Approximations to the solution of linear Fredholm integrodifferential-difference equation of high order

There are few techniques available to numerically solve linear Fredholm integrodifferential-difference equation of high-order. In this paper we show that the Taylor matrix method is a very effective tool in numerically solving such problems. This method transforms the equation and the given conditions into the matrix equations. By merging these results, a new matrix equation which corresponds to a system of linear algebraic equation is obtained. The solution of this system yields the Taylor coefficients of the solution function. Some numerical results are also given to illustrate the efficiency of the method. Moreover, this method is valid for the differential, difference, differential-difference and Fredholm integral equations. In some numerical examples, MAPLE modules are designed for the purpose of testing and using the method.     

Cross-cultural experience in preservice teacher education

The study investigated the effect of international student teaching experience on the professional and personal development of preservice teachers. Within the framework of their internship program, 26 graduate students in a private university in Turkey had a two-month internship in a mid western state in the United States, the main component of which was a six-week student teaching experience in high schools. Student teachers worked with mentors in pairs or triads in six high schools in different subject areas. They got involved in teaching practices, technology seminars, and diverse cultural activities during their internship. The student teachers and mentor teachers were surveyed through e-mail and three student teachers were interviewed to evaluate the outcomes of the program. The findings of the current research suggest that the international student teaching experience and the overall internship program with its cultural components contributed in a positive way to student teachers’ professional and personal development and helped student teachers increase their cultural awareness. The findings also suggest that the presence of international students in US schools and society in general helped American students and people have a better idea of other countries and cultures.     

A Game Theoretic Approach to Peer Review of Grant Proposals

This paper studies the grant peer review process employed by the Turkish regional development agencies, which is adapted from a review procedure of the Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency of the European Union. To model this process, we consider a Bayesian strategic-form game played by three reviewers who observe both a common and a private score signal about an evaluated project and assign their scores to minimize the sum of their disutilities from the false acceptance and false rejection of the project. We numerically compute the Bayesian Nash equilibria of this game and conduct several comparative statics exercises, after calibrating the model parameters accordingly. We also introduce two simpler review processes and compare their performances to that of the calibrated process in terms of outcome statistics, involving pass and fail rates of the evaluated projects, and manipulation statistics, involving the reviewers’ manipulation rate and size of scores.     

Is it dichotomy or tension: I am a scientist. No, wait! I am a teacher!

This study explores through a naturalistic inquiry the tensions between a science professor’s two enacted identities. More specifically, this study looks at how a biology professor’s identity-in-practice shifts and evolves over time through collaborations with a science education professor. These shifts were marked by an emphasis on teaching, rather than solely a focus on science. Data were collected through formal interviews and notes taken during planning sessions that took place between the biology professor and the science educator. Findings reveal that although the biology professor is able to reconcile both his science and teacher identity, structural elements of his workplace do not encourage him to enact his teacher identity. Recommendations for college science teaching are discussed.     

Supporting Fourth Graders’ Ability to Interpret Graphs Through Real-Time Graphing Technology: A Preliminary Study

This study examined to what extent inquiry-based instruction supported with real-time graphing technology improves fourth grader??s ability to interpret graphs as representations of physical science concepts such as motion and temperature. This study also examined whether there is any difference between inquiry-based instruction supported with real-time graphing software and inquiry-based instruction supported with traditional laboratory equipment in terms of improving fourth graders?? ability to interpret motion and temperature graphs. Results of this study showed that there is a significant advantage in using real-time graphing technology to support fourth graders?? ability to interpret graphs.     

How to improve the design of experimental studies in computing education: Evidence from the international assessments

Education and Information Technologies - Cluster randomized trials are frequently used in educational research for methodological reasons. This study aims to improve the efficiency of cluster...     

Learning with the Natural Environment: How Walking with Nature Can Actively Shape Creativity and Contribute to Holistic Learning

Learning takes place in various spaces through human and nonhuman interactions. Considering the urgent need for rethinking how humans relate to nature, in this article we present a MA level course in the context of art, craft and design to discuss how learning with the natural environment approach can impact learning experiences. We introduce walking with nature as a creative method that fosters students’ ability to let the environment actively shape their creative events. The encounter with nature-based materials in their different forms and following the material's flow provides students with a foundation for their creative processes. This study proposes that walking can facilitate the entanglement between the student's knowledge and encountered materials, generating an emotional and dialogical relationship with the natural environment that contributes to a holistic learning experience. We propose that such an experience can help in comprehending the importance of the caring actions we need to take and maintain towards the nonhuman world.     

New School of Mustafa Satı Bey in Istanbul (1915)

This study has two purposes: the first is to present the general condition of public education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by showing the reformation process in educational institutes and teacher training, and the relationship between this process and the New Education movement in the Ottoman Empire; the second is to determine to what extent Mustafa Sat? Bey, often referred to as the Pestalozzi of the Ottoman Empire, contributed to the New Education movement through the analysis of his opinions on education, and his attempts to open a New School. As a result of Mustafa Sat? Bey’s analysis, New Education practices in the Ottoman Empire were stated to be practising a unilateral receiving-and-adapting procedure and the Ottoman Empire was positioned at the periphery in terms of the circulation of the movement. In his New School and in the Teacher Training School, Sat? Bey was concerned with the New Education movement both on an administrative and operative level. However, his practices were not sufficient to create his own theory and examine any other theory. Thus, when evaluated in terms of his contributions to the New Education movement, Sat? Bey is positioned somewhere between practical reformer and practitioner.