Examining of the Predictors of Pre-service Teachers' Perceptions of the Quality of the Science Fair Projects in Turkey

Bu çalışmanın amacı bilim şenliği (BŞ) değerlendirme ölçeği kullanılarak öğretmen adaylarının bir projenin kalitesine ilişkin yordayıcılarının incelenmesidir. Bunun için Türkiye'deki bir A ilinden A Bölge Sergisine (İlköğretim Öğrencileri Fen ve Matematik Projeleri Çalışması) seçilmiş otuz proje değerlendirmeye alınmıştır. Projelerin değerlendirmesini 2011-2012 öğretim yılında Türkiye'deki bir A üniversitesinin A eğitim fakültesinde Proje Tabanlı Öğrenme Uygulamaları dersini alan üçüncü sınıfta okuyan otuz öğretmen adayı yapmıştır. Araştırma sonucunda, projelerin en düşük alt boyut ölçüt puan ortalaması "Kullanılan Bilimsel Yöntem" boyutu (?=1,35), en yüksek ölçek altboyut puan ortalaması ise "Kullanışlılık" boyutu (?=1,64) olarak belirlenmiştir. Şaşırtıcı bir şekilde toplam kalite puanını en düşük yordayıcı boyut "Kullanılan Bilimsel Yöntem" boyutudur. Proje yarışmaları ve proje tabanlı öğrenme uygulamaları öğrencilerde bilimsel araştırma becerilerini geliştirmeyi hizmet etmesi amacıyla yapılmalıdır. Öğretmen adayları ve öğretmenlerin proje yarışmalarına bu perspektiften bakmaları için gerekli önlemler alınmalıdır.

Türkiye'deki Öğretmen Adaylarının Bilim Şenliği Projelerinin Kalitesine İlişkin Algılarının Yordayıcılarının İncelenmesi

This study aimed at examining the predictors of quality of science fair (SF) projects in the light of pre-service teachers' evaluation of SF rubric' domains. These projects were selected by judges in A city for the A Regional Exhibition of Science and Mathematics Project Study for Primary School Students: The SF projects were evaluated by thirty junior pre-service teachers who took the Projects Based Learning Applications course at A University A Faculty of Education in the Fall Term of the academic year of 2011-2012. The results of study revealed that the lowest mean scores of the domain of SF rubric was the method domain ( =1.35), and the highest mean scores of the domain of SF rubric was the utility domain ( =1.64) according to the results of the descriptive statistics. Surprisingly, the methods domain was one of the weakest predictors of overall scores of the SF rubric. It is important that project competitions and project based learning applications should do to help students to gain the scientific research skills. The necessary steps should be taken to help teachers and preservice teachers to look at the science fair and preparing SF projects from this perspective

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