Serhat Irez

Understandings of current environmental issues: Turkish case study in six teacher education colleges

The purpose of this study is to profile future science teachers’ understandings of current environmental issues in the context of an education reform in Turkey. Knowledge base and understandings of elementary and secondary prospective science teachers about biodiversity, carbon cycle, global warming and ozone layer depletion were targeted in the study. Questionnaire surveys developed for this purpose were adapted and used in this investigation. The questionnaires were administered to 360 participants in six universities. Analysis involved frequencies, percentages and comparing means for students majoring in elementary and secondary science teaching. Analysis of variance for differences among majors and responses to different issues are also included. Findings are compared and contrasted with the previous research in other countries. The study has implications for the prospective preparation of teachers and the future of environmental literacy movement in Turkey.

Bilimin Doğası Öğretiminde Kullanılan Söylem Desenleri ve İletişim Yaklaşımları

This study aims to determine discourse patterns and communicative approaches utilised for teaching the nature of science (NOS) using an explicit–reflective approach. This study was conducted as part of a research project aiming to support teachers’ classroom practices through a long-term professional development program focusing on teaching NOS. Discourse analysis was used to determine classroom discourse patterns and communicative approaches. Audio and video recordings of classroom lectures conducted by 8 of the 22 teachers participating in the project were used for analysis. A total of 505 minutes of teacher–student dialogue was recorded and subsequently analysed. The results indicated that teachers used three different discourse patterns (triadic, chain, and adjacency pair) and three different communicative approaches (interactive–dialogic, interactive–authoritative, and non-interactive–dialogic) for teaching NOS using the explicit–reflective approach. The most common discourse pattern was the triadic pattern (initiation–response–evaluation), and the interactive–authoritative approach was the most common communicative approach. These findings contribute to the literature in terms of increasing the efficiency of using the explicit–reflective approach by considering classroom discourse to teach students NOS.

Improving science teachers’ nature of science views through an innovative continuing professional development program

BackgroundThis study describes how teachers’ nature of science (NOS) views changed throughout an innovative Continuing Professional Development (CPD) program that provided sustained support throughout the process in a collaborative and reflective environment and activities that are consistent with the current curriculum and NOS tenets integrated within. Eighteen in-service science teachers enrolled in a yearlong nature of science, Continuing Professional Development (NOS-CPD) program. Data were collected by pre/post-interviews using the Views of Nature of Science-Form C (VNOS-C) questionnaire, and a post-interview using an open-ended questionnaire developed by researchers to uncover teacher reactions to the NOS-CPD program.ResultsThe results indicated that the NOS-CPD program improved the teachers’ NOS views more effectively than previously reported short-term teacher development programs, and thus, the findings should be useful for future studies in support of the professional development of teachers.ConclusionsThe article concludes with practical advice for implementing NOS-focused, in-service teacher development programs.

Biyoloji Öğretmenlerinin Sosyobilimsel Konularla ile İlgili Anlayışları

Son yillarda sosyobilimsel konularin (SBK) etkili bir sekilde fen egitimine dahil edilmesi icin yapilan arastirmalarin sayisi artmaktadir. Alandaki bu onemli ilerlemeye ragmen, hala ogretmenlerin sosyobilimsel konularin ogretimi icin hazir olup olmadigi onemli bir arastirma alanini olusturmaktadir. Ogretmenlerin SBK’i nasil algiladiklari ve yorumladiklari bu hazirbulunuslugun bir parcasini olusturmaktadir. Bu baglamda calismanin amaci, Turkiye’deki biyoloji ogretmenlerinin SBK’i nasil algiladiklarini ortaya koymaktir. Calismaya Turkiye’nin farkli illerinde calisan 102 biyoloji ogretmeni katilmistir. Veri toplama araci olarak ‘Sosyobilimsel Konularla ilgili Pedagojik Alan Bilgisi Formu’ kullanilmis ve elde edilen veriler nitel olarak analiz edilmistir. Yapilan analiz, biyoloji ogretmenlerinin sosyobilimsel konularla ilgili anlayislarinin yetersiz oldugunu ve bu anlayisin sosyobilimsel konularin ogretimi ile ilgili tercihlerini etkiledigini gostermektedir.

Öğretmen Adaylarının Bilimin Doğası Anlayışlarının İncelenmesi

Mevcut literature katkida bulunmak ve program gelistirme calismalarina yon gostermek amaciyla gerceklestirilen bu calisma, Fen Bilimleri alani ogretmen adaylarinin bilim ve bilimin dogasina iliskin goruslerini incelemektedir. Calismaya ilk ve orta ogretimde fen bilimleri alani ogretmeni olmak uzere ogrenim goren toplam 168 ogretmen adayi katilmistir. Katilimcilarin bilim ve bilimin dogasina iliskin anlayislari bir anket araciligi ile incelenmistir. Calismanin bulgulari bu alanda yapilan uluslararasi calismalarin sonuclari ile benzerlik gostermektedir. Sonuclar calismaya katilan fen bilimleri alani ogretmen adaylarinin genel olarak bilim ve bilimin dogasi konusunda eklektik bir dusunce yapisina sahip oldugunu gostermektedir.