Turkish Curricula Research Articles

Free reading activities at village institutes: Why and how?

In this study, it was aimed to discuss the free reading activities (FRA) practised for 1 hour at 21 different Village Institutes in Turkey in pedagogical respects. In this regard, FRA, applied within the scope of an extra programme, was analysed in terms of content and method on the basis of cognitive and affective learning. When the findings of this research were evaluated, it was seen that raising literary readers is a part of the educational activities at the institute. The FRA is a programme design supporting the enrichment of intellectual, emotional, social and aesthetic developments. The main purpose of education in the village is the problem of selecting and preparing the books to be read during free reading hours in a well manner. The educators of the period implementing the FRAs created an original model of education appropriate to the social reality of the people and in accordance with their educational needs.
 
 Keywords: Free reading activities (FRAs), village institutes (VI), Turkish curricula, document review.

The intellectual demands of the intended chemistry curriculum in Czechia, Finland, and Turkey: a comparative analysis based on the revised Bloom's taxonomy

Understanding the intellectual demands of an intended curriculum is crucial as it defines the frames for teaching and learning processes and practice during lessons. In this study, upper-secondary school chemistry curricula contents in Czechia, Finland, and Turkey were analysed, and their objectives were compared using the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy (RBT). The intellectual demands were examined analysing the action verbs in the three curricula objectives based on their association with the intended cognitive process dimensions in the RBT. The Turkish upper-secondary chemistry curriculum was found to be more structured, detailed, and containing more objectives than the Czech and Finnish curricula. The domineering objectives in cognitive demands were understand (77.2%) and analyse and apply (both 7.1%). Conceptual items dominated (59.8%) with procedural items identified (29.1%). Also, there are five metacognitive items (3.9%). The Czech curriculum, compared to the Finnish and Turkish curricula, does not take modern trends in the field of chemistry into account. The cognitive demands in the Czech curriculum were skewed toward apply (40%) with understand and evaluate accordingly represented by 20%. Conceptual items dominate with a 53.3% of occurrence. In the Finnish curriculum, the cognitive demands were skewed toward apply (47.1%) with create (23.5%) and understand (17.6%). Procedural (35.3%) domains predominate, although metacognitive objectives represent a significant share (23.5%) too. These findings from the contents and intellectual demands of the curricula in each of the three countries have the potential to help teachers and other actors in education design the interventions and assessments implemented in the classes. Comparing the distribution of intellectual demands between the countries provides an international reference for educational reforms in hand in many countries.

Investigation of the Development of van Hiele Levels of Geometric Thinking in a Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) Environment

This study investigated the use of a well-designed computer-supported collaborative learning environment, namely Virtual Math Teams (VMT), to develop middle school students’ geometric thinking. It also looked into students’ VMT discourse to better understand factors leading to higher van Hiele levels of geometric thinking. The participants of the study were selected from middle school students who were at the visual geometric thinking level. For treatment, students were presented with a set of activities on quadrilaterals, which were developed based on van Hiele’s phases of learning geometry, within the VMT environment. The data were collected by using the van Hiele Geometry Test. The VMT chat logs were qualitatively analyzed using the three-core collaborative problem-solving competencies used in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015. The results showed that the participants significantly developed their van Hiele Geometry Test scores after the intervention. Qualitative results pointed out that collaborative competencies could be essential in developing students’ geometric thinking levels within the VMT environment. Considering that Turkish students score lower than the international average in geometry and the lowest in collaborative problem solving area in international assessments, it becomes even more important to integrate CSCL environments into Turkish curricula.

Ability Level Estimation of Students on Probability Unit via Computerized Adaptive Testing

Problem Statement: Learning-teaching activities bring along the need to determine whether they achieve their goals. Thus, multiple choice tests addressing the same set of questions to all are frequently used. However, this traditional assessment and evaluation form contrasts with modern education, where individual learning characteristics are featured. Hence, the use of Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) systems, which set the difficulty level in accordance with the ability levels of individuals, is spreading. However, these systems are not prevalent in Turkey. Therefore, it is important to develop and assess a CAT system to be integrated into Turkish curriculum. Purpose of Study: The purpose of this study is to develop a CAT system that can be used in the sub-levels of Turkish curricula (high school) and assess it in terms of reliability. Methods: In this study, a CAT system aimed at the sub-topics (permutation, combination, binomial expansion, and probability) of the unit of probability covered in 11 th grade mathematics was developed. Estimation sensitivity of the developed CAT system, from lower to higher ability levels, was assessed. To this end, an exam was implemented in a high school located in Trabzon in the 2011-2012 fall semester. Eighty-four 11 th graders participated in the implementation. Using the data derived from the implementation, reliability coefficient values of each learner were calculated. System records were used for data collection.