Developing reflective thinking through theory-practice connection

The present study aimed to improve reflective thinking skills of doctoral students from different fields taking the Instructional Planning and Evaluation course (IPE) during their studies in order to obtain findings that can contribute to enhance the quality of teaching at a state university. A total of 80 doctoral students in the spring (n= 47) and fall (n= 33) semesters of 2016 participated in the study which was conducted with the Technical/Scientific/Cooperative action research design and implemented two actions. Data were collected using the Reflective Thinking Scale and the Attitude Scale towards IPE Course. The main activities of the program implemented in the first action included small group work, teaching real students, writing reflective pieces and feedback. In addition, participants were better encouraged to think reflectively, participated in reflective discussions and took formative tests in the second action. Descriptive statistics results of the study showed that both actions helped the participants to reach the levels in the order of reflection, understanding, critical reflection and habitual action. On the other hand, participants’ attitudes towards the IPE course were found to be low. For future actions, it is recommended that participants gain experience in their own fields in order to improve their reflective thinking levels through theory-practice connection and conduct their reflection activities over these experiences.

Yansıtıcı düşünmeyi kuram-uygulama bağlantısı yoluyla geliştirme

Bu araştırmada, bir devlet üniversitesindeki öğretimin niteliğinin yükseltebilmesine katkı sunabilecek bulgulara ulaşmak için öğrenimleri sırasında Öğretimde Planlama ve Değerlendirme (ÖPD) dersini alan değişik alanlardaki doktora öğrencilerinin yansıtıcı düşünme becerilerinin geliştirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Eylem araştırması türlerinden Teknik/Bilimsel/İşbirlikli desen kullanılarak yürütülen ve iki eylemin gerçekleştirildiği araştırmaya, 2016 Bahar (n= 47) ve Güz (n= 33) dönemlerinde toplam 80 doktora öğrencisi katılmıştır. Veriler, Yansıtıcı Düşünme Düzeyini Belirleme Ölçeği ve ÖPD Dersine Yönelik Tutum Ölçeği ile toplanmıştır. Birinci eylemde uygulanan programın temel etkinlikleri küçük grup çalışması, gerçek öğrencilere öğretim, yansıtıcı yazılar yazma ve geribildirimdir. Ek olarak, ikinci eylemde katılımcılar yansıtıcı düşünmeye daha çok teşvik edilmiş, yansıtıcı tartışmalara katılmış ve izleme testleri almıştır. Araştırmanın betimsel istatistik sonuçları her iki eylemin, katılımcıların sırasıyla yansıtma, anlama, eleştirel yansıtma ve alışkanlık düzeylerine ulaşmalarını sağladığını göstermiştir. Katılımcıların ÖPD dersine yönelik tutumları ise düşük bulunmuştur. İlerideki eylemler için; katılımcıların kuram-uygulama bağlantısı yoluyla yansıtıcı düşünme düzeylerini geliştirmeleri amacıyla kendi alanlarında öğretim deneyimi edinmeleri ve yansıtma etkinliklerini bu deneyimleri üzerine yapmaları önerilmiştir.

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