the relationship between social acceptance and individual characteristics (e.g., academic performance). However, the overall contributions of those individual characteristics are rather small, and the cause-and-effect relationship is still unclear. In addition, following social referencing theory, studies suggest that the feedback teachers give to students might also influence their social acceptance.MethodsThis experimental study, therefore, examined the influence academic performance, as well as teacher feedback, have on social acceptance. Teacher feedback was operationalized along the following two dimensions: feedback valence (positive/negative) and feedback focus (personal/task). A total of 737 third and fourth-grade primary school students (51% girls) from North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) rated a fictional student's social acceptance on a scale of three sociometric items before and after watching an experimental video that showed a school day of the fictional student. Participants were randomly assigned to one level of academic performance (high/average/low) and one of four feedback conditions, with each being a combination of the two factors, feedback valence and feedback focus. Data were analyzed using linear mixed models.ResultsThe results indicated that both academic performance and the valence of teacher feedback influenced participants' social acceptance of the student in the video. For instance, a high academic performance had a positive effect and a low academic performance had a negative effect on social acceptance. Further, positive teacher feedback influenced social acceptance positively, while negative teacher feedback influenced social acceptance negatively. However, this effect was moderated by the focus of the teacher's feedback. Feedback with a focus on the person had a more substantial effect on social acceptance for both positive and negative feedback than feedback with a focus on the task.DiscussionThese findings illustrate the importance teachers and their feedbacks have on students' peer relationships. They further suggest that it not only matters if teachers give positive or negative feedback but also how they do it.

INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS' READING AND WRITING ANXIETY

This research examines the relationship between reading and writing anxiety of primary school fourth-grade students according to different variables. In this context, the research was carried out with the correlational research model, one of the quantitative research methods. The sample of the study consists of 402 students determined by convenient sampling. The data were collected using the Personal Information Form consisting of demographic variables, the Reading Anxiety Scale used to determine students' reading anxiety, and the Writing Anxiety Scale used to measure students' writing anxiety. SPSS 24 statistical software was used in the analysis of the data. In line with the purpose of the research, a t-test for gender ANOVA was used for parental education levels. Relationships between reading and writing anxiety were analyzed using Pearson Product-Moment correlation analysis and hierarchical regression analysis. In the findings obtained, it was determined that the student's reading and writing anxiety were moderate, there was a difference in reading anxiety according to gender, and education level of the parents, and a difference in writing anxiety according to the education level of the parents. It was determined that there was a positive and highly significant relationship between reading and writing anxiety. In addition, there is a significant predictiveness of reading anxiety in students' writing anxiety.

Using Digital Tools to Improve Vocabulary in Fourth-Grade Primary School Students

he purpose of this study was to improve the vocabulary of fourth-grade primary school students through action plans based on digital tools. The study was conducted within the framework of participatory action research design, one of the qualitative research approaches. The participants were 32 fourth-grade students from a public elementary school in Konya during the spring semester of 2023. The study started with a pre-test using Bulut's (2013) vocabulary test to assess the students' vocabulary levels. Subsequently, four action plans were developed, consisting of eight activities focusing on different Turkish learning areas (listening, speaking, reading, and writing). These action plans were implemented over an eight-week period. Following the intervention, a post-test was conducted, and the pre- and post-test results were compared to assess the students' progress. Additionally, qualitative data including observation notes, digital diaries, teacher and student interviews, video recordings, and research meetings were analyzed to gather feedback on the implementation process. The results indicated an improvement in students' vocabulary skills. The use of digital tools suitable for various learning domains and the incorporation of diverse text types in the activities fostered student engagement, enjoyment, and a comprehensive approach to vocabulary development. Furthermore, the implementation of group strategies positively influenced students' motivation and willingness to learn.

Examining the Persuasive Speech Proficiency of Fourth-Grade Primary School Students

Examining the Persuasive Speech Proficiency of Fourth-Grade Primary School Students

Development of Interactive E-Modules to Increase Learning Motivation and Science Literacy in Elementary School Students

The article aimed to produce interactive e-modules from my country that meets the qualified criteria and to know the effectiveness of the interactive e-modules of my country produced to improve the learning motivation and science literacy of elementary school students of grade IV in the nearby. The research used research and development (R&D), with ADDIE model. The subject of a pilot project for a small group trial consists of 15 students and 1teacher in SD Negeri Soka. Next, the test subject of the field trial consists of 20 Muhammadiyah Kalinampu 1 students as a control class and 20 students IV grade SD Muhammadiyah Kalipakem 1 as an experimental class. Collecting data used interview guide, observation guidelines, product assessment sheet, teacher-response scale, student response scale, and the motivational scale of study and science literary test. The results showed that: (1) the resulting interactive e-module met the criteria of "very appropriate" according to the assessment of media experts and material experts; in the one-to-one trial, it obtained the "Decent" category from the responses given by the teacher and obtained the "Easy" category. Very Feasible" from the responses of students, while in the small group trial, the category "Very Eligible" was obtained from the responses given by the teacher and students; (2) the interactive e-module was found effectively increase learning motivation and science literacy of fourth-grade primary school students. The results of the t-test and the MANOVA test showed a significant level of 0.05, indicating the interactive e-modules, 'the richness of my country,' can significantly increase the learning motivation and science literacy of fourth-grade elementary school students with a significance value of 0.000 <0.05. Keywords : Interactive E-module, Learning Motivation, Science Literacy

Primary students’ online homework completion and learning achievement

ABSTRACT Online homework has become an important teaching and learning activity due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions. This study explored the relationship between primary students’ online homework completion and learning achievement. It also investigated the moderating effects of key factors including the role of the students and the involvement of their parents on this relationship. Based on a total of 3,210 Chinese online homework assigned in the Spring of 2020 to fourth grade primary school students in Wuhan, China, hierarchical linear modeling was employed to examine the relationship between primary students’ online homework completion and their learning achievement. Simultaneously, the effects of potential moderators including students’ information literacy, students’ prior academic achievement, parental digital self-efficacy, and parent – teacher partnership were investigated. The results showed a significant positive effect of students’ online homework completion on learning achievement. Moreover, students’ information literacy, students’ prior achievement, and parent – teacher partnership positively moderated this relationship. Based on the findings, practical implications for school administrators, teachers, and parents are discussed herein to promote online homework completion and enhance students’ learning achievement.

Classroom Teachers' Bias in Assessing Disadvantaged Primary School Students' Reading Comprehension Skills

It is known that the reading performance of disadvantaged students is lower when compared to non-disadvantaged students. It has always been discussed that being disadvantaged affects teachers' bias in scoring students' reading performance. Therefore, the existence and effect of the teacher factor in the low level of reading performance of students in disadvantaged groups is worth investigating. The reading comprehension skills of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged fourth grade primary school students were assessed in this study. Moreover, whether the classroom teachers were biased in scoring the reading comprehension skills of the disadvantaged students were also investigated. The reading comprehension skills of 48 students, 13 of whom were disadvantaged and 35 were non-disadvantaged, were assessed by three classroom teachers (raters) using an analytical rubric. The data were analyzed using the Many-facet Rasch measurement model. It was found that the classroom teachers were biased in evaluating the reading comprehension skills of disadvantaged students. Likewise, the reading comprehension levels of the non-disadvantaged students were higher than the disadvantaged students.

The Effect of Online Reciprocal Teaching on Fourth Grade Primary School Students’ Reading Comprehension Skills and Reading Motivation

This 9-week mixed-methods study aimed to examine the effect of online reciprocal teaching on fourth grade primary school students’ (N = 30) reading comprehension skills and reading motivation. As data collection tools, the “Reading Comprehension Test” was used to determine students’ reading comprehension levels, while the “Motivation for Reading Questionnaire” was used to determine their reading motivation. Students gave their views on the implementation in a “semi-structured interview form” prepared by the researcher. In the research, within the scope of the quantitative data, arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and t-test were used for the analysis of the data obtained from the pretest and posttest administrations of the reading comprehension test and motivation for reading questionnaire. The qualitative data of the research were analyzed with the “content analysis” technique. It was concluded that the online reciprocal teaching strategies improved students’ reading comprehension skills, while the strategies did not make a difference in students’ intrinsic motivation but increased their extrinsic motivation. According to the findings obtained in the qualitative part of the study, students stated that their vocabulary improved, that they understood the texts they read more easily, and that while they had the most difficulty in the summarizing strategy, they found the predicting strategy to be the simplest. Furthermore, it was concluded that group work increased students’ behaviors such as cooperation and collaboration, whereas they had difficulty in making joint decisions. Some suggestions are made in the light of the study results for researchers and practitioners.

An Analysis of the Relationship between Primary School Fourth-Grade Students’ Writing Performance, and Student and Class Variables

This study aims to examine the writing performance of primary school fourth-grade students in relation to the student-level variables (writing, reading comprehension, self-regulation-based writing, writing motivation, and writing anxiety) and classroom-level (teacher) variables (knowledge of text-writing instruction and text-writing instruction self-efficacy beliefs). The data were collected from Zonguldak, Turkey in 2019-2020 academic year. The study used a correlation research method consisting of 734 fourth-grade students at primary school and 31 classroom teachers. The data collection tools included the Story Text and Informative Text Assessment Analytical Rubric, Writing Achievement Test, Reading Comprehension Test, Self-Regulation-Based Writing Scale, Writing Motivation Scale, Writing Anxiety Scale, and Text-Writing Instruction Form for Classroom Teachers, and Text-Writing Instruction Self-Efficacy Beliefs Scale. A two-level Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) analysis was performed on the data. The results showed that students’ writing knowledge, reading comprehension level, and self-regulation-based writing skills play a significant role in their writing performance. The student-level variables examined in this study account for the text-writing performance of students by 24%. The study presents the results based on the findings and recommendations based on the results.

The longitudinal association between children's growth mindset in senior primary school and their parents' growth mindset.

Growth mindset plays a positive role in children's development, but few studies use longitudinal data to investigate the developmental trajectory of children's growth mindset. In addition, previous studies have shown that there may be no intergenerational transmission of mindset, but the influence of parents' growth mindset on the development and change of children's growth mindset cannot be denied. Based on the abovementioned factors, the present study used a sample of fourth-grade primary school students and their parents in Beijing (N = 4,004), and five waves of longitudinal data over two-and-a-half years were collected to identify the trajectories of growth mindset in senior primary school with latent growth modeling and to examine the effects of parents' growth mindset with a parallel process latent growth model. The results showed the following. (1) The growth mindset of the senior primary school children decreased over time, and there were significant individual differences in the initial level and growth of mindset. (2) Children in senior primary school showed higher levels of growth mindset after two-and-a-half years if their mothers reported higher levels of growth mindset in the beginning. Children showed higher levels of growth mindset after two-and-a-half years if their mothers' growth mindset declined slower during this period, while they showed lower levels if their mothers' growth mindset declined rapidly; when the mothers' growth mindset declines, the children's growth mindset would also show a downward trend during this time. Finally, (3) there was no significant relationship between both the initial level and the decline of the father's growth mindset and the development pattern of the children's growth mindset.

Participatory drama: bridging cultural understanding and Tang poetry teaching

ABSTRACT This article adopts Geertz's view of cultural analysis and embodiment theory, creating a theoretical lens to explore how participatory drama can support students in their understanding of the culture connoted in Tang poetry – a significant cultural heritage of China. A case study was conducted on fourth-grade (10–11 years old) primary school students in Shanghai. The findings show that participatory drama can help students perceive poetic images with their physical senses, awaken the cultural experience connoted by the body to locate meaning, and reflect on the poet's spiritual world through their bodily experience.

Development of Persuasive Speaking Skills Rubrics for Primary School Fourth Grade Students

The main purpose of speaking education is to enable individuals to express their thoughts accurately and effectively in every environment they communicate. This is possible with the teaching plan and measurement tools for different speech types. This research focuses on students’ persuasive speaking skills. In this study, we aimed to develop a rubric to evaluate the persuasive speaking skills of primary school fourth grade students in Turkish. The research was designed with a quantitative research method and survey design. The study group consists of 100 students studying in the fourth grade of primary school. A convenience sampling technique was used to determine the study group. The study data were collected in five weeks through the students’ plan papers and persuasive speech video recordings. In this process, students were asked to choose one of the topic suggestions for persuasive speeches and to plan and present their speeches. The collected data were evaluated by two raters using a rubric prepared by consulting expert opinion. The evaluation results were analysed, and a valid and reliable rubric was created. It was decided that the rubric would consist of fourteen categories, including “planning”, “attracting attention”, “expressing the problem situation”, “expressing the solution”, “visualisation”, “directing to action”, “supporting and justifying thoughts”, “appealing to emotions”, “subject integrity”, “starting and ending a conversation”, “voice utilisation”, “fluency”, “body language” and “use of time” and three achievement levels as “high”, “medium” and “low”. The developed rubric can be used in lessons by primary school fourth grade teachers.

Entrepreneurship Tendencies of Primary School Students and Variables Affecting Their Entrepreneurial Tendency

Abstract The aim of the study is to identify the entrepreneurial tendencies of primary school fourth grade students. The study was designed using the survey research model, which is one of the quantitative research methods. The participants of the study are 505 students attending the fourth grade of a primary school affiliated to the Ministry of National Education in the province of Izmir, located in the western region of Turkey, during the 2020–2021 school year. The Personal Information Form developed by the authors and the Entrepreneurial Tendency Inventory for Children (ÇGEE) developed by Yurtseven and Ergün (2018) were used to collect the data of the study. The data obtained were analyzed using the statistical package program. The findings of the study indicate that while a significant difference is found in all of the entrepreneurship tendencies inventory factors in terms of gender, a significant difference is found only in the innovativeness factor based on the number of siblings. Based on the social activities that the students participated in, it is found that there is a significant difference for the students who deal with dancing. While no significant difference was found based on the mothers’ educational background, a significant difference was found in the success and problem-solving factors based on the fathers’ educational background.

Research on the Training Mode of Children's Engineering Thinking with the Concept of STEAM Education

As one of the channels to cultivate compound talents with innovative features, STEAM education, has attracted widespread attention from all walks of life. Engineering thinking, among the core qualities of STEAM education, has gained increasingly growing importance in the K12 stage. The main aim of the study is to analyze the training mode of children's engineering thinking with the concept of steam education. With "paper-cutting" as the theme of the teaching activity, this research selects 16 fourth-grade primary school students as the research objects and carries out three rounds of teaching activities under the framework of STEAM activities for the cultivation of engineering thinking capability. Through three rounds of iterations with the action research method, as well as the overall scoring table and the sub-item scoring table to conduct paired sample t-test on the data of the three rounds of the teaching process, it is found that STEAM education has a significant effect on improving children's engineering thinking capability.

The Role of Parents in Encouraging Children to Extracurricular Kinesiological Activities

Extracurricular kinesiological activities, in addition to providing the opportunity for actively spend leisure time, significantly contribute to the improvement of children’s health and the development of their abilities, knowledge and achievements, so it is desirable to encourage and direct them. The aim of the study was to assess parents’ attitudes about physical activity and about encouraging children to extracurricular kinesiological activities in their leisure time. Also the aim was to determine the differences in parental attitudes about encouraging activities with respect to the child’s involvement in organized extracurricular kinesiological activities. The research was conducted on a sample of 191 parents of third and fourth grade primary school students. An anonymous questionnaire assessed parents’ attitudes about physical activity and about encouraging children to extracurricular kinesiological activities. Frequencies of answers were calculated, and the significance of the differences was determined by Man-Whitney U test. 79,58% of children were involved in organized extracurricular kinesiological activities, while 20,42% weren’t. Man-Whitney U test indicates the existence of statistically significant differences in parental attitudes related to activity encouragement. Parents whose children attend organized extracurricular kinesiology activities are more likely to encourage children to engage in physical activity. In directing children to extracurricular kinesiological activity and encouraging an active lifestyle, the role of parents will be significant only if parents have positive attitudes about physical activity.

Measuring the level of reading development in international tests (Pirls) among educational systems in the 2011-2016 cycles

This study aimed to measure the level of development of international reading (Pearls) between educational systems in the two sessions of 2011-2016. It also aimed to reveal the differences between the sexes in the 2011 session, to identify the factors that helped in the development, and to know the level of development of international reading in the Arab educational systems. The study used the descriptive approach. The sample of the study consisted of fourth-grade students of primary school (49) countries and (9) standard entities in the 2011 cycle, and fourth-grade students of primary school of (50) countries and normative entities in the 2016 session, they represent their entire community. Records and documents (IEA reports) were used in the study tools. In statistical analysis methods, international results report for the 2011 and 2016 cycles were used. The study concluded that there is a significant development in the level of international reading for (48) countries and standard entities in the 2016 session compared to the 2011 session. The study revealed the development of the level of females compared to the level of males in the 2011 cycle. It proved that the stimuli of the knowledge-rich environment contributed to enriching the international reading of students, while the study showed the low level of Arab educational systems. The study concluded with a set of recommendations and suggestions for future studies. Key words: Measurement, improvement, International Readers, Educational Systems, Pearls

An Action Research to Eliminate Mistakes in Multiplication and Division Operations through Realistic Mathematics Education

In the current study, it is aimed to determine the activities that need to be done to eliminate the mistakes made by primary school fourth grade students in multiplication and division operations and to present solution suggestions for eliminating these mistakes. The study employed action research, one of the qualitative research methods. The study group was constructed by the criterion sampling method, one of the purposive sampling methods. The study group is comprised of 10 fourth graders attending a primary school in the spring term of the 2016-2017 school year in the city of İstanbul and making similar mistakes. A student information form, clinical interview form and student worksheets were used as data collection tools in the study. Activities prepared in line with the principles of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) were applied in order to eliminate the mistakes made by the students in the multiplication and division operations. When the mistakes made by the students in the multiplication and division operations were examined, it was revealed that the source of the mistakes was the operational, conceptual and problem situations. During the implementation of RME activities, it was determined that the mistakes of the students started to be eliminated. After the implementation, it was found that the mistakes of the students committed in the multiplication and division operations decreased. Thus, it can be said that RME is an effective application in reducing the mistakes in multiplication and division operations made by students in primary school.

Written Expression Skills of Both Monoliterate, and Emergent Bilingual Primary School Students: A Comparison with Monolingual Students

Many students learn Turkish as a second language in Turkey. These students, whose first language is Kurdish, learn Turkish at a certain level before starting school. As a result, these students become emergent bilinguals along with school life. On the other hand, some of these students almost do not use Kurdish in their lives and wholly turn to Turkish. Ultimately, all students whose first language is Kurdish continue their education in the same environment with students whose first language is Turkish. As a result, these children lag behind students whose first language is Turkish in many respects. They even lag behind students whose dominant language is Turkish and Kurdish as their first language. This research it is aimed to reveal the differences between the two student groups in the context of written expression skills. The effect of the dominant language difference, preschool education status and socioeconomic level on the written expression skills of primary school students were examined. The research group of 428 primary school fourth-grade students (girl: 201, boy:227) was determined by criterion sampling method. As a result of the research, it was revealed that the written expression skills of the students whose dominant language is Kurdish remained at a deficient level, and they made more spelling mistakes

THE EFFECT OF LEARNING WRITING ON PRIMARY STUDENTS' ACADEMIC SUCCESS AND ATTITUDES TOWRITING

Bu çalışmada, öğrenme amaçlı yazma uygulamalarının ilköğretim dördüncü sınıf öğrencilerinin yazmaya yönelik tutumların ve “Madde ve Değişim” ünitesindeki akademik başarılarına etkisinin belirlenmesi amaçlanmıştır. Araştırmada yarı deneysel desen kullanılmıştır. İlköğretim dördüncü sınıf seviyesinde dört şube alınarak bu şubelerden ikisi deney grubunu diğer ikisi ise kontrol grubunu oluşturacak şekilde rastgele atama yapılmıştır. Araştırma deney gruplarında 52 ve kontrol gruplarında 53 olmak üzere toplam 105 öğrenci ile yürütülmüştür. Deney ve kontrol gruplarına yazmaya yönelik tutum ölçeği (YYTÖ) ve Madde ve Değişim akademik başarı testi (MDABT) ön test olarak verilmiştir. Fen Bilgisi dersi kapsamında “Madde ve Değişim Ünitesinin” öğretiminde öğrenme amaçlı yazma etkinlikleri ile 7 haftalık bir uygulama gerçekleştirilmiştir. Deney grubu olarak belirlenen gruplarda öğrencilere mektup yazdırılırken kontrol grubundaki öğrencilere özet yazdırılmıştır. Uygulama sonrasında deney ve kontrol gruplarına YYTÖ ve MDABT son test olarak uygulanmıştır. Veriler SPSS programından yararlanılarak analiz edilmiştir. Ayrıca bu araştırmada elde edilen sonuçlardan faydalanılarak bundan sonraki çalışmalara ilişkin alan yazıları için öneriler sunulmuştur.

The Effects of STEM Education Activities on Fourth Grade Students' Attitudes to Stem, 21st-Century Skills and Mathematics Success

In the study, the effects of STEM activities applied to primary school fourth grade students on students' attitudes towards STEM, 21st century skills and mathematics achievement were analyzed. Sequential exploratory design was used in the research, which was carried out as a mixed method. In the quantitative part of the research, time series design, one of the semi-experimental designs, was used. The study group consists of 34 primary school fourth grade students. Quantitative data were collected with the STEM Attitude Scale, the 21st Century Creativity and Renewal Skills Scale, the Scratch Achievement Test and the Mathematics Achievement Test. On the other hand, qualitative data were collected with a Semi-Structured Interview Form. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA for Repeated Measures, and dependent groups t-test statistics were used in the analysis of quantitative data. Qualitative data were analyzed using descriptive and content analysis techniques and presented in tables. As a result of the research, it was determined that STEM education has a significant effect on the attitudes of primary school fourth grade students towards STEM and their 21st century skills. It has been figured out that the effect of STEM education on increasing the mathematics achievement of primary school fourth grade students is not significant. Students reported that STEM education activities were fun, useful and instructive. With STEM implementations, students' attitudes towards science, technology, engineering and mathematics have changed positively; They stated that 21st century skills such as communication, cooperation, creativity and critical thinking have developed.