Use of learning-oriented writing activities and analogy production in learning the subject of the cell

This study aims to reveal the effects of preparing learning-oriented writing activities and producing analogies to be used in learning-oriented writing on learning the subject of the cell.The sample of the study consisted of ninth-year pupils in a school in the city of Sakarya in the first term of the 2009-2010 school year. Planned as experimental, the study used the control group model with pre-tests and post-tests. One control and four experiment groups were used. Of the experiment groups, the first wrote letters to primary school pupils (DG1), the second wrote letters to the teacher (DG2), the third wrote letters with analogies to primary school pupils (DG3), and the fourth wrote letters with analogies to the teacher (DG4). The data collection tool used was a multiple-choice `Test of the Knowledge of the Cell?. In addition, semi-structured interviews were conducted with the experiment group in order to reveal their views of the writing activities and the analogies.The data collected were analyzed using the SPSS program, with the semi-structured interviews analyzed by means of content analysis. The results indicate that learning-oriented writing activities do indeed have an effect on the learning process. The experiment group that wrote letters with analogies to primary school pupils (DG3) were found to perform better than the control group (p<0.05). Likewise, the average post-test score of the group that wrote letters with analogies to the teacher (DG4) was found to be higher than that of the control group (p<0.10). The semi-structured interviews, on the other hand, disclosed that the pupils had a positive view of the learning-oriented writing and analogy production activities.