Examining the Reading Comprehension Status of Poor Readers of Turkish Texts and Mathematical Problems

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to reveal the poor readers' reading comprehension of texts and mathematical problems. Design/Methodology/Approach: The exploratory sequential design of the mixed method was used in the study. In order to determine the sample of the study, homogeneous sampling technique was used within the framework of purposive sampling method. The data of the study was collected in two stages; in the first stage, the reading comprehension test and the problem-solving test were applied to the students to identify the poor readers. In the second stage, semi-structured interviews were conducted with poor readers. The data obtained from the interviews were analyzed with a descriptive point of view. Findings According to the findings of the study, it was determined that poor readers made reading errors by misreading, skipping letter syllable, adding syllable letter, repeating part of the word, and reversing the word. In the reading comprehension process, it was seen that poor readers understood simple comprehension questions better than deep comprehension questions. It has been determined that poor readers have difficulties in all the problem-solving steps of the routine problem-solving process, especially in the steps of understanding the problem and planning. it was seen that poor readers could not write what was given and requested to facilitate the understanding of the problem and could not express the problem in figure. It was concluded that poor readers had more difficulties in solving the initial unknown problems in routine problems, and they could not solve non-routine problems at all. Highlights: In the light of all these findings, the researchers concluded that increasing the students' reading comprehension would increase their problem-solving success.