The fact that the prospective Turkish teachers’ having a command of different methods and techniques as being Turkish teachers of the future is important in terms of its positive effects on the comprehension and expression skills of the middle school students. This study used the case study design and the qualitative approach. The aim of the research was to test the effectiveness of literature circle method and contribute to the field in theoretical and practical context. Fourty-six prospective Turkish teachers were conveniently sampled from the state university in Istanbul, to participate in the study. During six weeks, the opinions of prospective Turkish teachers who applied literature circle method were collected through unstructured interview forms. The data collected were subjected to a content analysis. It was concluded that prospective Turkish teachers found the method of literature circle favorible, in terms of cooperation, solidarity, gaining different perspectives, revealing hidden talents, developing self-confidence, aesthetic pleasure, enriching vocabulary and catching the details.

This present study imparts a literature review focusing on Augmented Reality (AR) in the field of education. The writers reviewed the published manuscripts by centering on types of manuscripts, research designs, types of participants, and the promising roles of AR in educational setting. A total number of 18 articles were thoroughly analyzed. The results showed a diverse type of manuscripts published in the journal databases including research articles, reviews, technical notes, features, and news. Types of research designs also varied such as Research and Development, Experimental, Content Analysis, Exploratory, Action Research, Descriptive Study, Survey, Mixed Method, and Design-Based Research. Types of participants embraced a diverse range of participants including university students, primary students, secondary students, teachers, and children with special needs. The most prominent role of AR was that it improved students’ knowledge and understanding of the materials. Current gaps in AR-related studies in educational setting are recognized, and several recommendations for conducting upcoming studies are proposed.

This study mainly aims to determine the effect of the layered curriculum on the 6th grade students’ learning styles in science lesson. The study group consists of students in the 6/A and 6/D at Fevzi Cakmak Secondary School in the city center of Siirt-Turkey in the academic year of 2015-2016. “Learning Styles Inventory” developed by Kolb and translated into Turkish by Askar and Akkoyunlu, diaries of students and semi-structured interview form developed by researchers and examination of the documents were used as data collection tools. As for data analysis, percent (%) and chi-square techniques were used to determine the learning styles of students, but in the analysis of students’ opinions the descriptive analysis was used. During the study, students were also asked to express their experiences and considerations about learning activities via a diary. The thoughts and feelings reflected in the diaries of students were directly quoted in findings. As a result of the analysis, in pre-test results of the students in the experimental group exposed to the layered curriculum, a significant difference was found in terms of gender; however, no significant difference was found in their post-test results.

The aim of this study is to collect and analyze children's comments on the pictures in children's story books. Four students studied in the first grade of a public primary school in Adana participated in the study. The research model is an example of phenomenology among qualitative research patterns. Focus group method was used as the data collection tool and observation method was used in a second exercise to support the first method. In focus group discussion "The City on the Wind" by Behic Ak, selected as the Book 1, was reviewed along with 4 participating students. In the second exercise, the book named "The Little Match Girl" selected as Book 2 was reviewed. Descriptive analysis and document analysis methods were used in the analysis of the research data. Students' comments on the pictures were collected under four different themes. "Description" among these themes was the most common in student expressions. The sentences for the themes of superficial interpretation, imaginative interpretation and critical understanding were less frequently used by students. Another finding of the study is the number of words students used to describe the picture. Students built short sentences not exceeding 2-3 words.  

The aim of this research is to investigate ability of sixth grade students’ comprehension the listened story text. The research is the survey type of quantitative research methods. The population of the study consisted of the sixth grade students of the middle schools in the city center of Yozgat, Turkey in the 2018-2019 academic years. A simple random cluster sampling method was used in the selection of the sample. A total of 369 sixth grade students are sample. As a data collection, a story text entitled “Hero of the Town” was used. Data were collected in October 2018. SPSS 21 program was used to analyze the data. The level of listening comprehension the sixth grade students to the story text is 77.46%. It is seen that the sixth grade girl students’ listening comprehension are better than boy students. The girls’ listening comprehension is higher than boys’ %8. 

This study aims to conduct Turkish adaptation, validity and reliability studies of the Teacher Rating Scales of Early Academic Competence. This study also aims to examine and improve early academic competence thoroughly on the basis of teachers’ ratings in Turkey, and lastly to contribute an assessment and measurement instrument to the literature which will enable to conduct further research in the field. This study was designed in a general survey model. The study included normally developing 619 36-72 month-old preschoolers attending to nursery classes and kindergartens affiliated to Afyonkarahisar Ministry of National Education in 2015-2016 academic year. The validity and reliability studies of the data obtained following the implementation of TRS-EAC, was completed. The Cronbach Alpha, split half test, test-retest reliability of the scale and its subscales were measured. TRS-EAC was found to be valid and reliable for 36-72 month-old children. It can be considered that the various studies that can be used TRS-EAC in Turkey will provide important contributions to the measurement power of this test.

In this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationship between the art interests and critical thinking dispositions of the students who study fine arts education in the faculty of education. The sample of the research consisted of 236 fine arts education students including 123 from the department of painting teaching and 113 from the department of music education. In the research, relational survey method was used. It was found in the research that the art interests of the students were at the level that can be considered as good. In addition, it was noticed that the average scores of critical thinking dispositions of the students were at moderate level. One of the findings obtained from the study was that there was no significant difference between the scores of art interest and critical thinking according to gender. Another finding was that art interests of the students in the music department were significantly higher compared with the scores of the students in the department of art education. In addition, a positive moderate level of relationship was found between the art interest and critical thinking, analyticity, inquisitiveness sub-dimensions; significantly low positive relationship with self-confidence, systematicity, searching truth and cognitive maturity sub-dimensions.

It has been well documented that oral language skills are precursors of the development of written abilities, meaning that improving oral language skills, e.g. vocabulary, listening comprehension, could have positive effects reading comprehension. The main aim of the present study was to analyze the effect of a training program focused on four components of comprehension ability provided in listening or written modality on first-graders’ reading and listening comprehension. The training programs were implemented by school teachers as part of the class’s normal school activities, under the supervision of experts. Their efficacy was compared with the results obtained in a passive control group. Our results showed that both the training programs produced positive effects on listening and reading comprehension (by comparison with a passive control group), and that the gains in reading comprehension were maintained at a five-month follow-up. Findings demonstrated specific improvements in listening comprehension with the listening modality program, as well as an improvement in the modality not directly trained. A similar cross-modality effect was found from the written modality training group, therefore confirming the strict relation between oral and written abilities. Reading comprehension performance of first graders can be improved with activities provided in listening and written modality. Hence, it is possible to enhance reading comprehension even before decoding and fluency in reading are acquired.

This research aims to explore the effectiveness of interdisciplinary education program based on multicultural education on the tolerance value, attitude and critical thinking skills of the fourth grade primary school students. Single group pre-posttest design has been used in the study. The research has been carried out with 30 fourth-grade students, at a primary school located within the district of Karakocan in Elazig during the 2015-2016 academic year. Among the participants, 15 are females and 15 are males. The research has employed Tolerance Attitude Scale developed by Kaptan-Yarar, tolerance value and critical thinking story tests and scoring rubrics. Descriptive statistics and dependent samples t-test have been used during data analysis. Research results have revealed a statistically significant difference between critical thinking scoring rubric, tolerance value scoring rubric and tolerance attitude scale pretest-posttest scores in favor of posttest. Based on these results, it can be said that the interdisciplinary curriculum developed based on multicultural education improves students' critical thinking skills, tolerance value and attitudes.

This study aims to identify the effect of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies on self-efficacy perception in reading comprehension of secondary school students and whether self-efficacy perception in reading comprehension of secondary school students differs according to the variables such as their gender and reading habits. In this correlational survey model study, data were collected from the sample of 380 students of 8th grade by using ‘Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies Inventory’ developed by Mokhtari and Reichard and translated into Turkish by Ozturk; and ‘Self-Efficacy Scale in Reading Comprehension’ developed by Epcacan and Demirel were used. The data gathered were evaluated statistically by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with the help of the SPSS program. As the results of the study, Reading Visual Comprehension, Self-regulation in Reading and Reading Self-confidence subscale scores of self-efficacy perception in reading comprehension, were found to be statistically and significantly larger in the groups that have a tendency to finish books that they start. Moreover, Reading Visual Comprehension, Self-regulation in Reading and Reading Self-confidence subscale scores of self-efficacy perception in reading comprehension, were found to be statistically and significantly larger in the groups that have advanced level of reading habits. Additionally, RSC, SRR and RVC subscale scores of self-efficacy perception in reading comprehension, were found to be significantly different in favor of female participants. General Reading Strategies, Problem Solving Strategies and Supporting Reading Strategies subscales of metacognitive awareness of reading strategies have a positive effect on Reading Visual Comprehension, Self-regulation in Reading and Reading Self-confidence scores of the participants. In other words, metacognitive awareness of reading strategies contributes to self-efficacy perception in reading comprehension of eighth-grade students.

This survey study provides a holistic picture of English teachers’ qualification and the status quo of English instruction in secondary school classrooms in four lowest-achieving rural disctricts in Beijing, China. It covers a wide variety of aspects related to language instruction, including teachers’ professional background and credentials, lesson preparation and instructional materials, teachers’ instructional languages, factors that limit English instruction, roles teachers play in classrooms, and classroom instruction on pronunciation and fluency, vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension. Results shows how inequality in resources and the lack of teaching standards and qualifications can negatively impact students, further hindering their academic and professional opportunities. The findings provide valuable information to the teacher preparation and professional development in these districts and hopefully bring attention to the Department of Education in China about the educational needs of the low achieving rural districts in Beijing.

The article provides an analysis of the literature on interactive cognitive strategies. The aim of the study is to examine the pedagogical potential of interactive cognitive strategies for the effective formation of a multilingual personality of a future teacher. The research used theoretical and empirical methods: analysis of theoretical sources, analysis and generalization of the experience of scientific and methodological developments, training of students of a pedagogical institution. The problem of developing scientific and methodological support for the use of interactive cognitive strategies for the effective formation of a multilingual personality of a future teacher is being updated. A generalization of the obtained results indicates that the use of interactive cognitive strategies positively affects the formation of the multilingual personality of the future teacher. The research was supported by within the framework of the project on research on priority directions of scientific activity of the universities-partners in networking (South Ural State Humanitarian Pedagogical University and Mordovian State Pedagogical Institute) on the topic of “Linguodidactic foundations of the intercultural communicative competence formation of a future teacher”.

This study was carried out to determine the effect of literature circles on the social skills of fourth-grade elementary school students. To this end, the study was designed as a quasi-experimental study and carried out on 74 students in a public elementary school in the Pamukkale district of Denizli, Turkey. The literature circles method was administered to an experimental group for 18 weeks. In the control group, activities continued in line with the current Turkish Course Curriculum. “School Social Behavior Scales” were used as a data collection instrument. A comparison of the scores on the scales revealed that there was a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in favor of the experimental group. The results imply that the literature circles method had a positive influence on the development of the students’ social skills.

Within the scope of the research, which aims to determine the leisure literacy and leisure exercise levels of the university students who volunteer in sports organizations, it is aimed to analyze the relationship and the differences of certain variables with measurement tools, as well as to examine the relationship and impact between leisure literacy and leisure exercise. In this context, 207 sports organization volunteers who participated in the study participated in the data collection, as well as a demographic information form, as well as the “Leisure Literacy Scale” and “Leisure-Time Exercise Scale" was used. In this study, the internal reliability coefficient for the Leisure literacy scale was .94 and .70 for the leisure exersice questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t test, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test and Tukey (HSD-LSD) test and Pearson Correlation test and regression analysis were used for data analysis. The findings reveal that participants have high leisure literacy (81.25 ± 14.04) and men exhibit more active leisure exercise levels, certain variables change leisure literacy and leisure exercise levels. On the other hand, positive strong relationships between leisure literacy and leisure exercise were determined, and leisure literacy was found to have a positive effect on leisure exercise level. As a result of the research, it can be stated that the volunteer participants who take part in sports organizations and evaluate their leisure time actively, the literacy knowledge, background and action level for their leisure time is an important factor that makes individuals spend their leisure by exercising.

This study aimed to investigate whether Thai high school students’ perceived teacher support could enhance their reading ability through self-efficacy and sense of school belonging. The theoretical foundation of this study included the theory of social-motivational processes and social cognitive theory. Structural equation modeling was used for analysis and validation. The student questionnaire from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2018 survey questions regarding teacher support, sense of school belonging, self-efficacy, and reading ability. The sample consisted of the data collected from the Thai students in the PISA2018 survey, with an effective sample size totaling 7968. The research results of the overall model showed that the perceived teacher support of Thai high school students’ had no direct effect on their reading ability, but their perceived teacher support had an indirect effect on reading ability through their self-efficacy and sense of school belonging. From the results can be seen that high school teachers in Thailand, in supporting and encouraging their students in learning, must simultaneously develop their perceived self-efficacy and sense of school belonging. Only thus can there be obvious help to their students’ reading ability.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of Personalized Book Advice Smart Application on secondary school students’ motivation as well as determining the views of students, teachers, and parents regarding the application. In the research, a mixed method approach, in which quantitative analysis and qualitative analysis methods are used together, was adopted. In the quantitative part, 585 secondary school students, 300 of whom are in the experimental group and 285 in the control group; In the qualitative part, 105 students, 6 teachers and 247 families were included in the research. Similarly, the qualitative of the study involved 105 students, 6 teachers, and 247 parents. In the quantitative part of the research, data collected with the Reading Motivation Scale developed by Durmus. In the qualitative part, the data were collected through a questionnaire. The quantitative data were analyzed using parametric descriptive statistics, while the qualitative data were analyzed using descriptive analysis technique. According to the findings obtained from the research, there is a significant difference in reading motivation of secondary school students in terms of post-test scores. It is seen that the students like to read adventure books and think that the books proposed by the application are suitable for their interests. Teachers state that they find the application successful, and they like that the application forms reading habits, and recommends books according to their interests, moreover, the recommended books are suitable for the students’ levels. On the other hand, the teachers think that teacher control is necessary. Additionally, parents state that they like the application because it recommends books according to the children’s interests and those recommended books were suitable for their levels, however, they added that the number of the books needs to be increased.

This study explores the impact extended participation in literature circles had on the reading attitudes of university-age pre-service teachers following their involvement in literature circles for one academic year, as part of their training. The participants of the study consisted of 21 pre-service teachers with a low or moderate level of reading habits and reading attitudes. The research was conducted through a mixed methods approach. Although both quantitative and qualitative data were collected in the study, particular emphasis was given to the data collected from the qualitative part (quan+QUAL). In line with the quantitative data, it was concluded in the study that extended involvement in the literature circles had a positive effect on the reading attitudes of the pre-service teachers. The qualitative data, which was obtained through interviews, revealed four themes. The themes emerged as love and desire for reading, benefits of reading, importance of reading and reading habits as a result of the analysis. The results obtained from the research are important in terms of contributing to the improvement of pre-service teachers who will play important roles in Turkey’s becoming a literate society.

Progress monitoring of academic achievement is an essential element to prevent learning disorders. A prominent approach is curriculum-based measurement (CBM). Various studies have documented positive effects of CBM on students’ achievement. Nevertheless, the use of CBM is associated with additional work for teachers. The use of tablets may be of help here. Yet, although many advantages of computer- or tablet-based assessments are being discussed in the literature (e. g. innovative item formats, adaptive testing, automated scoring and feedback), there are still concerns regarding the comparability of different assessment modes (paper-pencil vs. tablet). In the study presented, we analyze the CBM data of 98 fourth graders. They processed the exact same computation items once with paper and pen and once in a tablet application. The analyses point to comparable results in the test modes, although some significant deviations can be found at item level. In addition, the children report perceived benefits when working with the tablet.

The self-report and think-aloud approaches are the two dominant methodologies to measure metacognition. This is problematic, since they generate respondent and confirmation biases, respectively. The Meta-Performance Test is an innovative battery, which evaluates metacognition based on the respondent's performance, mitigating the aforementioned biases. The Meta-Performance Test consists of two tests, the Meta-text, which evaluates metacognition in the domain of reading comprehension, and Meta-number, in the domain of arithmetic expressions solving. The main focus of this article is to present the development of the battery, in terms of its conceptual basis, development strategies and structure. Evidence of its content validity is also presented, through the evaluation of three experts in metacognition, two experts in Spanish language, two experts in mathematics and five students who represent the target population. The results of the judges' evaluations attested to the Meta-Performance Test content validity, and the target population declared that both the battery understanding and taking are adequate. Contributions and future research perspectives of the Meta-Performance Test in the field of metacognition are discussed.

The aim of this study is to obtain classroom teachers' views on the problems experienced in the literacy process by foreign students in the first grade of primary school, which constitutes an important part of language acquisition. A qualitative research approach has been adopted in the research. The data were obtained using a semi-structured interview form. With the semi-structured interview form created by the researchers, the opinions of the teachers working in the city center of Malatya in Turkey in the 2017-2018 academic year and having foreign students in their class were received. The data collected in line with the opinions of the teachers were analyzed with content analysis. As a result of the data analyzed, the opinions of the teachers were collected under 5 titles; "The problems experienced by foreign students in the process of adaptation to the school", "The problems experienced by foreign students in the stages of the literacy process", "Teacher’s problems in the education of foreign students", "Teacher’s solutions regarding the problems experienced by foreign students in education", and "System suggestions of teachers for the education of foreign students". Teachers mostly experienced problems in writing during the preparation stage, language-related problems in the perception of the sound, pronunciation problems in reading letters, and comprehension problems in syllable-word-sentence-text creation when starting independent literacy.