This study aims to determine the clustering tendency of computer programming students’ attitude variables regarding distance education who are educated by this method. This study was carried out in fall semester of 2012-2013 academic year. Sample of the study consists of 92 students studying in the department of distance education computer programming in Karadeniz Technical University. “Distance Education Attitude Survey” consisting of 35 items is used as a data collecting tool. The obtained data is analyzed with Ward method which is one of the hierarchical clustering methods. According to the cluster analysis, it is seen that attitudes of the students regarding distance education are collected in three main groups as A, B and C. Among these clusters, cluster A has sub clusters as A1 and A2 and, cluster C has also sub clusters as C1 and C2. These clusters are named in accordance with the variables they consist as follows: “A1: Positive effects of distance education on learning”, “A2: Content and materials of distance education”, “B: Place and importance of distance education”, “C1: Deficiency and unreliability of distance education”, “C2: Inferiority of distance education and its negative effects on socialization”. When it is evaluated generally, it is seen that clusters A and B reflect the positive attitude variables, C on the other hand reflects the negative attitude variables.

This study examines geography teacher candidates’ perceptions of geotourism. Qualitative phenomenological method of study has been used to understand the geography teacher candidates’ perceptions of geotourism. Semi-structured interviews have been used to report the participants’ perceptions about geotourism. Interviews have been carried out with 100 volunteer geography teacher candidates at Marmara University Faculty of Education, Department of Geography in İstanbul in 2013-2014 academic year. At the evaluation stage, an inductive content analysis has been carried out. In order to analyze the data, teacher candidates’ definitions have been categorized, and the frequency of each category has been determined. The research results indicate that teacher candidates look upon geotourism as the tourism activity that is carried out in order to see on site the landforms, the structure of the earth,geological and geomorphological formations. Geography teacher candidates rate eco tourism as a more comprehensive type of tourism that also includes geotourism. Geography teacher candidates think that people have negative attitudes and behaviors towards cultural heritage in Turkey. Geotourism applications provide an opportunity for the sustainable development of rural areas

The present study investigated middle school students’ science active learning strategy use in relation to motivational beliefs of self-efficacy, science learning value, personal goal orientations, and perceived parent goal emphasize. Totally 458 Grade 6-8 students participated in the study. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that perceptions of parent mastery goal emphasize, personal mastery goal orientation, self-efficacy, and value beliefs were significant predictors of active learning strategies. Accordingly, students who perceived higher levels of parent mastery goal emphasize, who engaged in science tasks with the purpose of improving understanding, who were confident about their abilities to perform well in science activities, and who believed the importance and utility of the science task used higher levels of active learning strategies. Some suggestions were made to science teachers in order to form science learning environments which support students’ motivational beliefs and active learning strategies such as emphasizing the importance of learning the material and improving skills; showing students that ability can be improved through effort; and holding discussions about utility of the science task. Parents were also suggested to promote their children’s mastery goals by highlighting the importance of meaningful learning rather than just memorizing, encouraging their children to do challenging problems and work hard.

New networking and social interaction technologies offer new media for learning and teaching both inside and outside the classroom. How and what kind of learning may take place in these new media is the main focus of this paper. An integrative theoretical framework for investigating these questions is posed based on the Didactic Tetrahedron (Olive and Makar, 2009). This didactic tetrahedron proposes that the student, supported by the teacher, task and technology form a space within which new mathematical knowledge may emerge. Examples of these new media are presented, including single player and multi-player web-based gaming environments; dynamic, web-based, interactive data visualization tools; dynamic computer-based tools for developing number and early algebra concepts; multi-touch apps for the iPad and iPhone; a web-based tutorial that raises a red flag for how mathematically flawed and cognitively dangerous some of this new media can be; and a research-based manipulative for developing children’s fractional knowledge that offers researchers the “possibility to make visible, the thinking of the user.” (Zbeik, Heid, Blume and Dick, 2007)

With GeoGebra introduced into mathematics instruction the teaching/learning process is not improved in terms of speed and quality only. Mathematical concepts, rules and procedures must be adjusted to the new environment. On the other hand, characteristics of the computer and the educational software in use must be thoroughly examined and a successful teacher has to use their advantages and avoid their flaws in order to maximize the efficiency of the instruction process. This paper deals with development of ideas when the concept of ellipse is being built with GeoGebra. We shift from dynamic applets that show the ellipse characteristics to applets that are built by students and teacher together. The old applets were perceived by students as dynamic representations of the ellipse and its characteristics. They offered a very low level of freedom for students to explore the material on their own. This meant the students were expected only to receive and learn information about the ellipse. On the contrary, the new applets were designed in a way that the genesis of the ellipse and its relations to other objects were clearly visible. Besides, the process of building new applets enables students to discover independently the ellipse characteristics. Thus, the students become active participants in the process of the knowledge building. In other words, we use GeoGebra to move from static exploration to dynamic exploration. This process could easily be accomplished in Dynamic and Interactive Mathematics Learning Environments (DIMLE). All the information and procedures meant to be learnt by students were presented within the “I – you – we” concept that was very easy to implement in such an environment.

This paper looks at the role of visualisation in the proving process. It considers the different functions of proof and then describes student responses when engaged in the process of discovering Viviani’s Theorem. The findings show that learners can attain high levels of conviction when working in a dynamic geometry environment. In particular, students are able to grasp concepts easier when engaging with dynamic images, especially if these images create some cognitive conflict with their existing knowledge or ideas. Furthermore, the paper explores the student proving process from the context of proof as explanation. One of the important results of the paper shows that given the correct guidance, students may be able to proof simple mathematical results. Whilst this may be a small scale qualitative research, it still indicates to us that dynamic software can be used relatively effectively in mathematics classrooms, especially from the perspective of being able to engage visually with new mathematical concepts.

Research on educational usage of social networks focused on university students because of their more intense usage of medium. In this context, it is necessary to determine social network usage objectives, adaptation levels and patterns of prospective teachers as future educators. The main purpose of this study is to analyze prospective teachers in terms of intended uses of social network sites and the level of adoption of socia networks. Research was conducted with 453 prospective teachers' studying at the faculties of education in Marmara, a state university and Maltepe, a foundation university in Istanbul. In this study universities were also compared by their types and differences were found. For data collection, Intended Use of Social Networking Sites Scale and The Social Network Adoption Scale were used. In addition, authors developed a Personal Information Form to determine prospective teachers' demographic characteristics and patterns of use of social networks. For this study, comparative and relational analysis techniques were used and statistical results have been obtained. The results showed that (a) Prospective teachers' duration of use of social networks varies according to the type of foundation or state university; (b) Prospective teachers studying in both types of university, do not prefer social networks for discovery and recognition of themselves and their peers; (c) Prospective teachers' rates of educational use of social networks is quite high; (d) Prospective teachers' adoption levels of social networks is high.

Current reforms in mathematics education have called for a stronger emphasis on the teaching and learning of algebra for all students at all grade levels. Succeeding in algebra can prepare students to learn and understand more advanced mathematics in the future. One topic in algebra—the equal sign—has received considerable attention in middle school mathematics because it is a fundamental concept to understand algebra. In particular, middle school is a vital transition for students to develop from arithmetical reasoning of elementary school to algebraic reasoning of secondary school. Although middle school students’ difficulties with the equal sign are well documented, to date, little is known about how to use GeoGebra—a dynamic and an interactive tool—to develop middle school students’ understanding of the equal sign. In this paper, we explore one GeoGebra dynamic worksheet focusing on comparing two functions of the equal sign with graphical and algebraic representations. We also describe how this GeoGebra dynamic worksheet is used to promote middle school students’ relational thinking of the equality.

This study focuses on the integration of a 3-D dynamic geometry interface to enhance the 3-D visualization capacity of 8-9-year-old children who attend an after-school program. Each year, all third grade children, who attend a dual-language urban elementary school, are invited to participate, typically beginning with 20-25 participants. The program runs for one hour per week for the duration of the academic year. The research team (a university researcher and one or more classroom teachers) uses design research principles (Cobb, et al., 2003) to develop and refine teaching-learning trajectories for the program. They use socially mediated instructional strategies, constantly challenging learners to find multiple solutions and explanations to a wide variety of spatial problems. Learners work with figures made from wooden cubes, 2-D pictures that resemble these figures, and with iconic representations (such as top-view numeric or top, side and front plane views) that do not directly resemble the figures. Through the integration of Geocadabra (Lecluse, 2005), the 3-D dynamic digital interface, learners move easily among the different representations and then can mentally abstract properties of these figures. They were able to visualize and accurately enumerate cubes of a complex 2-D conventional picture, but were also able to determine multiple solutions for given sets of front, side and top view diagrams, which do not always correlate with only one 3-D solution. With the current curricular focus on predominantly symbolic numeration, systematic integration of visualization, even as a representation tool for number work, into the elementary curriculum is problematic.

GeoGebra is an emergent open-source Dynamic and Interactive Mathematics Learning Environment (DIMLE) (Martinovic & Karadag, 2012) that invites a modeling perspective in mathematics teaching and learning. In springs of 2010 and 2012, GeoGebra was integrated respectively into two online professional development courses on mathematical problem solving in a rural region of a Midwest state in the USA. ical problem solving in a rural region of a Midwest state in the USA. Using GeoGebra as a primary tool for modeling and communication, fifty-three K-8 inservice elementary school teachers with no or little previous exposure to DIMLEs participated in the graduate level course, where they experimented with various resources of GeoGebra for mathematical modeling in the broad context of problem solving. The instructional team incorporated a variety of pedagogical components to support teachers’ exploration of the new technologies and the mathematical content, including video-based demonstration, affective intervention, learning with children, and social and cognitive scaffoldings.After intensive online instruction, a 25-item questionnaire was administered to collect data on participants’ attitudes, curricular awareness, mathematical content, and pedagogical reflection regarding the integration of GeoGebra. Based on results of the questionnaire (N = 45), this article provides a preliminary description of inservice elementary school teachers’ learning experience in a GeoGebra-integrated DIMLE setting,including an exploratory dimension analysis of the survey data. Overall, the use of GeoGebra challenged teachers’ view about the nature of mathematics and student-teacher interactions and further enriched their mathematical knowledge and pedagogical choices. The course design, context, and implications for future efforts are discussed.

This paper concerns teaching Euclidean geometry at the university level. It is based on the authors’ personal experience. It describes a sequence of learning activities that combine geometrical constructions with explorations, observations, and explanations of facts related to the geometry of triangle. Within this approach, a discussion of the Euler and Nigel lines receives a unified treatment via employment of a plane transformation that maps a triangle into its medial triangle. I conclude that during this course delivery, the role of constructions in dynamic and interactive environment was significant for students’ genuine understanding of the subject. In particular, it helped them to work with concrete figures and develop their own preformal approaches before learning general theorems and proofs. At the same time it was essential to follow such strategies as gradually lead students from basic to advanced constructions, from making simple analogies to generalizations based on critical ideas and unified principles, and emphasize structural interconnectedness of the problems each of which adds a new element into a bigger picture.

This article draws on a case study of six facilitators who were teaching Publishing Research in 2011 at one of the universities in South Africa. Publishing Research was offered by two campuses of this institution. This article gives these facilitators a voice and also identifies and defines the intended, implemented and attained learning outcomes for the module. The six facilitators claimed to be using the same learning outcomes in helping students to achieve the aims in the module but the results of the module tell different stories about the facilitators’ awareness and achievement of the learning outcomes. Data collection occurred through document analysis and semi-structured interviews. A priori analysis theory (Samuel, 2009) was used as a framework for the study and this produced three themes, while this article itself is framed by Bloom’s Taxonomies of learning. This article prioritises the alignment of the intended, implemented and attained learning outcomes; as well as the use of the three domains of Bloom’s Taxonomies (cognitive, skills and value / attitude) in formulating learning outcomes of the module in order to contribute positively towards the well-being of the module.

This study involves the elucidation of the effect of the virtual classroom application and blended learning medium upon the academic achievement of the students and their attitudes against the geography curse compared to the face to face expository (traditional) method. The study was carried out according to pre-test - post-test experimental design with control group. The group was constituted by 73, 9th year students. The experimental groups have been subjected to the blended learning approach throughout the study. The topic was also given to the first experimental group with the face to face expository method where the teacher explained the subject while the second experimental group was subjected to virtual classroom application. The course was given to the control group with the traditional face to face learning method. The data of the study were collected by the use of by the use of the geography achievement test (Kr-20=0.77) and the attitude scale towards the geography course (α=0,918) . The data collected were one factor variance and co variance analyses. The results showed that the blended teaching media and virtual classroom practices had a statistically significant contribution on the achievement of the students in geography and their attitudes towards the geography course compared to the face to face expository method. However since the attitudes of the students towards the geography course in both control and experimental groups at the beginning and the end of the experiment were high the methods used did not made a significant contribution to it.

This study analysed the effect of high schools' gender organization on Korean tenth-grade students’ science achievements, and their attitudes towards science. The high schools involved included an all-male institution, an all-female institution, and a co-educational institution. Three schools, three principals, three science teachers, and 302 tenthgrade students from their respective school types responded to an initial survey, and eleven academically outstanding students were subsequently interviewed. Also, the students’ pencil and paper tests—which included second semester midterms, and final exams containing their general science test scores¾were collected from each school. The questionnaire responses and the transcribed interview sections were analysed using One-Way ANOVA, followed by Post Hoc analysis, constant comparison, and content analysis. Results indicated that the male and female students from the co-ed school had significantly higher science achievement and positive attitudes towards science. Interview transcripts of the selected students from the all-male, the all-female, and the co-ed schools confirmed the findings. Later discussion addresses the improvement of the Korean science curriculum, of learning environments, of the teachers’ and students' roles in the classroom, and of education policies.

The purpose of the study is to present the views of the teachers of Primary Science and Technology course about computer assisted instruction. Qualitative research was used in the study. In qualitative researches, the sampling group is small in order to examine the sampling in-depth. Semi-structured interviews were used in the study as data collection tools. The interviews were carried out with the teachers of Science and Technology Course. The participants were chosen from the primary schools located in the city centre of Bayburt. When the findings of the study, which aimed at revealing the views of the teachers of Science and Technology Course about computer assisted instruction, were examined, it was revealed that the teachers had basic knowledge about the benefits of computer assisted instruction practices. In the light of the findings, it was found that most of the teachers did not use computer assisted instruction practices in their lessons. The recent research about the effects of computer assisted instruction is limited in terms of duration and content. Therefore, extended studies in the long run and covering many courses are required.

The purpose of this study was to identify primary students’ conceptual understanding and alternative conceptions in acid-base. For this reason, a 15 items two-tier multiple choice test administered 56 eighth grade students in spring semester 2009-2010. Data for this study were collected using a conceptual understanding scale prepared to include the concepts used in the subject of “Acids and Bases”, which is a part of the unit “Structure and Properties of Matter” taught in the eighth grade Science and Technology course. The conceptual understanding scale was developed by the researchers to identify the alternative conceptions students might have concerning this subject. The scale consists of diagnostic tests (n=15) designed to measure levels of understanding among students concerning the subject of acids and bases, and to identify their ways of thinking and rationales. Data were first analyzed by tabulating students’ answers to the first tier of each question, and the percentages of the reasons they selected for their answers. Analysis of results showed that students find difficulty about conceptual understanding and they have some alternative conceptions related to in acid-base.

Mixed methods research evolved in response to the observed limitations of both quantitative and qualitative designs and is a more complex method. The purpose of this paper was to examine mixed methods research in an attempt to demystify the design thereby allowing those less familiar with its design an opportunity to utilize it in future research. A review of the literature revealed that it has been gaining acceptance among researchers, researchers have begun using mixed methods research, it has the potential to offer more robust research, researchers are encouraged to outline clearly the reason(s) for using mixed methods design, and it is a more complex research design. Mixed methods research has become a valid alternative to either quantitative or qualitative research designs. It offers richer insights into the phenomenon being studied and allows the capture of information that might be missed by utilizing only one research design, enhances the body of knowledge, and generates more questions of interest for future studies that can handle a wider range of research questions because the researcher is not limited to one research design. Researchers will need to be knowledgeable in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods designs.

The main purpose of present study was evaluating the curriculum of social sciences textbook at the first grade of the guidance school of Iranin compliance with Optimum Criteria of a good textbook. The population of this study included 120 of social sciences teachers at the first grade of the guidance school in Kerman city, the sample was equal to Population. The tool of gathering the data was a questionnaire which was made according to the National criteria of the textbook in Iran. The results showed that the most of the 20-fold criteria were confirmed. The ranking of the criteria showed that, the criterion of “relevance of the presented contents with everyday life” was the most confirmed and the criterion of “providing the opportunities for extracurricular activities out of class” was the least confirmed in the social science textbook.

This study aims to determine the science teacher candidates’ literacy levels of science and information technology and intends to find out the relationship between them. In the study, correlational research methodology was used in the scope of correlational screening model. Research sample consists of totally 264 teacher candidates who are in their 3rd and 4th years and studying at the Department of Science and Technology Education in Amasya University. As the data collection instruments, the science literacy test developed by Bacanak (2002) and the information technology literacy scale developed by Varış (2008) were used in the study. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 18.0 program. Results showed that teacher candidates’ levels of science literacy were low and their levels for information technology literacy were sufficient. No significant relationship was found between levels of science literacy and information technology literacy. Necessary and feasible suggestions were put forward for whom it concerns.

The authors propose a pathway to cultural rapprochement through “educational cultural convergence” (ECCO) which was described conceptually in a previous study (McKeown and Diboll, 2011) and present for discussion an ECCO model for use by teachers. The model is intended for practical use in classroom environments to assess existing “cultural gaps” and to assist teachers with social inclusion (McKeown and Kurt, 2011). It is meant to support teachers in their efforts to develop intercultural competence with, and between, students which transgresses a current cultural identity and assists in creating a viable new one. Rather than teaching citizenship or social interdependence as a stand-alone curriculum, the ECCO model is intended for independent teacher use. The authors demonstrate the development and potentiality of the model where students learn by doing and manifest their learning through what they produce, with an appreciation of the contributions of various perspectives. A significant aspect of this mutuality is cross-cultural communication (Giles, 1979) which increases positive inter-cultural relations, minimizes the creation of “out-groups”, and ensures that the teacher is part of the “in-group”. Through the process of exposure to ‘otherness’ and diversity, ECCO promotes the process of intercultural dialogue, and the development of educators with a global perspective.

The newly founded universities increase the number of high school graduates taking a seat in a university class. Among them the ones who are not well prepared in mathematics, mostly in the social sciences students, face learning difficulties in the first year mathematics course at undergraduate level. The notion of the function which is the foundation of the first year undergraduate mathematics course is a difficult part of mathematics curriculum especially for the under risk new students of social sciences. To overcome the problem, an intervention is applied in the course as Geogebra creating visual learning environment. Teaching of function is organized with the method of contextual teaching and learning (CTL) by using the REACT strategy. The instruction is started with the Relating, the first step of strategy, to reach each student’s background to relate it with their daily life. Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) is used to get students’ reflection about the lecture and has used the reflections, especially the ones who see the point of relating, to form the sample group of the study. The activity including geogebra is developed to apply second step of strategy as Experiencing. The task is organized as to investigate the effects of change in the parameters of a linear function. After analysing research documents, findings reveal that students have benefits from two important words as visual and concrete in dealing with Geogebra as a member of Dynamic and Interactive Mathematics Learning Environments (DIMLE).

This study examined the effectiveness of a new learning approach in teaching classification of invertebrate animals in biology courses. In this approach, we used an impersonal style: the subject jigsaw, which differs from the other jigsaws in that both course topics and student groups are divided. Students in Jigsaw group were divided into five “subgroups” since teaching the features and classification of invertebrate animals is divided into five subtopics (modules A, B, C, D and E). The subtopics are concerning characteristics used in classification of invertebrate animals and fundamental structures of: phyla porifera and cnidarians (module A), annelid (module B), mollusks (module C), arthropods (module D) and Echinodermata (module E). The data obtained in the tests indicated that the the new learning approach was more successful than teacher-centered learning.

With GeoGebra introduced into mathematics instruction the teaching/learning process is not improved in terms of speed and quality only. Mathematical concepts, rules and procedures must be adjusted to the new environment. On the other hand, characteristics of the computer and the educational software in use must be thoroughly examined and a successful teacher has to use their advantages and avoid their flaws in order to maximize the efficiency of the instruction process. This paper deals with development of ideas when the concept of ellipse is being built with GeoGebra. We shift from dynamic applets that show the ellipse characteristics to applets that are built by students and teacher together. The old applets were perceived by students as dynamic representations of the ellipse and its characteristics. They offered a very low level of freedom for students to explore the material on their own. This meant the students were expected only to receive and learn information about the ellipse. On the contrary, the new applets were designed in a way that the genesis of the ellipse and its relations to other objects were clearly visible. Besides, the process of building new applets enables students to discover independently the ellipse characteristics. Thus, the students become active participants in the process of the knowledge building. In other words, we use GeoGebra to move from static exploration to dynamic exploration. This process could easily be accomplished in Dynamic and Interactive Mathematics Learning Environments (DIMLE). All the information and procedures meant to be learnt by students were presented within the “I – you – we” concept that was very easy to implement in such an environment.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Reading-Writing-Application technique, Learning Together technique and according to teaching techniques suggested by course books developed based on Science and Technology teaching program and approved by Ministry of Education on students’ academic achievements on the subject of “matter and temperature” and attainment level of students regarding the experiments. Sample of the study comprised a total of 92 6th grade students from three different classes of a primary school. As data collection tools; Academic Achievement Test (AAT) and Experimental Achievement Test (EAT) were used. The study was conducted in three different groups, each representing a different learning method. These groups were; the Reading-Writing-Application Group (RWAG), Learning Together Group (LTG) and the Control Teaching Group (CTG). For data analyzes; descriptive statistics, one-way analyzes of variance (ANOVA), paired group t-test and effect sizes were used. Conclusively, it was determined that effects of Reading-Writing-Application technique and Learning Together technique on students’ academic achievements and attainment level of students regarding the experiments were much higher compared to according to teaching techniques suggested by course books developed based on Science and Technology teaching program and approved by Ministry of Education. It was further determined that the amount of increase in the achievement level created by cooperative groups (RWAG and LTG) were much higher in comparison to increase in attainment level of students regarding the experiments.

This study focuses on the integration of a 3-D dynamic geometry interface to enhance the 3-D visualization capacity of 8-9-year-old children who attend an after-school program. Each year, all third grade children, who attend a dual-language urban elementary school, are invited to participate, typically beginning with 20-25 participants. The program runs for one hour per week for the duration of the academic year. The research team (a university researcher and one or more classroom teachers) uses design research principles (Cobb, et al., 2003) to develop and refine teaching-learning trajectories for the program. They use socially mediated instructional strategies, constantly challenging learners to find multiple solutions and explanations to a wide variety of spatial problems. Learners work with figures made from wooden cubes, 2-D pictures that resemble these figures, and with iconic representations (such as top-view numeric or top, side and front plane views) that do not directly resemble the figures. Through the integration of Geocadabra (Lecluse, 2005), the 3-D dynamic digital interface, learners move easily among the different representations and then can mentally abstract properties of these figures. They were able to visualize and accurately enumerate cubes of a complex 2-D conventional picture, but were also able to determine multiple solutions for given sets of front, side and top view diagrams, which do not always correlate with only one 3-D solution. With the current curricular focus on predominantly symbolic numeration, systematic integration of visualization, even as a representation tool for number work, into the elementary curriculum is problematic.

The main purpose of present study was evaluating the curriculum of social sciences textbook at the first grade of the guidance school of Iranin compliance with Optimum Criteria of a good textbook. The population of this study included 120 of social sciences teachers at the first grade of the guidance school in Kerman city, the sample was equal to Population. The tool of gathering the data was a questionnaire which was made according to the National criteria of the textbook in Iran. The results showed that the most of the 20-fold criteria were confirmed. The ranking of the criteria showed that, the criterion of “relevance of the presented contents with everyday life” was the most confirmed and the criterion of “providing the opportunities for extracurricular activities out of class” was the least confirmed in the social science textbook.

The purpose of this study was to identify primary students’ conceptual understanding and alternative conceptions in acid-base. For this reason, a 15 items two-tier multiple choice test administered 56 eighth grade students in spring semester 2009-2010. Data for this study were collected using a conceptual understanding scale prepared to include the concepts used in the subject of “Acids and Bases”, which is a part of the unit “Structure and Properties of Matter” taught in the eighth grade Science and Technology course. The conceptual understanding scale was developed by the researchers to identify the alternative conceptions students might have concerning this subject. The scale consists of diagnostic tests (n=15) designed to measure levels of understanding among students concerning the subject of acids and bases, and to identify their ways of thinking and rationales. Data were first analyzed by tabulating students’ answers to the first tier of each question, and the percentages of the reasons they selected for their answers. Analysis of results showed that students find difficulty about conceptual understanding and they have some alternative conceptions related to in acid-base.

This study analysed the effect of high schools' gender organization on Korean tenth -grade students’ science achievements, and their attitudes towards science. The high schools involved included an all -male institution, an all-female institution, and a co-educational institution. Three schools, three principals, three science teachers, and 302 tenth grade students from their respective school types responded to an initial survey, and eleven academically outstanding students were subsequently interviewed Also, the students’ pencil and paper tests —which included second semester midterms, and final exams containing their general science test scores were collected from each school. The questionnaire responses and the transcribed interview sections were analysed using One-Way ANOVA, followed by Post Hoc analysis, constant comparison, and content analysis. Results indicated that the male and female students from the co-ed school had significantly higher science achievement and positive attitudes towards science. Interview transcripts of the selected students from the all-male, the all-female, and the co-ed schools confirmed the findings. Later discussion addresses the improvement of the Korean science curriculum, of learning environments, of the teachers’ and students' roles in the classroom, and of education policies.

Aim of this study, is to determine the effect of narrative and informative text types on Reading Comprehension levels of Primary Education 4th and 5th grade students. Application was fulfilled in 2011-2012 academic year with 134 students in a primary education school in Province Kırşehir. Reading comprehension tests prepared according to text types were used as data collection tool of the study. T-Test was used for associated samples when comparing reading comprehension marks of the students according to text types and T-test was used for unrelated samples when comparing reading comprehension marks of the students according to sex. In Comparisons, significance level is adopted as .05. As a result of the study it is determined that students understand narrative texts better than informative texts they read. Furthermore there is a significant difference in favour of female students between the narrative texts reading comprehension marks of male and female students for all tests except from 5th grade informative texts.

This study involves the elucidation of the effect of the virtual classroom application and blended learning medium upon the academic achievement of the students and their attitudes against the geography curse compared to the face to face expository (traditional) method. The study was carried out according to pre-test - post-test experimental design with control group. The group was constituted by 73, 9th year students. The experimental groups have been subjected to the blended learning approach throughout the study. The topic was also given to the first experimental group with the face to face expository method where the teacher explained the subject while the second experimental group was subjected to virtual classroom application. The course was given to the control group with the traditional face to face learning method. The data of the study were collected by the use of by the use of the geography achievement test (Kr-20=0.77) and the attitude scale towards the geography course (α=0,918) . The data collected were one factor variance and co variance analyses. The results showed that the blended teaching media and virtual classroom practices had a statistically significant contribution on the achievement of the students in geography and their attitudes towards the geography course compared to the face to face expository method. However since the attitudes of the students towards the geography course in both control and experimental groups at the beginning and the end of the experiment were high the methods used did not made a significant contribution to it.

In this study, preservice science teachers opinions related to Ministry of National Education Fatih Project which will be used in schools for tablet PC were examined in terms of different variables. Descriptive survey method was used in the research. The participants of the study, which was conducted in 2011-2012 academic year in Giresun University Education Faculty, were 420 preservice science teachers who studied 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades. The data were obtained by using two-part questionnaire form which was developed by researchers and “Computer Attitude Scale” which was developed by Bindak and Çelik (2006). The data were analysed using frequency, percentages, arithmetic mean, One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Chi-Square test. The result of the study was showed that between preservice science teachers’ PC Attitude score with support the using of tablet PC in schools was a significant difference statistically. In addition, according to preservice science teachers, the most important advantages of tablet PCs using in science and technology courses “a) science and technology courses can more fun with visuals and animations and b) students’ interest can increase in science and technology courses” were expressed. They were also expressed the most disadvantages of tablet PCs using in science and technology courses “a) social interaction can reduce among the students and b) The radiation of tablet PCs spread may give harm to health such as eyes etc.

The aim of this study was to examine the perspectives of primary school students on the use of WebQuests in learning. There were nine graduate students, twenty-six 4th grade and thirty 5th grade pupils involved in this study, which took place over eight weeks in a graduate course. The graduate students designed and developed their WebQuests as a project based on their interests. The researcher gave a questionnaire, including open-ended questions, to both graduate students and primary school students, who stated their perceptions of the development and implementation of the WebQuests. The researcher only examined the views of the primary school students on the use of WebQuests in learning. The study shows that both 4th and 5th grade pupils found something very interesting about WebQuests, which enhanced their motivation to learn. The students also commented that they played, had fun and learned using WebQuests.

The purpose of the study is to present the views of the teachers of Primary Science and Technology course about computer assisted instruction. Qualitative research was used in the study. In qualitative researches, the sampling group is small in order to examine the sampling in-depth. Semi-structured interviews were used in the study as data collection tools. The interviews were carried out with the teachers of Science and Technology Course. The participants were chosen from the primary schools located in the city centre of Bayburt. When the findings of the study, which aimed at revealing the views of the teachers of Science and Technology Course about computer assisted instruction, were examined, it was revealed that the teachers had basic knowledge about the benefits of computer assisted instruction practices. In the light of the findings, it was found that most of the teachers did not use computer assisted instruction practices in their lessons. The recent research about the effects of computer assisted instruction is limited in terms of duration and content. Therefore, extended studies in the long run and covering many courses are required.

This study was carried out to elucidate how the 7th year students perceive the relatives. The sample of the study was constituted by the students studying public and private schools located in Ankara province. The data were collected by the use of a survey prepared by the researchers. The answers given to the open ended question were evaluated according to the gender, the type of the school, the frequency of meeting the relatives and the monthly income of the family. It was found the average values of the students studying in the private school, the male students , the ones who had a monthly income of 2000tl and above and the ones who meet their relatives more than 4 times a year were much higher than the rest.

This study was carried out to elucidate how the 7th year students perceive the relatives. The sample of the study was constituted by the students studying public and private schools located in Ankara province. The data were collected by the use of a survey prepared by the researchers. The answers given to the open ended question were evaluated according to the gender, the type of the school, the frequency of meeting the relatives and the monthly income of the family. It was found the average values of the students studying in the private school, the male students , the ones who had a monthly income of 2000tl and above and the ones who meet their relatives more than 4 times a year were much higher than the rest.

Learning responsibility is one of the responsibility types which are frequently emphasized particularly in recent years. However, determining to what extent schools and educators are able to make the students acquire learning responsibility is an important problem that should be paid attention. This study was aimed to develop a measurement tool which can be used to determine school learning responsibility levels of primary school students based on their self-perceptions. Study group of this study consisted of a total 579 primary school students. In development process of the scale, firstly, literature review was made and was interviewed with primary school teachers. Within the framework of validity analyses of the scale; (1) Exploratory factor analysis, (2) Confirmatory factor analysis, (3) Item-test correlations, (4) Item discrimination powers were done. The reliability analyses were done as calculated (1) internal consistency (2) determination and (3) unbiasedness coefficients. After exploratory factor analysis; a scale structure consisting of 24 items collected under 2 factors were observed. KMO value of the scale was 0.937; Bartlett’s test values were x2=4638,648; sd=276; p<0.001. Factor loads of the items were between 0.459 and 0.728. Amount of explained variance was 44.385%. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that among model fit values χ2/d (3.17), RMSEA (0.61), GFI (0.90), AGFI (0.88) showed an acceptable match while SRMR (0.047), NNFI (0.97) CFI (0.97) and IFI (0.97) showed perfect match. Item-test correlations of the items in the scale were between 0.503 and 0.680; while t-test values related to discrimination Powers were between 10.562 and 19.236. Each relationship and difference was significant at p<0.01 level. Internal consistency of the scale was Cronbach’s alpha 0.920. Unbiasedness coefficients were between Cronbach’s alpha 0.862 and 0.921. Coefficient of determination was 0.712 by Pearson’s test. It can be stated that School Learning Responsibility Scale (SLRS) is a valid and reliable scale which can be used to determine students’ levels of fulfilling learning responsibilities. Findings obtained from SLRS for students’ levels of fulfilling their learning responsibilities can be effectively used to determine potential precautions to be taken to make educational process more efficient and to encourage students to be individuals with learning responsibility. On the other hand, we hope that school administrators and teachers make realistic assessments about the cases of academic failure of students.

Mixed methods research evolved in response to the observed limitations of both quantitative and qualitative designs and is a more complex method. The purpose of this paper was to examine mixed methods research in an attempt to demystify the design thereby allowing those less familiar with its design anopportunity to utilize it in future research. A review of the literature revealed that it has been gaining acceptance among researchers, researchers have begun using mixed methods research, it has the potential to offer more robust research, researchers are encouraged to outline clearly the reason(s) for using mixed methods design, and it is a more complex research design. Mixed methods research has become a valid alternative to either quantitative or qualitative research designs. It offers richer insights into the phenomenon being studied and allows the capture of information that might be missed by utilizing only one research design, enhances the body of knowledge, and generates more questions of interest for future studies that can handle a wider range of research questions because the researcher is not limited to one research design. Researchers will need to be knowledgeable in quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods designs.

The basic aim of this study is to assess the professional teaching knowledge (PTK) courses and teachers’ opinions about them. For this reason, a professional skills evaluative questionnaire was developed to determine teachers’ suggestions as to the content of PTK courses, their applicability in teaching life, studying the courses at university, the problems encountered in PTK courses and how to make these courses more effective. The sample of the study is comprised of 315 teachers, graduated from faculty of education, at 20 primary schools in Antakya, Hatay. Pearson correlation coefficient, frequencies and means have been used for the analysis of the data. Qualitative data have been assessed using content analysis. At the end of the research, it was largely agreed that the content of PTK courses are related to the teaching profession and informs teacher candidates about the teaching profession. Most of the teachers have stated that the content of PTK courses should not be prepared just only for schools which have sufficient financial and physical facilities.

Within this research, maths, reading and science skills of the students at the age group 15 were aimed to be examined according to some variables in the scope of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2009. Research was carried out with 4,996 students at the age group 15 and is patterned in screening model. One-way analysis of variance was used in data analysis. According to the research findings, a significant difference was obtained in students’ maths, reading and science skills with regard to their having quality time at home with their parents. In the comparison made by taking into account Parents’ education level and socio-economic status, a significant difference in the students’ maths, reading and science skills was found as well.

The aim of this study was to determine the effects of Reading Writing Application technique, Learning Together technique and according to teaching techniques suggested by course books developed based on Science and Technology teaching program and approved by Ministry of Education on students’ academic achievements on the subject of “matter and temperature” and attainment level of students regarding the experiments. Sample of the study comprised a total of 92 6th grade students from three different classes of a primary school. As data collection tools; Academic Achievement Test (AAT) and Experimental Achievement Test (EAT) were used. The study was conducted in three different groups, each representing a different learning method. These groups were; the Reading-Writing-Application Group (RWAG), Learning Together Group (LTG) and the Control Teaching Group (CTG). For data analyzes; descriptive statistics, one-way analyzes of variance (ANOVA), paired group t-test and effect sizes were used. Conclusively, it was determined that effects of Reading-Writing-Application technique and Learning Together technique on students’ academic achievements and attainment level of students regarding the experiments were much higher compared to according to teaching techniques suggested by course books developed based on Science and Technology teaching program and approved by Ministry of Education. It was further determined that the amount of increase in the achievement level created by cooperative groups (RWAG and LTG) were much higher in comparison to increase in attainment level of students regarding the experiments.

In this study, the attitudes of the pre-service social studies teachers to their teaching professions and their own perceptions towards the use of instruction materials have been determined; the relation between their attitude and own perception of self-sufficiency has been examined and the parameters such as university, gender and studying varieties have also been tried to be determined. The working group of this research that handled in survey model was consisted of 352 pre-service social studies teachers who have already taken “Instruction Technologies and Material Design” course. While analyzing the received data two way MANOVA and correlation analysis techniques were used. As a result of the research it was determined that the attitudes of the pre-service social studies teachers towards the teaching profession are positive; their perceptions towards the use of instruction materials are high and there is an intermediate positive relation between their attitudes towards the teaching profession and their perception of self-sufficiency towards teaching. It has been stated that the role of the gender is significant towards the attitude to teaching profession and teachers’ own perception of self-sufficiency about the use of instruction materials; the role of studying varieties and university is insignificant.

New networking and social interaction technologies offer new media for learning and teaching both inside and outside the classroom. How and what kind of learning may take place in these new media is the main focus of this paper. An integrative theoretical framework for investigating these questions is posed based on the Didactic Tetrahedron (Olive and Makar, 2009). This didactic tetrahedron proposes that the student, supported by the teacher, task and technology form a space within which new mathematical knowledge may emerge. Examples of these new media are presented, including single player and multi-player web-based gaming environments; dynamic, web-based, interactive data visualization tools; dynamic computer-based tools for developing number and early algebra concepts; multi-touch apps for the iPad and iPhone; a web-based tutorial that raises a red flag for how mathematically flawed and cognitively dangerous some of this new media can be; and a research-based manipulative for developing children’s fractional knowledge that offers researchers the “possibility to make visible, the thinking of the user.” (Zbeik, Heid, Blume and Dick, 2007)

Periodically evaluating and revising existing language programs is of great value for stakeholders in a language school as the ongoing program evaluation paves the way for developing curricula effectively. The present research study aims to investigate the context and program of an English preparatory school in Istanbul and to suggest new ways and rationale for making curricular decisions. The study used a needs assessment survey and interviews with a number of EFL learners at school. The results showed that the program proved sufficient for learners’ language skills. Furthermore, language levels (e.g A1, A2, B1, B2) were found to have an important impact on the extent to which learners perceive their competence in skills. Learners responded positively in the questionnaire about materials, methods, and assessment but they criticized the inefficacy of teachers in the interviews. This study revealed that needs analysis plays an important role in making curricular decisions or renewing language programs. To this end, several suggestions to language teaching schools and curriculum designers are offered.

The aim of this study was to examine the perspectives of primary school students on the use of WebQuests in learning. There were nine graduate students, twenty-six 4th grade and thirty 5th grade pupils involved in this study, which took place over eight weeks in a graduate course. The graduate students designed and developed their WebQuests as a project based on their interests. The researcher gave a questionnaire, including open-ended questions, to both graduate students and primary school students, who stated their perceptions of the development and implementation of the WebQuests. The researcher only examined the views of the primary school students on the use of WebQuests in learning. The study shows that both 4th and 5th grade pupils found something very interesting about WebQuests, which enhanced their motivation to learn. The students also commented that they played, had fun and learned using WebQuests.

In this study, the attitudes of the pre-service social studies teachers to their teaching professions and their own perceptions towards the use of instruction materials have been determined; the relation between their attitude and own perception of self-sufficiency has been examined and the parameters such as university, gender and studying varieties have also been tried to be determined. The working group of this research that handled in survey model was consisted of 352 pre-service social studies teachers who have already taken “Instruction Technologies and Material Design” course. While analyzing the received data two way MANOVA and correlation analysis techniques were used. As a result of the research it was determined that the attitudes of the pre-service social studies teachers towards the teaching profession are positive; their perceptions towards the use of instruction materials are high and there is an intermediate positive relation between their attitudes towards the teaching profession and their perception of self sufficiency towards teaching. It has been stated that the role of the gender is significant towards the attitude to teaching profession and teachers’ own perception of self-sufficiency about the use of instruction materials; the role of studying varieties and university is insignificant.

Mathematics is an important discipline, providing crucial tools, such as problem solving, to improve our cognitive abilities. In order to solve a problem, it is better to envision and represent through multiple means. Multiple representations can help a person to redefine a problem with his/her own words in that envisioning process. Dynamic and Interactive Mathematics Learning Environments (DIMLE), allow multiple representations in mathematics and therefore provide opportunities to explore, to explain, and to model (Karadag & McDougall, 2009) mathematical subjects or concepts. The goal of this study is to explore the effect of multiple representations on perceptions of elementary mathematics pre-service teachers in problem solving process. Hence, ten representations, which dynamically represent a word problem, are created by using one of the DIMLE, GeoGebra. The sample group consists of elementary mathematics pre-service teachers (n=17). In order to precisely analyze the data, which are gathered from sample group, quan-qual mix method was used. Consequently, the use of multiple representations, which were prepared by DIMLE, cause to a mental demand for the other mathematical concepts except for understanding and solving a problem.

This study examined the effectiveness of a new learning approach in teaching classification of invertebrate animals in biology courses. In this approach, we used an impersonal style: the subject jigsaw, which differs from the other jigsaws in that both course topics and student groups are divided. Students in Jigsaw group were divided into five “subgroups” since teaching the features and classification of invertebrate animals is divided into five subtopics (modules A, B, C, D and E). The subtopics are concerning characteristics used in classification of invertebrate animals and fundamental structures of: phyla porifera and cnidarians (module A), annelid (module B), mollusks (module C), arthropods (module D) and Echinodermata (module E). The data obtained in the tests indicated that the the new learning approach was more successful than teacher-centered learning

This paper looks at the role of visualisation in the proving process. It considers the different functions of proof and then describes student responses when engaged in the process of discovering Viviani’s Theorem. The findings show that learners can attain high levels of conviction when working in a dynamic geometry environment. In particular, students are able to grasp concepts easier when engaging with dynamic images, especially if these images create some cognitive conflict with their existing knowledge or ideas. Furthermore, the paper explores the student proving process from the context of proof as explanation. One of the important results of the paper shows that given the correct guidance, students may be able to proof simple mathematical results. Whilst this may be a small scale qualitative research, it still indicates to us that dynamic software can be used relatively effectively in mathematics classrooms, especially from the perspective of being able to engage visually with new mathematical concepts.

The aim of this research was to describe the family support and family environment level according to students’ perceptions under socio-economic variables. The sample of the research consists of 747 middle and high school students in Izmir, Menderes town. In respect of finding out family support and environment ‘family support and environment’ scale has been developed by researchers. As a descriptive survey model research has revealed that students’ perception about family support was in high level. In terms of perceived family support, middle school students have more positive perception than high school student. Students whose fathers don’t work have less positive perception in comparison to students whose fathers are freelancers and officials; students’ whose mothers are alive have higher perception of family support and environment than whose mothers are dead; students whose mothers and fathers live together have higher perception of family support and environment in comparison to the others; students who live with their families have higher perception of family support and environment in comparison to the others; students who have health problems have less perception of family support and environment than those who have no health problems; students’ perception of family support and environment differed according to number of brothers and sisters in the family.

This paper concerns teaching Euclidean geometry at the university level. It is based on the authors’ personal experience. It describes a sequence of learning activities that combine geometrical constructions with explorations, observations, and explanations of facts related to the geometry of triangle. Within this approach, a discussion of the Euler and Nigel lines receives a unified treatment via employment of a plane transformation that maps a triangle into its medial triangle. I conclude that during this course delivery, the role of constructions in dynamic and interactive environment was significant for students’ genuine understanding of the subject. In particular, it helped them to work with concrete figures and develop their own preformal approaches before learning general theorems and proofs. At the same time it was essential to follow such strategies as gradually lead students from basic to advanced constructions, from making simple analogies to generalizations based on critical ideas and unified principles, and emphasize structural interconnectedness of the problems each of which adds a new element into a bigger picture.

This article presents the findings of a mixed approach study carried out in seven Bangladeshi primary schools under English In Action (EIA) intervention programme which aims to bring about changes in classroom practices of English teachers. Through teacher training, activity guides and other teaching aids for each grade, EIA prescribes idealized teaching practices for the teachers. This study explores how these teachers implement such practices in their actual classrooms. In order to find out if there is any change in their classroom practice because of the intervention, three different data sources i.e. classroom observations, semistructured interviews with teachers and Focus Group Discussions (FGD) with students have been used. Data have been analyzed under different themes. The findings show teachers are able to implement EIA principles and practices and thereby bring about changes in their traditional classroom practice. They, however, also admit that because of various situational constraints, implementation of these practices is not simple.

The newly founded universities increase the number of high school graduates taking a seat in a university class. Among them the ones who are not well prepared in mathematics, mostly in the social sciences students, face learning difficulties in the first year mathematics course at undergraduate level. The notion of the function which is the foundation of the first year undergraduate mathematics course is a difficult part of mathematics curriculum especially for the under risk new students of social sciences. To overcome the problem, an intervention is applied in the course as Geogebra creating visual learning environment. Teaching of function is organized with the method of contextual teaching and learning (CTL) by using the REACT strategy. The instruction is started with the Relating, the first step of strategy, to reach each student’s background torelate it with their daily life. Critical Incident Questionnaire (CIQ) is used to get students’ reflection about the lecture and has used the reflections,especially the ones who see the point of relating, to form the sample group of the study. The activity including geogebra is developed to apply second step of strategy as Experiencing. The task is organized as to investigate the effects of change in the parameters of a linear function. After analysing research documents, findings reveal that students havebenefits from two important words as visual and concrete in dealing with Geogebra as a member of Dynamic and Interactive MathematicsLearning Environments (DIMLE).

This study was carried out to elucidate how the 7th year students perceive the relatives. The sample of the study was constituted by the students studying public and private schools located in Ankara province. The data were collected by the use of a survey prepared by the researchers. The answers given to the open ended question were evaluated according to the gender, the type of the school, the frequency of meeting the relatives and the monthly income of the family. It was found the average values of the students studying in the private school, the male students , the ones who had a monthly income of 2000tl and above and the ones who meet their relatives more than 4 times a year were much higher than the rest.

New networking and social interaction technologies offer new media for learning and teaching both inside and outside the classroom. How and what kind of learning may take place in these new media is the main focus of this paper. An integrative theoretical framework for investigating these questions is posed based on the Didactic Tetrahedron (Olive and Makar, 2009). This didactic tetrahedron proposes that the student, supported by the teacher, task and technology form a space within which new mathematical knowledge may emerge. Examples of these new media are presented, including single player and multi-player web-based gaming environments; dynamic, web-based, interactive data visualization tools; dynamic computer-based tools for developing number and early algebra concepts; multi-touch apps for the iPad and iPhone; a web-based tutorial that raises a red flag for how mathematically flawed and cognitively dangerous some of this new media can be; and a research-based manipulative for developing children’s fractional knowledge that offers researchers the “possibility to make visible, the thinking of the user.” (Zbeik, Heid, Blume and Dick, 2007).

Learning responsibility is one of the responsibility types which are frequently emphasized particularly in recent years. However, determining to what extent schools and educators are able to make the students acquire learning responsibility is an important problem that should be paid attention. This study was aimed to develop a measurement tool which can be used to determine school learning responsibility levels of primary school students based on their self-perceptions. Study group of this study consisted of a total 579 primary school students. In development process of the scale, firstly, literature review was made and was interviewed with primary school teachers. Within the framework of validity analyses of the scale; (1) Exploratory factor analysis, (2) Confirmatory factor analysis, (3) Item-m-test correlations, (4) Item discrimination powers were done. The reliability analyses were done as calculated (1) internal consistency (2) determination and (3) unbiasedness coefficients. After exploratory factor analysis; a scale structure consisting of 24 items collected under 2 factors were observed. KMO value of the scale was 0.937; Bartlett’s test values were x2=4638,648; sd=276; p<0.001. Factor loads of the items were between 0.459 and 0.728. Amount of explained variance was 44.385%. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that among model fit values χ2/d (3.17), RMSEA (0.61), GFI (0.90), AGFI (0.88) showed an acceptable match while S-RMR (0.047), NNFI (0.97) CFI (0.97) and IFI (0.97) showed perfect match. Item-test correlations of the items in the scale were between 0.503 and 0.680; while t--test values related to discrimination powers were between 10.562 and 19.236. Each relationship and difference was significant at p<0.01 level. Internal consistency of the scale was Cronbach’s alpha 0.920. Unbiasedness coefficients were between Cronbach’s alpha 0.862 and 0.921. Coefficient of determination was 0.712 by Pearson’s test. It can be stated that School Learning Responsibility Scale (SLRS) is a valid and reliable scale which can be used to determine students’ levels of fulfilling learning responsibilities. Findings obtained from SLRS for students’ levels of fulfilling their learning responsibilities can be effectively used to determine potential precautions to be taken to make educational process more efficient and to encourage students to be individuals with learning responsibility. On the other hand, we hope that school administrators and teachers make realistic assessments about the cases of academic failure of students.

The aim of this research was to describe the family support and family environment level according to students’ perceptions under socio-economic variables. The sample of the research consists of 747 middle and high school students in Izmir, Menderes town. In respect of finding out family support and environment ‘family support and environment’ scale has been developed by researchers. As a descriptive survey model research has revealed that students’ perception about family support was in high level. In terms of perceived family support, middle school students have more positive perception than high school student. Students whose fathers don’t work have less positive perception in comparison to students whose fathers are freelancers and officials; students’ whose mothers are alive have higher perception of family support and environment than whose mothers are dead; students whose mothers and fathers live together have higher perception of family support and environment in comparison to the others; students who live with their families have higher perception of family support and environment in comparison to the others; students who have health problems have less perception of family support and environment than those who have no health problems; students’ perception of family support and environment differed according to number of brothers and sisters in the family.

Aim of this study, is to determine the effect of narrative and informative text types on Reading Comprehension levels of Primary Education 4th and 5th grade students. Application was fulfilled in 2011-2012 academic year with 134 students in a primary education school in Province Kırşehir. Reading comprehension tests prepared according to text types were used as data collection tool of the study. T-Test was used for associated samples when comparing reading comprehension marks of the students according to text types and T-test was used for unrelated samples when comparing reading comprehension marks of the students according to sex. In Comparisons, significance level is adopted as .05. As a result of the study it is determined that students understand narrative texts better than informative texts they read. Furthermore there is a significant difference in favour of female students between the narrative texts reading comprehension marks of male and female students for all tests except from 5th grade informative texts.

This study aimed to determine teacher candidates’s perception about “school” through metaphors. In this respect, components of school such as “Teacher, Student, Principal, Classroom, Teachers’ Room, Parent, Ministry of National Education and Inspector” were categorized separately to determine metaphorical images of teacher candidates about school. The sampling of the study consisted of 346 teacher candidates studying at Science, Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Math departments of Hacettepe University, Faculty of Education.This is a two-dimensional research study where qualitative and quantitative research methods are used together. Metaphors of teacher candidates about school were collected through a diagram prepared according to the Lotus Flower Technique. Findings of this study clearly indicated that Lotus Flower Technique enabled the expression of metaphors by teacher candidates on “school”, being an effective data collection tool in revealing, understanding and explaining a concept together with its components, which, in this case, are “teachers, student, principal, classroom, teachers’ room, parent, MEB and inspector”.

Foreign language teachers need to motivate their students to learn English. Literature can be a good means to achieve motivation in ELT classes. There has recently been a revival of interest in literature as a practical, motivating and an effective resource available for language learning. Therefore, we can assume that literature and authentic literary materials, especially short stories can enhance motivation of ELT students. Keeping this in mind, this study was carried out in an ELT classroom by using two homogeneous groups: an experimental group and a control group. First, for one semester, Experimental Group was provided with unabridged, authentic short stories, whereas Control Group was exposed to abridged and simplified texts and reading passages. The findings showed that the Experimental Group’s overall results of final exams and outcomes were better than that of the Control Group. Second ,an attitude survey was used to understand the level of motivation of literature and to determine whether literature has a positive effect on reading and writing. The results suggested that use of short stories enhances learning and may be good motivational means in second and or foreign language teaching settings through developing integrated reading, speaking, writing and listening skills. The results of this study may be beneficial to language practitioners in their classroom teaching.

Today, educators and researchers are taking advantage of the advances in the Internet more than ever before. With the advent of social media tools, a new paradigm of teaching and learning has emerged. This study aims to explore social media uses in informal learning activities among CEIT students. A descriptive survey method was used in the study. The participants of the study were 357 undergraduate students in the department of CEIT in a state university. Data was collected through a survey questionnaire developed by the researchers. 18 popular social media tools and 6 major informal activities were selected and integrated into the questionnaire so as to identify the social media tool preferences of the students. Additionally, the participants were asked to identify their main reasons for not using social media tools. The results were presented with frequency and percentage tables. The findings indicated that Facebook is an important social media tool preferred by the majority of the students to fulfill their informal learning activities. This study also point out that besides Facebook, other social media tools are used for different purposes. The results also revealed that barriers for nonuse of social media tools can be grouped under psychological and technological factors. In light of the study results, some methodological and pra4ctical suggestions are made for further studies regarding the utilization of the utilization of the social media tools for informal learning activities.

This study focuses on the integration of a 3-D dynamic geometry interface to enhance the 3-D visualization capacity of 8-9-year-old children who attend an after-school program. Each year, all third grade children, who attend a dual-language urban elementary school, are invited to participate, typically beginning with 20-25 participants. The program runs for one hour per week for the duration of the academic year. The research team (a university researcher and one or more classroom teachers) uses design research principles (Cobb, et al., 2003) to develop and refine teaching-learning trajectories for the program. They use socially mediated instructional strategies, constantly challenging learners to find multiple solutions and explanations to a wide variety of spatial problems. Learners work with figures made from wooden cubes, 2-D pictures that resemble these figures, and with iconic representations (such as top-view numeric or top, side and front plane views) that do not directly resemble the figures. Through the integration of Geocadabra (Lecluse, 2005), the 3-D dynamic digital interface, learners move easily among the different representations and then can mentally abstract properties of these figures. They were able to visualize and accurately enumerate cubes of a complex 2-D conventional picture, but were also able to determine multiple solutions for given sets of front, side and top view diagrams, which do not always correlate with only one 3-D solution. With the current curricular focus on predominantly symbolic numeration, systematic integration of visualization, even as a representation tool for number work, into the elementary curriculum is problematic

This descriptive-correlation study attempted to assess and correlate the level of oral English proficiency and selected profile variables of 79 faculty of the Fountain International School (Philippines), consisting of 8 pre-elementary school, 29 elementary school and 42 high school teachers. A researcher-made questionnaire consisting of 25 items which were content validated covers five (5) dimensions, namely; pronunciation, vocabulary, grammar, fluency and intonation. The assessment was made by the unit head, peers and the teachers themselves, including selected students in the case of elementary and high school teachers. The obtained raw data were treated statistically using the percentage, weighted mean, ration coefficient, and point biserial coefficient of correlation. Likewise, the ANOVA was used to test the significant difference in the assessment of the groups of respondents. From the findings revealed in the study, the researcher is moved to conlcude that pre-elementary, elementary and high school teachers of the school respondent are “much proficient” in their oral English, with varying level of proficiency. Also apparent from the findings has lead to construing that the high school teachers are more proficient than the elementary and pre elementary teachers. Their level of proficiency varies in relation to their profile. Among others, fluency and vocabulary need to be emphasized in teachers’ in service training.

This study aims to determine the science teacher candidates’ literacy levels of science and information technology and intends to find out the relationship between them. In the study, correlational research methodology was used in the scope of correlational screening model. Research sample consists of totally 264 teacher candidates who are in their 3rd and 4th years and studying at the Department of Science and Technology Education in AmasyaUniversity. As the data collection instruments, the science literacy test developed by Bacanak (2002) and the information technology literacy scale developed by Varış (2008) were used in the study. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 18.0 program. Results showed that teacher candidates’ levels of science literacy were low and their levels for information technology literacy were sufficient. No significant relationship was found between levels of science literacy and information technology literacy. Necessary and feasible suggestions were put forward for whom it concerns.

The study is a qualitative single case design study and the study group is the teachers and students of the three different primary school which are in low, middle and high socio-economic and cultural range. And they are 5th grade teachers and students. According to the findings, especially the teachers working in schools located in high-life standards environment regard the classroom activities as the waste of time. Thus, they seemed reluctant to employ classroom activities. The findings also indicated that the teachers working in mid-life standard school used the classroom activities whereas the low-standard school teachers used out of class activities most. Another finding was that teachers think the activities help the teachers develop themselves. The students think they learn better through the activities and they are more interested in the classes where there are activities. It was also concluded that the students do not head towards to the misbehaviors when there are activities in the teaching and learning process.

Various preschool education programs are being implemented at the international level. These programs aim to raise self-confident, curious, creative, imaginative children, who respect themselves and others around them, can perceive problems and try to come up with alternative solutions to these problems. The purpose of this study is to make a comparative analysis of educational approaches of Montessori, Waldorf, and Reggio Emilia by reviewing their histories, philosophies, learning environments, teaching materials, roles of teachers and students in the learning process and by discussing science curricula, assessment processes and relationships between learners and teachers. Montessori approach is based on the theory that children can learn spontaneously in their own developmental process. It allows children to understand the order of the nature, to investigate, experiment, and make errors, and to correct their own mistakes. Waldorf approach aims to enable children learn about life and be an active member of society, by emphasizing the improvement of children’s motivation and development of their cognitive and affective skills. Reggio Emilia approach allows children to make new discoveries through real life experiences. All three approaches are student centered and they allow children discover themselves and their environments. Evaluation of these programs regarding their perspectives on teaching science and nature, in theory and implementation, is also in the scope of this study.

This study purposes to determine how adoptable and applicable teachers and school administrators in Turkey think the practice of selecting and training elementary school administrators is in England, France and Germany, as well as how adoptable and applicable “Elementary School Principal Selecting and Training Model” is, which is developed considering the conditions in Turkey. The sampling is composed of 356 school administrators and 382 teachers working in 121 public schools in provincial centers in Turkey. The data required for the research has been compiled through the scale “The Standards for Selecting, Appointing and Training Elementary School Principals” developed by the researchers. In the analysis of data, percentage, frequency, arithmetical mean and standard deviation have been used for descriptive statistics, and t-test has been used for unrelated sampling as interpretative statistics technique. It is concluded in the research that the model is found to be adoptable by elementary school administrators and teachers in Turkey, and it is thought to be applicable although its level of adoptability is lower than that of the model used in the Turkish education system. The level of adoptability in all sub-dimensions of the model is higher than the level of applicability.

In this study, we aimed to investigate the metacognitive awareness reading strategies used by students from the Faculty of Education at the King Abdulaziz University in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. We also aimed to determine whether the strategies varied with gender, area of specialization, and academic achievement variables. To achieve the objectives of the study, the metacognitive awareness reading strategies inventory (MARSI) was used. The inventory consisted of 30 items distributed into 3 subscale categories, namely problem-solving strategies, global-reading strategies, and support-reading strategies. The sample of the study consisted of 550 randomly selected undergraduate students, comprising 269 male and 281 female participants, aged 19 to 22 years. The results of the study revealed that the study sample practicing degree of the strategic reader behaviors was high, where the problem-solving strategies scale came firstly with high degree, followed by global-reading strategies with moderate degree, followed by support-reading strategies with moderate degree too . The results demonstrated that female participants read more, and performed better academically, and these results were statistically significant. No significant statistical difference existed for reading performance linked to area of specialization, except on the global subscale where variance was visible between junior students and students with learning disabilities. The reading performance of students with learning disabilities was superior. In addition, statistical variance was observed regarding the interaction between variables.

Mathematics is an important discipline, providing crucial tools, such as problem solving, to improve our cognitive abilities. In order to solve a problem, it is better to envision and represent through multiple means. Multiple representations can help a person to redefine a problem with his/her own words in that envisioning process. Dynamic and Interactive Mathematics Learning Environments (DIMLE), allow multiple representations in mathematics and therefore provide opportunities to explore, to explain, and to model (Karadag & McDougall, 2009) mathematical subjects or concepts. The goal of this study is to explore the effect of multiple representations on perceptions of elementary mathematics pre-service teachers in problem solving process. Hence, ten representations, which dynamically represent a word problem, are created by using one of the DIMLE, GeoGebra. The sample group consists of elementary mathematics pre-service teachers (n=17). In order to precisely analyze the data, which are gathered from sample group, quan-qual mix method was used. Consequently, the use of multiple representations,which were prepared by DIMLE, cause to a mental demand for the other mathematical concepts except for understanding and solving a problem.

Geographic literacy could be defined as the competence of turning understanding and comprehension of geographical knowledge into a skill because literacy consists of solving problems, reasoning, critical and creative thinking processes. Today, in order to impart literacy skills to individuals, teachers should first have these skills. It is important that teacher candidates should attain these skills before graduation. When these conditions are established, it will be easier for teacher candidates to be aware of their geographic literacy skills, bring these competences to a conscious level and contribute to students’ geographic literacy skills and processes in their professional lives. The main purpose of this study is to develop an attitude scale in order to specify teacher candidates’ geographic literacy perception levels. The study group of the research consisted of 473 teacher candidates. In order to detect the validity of the scale, exploratory factor analyses, item factor total correlations and item discriminations were conducted. In order to assess the reliability of the scale, the level of internal consistency and stability levels were calculated. The analyses provided evidence that the Geographic Literacy Perception Scale (GLPS) is a valid and reliable scale that can be used in order to determine geographic literacy levels.

GeoGebra is an emergent open-source Dynamic and Interactive Mathematics Learning Environment (DIMLE) (Martinovic & Karadag, 2012) that invites a modeling perspective in mathematics teaching and learning. In springs of 2010 and 2012, GeoGebra was integrated respectively into two online professional development courses on mathematical problem solving in a rural region of a Midwest state in the USA.Using GeoGebra as a primary tool for modeling and communication, fifty-three K-8 inservice elementary school teachers with no or little previous exposure to DIMLEs participated in the graduate level course, where they experimented with various resources of GeoGebra for mathematical modeling in the broad context of problem solving. The instructional team incorporated a variety of pedagogical components to support teachers’ exploration of the new technologies and the mathematical content, including video--based demonstration, affective intervention, learning with children, and social and cognitive scaffoldings. After intensive online instruction, a 25--item questionnaire was administered to collect data on participants’ attitudes, curricular awareness, mathematical content, and pedagogical reflection regarding the integration of GeoGebra. Based on results of the questionnaire (N =45), this article provides a preliminary description of inservice elementary school teachers’ learning experience in a GeoGebra-integrated DIMLE setting, including an exploratory dimension analysis of the survey data. Overall, the use of GeoGebra challenged teachers’ view about the nature of mathematics and student-teacher interactions and further enriched their mathematical knowledge and pedagogical choices. The course design, context, and implications for future efforts are discussed.

The present study investigated middle school students’ science active learning strategy use in relation to motivational beliefs of self-efficacy, science learning value, personal goal orientations, and perceived parent goal emphasize. Totally 458 Grade 6-8 students participated in the study. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that perceptions of parent mastery goal emphasize, personal mastery goal orientation, self-efficacy, and value beliefs were significant predictors of active learning strategies. Accordingly, students who perceived higher levels of parent mastery goal emphasize, who engaged in science tasks with the purpose of improving understanding, who were confident about their abilities to perform well in science activities, and who believed the importance and utility of the science task used higher levels of active learning strategies. Some suggestions were made to science teachers in order to form science learning environments which support students’ motivational beliefs and active learning strategies such as emphasizing the importance of learning the material and improving skills; showing students that ability can be improved through effort; and holding discussions about utility of the science task. Parents were also suggested to promote their children’s mastery goals by highlighting the importance of meaningful learning rather than just memorizing, encouraging their children to do challenging problems and work hard.

Current reforms in mathematics education have called for a stronger emphasis on the teaching and learning of algebra for all students at all grade levels. Succeeding in algebra can prepare students to learn and understand more advanced mathematics in the future. One topic in algebra—the equal sign—has received considerable attention in middle school mathematics because it is a fundamental concept to understand algebra. In particular, middle school is a vital transition for students to develop from arithmetical reasoning of elementary school to algebraic reasoning of secondary school. Although middle school students’ difficulties with the equal sign are well documented, to date, little is known about how to use GeoGebra—a dynamic and an interactive tool—to develop middle school students’ understanding of the equal sign. In this paper, we explore one GeoGebra dynamic worksheet focusing on comparing two functions of the equal sign with graphical and algebraic representations. We also describe how this GeoGebra dynamic worksheet is used to promote middle school students’ relational thinking of the equality.

The aim of this study is to develop an online exam system, which is easily accessible by students from computers and other mobile environments, and to carry out the usability tests of both mobile and web-based modules of the exams prepared by using this system. The system developed within the framework of this study provides the users with an electronic environment that can be used easily, quickly and effectively. The overall objective of the system is to meet the demands of students and teachers with regards to efficiency, practicality and effectiveness. Via this system, students can access exams by using their own mobile devices whenever and wherever they wish. Following the design and development phases, various usability tests were applied on real users regarding the effectiveness, efficiency of the system and user satisfaction. The data obtained revealed that the online exam system and the exams prepared by using the system were found to be effective, efficient and useful.

American and Turkish society is governed by a democratic system and also democratic values are taught in their educational systems. However, it would not be surprising that differences exist between American and Turkish 8th grade students’ perceptions because students’ cultural priorities and life styles and teaching of democratic values in the schools etc. can be very different from country to country. The aim of this research is to determine and compare democracy perceptions of 8th grade American and Turkish students. The International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) Civic Education Study survey which was conducted in twenty-eight countries in 1999 was used for gathering the data. The research sample was created with 422 American and 398 Turkish students, a total of 820 students. The research results showed that whereas American and Turkish students had similar thinking about democratic rights they were not agree with liberty, human rights and justice & equality issues. The research results were discussed in relation to differences in the American and Turkish students’ educational, cultural and societal factors.

This study aimed to identify the construct validity and internal reliability coefficients of the “Internet Addiction Test”, which developed by Young to determine how children perceive themselves about internet addiction. Sample for the adoption study was composed of children ages between 12 and 17 living in the city of Tokat/Turkey (N=480). For the adopted scale, reliability coefficient Cronbach alpha was calculated as 0.90 and Spearman Brown value was calculated as 0.86. Exploratory factor analysis was used to confirm the construct validity; and confirmatory factor analysis used to determine whether the factor model was correct. As a result of this analysis, it was determined that 20 items were grouped under 4 factors. Cronbach α, internal consistency coefficient for the first factor was 0.91; second factor was 0.87; third factor was 0.89; fourth factor was 0.90; and for the whole scale was 0.90. Spearman Brown value for the scale was 0.86. Guttmann Split-Half value for the scale was 0.85. These calculated coefficients were all in the acceptable range, and these suggested that the test and the each factor had internal reliability. Validity and reliability analysis were reviewed about the adoption of Internet Addiction Test and it was concluded that the results that were found was in the acceptable ranges.

The aim of this study is to determine the primary school pre-service teachers’ attitude toward cursive handwriting and to determine whether a significant difference exists among those pre-service teachers’ attitude with respect to gender, class and their universities. In order to collect data “Scale for Attitude towards Cursive Handwriting” developed by the researcher was administered. In the study, descriptive statistics was used. The research sample included sophomore, junior and senior students who study primary school teaching at education faculties of four different universities and who took the handwriting techniques class (n=705). In the analysis of the study, one way ANOVA, Independent Samples t-test, and Kruskal Wallis H tests were conducted. The results of the study revealed that the attitudes of the pre-service teachers towards cursive handwriting did not significantly differ in relation to gender and the university they study; on the other hand, the results indicated that their attitudes were significantly correlated to their year of study at university.

The attitude of students towards computer programming learning is a subject which is not widely researched in the current literature. In fact, there is little generally accepted scale, which is tested and accepted in terms of reliability and validity in literature in order to measure the attitude of students towards computer programming learning. The aim of this study is to develop a valid and reliable scale. The development process consists of two phases that utilize two different sample groups. The sample group, in the first case, consists of 496 students and it consists of 262 students in the second case. In order to detect the validity of the scale, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, item factor total correlations, corrected correlations and item discriminations were conducted. The reliability of the scale is justified using the internal consistency level and reliability level. ASCOPL is a 5-point Likert-type scale, consisting of 20 items, grouped under three factors. The results indicate that ASCOPL is a reliable and valid scale in order to measure student attitudes towards computer programming learning.

This study aims to discover if there is any associations between sociotropic/autonomous people in terms of the coping approaches they use, and if gender is effective covariate between sociotropic and autonomous personalities and stress coping approaches. Sociotropy-Autonomy Scale and Scale of Coping with Stress Styles were used to collect the data in this study. The scales were delivered to 400 university students in Turkey. Seventy four percent of the university students filled survey forms completely (n=298: female: 240, male: 58). It was found there was a significant association between sociotropic and autonomous people and stress coping approaches. However, gender was not a significant covariate between sociotropic and autonomous personalities and stress coping approaches. It was also found that people with higher level of sociotropy used helpless and obedient approaches more often and people with higher level of autonomy used optimistic, self-reliance and obedient, social support search stress coping approaches more often

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship of teacher-child relations and the social anxiety of the preschool child. Twelve preschool teachers provided socio-demographic data regarding children and themselves and rated their teacher student relations and candidate teachers rated preschool children’s (n=169) social anxiety. In this study, the Student-Teacher Relation Scale, developed by Pianta and adapted into Turkish by Beyazkürk was used to assess teacher--student relations. The social anxiety sub-dimension of the Children’s Behavior Assessment Scale developed by Şehirli was also administered. Students’ social anxiety score were negatively correlated with teacher-student relation closeness scores and positively correlated with teacher-student relationship conflict and dependence. A regression analysis indicated that the teacher-student relation was a significant predictor of children’s social anxiety. The results of the study indicated that teacher--student relationship in the preschool period has an important effect on children’s social anxiety. From the findings of this study, it can be inferred that intervention programs aiming at teachers’ professional advancement should consider student-teacher relationship as an issue to emphasize. Teachers should be encouraged to gain and use certain skills and methods which would enable them to establish warm and caring relationship with children in classroom.

The purpose of this study was to examine the activities of professional development that Turkish elementary and secondary teachers experienced individually in the previous two years. Survey method was used and data were collected through an instrument developed by researcher. Sample consisted of 507 elementary and secondary teachers employed in 12 elementary and 11 secondary schools in Kırıkkale. Results of the study indicated that the most common activities, teachers participated in, were “to search on the internet to follow the latest developments (new methods, techniques or activities etc.) related to their fields or education and use these in their lessons” , “to participate in forums on the Internet related to education or teachers to share opinions, documents or activities for professional development” ”, “to visit another school (in or outside city) with the aim of professional development. Besides, four-fifths of the teachers needed professional development. The most required professional development areas were “new instructional approaches techniques methods, subject field, the use of instructional technologies, teaching students with special needs, recognition of the student psychology and measurement and assessment”.

In recent years, computer assisted language learning has come to the forefront of language learning and teaching. Computer assisted vocabulary instruction has been considered to be one of the most common applications of CALL. The purpose of this article is to investigate the effectiveness of computer assisted instruction on students’ vocabulary achievement. The subjects of this quasi-experimental study consisted of 52 freshmen studying in the ELT Department of Balıkesir University in the spring semester of 2012-2013 academic year. Before the intervention, the students were randomly assigned to one of the groups; Computer Assisted Instruction or Communicative Language Teaching and they were given a pre-test. Following the pre-test, the CAVI group studied 20 target words by using a Moodle in a computer laboratory whereas the CLT group was instructed the same words by their teacher in a communicative classroom atmosphere. Both groups were given the post-test immediately after the intervention. The delayed post-test was administered to the freshmen five weeks after the intervention in order to test the retention. The results revealed that both CAVI and CLT groups had some kind of vocabulary gain as a result of the treatments. However, there was no significant difference between the groups in vocabulary gains.

The aim of this study was to examine the perspectives of primary school students on the use of WebQuests in learning. There were nine graduate students, twenty-six 4th grade and thirty 5th grade pupils involved in this study, which took place over eight weeks in a graduate course. The graduate students designed and developed their WebQuests as a project based on their interests. The researcher gave a questionnaire, including open-ended questions, to both graduate students and primary school students, who stated their perceptions of the development and implementation of the WebQuests. The researcher only examined the views of the primary school students on the use of WebQuests in learning. The study shows that both 4th and 5th grade pupils found something very interesting about WebQuests, which enhanced their motivation to learn. The students also commented that they played, had fun and learned using WebQuests.

In this study, the question “According to PISA 2009 data, what is the situation of the school policies and practices at upper secondary schools in Turkey?” was answered. Study group included 150 principals at upper secondary schools, which were taken into PISA 2009 Turkey sample. The data related to school policies and practices used in this study were derived from OECD database of which were the responses of school principals to the questions placed in the part F of the PISA 2009 school questionnaire. The dimensions of study are as follows: The considered factors in admitting students to school; grouping students; the reasons for transferring students; using assessment of student data in declaration/transparency and monitoring-developing; the methods for monitoring the practice of teachers; using assessment of student data in evaluation of teachers’ and principal’s performance. Using data from the PISA 2009, the findings suggest that equity is not taken sufficiently into account for school policies and practices, and administrative accountability is used predominantly rather than professional accountability.

This study explored stereotypical images of scientists held by tenth-grade students at three different gender organized institutions. The three institutions included an all-male, an all-female, and a co-educational high school located in South Korea. A total of 393 tenth-grade students from these three respective schools participated in a Draw-A-Scientist-Test (DAST), which was designed to reveal students’ perceptions about what scientists look like. After initial assessment of the DAST results, small numbers of students from each school were selected for follow-up focus group interviews. A mixed methods technique was used in order to analyse the DAST scores and data from the transcribed interviews. Quantitative results indicated that the groups from the three different types of schools were significantly different in terms of their stereotypical images of scientists in that the male and female students from the co-ed school had significantly fewer stereotypical images of scientists versus students in the all-male school. Qualitative results from analysis of selected students at the all-male, the all-female, and the co-ed schools corroborated the quantitative findings. Additional discussions address possible ways to improve equitable learning opportunities in South Korea.

The study was based on a qualitative research approach, and included a case study and content analysis. The study was conducted on a total of 131 students who studied Mathematic Education and Science Teaching, Department of Primary Education, Faculty of Education, Erzincan University, during the spring term of the educational year 2010-2011. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Public Personnel Selection Examination (PPSE) with all its dimensions in accordance with students’ opinions. An analysis was made of the 5 open-ended questions addressed to the students. It was concluded that the PPSE has certain limitations.

This study aims at revealing the efficiency of the application of the instructional design prepared via the Six Thinking Hats and SCAMPER techniques. The question "How do 7th grade students associate the course unit Human and Environment which is taught via the Six Thinking Hats and SCAMPER techniques?" constitutes the problem of the study. For this purpose, the case study method, which is a method of qualitative research, was used in the second semester of the academic year 2012- 2013. The study group consists of 20 students in total, including 10 girls and 10 boys studying at the 7th grade at a full time secondary school in Beykoz district of Istanbul province. The primary source of data in the study included observation, open-ended question form and document while interviews were employed as the secondary source of data. The data acquired upon the study were analyzed through content analysis. This study provides awareness to the students with the instructional design prepared via The Six Thinking Hats and SCAMPER techniques. As a result of the study shows that students were seen to have performed improvement in comparing ecosystems in terms of diversity of living creatures and climatic features. It was revealed that majority of the students have a negative/ pessimistic approach regarding the world and the environment in future both before and after the application; and they possessed the main point of view that the "world will be a dirty place" in future.