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.     

新建混凝土结构碳化寿命概率评估方法及其应用

为了对新建混凝土结构进行碳化耐久性评估,采用无损检测方法对新建隧道混凝土结构保护层密实度和厚度进行了检测,并基于混凝土碳化速度和超声波传播速度之间的线性关系,提出一种用来对新建混凝土结构进行概率碳化寿命评估的方法,并使用该方法对2个隧道混凝土结构进行了概率碳化寿命评估.结果表明：在环境条件及对CO2结合能力基本相同的条件下,2个隧道概率碳化寿命相差较大,其中隧道A的概率碳化寿命均值为94.0%,各标段最大离差为11.6%;隧道B的概率碳化寿命均值为82.3%,各标段最大离差为27.0%.由评估结果分析可知,施工技术水平的不同造成2个新建隧道混凝土结构保护层质量分布出现离散性,从而最终导致2个隧道概率碳化寿命评估结果出现差异.     

Emotional labor and burnout among Turkish primary school teachers

Emotions play a critical role in teaching, especially in primary schools. Teachers have to manage their feelings in order to sustain a positive classroom climate. Managing feelings as a requirement of work is called emotional labor, which is a relatively new area of research in teaching. The main aim of this research was to investigate the type of emotional labor strategies Turkish primary school teachers often use and whether emotional labor is a predictor of burnout for primary teachers in a Turkish context. Also, the authors explore if there is a significant variation in emotional labor in terms of gender and school type (public/private). A survey was conducted with the participation of 370 primary school teachers from Ankara, Turkey. Results indicated that Turkish primary school teachers mostly engage in genuine emotions in their relationships with students. Female teachers use deep and surface acting strategies more often than males. Also, private school teachers were found to use deep acting strategies and display genuine emotions more often than public school teachers. Finally, it was found that emotional labor is a significant predictor of burnout among Turkish primary school teachers.     

Effect of the 5E Model on Prospective Teachers’ Conceptual Understanding of Diffusion and Osmosis: A Mixed Method Approach

The aim of this study was to explore a group of prospective primary teachers’ conceptual understanding of diffusion and osmosis as they implemented a 5E constructivist model and related materials in a science methods course. Fifty prospective primary teachers’ ideas were elicited using a pre- and post-test and delayed post-test survey consisting of ten two-tier questions of which an explanatory part was integral. Individual interviews were conducted with six prospective teachers at the end of the implementation of the unit using four questions. Test scores were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Post-instructional interviews were analyzed qualitatively. Statistical analysis using one-way ANOVA of student test scores pointed to statistically significant differences between pre- and post- and delayed post-test (p < 0.05). A qualitative analysis of the prospective teachers’ explanations in the two-tier questions revealed changes in their ideas overtime. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses suggest that the teaching activities promoted students’ conceptual understanding. No statistically significant differences were found between post-test and delayed post-test scores, suggesting that the teaching activities based on 5E model enabled students to retain their new conceptual understanding.     

The Assessment of Oxidative Stress on Patients with Chronic Renal Failure at Different Stages and on Dialysis Patients Receiving Different Hypertensive Treatment

The aim of this study is to evaluate the oxidative stress in predialysis, hemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis patients and to test the effects of antihypertensive drugs and volume control on oxidative stress parameters. The study was composed of five groups as follows: control group (n = 30), predialysis group (n = 30), peritoneal dialysis group (n = 30), hemodialysis group, (normotensive with strict volume control, n = 30), hemodialysis group (normotensive with medication, n = 30). Plasma malondialdehyde (MDA), erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSHPx) and routine biochemical parameters were studied in all patients. Hemodialysis patients with strict volume control (HD_vc) had lower levels of MDA than other patient groups (p < 0.001), and CAT, SOD values had highest level other patient groups (p < 0.001). The treatment of hypertension with strict volume control in chronic renal failure patients causes less damage to the antioxidant capacity.     

Development and validation of perceptions of online interaction scale

The aim of this study was to develop a measurement instrument which is compatible with literature, of which validity and reliability are proved with the aim of determining interaction perceived by learners in online learning environments. Accordingly, literature review was made, and outline form of the scale was formed with item pool by taking 14 expert opinions. As a result of exploratory factor analysis of data obtained from participation of 177 learners from eight different universities, it was seen that the scale consisted of 30 items and 3 dimensions. These dimensions are learner–content interaction, learner–instructor interaction and learner–learner interaction. Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficient of the whole scale was .95. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that fit indexes of the structure provided a good and acceptable fit. Based on these findings, Perceptions of Online Interaction Scale is a valid and reliable tool that may be used in measuring interaction occurring in online learning environments.     

Towards a framework for creative online collaboration: A research on challenges and context

The OnCreate project was initiated by ten universities with expertise in collaborative work in online-based learning environments and explores the specific challenges of implementing university courses in creative disciplines in such an environment. The first research phase comprises a literature search on creativity and its contextual factors in online collaboration in an educational setting. From this research a first set of possible key challenges and contextual key factors has been selected and applied to categorize the results of interviews and surveys on current good practice in creative online collaboration among experienced online teachers from the partner universities. From the key findings we formulate hypotheses to guide future research towards a framework for creative online collaboration. At the same time, the results can serve as inspiration for the educational practice. Notable observations of the good practice research among the partner universities are that they realise innovative collaboration concepts usually on mashed-up environments of state-of-the-art web services rather than on the omnipresent learning management systems (such as Moodle or Blackboard). Also, they show a paradigm shift from teaching to coaching and promotion of an open peer-review culture among the students.