Research Information System
Thesis Type: Doctorate
Institution Of The Thesis: Gazi Üniversitesi, Eğitim Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Turkey
Approval Date: 2014
Student: MÜCAHİT KÖSE
Supervisor: MAHMUT SELVİ
Open Archive Collection: AVESIS Open Access Collection
Abstract:This study aims to develop a valid, reliable measurement tool to evaluate science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge about cell divisions, while describing and assessing science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge about it. In the study, to develop the cell divisions pedagogical knowledge scale, 35 questions were prepared based on the literature and expert opinions covering pedagogical content knowledge subsuming knowledge of the curriculum, students, measurement and evaluation, as well as teaching strategies, and the knowledge of methods and techniques. Before the application, a draft scale was prepared according to the expert knowledge and priori application with 20 teachers and interviews conducted with seven teachers from this group regarding the comprehensibility of the scale. To evaluate the questions a totalistic rubric was prepared based on the literature and expert opinions. 182 science teachers, who were graduated from different higher education programs, with different field of expertise and vocational experiences, constituted the sample of the research and participated in the research during the second semester of the 2013-2014 academic year. The answers from all the teachers were evaluated by two coders in addition to the third coder who coded 20 randomly selected teachers' answers, by using the rubric. The consistency coefficient between the first and second coder evaluated all the responses from the teachers were calculated .87 and the consistency coefficient between the third and the other two coders were calculated as .82 and .80 respectively. The final scale consisted of 20 questions with 4 factors was developed by calculating weighted factors of the items based on explatory factor analysis conducted with the data. The Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of the final scale comprising 20 questions was calculated as .85. Statistical analyses were conducted appropriate to the collected data. Science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge of cell divisions were evaluated both at the general understanding level and separately for each and every component that were included in the study. Whether there were any differences among the pedagogical content knowledge of science teachers, who were graduated from different higher education programs, and fields with variety of vocational experiences, was also explored. The relationships among the components of pedagogical content knowledge included in the study were investigated. The results showed that science teachers' pedagogical content knowledge average absolute success rate was %63,41. %45 of the teachers scored below the average absolute success and %17 of them scored below attainable average score. Based on their professional experience, teachers with 5 to 9 years of experience were the teachers with the highest level of pedagogical content knowledge. Moreover, science teachers graduated from education faculty presented higher levels of pedagogical content knowledge compared to the graduates of other faculties and higher education departments. According to their field of expertise, science teachers, who were graduates of biology education and science education programs, have been found to possess higher levels of pedagogical content knowledge compared to the graduates of the other programs. Majority of the teachers experience difficulties with the methods of detecting and removing misconceptions, effectively using alternative measurement and evaluation techniques, as well as determining the subject specific teaching methods and strategies. It is necessary to ensure the continuity of the cooperation between school-teacher and education faculty in order to support teachers' progression of professional development and continuous development of their pedagogical content knowledge. As a result, it is possible to detect deficienciesin teachers' knowledge in short amount of time with subject specific pedagogical content knowledge scale and to provide suitable solutions to their needs.