An observational look at classroom practices in the Turkish language teaching process

Abstract

The aim of this study is to determine the practices of middle school 8th grade Turkish teachers towards comprehension (reading) teaching in the process of learning-teaching Turkish lessons and how long they allocate for these practices. The model of the research is the case study model, which is one of the qualitative research methods. The participants of the study consist of five Turkish teachers who gave eighth grade Turkish lessons in the 2019-2020 academic year and participated in the study voluntarily. In the study, an "Observation Form" developed by the researcher was used as the data collection tools. Literature review was used in the development of measurement tools, expert opinion was obtained, and the level of harmony between coders was examined. Descriptive statistical techniques (frequency, percentage, average, etc.) were used to analyze the data. In the study, each of the teachers wrote five to the poem text "Kaldırımlar" (Sidewalks) in the theme "Individual and Society", the informative text "Gündelik Hayatımızda E-Hastalıklar" (E-Diseases in Our Daily Life) in the "Science and Technology" theme and the narrative text "Göç Destanı" (Epic of Migration) under the theme "Our National Culture" lesson time (600 minutes) had been allocated. Accordingly, 75 lesson hours (3000 minutes) of five Turkish teachers were observed in total. As a result, it was seen that 8th grade Turkish lesson teachers, whose teaching process was observed in our study, used only the texts and activities related to the texts while applying comprehension (reading) strategies in the Turkish lesson learning-teaching process.

Keywords

• Reading
• Comprehension
• Turkish Teahers
• Observation
• Teaching Understanding

References

1. Akyol, H. (2005). Türkçe İlk Okuma Yazma Öğretimi [Turkish primary reading and writing teaching]. Pegem Akademi.
2. Ateş, S. (2011). İlköğretim beşinci sınıf Türkçe dersi öğrenme-öğretme sürecinin anlama öğretimi açısından değerlendirilmesi [Evaluation of fifth-grade Turkish course learning and teaching process in terms of comprehension instruction] [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Gazi University.
3. Brevik, L.M. (2015). How teachers teach and readers read. Developing reading comprehension in English in Norwegian upper secondary school. [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of Oslo.
4. Brevik, L.M. (2017). Strategies and shoes: Can we ever have enough? Teaching and using reading comprehension strategies in general and vocational programmes. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, 61(1), 76-94.
5. Büyüköztürk, Ş., Çakmak, E.K., Akgün, Ö.E., Karadeniz, Ş., & Demirel, F. (2013). Bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri [Scientific research methods] (1. Eds). Pegem Akademi.
6. Cervetti, G., & Hiebert, E.H. (2015). Knowledge, literacy, and the Common Core. Language Arts, 92(4), 256-269.
7. Creswell, J.W., & Creswell, J.D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Sage.
8. Creswell, J.W., & Poth, C.N. (2018). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches (4th ed.). Sage.

9. Boardman, A.E., Greenberg, D.H., Vining, A.R., & Weimer, D.L. (2017). Cost-benefit analysis: concepts and practice. Cambridge University Press.
10. Dole, J.A., Brown, K.J., & Trathen, W. (1996). The effects of strategy instruction on the comprehension performance of at-risk students. Reading Research Quarterly, 31(1), 62-88. https://doi.org/10.1598/RRQ.31.1.4
11. Dole, J.A., Duffy, G.G., Roehler, L.R., & Pearson, P.D. (1991). Moving from the old to the new: Research on reading comprehension instruction. Review of Educational Research, 61(2), 239-264. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543061002239
12. Duke, N.K., & Martin, N.M. (2015). Best practices in informational text comprehension instruction. In L.B. Gambrell & L.M. Morrow (Eds.), Best practices in literacy instruction (pp. 249-267). Guilford.
13. Durkin, D. (1978-1979). What classroom observations reveal about reading comprehension instruction. Reading Research Quarterly, 14, 481-533.
14. Durkin, D. (1989). Teaching Them to Read. (Fifth Edition). Allyn and Bacon.
15. Dymock, S., & Nicholson, T. (2010). “High 5!” Strategies to enhance comprehension of expository text. The Reading Teacher, 64(3), 166-178. https://doi.org/10.1598/RT.64.3.2
16. Rieckhoff, B.S. (1997). An assessment of current practices in reading comprehension instruction. Loyola University Chicago.
17. Emre, Y. (2014). Farklı akademik seviyedeki 4. sınıf öğrencilerinin okuma stratejilerini kullanma durumları [Utilization of reading strategies among 4th grade students with different academic levels] [Unpublished master’s thesis]. Kütahya Dumlupınar University.
18. Epçaçan, C. (2008). Okuduğunu anlama stratejilerinin bilişsel ve duyuşsal öğrenme ürünlerine etkisi [Effects of reading comprehension strategies on product of cognitive and affective learning] [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Hacettepe University.
19. Ergin M (1998). Türk Dil Bilgisi [Turkish Grammar]. Bayrak Publishing.
20. Fidan, T., & Öztürk, İ. (2015). Perspectives and expectations of union member and non-union member teachers on teacher unions. Journal of Educational Sciences Research, 5(2), pp.191-220.
21. Flyvbjerg, B. (2006). Five misunderstandings about case-study research. Qualitative inquiry, 12(2), pp.219-245.
22. Frankel, G., Louizos, C., & Austin, Z. (2012). Canadian educational approaches for the advancement of pharmacy practice. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 78(7). https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe787143
23. Garner, R. (1987). Metacognition and reading comprehension. Ablex Publishing.
24. Göğüş, B. (1978). Orta dereceli okullarımızda Türkçe ve yazın eğitimi [Turkish and literature education in secondary schools]. Kadıoğlu Publishing.
25. Güneş, F. (2013). Türkce ögretimi yaklaşımlar ve modeller [Turkish teaching approaches and models]. Pegem Akdemi.
26. Harris, A.J. ve Sipay, E.R. (1990). How to increase reading ability (9. Edition). Longman.
27. Karatay, H. (2007). İlköğretim Türkçe öğretmeni adaylarının okuduğunu anlama becerileri üzerine alan araştırması [A field study on the reading comprehension skills of elementary school Turkish teacher candidate] [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Gazi University.
28. Luttenegger, K. (2012). Explicit strategy instruction and metacognition in reading instruction in preservice teachers’ elementary school classrooms. Journal of Reading Education, 37(3), 13-20.
29. McCown, M., & Thomason, G. (2014). Informational text comprehension: Its challenges and how collaborative strategic reading can help. Reading Improvement, 51(2), 237-253.
30. McIntyre, E., & Hulan, N. (2013). based, culturally responsive reading practice in elementary classrooms: A yearlong study. Literacy Research and Instruction, 52(1), 28-51. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388071.2012.737409
31. Merriam, S.B. (1998). Qualitative research and case study applications in education. Jossey-Bass.
32. Plonsky, L. (2011). The effectiveness of second language strategy instruction: A meta‐analysis. Language learning, 61(4), 993 1038. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9922.2011.00663.x
33. Meyer, B.J., Wijekumar, K., & Lei, P. (2018). Comparative signaling generated for expository texts by 4th–8th graders: Variations by text structure strategy instruction, comprehension skill, and signal word. Reading and Writing, 31(9), 1937 1968. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-018-9871-4
34. Miles, M.B., & Huberman, A.M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: A sourcebook of new methods. Sage.
35. National Reading Panel (US), National Institute of Child Health, & Human Development (US). (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction: Reports of the subgroups. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of Health.
36. Ness, M.K. (2009). Reading comprehension strategies in secondary content area classrooms: Teacher use of and attitudes towards reading comprehension instruction. Reading Horizons, 49(2), 143-166.
37. Neuman, S.B., & Gambrell, L.B. (2013). Challenges and opportunities in the implementation of Common Core State Standards. In S.B. Neuman & L.B. Gambrell (Eds.), Quality reading instruction in the age of Common Core standards (pp. 1–12). International Reading Association.
38. OECD (2019). PISA 2018 results volume I: What students know and can do. OECD Publishing.
39. Özbay, M. (2003). Öğretmen görüşlerine göre ilköğretim okullarında Türkçe öğretimi [Teaching Turkish in Primary Schools According to Teachers' Opinions]. Gölge Publishing.
40. Özbay, M. (2014). Anlama Teknikleri I: Okuma Eğitimi [Comprehension Techniques I: Reading Education]. Öncü Publishing.
41. Palincsar, A.S., & Schutz, K.M. (2011). Reconnecting strategy instruction with its theoretical roots. Theory Into Practice, 50(2), 85-92.
42. Patton, M.Q. (2002). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (3rd ed.). Sage.
43. Pearson, P.D. (2009). The roots of reading comprehension instruction. In S. E. Israel & G. G. Duffy (Eds.), Handbook of research on reading comprehension (pp. 3-31). Routledge.
44. Pearson, P.D. (2010a). Reading First hard to live-or without. Journal of Literacy Research, 42(1), 100-108. https://doi.org/10.1080/10862961003613782
45. Pearson, P.D. (2010b). The roots of reading comprehension. In K. Ganske & D. Fisher (Eds.), Comprehension across the curriculum: Perspectives and practices K-12 (pp. 279-321). Guilford.
46. Poggenpoel, M., & Myburgh, C. (2003). The researcher as research instrument in educational research: A possible threat to trustworthiness? Education, 123(2), 418-421.
47. Pressley, M. (2006). What the future of reading research could be. Paper presented at the International Reading Association Reading Research Conference, Chicago.
48. Pressley, M., & Allington, R.L. (2015). Reading instruction that works: The case for balanced teaching. Guilford.
49. Pressley, M., Gaskins, Solie, K., & Collins, S. (2006). A portrait of Benchmark School: How a school produces high achievement in students who previously failed. Journal of Educational Psychology, 98, 282-306. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/0022-0663.98.2.282
50. Pressley, M., Mohan, L., Raphael, L.M., & Fingeret, L. (2007). How does Bennett Woods Elementary School produce such high reading and writing achievement? Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(2), 221-240. https://doi.org/l0.1037/0022-0663.92.2.221
51. Pressley, M., Wharton-McDonald, R., Hampston, J.M., & Echevarria, M. (1998). The nature of literacy instruction in ten grade-4 and-5 classrooms in upstate New York. Scientific Studies of Reading, 2. 159-191. https://doi.org/10.1207/s1532799xssr0202_4
52. RAND, S., & Catherine chair of RAND Reading Study Group. (2002). Reading for Understanding. Toward an R&D Program in Reading Comprehension. Santa Monica.
53. Stahl, S.S., Jacobson, M.G., Davis, C.E., & Davis, R.L. (1989). Prior knowledge and difficult vocabulary in the comprehension of unfamiliar text. Reading Research Quarterly, 24(1), 27-43.
54. Taylor, B., Pearson, P., Peterson, D., & Rodriguez, M. (2003). Reading growth in highpoverty classrooms: The influence of teacher practices that encourage cognitive engagement in literacy learning. Elementary School Journal, 104(1). https://doi.org/10.1086/499740
55. Temizkan, M. (2009). Metin türlerine göre okuma eğitimi [Reading education according to text types]. Nobel Akademi.
56. Tierney, W.G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (1994). Teaching qualitative methods in higher education. The Review of Higher Education, 17(2), 107-124.
57. Yalçın, A. (1996). Türkçe ders kitaplarının planlanması ve yazılması [Planning and writing of Turkish textbooks]. Journal of Türk Yurdu, 107, 24-27.
58. Yin, R.K. (2014). Case study research (5th ed.). Sage.