Turkish Primary Students Research Articles

English

In order to avoid problems such as lack of confidence, lack of respect, and lack of love, as well as violence within a given social structure, students should be trained not only as academically successful individuals, but also as people who have adopted the core values of the society. To address this need, this study explores the use of short stories, which are thought to be effective for developing awareness of these core values, with a group of Turkish primary students. The students were told stories by the researcher, and their opinions about the effects of these stories were investigated. The research sample consisted of 30 volunteer students from the 6th and 7th grades of an elementary school in Ankara, Turkey. In this study, a qualitative research approach was used. The data were obtained through written and oral statements. The researcher coded the responses as either cognitive or affective through content analysis,. According to the results, 12 gains in the cognitive dimension and 20 gains in the affective dimension were observed via students’ assessments of these educational short stories. In light of this data, it can be said that educational short stories may provide a significant contribution to students’ cognitive and affective development. Key words:  Educational story, values, teacher, student, effectiveness of the class.

Images of Chemical Scientists through Turkish Primary Students’ Eyes: Implications for Curriculum and Instruction

This study investigated the images of chemical scientists held by Turkish primary students by gender. The Draw a Chemical Scientist Test was administered to 542 students from an urban area. A Chi-Square Test of Independence was used to test for statistically significant differences between gender groups. Significant differences were found between girls’ and boys’ images of chemical scientists in terms of some aspects. It is thought that the findings of this research will contribute to the development of chemistry education, to the researchers studying on gender issues, cultural diversity, and also to the international literature on chemistry education. While DACST is a feasible and simple method, future studies should supplement it with interviews for deeper understanding of students’ constructs

Turkish Primary Students’ Perceptions of Geography

This study provides an in-depth investigation of Turkish primary school students’ perceptions of geography. Gender differences in students’ perceptions of geography were investigated, including definitions of geography and its field of study. The findings showed that landforms, our geographical regions/Turkey, mapwork, and countries dominated among students’ definitions. Geography topics cited were mainly within the physical geography category and mostly those of landforms and cartography. A chi-square test revealed a statistically significant difference between girls and boys in the Turkey category and the history-related issues category.

Students’ Science Process Skills within a Cognitive Domain Framework

The purpose of this study was to investigate Turkish primary students’ scientific process skills under the theoretical framework of cognitive domain. The sample set consisted of 306 sixth and seventh grade students from public, private, and bussed schools. The Turkish Integrated Process Skill Test was used to measure scientific process skills, and the findings showed generally low scores. However, results indicated significant differences between sixth and seventh grade students at private and public schools. In addition, significant differences emerged among sixth grade students at each school type. Private school students had higher scores compared to public and bussed school students. Similarly, a significant difference was determined between sixth grade students at public and bussed schools. At the seventh grade level, private school students scored significantly higher than students at public and bussed schools. These differences are explained and discussed under the framework of cognitive domain and possible reasons for science achievement are identified.

Effects of the evidence-based history teaching on Turkish primary students’ perception of history and related concepts

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of evidence-based history teaching on students’ perception of the history and related concepts. The study was conducted as an action research. A teaching intervention was designed. The main theoretical perspective informing the teaching intervention was evidence-based history teaching. The teaching intervention was put into practice in a 8th grade class consisting of 25 primary students (aged 14-15). It lasted 15 teaching hours. The effectiveness of the teaching intervention was determined by using both a questionnaire consisting of open-ended questions and worksheets used during the teaching intervention. Students completed the same questionnaire, designed by the researchers, prior to and after the teaching intervention. Additionally, students’ works as in the form of worksheets were collected and analysed so as to find out effectiveness of the specific teaching activities. The descriptive and content analyses methods were employed in analysis of data collected. The findings of the study indicated that students’ perceptions on history and related concepts changed as result of evidence-based history teaching used in their courses.

Gender Differences in Turkish Primary Students’ Images of Astronomical Scientists: A Preliminary Study with 21st Century Style

This study investigated the images of astronomical scientists held by Turkish primary students by gender. The Draw an Astronomical Scientist Test was administered to 472 students from an urban area. A Chi-Square Test of Independence was used to test for statistically significant differences between gender groups. Significant differences were found between girls’ and boys’ images of astronomical scientists in terms of some aspects. It is thought that the findings of this research will contribute to the development of universal astronomy education, to the researchers studying on gender issues, cultural diversity, and also to the international literature on astronomy education.

Turkish Primary Students’ Perceptions about Scientist and What Factors Affecting the Image of the Scientists

Students' views of science and scientists have been widely studied. The purpose of this study is to analyze image of scientist from drawn picture of scientists using The Draw-a- Scientist Test (DAST) by 5th grade students and to analyze where this image comes from students’ minds in changing Turkish educational perspective. Two hundred eighty seven students from sixteen different primary schools, located in the same city, participated in this study. Like previous studies, the findings generally showed that scientists are male, Caucasians, elderly-aged, working indoors with chemistry. On the contrary, the image of scientists, having glasses and facial hair and/or crazy hair, wearing lab coats, and doing dangerous and secrecy things decreased but smiling scientists and indicator of technology increased in young Turkish students’ drawings. Eventually, stereotypical images of the scientist are a slightly lesser than revealed in previous studies. The impact of science teachers and textbooks has shaped what a scientist is and what a scientist does to young students’ minds. Notwithstanding, the influence of media (movies, magazines, television, etc.) has been pointed to as not significant source of information by students.