Browsing by Subject "Teacher professional development"
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
Results Per Page
Sort Options
Item Open Access Facilitating place-based environmental education through bird studies: an action research investigation(Routledge, 2017) Can, Ö. K.; Lane, J. F.; Ateşkan, A.This study involved a workshop designed to support biology teachers in conducting birdwatching activities with their students and to promote place-based environmental education in Turkey. The instruments for collecting data were a workshop questionnaire and interviews. The findings revealed that initial response to the workshop was positive; participating teachers reported that the resources and strategies motivated them to conduct bird studies with students. They identified barriers and noted that the place-based education approach might help overcome many of these barriers. After the workshop, it became clear that participants’ initial intentions to integrate birdwatching into their lessons were challenged by lack of confidence and time. To gain deeper insights into the outcomes of the project, the project coordinator used action research strategies to reflect on her practice and reveal implications for her continued efforts to promote bird and environmental education. She kept a journal, used reiterative reflection, and content analysis to analyse workshop evaluations and interviews. The coordinator recognized potentials and challenges for facilitating birdwatching and environmental education as part of her teaching career. This study shares some of her efforts to provide ongoing support and emphasizes that facilitation of environmental education needs time, commitment, and passion. © 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.Item Open Access Preservice teachers' Facebook usage and their perspectives about Facebook as a professional development tool(Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Kırşehir Eğitim Fakültesi, 2011) Köşkeroğlu-Büyükimdat, M.; Albayrak, Duygu; Uğur-Erdoğmuş, F.; Yıldırım, S.; Eryol, G.; Ataman, Y. E.In this study, an explanatory mixed method design was employed to evaluate preservice information technology teachers’ Facebook usage and their perspectives about Facebook as a professional development tool. In quantitative phase, data were collected through a Facebook usage survey on a total number of 338 undergraduate Computer Education and Instructional Technology (CEIT) students from three representative state universities in Turkey. Survey results indicated that preservice teachers favored and utilized Facebook. To find out more in-depth data, the results of quantitative data analysis were used to develop a structured interview to be done with four preservice teachers who were selected purposefully. The data collected from the interviews were subjected to content analysis where coding was conducted to create meaningful organization of the data. According the results of this explanatory study especially communication, sharing and socializing capacity of Facebook were found important in terms of using Facebook as a professional development tool.Item Open Access A systematic analysis of an initial STEM professional development program : a case study(Bilkent University, 2018-12) Şenkutlu, NilThe aim of this case study was to gain a better understanding of how an initial STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) professional development (PD) program implemented on a specific group of mathematics and science teachers and examine these mathematics and science teachers’ understandings and perceptions of STEM education and their influence on classroom practices. This study was framed and guided by STEM: Integrated Teaching Framework (InTeachFramework) which also formed the “focal points” of this study that were interdisciplinarity, rigor, relevance, and equity. In this exploratory case study, qualitative data gathered by observing the initial STEM PD program for 27 secondary mathematics and science teachers within a large metropolitan school. Voice records and written data were utilized with observational techniques to determine perceptions and influences of STEM education on teachers. Findings indicated that initial STEM PD provided teachers to show their general understanding on STEM principles explicitly in their classroom practices. Real-life applications related to teacher’s main disciplines and connections of them with other disciplines were the most adopted indicators in the classrooms. Similarly, teachers gained an understanding on necessity of authentic problems of knowledge society (APoKS) for teachers in school environment. The study also found that the desired solution offers and related products for APoKS that emphasized in STEM PD were not fulfilled in the classroom practices.