Browsing by Author "Yalaki Y."

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A five-level design for evaluating professional development programs: Teaching and learning about nature of science
(2019-01-01) Kartal E.E.; Dogan N.; Irez S.; Cakmakci G.; Yalaki Y.
The aim of this study is to evaluate a continuing professional development (CPD) program designed to improve teachers’ professional competences about the nature of science (NOS) by using a new evaluation perspective. The researchers followed a year long CPD about NOS with the voluntary attendance of 18 middle school science teachers and their students. In a collaborative and reflective environment, teachers were introduced to various NOS aspects and ways to use explicit instruction and formative assessment in their NOS teaching. In addition, teachers received teaching activities and materials to be implemented in their classrooms for one year. The data were collected and evaluated based on the “five level (learning, beliefs, transfer, results, and reaction) evaluation model”. The findings demonstrate that the CPD program about NOS effectively improved teachers’ views about NOS, beliefs about teaching and learning the NOS, classroom practices about NOS and also their students’ views about NOS. This study is the first to use formative assessment and discourse analysis in a professional development program for in-service teacher education, and also first to evaluate teachers’ views, beliefs, practices and their students’ views about NOS all together. The findings are thought to motivate researchers to consider multiple level evaluations of future professional development programs.
Improving science teachers’ nature of science views through an innovative continuing professional development program
(2018-12-01) Erdas Kartal E.; Cobern W.W.; Dogan N.; Irez S.; Cakmakci G.; Yalaki Y.
Background: This 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. Results: The 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. Conclusions: The article concludes with practical advice for implementing NOS-focused, in-service teacher development programs.
Teachers’ beliefs about learning and teaching nature of science: Professional Development Program
(2019-01-01) Kartal E.E.; Doğan N.; İrez S.; Çakmakçı G.; Yalaki Y.
The Nature of Science (NOS) is an important component of science literacy, which is the main vision of science teaching programs. In contrast, science teachers face significant problems in transferring the nature of science to classroom practices. Science teachers' classroom practices are influenced by their belief in learning and teaching. Therefore, the development of teachers' beliefs in learning and teaching the NOS is important for the development of classroom practices. Thus, in this research, the effect of a continuing professional development (CPD) program aimed at improving science teachers’ professional competences related to the NOS on their beliefs about learning and teaching of the NOS was searched. 18 volunteered science teachers participated in the research. A single group pretest-posttest experimental design was used in the study. The data were collected using the ‘’Beliefs About Reformed Science Teaching and Learning (BARSTL)’’developed by Sampson and Benton (2006) and the ‘’Scale of Self-Efficacy Belief About Teaching the Nature of Science’’ developed by researchers. Pre-test and post-test performances of the teachers were compared using the Wilcoxon test. As a result of the research, it has been shown that the CPD program is effective in developing teachers' self-efficacy beliefs about teaching the NOS and teachers’ beliefs for reform approaches. Findings show that science teachers' self-efficacy beliefs are quite high, even though their views on the nature of science are inadequate before the professional development program. There is a risk that teachers who have inadequate views and misconceptions about NOS but who are eager to teach and who have high self-efficacy will be an obstacle to the education of science literate individuals. This has further clarified the need for CPD programs that will enable them to face current misconceptions and support their classroom practices, without compromising teachers' enthusiasm and self-efficacy about NOS that is important component of scientific literacy. For this reason, it has been proposed to increase the number of such professional development programs in accordance with the changing professional development paradigms.