The effect of the visual awareness education programme on the visual literacy of children aged 5-6

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of the “Visual Awareness Education Programme” developed to support the visual literacy skills of preschool children. The study group comprised 40 children (20 children in the experimental group and 20 children in the control group) attending preschool in the 2014–2015 school year. The pre-test post-test experimental model was used in the study. The “Visual Literacy Inventory for Preschool Children” and the “Children’s Visual Literacy Rating Inventory for Parents” were used to determine visual literacy level of children. Study results revealed significant differences in favour of the experimental group children in the sub-dimensions and the post-test scores of the “Visual Literacy Inventory for Preschool Children” and the post-test scores of the “Children’s Visual Literacy Rating Inventory for Parents”.     

参与欧洲核子中心国际合作的成效 体会 启示

1欧洲核子中心概况及相关合作项目1954年,包括比利时、丹麦、原联邦德国、法国、希腊、意大利、荷兰、挪威、瑞典、瑞士、英国和南斯拉夫在内的12个欧洲国家达成一致,开始联合在瑞士日内瓦和法国的边界上建起了欧洲核子中心(CERN,法文Conseit European pour la RecherchéNucleaire缩写),于是一个伟大的粒子物理研究基地诞生了。经过50年的发展,目前CERN已拥有20个欧洲国家为其成员国,成为当前世界最大的粒子物理研究中心,有3000余位来自80多个国家和地区的500多个研究机构的科研人员在此工作,主要从事物质的基本结构和相互作用的研究。目前世界上的高能物理实验约有一半是在CERN完成的。此外,CERN也在先进技术教育和青年人才培养方面发挥着重要作用。     

The number zero: preschool teachers’ perceptions and teaching practices: a Turkish sample

Children's intuitive understanding of numbers begins early in life, and their numbers-related knowledge influences instructors’ teaching practices. The number zero is more difficult to teach and learn than other numbers. The purpose of this study was to investigate how preschool teachers perceive the number zero and design their teaching practices for it. The participants in this case study were selected through convenience sampling. The findings indicated that the majority of the participating preschool teachers perceived the number zero as a symbol and considered children's age while developing teaching practices.     

A qualitative investigation of prospective teachers’ hopes,their sources,and motivational forces

This grounded theory study examined prospective teachers’ (PTs) dispositional hopes, teaching-specific hopes, their sources, and motivational force of teaching-specific hopes. A total of 41 PTs enrolled on different teacher education programmes voluntarily participated in the semi-structured interviews. Findings showed that PTs’ dispositional hopes revolved around an active/passive axis, and originated from internal, external, and combined sources. Teaching-specific hopes were explained through five categories: relationships with others, teaching, student achievement, student motivation, and student development. Regardless of axis or source, teaching-specific hopes had a substantial motivational force on PTs’ preparation toward their future careers. The current study urges teacher educators and policy-makers to consider PTs’ teaching-specific hopes together with their motivational roles in preparing them for their future careers.     

Teaching about thermal expansion: investigating the effectiveness of a cognitive bridging approach

Background: It is widely known that for many students it is very difficult to correctly predict how thermal expansion affects the appearance of a metal plate with a circular hole. Interviews with school teachers show that the source of this difficulty could stem from the fact that students’ internal visualizations of an arbitrary object’s thermal expansion often boil down to visualizing changes along one dimension only.

Purpose: In this study, we investigated how students’ mental models about one-dimensional expansion can be extended for purposes of running mental simulations about expansion along two dimensions.

Sample: To that end a pretest-posttest quasi-experiment has been conducted, with 100 students in the control group and 95 students in the experimental group.

Design and methods: Whereas control group students received traditional instruction with a focus on formal representations, in the experimental group the students were led to draw an analogy between heating of a straight rod and a circular rod of same length, whereby the internal structure of the rods was represented by springs.

Results: Eventually, it has been found that students from the experimental group were significantly more successful at predicting the effects of thermal expansion, especially within contexts of objects with holes.

Conclusion: Analogies and extreme case reasoning can be effectively used for helping the students to correctly transfer their mental models about one-dimensional expansion to situations that require reasoning about expansion along two dimensions.     

Student perceptions of successful learning support for an international high school programme: a comparative case study in Turkey

Abstract

This study used comparative case study methodology to investigate student perceptions of different programmes that prepare them for a challenging high school education programme: the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP). Given the benefits and challenges of the programme, educators and stakeholders want to ensure students feel ready to participate. In the literature, studies support that programmes such as the International General Certificate of Secondary Education and the International Baccalaureate Organisation’s Middle Years Programme prepare students for the IBDP; however, there is a need for students’ voices on how they perceive they are prepared through these programmes. This study investigated three different approaches to IBDP preparation by gaining student insights through a scaled-item questionnaire and interviews. Students identified experiences that gave them skills to monitor their learning and resources that motivated them to participate in an advanced upper-high school programme.     

Exploring the digital natives among pre-service teachers in Turkey: a cross-cultural validation of the Digital Native Assessment Scale

This study aims to explore the digital natives among a sample of pre-service teachers and in the process, examine the validity of a Turkish adaptation of the digital native assessment scale (DNAS) [Teo, T., & Fan, X. (2013). Coefficient alpha and beyond: Issues and alternatives for educational research. The Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, 22(2), 209–213]. Five hundred and fifty-seven participants completed a survey questionnaire in Turkish measuring their responses on the DNAS, developed from a proposed four-factor research. Confirmatory factor analysis and multiple indicators, multiple causes modelling were used to analyse the data and an acceptable fit was found, suggesting that the DNAS is a valid measure for participants who are older living in another culture. While the pre-service teachers had mostly regarded themselves as digital natives, significant differences were only found by years of computer use and perceived competence but no significant differences were found for gender and age.     

A Politically Liberal Conception of Formal Education in a Developing Democracy

As discussed by John Rawls, in a well-ordered society, a public political culture’s wide educational role bears the primary responsibility for developing reasonable individuals for the stability of a politically liberal society. Rawlsian scholars have also focused on the stability and enhancement of developed liberal democratic societies by means of those societies’ education systems. In this sense, one thing that is common to Rawlsian scholars’ and Rawls’s own understanding of the role of education appears to be a concern over the stability of a politically liberal society since it is highly dependent on the character of its citizens. Also, it is usually believed that a politically liberal account of education can be implemented in a developed politically liberal society. In contrast, this study discusses the possibility of implementing a politically liberal account of education in a developing liberal society that may become a developed liberal democracy under an overlapping consensus.     

Citizenship education in Turkey: inclusive or exclusive

This paper scrutinises citizenship education in Turkey from the foundation of the Turkish Republic (1923) to the present and explores the extent to which it encourages inclusive or exclusive concepts of national identity and citizenship. In Turkey, where there are citizens belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, civic education plays a prominent role for promoting tolerance among citizens. Using framing questions from phase one of the International Association for the Educational Achievement’s (IEA) research of Civic Education Across Countries, the civic education textbooks of Turkey are examined to determine the extent to which they promote democracy and human rights, make positive references to ethnic and religious minorities, and promote social cohesion. As Turkey was not included in phase one of the IEA study, the paper provides original information for comparative studies, reconsideration of citizenship education in multicultural societies and promoting an active national citizenry in Turkey.     

Support services and learning styles influencing interaction in asynchronous online discussions

This paper reports a case of online classes from the English Language Teaching Programme at Anadolu University, Turkey. The study used an explanatory case oriented research design that assisted to examine relations between students’ learning styles and factors influencing students’ participation in asynchronous interactions in online courses. The study was carried out during the 2006–2007 academic year with a sample of 139 junior and senior students. The converger learners were more involved in discussion boards compared to other learning style groups. The most popular support service was found to be pedagogical and social guidance for all types of learning styles while the least preferred support services were the administrative and technical.

Unterstützungsdienste und Lernstiele zur Beeinflussung von asynchronen Online‐Diskussionen

In diesem Papier wird vom English Language Teaching Program der Anadolu Universität in der Türkei berichtet. Die Studie nutzte ein Erläuterungsprogramm, das zur Unterstützung von Beziehungen zwischen dem Lernverhalten und Faktoren, die die Teilnahme von Studenten an asynchronen Interaktionen in Online‐Kursen beeinflussen. Die Studie wurde 2006 und 2007 von einer Gruppe von 139 Junior‐ und Senior‐Studenten durchgeführt. Die “Converger” ‐Lerner waren im Vergleich zu anderen Gruppen. stärker in Diskussionsgruppen engagiert. Als der populärste Unterstützungsservice wurde der sowohl pädagogisch als auch sozial führende für alle Typen von Lernstielen empfunden, während die mit administrativ und technischem Schwerpunkt am Ende der Beliebtheitsskala rangierten.

Les services d’assistance et les styles d’apprentissage influencent l’interaction dans les discussions asynchrones en ligne

Cet article étudie le cas de cours en ligne du Programme d’Enseignement de la Langue Anglaise à l’Université Anadolu en Turquie. Dans cette étude on a utilisé un plan de recherche orienté vers l’examen de cas qui a aidé à examiner les relations entre les styles d’apprentissage des étudiants et les facteurs qui influencent leur participation aux interactions asynchrones dans les cours en ligne. Cette étude a été conduite pendant l’année universitaire 2006–2007 avec un échantillonnage de 139 étudiants de 3^e et de 4^e année. Les apprenants convergents participaient davantage aux groupes de discussion si on les compare aux groupes possédant d’autres styles d’apprentissage. Il ressort que le service d’appui le plus populaire était l’orientation pédagogique et sociale, ceci pour tous les types de style d’apprentissage alors que les services d’appui les moins populaires étaient d’ordre administratif et technique.

La influencia de los servicios de apoyo y de los estilos de aprendizaje sobre las interacciones en las discusiones asincrónicas en línea

Este artículo informa sobre el caso de cursos en línea dentro del Programa de Enseñanza de la Lengua Inglesa en la Universidad Anadolu de Turquía. En el presente estudio se utilizó un diseño explicativo de investigación orientado hacia los estudios de casos para facilitar la revisión de de las relaciones entre los estilos de aprendizaje de los alumnos y los factores que influyen sobre la participación de los alumnos en interacciones asincrónicas dentro de los cursos en línea. El estudio fuez llevado a cabo durante el año académico 2006–2007 con una muestra de 139 estudiantes de 3° y 4° año. Los discentes convergentes estaban más involucrados en los paneles de discusión en comparación con grupos con otros estilos de aprendizaje. Se notó que el servicio de apoyo más popular era la orientación pedagógica y socialesto para todos los tipos de estilos de aprendizaje mientras los servicios de apoyo menos preferidos eran administrativos y técnicos.