TEACHERS OPINIONS AND APPLICATIONS FOR THE USE OF DISCUSSION METHOD IN SECONDARY HISTORY COURSES

This research aims to determine teachers’ views and practices on the use of discussion method in secondary history courses. Because of the research aims to put forward the views of teachers as well as their applications the work has a strong originality for educational researches. The research is a descriptive study and has a mixed method. History teachers who are working in secondary schools in the centre of Ankara are the universe of the study. The ample of the study are 284 teachers who participated in the survey, 30 teachers who participated in interview and four teachers whose classes were observed. As a result of research teachers have positive opinions about using discussion method in history lessons and they use the method in their classes. According the results discussion method is emerge in extend of “recitation” and “pointless conversations/blather” in history classes. The research has shown that history teachers have shortcomings about the application of discussion method and its techniques. They are not adequate about development and management of discussion.