Browsing by Author "Topcu, Mustafa Sami"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11

Değerlerin Belirlenmesi Testinin Güvenirlik ve Geçerlik Çalışması ve Yaş, Eğitim, Cinsiyet ve Ebeveyn Eğitiminin Ahlaki Gelişim ile İlişkisi
(2010) Topcu, Mustafa Sami; Cesur, Sevim
Bu çalışmanın temel amacı, ahlaki gelişim alanında çok önemli bir yere sahip olan Defining Issues Test (DIT) isimli ölçüm aracının geçerlik ve güvenirlik çalışmaları sonucu, Türkiye’deki eğitim ve psikoloji alanındaki araştırma topluluğuna kazandırılmasıdır. İkinci amaç ise bazı değişkenlerle (yaş, cinsiyet, eğitim durumu vs.) ahlaki gelişimin ilişkisini incelemektir. Çalışma grubunu üç farklı üniversiteden, 584 gönüllü katılımcı oluşturmaktadır. Veri toplama aracı olarak DIT’in, Değerleri Belirleme Testi (DBT) olarak yapılan çevirisi kullanılmıştır. Ölçekten Kişisel Kazanç, Normların Korunması ve Uzlaşım Sonrası olmak üzere üç şema puanı elde edilebilmektedir. DBT’den elde edilen şemaların Cronbach alfa ve test-tekrar test katsayıları .53 ile .60 arasında değişmektedir. Geçerlik bakımından da ölçeğin yüz-görünüş ve içerik geçerliği sağlanmıştır. Ayrıca, ahlaki gelişimin belirlenen bazı değişkenlerle (yaş, eğitim, cinsiyet ve ebeveyn eğitimi) nasıl bir ilişki içinde olduğu da çalışmanın bulgular kısmında belirtilmiştir.
Elementary Students' Metacognition and Epistemological Beliefs Considering Science Achievement, Gender and Socioeconomic Status
(2009) Topcu, Mustafa Sami; Tüzün, Özgül Yılmaz
Bu çalışmanın iki ana amacı vardır. Birincisi, 4. ve 5. sınıf ve 6, 7 ve 8. sınıf öğrencilerinin fen başarısı, biliş ötesi bilgi-düzenlemeleri ve epistemolojik inançları arasındaki ilişkiyi belirlemektir. İkincisi ise cinsiyet ve sosyoekonomik statü (SES) ile biliş ötesi bilgi-düzenlemeleri ve epistemolojik inançlar arasındaki ilişkileri incelemektir. 4 ve 5. sınıflar için yapılan çoklu regresyon analizinde, biliş ötesinin her iki boyutu ve öğrenmenin anında ve çabucak gerçekleşmesini temsil eden epistemolojik inanç boyutu anlamlı bir şekilde öğrencilerin fen başarısını açıklamıştır. 6, 7 ve 8. sınıflar içinse yine biliş ötesinin her iki boyutu ve epistemolojik inançların bilginin doğuştan kazanıldığı ve öğrenmenin anında ve çabucak olduğu boyutları anlamlı bir şekilde öğrencilerin akademik fen başarısını açıklamıştır. Bunun yanı sıra tüm öğrenci grupları için biliş ötesinin her iki boyutu cinsiyetle ve sosyoekonomik statü ile ilişkili iken epistemolojik inançlar daha çok cinsiyetle ilişkili bulunmuştur.
The Impact of Presentation Graphics on Preservice Science Teachers' Attitudes Towards Physics
(Sci Methodical Ctr-sci Educologica, 2012) Erdemir, Naki; Topcu, Mustafa Sami
In this study, the effects of presentation graphics on Preservice Science Teachers' (PST) attitudes towards physics were investigated. The research was performed on two groups. While one group was an experimental group, another was a control group. The research was conducted in the context of an undergraduate-level physics course, and this course was taught to two groups. While the experimental group consisted of forty PST and was taught with presentation graphics as well as traditional lecturing method, the control group consisted of forty PST and was only taught with traditional lecturing method. The data were collected by means of a scale of attitudes towards physics. In light of the findings of the present research, it was concluded that the attitudes of the experimental group towards physics were much more improved positively than the control groups' attitude toward physics after the treatment involving presentation graphics.
Investigating the Relationships Among Elementary School Students' Epistemological Beliefs, Metacognition, and Constructivist Science Learning Environment
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2010) Yilmaz-Tuzun, Ozgul; Topcu, Mustafa Sami
The research questions addressed in this study were: what types of epistemological beliefs do elementary students have; what types of metacognition do elementary students have; and what are the relationships among students' perceived characteristics of constructivist learning environment, metacognition, and epistemological beliefs. A total of 626 students enrolled in sixth, seventh, and eight grades of nine elementary public schools located in Ankara, Turkey constituted the participants of this study. Constructivist learning environment survey (CLES), Junior metacognitive awareness inventory (Jr. MAI), and Schommer epistemological belief questionnaire (EB) were administered to students. Factor Analysis of Jr. MAI revealed both knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition items were loaded into one factor. Confirmatory factor analysis of EB revealed a four factor structure namely innate ability, quick learning, omniscient authority, and certain knowledge. Regression analyses revealed that metacognition and omniscient authority were significant predictors of personal relevance dimension of CLES. Metacognition was found as the only predictor of the student negotiation. Innate ability and metacognition significantly contributed to uncertainty. This study revealed that the elementary students with different mastery levels hold different epistemological beliefs and multi-faceted nature of elementary school students' metacognition was seemed to be supported with this study. It was found that metacognition contributed to model more than epistemological beliefs for all three dimensions of CLES.
Preservice Science Teachers' Informal Reasoning About Socioscientific Issues: the Influence of Issue Context
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2010) Topcu, Mustafa Sami; Sadler, Troy D.; Yilmaz-Tuzun, Ozgul
The purpose of the current study is to explicitly test the extent to which issue contexts affect the informal reasoning processes engaged in by individuals. In order to address the research question framing this study, we engaged 39 Turkish preservice science teachers (PSTs) in interviews designed to elicit argumentation related to multiple socioscientific scenarios. Three scenarios related to gene therapy, another three related to human cloning, and the final scenario related to global warming. The data were analyzed using an interpretive qualitative research approach. Our work builds on a framework initially proposed by Toulmin in 1958. This study has provided new evidence related to informal reasoning in the context of socioscientific issues (SSI). At the sample level, there was strong consistency in informal reasoning quality among varying socioscientific scenarios. However, finer-grained analyses indicated a greater level of variability in the informal reasoning practices of individual PSTs. These results support previous conclusions that suggest context dependence for informal reasoning related to SSI. This study provides an initial picture of the reasoning practices of preservice teachers as opposed to science learners. The results indicate that teachers, at least those in this Turkish setting, would benefit from learning experiences that support their own informal reasoning practices as well as their ability to foster development of these practices among their students. We encourage the field to continue the investigation of SSI as contexts for education particularly as it relates to the education of teachers.
Preservice Teachers' Teacher Efficacy Beliefs and Constructivist-Based Teaching Practice
(Springer, 2013) Temiz, Tugba; Topcu, Mustafa Sami
The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between preservice teachers' (PTs) teacher efficacy beliefs and their constructivist-based teaching practices. Data were gathered through the questionnaire (Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale) and the observation protocol (Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol) administered to the participants. A total number of 101 PTs (53.5 % from science education and 46.5 % from mathematics education) from a university in eastern part of Turkey participated in the study. Also, qualitative data were also used in order to clarify quantitative data. The semistructured interviews were conducted with 20 PTs who voluntarily participated in these interviews. Results showed that PTs' constructivist-based teaching practice was positively correlated with their teacher efficacy beliefs. Also, qualitative findings confirmed that finding. To conclude, PTs with high teacher efficacy tend to employ constructivist approach in their teaching while PTs with low teacher efficacy tend to use traditional approach, lecturing in their teaching.
Relationships Among Preservice Science Teachers' Epistemological Beliefs, Epistemological World Views, and Self-Efficacy Beliefs
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2008) Yilmaz-Tuzun, Ozgul; Topcu, Mustafa Sami
This study discusses preservice elementary science teachers' (PSTs) epistemological beliefs and the relationships among their epistemological beliefs, epistemological world views, and self-efficacy beliefs. Four hundred and twenty-nine PSTs who were enrolled in five large universities completed the Schommer Epistemological Questionnaire (SEQ), the Epistemological World Views Scale, and the Science Teaching Efficacy Belief Instrument. Factor analysis results revealed four factors for the SEQ. These factors were Innate Ability, Simple Knowledge, Certain Knowledge, and Omniscient authority. Multiple regression analysis suggests that for "Innate Ability" factor scores, three of the predictor variables-self-efficacy, outcome expectancy, and world view-contributed significantly to the model. For "Simple Knowledge," only one predictor variable-epistemological world view-contributed significantly to the model. For " Certain Knowledge" factor scores, only one predictor variable-outcome expectancy-contributed significantly to the model. None of the predictor variables significantly contributed to the " Omniscient Authority" factor scores. Results revealed that in Turkish culture, PSTs' epistemological beliefs support the multidimensional theory. In addition, while PSTs developed more sophisticated beliefs in some of the SEQ dimensions, they had less sophisticated beliefs in other dimensions. Also PSTs indicated that, when they want to teach science with student-centered methods, they believed that they would be successful only if their students memorize the scientific concepts and facts.
A Reliability and Validity Study of the Defining Issues Test: the Relationship of Age, Education, Gender and Parental Education With Moral Development
(Edam, 2010) Cesur, Sevim; Topcu, Mustafa Sami
The aim of the study is twofold: First and main aim was to develop a valid and reliable Turkish version of the Du which is one of the most important instruments in the psychology and education research; second is to explore the relationships between moral development and age, gender, education, and parental education. The study group consists of 584 volunteer participants from three universities. As an instrument of the present study, developed and validated Turkish version of the DIT which is "Degerleri Belirleme Testi (DBT)" was used. Three schemas, personal interests, maintaining norms, and post conventional, were obtained from the instrument. For three schemas obtained from the DIT, the values of Cronbach's alpha and test-retest correlation coefficients change in the range of .53 to .60. Face and content validity of the DIT were also provided. The relationships between moral development and other selected variables (age, education, gender, and parental education) were presented in the findings section.
Turkish Elementary Student Teachers' Epistemological Beliefs and Moral Reasoning
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2011) Topcu, Mustafa Sami
The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationships among Turkish elementary student teachers' epistemological beliefs and moral reasoning, and to determine which types of epistemological beliefs elementary student teachers exhibit. The findings of the present study demonstrated that epistemological beliefs did not make a unique contribution to moral reasoning and student teachers' epistemological beliefs developed as more or less independent beliefs. The factor analyses results suggest that multidimensional theory is more appropriate than unidimensional theory in explaining student teachers' epistemological beliefs.
Turkish Preservice Science Teachers' Informal Reasoning Regarding Socioscientific Issues and the Factors Influencing Their Informal Reasoning
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2011) Topcu, Mustafa Sami; Yilmaz-Tuzun, Ozgul; Sadler, Troy D.
The purpose of the study is to explore Turkish preservice science teachers' informal reasoning regarding socioscientific issues and the factors influencing their informal reasoning. The researchers engaged 39 preservice science teachers in informal reasoning interview and moral decision-making interview protocols. Of the seven socioscientific issues, three issues were related to gene therapy, another three were related to human cloning, and one was related to global warming. The data were analyzed using an interpretive qualitative research approach. The characteristic of informal reasoning was determined as multidimensional, and the patterns of informal reasoning emerged as rationalistic, emotive, and intuitive reasoning. The factors influencing informal reasoning were: personal experiences, social considerations, moral-ethical considerations, and technological concerns.
Türkiyede'ki İlköğretim İkinci Kademe Öğrencilerinin Genetik Kavramlarını Öğrenmedeki Zorlukları
(2009) Topcu, Mustafa Sami; Şahin, Esin Pekmez
The purpose of this study is to reveal middle school students’ difficulties in learning genetics concepts. Both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were used in the present study. Survey method was used to explore the students’ difficulties in conceptual and procedural level. An open-ended questionnaire was conducted to find out students’ difficulties in learning genetics. Moreover, basic interpretive qualitative research approach was used in the present study. Parallel with this approach, a semi-structured interview was conducted to find out the students’ difficulties comprehensively. The number of students that participated in this study was 128 from two elementary schools in Izmir-Turkey. The determined major difficulties in learning genetics were the function of cell and chromosome concepts. When we ask the functions of genetics concepts instead of their definition, most of the students had difficulty to explain the functions of these concepts. In general, students memorized the concepts of genetics. In addition to conceptual difficulties, some procedural difficulties in genetics were also explored. Regarding transfer of genetics information, when 62.6 % of the students answered the related question correctly, 41.6 % of the students did not develop true reasoning about this process. The difficulties related to teaching methods, textbooks, and mathematical expressions were other difficulties determined in this study.