M. Sencer Corlu

Impact of sustained professional development in STEM on outcome measures in a diverse urban district

ABSTRACT Sustained professional development can support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) reform. The authors describe a 3-year study of sustained professional development for 3 diverse urban schools across the salient factors of fidelity of implementation of project-based learning, development of professional learning communities, and student achievement. Qualitative and quantitative data were collected. The students who experienced the greatest fidelity of implementation exhibited the greatest gains (d = 1.41–2.03) on standardized test scores, while those with the lowest fidelity of implementation exhibited negative gains (d = –0.16 to –0.08). Qualitative data indicated teachers perceived there were multiple benefits from the implementation of project-based learning.

Changing views on Assessment for STEM Project-Based Learning

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Project-Based Learning (PBL) integrates assessment methods across different aspects of learning experiences. While STEM PBL shifts the focus of attention from summative to formative assessment, a greater attention is given to the interpersonal domain. Because of the nature of STEM PBL, which is centered on developing real-world projects where students can apply their understandings of various concepts, authentic assessment underlies both formative and summative assessment tasks through technology, such as classroom response systems, and rubrics. Authentic assessment in STEM PBL helps students transition from an authority-imposed regulation to the self-regulation of their learning. Therefore, assessment in STEM PBL is inextricably interwoven with pedagogy through integrated assessment methods that develop the whole person, stimulate creativity, and foster individualized group responsibility.

Engineering Education in Higher Education in Europe

The present chapter concerns engineering education in higher education in a European context. It comprises two main strands: in the first, we present an overview of engineering education in Europe from historical and sociological perspectives, and in the second, we present country-specific examples of engineering education from three European countries—Denmark, Turkey, and the UK, representing three different traditions of engineering education. This chapter contributes to research on the cultural dimension of engineering education, while it may also inform stakeholders on the history, politics, and diverse practices in the European context. We provide a short comparison of the engineering education systems in Denmark, Turkey, and the UK across several criteria. We conclude these different European countries’ innovation levels may stem from their differences in their educational programs and teaching methods: diverse and interdisciplinary in Denmark and the UK and uniform and traditional in Turkey. Finally, we provide recommendations for policy makers, educators, and researchers based on our review.

An exploratory study of visually impaired students' perceptions of inclusive mathematics education

The Turkish Disability Act introduced inclusive education to Turkey as a solution to the problems experienced by students with disabilities, including visually impaired students. The main purpose of this study was to explore the challenges faced by visually impaired students learning high school mathematics in inclusive classrooms in Turkey. The data were qualitative, consisting of interviews conducted with three high school graduates; they were analysed using the constant comparison method. In the interviews, students described the effects of various teaching methods on their learning and evaluated the social aspect (broadly speaking) of inclusive education. The results show that while the social needs of visually impaired Turkish students were adequately met through inclusive education, their academic needs were not, which we speculate to be partly because of mathematics teachers’ negative attitudes towards inclusive education.

Voicing Mathematics Teachers: A Holistic Overview of Their Early Career Challenges

Citation: Keskin, Ö., Çorlu, M. S., & Ayas, A. (2018). Voicing mathematics teachers: A holistic overview of their early career challenges. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 16, 331–371. http://dx.doi.org/10.12738/estp.2018.2.0025 1 Correspondence to: Özge Keskin, Graduate School of Education, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800 Turkey. Email: kabakci.ozge@gmail.com 2 BAUSTEM, Bahçeşehir University, İstanbul 34353 Turkey. Email: sencercorlu@gmail.com 3 Graduate School of Education, Bilkent University, Ankara 06800 Turkey. Email: apayas@bilkent.edu.tr Abstract Teachers’ further success in and commitment to their profession are shaped by their experiences in the early years of their careers. Being aware of the challenges that novices face would be helpful for teacher-educators in a way that would support pre-service teachers thoroughly. The goal of the current research is to ascertain the perceptions of secondary-school mathematics teachers about the challenging experiences at the beginning of their careers. With this purpose, semi-structured interviews were conducted. Findings revealed several issues that teachers face in four dimensions: mathematical knowledge for teaching, classroom management and organization, assessment of students’ learning, and the context of teaching. Also, teachers’ prior beliefs and expectations showed a general lack of awareness, oversimplified beliefs, and unrealistic optimism about the teaching profession. The findings of this study have shown a deficiency in teacher-education programs in terms of not providing pre-service teachers with enough knowledge of the challenges they may encounter, naturally resulting in the inability to reflect on the various reasons for those challenges and how all four aspects of teaching interact with one another. Regarding the findings, teacher education policies should be refined to help pre-service teachers to develop a more realistic and holistic view of teaching mathematics.