28 (1), 2013
PREFACE
CONTENTS
INNER COVER
REFEREES/REVIEWER
PUBLICATION POLICY AND RULES
A STUDY ON THE USE OF CLASSİCAL POETRY İN TEACHİNG TURKİSH
Doç. Dr. Nilgün AÇIK ÖNKAŞIn the analyses of poetries, classical methods, translating into modern Turkish, and interpretation are used. However, analysis of the poems through classical methods can not reveal their lyrical features. The lyrical features of these poems should be analyzed within the framework of constructivist approach by looking at the effects of sound characteristics on the creation of meaning and feeling and phonetics-semantics relationships.
In the present study, samples of classical poetry were quantitatively analyzed within the context of constructivist approach in education in terms of their phonetics-semantics relationships. In the phonetic analysis, based on the word-scoring table, features of the phonemes found in the words and the scores they get were evaluated. In the semantic analysis, the relationships between the scores obtained by the words and the meaning they convey were interpreted.
The samples of the classical poetry which were investigated were found to be emotionally strong poems, hence, it is believed that it will be beneficial to include them in elementary school Turkish textbooks. It is a shortcoming for the Turkish language textbooks not to include the samples of Turkish poetry. Therefore, it is not possible to make use of Classical poems in Turkish language education. The samples of classical poetry have the potential of improving students’ vocabulary repertoire and emotional expression skills.
Keywords: Turkish language teaching, classical poetry, phonetics, semantics, lyricism, Turkish language textbooks
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METACOGNITIVE SKILLS SCALE
Mustafa ALTINDAĞ & Prof. Dr. Nuray SENEMOĞLUThe purpose of this study is to develop a scale that can be used in measurement of the metacognitive skills. In the pilot study 55-item-scale was applied to 239 college undergraduates. After test and item analysis the number of the items is reduced to 30 and the “Metacognitive Skills Scale” was formed. According to factor analysis it has been found that the scale was unidimensional and explained 35.74% of the total variance by 30 items. In the pilot study Cronbach’s Alpha Coefficient of Reliability was .94.
Keywords: Metacognition, Metacognitive Knowledge, Metacognitive Experience, Learning Strategies.
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AN INVESTIGATION OF PROSPECTIVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHERS’ SPOKEN COMMUNICATION SKILLS: A CASE FROM TURKEY
Asst. Prof. Dr. Recep Şahin ARSLANThis study aims to investigate and promote pre-service English language teachers’ competence in basic elements of spoken communication. In the study a group of 64 non-native pre-service teachers of English in the Oral Communication Skills course in a pre-service English Language Teaching department at the tertiary level in Turkey specifically practised the segmental and prosodic features of English, connected speech, and spoken language conventions through a number of spoken communication activities and tasks. With the purpose of evaluating participants’ English pronunciation prior to the course and also after the course, a student questionnaire was administered and focused on students’ self-assessment in word pronunciation, word stress, sentence stress, accuracy, intonation, word linking, assimilation, elision, and contraction before and after the course as well as the effect of course activities. The data findings indicated poor or average competence in various components of spoken communication prior to the study; whereas, the participants reported significant improvement in all these components as they improved basic components of spoken communication through various interactive course activities.
Keywords: Spoken communication skills, English language teaching, pre-service teachers of English
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COMMUNICATION SKILLS IN MOTHER TONGUE AND IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE
Lecturer Barış AYDIN, Prof. Dr. Ece KORKUT & Assoc. Prof. Dr. Halil YURDUGÜLLearning a foreign language is carried out by means of learner’s curricular and extracurricular activities in order to improve their four basic language skills. This learner-centered process is affected by learners’ inherent traits as well as certain external factors. In this research communication skills in mother tongue that may affect oral communication skills of learners who learn French as a second foreign language were investigated. By means of a measurement tool, the data related to the psycho-didactic variable was collected. The collected data and participants’ achievement scores for oral communication skills in French were analyzed by using structural equation modeling.
Keywords: Second foreign language, learning, french, mother tongue, communication skills
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TRAINEE TEACHERS’ VIEWS ON PROJECT-BASED LEARNING AND TRADITIONAL EDUCATION
Yrd.Doç.Dr. Şule AYThe aim of this work is to indicate trainee teachers’ views about the lesson taught with project-based learning when compared to traditional education. In this work where qualitative research method was used, a lesson where project-based learning approach was used was taught with the trainee teachers (96) within a period and 80 trainee teachers were given a form prepared to have comparison between traditional education and their views about project-based period. In the form, criterion of the evaluation was defined and the columns of traditional education and project-based learning periods were opened. The evaluation of documentation and data acquired from trainee teachers were saved on observation forms to comment and enrich them and also the views of instructors were exploited too. Data was analysed with content analysis and expressed with finding, frequency and ration of percentage. It was seen that project-based learning was seen positive compared to traditional education and it was preferred.
Keywords: Project-based learning, traditional education, views of trainee teachers.
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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACADEMIC PROCRASTINATION AND STUDENTS’ BURNOUT
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Murat BALKISIn this study, the relationships between academic procrastination, students’ burnout and academic achievement are investigated. The participants comprised 323 students who were enrolled in the different major fields at the Faculty of Education in the Pamukkale University. The ages of respondents varied from 17 to 31. In this study, Aitken Procrastination Inventory, Maslach Burnout Inventory-Student Survey and Personal Information Form were used to gather data. Results from correlation analyses show that the emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced academic efficacy dimensions of students’ burnout were positively related with academic procrastination .The regression analyses revealed that academic procrastination can statistically predict emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced academic efficacy dimensions of student burnout score. The results also showed that reported academic achievement was significantly and negatively correlated with academic procrastination, emotional exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced academic efficacy dimensions of student burnout; and reported academic achievement is significantly predicted by academic procrastination and reduced academic efficacy of burnout. Implications of these findings are discussed for educator and psychological counselor.
Keywords: Academic procrastination, student burnout, academic achievement.
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MASCULINITY IN SOCCER AS A COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE BY SITUATED LEARNING APPROACH
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nefise BULGUAn attempt was made to understand how masculinity is learned by members of the soccer community of practice by situated learning approach and thus the transforming of soccer into a masculine field in this study. The conceptual framework of the study is based on both Lave and Wenger’s conceptualization of community of practice and Connell’s conceptualization of hegemonic masculinity. The findings of the study indicate that “winning” and “violence for winning” are the shared repertoire of members of the soccer community of practice and there is a mutual engagement in those concepts among members. In conclusion, in this study, it was observed that masculinity is reproduced by learning and undertaking violence practices in the soccer community of practice and this contributes to the recognition of soccer as a male profession.
Keywords: Situated learning, communities of practice, soccer, masculinity, violence
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THIRD LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGIES OF ELT LEARNERS STUDYING EITHER GERMAN OR FRENCH
Lecturer Şule ÇELİK KORKMAZ The present study mainly explores the most and the least frequently used language learning strategies of ELT learners when learning German or French as their L3. Comparing independent samples t-test results and mean scores of the groups, it was investigated whether there is any difference in the use of language learning strategies of both groups. Moreover, the study aimed at finding out whether there is a correlation between the learners’ strategy use and their success. The quantitative results revealed that the participants from both groups employed parallel strategies; compensation strategies emerged as the most frequently used ones whereas affective strategies appeared as the least frequently used ones. Moreover, no positive significant correlation was found between the use of strategies and the participants’ success except for the memory strategies used by learners who were studying French. In addition that negative correlation was found between the learners’ affective strategy use and academic success when learning German. The results were discussed in the light of the interview results.
Keywords: Plurilinguism, Third language learning, Language learning strategies.
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A STATISTICAL APPROACH FOR IDENTIFYING THE REQUIREMENTS OF PUBLIC PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS BASED ON DISTRICTS IN TURKEY
Prof. Dr. Hülya ÇINGI, Prof. Dr. Cem KADILAR & Dr. Güler KOÇBERBERThis study reveals educational opportunities and determines the level of the districts in Turkey according to their educational opportunities using 25 education indicators based on primary and secondary schools of the districts. By this analysis, the deficiencies in the numbers of teachers, classrooms, laboratories, computers, and libraries have been computed with respect to the average of Turkey for each district in order to standardize the educational opportunities in all parts of Turkey.
Keywords: Primary and secondary education, educational demand, development index, factor analysis, cluster analysis.
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A MODEL STUDY ON THE TRADITIONAL TURKISH MUSIC IN VIOLONCELLO INSTRUCTION
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Barış DEMİRCİThis study is an experimental study to test the effect of a model study for musical performance in traditional Turkish music on enhancing students’ musical-technical skills and on being able to perform a selected ballad in a desirable way. The sample are the fourth year students who have taken violoncello instruction at department of Music education at faculty of education, Atatürk University in 2010-2011 academic year. In the experimental design, six students were randomly chosen for the experimental and control groups, each group consisted of three students. In the study, 2x2 split-plot design was used, and through this design performance evaluation scale was applied to both group for pretest-posttest scores. To analyze the data, Mann Whitney U test and the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test were used. In the findings, while the differences between the pre and post test results in the experimental group were seen significant in favor of posttest results, the differences between the pretest and posttest scores of the control group were found to be insignificant. According to findings, the research design prepared for musical performance, it can be said that this study design has an important effect in enhancing students’ musical and technical skills in the experimental group.
Keywords: Violoncello instruction, modal performance, model study
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AN EVALUATION ON THE TEACHING OF THE FRENCH LANGUAGE AS THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE IN TURKEY (1891-1928)
Prof. Dr. Mehmet DEMİRYÜREKPrior to 19th century the persons having any foreign language in the Ottoman Empire were the non-Muslim subjects of the Ottomans. They were employed by the European missions in the Ottoman lands and even Sublime Port and had some privileges. In the 19th century, the Ottoman Turks understood the importance of the foreign language. Thereafter the translation department (Tercüme Odası) was opened and they sent some students to Europe. After Tanzimat the modern schools, whose curriculum had the French language, were created. These developments increased the number of the Turks having the European languages in the later 19th and early 20th century. During this period some Ottoman Turks published some papers concerning the teaching of foreign language. Therefore, the aim of this study is to reveal the articles published in Turkey related to the teaching of foreign language, to contribute the bibliography related to the field and evaluate these papers.
Keywords: Teaching of the French as the foreign language, teaching of the foreign language, foreign languages,
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PREDICTIVE EFFECTS OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, INTERNET USE DURATION, LONELINESS AND SHYNESS ON INTERNET ADDICTION
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jale ELDELEKLIOĞLU & Meryem VURAL-BATIKThis study investigated whether internet addiction is related to gender, academic achievement, duration of internet use, loneliness and shyness. The study was carried out with 206 adolescents aged between 15-18 years (X=16.50) and studying public high schools. 55.8% (115) of the participant students are female and 44.2% (91) are male. To collect data, the “Personal Information Form” developed by the researchers, the “Internet Addiction Scale” developed by Young (1998), the “UCLA Loneliness Scale” developed by Russel, Peplau and Cutrona (1980), and the “Shyness Scale” developed by Cheek and Buss (1981) were used. The results indicated that internet addiction changed according to gender, academic achievement and duration of internet use. Moreover, while academic achievement significantly and negatively predicted internet addiction, duration of internet use and shyness significantly and positively predicted internet addiction. However, the variables of gender and loneliness were found to have no significant effects on internet addiction.
Keywords: Internet addiction, academic achievement, duration of internet use, loneliness, shyness
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THE PROCESS OF KNOWLEDGE CONSTRUCTION ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF ELECTRICAL POWER
Yrd. Doç. Dr. N. Remziye ERGÜL & Öğrt. Ersen ÇIĞRIKInformation has been arisen from the learner’ mind rather than the external world. Some of this information forming from the resulting individual’s relationship with the outside world while another part of the information consists of the individuals owner associated. Learner obtains more concrete information by interacting environment. Mental processes are more active to obtain abstract information. This process is important for the learning of electrical power concept in Science and Technology Education course. Abstraction is one of the method for learning knowledge with using mental processes that cannot be obtained through experiment and observation. RBC model that based on abstraction in the process of creating knowledge, is directly related to mental processes. This study examined the process of abstraction during the learning of electrical power concept by eighth grade students according to RBC model. Clinical interview method was used with four eighth grade students in the study. Three problems related to electrical power concept were used according to RBC model. It has been obtained that students reach the relations to related concept of electrical power in the first two problems and the first part of third problem and they can use this correlation in the third problem as a result of interviews.
Keywords: Science teaching, process of abstraction, construction of knowlledge,RBC model, power, elecrtical power
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HOW ARE ELT MATERIALS CHOSEN IN HIGH SCHOOLS? SOME SUGGESTIONS
Assist. Prof. Dr. Ali IŞIK The aim of this paper is to investigate how English language teaching materials are chosen in Turkey. Thirty-seven schools were visited and observed for this study. The data were obtained from 107 English teachers from private high schools, state Anatolian high schools, and regular state high schools through a questionnaire and interview. The research indicated, rather than taking sound materials evaluation criteria into account, some non-academic factors are considered while choosing ELT materials. Furthermore, English teachers have limited role in the evaluation process. In addition to these findings, the method in which ELT materials should be chosen and what system should be used in the materials evaluation process are also discussed in this paper.
Keywords: ELT materials, materials evaluation, materials evaluation criteria
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HOW DO UNDERGRADUATE GEOGRAPHY STUDENTS RATE THEIR MAP SKILLS? THEORY AND PRACTICE
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Süleyman İNCEKARADespite consensus in geography that maps are among the most significant tools of geographic pedagogy and learning processes and that improving map skills of students is one of the key objectives of geography curricula, it is difficult to say that there is sufficient literature aimed at measuring the map skills of students—especially in Turkey. This study reviews the literature regarding measuring of map competencies of undergraduate geography students. This study then investigates the statistical differences between students’ self-assessments of their map skills and their actual performance on a test measuring their map competencies. Results indicate that there were no significant differences between student opinions and their performance in map skills, while male and female students differed in statements pertaining to the location of the main landforms, map scale, and main directions on a given map. Boys and girls also differed significantly in finding their place of domicile
Keywords: Maps, map skills, undergraduate geography students
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AFFECTIVE AND COGNITIVE EFFECTS OF CODED TEACHER FEEDBACK ON FL WRITING STUDENTS
Assist. Prof. Dr. Ayhan KAHRAMANThis study investigates whether or not “good paragraph writing” affects language learners’ both cognitive and affective levels, i.e., it is aimed to search the correlation among learners’ beliefs about corrective feedback, their writing anxiety, and their writing performances. Two questionnaires are conducted to compare students’ beliefs before and after treatment. Additionally, the experimental part is conducted through in-class treatment where in control group all the errors are just underlined i.e. provided only un-coded feedback, whereas in experimental group all the error types underlined, coded but not corrected. Statistical and descriptive analyses of learners’ perceptions revealed that learners prefer indicated, coded but not corrected type of feedback especially provided by teachers. At last, this study seems to prove the need for coded teacher feedback and the possibility and effectiveness of using it in reducing foreign language writing anxiety.
Keywords: Teacher feedback, coded feedback, writing anxiety
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EDUCATIONAL ISSUES AND IMAGE OF TEACHER IN THE NOVEL “THE FIRST TEACHER” BY CENGİZ AYTMATOV
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Mahir KALFAIn Cengiz Aytmatov’s novel “İlk Öğretmen” the process of passing from oral education to formal education of Kyrgyz’s. The novel is based on the teacher “Düyşen” and his student “Altınay Süleymanova”. In the novel teacher Düyşen represents an idealist teacher model trying to reduce negative point of view of Kyrgyz public about concepts of education-instruction with his student Altınay. On the basis of the novel, Aytmatov describes that in the publics in which change is rejected innovations will not be adopted easily by emphasizing the importance of education for a nation. In this paper, educational issues and image of teacher, which can be tracked through novel, are determined and concepts aforesaid are examined from the point of modern education
Keywords: Aytmatov, qualifications of teachers, educational issues, modern educational approaches.
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SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS TURNING DYSTOPIAS INTO UTOPIAS: TECHNOLOGY STORIES FROM LOW SOCIO-ECONOMIC SCHOOLS
Assoc.Prof. Dr. Şirin KARADENİZ & Assoc.Prof. Dr. Özge HACIFAZLIOĞLUThe purpose of the study is to examine school administrators’ accounts of barriers and constraints encountered during ICT integration. Although 12 narrative summaries were developed for this qualitative study, in this article, the researchers focused on the stories of three school administrators, who work at socio-economically low schools. Four themes emerged from these interviews; financing and establishing ICT infrastructure, maintenance of ICT, teachers’ professional development and technology leadership. The results of this study are expected to provide ICT coordinators and school administrators with rich descriptions and experiences when dealing with the similar problems of ICT integration
Keywords: ICT integration, success stories, qualitative research, school administrators.
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MISCONCEPTIONS AND COMMON ERRORS IN COMPLEX NUMBERS
Vildan KEÇELİ & Doç. Dr. Necla TURANLI The study was carried out in the Mathematics Education branches of various universities. The sample was determined to be based on the criterion of taking the course of Complex Analysis. Therefore, the study seeks to identify the undergraduate students’ misconceptions and common mistakes in regard to complex numbers. The study revealed the misconceptions and difficulty of undergraduate students regarding complex numbers and concluded that undergraduate students have similar misconcptions about complex numbers like eleventh-grade students.
Keywords: Complex Numbers, Misconception, Common Errors.
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THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEST ANXIETY AND STUDENTS’ ACHIEVEMENT IN ATATÜRK’S PRINCIPLES AND REVOLUTION COURSE
Doç. Dr. Mehmet Derviş KılınçkayaThis article is concerned with the study of relationship between the test anxiety and students’ achievement in the course on Atatürk’s Revolutions and Principles. The participants of this study consist of 245 students from Faculty of Letters and Polatlı Technical Vocational School at Hacettepe University. The relationship between the level of test anxiety and students’ achievement is examined and it is found out that there is no connection between the test anxiety and age and gender.
However, the findings of this study support the findings of similar studies. It is possible to indicate that the methods and techniques that the lecturers use in this course positively affect the students’ anxiety and thus achievement.
Keywords: Test anxiety, achievement, Atatürk’s principles and revolution
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REPORTED SPEECH IN MARGUERITE DURAS
Prof. Dr. Ayşe KIRANIn this study, the fictional male narrator character in The Ravishing of Lol Stein and the female autobiographical narrator in The North China Lover has been compared through the use of reported speech so as to reveal each narrator’s ethos. Based on the information from the readings, the male narrator’s desperation towards madness prevents him from putting a distance between him self and the characters. The female narrator of The North China Lover aims at showing and announcing the events through a cinematographic view. Although the female narrator displays her subjectivity in the novel, she managed to distance herself from the characters.
Keywords: Reported speech, ethos, narrator, polyphony.
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THE CHARACTERISTICS OF MEDICAL STUDENTS AND MOTIVATION TOWARDS CAREER CHOICE: IMPLICATIONS FOR CURRICULUM
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Hünkâr KORKMAZ & Assoc. Prof. Dr. Yeşim Yiğiter ŞENOLThe present study aimed to examine motivational factors that have impact on freshman students’ choice of profession with regard to their demographic and socio-economic characteristics and gender in terms of curriculum development A semi-structured scale which was used in the study was developed by the researchers depending on previous studies about motivational factors affecting choice of profession. The scale was administrated to 298 freshman medical students in Akdeniz University in the academic year of 2012-2013. The study was designed as a mixed methods study and descriptive statistics and chi-square were used for data analyses. Demographic results of the study indicated that enrollment in medical faculty is similar for male and female students and a majority of students came from middle and high socio-economic status. Statistically, motivational factors related to choice of profession show differences in four out of six subsections of the scale. While career opportunities, the nature of the profession, prestige, and social security were reported by male students, patient care and working with others were expressed by female students as motivators to become a doctor. The results of this study will be fruitful for educators in medical faculties, field specialists, researchers studying career development, curriculum development specialists, and educational politics.
Keywords: Medical students, career choice, motivation, curriculum development
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A METAPHOR ANALYSIS OF TEACHERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF STUDENTS WITH LEARNING DISABILITIES
Prof. Dr. Nilüfer ÖZABACI & Res. Ast. Bircan ERGÜN-BAŞAKThis study will attempt to demonstrate that the metaphors produced by teachers working with students with Learning Disability (LD) give clues about the teachers’ relationship with such students. Therefore, this research will investigate primary school teachers’ perceptions of students with LD using a metaphor analysis. In order to attain this general aim, the following questions are addressed; 1. What metaphors do the teachers use to describe the concept of the student with LD? 2. How are the conceptual categories distributed in terms of the teachers’ gender? It was conducted in the 2007-2008 academic year with 171 primary school teachers in Eskisehir, Turkey. In order to reveal the participant teachers’ perceptions of the students with LD, they were asked to complete the sentence “Children with LD are like …..… because ……..”. The 106 metaphors obtained and those were grouped into eight conceptual categories.
Keywords: Metaphor, Learning Disabled, Teacher
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ANALYSIS OF EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES OF GENERAL PUBLIC HIGH SCHOOLS BASED ON “MISSION” STATEMENTS
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Murat ÖZDEMİRIn this study, what the educational purposes of general public high schools were and whether those purposes differed according to variables including geographical region, developmental level of the province and province were examined based on the “mission” statements of the schools. The study was designed according to mixed research approach. The target population of the study consisted of 3327 general public high schools. During the study, 253 school mission statements were reached. Coding Rubric, which was developed by Stemler and Bebell (1999) and adapted to Turkish for the current study, was used in order to analyze the mission statements. Inter-rater validity of the Coding Rubric was tested with Cohen’s kappa coefficient. Kappa coefficient was calculated as .88. In the end it was found that primary educational purposes of general high schools in Turkey were to foster cognitive, social and emotional developments of their students. Vocational preparation was found to be the least desired educational purpose which general public high school authorities wanted to realize. Whether the educational purposes of the schools differed or not according to geographical regions and development level of the province were tested with chi-square tests and it was not found any significant difference.
Keywords: Educational purpose, purposes of schooling, mission statements, general public high school.
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ADAPTATION CHALLENGES OF NOVICE TEACHERS
Instructor Mustafa ÖZTÜRK & Prof. Dr. Ali YILDIRIMThe purpose of this study was to investigate adaptation challenges of novice teachers during induction period. Through a questionnaire prepared in a cross-sectional descriptive design, the data were collected from 465 novice teachers teaching in randomly selected 8 provinces of Turkey. The results indicated that novice teachers had both job-related challenges and social challenges. The most frequent adaptation challenges were related to (1) workload, (2) social status and identity, (3) supervisors (school principals and inspectors), and (4) classroom management.
Keywords: Novice Teachers, Induction Period, Adaptation Challenges
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A RESEARCH ON EARTHQUAKE EXPERIENCES OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHER CANDIDATES
Dr. Mustafa Kemal ÖZTÜRKA disaster is a relatively sudden event in a certain geographical area which can create collective tensions, cause a certain level of losses and disrupt the life of society. Earthquakes could have several harmful effects upon living beings as well as non-living things. Undoubtedly, schools are the best and most trusted places where earthquake training might be delivered. Earthquakes, its effects and guidelines for mitigating the harmful effects of earthquake are included in programs of primary school education in Turkey. As it is not possible to avoid earthquakes, the most effective method to prepare for such events is to raise awareness amongst individuals about earthquake. This qualitative study takes in account the views of primary school teacher candidates who have personally experienced earthquakes, what kinds of changes have happened in their lives after the earthquake, the effect of earthquakes on education, the importance of the earthquake training and what kinds of precautions they took to mitigate the damages caused by the earthquake.
Keywords: Earthquake, earthquake education, clasroom teacher candidates, social sensitivity.
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CONFORMITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY TEACHERS’ ASSESSMENT PRACTICES WITH THE CURRICULA
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ayşegül SAĞLAM ARSLAN, Assist. Prof. Dr. Yasemin DEVECİOĞLU KAYMAKÇI & Assoc. Prof. Dr. Selahattin ARSLANUniversal evolutions in the field of education and didactic have forced Turkish education system to a reform. This reform, inaugurated in 2005, promotes a new approach to education and accordingly to assessment. It is obvious that success of educational system depends greatly on the practices of teachers in classes. We examine here the compliance of these practises with the official “Science and Technology” course curriculum in Turkish context. In this paper we first analyze the curriculum to determine the characteristics and institutional expectations regarding the assessment activity in classroom. We then analyse the interviews performed with teachers in order to test the correlation between official expectations about assessment methods and teaching practices. The results of this research show that things are not as expected in classroom and teachers face great difficulties to satisfy institutional needs. Indeed, teachers cannot apply alternative assessment methods as required by the curriculum because of the difficulties arising due to teachers, students or the infrastructure of schools.
Keywords: Assessment methods, curricula, teachers’ practices.
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EFFECTS OF TEST STRUCTURE ON MECHANICS ACHIEVEMENT OF STUDENTS WITH DIFFERENT COGNITIVE STYLES
Doç. Dr. Musa SARI, Öğrt. Metin ALTIPARMAK & Prof. Dr. Salih ATEŞThe physics achievement of the high school students who have field-dependent and field-independent cognitive stills has been examined in terms of the content and format of the assessment tool in this study. The format difference of the measuring tools contain multiple choice and open-ended test techniques, while the content difference of the tests contain conceptual understanding and end of the chapter physics problems’ solving skills. The sample of the study has formed 270 students who are in 11 th and 12 th classes in high School. The assessment tolls which were used in this study are followings; the GroupEmbedded Figures Test, Force Concept Inventory, Open- Ended Test, and Mechanics Baseline Test. It has been seen that field-independent students’ point averages are higher than field dependent students point averages in all types of the tests. It has also seen that there were not relationships among the cognitive still of students, the content of the assessment tools, and format of the tests.
Keywords: Field independent and field dependent, cognitive stills, force and motion.
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WHO’S WHO?” TEACHING RISK PHRASES THROUGH DANGER SYMBOLS AND SIGNS OF SOME ACIDS
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nülgün SEÇKENA game, "Who's who" has been developed to be used in science and technology courses and in physics, chemistry and biology courses. The game is about acids. The purpose is to teach chemical danger symbols and meaning of some acids. Since the game improves the students' cognitive development and interaction among them, it will provide the children with an effective learning process. Through the game, students will have opportunity to learn the chemicals that they will use in laboratories repeating the related information whenever they wish and to reinforce their knowledge. "Students will learn through playing and will be saved through learning."
Keywords: Chemistry Education, Educational Games, Acids, Risk Phrases, Chemical Hazards
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INVESTIGATION OF PROBLEMATIC INTERNET USAGE OF TEACHER CANDIDATES
Öğr. Gör. Mustafa SIRAKAYA & Doç. Dr. S. Sadi SEFEROĞLUThe purpose of this study was to investigate problematic Internet usage of teacher candidates. The problematic Internet usage level was also examined in terms of the participants’ demographic characteristics. The participants of this study consisted of 226 teacher candidates from Ahi Evran University who enrolled in during the spring semester of 2009-2010 academic year. “Problematic Internet Use Scale” and “Personal Information Form” were used as data collection instruments. In data analysis, independent samples t-test, single direction variance analysis and LSD test were used. In the findings of the research, it was revealed that male teacher candidates tended to have problematic Internet usage more than female teacher candidates and the candidates who owned computers tended to have problematic Internet usage more than the ones who didn’t. On the other hand, while there were no significant differences among teacher candidates in terms of the fact that how long s/he has used Internet, there were significant differences in terms of daily Internet usage.
Keywords: Problematic Internet use, teacher candidates.
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A CASE STUDY ON INSTRUCTORS’ PERCEPTIONS OF WRITING EXAM GRADING CRITERIA
Instructor Yeşim TARKAN-YELOĞLU, Prof. Dr. Gölge SEFEROĞLU & Assoc. Prof. Dr. H. Okan YELOĞLUThis study was conducted to analyze the instructors’ perceptions of the writing exam grading criteria used in the Faculty Academic English within the context of Freshman English courses at a private university in Turkey. Fifty-five instructors were involved in the study. The data were collected via quantitative and qualitative data collection instruments. Close-response items provided quantitative data and the qualitative data were derived from open-response items. The results indicate that the instructors believe the criteria help to establish standard grading across the program. However, they still have some doubts about the way the criteria are applied across the program while assessing students’ writing. It is noteworthy that the instructors in this study had different perspectives and approaches while using the criteria in their own settings. Therefore, the results of this study highlight a crucial need for training the raters on how to apply any grading criteria to ensure objectivity in student assessment.
Keywords: Academic writing, assessment criteria, English, instructors, perceptions
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THE EFFECT OF PROBLEM BASED LEARNİNG (PBL) APPROACH ON STUDENTS’ CREATİVE THİNKİNG ABİLİTY
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Kani ÜLGER & Prof. Dr. Zahide İMER The aim of this research is to determine the effects of PBL model on elementrary school students’ creative thinking. The research was carried out on two different groups of the 7th grade students of Yenimahalle Osman Ülkümen Elementary School in Ankara. In the research to which pre and post-test with control group quasi-experimental design were applied, Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT) Figural A-B forms was used as data collection tool. Both the experimental and the control groups were found to be equivalent in terms of creative thinking levels prior to the treatment. The course has been taught using PBL model in experimental group and the course has been taught using lecture, demonstration and question-answer method in control group. Both groups was given lessons by the researcher. According to the findings of the study, it is shown that PBL model has a significant an effect on students’ creative thinking ability in the visual arts education.
Keywords: Creative thinking, PBL approach, TTCT.
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THE POWER OF VISUALITY: LECTURER VIEWS ON VISUALITY IN GERMAN LANGUAGE TEXTBOOKS
Doç. Dr. Şerife ÜNVER & Prof. Dr. Ayten GENÇMany studies investigate the effects of visuality on the learning process. In this study, the aims are to determine the views of German language teachers in Anatolian High Schools on the visuality in the textbooks that they use and to assess the contribution of visuality on education in line with these views. In this context, with the questionnaire that is formulated after literature review, the effects of visual elements on the development of language skills of students, learning motivation, country and culture education is investigated. According to the findings, the majority of 100 teachers working in 38 different cities in the academic year 2009-2010 indicated that visual elements in the textbooks used in German as a foreign language classrooms do not have a positive impact on foreign language education. On the other hand, when the textbooks used by the teachers are examined, it is found that visual elements are actually sufficiently used and hence the quantitative superiority is not a feature that increases the effectiveness of learning-teaching process but instead it is a deceptive factor. Accordingly, recommendations are made for the usage of qualified and efficient visual elements that would create awareness among students rather than including visual materials that are below the expectations of students and that are incorporated in textbooks through a simple set up unlike striking visuals students are used to in daily life.
Keywords: German textbooks, visuality, lecturer views
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THE ELEMENTARY STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF MATHEMATICAL PATTERNS ACCORDING TO PRESENTATION FORMS
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Hakan YAMAN & Prof. Dr. Aysun UMAYThe purpose of this study was to determine the performances of elementary 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7th grade level students on mathematical patterns according to presentation forms. The implementation was carried out to 317 students from two elementary schools that were middle socioeconomic level in Ankara city center. The data were collected through 12-item test -called as Mathematical Pattern Achievement Test- developed by the researcher. The reliability coefficient was found as 0, 88. As a result of this study, it was found that there are significant differences between students’ performances according to presentation forms of mathematical pattern in terms of grade levels. Students received the highest score from pattern questions presented in the table format in the “Mathematical Pattern Achievement Test”. It was found that the other pattern presentation forms were ranked as respectively “Figural”, “Word Problem” and “Numeric Sequence”.
Keywords: Pattern, generalization, pattern presentation formats
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THE VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY STUDIES OF THE ORAL COMMUNICATION STRATEGY INVENTORY
Asst.Prof. Dr. Şaziye YAMAN & Res. Ast. Pelin IRGINThe purpose of this study can be listed as describing a Turkish version of the Oral Communication Strategy Inventory (OCSI) developed by Nakatani (2006), obtaining evidence of the internal consistency reliabilities of OCSI, and providing evidence for the validity of OCSI in Turkish culture through the use of the factor analysis. The participants in this study were 823 Turkish students learning English as a foreign language, studying at high schools and universities in Mersin, Adana, and Hatay in Turkey. The results of the study indicated that OCSI is not a valid and reliable tool in Turkish culture. These results suggested that a listening strategy inventory can be developed to understand listening strategy preferences of Turkish students considering cultural differences.
Keywords: Listening strategy, oral communication strategy, communication, validity, reliability
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AN INVESTIGATION OFCONFLICT RESOLUTION BEHAVIOURS: A QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE STUDY
Yrd. Doç. Dr. Yasemin YAVUZER, Yrd. Doç. Dr. Zeynep KARATAŞ & Yrd. Doç. Dr. Rezzan GÜNDOĞDUThe purpose of this study is to examine the adolescents’ views as regards their conducts of differences of solving conflicts in terms of gender, class level and class type and the situations in which they experience conflict, the methods they use to solve these, how the conflict ends up and how this result affects. Target population of the study is formed of 8119 high school students who are study at the high schools in Niğde city center, and sample of the study is made up of 1417 high school students. In the study, Determining Conflict Solving Behavior Scale and Interview Form were used. In the analysis of the data, multivariate variance analysis for quantitative data content analysis for qualitative data was used. In conclusion, while the males, and the 10th and 11th grades in the state of conflict exhibit aggressive reactions, the females and the 9th grades are more inclined to problem solving; science high school students, on the other hand, resort less to problem solving. In the interviews conducted with the students, those whose aggression scores are high stated that they generally solve the conflicts using physical and verbal power, but those whose problem solving scores are high stated that they mostly solve the problems through talking. The research findings suggest that school administrators, teachers and psychological counselors of the school especially should not ignore the males and those of 10th and 11th grades while they prepare school-based programs aiming at preventing aggression at schools.
Keywords: Conflict, conflict resolution, adolescent
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AN ANALYSIS ON THE GRADUATE STUDIES ON CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN UNIVERSITIES
Doç. Dr. Nermin YAZICIChildren’s literature is a relatively new subject to Turkish academia and has been studied by a variety of academic fields. This research aims to determine academic trends of Children’s literature studies. To do this, master’s theses and doctoral dissertations cataloged in The Council of Higher Education’s National Theses Database were analyzed in different aspects. The results from these theses elaborated on. Analyzing children’s literature studies with a comprehensive aspect will let new academic studies to focus on inadequately focused areas.
Keywords: Child literature, children’s literature, adolescent literature, academic studies
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AN INVESTIGATION INTO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF BASIC CONCEPTS ABOUT CITIZENSHIP EDUCATION
Doç. Dr. Kaya YILMAZThe purpose of this study was to examine 8 grade students’ perceptions of such basic citizenship education concepts as rights, responsibilities, equality, citizenship and sovereignty. Research participants were selected from five different school districts in İstanbul. Qualitative research method was employed to elicit participants’ responses to the research questions. A semi-structured interview protocol was used as the main method of data collection. Constant comparison and inductive methods of data analysis were used to analyze data. Research findings showed that students’ gender partly impacted their perceptions of the concepts as indicated by female students’ perceptions of responsibilities that were far more developed and differentiated than male students’. Most students had a good understanding of rights and responsibilities and knew what to do when their rights were violated. But, some students’ perceptions of equality, citizenship and sovereignty were either flawed or incomplete. They had difficulty expressing their meanings, confusing them with other concepts especially with rights, responsibilities and liberty.
Keywords: Citizenship education, concepts, social studies, elementary school students, students’ perceptions
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HYBRID UNIVERSITY: A CASE STUDY OF PRIVATE-PUBLIC PARTNERSHIP IN TURKEY
Dr. Sefer YILMAZThis study is an attempt to explore the development of a new hybrid model of a both state-funded and private-supported higher education in Turkey. While there have been such kind of structures throughout the world for a long time, this kind of a university being public but at the same time being supported by a philanthropic non-profit organization is quite new in Turkey. This quality is argued to add significant advantages to those universities enabling them to utilize both the public and private models’ benefits. However, there is not yet any specific legislation regulating this kind of models on a statutory basis. This paper, which puts forth the characteristics and advantages of this new hybrid model on the case of Abdullah GUL University (AGU), will present the need for a legal basis on which this kind of hybrid models representing both public and private characteristics will be able to rise and flourish freely.
Keywords: Public-private partnership, philanthropy, non-profit organizations, higher education, Hybrid University
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