ANALYZING STRATEGIES EMPLOYED BY 7TH GRADE STUDENTS IN CORRECTLY AND INCORRECTLY ANSWERING MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS ON "REPRODUCTION, GROWTH, AND DEVELOPMENT IN LIVING THINGS"

Abstract

The objective of this research is to ascertain the cognitive and metacognitive strategies employed by 7th-grade students who correctly answered four multiple-choice questions pertaining to the "Reproduction, Growth, and Development in Living Things" unit, contrasting with those who answered incorrectly. Employing a multiple holistic case study approach within qualitative research methodology, six students from a public secondary school in Kars, Türkiye, participated in the study. These students engaged in solving the aforementioned questions using the think-aloud technique, followed by semi-structured interviews after each question. The entire process, including solving the questions and subsequent interviews, was captured on camera and transcribed for analysis. The transcribed data underwent qualitative analysis using computer-based tools. Results revealed that students who answered correctly employed cognitive strategies such as contextualizing the question, rephrasing it, mental visualization, strategic reading techniques, and increased reading pace, in contrast to those who answered incorrectly. Additionally, those who answered correctly utilized metacognitive strategies including identifying and marking clues, note-taking, option marking, summarization, and option elimination. Notably, students who answered correctly exhibited a broader array of strategies compared to their counterparts who answered incorrectly