Investigation of Student Opinions on the Graded Teaching Model in Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge Course

ABSTRACT Investigation of Student Opinions on the Graded Teaching Model in Religious Culture and Moral Knowledge Course Hasret ÇEÇEN Master's Thesis FIRAT UNIVERSITY Graduate School of Social Sciences PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGIOUS SCIENCES Religious Education Program June 2025, Page: XII + 97 In the age of information and technology, where individual differences come to the fore, the traditional teaching method is subjected to criticism based on the fact that each individual's knowledge and ability level, interests and intelligence areas are different. In the traditional teaching method, the student is in the position of passive receiver and the teacher is the unquestionable authority who conveys information. Although the classrooms are heterogeneous, the information is conveyed by the teacher only through the lecture method. In the student-centered step-by-step teaching model based on the constructivist education approach, students are offered different activities that progress gradually from easy to difficult, from simple to complex, in line with their abilities and interests. Students who choose the activities that are appropriate for them are held responsible for their learning. Thus, it is aimed to realize permanent learning by doing and experiencing. One of the basic courses of the education system in force in our country is the constitutionally guaranteed Religious Culture and Ethics course. As in many other courses, the teacher-centered oral lecture method, in which the student remains passive, has been the most used method by teachers for years. In the face of this situation, one of the teaching methods suitable for use in the renewed RCCE curriculum is the step-by-step teaching model. With its layered structure, which progresses from simple to complex, from easy to difficult, and designed with activities that need to be realized by the student, the stepped teaching model is suitable for the learning of many subjects in the GCE course by students who actively participate in the lesson. This program offers each student the opportunity to choose many tasks suitable for their abilities and interests. This increases the motivation of the student who actively participates in the lesson and at the same time provides the opportunity to learn by doing and experiencing. For these reasons, this study aims to examine students' opinions about the applicability of the step-by-step teaching model in the GCE course. In this study, the emergence, nature, planning, implementation and evaluation stages of the stepped curriculum, its relationship with Bloom's Taxonomy, and the applicability of the stepped curriculum in the RCCE course after giving information about the RCCE course were discussed. In addition, the differences between the step-by-step teaching model and traditional teaching methods were mentioned, and the benefits and limitations of the step-by-step curriculum were emphasized. Action research method, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. The study group of the research consists of students from Elazığ Koruk Secondary School. The sample of the research consists of students studying in Koruk Secondary School 6 / A class. In the study, a step-by-step teaching model was applied by adhering to the lesson hours allocated for the "Prayer" unit in the 6th grade RCM course. The data obtained through semi-structured interview technique were subjected to content analysis. The findings obtained were divided into two main themes as positive opinions and negative opinions, and the theme of positive opinions was divided into the categories of affective input behaviors and cognitive input behaviors. These categories were also divided into relevant sub-codes and subjected to analysis. The theme of positive entry behaviors was also divided into three sub-themes: other courses in which the stepped teaching model was desired to be applied, the most liked step, and the most liked activity. The theme of negative opinions was also analyzed by dividing it into related codes. The data obtained as a result of the study show that students generally have positive opinions about the application of the step-by-step teaching model in the RCM course. Keywords: Religious Education, Religious Education Course, Layered Curriculum, Nunley.