Teaching critical thinking using fallacies in Turkish language course

The aim of this research is to suggest a Turkish language course design for the development of the critical thinking skill of detecting logical fallacies. The research is a mixed method research in which quasi-experimental method and qualitative data consisting of teacher and student opinions are integrated. In the intervention phase of the experiment, the skill to detect fallacies consisting of two categories as "simplest" and "simple" was tried to be developed in text-based Turkish lessons. The lessons and measurement tool to evaluate mentioned skill at the pre-test and post-test stages are of two varieties based on fallacy categories. The measurement tool is the Logical Fallacies Test (I and II) which is developed by the researcher. The experiment was carried out with 111 seventh grade students from four secondary schools in Bolu. In the qualitative part of the study, the opinions of 51 students of experimental groups and their Turkish teachers about Turkish lessons were used. As a result of the research, it has been revealed that the skill to detect some fallacies can be improved in text-based Turkish lessons, but only as part of the "simplest" fallacy category. Within this framework, it was determined that seventh grade students were able to detect "argumentum ad hominem" and "right of criticism". It was concluded that the skill to detect fallacies is related to the difficulty-complexity level of fallacies and seventh grade students do not have the readiness for this skill as regards some fallacies. In addition, it has been deduced that one of the primary features that constitute this readiness and are absent or limited in some students is formal reasoning. The last important result reached in the research is that the text-based Turkish course design is associated with many skills and competencies within various fields. It is thought that the text-based Turkish lesson design will set an example for development of the skill to detect fallacies.