The effect of the self regulated strategy development model on developing the critical writing skills of fourth grade students of primary school

In this research, it is aimed to examine the effect of the "Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) Model" on improving the critical writing skills of primary school fourth grade students. The research, which was designed in a mixed model in which quantitative and qualitative research designs were used together, was designed in the type of action research. In addition, "Single Group Pretest-Posttest Weak Experimental Design", which is one of the experimental design types, was used in the research. Data throughout the research; The critical writing scale developed by the researcher was collected through activity papers, focus group interviews with audio recordings, researcher diary and observation form. The study group of the research consisted of 21 students studying in the fourth grade of a primary school in Aydın in the 2021-2022 academic year. Within the scope of the research, first of all, a pre-test was made to measure the readiness of the students, and then critical writing training was given to the study group with the plan and activities developed in line with the Self-Regulated Strategy Development (SRSD) Model. The training lasted for 12 weeks and 48 lesson hours. In the first six weeks, all dimensions of critical writing were conveyed to the students with activities designed in line with the SRSD Model. At the end of the sixth week, the critical writing dimensions that the students had difficulty in understanding were determined with the "Self-Assessment Form" and four week reinforcement trainings were given about these dimensions. In the last two weeks, the students performed independently and wrote critical articles on the determined subjects without the support of the teacher. At the end of the training, the posttest data of the research were collected by applying the same pretest form, which includes a different writing topic, to the students. At the end of the four week period following the end of the training, the permanence data of the research were obtained by applying a similar post-test form containing a different writing topic to the students. During the application, a teacher other than the researcher observed the process and the researcher took notes in a diary style about the important issues he saw during the process. Finally, the opinions of the students in the study group about the implementation process were taken by using a voice recorder with focus group interviews. In order to determine whether there is a statistically significant difference between the pretest and posttest results after the application process, the data obtained from the research were analyzed with the SPSS 22.0 package program using the "Dependent Sample t-test". Then, in order to determine whether there is a correlational relationship between the posttest and retention tests, the data obtained from the research were analyzed with the SPSS 22.0 package program using the "Pearson Product Moments Correlation". Then, the observations regarding the implementation process were reported with the help of the observations of the observing teacher and the notes in the researcher's diary. Finally, focus group interviews were conducted in order to determine the students' views on the practice, and the data obtained from the interviews were presented by interpreting them with thematic coding technique. In addition, research data were reported through direct quotations from student statements. Based on the findings obtained from the research, it was concluded that there was a statistically significant difference between the scores of the students in the study group from the pretest and posttest, and that the activities designed with the "SRSD Model" had a positive effect on the development of critical writing skills of primary school fourth grade students. It was seen that there was a statistically significant, positive and high level correlation between the scores of the students in the posttest and retention tests, and it was concluded that the critical writing education carried out with the activities designed with the "SRSD Model" was successful in terms of providing permanence on primary school fourth grade students. In line with the observations made in the research and the group focus interviews carried out, it was concluded that the students had difficulty in comprehending the critical writing dimensions at the beginning of the critical writing education, but the students successfully completed the education thanks to the lesson plans and designed activities in line with the stages of the SRSD Model. In addition, differences were observed in the pre- and post-application views of the students on the concepts of "critical writing" and "self-regulation". Finally, it was concluded that the students were willing to participate in the future critical writing trainings and to do the activities designed with the SRSD Model. As a result, it can be said that critical writing education carried out in line with the activities designed with the "SRSD Model" contributes to the development of primary school fourth grade students' critical writing skills. Keywords: Self-Regulation, Critical Writing, SRSD Model.