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The aim of this study is to reveal the opinions and suggestions of elementary teachers regarding workplace happiness. The research employed descriptive research model, a qualitative research method. In the 2021-2022 academic year, three primary schools were selected in Izmir according to maximum diversity sampling, and 20 elementary teachers working in these schools participated in the research. The research data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using content analysis. According to the results of the research, in order to ensure workplace happiness, school administrators should place more emphasis on interpersonal relationships, adopt a fair management approach, appreciate teacher achievements based on merit, care about the emotions and thoughts of employees, assign tasks related to educational activities, organize social activities within the school, improve working conditions, provide opportunities to develop skills and competencies, and periodically change assignments. Additionally, it is important to emphasize cooperation between employees and parents, and to have class sizes that allow teachers to individually engage with their students, as well as improve the transportation conditions of the schools. more...

The article moves away from the traditional architectural basic design education methods and approaches it within the framework of the discipline of educational sciences and learning models. The multi-layered education structure transforms into a new learning field under the guidance of Bloom's Revised Taxonomy, which proposes a course schedule for the architectural basic design studio. Taxonomy allowed us to discover the reflections and effectiveness of the interdisciplinary structure of architecture and design in the educational process and to be instrumentalized and used in the context of basic design education. The course schedule proposal presents a flexible schedule outline with the example of an interdisciplinary studio schedule. The trial created within the scope of this study can be appropriately organized for different Ecoles, schools, and values. The paper is significant for its interdisciplinary nature and develops a new discourse using Bloom's Revised Taxonomy. Using Bloom's Revised Taxonomy as a method in the studio has led to a paradigm shift in methodology. more...

The course of development of technology, its speed in the recent period and the point it has reached have led our relationship with technology to become a necessity rather than a choice. In this respect, teaching activities that are not intertwined with technology and do not include digital elements will remain as practices that will not go beyond the interest and expectations of students who are the subject of educational environments. This study, which examines the effect of digital content on listening skill in secondary school Turkish teaching, is at an important point in terms of showing the effect of digital elements on listening skill, which is the first learning channel of human beings and will continue until death, and which should be carefully emphasized in terms of forming the basis for other language skills. The sample of this study consists of 60 students in the seventh grade of a secondary school in Elazig province. In the study, mixed research method was preferred as the method and sequential explanatory design was preferred as the design. Quasi-experimental design was used in the quantitative part of the study and phenomenology design was used in the qualitative part. In the quantitative part of the study, there was one control and one experimental group. In order to obtain quantitative data within the scope of the research, the Listening Skills Scale developed by Yalçin & Özcan (2022) was applied to the control and experimental groups as pre-test and post-test. The experimental and control groups were determined according to the pre-test results of the students participating in the study. In the qualitative part of the study, data were obtained from interviews with the students and these interviews were analyzed by content analysis. The results of the study showed that there was a significant difference between the listening skill scale scores of the students in the experimental and control groups in the post-test application in favor of the experimental group, there was a significant increase between the pre-test and post-test scores of the listening skill scale applied to the control group, and there was a significant difference between the pre and post-application listening skill scale scores of the experimental group. Considering the results obtained from the interviews, it was seen that listening practices enriched with digital content facilitated comprehension, digital content practices improved listening skills and created a desire to participate in new activities. At the end of the study, suggestions were made for researchers, educators and related institutions. more...

This study aimed to investigate distance education practices in higher education during the pandemic, focusing on lived experiences, and proposing a policy decision framework for future distance education in similar conditions. Additionally, the study aimed to establish a design framework for an Emergency Action Plan for similar crisis periods. In the study, a case study was used to provide a detailed examination of the current situation's characteristics. The study group consisted of 63 administrators from 34 universities who actively participated in decision-making during the pandemic. Data were collected through 11 online focus group interviews, and the Miles-Huberman Model was used for analysis. The study proposed a policy decision framework for distance education in the post-pandemic period, consisting of 11 headings such as blended learning, open course materials, and Distance Education Center structuring. Additionally, the study presented an emergency action plan framework consisting of six components, including keeping the technological infrastructure working and supporting face-to-face courses with distance education. This study provides valuable insights for universities in preparing for potential crises and improving their distance education practices. more...

A differentiated science activity was created for gifted students. The focus is on Sustainable Development Goal 15 (SDG-15) for life on land, enhancing engagement, self-regulated learning skills, and scientific creativity in gifted students. The activity spanned eight lesson hours, with tasks encouraging observation, inquiry, and creative thinking. Evaluation included achievement, process, and product forms, along with teacher observations and student feedback. Differentiating the learning environment and process through the utilization of Metaverse and immersive virtual reality technologies is crucial as it affords gifted students the chance to explore novel strategies in differentiated science education. In this particular context, three 3D scenes were created and imported into the Imedu Metaverse platform. Students used laptops to view 3D scenes at three separate occasions. During their visits, they examined living and non-living components of the forest ecosystem, including natural life and environmental conditions. Students experienced immersion with Oculus Quest 2 VR headsets. Following this encounter, they participated in querying procedures. Before and after utilizing applications within the Metaverse, efforts were made to enhance awareness of SDG-15 and foster scientific creativity. more...

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of digital gamification-based instruction on the attitudes towards mathematics and anxiety of seventh-grade gifted students in the "Equation and Equation" unit. In this study, pretest-posttest unbalanced group experimental design was used. The study was conducted in the 2022-2023 academic year with a total of 30 seventh-grade gifted students, 15 in the experimental group and 15 in the control group. During the study, the control group received a mathematics lesson based on traditional teaching and the experimental group received a mathematics lesson supported by digital gamification. In addition, the participants in the experimental group were asked to keep a diary throughout the implementation process to reflect their thoughts about digital gamification-based instruction. In the study, it was concluded that digital gamification-based instruction positively affected the attitudes of gifted students toward mathematics. It was observed that the anxiety levels of the students decreased after the application, but there was no statistically significant difference. In the study, students stated that mathematics lessons based on digital gamification were fun and their prejudices about the subject were broken. more...

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between school structure, distributed leadership and accountability of school administrators. Relational survey design was adopted in the study. 444 elementary school teachers working in Aziziye, Palandöken and Yakutiye in Erzurum participated in the study. In sample selection, stratified sampling method was used. In data collection, the Enabling School Structure Scale, the Distributed Leadership Scale and the Accountability Behavior Scale for School Administrators were used. The data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 for preliminary statistical analyses, LISREL 8.80 for Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), and the PROCESS macro for SPSS v3.3 for mediation analyses. In data analysis, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Analysis, Bootstrap Analysis, and SEM were used. Furthermore, a mediation analysis was conducted to investigate whether distributed leadership played a mediating role in the relationship between school structure and accountability. The results revealed that coercive bureaucracy had a negative effect on accountability and distributed leadership while enabling bureaucracy had a positive effect on accountability and distributed leadership. Furthermore, the analysis revealed a positive effect of distributed leadership on accountability. This study revealed the mediating role of distributed leadership in the effect of coercive and enabling bureaucracy on accountability. In other words, it was found that the coercive and enabling bureaucracy had direct and indirect effects on accountability. Finally, a number of recommendations were made to educators, policy makers and researchers based on these findings. more...

This study compared parenting across four non-Western cultures to test cross-cultural commonality and specificity principles in three aspects: measurement properties, parenting normativeness, and their associations with child outcomes. Both mothers and fathers (N = 1509 dyads) with preschool-aged children (M = 5.00 years; 48% girls) from urban areas of four countries (Malaysia, N = 372; China, N = 441; Turkey, N = 402; and Japan, N = 294) reported on four parenting constructs (authoritative, authoritarian, group harmony socialization, and intrusive control) and their sub-dimensions using modified culturally relevant measures. Teachers reported on children's internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors. The commonality principle was supported by two sets of findings: (1) full measurement invariance was established for most parenting constructs and sub-dimensions, except that intrusive control only reached partial scalar invariance, and (2) no variations were found in associations between parenting and any child outcomes across cultures or parent gender at the construct level for all four parenting constructs and at the sub-dimensional level for authoritarian and intrusive control sub-dimensions. The specificity principle was supported by the other two sets of findings: (1) cross-cultural differences in parenting normativeness did not follow the pattern of economic development but yielded culture-specific patterns, and (2) at the sub-dimensional level, the authoritative parenting and group harmony socialization sub-dimensions were differently associated with child outcomes across cultures and/or parent gender. The findings suggested that examining specific dimensions rather than broad parenting constructs is necessary to reflect cultural specificities and nuances. Our study provided a culturally-invariant instrument and a three-step guide for future parenting research to examine cross-cultural commonalities/specificities. more...

The aim of this study is to examine the opinions of secondary school students about mathematics lessons taught with distance education. The research was carried out by taking the opinions of 286 secondary school students from one state school selected from each of the provinces (Manisa, Izmir, Mugla, Antalya, Sirnak, Bitlis). Quantitative and descriptive survey method was used in the study. According to the findings, it was seen that the opinions of female and male students were very close to each other, there was no significant difference according to the variables of the number of siblings and whether they had their own study room, and there was a significant difference between 5th grade students and 8th grade students. Students; It was seen that there was no difference in their views on understanding the lesson better and increasing their success, they did not have any problems in accessing the Mathematics lesson, but they had problems due to internet interruptions during the lesson, they did not have any problems in communicating with their teachers and delivering homework during the lesson, but they still preferred face-to-face education at a high rate. It was observed that the motivation of the 5th grade students during the lesson and their better understanding of the lesson were higher than the 8th grade students. more...

In the study, it was aimed to determine the relationship between school principals' ability to manage emotions and teachers' organizational commitment. As a result of the research, it was determined that there is a positive and moderate relationship between teachers' organizational commitment and school principals' ability to manage emotions. more...

In this research, the relationship between organizational climate and organizational happiness perceptions that have significant impact on the organizational behavior of employees in achieving the goals of school organizations is aimed to examine. The universe of the research that was designed in the relational scanning model, consisted of 19400 teachers working in 1131 primary and secondary schools in the districts of Izmir. The sample consists of 497 teachers determined by using proportional cluster sampling method. It has been concluded that there is a positive and highly significant relationship between organizational climate and organizational happiness and that organizational climate explains employee happiness by 66%. more...

This study is important because it deals with 21st century skills and current techniques in the field of educational technology and the studies in this field are limited in the literature. The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of coding, robotics, 3D design and game design education on problem solving and reflective thinking skills of 8/10-year-old students and on problem solving and metacognitive awareness levels of 11/14-year-old students. In this study, a quasi-experimental research model with a single group pre-test / post-test pattern, which is considered one of the quantitative research methods, was used. The research was carried out with a total of 36 participants, 15 in the 8-10 age group and 21 in the 11-14 age group, enrolled in a course organized by a higher education institution. The duration of the training is 8 weeks, 2 hours per week. The data of this study were collected through a questionnaire. The questionnaires used consist of 2 parts: Problem Solving Inventory and Reflective Thinking Skills Scale for Problem Solving for Primary Education Level Children aged 8-10, and Problem Solving Inventory and Metacognitive Awareness Inventory for Children - Form B for 11/14-year-old students. As a result of all these applications, it was observed that there was an increase in students' problem solving and metacognitive awareness skills, but it was not statistically significant. It was observed that there was a statistically significant increase in the reflective thinking skills of 8/10-year-old students. more...

Learning through mobile applications has become more relevant as mobile tools have evolved. The COVID-19 outbreak that spread across the globe in 2019 promoted to a brief period of distance learning. The purpose of the study was to investigate how the students' perceptions of distance learning were affected by the use of a mobile application designed for a seventh-grade mathematics course. The research was performed using quasi-experimental design. The study was conducted in the distance education process with 7th grade students studying in a secondary school in the 2020-2021 academic year. The mobile application was used to deliver the instruction to the students in the experimental group, whereas the control group received instruction based on the textbook. To collect the data for the study, Yildirim et al. (2014) designed the "Student Opinions Scale for Distance Education". T-tests were used to assess the data for dependent and independent samples, respectively. The study revealed a substantial difference in the post-test results of the students in the experimental and control groups. It was discovered that there was no significant difference between the pre and posttest scores of the control group students' opinions on distance education and that there was a substantial increase in the experimental group students' attitudes on distance education between the two assessments. According to the findings, it has been suggested that by creating mobile applications in various ways and including them into the distance learning process, the impacts of using them for mathematics classes on distance learning can be studied. [Note: The page range (254-274) shown on the PDF is incorrect. The correct page range is 253-274.] more...

The testing effect refers to the gains in learning and retention that result from taking practice tests before the final test. Understanding the conditions under which practice tests improve learning is crucial, so four experiments were conducted with a total of 438 undergraduate students in Turkey. In the first study, students who took graded practice tests outperformed those who took them as ungraded practice. In the second study, students who took short-answer questions before the first exam and multiple-choice questions before the second exam scored higher on the second exam. In the third study, multiple-choice, short-answer and hybrid questions produced similar learning gains. In the fourth study, students who received detailed feedback immediately after class performed similarly to those who received feedback at the beginning of the next class. The results suggested the contribution of graded practice tests in general; however, the type of questions or the timing of feedback did not predict learning outcomes. more...

This study aims to investigate the validation of the Rapid Interactive Screening Test for Autism in Toddlers (RITA-T) in Turkish toddlers between 18 and 36 months of age. Children aged 18-36 months were referred to the department of child psychiatry for concerns of autism spectrum disorder, language disorder, developmental delay, and typically developing children were enrolled. A total of 81 toddlers participating in the study received clinical interviews according to the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (5th ed.) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale. They received the translated RIT-T from reliably trained and blinded providers. Parents completed the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers form. A cut-off score was calculated based on the sensitivity, specificity, positive, and negative predictive values of the RITA-T total score that best differentiates autism spectrum disorder diagnosis. For all participants, the RITA-T total score correlated with the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (r = 0.715) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale total score (r = 0.825). Using a cut-off score of [greater than or equal to]17, the RITA-T had a sensitivity of 0.90 and a specificity of 0.927 for identifying autism spectrum disorder risk. The area under the curve was 0.977. Our findings demonstrate that the RITA-T is effective in Turkish toddlers for the early identification of autism spectrum disorder, early intervention settings, and allowing access to treatment. more...

Aim/Purpose: The present study explores the use of AI-powered ChatGPT as a feedback tool for automated writing evaluation in a higher education context. Background: Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly applied in the field of education, offering new opportunities with its evolving capabilities. One area where AI tools have promising potential is the field of second/foreign language (L2) writing. Methodology: Participants, Turkish pre-service teachers of English enrolled in an academic writing course, received feedback from ChatGPT, peers, and the course instructor. Data came from focus-group interviews focusing on the participants' perceptions of ChatGPT as a feedback tool in comparison to peer and teacher feedback. Thematic analysis was conducted on the transcribed interview data. Contribution: Students can benefit from AI feedback by independently refining their writing. They should develop critical thinking skills when using AI tools like ChatGPT for feedback. Findings: Thematic analysis revealed that participants thought ChatGPT had several affordances, such as practicality, interactivity, and adaptability; however, it also had certain constraints, such as occasional inconsistencies and dependence on the quality of prompts. Overall, the study highlights that ChatGPT could be a valuable feedback tool for L2 writing. Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings suggest that ChatGPT can significantly facilitate the L2 writing process but cannot fully replace feedback from peers or teachers. Teachers should provide initial training and ongoing support to students in using AI effectively for feedback. Policymakers should consider the advancements in AI and their implications for L2, anticipate students' increasing access to advanced writing assistance, and seek ways to offer suitable guidance. Future Research: This study tapped into students' experiences as a snapshot. Future research may focus on the long-term influence of ChatGPT feedback on L2 writing and how to combine it with other types of feedback to optimize learning. more...

This instrumental case study explored 10 English as a foreign language (EFL) instructors' perceptions and experiences of participating in an asynchronous online professional development (OPD) program. The study aimed to explore instructors' professional development (PD) needs, the factors influencing their participation in OPD, and the perceived effective characteristics of the OPD program. Data gathered through individual interviews, reflective reports, and a focus group were analyzed using a reflective thematic analysis approach. The study revealed that the EFL instructors' limited engagement in reflective practice and continuous PD could potentially result in overconfidence and a lack of awareness regarding their PD needs. Furthermore, the article highlights perceived effective characteristics of the OPD program: flexibility, collaboration, facilitation and organization, reflection, relevance, and practicality. Findings suggest that these characteristics not only contributed to its effectiveness but also promoted instructors' participation and engagement in the OPD. more...

The aim of this study was to examine the efficiency of the differentiated instructional design for value education of gifted. This research was based according to the embedded experimental design of a mixed research method. The study group consisted of 25 gifted students (13 girls, 12 boys) at the 6th-grade level. Digital differentiation strategy was employed in instructional design. Students were asked to reflect their learning about Turkish talented people on cartoons containing both visual and auditory elements. The activities in the differentiated instructional design were applied to the students online for 8 weeks, 2 hours per week. Quantitative data were collected with the Target Behaviour Development Scale (Kanger, 2007). Quantitative data were analyzed with a dependent samples t-test. The Cohen d effect size was also calculated. In the qualitative part of this research, the views of gifted students, their products, the observations of researchers were evaluated. Qualitative data were analyzed descriptively. As a result of the research, the difference between the pre-test and post-test scores of the target behavior development levels of the gifted students regarding values was found to be statistically significant. This difference was in favor of the post-test and the effect size was high (d=1.047, p<0.05). In other words, the differentiated instructional design for value education increased the values development of gifted students. Gifted students expressed their views on the differentiated instructional design the most frequently with the words "fun, instructive, and the values". The students were successful in writing cartoon scripts, turning the scripts into a cartoon, and indicated that they had some technical difficulties. Students were happy both to learn of the values and to produce technology-supported products. Comparative studies can be done by establishing experimental and control groups for different grade-level gifted students. more...

This study investigates the effect of problem-based STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) activities on 7th-grade students' mathematics achievement, attitude, anxiety, self-efficacy, interest, and views. At the same time, the effects of these activities on students' anxiety, self-efficacy towards mathematics, and interest in STEM occupations were also examined. The study sample, which was selected using the convenience sampling method, consisted of 115 7th grade students of a public middle school in Turkey. In the quantitative phase of the research, a quasi-experimental research model with pre-test and post-test control group was used to determine the students' mathematics achievement, attitudes, anxiety, self-efficacy towards mathematics and interests in STEM careers. In the qualitative phase semi-structured interview was used to understand students' views on problem-based STEM activities and mathematics lessons in the qualitative part. Within the scope of the research, 6 different problem-based STEM activities related to ratio-proportion and percentages were applied to the experimental group students. The data collected from both groups before and after the implementation process were analyzed with descriptive statistics, independent samples t-test, and paired sample t-test. The results showed that problem-based STEM activities affect students' mathematics achievement, self-efficacy, and interest in mathematics. It also helps students reducing their mathematics anxiety. more...

This study was conducted to examine whether newly enrolled 9th grade students were ready to directly engage in the theoretical discursive process from the perspective of Duval's Cognitive Model. The sample of the study was comprised of 51 newly enrolled 9th grade students between the ages of 14 and 15, who had not received any prior geometry instruction. These 51 students were posed two open-ended questions that would enable them to make a transition between perceptual and discursive apprehension. According to the findings obtained from the study, many of the students could not display the necessary behaviors for theoretical discursive process. Students were mostly unsuccessful in converting discursive information into perceptual information, in writing discursive information based on perceptual information, and making inferences based on discursive information. These findings indicate that recent graduates of secondary school are not ready enough to directly engage in theoretical discursive process and, thus, they could experience difficulties in such high order skills as providing proof requiring the theoretical discursive process. more...

Background/purpose: The continuity of society is ensured through schools where educational activities are formally conducted. There exists a wide range of tasks that are assigned to educational systems and schools, and three concepts play a critical role for the successful completion of those tasks: school climate, individual innovativeness, and teacher autonomy. The aim of this study was to investigate whether teacher autonomy had a mediating role in the relationship between school climate and teachers' individual innovativeness. Materials/methods: The relational survey model was used in the study, with 617 elementary school teachers selected using simple random sampling. Data were collected using three scales: the School climate scale, the Teacher autonomy scale, and the Individual innovativeness scale. The collected data were analyzed using regression and correlation analyses. In addition, Bootstrap analysis was performed through IBM SPSS v.24.0 (Hayes, 2013) with PROCESS Macro 3 and "Simple Mediation Model 4" used to examine the significance of the mediation effect. Results: The findings revealed that a positive, moderate, and significant relationship exists between school climate, individual innovativeness, and teacher autonomy. Bootstrap analysis showed that teacher autonomy had a significant mediating effect in the relationship between school climate and individual innovativeness. Furthermore, the Sobel test proved the significant mediating effect of teacher autonomy since the Z value was at the desired level. Conclusion: It was found that teacher autonomy had a mediating role in the relationship between school climate and teacher innovativeness. Since this is the first study to examine the mediation effect of teacher autonomy on the relationship between teacher innovativeness and school climate, further research is needed with different samples to verify the findings. more...

This study aimed to examine preschool teacher candidates' self-efficacy beliefs and their attitudes towards the profession as predictors of their entrepreneurship. 269 teacher candidates studying at different universities in Turkey and volunteering to participate in the study constitute the participants of the study designed in the correlational study model. Participant teacher candidates' self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes towards the profession and entrepreneurship were examined; self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes towards the profession, which are thought to have an impact on entrepreneurship, were evaluated. Also discussed about were the differences between these factors based on the teacher candidates' gender, the grade they got in college, and what they thought about doing the job after they graduated. As a result, it was determined that the self-efficacy beliefs, attitudes towards the profession, and entrepreneurship of preschool teacher candidates participating in the research were above the mean score of the scale, and the teacher candidates' self-efficacy beliefs and attitudes towards the profession predicted their entrepreneurship significantly. It was found that the self-efficacy beliefs and entrepreneurial spirit of female preschool teacher candidates were much higher than those of male preschool teacher candidates. Also, the entrepreneurial spirit of first-grade teacher candidates was higher than that of fourth-grade teacher candidates. Besides, it was determined that the attitude scores towards the profession of teacher candidates who do not have any other career plans other than teaching were significantly higher. Because teacher candidates who have high self-efficacy beliefs and positive attitudes towards their profession are more entrepreneurial, it is more likely that they will be more open to new ideas, try new things, and notice opportunities. more...

This collaborative project-based learning (CPBL) study concerns the design and development of educational material set by preservice teachers. During the study, Web 2.0 technologies were used as tools to support collaborative knowledge construction in terms of school health and safety. Based on the purpose of the study, mixed method was employed. Qualitative results indicated that CPBL was an appropriate choice for studies aiming to increase awareness and knowledge in a special context. Preparing an educational material set with a wide variety of Web 2.0 tools based on predetermined criteria through CPBL strategy can enable participants to enhance their problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. Moreover, CPBL was effective in increasing the participants' motivation and self-regulation towards technology learning. more...

The current study aims to reveal preschoolers' and first graders' perspectives of primary school. A qualitative research design was employed, and multiple sampling methods were used to retrieve the participants. The participants were 15 preschoolers with an average age of 69 months attending and 15 first graders with an average age of 80 months. A semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers was used for the data collection. The results showed that most preschoolers had some knowledge of primary school. Their views of primary school generally focused physical characteristics of the school, lessons and rules, and daily routines. First graders said that they were learning new things in primary school and that they felt happy when they started school. They also stated that they need friends in primary school to be happy and that it is important to listen to their teachers carefully. The biggest difference between preschool and primary school was the lessons. They also remarked that they need to play more games in primary school. [Paper presented at the International Basic Education Congress (Mugla, Turkey, October 23-27, 2019).] more...

Critical thinking is an important skill type. It has become a growing focus of attention. Based on the growing interest in critical thinking skills, this research examines the relationship of critical thinking with cognitive competence. Data on sub-questions were collected taking into account the main purpose of the research. This study, which is an educational science study, examines the correlational relationship. In this context, 323 school counsellors participated in the research. The data collected using the data tools used in the research (CC and CT) was examined and the results were reached. Research results show that cognitive competence is an important variable in terms of critical thinking ability. It has been concluded that cognitive competence is an important variable for the ability to think critically. The participants had no significant effect on critical thinking and cognitive competence of gender variables with the classroom. Taking into account this result, recommendations have been developed for the more efficient use of cognitive competence in critical thinking. more...

The aim of this study is to reveal the opinions of secondary school students about the mathematics lessons conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic process. This research is a descriptive study based on survey model. The sample group of the study consists of 740 secondary school students who have been attending public schools in the Black Sea Region of Turkey in the 2020-2021 academic year. A questionnaire consisting of three open-ended questions and five question items created by the researchers was used as data collection tool in the study. The questionnaire was created on the Google Forms platform and delivered to the students by this way. As a result of the study, it was stated that most of the students had difficulties in the mathematics lessons conducted during the pandemic, and these difficulties generally emerged in terms of not being able to understand the lesson or lack of digital resources. Students generally stated that they could not understand the teacher in online lessons, could not focus on the lesson, online lessons were not permanent and productive, and these lessons reduced their motivations towards the lesson. The data obtained from the study were discussed in relation to the literature and appropriate suggestions were made in line with the results of the study. more...

The study aims to examine the reflection of social media on school administration. The findings demonstrated that social media is a tool which provides fast communication; enables internal and external, formal and informal works to be carried out more effectively and easily. School administrators prefer social media compared to previous periods because it provides both faster and easier execution of work and savings. Structural and technical regulations are needed to use social media more effectively in school administration. Further research can be conducted by taking into account the stakeholders adopting different methods. more...

The aim of this study is to examine the relationship between special education teacher candidates' selfefficacy beliefs and their technological pedagogical content knowledge levels. In this study, in which descriptive and relational research design was used, the participant group consisted of 446 special education teacher candidates from three universities. The Teacher Self-Efficacy Belief Scale (SSPS) and the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge Scale (TPACKS) were used to collect the data. The collected data were analyzed with the SPSS package program and using parametric tests. It has been observed that the academic competence dimension, which is one of the sub-dimensions of special education teacher candidates, differs significantly according to the age and class variables, and the vocational competence dimension differs significantly according to the gender variable. It was understood that the TPACK scores differed in favor of the older age and class according to the age and class variables. It has been reported that there is a positive and significant relationship between SAS scores and TPACK scores, and that TPACK mean scores explain 18% of self-efficacy beliefs. It has been concluded that as the education level and life experience of the special education teacher candidates are above the average, both self-efficacy belief and technology knowledge increase. more...

Current study aimed examining preparatory school students' cyber-loafing levels and opinions about distance education English curriculum. Exploratory sequential pattern of mixed research methods is employed. The sample is consisted of 201 preparatory students who study at the preparatory school at Cag University. The quantitative data of the research was obtained through Cyber-Loafing Scale and Assessment Scale. Qualitative data was gathered by open-ended questions form developed by the researcher. It was concluded that students' cyber-loafing levels are at a medium level and the students' opinions about the distance education English curriculum are also at a medium level. In addition, gender, devices and lessons affect neither students' cyber-loafing levels nor views on distance education curriculum while the daily internet use and frequency showed a significant effect on these variables. Another finding of the study, social media is also a significant factor for cyber-loafing. Furthermore, it is revealed that there is no correlation between cyber-loafing and students' views on distance education English curriculum. more...

As a primary goal, the aim of this study is to examine the parental self-efficacy and marital adjustment levels of the parents of disabled individuals in terms of various variables and to examine the relationship between parental self-efficacy and marital adjustment, as well. Correlational survey model was used in the research. The participants of the study are parents of disabled children attending Special Education and Rehabilitation Centers (SERC) in Edirne, Tekirdag and Istanbul in the 2019-2020 academic year. In order to collect the data of this research, the parental self-efficacy scale, developed by Guimond, Moore, Aier, Maxon & Diken (2005) and adapted to Turkish by Aksoy & Diken (2007), whose reliability study was carried out by Cavkaytar, Aksoy & Ardic (2014) was used. Besides, the Marriage Adjustment Scale (MAS), which was developed by Locke & Wallace (1959) and adapted to Turkish by Tutarel Kislak (1999), was also used According to the results of the research, the self-efficacy levels of the parents were found to be average; and in terms of gender variable, no significant difference was observed from the male parents considering age, monthly income level, education level and the type of disability variable of the child. In addition, marital adjustment levels of the parents were detected to be low. There was a significant difference in marital adjustment levels in favor of male parents, in favor of parents with a low-income level, and in favor of secondary school graduate parents in the educational level variable. No significant difference was observed in terms of age and the child's disability type variable. According to the results of this study, a positive relationship was observed between self-efficacy and marital adjustment. more...

The aim of this study was to determine the views of secondary and high school students regarding the distance education activities carried out during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, the blended learning activities conducted afterwards, and the post-pandemic back-to-school process. The study consisted of 982 students and was conducted utilizing the descriptive survey method, one of the quantitative research methods. Data were collected using the "Scale of Evaluating Instruction in Pandemic Process". The findings indicated that most of the students used smartphones alone for distance education during the pandemic process and most of them participated in distance education only via live lessons. In addition, no significant difference was found between genders with regard to students' satisfaction with the distance education process and their expectations. On the other hand, most of the students did not receive sufficient psychological and academic support during this process. It was also noted that the students with internet access were more satisfied with the instruction activities in this process and that their access to the internet and technologies were higher than the students without internet access. Based on our findings, we recommend that students should be provided with academic and psychological support, security precautions should be tightened in schools to minimize the effects of the pandemic, and equal opportunities should be provided to students regarding hardware and internet support. more...

This research aims to examine distance education practices from the perspective of instructors in terms of Planning, implementation and evaluation. It is aimed to reveal the current situation regarding the planning, implementation and evaluation of distance education practices by ensuring that the distance education practices related to the teaching methods and techniques used in the courses, content and process are evaluated from the perspective of the instructors. The study group of the research consists of 20 instructors. In the research, qualitative data were obtained by the case study method. In the study, the data were collected using the semi-structured interview technique developed in consideration of the purpose of the research. Qualitative content analysis was used in the analysis of the data obtained. The results of the research reveal the positive and negative opinions of the instructors in terms of planning, implementation and evaluation. Considering the findings by institutions, practitioners, and the Council of Higher Education that implement distance education may contribute to increasing the quality of education. more...

The sensory characteristics of teachers and prospective teachers directly affect them and their teaching activities. It is important to examine in detail how the attitude and anxiety levels of prospective primary teachers towards the teaching profession change throughout the years they receive education. This study aimed to cross-sectionally and longitudinally examine whether the attitude and anxiety levels of prospective primary school teachers towards the teaching profession changed throughout their undergraduate education and determine the factors/experiences triggering this change in accordance with the qualitative data obtained. A cross-sectional study was carried out with the participation of 1085 prospective teachers. For the longitudinal study, quantitative and qualitative data were collected together from 57 prospective teachers over a period of four years. Attitude scale regarding teaching and occupational anxiety scale for prospective teachers were used for data collection. The results of both the cross-sectional and longitudinal studies showed that the attitude scores of the participants did not change in accordance with the grade level. However, it was determined that the anxiety scores of the participants decreased as the grade level increased. The results revealed that this change is statistically significant. The qualitative results revealed that internship practices and direct experiences had a great influence on this change. more...

Mind Mapping can be used in any discipline as a tool for learning and organizing information. Mind Maps can be created as a group as a means of supporting brainstorming or individually to generate ideas. The aim of the present study was to explore preschool children's and teacher trainees' conceptions of school, friendship, and play through Mind Maps. A phenomenological approach was employed. The participants were 18 preschoolers (M = 65.33 months; 11 girls and 7 boys) and 12 preschool teacher trainees (M = 21.31 years; 10 females and 2 males). The children and the teacher trainees constructed three Mind Maps as a group and each group's Mind Maps were evaluated with a rubric. The results revealed that the children can be as successful as adults in Mind Mapping. The children used drawings more often compared to the teacher trainees. The children and the teacher trainees had similar scores on the Mind Maps for school and friendship. With respect to school, it is evident that teachers and physical environment were quite important to children. For friendship, it seems that the children tend to talk about play and the common activities they do with friends whereas the teacher trainees referred to more abstract and emotional aspects of friendship as expected. Lastly, the children and the teacher trainees' conceptions of play seemed to differ significantly, and the children did not include digital play in their Mind Maps unlike the teacher trainees who referred to digital play with many associations. more...

In this study, it was aimed to determine the effectiveness of the concept map presented by using augmented reality technology in the teaching of the basic features of animals to the 6th grade students with mild intellectual disability who benefit from inclusion interventions. Three students with mild intellectual disability who benefited from inclusion interventions participated in the research. One of the single-subject research models, the multiple probe design with probe conditions across subjects, was used in the study. While the dependent variable of the study is the level of learning the basic features of animals of students with intellectual disability, the independent variable of the research is the concept map method presented using augmented reality. The findings of the research shows that the concept map using augmented reality technology in teaching is effective in teaching the basic features of animals to the three participants who participated in the research. Besides, it was observed that the participants retained the basic features of the animals they learned one, three and four weeks after the end of the intervention, and exhibited what they learned when different individuals gave instructions. For the social validity of the research, the teachers of the participants were interviewed, and the they expressed positive opinions about both the target behaviors and the concept map method using augmented reality technology. more...

This research was conducted to determine the views of teacher candidates who are receiving pedagogical formation training at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Education Faculty, about lifelong learning, taking into account gender, type of department graduated or studied, and age demographic variables. General survey model was used in the research. The Lifelong Learning Scale developed by Sarigöz (2015) was used as a data collection method in the research. The sample of the research consists of 447 teacher candidates who have graduated from different departments of faculties or are still studying and receiving pedagogical formation training at Hatay Mustafa Kemal University. As a result of the research, it was concluded that candidate teachers develop a positive perspective on lifelong learning or learning from cradle to grave and they attach importance to human and scientific knowledge at every stage of their life. more...

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face education practices at all levels of formal education institutions in Turkey were suspended for precautionary purposes, and distance education was started urgently. Many studies have been conducted on this form of education, which has been implemented for a long time and will be replaced by face-to-face education in the 2021-2022 academic year. Among these, there are also those who examined the effectiveness of courses through emergency distance education in listening education during the pandemic period, very few studies could be identified that focused on examining the views or attitudes of teacher candidates in the field of language education towards the development and education of listening skill. Based on the idea that the process should also be addressed from the perspectives of the teacher candidates, this research examines the views of them on the "listening education" course in the Turkish Teaching Undergraduate Curriculum and conducted with EDE. For this purpose, a focus group interview was conducted through a semi-structured form with 17 teacher candidates who were studying at Mersin University Faculty of Education Turkish Teaching Undergraduate Curriculum in the 2020-2021 academic year and selected by criterion sampling method. When the interview data were analyzed, it was determined that the sessions were watched by most of the teacher candidates because they were seen as important, participation in the sessions was mainly hindered by problems with the Internet connection, although not as much as face-to-face sessions, they were seen beneficial in some degree, recordings to be seen beneficial were watched infrequently and to make up for missed synchronous sessions, teacher candidates were of the opinion that more emphasis should be placed on practices. Some suggestions were presented to curriculum developers, distance education platform designers and course instructors at the end of the study. more...

Infographics, which can present the message to be conveyed to the target person or audience by combining multiple coding systems such as text, line, picture, photograph, video, map, sound, enable the regular, effective and efficient transfer of large amounts of complex information, data or knowledge. They, which have become increasingly popular lately, are frequently encountered in areas such as the press, public transportation, marketing and advertising. It is thought that they can be used in educational activities. The facts that human brain's ability to analyze and interpret visuals in a shorter time than a written text and to store them for a longer period of time and today's students, who see living in the virtual world as much more than a hobby, need more concise and understandable content with the increasing interaction of digital screens compared to previous generations, makes the place of infographics in educational activities clear. Based on this information, it is aimed to present a perspective on the ways of using infographics in teaching Turkish as a foreign language with this research. In order to achieve this objective, scientific publications on infographics and their use in education, the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, Turkish Maarif Foundation Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language Curriculum are scanned, and suggestions are offered on how the aforementioned material can be used in teaching Turkish as a foreign language. more...

Owing to the fact that all educational activities have been moved to an online setting due to restrictions to control the spread of the Corona Virus, the realm of education has been subject to unprecedented changes. Therefore, this research aims to investigate the perspectives of freshman English as a Foreign Language (EFL) students and their instructors at Anadolu University regarding the Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) practice. Designed as a qualitative case study, this research has employed reflective journals, virtual focus group discussions, and virtual classroom observations as sources of data. A total of 15 participants took part in this research, 11 freshman students and 4 of their instructors. The data have been analyzed through qualitative content analysis, and the research findings have shown that the ERT practice has been a challenging and mostly disadvantageous process for both students and their instructors. Among the disadvantages are technical problems, self-related problems, student and instructor-related problems, live session-related problems, and assignment and exam-related problems. The advantages reported by the participants include self-related advantages, live session-related advantages, and exam-related advantages. Besides, relevant suggestions are put forward by both the instructors and students. The findings have been discussed in accordance with the relevant literature, and various implications have been drawn along with suggestions for future studies. more...

In current research, it was aimed to determine the interests and opinions of the 4th grade Science course taught with STEM implementations. The implementation of the study was carried out in the second semester of the 2017-2018 academic year in 4thgrade of a Primary School in Emirdag district of Afyonkarahisar. The study was designed in the form of action research. As data collection tools STEM Professional Interest Scale and semi-structured interviews were used. In the study, it was determined that STEM implementations positively increased the interest, perception and attitudes of students towards STEM occupations. At the end of the implementations the students perceive the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics as integrated; It is concluded that students find STEM activities interesting and entertaining, increase their motivation, are happy and increase their interest in STEM professions. more...

In fact, there are several variables affecting an individual's academic achievement. However, in this study, it was aimed to investigate possible effects of metacognitive awareness level on academic achievement. The population of the research included 314 pre-service teachers studying at the faculty of education. A descriptive survey method was employed for the study. It was found that the pre-service teachers, participating in the research had a high level of metacognitive awareness. The pre-service teachers' levels of metacognitive awareness did not differ by gender. It was concluded that academic achievement influenced their levels of metacognitive awareness positively. It was also found that the pre-service teachers were capable of making predictions, planning, monitoring and evaluating about their own cognitive activities. In addition, it was revealed that the subjects knew which learning methods were effective and which were not, and that they had the skills of planning, using and monitoring an approach that they expected to be successful for a task they encountered. In the context of these findings, some implications on the development of pre-service teachers' metacognitive awareness were discussed. more...

Technological advancements initially made it possible for individuals with different cultures from different parts of the world to consider working together, and eventually collaboration turned into a necessity. Based on this necessity, OECD measured collaborative problem-solving (CPS) competencies of 15-year-old students from the countries participating in PISA assessment in 2015. The objective of this study is to examine the data on Turkey from PISA 2015 CPS survey through Deterministic-Input, Noisy-Or-Gate (DINO) cognitive diagnostic model and to determine the students' levels of CPS competencies as well as difficulty levels of these competencies. In this context, primarily, attributes of CPS competency domain were examined and the model with the most appropriate number of attributes, classification accuracy and consistency was determined for the analysis of PISA 2015 CPS data. The sample of this descriptive study consists of 435 students. As a result of the analysis, the Q-matrix of the model data fit was observed to have the best goodness-of-fit when it had three attributes whereas model fit and classification consistency decreased as the number of attributes increased. Furthermore, the easiest competency for Turkish students was determined to be 'taking appropriate action to solve the problem' while the most difficult was 'establishing and maintaining shared understanding'. Finally, latent class distribution exposed that 56% of the students did not have any of the competencies, and 35% had all. Results of this examination indicate that all CPS competencies of Turkish students need improvement. more...

School guidance and counselling is a programme that is complementary to the education process and is seen as a support service for the pupil. The aim of this study is to examine the primary school administrators' views on psychological counseling and guidance services in their schools. The research was carried out with 20 school principals and vice principals who have been working in schools for at least one year with a psychological counselor. In the study, a semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers was used as a data collection tool. Considering the field studies, studies were carried out on three main principles: educational guidance, personal / social guidance, and vocational guidance, and three categories of studies, evaluations and suggestions for each theme. According to the findings, school guidance services were it is not considered sufficient in many respects and it is emphasized that the system has deficits. The main deficiencies mentioned can be expressed as the lack of expert personnel in the field, problems arising from infrastructure and central structure and equipment. more...

The current study focused on exploring the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on university students and participants' expectations of mental health professionals. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 80 university students aged 18 to 33 years from 19 cities in Turkey. Qualitative content analysis was used to identify important aspects of the students' experiences. According to the results, the main effects of the epidemic COVID-19 on the participants were depression and anxiety. We found that participants used various ways to cope with COVID-19 such as reading books and paying attention to hygiene. Participants also indicated that they perceived some positive situations, such as the value of nature and humanity, the importance of family, and various negative situations, such as mental exhaustion. Finally, participants stressed that they had different expectations regarding psychosocial support and the planning of individual activities by mental health professionals. more...

As there are limited studies examining relationships between argumentation-based teaching approach and critical thinking and argumentation skills in social studies, the aim of this study was to examine the effects of argumentation-based teaching approach on students' critical thinking disposition and argumentation skills, and the relationship between students' argumentation skills and critical thinking disposition. We used a quasi-experimental design with pretest-posttest equivalent control groups. The participants of this study were 94 seventh grade students from three different classrooms in a middle school in Erzurum district of Turkey. We utilized University of Florida Engagement, Maturity and Innovativeness Critical Thinking Disposition Instrument (UF/EMICTDI) to identify students' critical thinking disposition and argumentation activities to document students' argumentation skills. We used one-way ANOVA and multiple comparisons Tukey tests to analyze the data obtained via the UF/EMICTDI, correlation and regression analysis to investigate the relationships between students' argumentation skills and critical thinking disposition. Argumentation Evaluation Rubric was used in order to evaluate the arguments that the students formed. Results showed that there was no statistically significant difference between students' pretest critical thinking disposition scores in the experimental and control groups but there was a statistically significant difference between students' post-test critical thinking disposition scores. Additionally, we observed that students' argumentation skills enhanced throughout the study, there was a statistically significant positive relationship between students' argumentation skills and critical thinking disposition, and argumentation skills variable was the predictor of critical thinking disposition. We recommend future research studies to examine the effects of the argumentation-based science learning approach on different higher-order thinking skills. Additionally, in social studies classes, similar activities employed in this study on "Population in Our Country" unit can be used in teaching different topics/units in order to improve students' argumentation skills. more...

The study aims to shed light on the strengths of the primary school teaching profession and the fundamental skills that a primary school teacher (PST) should have while also taking into account the views of the PSTs. However, based on the data collected, the objective is to develop a self-efficacy belief scale (SEBS) for PSTs and teacher candidates. The first stage was carried out with 80 PSTs with at least five years of professional experience. 763 PSTs and PST candidates participated in second stage of the study. A SEBS was developed for PSTs and teacher candidates in light of the obtained data. Descriptive analysis and content analysis were used for qualitative data. The categories of being a teacher in village school, administration-colleague and parent-related problems, student self-care, pedagogical qualifications, and personal and professional development were attained concerning the challenges and fundamental skills for PSTs. Scale development steps were followed second stage of the study. The SEBS containing three sub-dimensions and 19 items is assumed to be helpful and valid and reliable metrics. more...

In this research, it was aimed to interculturally research the value of patience with the data obtained from the students who participated in the study from two different countries. The research was designed as a mixture of quantitative and qualitative methods. Accordingly, the Traditional Screening Technique based on quantitative data and the Phenomenological Technique based on qualitative data were used together in the research. In this study, the patience levels of university students were generally calculated high. The patience levels of Turkish students were discovered to be lower than those of Kyrgyz students. According to the results of the interviews, there are differences in Turkish and Kyrgyz students' understanding of patience. It is seen that Turkish students attribute the value of patience to religion, believing that patience is transferred to Turks from religion, while Kyrgyz students associate patience with their cultural traditions. It is thought that this study will contribute to values and character education, especially to the literature on patience. The relationship and differences between the patience levels of university students and different variables and their effects on each other can be researched. Programs can be developed to increase the patience levels of university students. more...

In this study, the cultural adaptations of international students studying in Samsun in acculturation processes were examined. The cultural problems that international students inevitably face affect their adaptation to the countries they host. To investigate the effects of the international students' some variables on the cultural adaptation in the context of Turkey constitutes the main objective of this study. In the study, it was examined whether the cultural adaptation levels of international students vary according to gender, place of residence, academic achievement level, education level, faculty they attend, and their age. Within the scope of the research, 670 foreign students participated in this study. According to the research results, the general adaptation level of the students is medium. While the participants' age is a factor affecting cultural adaptation, the students' cultural adaptation does not change according to their gender, place of residence, level of education, academic performance, and the faculties they attend. more...

The aim of this study was to examine teachers' self-assessments of their ability to create a positive classroom environment. The study used a survey method, and the sample was composed of 260 teachers who worked in the province of Tokat in Turkey in the 2017-2018 academic year. Research data were collected through the Class Control Index developed by Howard (1978) and translated into Turkish by Özden (2005). To analyze the data, the researchers used the t-test, one-way analysis of variance, Kruskal-Wallis H and Mann-Whitney U tests, and Pearson Moments Multiplication Correlation Coefficient. According to the results, teachers have high self-assessments of their ability to create a positive classroom environment. Primary school teachers had higher self-assessment scores than middle and high school teachers. Women's scores were higher than men's, classroom teachers had the highest scores, and information technology teachers had the lowest. In addition, there was no significant difference in terms of age, occupational seniority, postgraduate education, type of school (for high school teachers), department from which teachers graduated, or classroom management. [Cover Title: "Investigation of Teachers' Self-Assessment to Create a Positive Classroom Environment."] more...