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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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Available studies are far from giving a complete figure for the germination requirements of many Mediterranean Basin species.In this study, we investigated the germination properties of Lavandulastoechas L. (Lamiaceae) in response to different light and temperature regimes. We performed comprehensive experiments to test the effect of fixed and alternating temperatures, dark versus light conditions, and thermodormancy or thermoinhibition on several germination properties in three populations of L. stoechas from southwestern Turkey.Germination patterns showed a substantial variation among populations. Germination percentage was higher in the light conditions than in the dark at most temperatures, and alternating temperatures substituted light for the germination. The requirement of L. stoechas seeds to light for germination gradually increased through lower and higher temperatures than 15 °C. High temperature (30 °C) reduced the germination percentage to zero. However, in the presence of light, seeds were able to germinate after transferring to the optimum temperature (thermoinhibition), but this was not the case in darkness (thermodormancy). Seed germination in L. stoechas was stimulated by light, suggesting that germination has a phytochrome‐mediated response.Our study makes an inference to the fire‐environment interactions in the germination of Mediterranean seeder species by showing that both light and alternating temperatures stimulate germination in L. stoechas, a species well‐known with its fire‐related germination. Comprehensive germination studies are required for a better understanding of the early life‐stage adaptations of plants to Mediterranean conditions, and for developing more robust strategies for conservation and ecosystem restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positive psychological capital has a content that focuses on the strengths of the individual, envisages increasing his capacity, revealing his potential, and emphasizes that the positive aspects of the individual should be strengthened in order to increase organizational efficiency. On the other hand, depending on the importance of human resources for organizations, job satisfaction levels of employees gradually gain importance. For employees, job satisfaction is under the pressure of many influences. In this study, it is aimed to classify the factors affecting the job satisfaction of employees by examining the linear and non-linear effects of employees' positive psychological capital on job satisfaction. In this study, 152 questionnaires obtained from Special Education Rehabilitation Centers employees working in a province located in the western of Turkey were included in the study. As a result of the research, the first level multifactorial confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the hope, resilience and optimism dimensions of the positive psychological capital scale were determined as the main factors determining job satisfaction. Since the self-efficacy dimension of the positive psychological capital scale was found to be insignificant, the self-efficacy dimension was not included in the evaluation. The job satisfaction scale was evaluated as a single dimension. In the study, in order to test the non-linear effect between the positive psychological capital levels of special education employees and their job satisfaction levels, a penalty-reward contrast analysis was conducted with the help of regression analysis with dummy variables. As a result of this analysis, the hope, flexibility and optimism dimensions of positive psychological capital were determined as motivating factors on job satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]