Educational Policy Analysis and Strategic Research (EPASR - E-Journal)
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Problem-Solving and Students Use of Metacognitive Skills
Full text linkWe examined how high school students use their cognitive and metacognitive skills in the geometry problem-solving process. This research employed a mixed-methods descriptive sequential design. Data were collected in the 2019ndash%253B2020 academic year at secondary education institutions in the central districts of Adana, Türkiye. Using stratified sampling, 313 students participated in the quantitative component, of 313 students 149 are girls and 164 were boys and they were all 15 years olds. Then, using extreme case sampling, 18 students were selected as participant of the qualitative component. Fourteen of them were boys and four were girls. Measures included the metacognitive skills scale, geometry problem test, thinking-aloud protocol, and an observation form. Descriptive statistics and content analysis were applied for data analysis. Results showed that students with high metacognitive skills used metacognitive skills more when solving geometry problems than students with low metacognitive skills. As the implication of the result it is suggested that attention should be paid to the development of students%252339%253B metacognitive skills in schools. In this context, it would be beneficial to train teachers to develop metacognitive skills. In addition, there is a need to investigate the effect of metacognitive skills on learning in different learning areas
Pre-Service Teachers Evaluations of Creativity in Higher Education
Full text linkCreativity is recognized as an integral skill of the 21st century. For this reason, it is important for educators to learn how to nurture their students creativity and find means of evoking it in the classroom. It is believed that creativity, a trademark of this age of innovation, can be developed with a suitable educational environment and can be taught when appropriate conditions are provided. The role and importance of universities, especially faculties of education, which elicit the development and application of new ideas, cannot be denied. This study aimed to help pre-service teachers define creativity and evaluate their undergraduate education processes in terms of gaining and using creativity-based skills. In accordance with the nature of the qualitative research, the study group of the research was selected using a random sampling strategy. The study group of the research consisted of 197 pre-service teachers being educated in the faculty of education of a state university in their final year. The data collected and entered into the online data collection form was acquired using content analysis
Psychological Mindedness in ELT%253A Exploring Contributions of Comparative Literature to Pre-Service English Language Teachers Psychological Mindedness
Full text linkThis qualitative research aimed to explore the significance of the development of psychological mindedness, especially during the COVID-19 Pandemic, for pre-service English Language Teachers and the use of comparative literature to facilitate it. The research was conducted in the context of an undergraduate ELT program in Turkey and data was gathered through narrative inquiry at the end of the semester under the title of a selected literature course. Thematic analysis of the collected 39 narrative frames shed light on the development of pre-service teachers psychological mindedness which emerged in three overarching themes%253B self-awareness, empathy, and the importance of mental and physical well-being of a teacher which are all the necessary conditions for psychological mindedness. Findings suggest that these pre-service teachers were strongly influenced by the comparative analysis of the literary texts that facilitated the development of psychological mindedness
Examination of Digital Literacy Levels of Science Teachers in the Distance Education Process
Full text linkDigital literacy skills could make important contributions to teachers learning and teaching process and professional skills. The purpose of this article is to examine the level of science teachers digital literacy skills in terms of gender and the duration of professional experience. The sample of the study consisted of 88 science teachers working in various districts of Turkey. Digital literacy scale and distance education evaluation interview form were used as data collection tools. The results showed that, no statistically significant difference was found in the digital literacy levels of female and male science teachers. However, digital literacy of teachers with less professional experience is more positive than teachers with more professional experience. Also, science teachers mostly prefer lecturing during distance education. The results show that distance education should be strengthened in terms of infrastructure, implementation, quality in Turkey. Within the scope of the research, it was suggested to organize various trainings to improve the digital literacy levels of teachers, to enrich the content of EBA used in the distance education, and to increase the in-service trainings to improve the distance education skills of teachers
An Action Research to Eliminate Mistakes in Multiplication and Division Operations through Realistic Mathematics Education
Full text linkIn the current study, it is aimed to determine the activities that need to be done to eliminate the mistakes made by primary school fourth grade students in multiplication and division operations and to present solution suggestions for eliminating these mistakes. The study employed action research, one of the qualitative research methods. The study group was constructed by the criterion sampling method, one of the purposive sampling methods. The study group is comprised of 10 fourth graders attending a primary school in the spring term of the 2016-2017 school year in the city of İstanbul and making similar mistakes. A student information form, clinical interview form and student worksheets were used as data collection tools in the study. Activities prepared in line with the principles of Realistic Mathematics Education (RME) were applied in order to eliminate the mistakes made by the students in the multiplication and division operations. When the mistakes made by the students in the multiplication and division operations were examined, it was revealed that the source of the mistakes was the operational, conceptual and problem situations. During the implementation of RME activities, it was determined that the mistakes of the students started to be eliminated. After the implementation, it was found that the mistakes of the students committed in the multiplication and division operations decreased. Thus, it can be said that RME is an effective application in reducing the mistakes in multiplication and division operations made by students in primary school
Examination of Mathematical Errors and Mistakes in Calculus Course
Full text linkThis study was conducted to identify mathematical errors and mistakes made by preservice elementary mathematics teachers in the calculus course. To that end, the document analysis method of qualitative research models was used in the research. The sample of the research included a total of 75 preservice teachers who were attending the Department of Elementary Mathematics Education in the Faculty of Education at a public university and taking the calculus I course during the fall term of 2016-2017 academic year. Accordingly, written documents including the participant preservice teachers papers of interim exams, practice exams, and general exams constituted the data source. The exam papers were scanned with a scanner and transformed into the electronic environment. A content analysis was performed with the data by using MAXQDA 12 qualitative data analysis program, and data coding of data analysis techniques was utilized. It was concluded that the preservice teachers made procedural and conceptual errors and mistakes, mathematical errors and mistakes such as recalling generalizations incompletely or incorrectly. Some recommendations were made in light of these results
The Role of Social Support and Lifestyle in Pre-Service Teachers Psychological Well-Being
Full text linkThe main purpose of this study was to explore the predictive utility of demographic, social and lifestyle variables in psychological well-being. The participants were 410 pre-service teachers in Turkey. Three research instruments were utilized in the current study%253A Psychological Well-Being Scale, Lifestyle Inventory and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Both social support and lifestyle variables accounted for the additional variance in psychological well-being above and beyond the effects of demographic variables. Purpose in life was best predicted by being-married%253B lifestyle variables made the most contribution to autonomy%253B and social support-friend were found to be the best predictor of positive relations with others. It seems that demographic, social support and lifestyle variables play a differential role in psychological well-being
Examining the Opinions of School Principals Regarding Unethical Issues in School Management
Full text linkThis study aims to explore the ethical issues faced by principals working in public schools and determining their responses during and after unethical matters. This research was conducted in phenomenology design as qualitative study. Thirty school principals working in Tekirdağ province, Süleymanpaşa district public schools (special education, preschool, primary school, secondary school, and high school) participated in the study. Data were collected using a semi-structured interview form. The findings were analyzed by applying the content analysis method and presented by creating themes and codes with quotations. The findings show that school principals are not involved in financial processes. Their relationships with parents are more discreet and they are sensitive in their relations with staff. There is no deliberate discrimination among teachers, they are neutral in tenders and canteens, they embrace the interests of students in opening courses, and they are far from financial expectations in student enrolments. For minimizing the ethical difficulties in schools and establishing a regular school ethical chain, it has emerged that the moral principles in schools should be defined beforehand. Administrators should be trained ethically before their assignment. Simultaneously, the obligation of solving financial difficulties, which are the source of ethical problems in schools, has emerged
SWOT Analysis for the Distance Education Process of Lecturers Teaching Turkish as a Foreign Language
Full text linkNowadays, distance education programs are increasing with the Covid-19 outbreak. Due to the number of options based on distance education, it is aimed to provide a higher quality to service users. One of the important methods to increase the quality of distance education services is SWOT analysis. SWOT Analysis enables organizations to see their strengths (S) and weaknesses (W) and position them according to Opportunity (O) and Threats (T) that may occur in the external environment. The method of this research is phenomenology, one of the qualitative research methods. The study group of the research was selected by purposeful sampling technique. The analysis forms were collected from the lecturers via digital mail on a voluntary basis. Therefore, the study reached 48 instructors teaching Turkish as a foreign language in different regions of Turkey. In the research, a SWOT analysis form (4 questions) was used to understand distance education practices. The data were analyzed using content analysis and descriptive analysis technique. According to the results, the strength of teaching Turkish as a foreign language in distance education is flexibility in time and place with a ratio of 58%25. Again, quot%253Bflexibility in time and spacequot%253B was evaluated as an opportunity with a rate of 42%25. The weakest aspect of teaching Turkish in distance education seems to be quot%253Btechnical problemsquot%253B with a rate of 29%25. The instructors rated the lack of the classroom environment as the biggest threat with 30%25. Finally, it can be asserted that the findings of the study sheds light on distance education practices in the Covid 19 pandemic process in terms of teaching Turkish to foreigners
Development of Curriculum Changes Perception Scale and Teachers Perceptions of Curriculum Changes
Full text linkThis study aims to develop a scale to measure teachers%252339%253B perceptions of curriculum changes. The experimental form created for this purpose was presented to the experts for their opinions. The content validity rates of the items were determined in line with the feedback from experts. Items with a content validity rate of less than .80 were excluded from the study. The 11-item trial form was applied to 162 Turkish teachers from different branches. Sampling was selected through convenient sampling method. With the Exploratory Factor Analyses (EFA), a two-dimensional structure consisting of 11 items, namely Resistance to Program Changes and The Effect of Program Changes on Learning Environments, was reached. The relationship between the subscales of the scale was examined in the analyzes and it was found that the factors were in a significant relationship with each other. It has been verified as a result of the analysis that the sub-dimensions are components of a structure that includes positive and negative perceptions called teacher perceptions against curriculum changes and that they together form a superstructure. It was determined that the model%252339%253Bs goodness of fit indexes were quite high. Confirmatory factor analysis also confirmed the EFA results. The internal consistency coefficient obtained for the whole scale was determined as .95